HMCTS Board meeting summary - 6 May 2021
Published 30 July 2021
© Crown copyright 2021
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-courts-and-tribunals-service-board-meeting-6-may-2021/hmcts-board-meeting-summary-6-may-2021
1. Present HMCTS Members:
| Board member | Role |
|---|---|
| Tim Parker | Independent Chairman |
| Victoria Cochrane | Senior Independent Non-Executive Member |
| Lakh Jemmett | Non-Executive Member |
| Nicky Wilden | Non-Executive Member & Audit and Risk Assurance Committee Chair |
| Kevin Sadler | Acting Chief Executive |
| Andrew Baigent | Chief Financial Officer |
| Paul Harris | Acting Operations Director |
| Gemma Hewison | Strategy and Change Director |
| Annabel Burns | Judicial & Legal Services Policy Directorate Director – MoJ Representative |
| Lady Justice Thirlwall | Senior Presiding Judge (SPJ) |
| Lord Justice Lindblom | Senior President of Tribunals (SPT) |
| District Judge Tim Jenkins | Judicial board member |
1.1 Presenters and additional attendees:
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Lord Justice Charles Haddon-Cave | Deputy Senior Presiding Judge (DSPJ) |
| Jan Gower | Non-Executive Change Portfolio Board member/Critical Friend |
| Helen Measures | Deputy Director, Crime |
| Jason Latham | Acting Development Director |
| Joe Gilonis | Deputy Director, Portfolio Delivery |
| Clare Farren | Deputy Director, Judicial Private Offices (operations and modernisation) |
| HMCTS Board Secretary | |
| Head of HMCTS Corporate Governance & Board Secretariat |
2. Welcome and Introductions
Tim Parker welcomed attendees to the meeting and gave apologies.
3. Minutes and actions
The minutes from 8 April 2021 were approved and updates on actions were noted.
4. Performance and finance updates
The Board was informed that COVID-19 infection rates within HMCTS had continued to reduce and noted that home testing had been rolled-out across England. The current focus was on preparing for potential changes to COVID-19 restrictions that were currently expected towards the end of June.
Board members were invited to consider the new summary report and the performance cards.
The improvements and progress against recovery plans were highlighted and the Board noted that the current focus was anticipating the end of social distancing and developing plans in respect of this.
There were substantive performance discussions in respect of key areas, including Civil, Family and the Employment Tribunal jurisdictions.
The Board discussed the key points in relation to the provisional outturn for the HMCTS Financial Position 2020 to 2021.
5. HMCTS Reform Programme - update of key achievements and challenges
The monthly update on the Reform Programme was discussed by the Board.
The good progress that was being made in relation to the Video Hearing Service and Scheduling and Listing projects was noted. The Board was also informed that the initial version of the Courts and Tribunals Service Centre Strategic Technology had been rolled-out. In respect of the Common Platform, it was confirmed that the first national roll-out sites had gone live in Staffordshire and the South-west.
The Board discussed the update that had been provided following the recent crime programme stocktake and assessment of all elements of the programme, including conditions of success.
6. Review Process between the Lord Chancellor, Lord Chief Justice and Senior President of Tribunals
The Board discussed and provided feedback on the proposed mechanism for how the principals’ review meetings could work.
7. Focus on crime performance
An update was provided on current performance in the criminal courts, the challenges for 2021 to 2022 and the plans for tackling them.
The Board noted and provided feedback on those proposed plans, focusing on the reduction of the outstanding caseload and the improvement of case timeliness.
8. HMCTS audit and risk assurance
An oral report was provided in relation to the HMCTS Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC) meeting on 4 May 2021 by the ARAC chair.
Key areas of discussion were considered, including substantive items in relation to: compliance and assurance; the HMCTS agency and trust statement accounting policies; a deep dive on health and safety; and internal audit activity.
9. Accounting for benefits in 2020/21
Following a discussion, the HMCTS Board endorsed the recommended methodology and the mitigations provided through the new benefits realisation framework.
10. HMCTS delegation of authority policy 2021 to 2022
The Board considered the enhancements to the existing framework that had occurred or were planned for the coming year. It approved the policy, noting that a revised version would be presented for further consideration should changes be required following the review of the HMCTS framework document.