CPS Board meeting minutes - July 2024

02 July, 2024, 13:15-16:00pm, Petty France and via MS Teams

Members

Monica Burch (Chair) (Lead Non-Executive Board Member), Stephen Parkinson (DPP), Simon Jeffreys (NEBM), Subo Shanmuganathan (NEBM), Kathryn Stone (NEBM)

Guests

Steve Buckingham (CFO), Moi Ali (IAC), Graham Ritchie (Deputy Director of Policy & Strategy), Anthony Hill (Head of Legal Prosecution Policy), Ali Coles (Deputy Director of Operational Performance), Mark Trolley (Deputy Director of Operational Delivery), Rachel Zaltzman (Deputy Director of Policy & Strategy)

Secretariat

Max Looker, Stephanie Bradshaw

Apologies

None

Item 1: Declaration of any conflicts

1.1 No additional conflicts of interest were raised.

Item 2: Minutes of the last meeting and matters arising.

2.1 The Board reviewed and agreed the minutes.

2.2 The Board noted a lot of actions had been closed and that open actions are on track to be completed in the coming months.

Item 3: Update from the DPP

3.1 The DPP provided an update on the following key points:

3.2 Election

• CJAG met during the week, looking at cross CJS issues and the CPS has recommitted to a coordinated approach to a joint spending review bid.
• The DPP confirmed he will talk to the new AG on the weekend and work had been undertaken to provide him with briefing on likely priorities.

The Board requested sight of the DPP’s key asks of the new Government.

3.3 Prisons

• Currently at a crisis point and this will be an immediate priority for the new Government.

3.4 Efficiency

Has been raised as a key theme for the CJS. There was a lot of traction on this topic with a recognition across the system that it needs to be more efficient.

Item 4: Annual Report & Accounts

4.1 The Chair noted that substantive items are still due and requested any changes that are considered minor to be escalated when ready for Board approval.

4.2     Steve provided a short update on the process.

• Meeting with the NAO to confirm they have two material items outstanding.
• Target for completion of the audit is by the end of this week with finalised completion report to the board on the following Friday.

4.3 The Chair confirmed that the appropriate approach was for an extraordinary Board meeting be diarised for the review of the Annual Report & Accounts.

Item 5: Independent Assessor of Complaints Annual Report

5.1 Moi Ali joined the meeting to present the key points from the annual report.

5.2 Moi shared significant improvements and progress on stages 1 and 2 complaint handling. The quality of letter writing, and background notes have improved but some areas still need work.

5.3 The Committee thanked Moi for the valuable work that has been brought to the Board, particularly in relation to the comparison against other public bodies and as a Board, they will want to continue their oversight role with the new IAC, when appointed. The DPP agreed and was grateful for the empathetic care that has gone into the development of CPS letters as they were having a direct impact on the victim’s experience.

5.4 The Board discussed the need for more clarity over the expectations of the IAC role and that a framework should be developed which provided a reporting template.

Item 6: Disproportionality

6.1 Graham Ritchie and Anthony Hill provided an update on the development of the Action Plan and the research projects.

6.2 The DPP noted that the voluntary exercise undoubtably identified disproportionality in the CJS in the way cases are being dealt with, highlighting every ethnic group other than white is being affected.

6.3 Graham confirmed extensive research has gone into the content of the action plan with the overarching message that the CPS is an anti-racist organisation and will be working with the wider CJS to:

• Confirm bias is present in our work.
• That there is fair application of the code.
• That we challenge racial bias.

6.4 The Board challenged whether the label of institutional racism should be applied. Graham advised that other organisations have taken this approach but although there is a definition there is no single measure to come to that conclusion. Based on the evidence there is a mixed picture, not just about practice but also in relation to culture.

6.5 The DPP was keen to impress that the focus should be on the cause of this issue and how we address it. The use of language in files from the Police is replicated throughout the process and there is potential that the use of AI could prove provide a marker for prosecutors.

6.6 The Board also raised a concern about the volume of action taking place in September and whether the outputs could be measured effectively to ensure they really made a difference. It was suggested that longevity needs to be built into the plan while also refining the actions to ensure the ambitions are being driven.

6.7 Graham confirmed that a programme of engagements would be taking place over the coming weeks to ensure they organisation are aware of the findings and proposed actions, before going public.

Item 7: CPS VAWG Strategy

7.1 Graham Ritchie presented the key points from the paper.

• The CPS had a long-standing commitment to VAWG, led by the home office in 2021 with a focus on RASSO, Op Soteria and the Joint National Action Plan (JNAP).
• Noting with the general election, the new Government will wish for an updated view on VAWG.
• Publication is scheduled for October, and links have been identified with a number of cross cutting strands.
• The Victims Transformation and JNAP work is consolidated within the work on VAWG.

7.2 The Board queried how we will measure victim confidence and victim experience and Graham confirmed that victims’ confidence is subject to polling by the CPS Comms team colleagues and that there was an appetite to measure this on a regular basis. However, there remains the challenge of using this data as such measurements are often impacted by the outcome of the case. The DPP confirmed that attrition rates could be used as a baseline for measurements going forward and that there were opportunities to drive the strategy forward with a new Government.

7.3 The Board also suggested that there should be some qualitative metrics in place to measure victim’s experience.

7.4 The Board passed their thanks to the team and agreed with the content of the strategy.

Item 8: Operational Performance – Q4 update

8.1 Ali Coles and Mark Trolley provided the key highlights from the Q4 report.

• South West backlog has been reduced by utilizing national resources.
• First line assurance checks have been improved and the data is starting to paint a picture that things are improving although there remains some Area variation in the implementation of the controls.
• HMCPSI recommendations have reduced. Of the remaining recommendations, the team are waiting for time to elapse to enable them to evaluate the impact.

8.2 The DPP confirmed that the approach taken in the South West would be used to manage other Areas where there are increasing concerns over the backlogs. The DPP was pleased that the organisation showed the flexibility to deliver results where needed.

8.3 The Board queried the CTL figures and whether there were any consequences to failures to achieve the 28-day target. It was confirmed that all CTL failures were reported to the DPP and action plans devised with the Operations team to drive improvements.

Item 9: Business Plan – Q4 Update

9.1 Rachel Zaltzman provided an overview of the key highlights.

• Overall, delivery confidence remained reasonably steady throughout last year considering the challenges in headcount pressures with seven out of fifteen programmes on track.
• Progress had been made on unconscious bias and benefits realisation.
• Reporting quality is still being affected by incomplete or late returns. Work continues to ensure SRO’s prioritise the importance of accurate and timely reporting.
• The DPP and EG are keen to see more business readiness.

Item 10: AOB

There were no AOBs raised.

Meeting closed.

Secretariat – Max Looker & Stephanie Bradshaw

July 2024