CPS Board meeting minutes - January 2024

25 January 2024, 14:00-17:00, 102 Petty France/MS Teams

Members

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

Guests

Steve Buckingham (attending all items), Baljit Ubhey, Scott Dawes, Graham Ritchie, Harriet Booth

Secretariat

Max Looker, Stephanie Bradshaw

Item 1: Declaration of any conflicts

1.1    No additional conflicts of interest were raised.

1.2    Kathryn Stone raised her role as Chair of the Bar Standards Board (BSB), which is a core participant in the Post Office Inquiry.  As Chair of BSB, it was confirmed Kathryn would not be involved in operational decision making about any action which may or may not be taken against individuals.

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

2.1     The Board reviewed and agreed the minutes.

2.2     Two actions were closed following verbal update during the meeting.  

Item 3: Update from the Lead Directors

3.1     Greg provided an update on:

a.    London

b.    Protests

3.2     Dawn provided an update on:

a.    Senior Structure

b.    Hybrid Working

3.3     The DPP reflected on the hybrid working proposal, adding that there was consideration in relation to the options available against the challenges they may bring while also being mindful of the impact this may have on organisational performance.  

• c.    Treasury
  It was confirmed that the CPS has received part of the supplementary budget from the Treasury and work was ongoing to understand what additional funding would be available.

Item 4: Business Plan Q3 Report (including verbal update on 2024/25 progress)

4.1     The Board welcomed Baljit Ubhey and Scott Dawes to the meeting who provided an update on the Business Plan at Q3, focusing on the following key points:

• There have been delays in disproportionality and strategic workforce plan.
• No significant changes on programmes that were off track in previous quarters.
• EG met and agreed the that the budget for the Victim Transformation Programme would been reduced which resulted in delays to the roll out of the Universal and Enhanced packages.
  
  4.2     The Board requested assurance that the IT programmes that are off track were not going to cause any immediate issues for the CPS. It was confirmed that both programmes were for future benefits and will not have any negative impact.

4.3     The Board suggested that the Executive should resist starting work on new projects and instead focus on the existing core business given the pattern of delays to new items and the concern for overall performance decreasing. Baljit confirmed that while we are making improvements, it is taking time and there remain some gaps in the reporting metrics, but compared to previous years there has been a positive shift in discussion around core business and its completion. Baljit also noted that extra work has been included in the Victim’s legislation which will be enforceable and that, following the CREST analysis, a key component is for the CPS to be proactive earlier on in the process.

4.4    The DPP highlighted that the CPS had raced ahead and spent money on some IT initiatives. The next step should be to pause and wait for partners to get up to speed. The DPP also confirmed the risks are being managed and thanked the Board for the challenge.

4.5     EG has agreed to deprioritise aspects of the Business Plan for 2024/25 due to resourcing pressures and agreed that other lines in the plan should be removed as it was confirmed that they will reach BAU early in the year. The following were removed from the 2024-25 plan:

• Digital Case File
• Operational Recovery and Improvement
• Charging Model
• Defendants Strategy
• RASSO JNAP

Item 5: Disproportionality

5.1     The Chair thanked Baljit and Graham for the paper but suggested the focus of the item should be on what was to come rather than what had taken place to date.

5.2     Both Baljit and Graham highlighted a range of next steps including the issuing of a survey of prosecutors which will highlight their experiences of legal training and EDI within the CPS. It was noted that EG had agreed that a view can be taken once all the work of the research and working groups has been completed.

5.3     The Board confirmed its support of the work. The additional work was encouraging, particularly the levels of engagement CCPs and the Area teams across the CPS and across the CJS.

5.4     Baljit confirmed that her team will be drafting a report once they have all of the findings, including the additional evidence that is being pulled together so there can be real confidence in what will be included in the action plan.

5.5     The Board recommended that work should start on developing the action plan and setting a direction of travel that reinforces that the CPS is an anti-racist organisation. It is important that that the senior leadership are visible and are clear on wanting to get this right.

5.6    Some board members suggested that the language of the CPS being “Anti-Racist” was more positive and forward looking and should be considered once the research has been completed and understood.

5.7     The Chair highlighted the input from the CPS Shadow Board and asked that senior leaders continued to be mindful of the internal impact of the research.

Item 6: People Survey Results

6.1     The Board welcomed Harriet Booth as Dawn presented the key facts and data within the results:

• There has been a small but consistent decrease but the figures in 2023 are still higher across the board compared to 2019, except for pay and benefits.
• Engagement is down by 2% but still higher than the civil service average.
• National Union FDA did not support the survey which may explain why there was a lower return this year.

6.2     Initial conversations with leaders have started and EG met to discuss themes and areas for improvement. Leadership and leading change are the primary focus for EG and it was agreed that the DPP will now write out to all staff on the key focus and action plan.

6.3     The DPP proposed a joint pulse survey in combination with the unions and confirmed he agreed with the key themes identified by EG and intends to lead from the front on these issues.

6.4     The Chair shared the Shadow Board’s comments that staff felt bombarded with completion dates and that the communication around the survey needed more thought to encourage participation. The Shadow Board also suggested reflection on the reasons for the higher scores during the pandemic as there was much more engagement with managers.

6.5     The Board discussed how we can recreate this management and leadership environment and that a big indicator of the dip in staff wellbeing is the decrease in engagement with teams and managers.

6.6     The Board praised the ease of the presentation and that overall, it remained a positive result, comparing well to the rest of the Civil Service.

Item 7: ARAC & NLRC Updates

ARAC

7.1    Simon Jeffreys presented an overview of key topics discussed at ARAC, including the following:

• Overspend issues, with NAO confirming the approach taken should the CPS breach control totals.
• HMCPSI recommendations appear on track.
• GIAA provided an update on work undertaken to date and ARAC were concerned about the application of IR35 controls.
• There was a need to provide assurance that the first and second line of defence in the CPS were effective.   
• A deep dive into the role of the POC team.

NLRC

7.2    In Kathryn Stone's absence the Chair updated the Board, based on the email Kathryn had helpfully written, on the following items discussed at NLRC in December 2023.

• Focus on senior leadership with a health check and forward look on the agenda.
• The Committee discussed the senior leadership structure.
• The People Survey results were touched upon, with a deep dive requested for the April meeting.
• A future paper on remuneration proposals has been requested.
• Vetting for CCPs and DCCPs was also considered.

Item 8: AOB

8.1    The Business Plan for 24/25 paper will be sent before the next Board meeting, with the Secretariat scheduling time for the NEBMs to comment or make any recommendations for further changes in advance of the next Board meeting.     

Secretariat – Max Looker & Stephanie Bradshaw

January 2024