CPS Board meeting minutes - January 2023

26th January 2023, 14:00-16:45
Boardroom, 102 Petty France

Members

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

Secretariat

Max Looker

Guests

Steve Buckingham (attending all items), Rachel Zaltzman (attending item 4, 5 and 6), Baljit Ubhey (attending item 4, 5 and 6), Kat Cooper (attending item 6), Helen Starkey (attending item 7), Sandra McKay (attending item 4), Mark Gray (attending item 8), Ann Meatyard (attending item 8), Dawn Brodrick (attending item 7)

Item 1: Declaration of any conflicts 

1.1    Board members had no new conflicts of interest to declare.

Item 2: Minutes of the last meeting and matters arising

2.1    The Board reviewed and agreed the minutes, noting that all actions were in hand.

Item 3: Update from the DPP 

3.1    The DPP provided an update on:

a. The Bar Fees and Efficiency & Saving Review:
b. The impact on resources from legislation on Protests.
c. Law Officer’s requesting positive stories.
d. CPS forward look with leadership changes.

3.2    The Board queried whether there was effective sharing of information internally, and it was agreed that an additional item of the Communications Strategy should be included on the Board forward look.  

Item 4: Disproportionality Handling

4.1    Baljit, Rachel and Sandra joined the meeting and the Board confirmed approval for the way in which the handling plan had been presented highlighted the invaluable nature of the work in moving to a point where the CPS will finally understand causes behind the figures and will be able to work to remedy any issues the research identifies.

4.2    The Board also wanted assurances that the internal communication had been fully considered, particularly for those leaders who would have to deal with questions from their teams.   Sandra confirmed that a set of FAQs had been developed and that they would be made available in line with the publication of the research findings.

4.3    Baljit also confirmed that senior leaders in the CPS had been appraised of the findings and that she  and Grace Ononiwu would be on hand to provide responses to any queries raised following publication.   

Item 5: Business Plan 2023/24

5.1    Rachel provided an update of the progress made in relation to the development of the 2023/24 Business Plan, asking for the Board to endorse the approach.

Item 6: Strategic Partnerships 

6.1    The Board welcomed Kat Cooper to the meeting.   Baljit provided an overview of the approach taken and the work being taken forward to build capability across the organisation.   Baljit also confirmed that through a more structured approach to engagement, relationships with external partners had improved. 

6.2    Kat also added that a qualitative analysis had been undertaken and a baseline had been considered from HMCPSI reports with the aim of being able to achieve any of the identified benefits.

Item 7: Health & Well-being 

7.1    The Board welcomed Dawn and Helen to the meeting. Dawn and Helen provided an overview of the ongoing well-being offer, highlighting the fact that whilst the offer was good it did need enhancing. Helen confirmed that the stress index remained strong, comparatively and that demand for stress related services had dropped.   

7.2    Dawn confirmed the ongoing work and suggested that the level of workload being highlighted in the People Survey could be a tipping point and leaders would need to be on hand to spot issues with wider organisational input.

Item 8: Common Platform 

8.1    The Board welcomed Mark and Ann to the meeting. Mark provided an update on the latest position with regards to the Common Platform roll-out, highlighting the reduction in reputational risk aligned to the CPS because of a greater understanding that the delays were not of our making.

8.2    Ann confirmed the work that was still ongoing and the timescales now suggested for completion, with HMCTS now expecting roll-out in May 2023 for the early adopter’s stage and full roll-out by March 2025.   

8.3    The Board welcomed the reduction in reputation risk and wanted clarification on next steps.  

Item 9: Efficiency & Saving Review

9.1    Steve Buckingham presented the paper and focused on the key points which highlighted the range of budgetary pressures the CPS faced in 2023/24 and 2024/25. These pressures would be exacerbated should the HMT refuse to provide additional funding to ensure parity in the Bar Fees for defence and prosecution. 

9.2    Pressures also existed due to an increase in demand, inflation and an acceleration of ambition in the models for the CPS key priorities of Victims Transformation and RASSO.

Item 10: NLRC update

10.1    The Chair provided an update of the NLRC meeting that took place in December 2023. The focus of the meeting was for the Committee to review the leadership development activity and the progress made against the CPS 2025 strategy.

Item 11: ARAC update

11.1    Simon Jeffreys provided an update of the ARAC meeting that took place earlier in January 2023. Simon confirmed the Committees interest in metrics, deliverables and actions being taken to implement recommendations from assurance providers and to mitigate risks.

11.2    Simon also highlighted the need for additional information on the responsibilities for security breaches and that the Committee were pleased with the progress made in CPS whistleblowing procedures.

Item 12: AOB

12.1    No AOB items were raised by members.

Meeting closed.

Secretariat – Max Looker

January 2023