CPS Board meeting minutes - November 2021

Tuesday 23 November, 13:00-15:45
Room: Dulwich, Euston, and Farringdon Rooms / MS Teams

Members

Monica Burch (C), Max Hill QC, Rebecca Lawrence, Mark Hammond, Simon Jeffreys

Guests

Dawn Brodrick (Observer – all items), Heidi Stonecliffe (attending items 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 as Chair of the Shadow Board), Andy Read, Grace Ononiwu, Rachel Zaltzman, Alastair Coles, Andi Walshaw

Secretariat

Lissa Matthews, Harry Spooner

Item 1: Declaration of any conflicts 

1.    Board Members had no new conflicts of interest to declare.

Item 2: Minutes of the last meeting and matters

2.    The Board reviewed and agreed the minutes of the last meeting. Progress was noted against outstanding actions. The Board agreed Non-Executive Board Members (NEBMs) would continue to receive information on DPP / CEO area visits.
2.1    The Board agreed several actions from September and October could be closed.
2.2    The Board welcomed Dawn Brodrick, Chief People Officer, as an observer of the CPS Board meeting.

Item 3: Update from the DPP

3.    The DPP provided an update on the following items:
a.    Senior Leadership Conference
b.    Criminal Justice System (CJS) Scorecards
c.    Attorney General’s Office (AGO) and Law Officer (LO) engagement
3.1    The DPP passed on his thanks to the NEBMS for their meeting with the Law Officers, noting the feedback he received from the AGO was positive.

Item 4: Update from LNEBM

4.    The Chair updated the Board on the meeting between the NEBMs and the Law Officers. The Chair spoke of the collaborative team effort between the NEBMs.
4.1    The Board briefly discussed an offer from NEBMs to help with future CPS work programmes.

Item 5: Whistleblowing Report

5.    Andy Read, Deputy Director of People Services, updated the Board on the outcome and action points of the GIAA Advisory Review of Whistleblowing arrangements within the CPS.
5.1    The Board welcomed the Whistleblowing report and the recommendations set out in the GIAA Advisory Review.
5.2    The Board agreed with the GIAA recommendation to rotate the role of Non-Executive Whistleblowing Champion. The Board noted one of the new independent NEBMs would make a suitable Whistleblowing Champion in due course.

Item 6: Recruitment and Staffing

6.    The Board welcomed Heidi Stonecliffe, Shadow Board Chair, to the meeting. Dawn Brodrick provided an overview of the CPS resourcing position, along with the recruitment challenges faced by the organisation
6.1    The Board discussed the opportunity for CPS to grow and what it will take for the organisation to adopt a growth mindset following the outcome of the Spending Review.
6.2    The Board spoke of the balance between growing people within CPS and external recruitment, along with the need to be flexible with Pathways and grading in order to provide staff with development opportunities.
6.3    The Board thanked Dawn Brodrick and Andy Read for the papers which accompanied the verbal update.

Item 7: Business Plan Highlight Report / Quarterly Performance Report

7.    The Board welcomed Grace Ononiwu, Alastair Coles, Andi Walshaw and Rachel Zaltzman to the meeting. The Performance Management Unit informed the Board of an error on slides 2-3 of the Performance Papers.
7.1    Grace Ononiwu, Director of Legal Services, took the Board through the key performance highlights of Q2, 2021/22.
7.2    The Board and the Performance Management Unit (PMU) discussed tailoring Performance Packs for NEBM use, in particular, pinpointing the core issues for the organisation through the use of data.
7.3    The PMU assured the Board that future performance packs would consider the stakeholders NEBMs engage with. Future papers would also include information as to how CPS are responding to core issues.
7.4    The Board spoke with PMU on the ability to model future Court Recovery, and the difficulty in which Court Recovery can be predicted due to the many external factors which can alter the Court backlog.
7.5    The Board thanked Grace and her team for the improvements to the Performance Pack to date. The Board also thanked the PMU for their assistance in helping the NEBMs in preparation for their meeting with the LOs.
7.6    Rachel Zaltzman, Deputy Director of Strategy and Policy, provided the Board with the progress being made against the CPS business plan as of November 2021.
7.7    The Board commended Rachal Zaltzman on providing a positive internal report which showed clear cross-communication between CPS Directorates.

Item 8: NLRC Report

8.    In absence of the NLRC Chair, the Chair of the Board provided an update on the NLRC held in November. In summary, the NLRC discussed:
a.    The Leadership Framework provided by the People Function
b.    Proposals to embed the Leadership Framework across the CPS
c.    Leadership development in light of the Leadership Framework
d.    Talent and Succession for Senior appointments
8.1    The Chair commended the Leadership Framework, especially the clarity with which it set out leadership expectations at each level of the organisation.

Item 9: ARAC Report

9.    The Chair of ARAC noted an update on the November ARAC would not be necessary, given the majority of the CPS Board had attended.
9.1    The Board briefly discussed the value of ARAC members articulating the risk of CTLs to other Boards across government, especially MOJ and HMCTS.
9.2    The Board brought up the possibility of inviting the new independent NEBMs to a full Board meeting once or twice a year. The Chair asked the secretariat to assess suitable events in the new year for independent NEBMs.

Item 10: Shadow Board Feedback

10.    Heidi Stonecliffe, Shadow Board Chair, provided the Board with feedback from the Shadow Board. The Shadow Board received presentations on Recruitment and Resourcing, Whistleblowing, Quarterly Performance and Business Planning.
10.1    The Board acknowledged the feedback from the Shadow Board Chair, noting the limited time in which there could be an appropriate conversation on the reflections provided.
10.2    The Board discussed the interaction between the Shadow Board and the CPS Board. The Board decided a conversation should take place on how the Chairs of both Boards should interact going forward. The Chair of the Board added a discussion would also be held between herself, the CEO and the CPO.

Item 11: AOB

11.    The Board sent their well wishes to Lissa Matthews, who will be starting a new role in the AGO, leaving her role as Principal Private Secretary and Head of Private Office in the CPS.

Secretariat 
November 2021