Minutes - 80th Board Meeting
Minutes |
|||
|
Title of meeting |
80th GLAA Board Meeting |
|
|
|
Date |
09/02/2023 |
Time |
10:30 – 15:30 |
|
Venue |
Apex Court |
|
|
|
Chair |
Julia Mulligan |
Secretary |
Megan Bethell |
|
Attendees
In attendance
Home Office attendees
Observers
|
Julia Mulligan (JM) GLAA Board Chair Deep Sagar (DAS) GLAA Board Member Dr David Snowball (DJS) GLAA Board Member Pippa Greenslade (PG) GLAA Board Member Suzanne McCarthy (SM) GLAA Board Member Keith Rosser (KR) Board Member Phil Cain (PHC) Board Member Bunmi Opeodu (BO) GLAA Board Apprentice
Elysia McCaffrey (EM) CEO Justin Rumball (JJR) Head of Finance Samantha Ireland (SI) Head of Governance Megan Bethell (MB) Senior Governance Officer Victoria Robinson (VR) Secretariat Nicola Ray (NR) Head of Regulation (item 10 only) Emma Coxon (EC) Head of People and Change (item 10 only) Ian Waterfield (IW) Head of Enforcement (item 10 only) Daniel Scully (DS) Chief Operating Officer
Hannah McCarthy (HM) Home Office Sponsorship Unit Simon Hookins (SH) Modern Slavery Policy Lead, Home Office Anita Bailey (AB) Home Office Sponsorship Unit,
Khalil Souki (KS) Cap Gemini (present until item 8) Lucy Batchelor Senior Consultant (LB) Cap Gemini (present until item 8) Charlotte Bogod Senior Consultant (CB) Cap Gemini (present until item 8)
|
||
|
Apologies |
|
||
|
1. |
Introductions |
|
|
All attendees were welcomed. The Board welcomed BO and thanked DJS for being BO’s mentor. Also welcomed VR as the new secretariat. |
|
2. |
Apologies |
|
|
None |
|
3. |
Declarations of Interest |
|
|
None |
|
4. |
Minutes of the previous meeting held on 17th November 2022 |
|
|
The minutes were discussed, and outstanding points clarified.
The Board was interested in understanding more about the work of the Victim Navigator, which is considered to have made a positive difference to outcomes for victims.
|
|
Decision |
By majority, the Board approved the minutes from the meeting of 17th of November |
|
Decision |
In the future to adopt a more focused format for the minutes. |
|
Action BM80(1) |
Victim Navigator evaluation report to be shared with board members |
|
5. |
Action Points |
|
|
Updates of the action points were discussed, and the Board were content for the following action to be closed: BM78(11) – closed again following completion of action. BM79(2) BM79(3) BM79(4) BM79(5) BM79(7) BM79(8) BM79(9) BM79(10) BM79(13) BM79(14) The Board was content for the following actions to remain open: BM79(11) BM79(12) |
|
Decision |
Following the closure of action point BM79(5), the Board agreed that a progress report on the Business Plan will be a standing item on the agenda |
|
Decision |
Following the closure of action point BM79(7), the Board agreed the workplan on culture arising from the TOM will be feed into the future People Strategy, which will be overseen by the People and Culture Committee, reporting up to the Board as appropriate. |
|
6. |
Home Office, Update – Official Sensitive - |
|
|
a) Budget The GLAA has received a positive settlement of ‘flat cash’ and was awarded an increase of 1.1m (revenue) for implementing the TOM and IT improvements, but this should not result in a surplus next year.
There was a very tight timescale for the GLAA to bid, which was put forward by the Accounting Officer in consultation with the Chair.
The Chair thanked the Home Office (HO) for their support. The HO explained that they take into consideration the challenges ALBs are facing, when allocating budget.
The HO will expect progress to be measured and the organisation to be held to account for delivery. This will need to involve Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and the development of a Business Plan to ensure expectations are always being stretched and challenged.
The Home Office requested that the work on refreshing the Framework Agreement be progressed.
|
|
Action BM80(2) |
The Board to receive the Framework Agreement to note prior to being submitted to the Home Office. |
|
|
b) Pay Remit The HO thanked PG for her letter and reported that the pay remit had been approved by the Minister.
