Corporate report

Board minutes: 25 March 2025

Published 1 October 2025

Approved Minutes of the 57th Board Meeting

held at 100 Parliament Street, SW1 and via video-conference

25 March 2025 10:00-14:15

Board members present:	Others present:
Hannah Nixon (Chair)	Malcolm Botting (for part)
Roy Barker	Carl Brazier (for part)
Peter Freeman	Rochelle Charles-Watson (for part)
Alastair Groom	Colin Hill
Hugh Kelly	Peter James (MOD) (for part)
John Russell	Simon Mahony (for part)
Joanne Watts	Jane McGovern
Claire Williams	Siobhan O’Donoghue
	Akhlaq Shah (for part)
	Colin Sharples (for part)
	Tara Usher (MOD)

1. Closed Board discussion

The Chair held a private session with Non-executive Board Members (NEBMs) regarding the Chief Executive’s 2024-25 performance, annual pay award and non-consolidated award.

The Chair held a private session with NEBMs, the Chief Executive and the Chief Regulatory Officer.

2. Welcome, apologies, announcements, and declarations of interest

The Chair welcomed Board members and attendees to the meeting, including Jane McGovern (Head of Corporate Services), attending as the ‘open chair’ representative.

There were no apologies for absence.

Declarations of Interest

The Board noted that NEBM Alastair Groom had been appointed as the Chief Finance Officer of the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board, effective from 17 February 2025.  The Board noted that the SSRO Chair, Hannah Nixon, had been appointed as Chair of the Retail Energy Codes Company, effective from 1 April 2025.  The appointments would be reflected in the published Register of Interests.

3. Minutes of 56th meeting held on 14 January 2025 (SSRO 01-0325), and action tracker (SSRO 02-0325)

The minutes of the Board meeting held on 14 January 2025 were approved as a correct record, subject to minor drafting points.  There were no outstanding or overdue actions.

The Board approved as a correct record the minutes of the 56th SSRO Board meeting held on 14 January 2025.

4. Chief Executive’s Report (SSRO 03-0325)

The Chief Executive presented his regular report, which detailed recent activities, current priorities, and key matters not covered elsewhere on the agenda.

Issues discussed included updates on MOD programmes, including the SSRO’s recent submission to the Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS) and the likely scope and timescales for the review of the single source contract regulations (SSCR); also, new structural and reporting arrangements coming into effect from 31 March 2025 as a result of MOD’s Defence Reform programme, including SSRO sponsorship through the new DG Corporate role within the National Armaments Director (NAD) Group.  The Board also conveyed its thanks to the team for the successful completion of the 2025-26 Profit Rate Assessment process, with the Secretary of State confirming on 14 March 2025 the baseline profit rate and capital servicing rates in line with the SSRO’s recommendation.

The Board considered proposed revisions to the Government Internal Audit Agency’s (GIAA) internal audit strategy for the SSRO from 2025-26, based on a three-year rolling programme (with two to three audits per year) reflecting the SSRO’s size and risk profile.  Under the proposed approach, the GIAA would issue a ‘limited scope’ annual audit opinion, and the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee and Board would need to satisfy themselves on the adequacy of the SRRO’s control framework from alternative / additional sources.  The Board was comfortable with the revised approach and limited scope annual opinion within the context of the SSRO’s wider assurance framework and risk profile.  The change in approach would be reflected as necessary in the Corporate Risk Register, including risk appetite ratings, and in the Risk Management Policy.  The final internal audit plan would be shared with the Board at its June 2025 meeting.

[Secretary’s Note: subsequent to the Board’s endorsement of the proposed internal audit approach, the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee considered an alternative audit strategy at its June 2025 meeting.  This is detailed for the Board’s consideration in the June 2025 Chief Executive’s Report.]

The Board noted the Chief Executive’s Report.

5. Corporate Performance Report (SSRO 04-0325)

The Board discussed the Corporate Performance Report, which provided a summary of performance against the SSRO’s strategic priorities and Corporate Plan objectives up to the end of February 2025, as well as budget to date and corporate risks.  The Board’s discussion covered the positive performance of the SSRO Helpdesk (Objective 2); updates against the Staff Engagement survey action plan (Objective 5); and progress in DefCARS data use across MOD, including the increased use of DefCARS Power BI reports (Objective 3).  It was suggested that collating anecdotal evidence and case studies on DefCARS data use could be helpful in demonstrating its added value.

The Board noted the Corporate Performance Report.

6. Risk Management (SSRO 05-0325)

As part of its annual risk management discussion, the Board considered whether the current corporate risks on the Corporate Risk Register remained relevant and whether the risk appetite for each was appropriate.  The Board was also invited to provide feedback on the appropriateness and adequacy of risk controls and mitigations. Adjustments would be made to risk descriptions and appetite ratings to reflect the Board’s feedback.

The Board noted that a recent GIAA review of the SSRO’s risk management arrangements had concluded that the SSRO had “a robust risk management framework, with significant positive aspects”.  The single low-priority improvement area, and a small number of other minor updates, had been reflected in the Risk Management Policy.

