Stay Alert – Has risk been transferred unfairly?
The UK government policy change from ‘Stay at home’ to ‘Stay alert’ represents a watershed moment in the country’s response to coronavirus. What was previous an unacceptable risk has [...]
Should we trust official figures?
Did the government achieve its target of 100,000 tests by 30 April? A third of these were not executed by health officials at test sites, mobile or fixed, but were home tests dispatched for [...]
Let’s use the lockdown to rethink risk registers
‘I have never yet seen a risk register that was fit for purpose’ is a sentiment with which I have a lot of sympathy, but confidentiality forbids me from attributing its [...]
Risk appetite – how the virus affects us all
Imagine you are on a window ledge ten feet above the ground, if you jump there is a risk you may break your leg or at best sprain an ankle; your appetite for this risk is low so why jump if you [...]
Lockdown exit – timing is a significant political risk
No government has a template for the perfect exit from lockdown; everyone is experimenting cautiously while there remains no cure for Covid-19. Exit too late and economic damage is too costly, [...]
Three steps to lockdown exit – a risk assessment
Exiting from lockdown is a political nightmare demanding complex risk decisions. The Treasury and business leaders want to get the economy working as soon as possible so lobby for early exit; [...]
Coronavirus – Black Swan or Black Death?
One vital lesson from the Coronavirus response will be the way risk is assessed and mitigated, especially those risks recognised as high impact but low frequency. These we tend to call Black Swan [...]
Covid-19 will put a test for corporate stewardship
The UK government has been quick to realise the impact of the virus on those facing monthly bills now deprived of the income to service debt, those not receiving a regular salary such as the [...]
Coronavirus is socially carnivorous
Coronavirus is eating away at the fabric of society worldwide, never mind calling it Covid-19 how about regarding it as an anagram of ‘Carnivorous’. How do you rate your chances of catching it? [...]
Can fines change culture?
The UK water company Southern Water has accepted a fine of £126M from the water regulator Ofwat for deliberately misreporting its sewage treatment and waste water discharges. The Environment [...]