The HO explained that different pay models are being considered so the GLAA should consider what pay model would work in the future.
|
|
7. |
CEO update, Elysia McCaffrey |
|
|
a) Office Space Occupancy of Apex Court is low and there is an opportunity for the GLAA to break the lease in summer 2025. However, the Government Property Agency (GPA) may choose to bring more people into the building and will provide further information in March this year.
b) People Survey The people survey will be delayed as the TOM has involved extensive consultation with staff. Concerns were expressed about the loss of benchmark data, but Capgemini suggested data from the TOM could serve this purpose.
|
|
Decision |
The Board agreed there was an on-going need for benchmark data. |
|
Action BM80(4) |
EM to meet with PG to discuss the people survey and benchmark data. |
|
|
c) Industrial Action Industrial action did not affect the organisation significantly.
d) Office of the Director of Labour Market Enforcement (ODLME) The Board were updated on the DLME’s visit, during which the new strategy was discussed.
e) Resources in Scotland and Northern Ireland A Board Member queried resourcing in Northern Ireland and Scotland. It was clarified that colleagues in these locations work as part of Syndicate 4, are fully occupied and have access to organisation-wide support. In Scotland, there is close working with the Scottish government and in Northern Ireland funding is provided from the devolved administration
f) SEB A Board Member raised a question about dedicated resourcing for the SEB, and it was explained that this is being reviewed as part of the TOM work but those currently assigned to the SEB had been allocated other work.
g) External Communication Policy The Board queried the status of external communication policies and communications strategy, which had also been raised at ARAC. It was acknowledged that this is an area for future development, particularly in light of the new organisational strategy.
|
|
8. |
TOM progress, Cap Gemini / Elysia McCaffrey |
|
|
Cap Gemini produced a short presentation: a) 2023 Progress to date In January ‘sprints’ have focused on team formation, which has involved the creation of a ‘design team’ comprising staff from representative areas of the business. An update was also provided on the leadership and culture work, which has involved extensive engagement across the whole organisation. Further details are to be provided in the Board’s closed session. Capgemini reported there to be a high level of support for change across the whole organisation.
b) Next Steps Sprint 3 is concluding, which covers role design and sizing. Work on KPI’s begins 13th February.
c) External Stakeholder Engagement It was agreed that there needs to be a compelling stakeholder engagement plan that strongly links into the strategy. Risks around unaffected colleagues sharing sensitive information were highlighted.
|
|
9. |
Strategy 2023-26 approval, Julia Mulligan/Elysia McCaffrey |
|
|
It was explained that following Board approval, the strategy will be submitted to the Minister.
The Home Office has provided feedback which will be included.
The subsequent business planning process will be more robust with a rigorous process around setting performance measurements. A query was raised about staff engagement in the development of the strategy. It was explained that colleagues have been engaged in the TOM work, which has informed the strategy.
The Board was asked to approve the strategy subject to Home Office amendments and suggestions from the Board on making it clearer about the intentions for KPI development. It was noted that the Board has led the strategy work starting with the strategy day, followed up by regular consultation and input, including a second workshop facilitated by Capgemini.
The Home Office said the strategy should acknowledge that in year two the GLAA will be subject to the Public Body Review. The Home Office suggested the DBS by way of best practice in relation to the use of KPIs.
|
|
Decision |
The Board approved the strategy subject to final feedback from the Home Office and the inclusion of KPIs |
|
Action BM80(5) |
Board Members to be involved with the future business planning process, with a particular focus on KPIs. |
|
10. |
Business Plan 2022-23 – Progress Report |
|
|
Regulation
Performance indicators on increasing the number of compliance inspections have not been met. The Board challenged the performance figures. It was explained that the new strategy and TOM work will consider how to tackle this.
The target for conducting 90% of application inspections (AIs) virtually has not been met and it was stated that instead, current performance at 61% is more reflective of where we should be. At present, under 10% of applications are being refused.
There is currently an increase in AIs, including more from overseas. The GLAA has been working on this with UK Visas and Immigration (UKBI).
The HO asked about trends identified; if there were peaks and if data supported the fee review work. They probed on trends regarding the Seasonal Workers Scheme (SWS). It was explained this data will be included in the problem profile developed in support of the control strategy and tasking. In addition, a new cost code for the SWS has been set up to track the cost of work in this area, which will feed into the fees review.
People Staff turnover was lower than the public sector average, but this should be approached with caution as the benchmark figure is not like for like.
The Star Reward engagement system has been very well used, demonstrating that colleagues are being recognised and valued for the work they are doing.
Enforcement There has been a focus on STROs over prosecutions as the latter are challenging to conclude. Positively, there has been a reduction in reoffending on the part of offenders issued with STROs, as only 2 people have breached their STRO. It is quicker and more cost effective to pursue a STRO. The Board noted the expertise of the GLAA regarding STROs.
