CPS Board meeting minutes - November 2023

6 November 2023, 14:00-17:00, CPS Boardroom/Microsoft Teams

Members

Monica Burch (C), Stephen Parkinson, Simon Jeffreys, Dr Subo Shanmuganathan, Dawn Brodrick, Greg McGill

Guests

Steve Buckingham (attending all items), Baljit Ubhey (attending items 4 & 5), Rachel Zaltzman (attending items 4 & 5), Scott Dawes (attending item 4), Matthew Cain (attending item 6), Jamie Booth (attending item 7), Grace Ononiwu (attending item 8)

Secretariat

Max Looker

Apologies

Kathryn Stone

Item 1: Declaration of any conflicts

1.1    Board members noted a new declaration of interest, with the Chair noting that she is on the board of an entity that represents a client with some involvement in the Grenfell Tower disaster.

1.2    Apologies were noted from Kathryn Stone.

Item 2: Minutes of the last meeting and matters arising

2.1    The Board reviewed and agreed the minutes.

2.2     The Board also noted the updates to action log, asking that in the future the rationale for changes to timescales be communicated in the log.

Item 3: Update from the Lead Directors

3.1    Greg provided an update on:

a.    Protests:

• Advice had been provided to the Met Police on demonstrations.
• CPS had been supporting the Police to ensure there was a balance between public order and freedom of expression.
• CPSD was in place to enable charging to be performed quickly and for advice to be provided in real time.

b.    Armed Policing:

3.2    Dawn provided an update on:

a.    Change Accountabilities:

• PA Consulting had provided both the Board and EG with an update on models available.  This needed to be revisited.
• A new Governance model was being introduced with the inclusion of a Portfolio Oversight Group being included in the structure.
• The Group would see a change in the way the Investment Committee operated, with it having a greater focus on commercial contracts going forward.

b.    Senior Structure:

• NLRC would be considering the leadership structure at the December meeting.

c.    Hybrid Working:

There is a request for action expected from the Government.

• The Board suggested that the CPS policy should be subject to review if it was not proving to be fit for purpose.
• The DPP confirmed that some of the feedback from CCPs was that the policy was not working and that he would look to feedback some of their points at the next LGG.
• It was agreed that careful messaging was required and that leaders should act as role models for future working practices.

d.    Pay, Estates, Budget and Staff Survey:

• The pay award was made for all staff.
• Birmingham and Liverpool estates were operational.
• The staff survey deadline is later this month and results will be shared in January.

Item 4: Business Plan mid-year review

4.1    The Board welcomed Baljit Ubhey, Rachel Zaltzman and Scott Dawes to the meeting who provided an update on the 2023/24 Business plan at the mid-year stage, focusing on the following key points:

• Huge progress had been made in business planning.
• The team had responded to the feedback from the Board by highlighting delays, dependencies and by introducing a check and challenge approach.
• 50% of programmes of work were Green or Green/Amber, which was ahead of the previous year.
• Seven were off track, with two of those significantly so (DCF and CP).
• EG had recommended deep-dives in to the two significantly off-track programmes.
• The Victims Transformation Programme had identified an underspend which was handed back ease budgetary pressures elsewhere.
• Common Platform required a further discussion, with EG considering the strategic view of what the IT strategy for the CPS needed to be to adjust to the changing landscape of the Criminal Justice System.  

4.2    The Board queried the number of on track programmes, with only 25% being on track at the mid-year point, suggesting that planning may need to improve to ensure the CPS was able to improve in the delivery of its major programmes. Baljit confirmed that while internal process were improving there were interdependencies across the CJS that had to be considered. Baljit also confirmed that internal governance processes had improved, incorporating feedback from Areas and that the intended Portfolio approach would bring a greater level of professionalism to programme and project manager.

4.3    Steve suggested that the CPS needed to temper its ambition slightly to remove optimism bias in the reporting process. The Board recommended better prioritisation than a tempering of ambition with analysis of outcomes and implementation of learning being key to driving improvements.

4.4    The DPP raised the new cross CJS initiatives being driven by the Lord Chancellor and that he was very supportive of working in collaboration with partners.

Item 5: Financial Pressures & Prioritisation

5.1    Baljit Ubhey, Steve Buckingham and Rachel Zaltzman provided an update on the following key points:

• Credit was due for staff across HQ for the work done to develop the recommendations for EG.
• The SR21 settlement was focused on increasing headcount to manage the increased demand and to focus on RASSO and VAWG.
• For 2023/24 there was a significant overspend predicted due matters outside of CPS control.
• EG had been presented with a range of options to reduce the overspend but the savings were not identified to completely remove it without significantly impacting frontline services.
• Negotiations would be required with HMT.

