Board meeting minutes 21 March 2019 - The Planning Inspectorate
Updated 17 April 2024
Applies to England
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Minutes FINAL (23 May 2019)
| Title of meeting | Planning Inspectorate Board Meeting |
|---|---|
| Date | 21 March 2019 |
| Venue | EX-IPC Boardroom, TQH, Bristol |
| Chair | Trudi Elliott (TE) |
| Present | |
|---|---|
| David Holt (DH) | Non-Executive Director |
| Susan Johnson (SJ) | Non-Executive Director |
| Jayne Erskine (JE) | Non-Executive Director |
| Sarah Richards (SR) | Chief Executive |
| Navees Rahman (NR) | Director of Corporate Services |
| Tony Thickett (TT) | Director of Wales |
| Simon Gallagher (SG) | Director of Planning, MHCLG |
| In attendance | Planning Inspectorate Board Meeting |
|---|---|
| Christine Thorby (CT) | Group Manager |
| Mark Harrison (MH) | Planning Inspectorate Liaison (MHCLG) |
| Natasha Perrett (NP) | Board Secretary |
| Caroline Bee (CB) | Head of Finance, Commercial and Performance |
| Duane Oakes (DO) | Senior Performance Manager (item 4) |
| Tim Guy (TG) | Director of Transformation (item 5) |
| Sean Canavan (SC) | Performance Recovery Workstream Lead (item 5) |
| Rebecca Phillips (RP) | Group Manager (item 7) |
| Katie Hartwright (KH) | Head of HR (item 9) |
Part One: Schedule of Actions – 25 January 2018
Action: 15. Circulate draft targets submission to Board members for comment.
Owner: Sarah Richards
Para: 6.8
Timeframe: On hold pending SR19 submission
Part One: Schedule of Actions – 29 November 2018
Action: 1. Expand the September minutes to capture the debate on performance, Fujitsu contract and risk register.
Owner: Natasha Perrett & Trudi Elliott
Para: 2.2 - 2.5
Timeframe: Complete
Action: 2. Hold a session on risk matters with SLTs in quarter one next year.
Owner: David Holt & Navees Rahman
Para: 3.12
Timeframe: Confirm SLT meeting
Action: 10. Come back to the Board in March with a progress update on the proposals for an independent Inspectorate for Wales.
Owner: Neil Hemington
Para: 5.6
Timeframe: Transferred to May Board
Action: 11. Add a risk around the Inspectorate implementing policy and how this might impact on Ministers.
Owner: Chris Thorby (was Tony Thickett/Chris Thorby)
Para: 6.9
Timeframe: Closed – transferred to action 1 21 March meeting
Part One: Schedule of Actions – 31 January 2019
Action: 5. Recommendations 1 and 2 – JEs to review with ET and agree timescale to review the Governance Structure. Considering the new Director roles and mapping across to the sub-committee, and aligning with the ET structure and running order of meetings to suit business needs.
Owner: Jo Esson
Para: 8.1
Timeframe:
Action: 6. Recommendations 3-14 - deliver these recommendations from the review.
Owner: Jo Esson/Natasha Perrett
Para: 8.1
Timeframe: In progress
Action: 7. Look at the induction process for the new NEDs and to make sure it is less staff intensive and to include Board engagement sessions with full establishment of ET and full establishment of NEDs. If necessary, plan in two phases to allow for appointments to be made.
Owner: Navees Rahman & Chris Thorby (was Jo Esson)
Para: 8.1
Timeframe: In progress, NR and CT taking forward.
Part One: Schedule of Actions – 21 March 2019
Action: 1. Consider and agree with Executive Team (ET) if political sensitivity issues should be including on the SRR.
Owner: Tony Thickett/Chris Thorby
Para: 2.1
Timeframe: May Board
Action: 2. Provide CQPSC update at the next Board meeting.
Owner: Susan Johnson
Para: 3.1
Timeframe: May Board
Action: 3. Benchmark AWDL data across other organisations in the Civil Service.
Owner: Navees Rahman/Katie Hartwright
Para: 4.2
Timeframe: May Board
Action: 4. Present new dashboard at the May Board.
Owner: Duane Oakes
Para: 4.11
Timeframe: May Board
Action: 5. Send Performance Recovery updates to the Board on the months when the Board does not meet.
Owner: Sean Canavan/Tim Guy
Para: 5.7
Timeframe: Updates required: April, June, August, October, December
Action: 6. Produce a performance recovery communication for the NEDs to share with customers when necessary.
Owner: Sean Canavan/Tim Guy
Para: 5.7
Timeframe: Monthly basis
1.0 Welcome and Declaration of Interests
1.1 The Chair welcomed Mark Harrison, Planning Inspectorate Liaison (MHCLG) to the Board.
1.2 The Chair called for Declarations of Interest, of which there were none.
2.0 Minutes of 31 January Board meeting (part one)
Actions
2.1 Action 11 (January minutes) - focused on the extent to which the organisation ensures that Inspectors are aware of the political sensitivity of certain issues in casework. The Executive Team (ET) were asked to consider the matter and inform Board as to whether this matter warrants inclusion in the Strategic Risk Register (SRR).
2.2 Action 10 (November minutes) – A submission has been submitted to the Minister from the Welsh Assembly.
2.3 The Board noted any changes to the Planning Inspectorate Wales operation is likely to impact on the Strategic Risk Register (SRR), Strategic Plan and Business Plan and may need to be referenced depending on outcomes.
Minutes 2.4 No further comments were received on the minutes.
