CPS Board meeting minutes - March 2023

15th March 2023, 14:00-16:55
Boardroom, 102 Petty France

Members

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

Secretariat

Max Looker

Guests

Steve Buckingham (attending all items), Rachel Zaltzman (attending item 9), Baljit Ubhey (attending item 5, 9 and 10), Dawn Brodrick (attending item 7 and 8), Helen Starkey (attending item 7 and 8), Tristan Bradshaw (attending item 6), Nathan Miebai (attending until item 6)

Apologies

Kathryn Stone

Item 1: Declaration of any conflicts 

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

1.2 Apologies were noted from Kathryn Stone.

1.3 Nathan Miebai, Chair of NBCPA, was welcomed to the meeting.

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 interim CEO 

3.1 The ICEO provided an update on:

a. Charging 
b. Bar Fee Scheme:
c. ICEO retirement:
d. Prison Places:
e. Community Accountability Forums:

3.2 The Board commented that the CAF was a valuable piece of the CPS architecture and should be maintained.   

3.3 The DPP offered his appreciation, on behalf of the CPS, for the departing CAF chair.

3.4 Nathan Miebai noted the value of the CAF and noted the success of the meetings and highlighted the effectiveness of the timings of the meetings, taking place just before release of the summary findings report.

Item 4: NBCPA update

4.1 Nathan provided an update on the work of the NBCPA, focusing on the following key points:

• NBCPA welcomed the decision by the organisation to undertake the independent research of charging decisions.
• AGM planned for 19th April, with a focus on action plans to address issues identified in the research.
• NBCPA are revisiting the 46 recommendations made by the 2019 report to ensure they remain relevant in light of the Disproportionality research initial findings.
• Existing schemes are helping ensure the CPS has a more diverse workforce and work is ongoing with CPOD to ensure the schemes are continually improving.

4.2 The DPP commended Nathan on the work of the NBCPA and confirmed that he was being kept appraised of the governance improvements that are being implemented around the training schemes in place.  

4.3 The Board were grateful to Nathan for his report and echoed the DPP’s thanks.

Item 5: Disproportionality update

5.1 Baljit Ubhey provided an update of the progress made in relation to the publication of the Disproportionality research findings.

• Internal and external engagement has progressed well.
• Media coverage was balanced.
• The DAG has provided feedback on the social research.
• A Theory of Change workshop planned with NBCPA to review the 46 recommendations.

5.2 The Board welcomed the update and confirmed the balanced coverage. The progress from the previous Board was noted and the level of transparency appreciated.   

5.3 The Board asked for clarification of next steps. Baljit confirmed the social research will be conducted in a rigorous and robust way and for the CPS to understand the findings. Baljit confirmed that maintaining an open dialogue with stakeholders as emerging findings become known was also considered a priority as well as joint working with policing.

5.4 The Board also highlighted the need for the CPS to develop an engagement plan for the publication of the next set of findings and ensure that actions were being taken forward now rather than waiting for the final report in September.

Item 6: Q3 Performance update

6.1 The Board welcomed Tristan Bradshaw to the meeting and he provided an overview of the Q3 performance report.  

6.2 The DPP confirmed that the CPS was at a high of 72% of adult rape cases being charged and that we remain on track to reach the parliamentary ambitions, even given that Op Soteria had yet to be rolled out across all Areas. 

6.3 The Board commented that the data was moving in the right direction and appreciated the presentation of the data in a more concise dashboard.

Item 7: CPS Culture & People Survey Results

7.1 The Board welcomed Dawn and Helen to the meeting.  Dawn and Helen provided an overview of the Culture assessment and People Survey results.

7.2 The DPP confirmed that the growth of the organisation had been unprecedented in the last year and that there was a need to focus on retention going forward, which included a look at the culture of the CPS and encouragement of organisational collaboration.

7.3 The ICEO highlighted the quality of conversation at the Executive Group level and that a workshop on change and accountability has resulted in a number of actions which are being taken forward.

7.4 The Board commended the work that had been undertaken to date and indicated that a focus on change and innovation is the right approach.

Item 8: Hybrid Working 

8.1 Dawn and Helen highlighted the key points from the paper and asked the Board to consider a wider discussion on Estates Strategy at a later date.

8.2 The Board suggested that more could be done to communicate the benefits of working remotely and its positive impact on collaboration.

8.3 The ICEO congratulated the team on the work and the way in which they worked with senior leaders to develop an effective hybrid working policy.

Item 9: Business Plan 2023/24

9.1 Baljit and Rachel provided an update on the Business Plan, highlighting the following key points:

• Halfway through 2025 Strategy and still on recovery from the pandemic and the Bar strikes.
• Plan is focused on those things that are achievable.
• EG and sub governance groups have seen the plan.

9.2 The Board queried the workforce plan aim, asking for assurance that KPIs and metrics were in place to ensure success could be measured. Rachel confirmed that work was ongoing to develop metrics and that these would be available in time for the next Board meeting. Steve also confirmed that metrics would be in placed in once the budget for 2023/24 had been finalised.

9.3 The Board confirmed they were happy with the priorities within the plan.

Item 10: Victims Transformation Programme 

10.1 Baljit provided an update of the work to date.

10.2 ICEO added that the CPS was very enthusiastic but funding was a key issue. There won’t be an option for short-changing the programme and the preference was to do less very well. The paper refers to the minimum requirement going forward.

10.3 The Board asked about the business case and whether, once everything was costed, the action plan would follow. Baljit confirmed that once the business case had been improved by the Investment Committee, EG would be presented with an implementation plan for further consideration.

10.4 The DPP praised the team for the progress that has been made and felt more confident recommending the approaches to the organisation and its stakeholders.

Item 11: CPS Budget Allocations 2023/24

11.1 Steve provided a verbal update on progress against the development of the budget.

Item 12: AOB

12.1 No AOB items were raised by members.

Meeting closed.

Secretariat – Max Looker

April 2023