HMCTS Board meeting summary 5 June 2020
Published 18 December 2020
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1. Present HMCTS members
| Board member | Role |
|---|---|
| Tim Parker | Independent Chairman |
| Victoria Cochrane | Senior Independent Non-Executive Member and Audit and Risk Assurance Committee Chair |
| I Ian Playford | Non-Executive Member |
| Lakh Jemmett | Non-Executive Member |
| Susan Acland-Hood | Chief Executive, HM Courts & Tribunals Service |
| Kevin Sadler | Deputy Chief Executive & Operations Director |
| Andrew Baigent | Chief Finance Officer |
| Sir Ernest Ryder | Senior President of Tribunals (SPT) |
| I Lady Justice Kate Thirlwall | Senior Presiding Judge (SPJ) |
| District Judge Tim Jenkins | Judicial Board member |
| Annabel Burns | Ministry of Justice, Director, Judicial and Legal Services Policy |
1.1 Presenters and additional attendees
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Lord Justice Keith Lindblom | Vice-President of the Unified Tribunals |
| Marie-Claire Uhart | Strategy and Change Director |
| Jan Gower | Non-Executive HMCTS Change Portfolio Board member/Critical Friend |
| Catherine Blair | Deputy Director, Strategic Finance |
| Daniel Flury | Deputy Director, Tribunals |
| Judge Meleri Tudur | Deputy Chamber President, First tier Tribunal (HESC) |
| Judge Fiona Monk | Regional Employment Judge |
| Judge Siobhan McGrath | Chamber President, First tier Tribunal (Property) |
| Lord Justice Adrian Fulford | Vice-President Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) |
| Rose Pennells | Head of Business Strategy |
| Senior Strategy Adviser HMCTS Business Strategy | |
| Judicial Data Policy Support Officer, Judicial Office | |
| Paul Spoors | Civil, Family and Tribunals (CFT) Programme Director (Interim) |
| Sarah Wallace | HMCTS Financial Controller |
| Head of Financial Accounts | |
| Deputy Head Government Internal Audit Agency Project Portfolio Management Function | |
| Clare Farren | Deputy Director, Judicial Private Offices (operations and modernisation) |
| HMCTS Board Secretary | |
| Head of HMCTS Corporate Governance and Board Secretariat |
2. Welcome and introductions
Tim Parker welcomed attendees to the meeting.
3. Minutes and actions
The minutes from 7 May 2020 were approved and updates on actions were noted.
4. HMCTS executive performance update
The Board was informed that the main priority continued to be the response to COVID-19, though focus was now more on the recovery of performance in the short and medium term. To support this recovery, a number of measures were being considered which included: identifying potential additional locations that could be utilised to increase the amount of work being processed; work continuing to take place remotely wherever appropriate; and HMCTS buildings beginning to be reopened in stages. Consideration was also being given to the potential of increasing the flexibility of operating hours to maximise the number of hearings that could be heard.
In relation to current performance, the Board was informed that whilst the amount of work taking place was increasing, the outstanding workload in the civil, family and criminal jurisdictions continued to increase as a result of COVID-19. To address this, senior judges, supported by HMCTS, were seeking to maximise the cases being held in the short term, including the use of hybrid hearings and the reopening of HMCTS buildings where possible.
5. HMCTS COVID-19 business recovery plan
It was noted that the HMCTS COVID-19 Business Recovery Plan had been designated as a ‘tier 1’ cross-government project as it was within the top 40 governmental priorities. The Board gave its feedback and approved the proposed outline plan.
6. Tribunals performance and initiatives
The Board was provided with a number of presentations covering tribunal performance, innovation from the frontline and tribunals transformation.
7. Approach to data
Lord Justice Fulford talked through his proposals for a way forward in relation to data disclosures for the short to medium term based on a recent discussion at the Judicial Executive Board.
Following a discussion, the Board agreed to the recommendations in the paper.
8. Civil, Family and Tribunals (CFT) Programme - lessons learned for divorce and probate
The Board discussed the lessons learned from the divorce and probate projects and the work following the further in-depth review by the CFT “red team” to identify and remove obstacles to delivery.
9. HMCTS statutory financial reporting 2019-20
The Board agreed to delegate final approval of the HMCTS Annual Accounts and Remuneration Report 2019-20 and HMCTS Trust Statement to the HMCTS Audit and Risk Assurance Committee, in line with standard practice. HMCTS Board members were invited to provide detailed comments on the draft report and trust statement out of committee.
10. HMCTS Board effectiveness evaluation 2019-20
The Board undertook a discussion of the findings of its annual effectiveness evaluation survey and agreed priority areas for continuous improvement for 2020-21.