Neasham Parish Council

Introduction

This Policy is about identifying and evaluating the risks which may reasonably affect Neasham Parish Council (the ‘Council’), its Councillors, and the public; and the impact which any deficit in managing those risks may have.

As the Health and Safety Executive has said:

 “Risk management is about taking practical steps to protect people from real harm and suffering - not bureaucratic back covering. Taking a sensible approach to risk management is about:

• ensuring that workers and the public are properly protected
• enabling innovation and learning not stifling them
• ensuring that those who create risks manage them responsibly and understand that failure to manage significant risks responsibly is likely to lead to robust action
• providing overall benefit to society by balancing benefits and risks, with a focus on reducing significant risks - both those which arise more often and those with serious consequences
• enabling individuals to understand that as well as the right to protection, they also have to exercise responsibility

It is not about:

• reducing protection of people from risks that cause real harm
• scaring people by exaggerating or publicising trivial risks
• stopping important recreational and learning activities for individuals where the risks are managed
• creating a totally risk-free society
• generating useless paperwork mountains”

Risks we have Identified

• Looking after our assets
• Legal Health & Safety duties to our employee and volunteers
• Good practice in organisation of events
• Maintaining good governance
• Not endangering the public

When evaluating these risks we take account of what is sensible for people to do in looking after their own health, safety and welfare. The Clerk is functionally responsible for the proper operation of our policies and procedures; but he is accountable to the Council, which is, of course, publicly accountable. Policies in force should include edition number and date. Three Councillors are appointed to support the Chair of the Council in overseeing the effective management of the Council’s functions, as follows:

• A ‘risk management overseer’ (RMO) to monitor and advise on the effectiveness of the Council’s control processes
• A ‘business management overseer’ (BMO) with oversight responsibility for the operation of the Council’s finances, business systems, human resources, and record-keeping
• An ‘asset management overseer’ (AMO) to help plan and procure the maintenance, repair, and safety of the Council’s physical assets.

Each of these three positions are the subject of an annual appointment (or reappointment), at the Parish Council Annual Meeting and in the event of a casual vacancy for any such position, those responsibilities will be fulfilled by the Chair until an interim appointment is made by the Council, (effective until the next Parish Council Annual Meeting). The remaining four Councillors will assist the work of the Chair and the three ‘overseers’ by agreement, as required.

Looking After our Assets

A Register of Assets appears on our web-site, and this is reviewed and updated at least annually.

We also maintain a full record of trees which are growing in the Council’s property, or are maintained by the Council in publicly adopted verges. The Council maintains a system of periodic inspection of its physical assets and carries out repairs when required. A system for enabling the public to report defects appears on the web-site, enabling the Council to consider necessary repairs between periodic inspections. The Council reviews the operation of these systems for effectiveness on an annual basis.

Employees And Volunteers

The law requires the Council to think about what might cause harm to people and decide whether it is taking reasonable steps to prevent that harm. Its employee’s workplace is at his/her home, and reasonable steps are taken to ensure that he/she works in a reasonably safe environment, in particular as regards use of IT equipment, avoiding slips and trips, and having adequate safe storage facilities available. It also ensures that his/her workload is periodically appraised and is not the cause of unreasonable work-place stress.

As a small Council, Neasham Parish Council celebrates the work that many people carry out to maintain the quality of the village environment. The Council monitors this assistance to ensure that helpers do not work with tools with which they may be unfamiliar, work at heights or otherwise expose themselves to danger. Therefore the Council will (hopefully graciously) reserve the right to decline certain offers of help.

Event Organisation

Although at the moment the only organised event which takes place on the Village Green is the annual Duck Derby, organised by Neasham Reading Room, it is possible that from time to time requests may be made for additional events to be held. These would fall into one of two categories – (a) Events which the Council organises and (b) Events which are organised on Council property – presently limited to the Village Green.

All events organised by the Council will be planned and managed in accordance with the Darlington Borough Council's Protocol for Public Events Safety Advisory Group (PESAG) which will be supplied on request in advance of any consent being given.

Event organisers who wish to use the Village Green will be provided with a written consent for a single event if they (a) can satisfy the Council that the event is planned in accordance with recognised safety and risk management guidelines and in accordance with Darlington Borough Council's PESAG, (b) agree to indemnify the Council against claims or other loss or damage, and (c) produce evidence of adequate liability insurance.

The objective of these policies is not only to ensure the events are successful, but that the public and organisers alike enjoy adequate protection from harm.

Maintaining Good Governance

Parish councils are required by law to undertake many of the same processes and obligations as councils many times their size, so principles of good governance are promoted to ensure the best levels of transparency reasonably achievable, and to promote public engagement. By these means, Councillors are able better to fulfil their role as public servants. All the essential procedural functions of the Council have been identified and documented and responsibilities delegated. Performance will be monitored regularly, with a comprehensive annual review. This process is designed to satisfy the annual governance statement requirement of the Council’s audited annual return which is published on the Council’s web-site.

Public Safety

Public safety is a responsibility shared between individuals and the organisations (and people in them) with which they come into contact. Many of the Council’s processes have public safety at their core. The principal asset of Neasham Parish Council is its large and attractive Village Green, which enjoys protected status by reason of its long-standing statutory registration as a recreational public open space. Regrettably, there are risks involved, for example by different recreational activities which may be carried out in a way which, albeit unintentionally, may be detrimental to the enjoyment of others. But the Council’s main concern is the ever-present risk presented by Neasham’s delightful river, the Tees, and its tributary Kent Beck. Everyone not only has to respect the inherent dangers that running water creates – particularly in times of flood – but needs to be ever-aware of the attendant hazards of soft and irregular river-banks, and the steep flood banks.

The Parish Council has approved a simple statement of acceptable behaviour in lieu of the former  bye-laws (dating back to 1 June 1960 and now obsolete) for the village green. This statement is conspicuously displayed at the three main entrances to the village green. The Council also continues to liaise with the Environment Agency and the Darlington Borough Council over matters of maintenance and improvement. The Village Green is covered by the inspection and fault reporting systems referred to earlier. The Environment Agency has Public Safety Risks Assessments in place for their Flood Protection works on the Village Green. The Council has also instituted Public Safety Risk Assessments for the remainder.

Who Does What

All risk management systems need to have people 'owning' specific responsibilities if they are to be responsive and effective. That is why the Council appoints a RMO, a BMO, and an AMO as stated earlier in this Policy. The Council’s web-site contains up to date information concerning allocated responsibilities, contact details, and how to make a complaint, or a report of damage or defect.

Processes in Place

• Annual All-risks checklist
• Annual Programme for Periodic Inspections of Assets
• Darlington Borough Council PESAG
• Defects report forms and register
• DSE Self-assessment form
• Events or Activities on Village Green pro-forma Consent letter
• General risk assessment (Society of Local Council Clerks pro-forma)
• Location plans related to inspections
• Process for periodic inspections
• Periodic inspection record forms
• Public Safety Risk Assessments (Village Green)
• Quarterly risk management monitoring form
• Trees register
• Work-place safety self-assessment form

Public Consultation

Government only works with the consent of the population. The Council promotes its web-site as a way of keeping the public informed of what Neasham Parish Council does. Residents are welcome to attend the regular Parish Council meetings, and ask to speak on matters which concern them. The Council has re-introduced an annual Parish Assembly meeting, to which all residents will be welcome to air their views on what everyone can do together to improve the village. Councillors  want to encourage the ‘can do’ outlook in the village; that is 'can do – safely'.

This Policy was approved by Neasham Parish Council on 6 September 2022

Ref: 2022/09