Government austerity present unique challenges for risk managers in the public sector, says Zurich

Major changes in the public sector caused by government cutbacks will results in evolving risk profiles that could leave some local authorities exposed, according to a new report from Zurich Municipal.

Given the new Conservative government’s cost cutting plans tough time lies ahead for the public sector in the UK. Public sector leaders in the UK and other fiscally challenged parts of Europe will have to decide what services are core and which can go for the chop.

Managing risk in the public sector will be critical in this uncertain environment, says Zurich. A change in the role, responsibilities and operating model of the Local Government bodies will precede a major shift in their risk profiles, they say.

Zurich argued there will be new risk challenges in the areas of supply chain, climate change, data protection, organisational change, reputational damage, workforce management, and finance and asset management.

Local authorities are being forced to get creative in order to cut costs without losing precious services. In this special report on the public sector StrategicRISK focuses on the impact such changes will have on the organisation’s risk managers.

Click here to access Zurich's full report