Transparency data

Board minutes: 21 September 2022

Updated 20 July 2023

Applies to England

This document has been subject to redactions

Date

Wednesday 21 September 2022

Time and Venue

09:00 a.m. in Room 9013 and via TEAMS

Attendees

Board

Ian Bauckham, Chair

Susan Barratt

Hardip Begol

Mark Farrar

Dr Catherine McClellan

Eileen Milner

Clare Pelham

Chris Paterson

Dame Christine Ryan

Dr Jo Saxton, Chief Regulator

Frances Wadsworth

Ofqual

Kate Evans, Executive Director, RCS (Interim)

Richard Garrett Director, Policy & Strategic Relationships GQ

Daniel Gutteridge, General Counsel

Charlie Henning, Director, People and Culture

Cath Jadhav, Executive Director, Standards, Research and Analysis

Catherine Large, Executive Director, Vocational & Technical Qualifications

Jane Parsons, Director of Communications

Charles Scott, Executive Director, Finance & Operations (Interim)

Ian Stockford, Director, Strategic Projects Standards Research & Analysis

Present

Phil Carr, Director Policy & Evaluation VTQ (Item 35/22)

Jo Handford, Associate Director, Strategy (Items 29/22 and 31/22)

Emma Scott, Director of Operations VTQ (Items 33/22 and 35/22)

[Redacted], Senior Finance Manager (Item 30/22)

[Redacted], Senior Manager Strategy (Item 31/22)

Linda Samuel, Board Secretary

Lydia Waine, Associate Director Legal Establishment

Mary Webb, Head of Private Office

[Redacted], Deputy Private Secretary

25/22 Welcome and apologies for absence

Apologies were received from Cindy Leslie and Matt Tee.

Apologies were also received from Michael Hanton.

26/22 Declarations of Interest

27/22 Minutes and matters arising

Two typing errors were identified which will be amended before publication of the approved Minutes.

With no further adjustments, the Minutes of the Board meeting held on 15 June 2022 were approved.

All matters arisings from previous meetings had been dealt with and were now closed.

The reports and updates from the Board Committees were received and noted.

28/22 Decisions taken by electronic business

The Board noted the following electronic business:

i. E04/22 Consultation outcomes and subject level conditions and guidance, GCSE French, German and Spanish (approved 09 June 2022)

ii. E05/22 Appointment of Board Committee members (approved 22 July 2022)

29/22 Chief Regulator’s report

The Board noted the Chief Regulator’s report.

The Board was advised that Ofqual had delivered the first summer series since 2019 which, overall, had been successful. Many of the risks anticipated did not materialise; marking had been completed on time and the policy intent of results reflecting a staging post between 2021 and 2019 had been successfully delivered.

National Assessments had resumed with a new provider. There had been some delivery issues which had affected 0.4% of the results and Ofqual is engaging closely with the Standards and Testing Agency (STA) to understand the issues and action being taken to resolve them.

The National Reference Test showed no statistically significant change in English with a statistically significant drop in maths compared to 2020. The Chief Regulator had confirmed recommendations not to make any adjustments to grade boundaries based on the NRT evidence and Ofqual had published the annual statement on gov.uk in that regard.

30/22 Finance update

The forecast outturn underspend at 30 June 2022 was £0.45 million which is 1.6% of the budget for 2022/23. This includes capital expenditure which is expected to end the year on budget.

Potential risks to the forecast outturn have been identified as:

• The possibility of a significant fiscal event in the autumn of 2022 following ministerial changes. It was noted that Ofqual is in a good financial situation and should be able to respond positively to any changes.
• Impact of turnover rate remaining above the 15% assumption that underpins the vacancy factor. Recruitment identified as on track but the situation will continue to be monitored closely.
• Management of in-year project priorities. This is being supported to ensure planned project milestones are aligned with financial priorities.

It was noted that underspend to date is greater than underspend forecast for the whole year but that adjustments will be made later in the year due to the nature and programme of work to be delivered this business year.

31/22 Strategic Risk and Risk Appetite

The Board considered the Strategic Risk Register proposed amendments and level of risk appetite for 2 new risks. The Board was advised the Audit & Risk Assurance Committee had reviewed the same at their last meeting in order to provide assurance.

RESOLVED

The Board noted the changes in the Risk Register.

32/22 Ofqual Governance Framework review

The Board was presented with proposed amendments to the Governance Framework, (the Framework) being the mechanism which sets out how Ofqual is governed.

The proposed amendments for the Board to consider were mainly administrative/ housekeeping in order to bring the document up to date. The Framework had been to the Audit & Risk Assurance Committee for review at their last meeting and suggested amendments had been incorporated for the Board meeting.

A suggestion to rename the Finance & HR Committee was discussed with a move towards recognising Ofqual’s direction of travel and reflecting the values of the organisation. People, Resources and Finance Committee was recommended.

As the Corporate Plan emphasises Ofqual regulating on behalf of students and apprentices, the Board reflected this should also be included within the Framework to guide Board decision making.

