Minutes of the CPS Board Meeting on 21 November 2005
Present:
Ken Macdonald (Chair)
Richard Foster
Neil Franklin
Philip Geering
John Graham
Claire Hamon
Deborah King
Peter Lewis
Angela O'Connor
Portia Ragnauth
Seamus Taylor
Judith Hunt
Philip Oliver
Secretariat:
Gary Cox
Nicol Harlow
Apologies
Jim England
Dru Sharpling
Anjali Arya
Moira Wallace
Item 1: Previous minutes and actions arising
1. The Board agreed the note and actions from the last Board meeting held on 21 September 2005.
Item 2: Director's Update
Terrorism Bill
2. The Board noted the Parliamentary debate on the Terrorism Bill, where MPs voted for a 28-day detention of suspected terrorists without charge, rather than the initial proposal for 90 days.
Police Reform
3. The Director raised police reform, where the CPS had been actively contributing to the Home Office-led work on reform proposals. Police forces were developing final restructuring proposals, to be ready to submit them to the Home Secretary in late December 2005.
Diversion and 21st Century Justice
4. The Director reported on two linked pieces of work underway on diversion of cases from the court process, which is being led by the Solicitor General, and proposals from DCA for a trilateral review - '21st Century Justice' - which will focus on improving the efficiency of magistrates' courts.
The Bar
5. The Director reported on the recent Bar action. Areas were to be commended on the way they responded to this action. Areas took a strong, consistent and corporate stance and took the opportunity to deploy HCAs wherever possible.
6. The Director has also met with the Bar to discuss emerging proposals from the Carter Review of the legal aid payment structure. The Review is expected to report in the New Year, when the Board will have the opportunity to consider a response to the proposals and their implications for the CPS.
Very High Cost Case (VHCC) Board
7. The Director recently attended the first meeting of the cross-agency Very High Cost Case Board, which was looking at ways to improve the management of such cases and to gain greater control over the cost of defence and prosecution fees.
HR Director of the Year Award
8. The Board offered congratulations to Angela O'Connor on winning the Daily Telegraph HR Director of the Year Award.
Item 3: Mid-Year Budget Position and Forecast Outturn
9. The Board considered the CPS resourcing position at the end of September 2005 and the forecasts of year-end expenditure. The Board noted that forecasts are for spending to be just within available budget. However, there is a risk of overspend on prosecution costs. This risk is being actively managed.
10. The Board noted that HM Treasury would be attending the Board meeting in January 2006 to discuss the next Spending Review.
Item 4: Assurance Report on Delivery, Change and Risk
11. The Board considered an assurance report on delivery of performance targets, key change projects, and the management of corporate risks. The Board noted that the increased sick absence rate and that 'return to work' interviews were key to reducing the number of short-term sickness absences.
12. The Board also noted that CPS Direct is likely to meet the recruitment target for prosecutors for April 2006 but there is still a longer-term risk on revising terms and conditions for duty prosecutors, so that Areas can extend the current 9.00 am to 5.00 pm service. The Board also noted the range of work underway to strengthen business change and benefits delivery arrangements through the Delivery and Change Committee and the CPS Programme and Project Management Centre of Excellence.
13. The Board agreed to proposals to develop the assurance report to include a more pro-active and forward look at opportunities and potential risks to delivery.
Item 5: Advocacy Strategy Programme
14. The Board considered progress on the Advocacy Strategy. The Board recognised that DCW deployment, with a few exceptions, is generally low. The Board supported proposals to increase DCW deployment and overall CPS advocacy in magistrates' courts, including for Areas to develop plans and targets for DCW deployment for 2006-2007.
15. The Board also noted that progress is being made on HCA deployment. However, there are substantial variations in individual Area performance and the majority of that deployment was on guilty plea cases. The Board supported proposals to increase HCA usage, including setting more robust targets for Areas to increase HCA deployment in the Crown Court.
Item 6: Prosecution Costs
16. The Board discussed the recent Bar disruption. The Board noted that disruption on prosecution business was confined to a small number of Areas and agreed that, to mitigate the impact of any further action, all Areas should seek to have a cadre of HCAs with trial experience. This would be taken forward through the advocacy strategy programme.
