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Local Government GRC Software

Governance, Risk, Compliance (GRC) and Audit Software for Local Government

Symbiant gives councils an affordable route to connected GRC without enterprise cost or complexity. Configure the platform around your terminology, scoring methodology and governance structure, including approaches aligned with HM Treasury’s Orange Book. Start with the modules you need and add more as requirements grow; support, training and configuration are included.

From £100 per module/month | Unlimited users*

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Symbiant's Award-Winning, Highly Trusted Risk Management Software Protects Objectives and Builds Resilience

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Gateshead Council
Durham County Council
Newcastle City Council
North Tyneside Council
Northumberland County Council
South Tyneside Council
Sunderland City Council
Glasgow City Council

Trusted by UK Local Government

Trusted by UK Local Government

Councils across the UK use Symbiant to manage risk, audit, compliance and assurance in one connected, fully customisable platform.

  • Established Since 1999
    Long-standing GRC experience, backed by a platform that continues to evolve around customer requirements.
  • Certified Security
    Cyber Essentials Plus, with ISO 27001 and ISO 9001-certified hosting.
  • UK-Based Hosting
    Secure cloud hosting based in the UK.
  • Public-Sector Procurement
    Currently available through G-Cloud 14.
  • Implementation Support Included
    Configuration, training and ongoing support are included.
  • Affordable and Modular
    Start with the capabilities you need and add connected modules as your requirements grow.

CONNECTED OVERSIGHT

Give Every Service Ownership Without Losing the Council-Wide View

Council risks are owned and managed across different directorates, services, projects and partnerships. Each team needs a practical way to maintain its own information, while corporate risk and assurance teams need consistency across the authority.

Symbiant allows councils to create separate registers and workflows for different areas without separating the underlying information. Local ownership is preserved, but scoring, escalation and reporting can remain consistent.

Maintain Separate Registers

Create dedicated registers for corporate, strategic, operational, service, programme, project, partnership or transformation risks.

Apply a Consistent Framework

Use agreed categories, scoring matrices, risk appetite thresholds, review cycles and escalation rules across the authority.

See the Complete Position

Bring information from multiple services into council-wide dashboards, heat maps and reports without manually consolidating spreadsheets.

Keep Ownership Clear

Assign risks, controls, reviews and actions to named officers, with automated reminders, approvals and a complete history of changes.

SIMPLER PROCESSES

Replace Spreadsheets and Disconnected Systems

Bring risks, controls, audit findings, actions and reporting into one system. Teams spend less time chasing updates and rebuilding reports, while decision-makers see current information from across the council.

  • Connect Every Register
    Maintain corporate, service, project and operational registers with consistent fields, scoring and reporting.
  • Keep Reviews and Actions Moving
    Send automatic reminders for scheduled reviews, overdue actions and escalations.
  • Report from Current Information
    Generate dashboards, heat maps and committee reports without manually consolidating spreadsheets.
  • Link Risk and Assurance
    Connect risks directly to controls, tests, evidence, audit findings and improvement actions.
  • Adapt to Different Services
    Configure fields, forms, scoring, approvals and workflows around each service without imposing one rigid template.
  • Enter Information Once
    Reuse connected information across risk, audit, compliance and assurance instead of recording it in multiple systems.
Traditional GRC systems are no longer fit for purpose. Discover how modern GRC software enables real-time risk management, automation, and a single source of truth for audit and compliance.

MODULAR CAPABILITIES

One Connected Platform for Council Risk, Audit and Assurance

Choose the modules that address your current priorities. Each module can operate independently, but becomes more valuable when connected with the rest of the platform.

Record, assess and monitor corporate, operational, service, project and partnership risks. Configure inherent, current and residual risk scoring, appetite thresholds, ownership, review dates and escalation.

Risk Register Software →

Symbiant Risk Register Software helps councils record, assess and monitor corporate, operational, service, project and partnership risks using configurable scoring, appetite thresholds, ownership, review dates and escalation workflows.

Connect risks to the controls, policies and mitigation activities used to manage them. Record ownership, testing, evidence, effectiveness and improvement actions.

Controls & Policies Software →

Symbiant Risk Controls and Policies Software connects council risks to the controls, policies, testing evidence and improvement actions used to manage them, providing clear ownership and an auditable view of effectiveness.

Plan and deliver risk-based audits, manage working papers and evidence, record findings, complete reviews and produce consistent audit reports.