The Board queried how the organisation determines which outcomes are the most appropriate and the challenges of determining and communicating this.
Intelligence The new Control Strategy has been a success, a new tasking group has been set up, and flow of intelligence has markedly improved.
The intelligence team had been acting as a ‘triage team’, not an Intelligence team. This was leading to high staff turnover and the GLAA not being intelligence led.
It is positive that staff turnover in the intelligence team has significantly decreased since May 2022.
The number of referrals into the GLAA are down, but actionable intelligence is up. It was explained that part of the reduction can be attributed to changes in the way that intelligence is recorded, but nonetheless, other agencies have also reported a reduction. The intelligence team are also doing work with stakeholders and partners to improve the quality of data received. However, investigative work has reduced in the last 3 months and work needs to be undertaken to understand this.
JM thanked SI for the improvements in intelligence and acknowledged the work that is ongoing.
Data Quality Questions were raised about the consistency of data across different reports and sources, which made understanding performance and accountability challenging.
By way of response, an update on data quality was provided, including on the data amnesty, which is considered necessary to address these and other problems. There is a dedicated staff member looking at intelligence data. In addition, there are significant risks – significant disposals of data are expected by the end of March.
Secondary indexing is being looked at, which also presents a risk to the organisation.
The challenging nature of the work was highlighted but the recruitment of two new data analysts is positive.
A key gap identified was the lack of an Information Security Manager.
It was noted that work is likely to take 12 months.
In April, ARAC are expected to receive the Risk Appetite Statement, the Information Management Strategy, and an update on the Information Management Group.
Annex B – Intelligence Review PHC talked the Board through progress against the recommendations in his review which are being implemented in full. He highlighted that the cultural aspects were also being pursued through the TOM work. |
|
Action BM80(6) |
The Board agreed that the next deep dive should focus on the implementation of the Control Strategy. |
|
Action BM80(7) |
HO requested for information on regulation to be included in future performance reports. This should include trends, numbers of AIs and CIs, decisions that are made, SWS trends. |
|
Action BM80(8) |
JJR to meet with SH to discuss money being spent on the SWS. |
|
11. |
Finance, Justin Rumball |
|
|
a) Financial Position and Outturn Key challenges were identified; spending the current budget before the year end due to procurement processes and forecasting/ budgeting in the context of the TOM. |
|
Decision |
The Board asked EM and JJR to agree a process on approving the Budget with the Board. |
|
|
b) Approval of Budget 2023-24 HO asked for greater clarity on the detail for the coming year’s spending and provided clarification on the deadlines for budget approval and submission. Questions were raised about the allocation of funding to the implementation of the TOM and budgeting for the new website. It was noted that the HO has funded the implementation of the TOM and the website development is in its early stages. The scheme of delegation was discussed which is included in the Finance Manual and subject to scrutiny by the Board. The requirement to identify savings was noted, which should be a consideration as the TOM is implemented. The need to move away from using the vacancy factor as a way balancing the books was emphasised, and it was agreed the Medium-Term Financial Plan due in March will be vital.
|
|
Action BM80(9) |
JJR to confirm timings for budget approval, in order to meet Home Office deadlines |
|
Action BM80(10) |
The budget was not approved by the Board, and it was agreed to arrange an additional budget meeting for Board members, prior to submission to the Home Office. |
|
12. |
Improving Governance and Accountability, Sam Ireland |
|
|
The Board welcomed the work being undertaken, recognising the progress made, but also that it would also take time to embed. The establishment of a new Management Board was seen to be a positive step, noting that it is to be chaired by the CEO, and will focus on business plan delivery and leading culture change. The Board emphasised that the organisation’s values need to underpin the proposed new framework and drive the culture work. The Board asked for the timings of Management Board to be carefully considered, and to take into account interdependencies with other meetings. The HO asked the Board if they are assured that the organisation can deliver on their plans. The Board said they recognised that it may take two full business cycles to embed the work but have greater assurance. The implementation of the new framework will be linked with that of the TOM. The business planning and KPI process will begin in February.
The Board stressed the need for Leadership Team members to develop and own departmental delivery plans.
It was noted that on-going, this work will be reviewed through audits on governance, which are undertaken regularly.
|
|
Decision |
That ARAC is the lead committee for this work, but that it will be remitted to the Board as appropriate. |
|
13. |
AOB – no matters were raised |
|
|
Date of next meeting: 31/03/2023 |