Official. Robin Wilkinson (RW) (Part)

Transcription

1 Official Meeting Minutes: College Board of Directors 10:30 16:30 on 19 th September 2018: Doubletree Hilton, Westminster, 30 John Islip Street, London, SW1P 4DD., Board Members in Attendance: Millie Banerjee(MB) (Meeting Chair) Christine Elliott (CE) Stephen Mold (SM) Clare Minchington (CM) Ian Wylie (IW) Robin Wilkinson (RW) (Part) Gavin Thomas (GT) Mike Cunningham (MC) Dave Bamber (DB) Jackie Smith (JS) Ian Hopkins (IH) Apologies: Stephen Mold Others in Attendance: Rachel Tuffin (RT) Director of Knowledge, Research & Practice, Kate Husselbee (KH) Director of Corporate Services, David Buckle (DB) Director of Membership & Business Development, Oliver Cattermole (OC) Chief of Staff; Mike Colbourne (MC), Helen Elderfield (HE) Governance Manager, Faye Bosworth Secretariat, Dominic Finigan, (Part) Head of Finance (DF), Paula Light (Part) Programme Lead (PL) Camille Giffard (observer) 1 Welcome and Administration (Chair) 1.1 The Chair opened the meeting and noted apologies from Robin Wilkinson, who would join the meeting later, and Stephen Mold. 1.2 Ian Wylie declared an interest in item 10 as a member of his family is a former police officer who was considering re-joining the service. There was one request for an item to be discussed under any other business pertaining to the electronic distribution of Board meeting papers and agenda. 2. Approval of Minutes of the Previous Meeting 2.1 The draft minutes of the previous meeting were considered and approved without amendment. 3. Matters Arising and Actions from the Previous Meeting 3.1 The Board noted progress made with the actions agreed at the previous meeting. 4. Chair s Update (Millie Banerjee) 4.1 The Chair had spent time with two of the new non-executive directors, Clare Minchington and Jackie Smith, and had attended the Superintendents Conference. She had witnessed how the workforce transformation agenda was being perceived and members discussed how better communications would assist in disseminating the benefits. She was concerned by the number of retirees at Chief Officer and Superintendent ranks who Page 1 of 6

2 would leave obvious gaps, whilst also noting that a large proportion of chief superintendents did not appear to want to progress to chief officer level. She went onto recommend meeting with the Shadow Policing minister and it was suggested that it would be beneficial for the CEO to meet with Afzal Khan MP. 5. Chief Executive s Report (Mike Cunningham) 5.1 Members were updated on the appointment of DCC Bernie O Reilly as a new executive director, who was expected to be in post within four to six weeks, to strengthen the College s connection with operational policing. The College was continuing with work to clarify its purpose and priorities and the Board would be briefed on this during the afternoon session of the meeting. There had been an extraordinary meeting of Chief Constables Council to look at operational and strategic planning in light of all eventualities under Brexit. The Chair asked for the College to have a single point of contact to deal with these issues. 5.2 The Board discussed the degree apprenticeship entry routes, accepting that it hadn t been communicated as well as it could and consequently the benefits were not properly understood. RT was leading on workforce transformation and the College would work with the service to listen to implementation challenges that forces may face and would consider making reasonable concessions where possible. The CEO said that the College needed a fresh approach when launching products to have greater consideration for wider implementation challenges, rather than a single focus on product development. 5.3 The Board returned to the issue of Superintendents progression, following a report in the Times newspaper. The CEO would be chairing a roundtable discussion with the NPCC and APCC to identify the issues preventing Superintendents seeking promotion and the action needed to address this. RT reminded members of the work that was ongoing to encourage promotion to senior ranks, and the Chair felt that this work needed to continue to be discussed. RT went onto give an update on the College s licence to practice approach for high risk and high harm roles where implementation was being pursued on a voluntary basis with forces. A further update would be provided in due course following consideration by the College Executive. ACTION: The College to appoint a single point of contact to assist with issues that may arise from all eventualities under Brexit. 6. Spending Review (Oliver Cattermole) 6.1 The Board was updated on the College s preparations for the forthcoming spending review, where the College proposes to work collaboratively with colleagues from across the service, including the NPCC, APCC, NCA and the Home Office to develop a sector wide proposal based on evidence. DF assured the Board that the College s own preparations for the comprehensive spending review were aligned with this work. 7. Annual Reports and Accounts 2017/18 (Kate Husselbee) 7.1 The Board was asked to approve the recommendation of the Audit and Risk Committee pertaining to the 2017/18 Annual Report and Accounts. KH thanked colleagues for their efforts in getting to this point ahead of schedule. DECISION: The Board approved the 2017/18 Annual Report and Accounts. 8. Stakeholder Engagement (Oliver Cattermole) 8.1 The Board was provided with clarity on the strategic outcomes and measures of success from the proposed stakeholder engagement strategy, following its agreement at the previous meeting. The strategy would be refined following progression of the plan on a page Page 2 of 6

