NU Online News Service, June 8, 11:25 a.m. EDT

ORLANDO, Fla.--Tight budgets and dwindling resources are impacting public risk managers in the United Kingdom similarly to their U.S. counterparts, the director of a U.K. public risk management organization said here.

Paul Dudley, director of the Association of Local Authority Risk Managers (ALARM), said the economic recession has meant heavy budget cutbacks. Public risk managers, as a result, are taking measures such as cutting staff and finding new, lower-cost ways to provide services, he said.

"So yes, we have a lot of similarities [to the U.S.] in terms of the savings required," he told NU Online News Service during the Public Risk Management Association's Annual Conference.

Mr. Dudley said that his public entity, Hartfordshire County Council, located north of London, will have its budget cut by about 20 percent over the next three years. He said this would be done through "smarter procurement" and staff cuts. Similar situations exist all over the U.K., he said.

Local authorities and public entities, he noted, would have to find "new and different ways of delivering local services, but with a lot less money and trying to maintain the quality of those services." The intention, he added, is to "take the community with us," by explaining to citizens the alteration of services and why the cuts need to be made.

For example, he said libraries may see shortened hours, but that could be offset by finding different ways of providing library services.

Because of more widespread use of computers, he explained, "There is also much more online processing, which requires less staff."

New technology plays a key role, he added, because it means staff can be more flexible and work in different locations, requiring less space.

"Many local authorities now don't have sufficient accommodation for their office staff," he said. "So there is lot of team desking, working at different locations across the county or even at home."

Renting less office space means savings to public entities, he noted.

He said some authorities are concentrating staff in fewer locations and getting rid of leases and selling off property.

The disadvantage, he said, is that public workers can become more detached from the people they serve and also must travel further to provide services.

A top issue for all risk managers in the U.K. and the U.S., Mr. Dudley said, is how risk management is "sold" within the organization.

"So even though there are some external drivers [in the U.K.]," he said, "it is about making the business case that effective risk management will help you achieve your objectives."

He added that stressing the "opportunity" or "upside" of risks is a positive direction for risk management. "More development is needed," Mr. Dudley said. "But once we get our arguments together about how to identify opportunities, I think that will be more engaging than the negative, which is [to focus on] the risks."

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