CPS Board meeting minutes - November 2022

Monday 31 October, 14:00-16:45
Euston, Dulwich and Farringdon Rooms, 102 Petty France

Members

Monica Burch (C), Max Hill KC, Sue Hemming, Mark Hammond, Simon Jeffreys, Dr Subo Shanmuganathan

Guests

Steve Buckingham (attending all items), Baljit Ubhey (attending item 7 and 8), Helen Starkey (attending item 5),Brian Ross (attending item 5), Sandra McKay (attending item 6 and 8), Rebecca Daley (attending item 6), Helen Starkey (attending item 5), Emma Varley (attending item 7), Dave Beaumont (attending item 8)

Secretariat

Max Looker

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 arising

2.1    The Chair welcomed Dr Subo Shanmuganathan to her first Board meeting as a CPS Non-Executive Board member.
2.2    The Board reviewed and agreed the minutes.  

Item 3: Update from the DPP

3.1    The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) provided an update on:
a.    Attendance at Justice Select Committee on 1st November. To include:

• Court capacity and backlog
• RASSO and Victims work
• Disclosure and Economic Crime

b.    Spending Review and pressures on resources
c.    RSPCA prosecutions

Item 4: Update from ARAC (to include Strategic Risks) & NLRC

4.1    The Chair provided an update from the July NLRC meeting, confirming that the agenda covered performance ratings and performance related pay for the senior leadership cadre and could provide assurance that the awards were applied fairly and consistently. It was also confirmed that the next meeting would be considering succession planning.
4.2    Simon Jeffreys, Chair of the ARAC, provided an update from the latest ARAC meeting, highlighting the positive results of Internal Audits, the improvements in the risk management process and the deep dives on disclosure issues and cyber security.
4.3    In relation to disclosure, the Board discussed the way this could be moved forward and NEBMs suggested the need for an action plan that focuses on high-risk areas to ensure all the work being undertaken could be reported in one area. Sue Hemming, interim CEO, agreed to discuss the action plan and mechanisms to mitigate the risks of disclosure with the responsible DLS member and report back to the Board, via ARAC early in the new year.

Item 5: Hybrid Working

5.1    The Board welcomed Helen Starkey, Deputy Director of People Development and Inclusion, and Brian Ross, Head of People and Business Change. Helen and Brian provided an update of the progress of Hybrid Working.
5.2    Helen noted that a way forward had been agreed by the Executive and that the principles approach was considered the correct direction of travel. Brian confirmed that several key activities were already underway to ensure the principles were effective and that phase 2 of the evaluation exercise would be completed by the end of 2022.
5.3    Heidi, Shadow Board Chair, highlighted some of the concerns from the Shadow Board members around the consistency of application of the hybrid working principles but that there was a general acceptance that the approach required staff to think of the needs of the team and the work rather than the individual.
5.4    The Board also asked if there was any analysis of the impact of hybrid working on performance of the CPS, as this would be a key consideration of law officers in the coming months as more Government Departments return to the office
5.5    Steve and Sue confirmed the considerations of the impact of hybrid working on the estate’s strategy and that the outcome of this work would shape the need of the CPS going forward.

Item 6: Internal Communications

6.1    The Board welcomed Sandra McKay, Director of Communications, and Rebecca Daley, Chief Strategic Communications Advisor. Sandra and Rebecca Dawn and Jamie presented the paper on Internal Communications.
1.2    Sandra confirmed that internal communications was considered a core part the Directorates work and was seen as an equal to the external communication agenda and senior leadership communications was being presented for agreement to the Executive Group in December. The Directorate were focusing on the following areas.

• Insight
• Priorities
• Technology
• Replacing the Intranet

Item 7: Victims Programme

7.1    The Board welcomed Baljit Ubhey, Director of Strategy and Policy, and Emma Varley, Deputy Director of Strategy and Policy, to the meeting. Baljit and Emma provided an update on the progress of the victim’s programme.
7.2    Emma confirmed that the CPS published a commitment to transform its service to victims. This commitment set out four areas of action that we would take forward under a long-term victim transformation programme.

• Deliver an improved universal service offer for all victims of crime
• Enhance the service we provide to victims with the greatest need
• Piloting new ways of strengthening victim communication and engagement
• Build an organisational and leadership culture around better engagement with victims

7.3    The Programme Board had agreed a range of options (Gold, Silver & Bronze) which would be delivered with the victim’s voice being central to any decision on the level of service provided. It was also noted that leadership and culture was considered the golden thread of the transformation programme and that engagement with staff has been wholly positive with better victim engagement being a key driver for frontline staff.
7.4    Sue added that additional work had been completed on the strategic planning side to consider the practical output of the programme and that training and development was key to this and would be delivered in the new year.
7.5    The Board discussed the possible measures for success for the programme and asked for more detail on progress via a delivery plan. It was confirmed that the delivery plan was in place and reported via a delivery board to the programme board and that as the moment the programme was on track.

Item 8: Disproportionality

8.1    The Board asked Baljit to stay and welcomed Dave Beaumont, Head of Strategy, and Sandra McKay to the meeting. Baljit provided an update on the latest position with regards to the disproportionality research work.
8.2    It was noted that findings of phase 2 of the research echoed the results of phase 1 and that the CPS were close to the point where the findings would need to be shared more widely. The analysis was purely quantitative, at the moment, but there was an intention for the Social Research team to look at the qualitative data and make proposals for next steps through the steering group.
8.3    Sue added that the qualitative research would consider other charging factors, including previous convictions, geographical area and diversity in charging teams. Dave confirmed that the steering group would review the response to these findings as part of their overarching remit.
8.4    Heidi added, from a Shadow Board perspective, that there needed to a greater understanding of area disparity.
8.5    The Board challenged the team on timescales and wanted assurances that benchmarking had been undertaken against other similar academic exercises.
8.6    The Chair also noted that the independent advisory group, planned for December, should have an independent Chair. The Chair also suggested that the issues are made public once the committee is in place to ensure that there was openness and so it did not appear that the CPS were sitting on the detail.
8.7    The team were asked to provide a brief update on progress at the November meeting with a fuller update early in 2023.

Item 9: AOB

9.1    The Chair asked the Board for any further comments on the updated Board Operating Framework and revised CPS Board terms of reference. There were no further comments and it was agreed that the documents were approved.
9.2    Sue raised the CPS Forward look and specifically the item for the Board on CPS Culture. The secretariat confirmed that the item was included following an action from earlier in the year. The Board confirmed that the item should include consideration of the CPS values, people survey results and aspirations of the Executive.
9.3    Finally, the Chair raised the need for NEBMs to engage with Shadow Board members by joining their meetings and confirmed that invites to future Board meetings will be accepted from Shadow Board members, dependent on the appropriateness of the agenda.

Meeting closed.

Secretariat
October 2022