CPS Board meeting minutes - January 2025

Members

Monica Burch (Chair) (Lead Non-Executive Board Member), Stephen Parkinson (DPP), Dr Peter Kane (NEBM), Subo Shanmuganathan (NEBM), Steve Buckingham (CFO), Julie Lennard (COO)

Guests

Tristan Bradshaw (Director of Operational Change & Delivery), Rachel Zaltzman (Deputy Director of Strategy), Helen Starkey (Interim Chief People Officer)

Secretariat    

Max Looker, Stephanie Bradshaw

Apologies

Kathryn Stone (NEBM)

Item 1: Declaration of any conflicts

1.1        No conflicts were identified.  

Item 2: Minutes of the last meeting and matters arising

2.1    The Board reviewed and agreed the minutes.

Item 3: Update from the DPP

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

3.2     High Profile Cases

The DPP provided the Board with an update on the recent Southport case.

3.3     Senior Structure

The DPP confirmed that the new CDIO would take up post on 1 April and that recruitment exercises were underway to replace the existing interim appointments and to appoint a new DG Legal Delivery.

3.4     Justice Select Committee

The DPP confirmed that the JSC went well.

Item 4: CPS People Survey

4.1     Helen Starkey (Interim CPO) joined the meeting and provided an update on the following key issues:

• EG agreed there was a need to recognise within the CPS the issues identified in the survey
• There would be a focus on leadership and the support to drive change at local levels
• Comms would focus on workloads.

4.2     The Board noted that the survey results, while having some clear areas where the CPS could improve, showed that over the long term there was a trend towards improvement.

4.3     The Board also suggested that scores could be made worse with a challenging resourcing picture and that there needed to be a focus on helping managers through difficult times with their staff.    

4.4     The Chair noted the five generations of workforce in the CPS and that each had different requirements and preferred ways of working. The DPP also noted that some big decisions had to be taken during the year, including HQ headcount reductions and a change to hybrid working, which would have impacted the scores and the level of engagement.  

4.5    The Board agreed that an update on the actions taken should be provided in six months’ time.

Item 5: Indicative Budget 2025/26 and Spending Review Phase Two

5.1        Rachel Zaltzman (Deputy Director of Strategy & Policy) joined the meeting and presented the following key updates:

• Phase two of the spending review would follow a very different process to previous rounds
• A zero-baseline review will be completed with oversight from an external scrutiny panel
• The Annual Report & Accounts process would be delayed while both the Strategy and Finance teams prioritised the SR bid.

5.2     The Board suggested that zero-baseline review discussions with HMT should take place to ensure an appropriate response could be delivered to support the bid. It was also noted that the narrative would be a key element of the bid, with the need to reference the CJS and the whole system benefits to ensure there was a joined-up picture for the assessment.

5.3     The DPP confirmed that there are improvements taking place across the CPS which will have an impact on the CJS, and this would form part of the bid as HMT were keen to see efficiencies being identified.

5.4    The Board also suggested that the timing of the publication of the CPS 2030 strategy be considered as it may need to be adjusted on the back of the outcome of the SR bid. Dr Kane volunteered to be the NEBM link with the process for which the Board gave sincere thanks.

Item 6: Business Centre Review

6.1     Tristan Bradshaw (Interim Director of Operational Change & Delivery) joined the meeting and presented the following highlights:

• Review was commissioned in response to the 20% headcount reduction across HQ
• Findings identified ten themes which have become the new focus of the review following the removal of the headcount cap
• Fourteen working groups have been set up to look for options to resolve the identified issues
• Programme methodology was being followed to ensure the options presented to EG are fully considered and all areas of have been consulted.

6.3     The Board welcomed the update but queried the approach to the fourteen working groups. The Chair noted the Shadow Board’s view that there had been a considerable amount of senior leadership churn over the course of the past couple of years and that this would present another issue to deal with.

6.4     Tristan noted the change in scope of the work but confirmed that issues had been identified that couldn’t be ignored. There were instances where staff had taken on work below their grade or expertise and that in Areas the business centres were absorbing work that should be done by managers. It was agreed that an update would be provided once EG had agreed the strategic direction.

Item 7: ARAC & RemCom Chair Updates

7.1     Peter provided the following update from the January ARAC:

• A positive meeting with a deep dive on AI
• GIAA work was progressing well and the Committee received two Substantial Assurance audit reports
• Gifts and Hospitality discussion and it was agreed that GIAA would consider any proposed policy prior to publication.

7.2     The Chair confirmed that RemCom considered the first RemCom dashboard, CCP remuneration and the leadership elements of the People Survey.  

Item 8: AOB

8.1     No items of AOB were raised.

Meeting closed.

Secretariat – Max Looker & Stephanie Bradshaw
January 2025