Audit Management Software →

Symbiant Audit Management Software helps local authority internal audit teams plan risk-based audits, manage working papers and evidence, record findings, complete reviews and produce consistent reports in one system.webp

Assign recommendations, set target dates, issue reminders, collect closure evidence and monitor overdue actions through to completion.

Audit Action Tracker →

Symbiant Audit Action Tracker Software helps councils assign audit recommendations, set deadlines, send reminders, collect closure evidence and monitor outstanding or overdue actions through to completion.webp

Provide structured reporting routes for incidents, complaints and operational issues. Link real events back to related risks, controls and corrective actions.

Incident Reporter →

Complaints Management Software →

Symbiant Incident Reporter and Complaints Management Software give councils structured reporting routes for incidents, complaints and operational issues, connecting real events to related risks, controls and corrective actions.webp

Manage compliance activities, evidence, assessments, questionnaires and review schedules using configurable forms and workflows.

Compliance Monitoring →

Questionnaires and Assessments →

DPIA Software →

Symbiant Compliance Monitoring, Questionnaires and Assessments, and DPIA Software help local authorities manage obligations, evidence, assessments and review schedules through configurable forms, workflows and automated reminders.webp

Maintain business continuity information, ownership, recovery requirements and review activity alongside the risks and incidents that affect critical services.

Business Continuity Planning Software →

Symbiant Business Continuity Planning Software helps councils document critical services, dependencies, ownership, recovery requirements and review activity alongside the risks and incidents that could disrupt service delivery.webp

Connect risks to council priorities and service objectives. Monitor indicators that may show exposure or performance moving outside agreed thresholds.

Business Objectives→

Key Risk Indicators→

Symbiant Business Objectives and Key Risk Indicators modules connect council priorities with related risks and indicators, helping teams identify when exposure or performance moves outside agreed thresholds.

Fully Customisable GRC Platform

Configure Symbiant Around Your Existing Risk Framework

Your council should not have to redesign its governance model to fit its software. Symbiant can be configured around the terminology, responsibilities and processes already in use.
Configure:

  • Risk fields, categories and forms
  • Qualitative or quantitative scoring matrices
  • Inherent, current and residual risk methods
  • Risk appetite and tolerance thresholds
  • Corporate and service-level registers
  • Review and approval workflows
  • Escalation routes and notifications
  • Roles, permissions and user views
  • Dashboards and reporting formats
Import existing spreadsheet data rather than rebuilding every register manually. As requirements change, authorised administrators can update forms, fields, workflows and views without writing code.
A documented business continuity plan does not prove your organisation can recover. Learn how connected data, testing and ownership build real resilience.

CONNECTED ASSURANCE

Connect Risk Management and Internal Audit

Risk registers and internal audit plans should not operate as separate sources of information.Symbiant enables internal audit teams to use current risk information when planning assurance work and to connect audits directly to relevant risks, controls and objectives. Findings can become assigned remediation actions, with evidence and approval retained through to closure.This creates a traceable cycle:
  • Risks and objectives inform audit planning.
  • Audit testing evaluates governance, risk management and controls.
  • Findings identify weaknesses and required improvements.
  • Actions are assigned, monitored and evidenced.
  • Completed work updates the wider risk and assurance picture.
Senior officers and Audit and Governance Committees can see where assurance exists, where actions are overdue and where further attention may be required.
Explore Symbiant Audit Management
Symbiant Audit Management Software Supporting the International Standard on Auditing (ISA) 230 – Audit Documentation

CLEARER REPORTING

Reporting for Officers, Leadership Teams and Elected Members

Different users need different levels of detail. Symbiant provides role-based views and configurable reporting so information can be presented appropriately without maintaining separate versions of the underlying data.

Use dashboards and reports to monitor:

  • Corporate and service risk exposure
  • Risk movement and emerging themes
  • Risks outside appetite or tolerance
  • Control effectiveness and outstanding testing
  • Open and overdue mitigation actions
  • Internal audit progress and assurance coverage
  • Audit findings and remediation status
  • Incidents, complaints and recurring issues
  • Review completion and data quality
Create reports for risk owners, directorate leadership, senior management, Cabinet, scrutiny functions and Audit and Governance Committees using the same controlled source data.
Learn how risk registers inform internal audit planning in risk-based auditing. Discover how organisations prioritise audits based on risk exposure and control effectiveness

GOVERNANCE AND ASSURANCE

Maintain Evidence for Governance and Assurance Reporting

Preparing an Annual Governance Statement and supporting wider assurance activity requires reliable evidence from across the authority.

