Ms Brenda McVeigh:

We had completed a draft risk register and started speaking to staff about identifying risks, what they needed to do to identify them, etc., but we are talking about junior and inexperienced staff who have no background in the Civil Service. We identified that we would not be able to get on top of this, given all of the other work we had to do and the fact that we have such a small complement of staff to do everything. The main focus had to be on getting the appeals moving. Through the procurement mechanism, we hired consultants to help us put a draft risk register and a risk management policy in place. We have the register and are still working on it. While I cannot say that it is populated or working, the whole ethos of risk management is there among all staff every single day. We provide governance workshops to them and talk to them about risks. No issues have arisen that cause us unwarranted concern. Staff are well aware that, because they are so inexperienced and junior, they should come to someone more senior and experienced if they have doubts or concerns about an issue. I cannot say that we have a risk register in place today, though.