Norfolk County Council has quietly removed a major adult social care risk from its corporate risk register, even though the service was recently rated 'Requires Improvement' by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The change, reported to the Audit and Governance Committee on 28 April 2026, means risk RM040 has been demoted to a departmental risk register — a lower tier of oversight that non-Cabinet councillors have less visibility of.

A committee member challenged the decision, pointing out that a previous report had set out potential consequences if the CQC rated the service below 'Good'. They questioned why that context had been removed and why the inspection result alone was considered enough reason to downgrade the risk's prominence.

Officers confirmed the risk was still being actively managed within Adult Social Services, with work ongoing to address the CQC's recommendations. They noted that departmental risks are reported to Cabinet and the committee every six months and can be escalated back to the corporate register if necessary.

However, the committee member pressed further, expressing concern about reduced scrutiny for non-Cabinet members at what they described as a period of significant transition for the council — a reference to the upcoming Local Government Reorganisation.

Both officers and the committee chairman acknowledged the concern. The chairman confirmed that departmental risks remain under senior leadership oversight.

The corporate risk register also saw other changes at the April meeting. Two risks were demoted following a wider review prompted by external auditor recommendations. Another risk, RM050, was paused pending the outcome of the May 2026 local elections, while risk RM052 was retitled to reflect the potential transfer of Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service out of the county council under devolution or reorganisation plans.