5.2    The Board commended work done, particularly in the collaborative approach to generating the options for EGs consideration.

5.3    The Board queried the next steps if at year end there remained a significant underspend and it was confirmed that it would be likely that the DPP, as Principal Accounting Officer, would be called to attend a Public Accounts Committee session.

Item 6: Future Casework Tools Strategy

6.1    The Board welcomed Matthew Cain and Gemma Hyde to the meeting who provided an update on CMS, with key points including:

• CPS had invested in the Common Platform but the next phase was on pause by HMCTS.
• Work had been undertaken to ensure CMS retained synchronicity with the Common Platform and Digital Case File programmes.
• Discussions had taken place at EG and further work was to be undertaken to set a much clearer vision for 2030, which would necessitate some rethinking about business processes.

6.2    DPP commented that the digital strategy needed to focus on supporting the changing business processes.

6.3    The Board also wanted assurance that there was continuity in the governance structure and it was confirmed that an inclusive approach had been instigated to ensure all parts of the CPS were included in the plans for the seven-year programme of work. Gemma also commented that the revised approach would work with more modules than before, meaning that changes could be made without the need for full system outage and would ensure greater resilience.

6.4    It was noted that the Shadow Board commented that there was an appetite for an improved system and that staff would be patient for the roll-out of something that would be fully functional.

Item 7: People Dashboard and Staff Retention

7.1    The Board welcomed Jamie Booth to the meeting.  Dawn Brodrick and Jamie provided an update on People dashboard, with key points including:

• FTE had increased by 4.1% in the last 6 months.
• Vacancy rates had altered due to the change to budgeted demand and affordability.
• Absence rates reduced over the summer but had risen slightly in September.

7.2    The Board noted the diversity of senior leaders being well below the national average and queried what actions were being taken to address the issue. Dawn confirmed that the EDI advisor was developing a senior profile of the work force to inform a pipeline of change. The Board requested an update when this work was completed.

7.3    The Board also queried whether any analysis of the themes was being undertaken to understand whether there was consistency in issues being identified. Dawn confirmed that the Speak Out Champion and the EDI advisor had both suggested that line management capability was a consistent theme and that action was being taken to improve this area. The results from the People Survey would help to identify if the work being undertaken was having the desired impact.

7.4    Greg also raised the issue that 25% in legal roles were over 55ys old and that was causing concerns over resilience in terms of retention. The retention piece of work was vital to ensure the right people were staying in their roles and that there was a pipeline of staff to mitigate the knowledge lost by any retirements.

Item 8: CPSD & Charging Update

8.1    The Board welcomed Grace Ononiwu to the meeting. Grace highlighted the following key points:

• CPSD had a new senior team in place which was providing good leadership and that resourcing had been reviewed to ensure greater resilience.
• The organisational change work had concluded.
• There had been more engagement with the Police on timeliness and the impact of their work on that of CPSD.
• CPSD had been working closely with the Police on the recent protests.
• The terms of reference for the charging programme had been reviewed and a new governance structure developed.
• Timescales for roll-out had been revised to accommodate Police readiness.
• All Areas, except the Metropolitan Police, will be rolled-out by the end of January 2024, with the MET concluding by the end of March 2024.
• CPS was ready for an increase in DA cases.

8.2    The Board queried the level of resource required to deliver the work of CPSD and Grace confirmed that the number would be a combination of additional staff and planned changes to replace expected leavers.

8.3    The Board also highlighted their approval of the implementation of joint KPIs stating that this was a positive move to ensure accountability sits with all parties.

8.4    The DPP queried the impact file quality had on timeliness as there had been press reports about the delays in the 28-day target agreed between the Police and CPS. Grace confirmed that file quality remained a major factor in any delays but that the extent of the delays was unknown due to the lack of a target before the 28-day agreement.

8.5    The DPP also commended CPSD for exemplifying the level of innovation across the CPS.  

8.6    The Board suggested raising the profile of the best practice practitioners within the areas. Grace noted that the shadow steering group will help to engage areas on case strategy and informing how to shift culture.

Item 9: AOB

9.1    Steve Buckingham confirmed that 50% of the CPS estate was found not to have any RAAC issues. Of the remaining buildings, five were under the management of other Government Departments and sixteen were awaiting confirmation from the Government Property Agency.

Meeting closed.

Secretariat – Max Looker

November 2023