Minutes of the Executive Board – 13 December 2023

Present:

John Logue (Chair), Crown Agent

Lindsey Miller, Deputy Crown Agent, Operational Support

Ruth McQuaid, Deputy Crown Agent, High Court

Keith Dargie, Head of Business Services

Marlene Anderson, Director of Finance and Procurement

Sarah Carter, Director of Human Resources

David Watt, Non-executive director

Annie Gunner Logan, Non-executive director

In attendance:

Fiona Holligan, Secretariat

Linda Butcher, Secretariat

Apologies:

Vanessa Davies, Non-executive director

Jim Brisbane, Internal Assurance, Strategy and Policy Advisor

Stephen McGowan, Deputy Crown Agent, Litigation

Jennifer Harrower, Deputy Crown Agent, Local Court

Kenny Donnelly, Deputy Crown Agent, Specialist Casework

Ann Marie Henderson, Secretariat

Mairi Boyle, Secretariat

Agenda Item 1 – Welcome and Apologies

1. Crown Agent opened the meeting and welcomed colleagues, especially a warm welcome to Linda Butcher on her first Executive Board meeting and to Annie Logan on her last meeting.
2. There were no conflicts of interest noted.

Agenda Item 2 - Minutes of previous meeting

3. The minutes of the meeting held on 8 November 2023 were approved and can be published.

Action 2 – will be provided under agenda item 7.

Action 3 – will be provided under agenda item 3.

Action 5 – will be carried forward to next meeting.

Agenda Item 3 - Finance Update

4. The Director of Finance and Procurement introduced paper EB23/24(39).
5. The Director of Finance and Procurement summarised the current position on the 2023/24 budget allocation and forecasts. The position remains the same as last month, however, the additional pay awards have still to be applied and will be reflected in next month’s figures. Workforce planning is still ongoing to achieve attrition savings and will have a fuller picture on the last quarter’s forecasts in January. Work is ongoing with Human Resources to identify elective overtime from on-call and public holiday overtime and an update will be provided in February. It was agreed that a finance paper will be circulated in January with the December data and an update on workforce planning.
6. The Director of Finance and Procurement advised that the 2024/25 budget announcement will be on 19 December. COPFS is waiting on the budget being finalised. The Crown Agent thanked DCA Operational Support, Head of Business Services and Director of Finance and Procurement and their teams for all their work on the budget. The Crown Agent will issue a message to staff following the budget announcement. The Director of Finance and Procurement highlighted a pressure on pension costs that may result in additional pressure for 2024-25.

ACTION: Director of Finance and Procurement to prepare and circulate a finance paper in January. 

ACTION: DCA Operational Support to arrange for the Recourses Committee to monitor the adaptation of the overtime coding system and provide an update at the start of new financial year.

Agenda Item 4 – People Strategy Update

7. The Director of Human Resources provided a verbal update.
8. The Director of Human Resources set out the context, themes and priorities of the strategy which has been developed through a coordinated approach with Human Resources and the Scottish Prosecution College. There has been consultation with staff and an Equality Impact Assessment is being carried out. The key strategic principle for the new strategy is ‘working together and putting people at the centre’. The finalised strategy will be shared with the Board in February and published in March. There was a discussion around including fairness and the right recruitment model for growing at all levels, including leadership, and the opportunity for a strategic workforce.  

Agenda Item 5 – Risk Register

9. The Head of Business Services introduced paper EB23/24(40).
10. The Head of Business Services highlighted the key points, including the development of the Corporate Risk Register and the addition of more detailed digital, information and cyber risks. The Corporate Resilience Group will meet again in January when the Head of Business Services will set out plans for the next business resiliency exercise in summer 2024, which will involve justice partners. There was a discussion around high risks and the need for accountability and clarity on the work that has been done to reduce the risks.  Risk 1 will be reassessed once the budget allocation is known, and a risk added in relation to not being able to demonstrate improvement/value for money.

Agenda Item 6 – VIA Update

11. DCA Operational Support introduced paper EB23/24(41)
12. DCA Operational Support provided background and context to the paper. The first phase is expected to be delivered by the end of this financial year. DCA High Court provided an update in relation to the re-structuring of High Court VIA staff assigning them to teams. The Transformational Change Team who are supporting the modernisation programme are working with ISD on a workload app which will allow Functions to have better management information of the work of VIA staff have and to assist to identify pressures points.  The Board noted the progress of the VIA Modernisation Programme and the further work to be done, including work following completion of the COPFS Sexual Offences Review and the Inspectorate’s Domestic Abuse Review. The Crown Agent advised that improving communication with victims is a priority for the Lord Advocate.

Agenda Item 7 – balanced scorecard/absence figures

13. DCA Operational Support introduced paper EB23/24(42)
14. The Board noted the reduction in staff turnover and slight reduction in long term staff absences and briefly discussed the possible reasons behind this. The Crown Agent noted the good FOI performance figures. Non-executive David Watt declared an interest regarding the Information Commissioner.

Agenda Item 8 – Resources Committee Update

15. Head of Business Services provided a verbal update. The Board noted the particular focus on the transfer of staff between functions and the work to be done in Quarter 4 on a business plan for subsequent years.

Agenda Item 9 – Business Improvement Committee Update

16. Head of Business Services introduced paper EB23/24(43) and provided updates on the progress of the Witness Gateway, Defence Agent Service (DAS) and Digital Evidence Sharing Capability (DESC).
17. The development of the Witness Gateway product is complete after some final business process changes applied. System health checks have been conducted and final assurance checks will be conducted in mid-January. Work is ongoing with stakeholders to test and gain feedback on the use of the application in advance of a formal pilot. The pilot will commence from late January 2024 and will focus on Sheriff and Jury cases in Glasgow. There was discussion around management of risks and assurance and the optimum timescales for the pilot and implementation of the Witness Gateway over 2024.
18. The Defence Agent Service product is also available for pilot evaluation. A system health check is scheduled for late January and the pilot will likely commence from February/March to include Dundee, Perth and Forfar. There has been positive development engagement and feedback to date from defence agents in Dundee.
19. The DESC pilot in Dundee is ongoing and has been successful. A pilot evaluation report and other updates will be considered by the DESC programme board to confirm next steps and finalise implementation plans.  The scaling up of DESC will be done in alignment with the implementation of DAS. 

Agenda Item 10 – Operational Performance Committee Update

20. The Executive Board noted paper EB23/24(44) and the significant progress Local Court continues to make with regard to case marking.

Agenda Item 11 – Audit & Risk Committee Update

21. Non-executive Director Vanessa Davies introduced paper EB23/24(45) and this was noted by the Board.

Agenda Item 12 – AOB

22. The Crown Agent ended the meeting by recording thanks to Ann Marie Henderson for all the years she helped organise the Executive Board meetings, welcome to Linda Butcher and thanks to Annie Gunner Logan for her valuable service as Non-executive Director and noting that she will be sorely missed. The next meeting is in February.