Minutes of the Fourteenth Meeting of the Executive Board

MINUTES OF THE FOURTEENTH MEETING OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD HELD IN THE SILVAN HOUSE BOARDROOMS ON WEDNESDAY 27 APRIL 2005

Members: Tim Rollinson (Chairman), Keith Gliddon, Wilma Harper, Simon Hewitt, Paul Hill-Tout, Kim Lardge, Jim Lynch, Bob McIntosh

Secretary: Stephen Bennett

Minutes of the last meetings

The minutes of the meeting on 23 February were agreed as a true record, with no amendments.

In addition, the confidential minutes of the extraordinary meeting of the EB on 14 April were also agreed as an accurate record of the meeting. A couple of minor amendments had been made; a final version would be circulated to Board members within the next week. Action: Stephen Bennett Matters arising:

 Paying Agency – Although Defra recognised that there were some legal issues, the decision to move to one Paying Agency in England had been taken.

It was not clear exactly how this would work between the RADs and the National Offices as there would need to be new, complex interfaces developed in a short timeframe i.e. 1 January 2006. Transitional arrangements might need to be developed. An internal meeting would be scheduled to discuss the next steps between CS and the National Offices as there would be a different answer in each of the three countries.

Action: Graham Cullen

The implications on workloads of losing the Paying Agency status needed careful consideration. This would be considered within the Business Improvement Programme. Action: Kim Lardge

 GLADE – the EB noted the contents of the progress report and was content. There was now increased confidence in the governance, functionality and proposed training. EB members noted that new grant schemes would be necessary in Scotland and England from 1/1/07. This would be discussed at project level but should not affect the delivery deadlines already in place.

Action: Alan Mitchell

1  LogicaCMG – the EB was content with the draft letter to Logica and agreed that it should be dispatched ASAP. Action: Graham Cullen

2. Finance Issues (Oral Report)

Transparency of Accounts – in order to allow the FC to better show expenditure matched to strategy and policy, the Review Group (Finance Director & country reps) was currently piloting the new system in a Conservancy and Forest District. The required accounting structure was also being examined by appropriate experts. The EB would formally be updated on progress via a paper within the next two weeks.

Front-line services – the EB would need to have a discussion on the definition of front-line and support services but an initial study resulted in 80%+ of FC staff being involved in providing front-line services. Details of this initial study would be shared with the EB within the next few weeks.

Purchase Order Processing (POP) – the roll out of POP had gone smoothly with no significant increase in workloads.

Electronic Expenses Module – this would be given a very careful, slowly paced roll out after detailed testing and piloting.

3. Finance Report

EB members noted the end of year financial position. Although there would be some final adjustments, each component part of the organisation was within its resources. Given the difficulties and complexities that had been experienced during the year, the EB was pleased with this outcome and congratulated Finance, and the wider finance community within the organisation, for their role in achieving this outcome.

EB members agreed that they would need to have a discussion on the valuation of the estate at a future meeting. Action: Keith Gliddon

4. HR Issues (Oral Report)

Employee Survey – this project continued to meet the agreed timetable. Although new questions had been added, overall the number of questions had been reduced. The survey would be issued in early May under a covering note from the DG to encourage all staff to participate. The EB agreed that managers would be encouraged to set aside specific times during the working day to allow their teams to complete their returns. This should only take 30-45 minutes. The newly appointed external consultants would be able to benchmark results not only with previous internal surveys, but also with the results from other organisations. The results would be available to the SSG at the Dalmahoy event in early July.

2 EB members were advised about the key points from the Civil Service Pay Conference including the fact that benchmarking salaries with other public and private sector employers remained a priority.

5. Benevolent Funds

The Executive Board agreed the following:

 It was still appropriate to have two benevolent funds

 Managers would be encouraged to allow the Civil Service Benevolent Fund (CSBF) representative to speak to staff

 The recycling option would be explored, although recycling schemes for cartridges and mobile phones were currently in place

 The balance of the increased contribution required by the CSBF would be met from the HR budget via an increase in the service level charges.

Although not an immediate priority, further legal advice would be sought with a view to closing the FC fund and absorbing the funds within the CSBF.

Action: Keith Gliddon & Kim Lardge

6. Business Improvement Programme (BIP) (Confidential)

Board members were advised that project briefs were in preparation for each of the seven main work streams. These would be circulated to the EB for approval within the next month. Once agreed, small project teams would be formed to take this work forward and a further note issued to all staff to keep them informed of progress. Action: BIP Project Team

Regular newsletters would be used from that point to keep people informed.

7. Alice Holt Site – Development Options (Confidential Paper)

Board members discussed at length the various options for the development of the Alice Holt site.

It was agreed that an external expert in property development would be commissioned to complete this project, managed in-house by Mark Thornycroft and Alison Melvin. Alternative arrangements would be made to cover Mark and Alison’s existing workload to ensure that appropriate resources were allocated to this task.

Action: Paul Hill-Tout and Jim Lynch

3 The EB agreed that the existing options paper would form the basis of advice to the Forestry Commissioners. The options paper would be submitted to Commissioners with a covering note that teased out the main issues, identified a preferred option and outlined the next stages to take the project forward. Action: Wilma Harper

A short biographical note on the original consultant would also be included to fully inform Commissioners. Action: Kim Lardge

8. Role of National Committees

The role and function of the National Committees needed further consideration. The EB agreed that they would revisit this discussion after the Internal Audit review of FC Governance had been completed in May. Action: Stephen Bennett

9. Any other business

The EB noted the success of the recent workshops in Scotland hosted by the Director and FE Chief Executive to engage PB5s and PB6s in the forward planning process, and wished to commend the staff taking part on their positive attitude and willingness to engage.

As this was Simon Hewitt’s last Executive Board meeting prior to his retirement, Board members expressed their gratitude to Simon for his sensible and constructive contributions over the years and wished him a long and happy retirement.