17. The Board also discussed the management of High Cost Cases. Prosecution decisions on large and major cases have a considerable knock-on impact on legal aid expenditure. The Board agreed that CCPs and Heads of Casework Divisions must control current and future high cost cases by applying Case Management Panel arrangements as robustly as possible.
18. The Board also agreed the CPS should explore ways of improving services provided by Chambers and the Bar, particularly in reducing returned and late returned briefs.
Item 7: Respect, Diversion and Community Justice
19. The Board considered issues and opportunities for the CPS to contribute to the Government's Respect agenda. The Board agreed there were a number of ways the CPS could respond. This included through its work on anti-social behaviour orders; strong prosecution polices applied on hate crime and other crimes motivated by discrimination; crimes targeting the young, the old or the vulnerable; drug and alcohol related offending; street crimes and robbery; crimes against public service workers, such as those in the police, fire service, NHS, education and public transport; and crimes in sport - both on and off the pitch.
20. The Board also recognised that the Respect agenda could also be addressed through proposals for Prosecution Diversion and Community Justice; through the CPS Community Engagement strategy; and through the prosecution team approach with the police. These raised questions for the CPS and wider CJS, on the role of courts, the relationship between the CPS and the police on non-court disposals and the CPS relationship with communities as proactive public prosecutors, helping to reduce crime and bring social cohesion.
Item 8: CPS INVEST Programme
21. The Board considered progress on the Invest programme. The Board noted significant work was underway in developing job structures and in identifying those jobs where roles and responsibilities will change considerably, particularly, Unit Heads, Prosecutors and Caseworkers.
22. The Invest programme is also working closely with the Police Reform Project and with Strategy and Change Division to ensure proposals for jobs and job structures are consistent with emerging findings on Area structures resulting from police reform and best support delivery of the CPS vision.
Item 9: Annual Governance Review
23. The Board considered issues and emerging proposals in the review of governance, including the effectiveness of the new Board arrangements. The Board acknowledged the progress made on governance in the previous 12 months. The Board agreed there should be clearer guidance on the relative decision-making responsibilities between the Board and the Committees, including which decisions were solely for the Board. More should be done to improve the inter-working between the Board and Committees and to communicate the work and decisions of Committees across the Service.
24. The Board also agreed that revised Board arrangements were much improved with clearer and more strategic agendas, geared to decision-making. There were still issues about how the Board and Committees might consider wider CJS issues that impact on the CPS.
25. The Board recognised that, in due course, governance arrangements would need to take into account the impact of CPS restructuring as a result of police reform. That restructuring would provide an opportunity for a higher proportion, if not all, senior managers to be involved in governance arrangements and decision-making, but this needed to be balanced with retaining a small and effective strategic Board.
Item 10: Draft Agenda for next Board Meeting on 25th January 2006
26. The Board considered proposals for the next Board meeting on 25th January 2006 and agreed that meeting might cover:
- Presentation from HM Treasury on the Comprehensive Spending Review
- Budgets for 2006-2007
- Business priorities and Plan for 2006-2007
- Police Reform: Update, issues, and implications for CPS
- Emerging Carter Review Findings
- Approving the IS/IT Strategy
- Update from CJIT on PITO and police proposals for take up of case preparation systems and implications for the CPS
- A stocktake of victim and witness services and a performance management framework
- Progress report on the Performance Management and Reward Strategy
- Governance Review findings and proposals
- Initial proposals for the Spring Senior Managers' Conference
- Draft Agenda for Board Meeting in March 2006
Item 11: Any Other Business
IT
27. The Board noted the successful implementation of the second release of the Witness Management System, which is the first national and joint Police/CPS networked IT system.
CPS in the Press
28. The Board also noted the CPS had received favourable press reports on the success of COMPASS and on equality and diversity, when the Director of Equality and Diversity gave a well-received presentation to the Foreign Office on the CPS approach and progress on equality and diversity.
Dates of Board and Committee meetings in 2006
29. The Board noted dates for Board and Committee meetings during 2006.
Judith Hunt, Non-Executive Director
30. The Director thanked Judith Hunt for her contribution to the CPS over the last three years. Judith would be leaving her post as Non-Executive Director at the end of the year. The Board expressed appreciation for Judith's hard work and dedication to developing the CPS and wished her every success for the future.
Strategy Planning & Change Division
November 2005
