Minutes of the CPS Board meeting on 15 June 2009
Present
Keir Starmer (Chair)
Peter Lewis
Mike Kennedy
John Graham
Gerard Lemos
Rob Sykes
Doreen Langston
Guests
(Cabinet Office, attending for Item 2)
Gill Ryder
Brian Etheridge
Joe Montgomery
Neil Goodwin
Kate McGavin
Jacqui Matthews
Clare Potts
Barbara Neofitou
Secretariat
Matthew McGonagle
Tamara Moore
Item 1: Introductions
The Director welcomed new Non-executive Director Doreen Langston (who also replaces Rob Sykes as Audit Committee Chair).
Item 2: Note of last meeting and actions arising
The Board agreed the note of the last meeting held on 15 May 2009 and the update on actions arising from previous meetings.
Item 3: Capability Review
The Board received a presentation on CPS's Capability re-review; feedback incorporated the following observations:
- Leadership - effectiveness of the smaller Board and its clear direction in turn facilitating development of in-house talent and staff engagement
- Strategy - positive effect of community prosecutor approach and scrutiny panels and evidence of some improvement in stakeholder engagement
- Delivery – evidence of better management information enabling more informed decision making by Board. Additional considerations suggested - communicating role of HQ, maintenance of tempo of devolution to Groups and satisfaction that the Service was well placed to weather the financial storm.
- need for clear Core Quality Standards
- need to re-define role of the prosecutor for the future in a simple and memorable way reflecting all our activities - Protecting the Public, Delivering Justice and Supporting victims and witnesses.
- agreed that the Chief Executive would attend AC's planning meeting and accounts sign-off meeting each year
- noted that the NAO had almost completed its audit of the CPS for 2008/09 and anticipated giving an unqualified audit opinion
- commissioned AC to present a paper at the July Board on the role of the Finance Committee in governance arrangements.
Overall, CPS was characterised by strong leadership and dedicated staff and morale had improved since 2007. The Director welcomed the findings and looked forward to the opportunity to present to the moderation panel on 30 June.
Item 4: Director's update
The Director updated the Board on:
Visits and seminars
These had concluded and had proved invaluable in helping inform thinking about the development of a modern prosecution service.
Senior Appointments and merger
The RCPO merger was progressing well and a number of key issues had been resolved.
Item 5: A Modern Public Prosecution Service
The Board commented on the principal messages from the Director's early thoughts, which identified two Key imperatives:
Item 6: Audit Committee
The Board received an update on the latest Audit Committee meeting and:
Item 7: ICT 2012
The Board received the paper commissioned at its March meeting to enable it to confirm its choice of preferred bidder and asked for a paper in the Autumn on the timeline for the introduction of an electronic case file.
Item 8: AOB
There was no AOB
Next meeting: Wednesday 15 July, at Ludgate Hill
