Minutes of the Business Improvement Committee – September 2024

Chair:

Jennifer Harrower, DCA, Local Court – JH

Attendees:   

Keith Dargie, Head of Business Services - KD

Gavin Anderson, Head of Business Management, Local Court - GA

Gillian McNamara, ISD Head of Delivery - Digital Portfolio – GM

Grant Donnelly, Head of SCG Central Operations - GD

Lisa Gibson, Executive Business Manager (Secretariat) – LG

Apologies:

Laura Buchan, PF, Policy & Engagement - LB

Thomas Lindie, Head of Business Management, Serious Casework - TL

Agenda:

1. 1. Welcome, Apologies and Agreement of AOB
2. Minutes of Last Meeting and Actions Log
3. BPIC Portfolio and Improvements and Digital Transformation Programme for 2024-25
4. BPIC Digital Transformation Dashboard
5. ISD Resources
6. COPFS Digital Business Strategy (new strategy framework)
7. Any other business (AOB)

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and noted apologies for Laura Buchan and Thomas Lindie.

The minutes of the meeting held on 29 May 2024 were approved.

• Digital Strategy Delivery Plan Update Communication and BPIC Digital Strategy Development Workshop: progressing over Q3 and Q4 2024-25
• Benefits Realisation: Draft report with TL and work progressing with TL and GM and will be presented at the December 2024 and to circulate the draft report in advance of the next meeting;
• Casework and Business Process Productivity Workshop: Workshop to be scheduled in October.

GM presented paper BPIC(24)14 and noted the following key updates in digital and casework priorities:

• Digital Evidence Sharing Capability (DESC): Extended to Central and Fife with further rollouts planned in line with the phased implementation programme;
• Witness Gateway: Pilot extended to Inverness, Fort William, Elgin, Tain and Airdrie;
• Defence Agent Service (DAS): Pilot to commence in October in Falkirk, Stirling and Dundee with communications in progress;
• Witness Schedular: A collaborative solution to improve Police witness scheduling and the pilot commenced in Dundee and Aberdeen and will be evaluated with Police Scotland;
• VIA Modernisation: Prioritised development for a new app to manage VIA workload with timeline options being discussed;
• AD Rota: Development of a solution planned for delivery over the coming weeks;
• The Committee discussed a high-level overview table of the benefits of key priorities is required and agreed to share across the organisation.

GM presented paper BPIC(24)15 and noted the following key updates:

• No notable changes in the RAG Status Dashboard;
• Risk captured on Defence Agent Service delivery relating to the DSSS Assessment which is currently progressing;
• Witness Schedular rollout plan for summary cases ongoing between COPFS and Police Scotland;
• The Committee acknowledged the valuable insights provided by the Dashboard and recommended sharing the Dashboard more broadly within the organisation to highlight the ongoing volume of activities.

LG presented paper BPIC(24)16 providing a high-level overview of the ISD recruitment positions, and recruitment plans for specific vacancies and the progress made since the last meeting.

KD provided a presentation for the new strategy framework as noted in the Action Table:

• Casework and Business Progress Productivity Workshop in October (tbc);
• Initiation and Summits for Next Generation Casework Programme in Q3 2024-25;
• Digital Strategy will progress over Q4 2024-25 with publication in Spring 2025.

No AOB noted.

The date of the next meeting is 12 December 2024.