The Board:

• commented on the corporate risks and confirmed the risk appetite for each; and
• approved the minor updates to the Risk Management Policy.

7. Digital Strategy update & DefCARS/ IT Managed Services (ITMS) procurement (SSRO 06-0325)

Members of the Analysis & DefCARS and the Compliance & Reporting teams joined for the item, which comprised two parts: an update on the ongoing development of the SSRO’s Digital Strategy and the DefCARS WebApp development project; and a paper seeking Board approval for the preferred procurement route and contract value envelope for the future support and development of both DefCARS and IT managed services.

The Board noted the update on the Digital Strategy and progress with the DefCARS WebApp development project, including the engagement timeline for work with a specialist IT consultancy that was providing an expert assessment of the current state/’as is’, strategic service design, and a roadmap for the future reporting service.  Its final report was expected in late April / early May 2025.

Regarding the procurement route, DefCARS and IT managed services were currently delivered under two separate contracts and new arrangements needed to be in place from March 2026.  The Board supported the recommended route of, and timeline for, exploring the viability of a more integrated solution – including security upgrades and maintenance – under a single contract.  This approach aimed to be more ‘future-proofed’ and provide flexibility as the regulatory framework and its requirements continued to evolve.  An update would be brought to the Board at its June 2025 meeting, including detail of the DefCARS development business case.

In terms of subsequent stages of the procurement, there was strong support for reflecting the estimated provision for regular security upgrades as budgeted recurring costs.  It was also noted that MOD’s Commercial and Defence Digital teams should be engaged on the procurement project.

The Board:

• noted the update on the Digital Strategy;
• approved going out to tender for a procurement of a 5-year contract (3 years +1 +1 years) for the support and development of DefCARS and ITMS support services;
• approved – in the event that the procurement exercise failed to secure acceptable (or any) bids as a result of seeking a combined service offering – the procurement of the services as two separate contracts;
• subject to adequate funding being identified, approved the permanent reallocation of budget savings to allow regular security upgrades to be included in the business as usual recurring cost budget, rather than a call-off;
• delegated authority to the Chief Executive to approve the tender launch of the contract (or two contracts if required) within the overall value above, and thereafter enter into the contract(s) on behalf of the SSRO; and
• noted the key stages of the procurement plan.

[Secretary’s Note: subsequent to the Board’s endorsement of the procurement route and contract value, an alternative proposal (informed by the specialist consultants’ findings) was developed for consideration by the Board at its June 2025 meeting.]

8. 2025-28 Corporate Plan (SSRO 07-0325)

A draft 2025-28 Corporate Plan was presented for the Board’s consideration, reflecting feedback provided on the outline Plan at the January 2025 meeting.

Peter James, Deputy Director, Commercial Performance & Scrutiny, MOD, joined the meeting and shared MOD’s high-level comments on the draft Plan, to which the Board and Executive responded.

A final draft 2025-28 Corporate Plan would be shared for approval in due course.  SSRO teams would continue to deliver statutory functions and develop the draft 2025-26 operational plan in the meantime.

The Board noted the draft 2025-28 Corporate Plan.

9. SSRO Support Offer (SSRO 08-0325)

The Stakeholder Support Coordinator joined the meeting and, with the Head of Policy, Referrals & Support, briefed the Board on the SSRO’s Support Services, including overviews of Helpdesk services and statistics, and planned enhancements to the support offering, including exploration of how Artificial Intelligence might be utilised.  The Board welcomed the update, noting that the Helpdesk was a flagship SSRO service, and that the professionalism of the team and the support it provided was routinely commended by stakeholders.  The Board suggested that, as part of future enhancements, consideration should be given to how quantitative and qualitative stakeholders’ feedback on the impact of SSRO support and guidance (particularly in terms of value for money and efficiencies) might best be captured.

The Board considered the SSRO’s support offer, including the planned improvements and other changes the SSRO may consider.

10. Report from the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (SSRO 09-0325)

The Chair of the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee presented the draft minutes of the 6 March 2025 meeting.

The Board noted the minutes of the 6 March 2025 Audit and Risk Assurance Committee.

11. 2024-25 Board Effectiveness Review (SSRO 10-0325)

The Chair presented the findings from the 2024-25 Board Effectiveness Review (BER), which concluded that the SSRO Board was well-functioning and continuing to fulfil its responsibilities effectively.

The Board endorsed the BER findings and the proposed response, including the roll-over of five recommendations from the 2023-24 BER for ongoing development in 2025-26.  The Board also supported the proposal for a more structured programme of ongoing engagement with staff outside of the formal meeting cycle, particularly given the loss of the People Committee and Regulatory Committee in 2024.  The Chief Executive would ask the Staff Group to consider how to best take this forward.

The Board considered the Board’s effectiveness in 2024-25 and the proposed areas for ongoing development in 2025-26.

12. Future workplan (SSRO 11-0325) and reflections on meeting

The Board noted the summary of future Board meeting business and reflected on the business considered at the meeting.

13. Any other business

There was no further business.

14. Next Board meeting

The next meeting of the Board would take place on 17 June 2025 and incorporate the Board’s annual Strategy Session.