3 work to ensure its alignment to support delivery of the priorities, whilst also providing an opportunity to reset and track the College s relationships with its stakeholders. There was recognition that the difference between engagement and consultation needed to be understood by both those inside and outside the organisation. 8.2 Members discussed the sequencing of this work with plan on a page, its level of priority alongside other business and the resourcing that would be required. Members agreed that it would be helpful to have a regular update on this item as it develops. ACTION: The Board will be provided with a regular update on the College s stakeholder engagement strategy as it progresses alongside the plan on a page project. DECISION: The Board noted the ongoing stakeholder engagement activity. 9. Workforce Transformation (Rachel Tuffin) 9.1 The Board was asked to provide views on a draft plan for coordinating and communicating with the service workforce transformation initiatives. The plan was focused on activity in the priority areas agreed at Chiefs Council and signalled a shift from product development to support delivery. Funding would be available to support forces with implementation via the Police Reform and Transformation Fund, alongside the College s genuine willingness to consider implementation challenges. RT would provide members with further information and key messages on workforce transformation that had been presented to chief constables and PCCs to aid understanding. 9.2 The area of initial focus had been on the immediate communication challenges associated with the new constable education programmes and activity on this had focused on early adopters and implementation, attraction rates and the diversity impact. CM felt that this challenge highlighted the urgency in having an effective media strategy. In response RT offered to share with members the communications tools that were already available relating to workforce transformation. 9.3 Members discussed the need to be sensitive to all the issues that were expressed and that it would be helpful to collate these to enable lessons to be learned and inform future policy development. A full debrief on the project would be undertaken in due course and shared with the Board. DB warned that regulations meant flexibility may not be always possible in some areas. The Chair suggested that it would be helpful to have feedback on how other sectors had managed their apprenticeships, particularly in regard to elements such as abstraction. The Board thanked RT for her work in this important area of business. ACTION: a) The College to share with members of the Board information that was previously presented to Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners to inform them of workforce transformation initiatives; b) as well as the existing communications tools that are available to assist with delivering the workforce transformation message. DECISION: The Board endorsed the direction of travel set out in the workforce transformation coordination and communication draft plan. 10. Changes to Regulation 10b Re-Joiners to the Service (Rachel Tuffin) 10.1 Members were asked to consider amendments to Regulation 10b of the Police Regulations 2003 that would enable officers who leave the police service to re-enter at the Page 3 of 6

4 same or a different rank. The change would allow flexible re-entry and remove the current five year rule. Formal consultation and engagement had been undertaken by the College s Regulatory Consultative Group (CRCG), but the group had not been given an opportunity to review the final draft that was still being awaited from Home Office lawyers. The Board would be asked to approve the proposed changes by correspondence in October following review and recommendation by CRCG Members questioned how the changes would be monitored and what support would be available to forces who wished to implement the change, including pension and other infrastructure considerations. RT said that in the interim basic guidance setting out four principles would be available to assist with implementation. In addition a working group had been established to consider the mechanism for re-entry. The Chair thought that it would be useful for a further update be provided to the Board following implementation of the amendment to the Regulations to indicate take up by forces and any other issues. ACTION: The College to provide an update on implementation following the amendment to regulation 10b of the Police Regulations 2003 to indicate take up by forces and any other relevant issues. DECISION: The Board agreed to the proposed amendments to Regulation 10b be recommended to the Home Secretary in pursuance of laying before parliament in February 2019, subject to final review by the College Regulatory Consultative Group. 11. Welsh Language Scheme (Mike Cunningham) 11.1 The Board was asked to consider a proposal for the College to develop a Welsh Language scheme to help support specific commitments to Welsh forces and the Welsh language. Support for the scheme would be balanced against other resourcing demands, as well as Regulations requiring all officers to be proficient in the English language. Any future scheme would initially be concentrated on externally focused products, such as supporting the recruitment of a representative workforce in Wales. DECISION: The Board agreed to the development of a draft Welsh Language Scheme for future consideration by the Board. 12. International Update (David Buckle) 12.1 The Board was updated on the findings of the external review of the College s international activity and training that had looked at the reliance on associates and identified other areas for improvement. There was positive feedback regarding international training but the Executive believed that improvements were necessary and that the Board should be engaged with this area of business. The recommendations of the review fell within three broad areas: the College s relationship with associates, the training materials and content of international programmes and the supporting infrastructure Members were pleased to see that this area was being scrutinised but they questioned the urgency and resourcing available to do so. GT suggested that it would be helpful if further detail was shared with the Board identifying the urgent issues that needed immediate attention. Similarly, CM suggested that it would be helpful to have a standard set of products to achieve better efficiencies and maintain quality control. ACTION: A further update on the College s international activity would be provided to members at a future meeting to identify the issues that urgently need addressing regarding the College s international activity. Page 4 of 6