Agreed:
2a) TT and CT to consider and agree with Executive Team (ET) if political sensitivity issues should be include on the SRR.
2b) The January minutes are an accurate record of the meeting.
3.0 Committee updates
3a) Customer Quality and Professional Standards Committee (CQPSC)
3.1 Deferred to the next Board meeting, CQPSC minutes not available.
3b) Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC)
3.2 ARAC Chair’s update:
- Positive feedback was received from Government Internal Audit Agency (GIAA), the Inspectorate has received a good blend of substantial reports.
- The Commercial and Contracts advisory review recommended improvements, the Committee agreed to focus a deep dive on Commercial and Contract management at the September meeting. The timing of audits was also reviewed.
- Review of the risk escalation process. There was a presentation on how the process is applied by the Transformation team.
- The Committee discussed the laying of the accounts and potential risks which could cause delay to this process and what actions need to take place.
Agreed:
3a) SJ to provide CQPSC update at the next Board meeting.
3b) To note the update from the ARAC Chair.
4.0 Monitoring performance
a) February Dashboard
4.1 There has been a significant change to the budget underspend position, the decision not to record this sooner was made whilst we awaited formal agreement with MHCLG in relation to estates and re-letting the vacant space to MHCLG. Funding was also ring fenced as part of the Organisation Design work, this funding is no longer needed and has been transferred back to MHCLG.
4.2 Average Working Days Lost (AWDL) have reduced. Data shows 55% of staff have not had any leave due to illness. Whilst this is positive, the Board asked for our data to be benchmarked across other organisations in the Civil Service.
4.3 DH referred to our strategic risks and said we need to make sure these are monitored and updated in a way that gives the Board assurance that the mitigating actions take the Organisation to the target appetite.
b) MiPINS
4.4 DO asked the Board what are the top 5 items it would like to see in the new format Board dashboard in May.
4.5 DH would like to see:
- Actual data for assurance on performance and indicators of change in performance which links to resource.
- Finance data that confirms progress and predictions about what lies ahead.
- Develop milestones which will give early indication of hold ups and delays which the Board can support and help the Executive improve.
4.6 DH said we must have a set of principles which provide assurance and indicators to the Board on key areas. Sub-committees also need to be considered.
4.7 SJ asked DO to include more visuals and less text/ commentary. SJ also asked DO to provide a steer on timescales when additional requests for data are made. SJ would like to see the data that is reviewed by ET and Committee responsibility reflected in the terms of reference. Committee dashboards should be developed to align with the terms of reference.
4.8 JE asked DO to make sure the graphs are well presented and the key points are clear in the narrative.
4.9 TE said the Board should be looking at the data our customers would like to see which is likely to include performance of the output, determinisation of cases and appeals that are in progress. We need to consider what we want to tell the customers about our performance and how that translates to the Board.
4.10 The NEDs and Board are interested in:
- Operational performance (outliers, time to decision output)
- Budget management
- People performance
- Project performance.
4.11 DO will return to the May Board with the new dashboard.
Agreed:
4a) NR/ KH to benchmark AWDL data across other organisations in the Civil Service.
4b) DO to present new dashboard at the May Board.
5. Performance update
External targets – OFFICIAL SENSITIVE
Performance Recovery progress
5.1 MHCLG have given a funding commitment for the next financial year ahead of budgets being set. The Board thanked MHCLG for their commitment.
5.2 The Board noted that performance has stabilised and that new non-salaried inspectors (NSIs) have played a key role in this. However it noted that performance is not on the previously-agreed trajectory in the business case. The Board discussed the reasons for this. Recruitment to permanent salaried inspector posts continues to be a challenge. We are currently recruiting for band 3 inspectors.
5.3 NSI availability is limited to that originally offered. We are considering a further NSI procurement and recruitment of band 2 and 3 inspectors.
5.4 In summary, TG explained as a result best estimates are that performance recovery for s78 casework will be delayed by 2-3 months to November 2019.
5.5 The Board raised concerns about performance recovery deterioration and the investment made to make improvements. Further slippages in performance will not be acceptable.
5.6 SR explained Operational Delivery Transformation (ODT) and performance recovery are the priorities at the moment and will improve our customers experience.
5.7 The Board agreed through this critical period, NEDs should receive an update on the months when the Board does not meet. SG is comfortable with communication from MHCLG’s perspective. SG explained he is the Chair of the Performance Recovery Oversight Board, which meets on a monthly basis. It was agreed NEDs should be provided with update which can be shared with customers as they receive complaints from time to time.
Agreed:
5a) SC/ TG to send Performance Recovery updates to the Board on the months when the Board does not meet.
5b) SC/ TG to produce a performance recovery communication for the NEDs to share with customers when necessary.
6. Brexit Planning update
6.1 SG updated the Board on planning at MHCLG.
6.2 SG also updated the Board on Spring statement announcements on planning:
- Changes to Permitted Development Rights – including Kiosks.
- Response to the Oliver Letwin review.
- Accelerated Planning Green Paper, which aims to generate faster planning decisions in Local Government, this will be published later in the year.
Agreed:
6a) The Brexit and MHCLG update.
7. Strategic Plan and Business Plan - OFFICIAL SENSITIVE
8. Forward planner
8.1 The Board agreed the May Board agenda.
Agreed: 8a) The May Board agenda.
9. Organisation Design – phase 2 update - OFFICIAL SENSITIVE
Next meeting: 23 May 2019, 13.00pm – 16.00pm, Conference Room 3, Temple Quay House, Bristol