Kingston Council's commitment to safeguarding vulnerable individuals remains a top priority, as evidenced by discussions at the recent Audit, Governance and Standards Committee meeting.
The committee reviewed the council's corporate risk register, which details eight strategic risks in non-exempt papers and one in exempt papers. The exempt risk, predominantly related to cyber security, is being kept confidential as the public interest in disclosing the information is outweighed by the public interest in maintaining the exemption, in accordance with paragraph three of part one of schedule 12a of the local government act 1972.
Among the risks discussed was the Death/Serious Harm to Person within our Care.
The causes for this risk are outlined as: failure to assess, plan, and provide adequate support; failure to complete statutory social work visits; failure to work in partnership with other statutory agencies; and failure to monitor and assure the safety and quality of placements or supported accommodation. The potential consequences include Safeguarding Practice Reviews, Coroner's Inquests, legal liability for corporate prosecution, Ofsted or Care Quality Commission inspections, and emotional impact on practitioners. However, the document does not provide current statistics or trends related to this risk.
Councillor Sachin Tulyani raised a point of clarification regarding the wording of the Financial Sustainability
risk. He questioned whether the description Unsustainable and unfunded growth and increase in demand for statutory services
accurately reflected the cause, suggesting it implied the council was creating growth rather than acknowledging that growth plan assumptions might not materialize. Officers agreed to review the presentation of this risk offline.
Other strategic risks addressed included challenges in recruitment and retention, civil contingencies for extreme weather events, social cohesion, business continuity for key buildings, and the adoption of artificial intelligence.
Recruitment and Retention: The council is actively addressing challenges in recruiting and retaining staff, particularly in social work, planning, IT, and procurement. Strategies include reviewing agency worker usage, conducting deep-dives into specific challenges, strategic workforce planning in adult social care, implementing leadership and manager frameworks, developing action plans based on staff feedback, an Inclusive Kingston Workforce Action Plan, increasing early career opportunities, and promoting careers in local government. While social work is identified as a key area of challenge, the document does not specifically mention safeguarding roles.
Civil Contingencies for Extreme Weather: The council is updating business continuity plans and enhancing community resilience. Protocols for Gold, Silver command, an internal weather alerting process, and communication to residents are in place. The Kingston Borough Resilience Forum and Climate Steering and Resilience Group are active. Plans include a multi-agency flood and recovery plan, an adverse weather and health plan with action cards, a Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) for cold weather, and a Heatwave Severe Weather Emergency Plan (H-SWEP). Community Cool Spaces are being developed, and community resilience templates are available. The Sir Francis Barker Flood Alleviation Scheme is complete, and the council is a Lead Local Flood Authority statutory planning consultee. While lessons learned from extreme weather events are being incorporated into planning, the document does not explicitly state that civil contingency plans for extreme weather have been tested recently.
Artificial Intelligence Adoption: The council is exploring AI for efficiency tools, such as summarizing emails or assisting with Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, and is developing a data and AI strategy. Generative AI is being considered for note-taking in social care. Potential impacts include increased efficiency, but also the risk of services being overwhelmed by AI-driven resident interactions, leading to financial implications. Associated risks include deploying biased or insecure AI systems, failing to strategically deploy AI, breaching UK GDPR, non-compliance with the public sector equality duty, reputational damage, and poor AI-driven decisions in sensitive areas.
The full public reports pack can be accessed here: Public reports pack Thursday 03-Sep-2026 19.30 Audit Governance and Standards Committee.
The agenda frontsheet is available here: Agenda frontsheet Thursday 03-Sep-2026 19.30 Audit Governance and Standards Committee.