5 DECISION: The Board noted progress with the College s review of its international activity. 13. Management Updates a) Finance (Kate Husselbee) 13a.1 The Board was updated on the financial position up to the end of Quarter 1, where there was a predicted overspend of 600,000 that was being monitored on a monthly and quarterly basis. An additional 1.3m of capital budget had been allocated by the Home Office, taking the full year budget to 2.8m. A number of direct grants to fund specific initiatives had been received that were in addition to core Grant-in-Aid,. The financial position was considered to be within normal, manageable tolerance with no corrective action required for the time being. The Chair suggested that the implications resulting from the late allocation of funding should be discussed at a future meeting with the Home Office. 13a.2 The Board was asked if more reporting detail was required for future meetings as this could be incorporated within the ongoing financial review. IW sought clarification on where more detailed scrutiny of the financial position was undertaken and GT requested further information on site utilisation be provided. DECISION: The Board noted the summary financial position and the full year forecast status. b) Performance and Risk Report (Kate Husselbee) 13b.1) The Board was provided with a summary of progress on performance, risk and internal audit reporting since the last meeting and reminded that the overall approach to performance and risk would be revised as part of the review of the College s purpose and priorities. The Audit and Risk Committee had looked at the Strategic Risk Register, specifically the new risk descriptor for SR12 relating to the new entry routes and the GDPR audit that had performed well. It was suggested that Brexit should be included within the Strategic Risk Register. DECISION: The Board noted the updates to performance, business plan delivery, strategic risks and internal audit and agreed the risk descriptor for SR12 Adoption of new entry level education programme. c) Membership (David Buckle) 13c.1) The Board was provided with an update on methods to engage with the College membership and product and service development to meet their needs. 14. Committee Updates a) Audit and Risk Committee (Clare Minchington) 14a.1) The Board was updated on the Audit and Risk Committee meeting held in September that had recommended to the Board for approval the annual report and accounts. Also noted was a potential risk relating to a lack of understanding around the cost of product development and price and that this would be informed by the College s position following plan on a page. Page 5 of 6

6 b) Professional Committee (Mike Cunningham) 14b.1) The Board was updated on the August Professional Committee meeting that had received information on the Home Office frontline review. The CEO had chaired the review s steering group and undertook to update the Board on the review s recommendations once made. 15. Plan on a Page (Bernard Marr) 15.1 Bernard Marr joined the meeting and shared with the Board the collated feedback from the engagement activity, questionnaires and workshops that had been completed. MC advised that the purpose of the session was to gain the Board s support for the initial findings with a view to the final plan being brought to the November meeting for approval BM highlighted common themes in the feedback being a clear connection with the policing mission and public safety, the pivotal nature of horizon scanning, that leadership was perceived to be important but that other issues were thought to be more important, and the need to clarify the College s position regarding independence and funding It was agreed that an informal Board session would be arranged before the scheduled November Board meeting to enable the Board members to discuss the final draft plan. 16. Any Other Business 16.1 CM brought to the Board s attention the limitations that she had identified with the College s meeting papers digital portal which had been piloted for the July and September meetings. Other Board members also gave feedback on issues they had faced in using the system. KH acknowledged that it had not delivered the functionality that was hoped for and apologised to members for the frustrations they had experienced and advised that she and HE would be undertaking a lessons learned exercise to ascertain whether the system could be improved or whether an off the shelf package could be procured.. Board members would be informed of the outcome at the next meeting. ****MEETING CLOSED at 16:30**** Page 6 of 6