Symbiant helps councils maintain structured records of risks, controls, policy ownership, assessments, audit work, findings and improvement actions. Review histories and supporting evidence remain connected to the relevant records, making it easier to identify gaps, validate progress and support governance reporting.

The platform does not prescribe a governance model or produce compliance automatically. It provides the controlled information, accountability and audit trail needed to support the council’s own assurance processes and judgements.

Symbiant Internal Audit Management Software with Optional AI-Assistant. Streamline Your Entire Audit Lifecycle

BUILT FOR CHANGE

Support Local Government Reorganisation and Major Transformation

For authorities affected by local government reorganisation, maintaining oversight during transition is essential. Existing councils must continue delivering services while managing changes to governance, data, systems, assets, people and responsibilities.

Symbiant can support this work by allowing authorities to:

  • Create dedicated programme and transition risk registers
  • Record financial, legal, workforce, technology, data and service-continuity risks
  • Link transformation risks to corporate and service-level registers
  • Assign actions and evidence to responsible officers
  • Apply appropriate access permissions across participating teams
  • Monitor reviews, decisions and overdue activity
  • Produce consistent reporting for programme and governance groups
The same approach can support other major transformation programmes, shared-service arrangements and cross-authority partnerships.
Symbiant DPIA software displaying mitigation plans with task ownership, due dates, evidence attachments, and status tracking

PRACTICAL IMPLEMENTATION

Move From Spreadsheets Without Rebuilding Everything

Adopting a connected system does not mean starting again.

Symbiant can import existing spreadsheet records and configure the platform around your current fields, scoring model, review cycles and reporting structure. The Symbiant team supports configuration, onboarding and training, helping users adopt a consistent process without unnecessary implementation complexity.

Start with one priority, such as the corporate risk register or audit action tracking, and add connected modules when the council is ready.

A Commercial Model Built for Flexibility

  • Start with one module and add more when required
  • Access licensed modules using the same active-user seats
  • Support, training and configuration included
  • Unlimited report generation included
  • 30-day rolling contracts
  • Optional AI Assistant
  • Cost-effective solution to fit all budgets
View Pricing

PUBLIC-SECTOR READY

Secure, Established and Ready for Public-Sector Procurement

Symbiant has provided governance, risk, compliance and audit software since 1999. The platform is hosted in the UK and supported by security and quality certifications including Cyber Essentials Plus, ISO 27001 and ISO 9001.

Symbiant is currently available through G-Cloud 14, providing local government and other public-sector organisations with an established route to procure cloud software under the applicable framework process.

Transform your risk management from static spreadsheets into a dynamic single source of truth. Symbiant’s Risk Register centralises strategic, operational, and cyber risks into one connected framework. By automating ownership and reviews, you gain real-time visibility into inherent and residual exposure—turning data into decisive action.

COMMON QUESTIONS

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Local government GRC software helps councils manage governance, risk, compliance and assurance information in a structured system. It can bring together risk registers, controls, audits, findings, actions, incidents, assessments and reporting while maintaining clear ownership and an audit trail.
Yes. Symbiant can provide separate registers for directorates, services, projects, programmes, partnerships or other areas. Each can use appropriate permissions and workflows while contributing to consistent council-wide reporting.
Yes. Fields, categories, scoring matrices, appetite thresholds, review cycles, approvals and reports can be configured around the council’s existing framework and terminology.
Yes. Existing spreadsheet data can be imported into configured Symbiant registers, reducing the need to recreate records manually.

Yes. Symbiant supports audit planning, working papers, testing, evidence, findings, reporting and action tracking. Audits can be linked to relevant risks, controls and objectives.

Symbiant can support the evidence and assurance processes that inform an Annual Governance Statement by connecting risks, controls, audits, findings, actions and review histories. The council remains responsible for its governance assessment and final statement.
No. The AI Assistant is optional, and the platform can be used without enabling it. Where AI is enabled, its outputs remain subject to human review and approval.
Symbiant can be configured with dedicated transition or programme registers, roles, actions, evidence and reports. This can help authorities maintain structured oversight of reorganisation risks alongside existing corporate and service risks.
Symbiant is currently available through G-Cloud 14. Buyers should confirm the current framework listing and follow the award process applicable to their requirement at the time of procurement.

Yes. Symbiant is modular. A council can begin with a priority such as risk registers or audit actions and add further connected modules when required.

unbeatable pricing

Pricing Disclaimer

* Modules are charged at a standard monthly fee, not on a per-user basis. All users can access each module at any required level. Please note that costs exclude VAT, AI features, and additional modules you may wish to use. User seats are required.