RESOLVED

The Board approved the delegation of the final wording of the Governance Framework to the Chief Regulator in consultation with the Chair.

33/22 Level 2 / Level 3 results review

The Director of Operations for VTQ advised the Board on the review being carried out into the delays to VTQ students receiving their results in summer 2022. A Steering Group has been set up to oversee 5 working groups looking at various aspects of the review. The Senior Management Group (SMG) will oversee the strategic direction of the review. The evidence gathering is scheduled to conclude by mid-October with a report to be produced by the end of the year.

The Board was reassured by the content and direction of the review.

34/22 T Levels: Analysis of current issue and next steps

The Executive Director, Vocational and Technical Qualifications, briefed the Board on the current situation and the intended next steps to be taken.

35/22 Proposed regulatory approach to Level 2 and below qualifications

The Director, Policy & Evaluation, briefed the Board on the background to the DfE’s review of post-16 qualifications at Level 2 and below (L2B) which covers most existing L2B provision but not GCSEs, Functional Skills and Essential Digital Skills.

The qualifications in scope of the review have been placed into five broad clusters and the Board was asked to approve Ofqual’s overall regulatory approach for the first cluster: Level 1 and 2 qualifications leading to employment and part of the second cluster: Level 2 qualifications used as part of a T Level transition programme.

The Board recognised the scale and challenge of such a large scope of work and was reassured Ofqual had sufficient expertise and capacity in place to deliver.

RESOLVED

The Board approved Ofqual’s proposed overall regulatory approach for:

1. i. Level 1 and Level 2 qualifications leading to employment.

2. ii. Level 2 qualifications used as part of a T Level transition programme.

The Board approved the recommendations to:

For Level 1 and 2 qualifications leading to employment:

1. a. Delegate to the Technical Committee all necessary decisions in relation to the development of detailed policy proposals and draft conditions, requirements and guidance for consultation.

2. b. Delegate to the Chief Regulator and Chair, final sign-off of the combined policy and technical consultation and proposed conditions, requirements and guidance.

3. c. Delegate to the Technical Committee, following the consultation, all necessary decisions in relation to the development of the final wording of the conditions, requirements and guidance.

4. d. Delegate to the Chief Regulator and Chair, final sign-off of the consultation analysis document, decisions document and final wording of the conditions, requirements and guidance.

For Level 2 qualifications used as part of a T Level transition programme:

1. a. Delegate to the Technical Committee, all necessary decisions in relation to the development of detailed policy proposals for consultation.

2. b. Delegate to the Chief Regulator and Chair, final sign-off of the policy consultation.

3. c. Delegate to the Technical Committee, following the policy consultation, all necessary decisions in relation to the development of draft conditions, requirements and guidance.

4. d. Delegate to the Chief Regulator and Chair, following the policy consultation, final sign-off of the consultation analysis documents, decisions document, technical consultation document and proposed conditions, requirements and guidance.

5. e. Delegate to the Technical Committee, following the technical consultation, all necessary decisions in relation to finalising the conditions, requirements and guidance.

6. f. Delegate to the Chief Regulator and Chair, following the technical consultation, final sign-off of the consultation analysis document, decisions document and final wording of the conditions, requirements and guidance.

36/22 Future of the Standards Advisory Group

The Executive Director, Standards Research and Analysis, briefed the Board on the Standards Advisory Group (SAG) which had initially been set up to scrutinise detailed technical issues and provide advice to the Board. The Board noted that since SAG’s inception 10 years previously, Ofqual has changed as an organisation; it now has more in-house expertise, a broader remit and the demands of current and future work require a more agile approach.

Ofqual recognised the need for a mechanism to harness a wider group of experts with a more agile approach and proposed convening a panel of experts which could be called upon as required. This would also allow for a broadening of the areas of expertise available, particularly in digital, labour and economics and enable a greater use of international expertise.

The proposed approach included retaining the Early Career Researcher position on SAG that was introduced in 2021, with the sponsorship, and continue to invite applications for an early career researcher to join the panel and participate in up to 3 meetings. This position would also retain the ability to have a mentor available from the wider group of experts.

RESOLVED

The Board approved the recommendations to:

1. i. Replace the current Standards Advisory Group (and the Research Advisory Group and NRT Advisory Group) with a broader Advisory Panel of experts that can be drawn upon as needed to provide specialist advice. This would remove the need for large, round table meetings.

2. ii. Continue to appoint an ethnic minority Early Career Researcher to the panel to increase the ethnic diversity of the group/panel.

3. iii. Remove the Terms of Reference for the Standards Advisory Group from the Governance Framework and delegate the sign-off of amended arrangements to the Chief Regulator in consultation with the Chair.

37/22 Publication of Papers

The Board agreed to publish Open Papers.

38/22 Any Other Business

1. i. Appointment of Chair of Audit & Risk Assurance Committee
   Frances Wadsworth had resigned her position as Chair, and member, of the Audit & Risk Assurance Committee. The Chair nominated Cindy Leslie as the new Chair.

RESOLVED

The Board approved the appointment of Cindy Leslie as Chair of the Audit & Risk Assurance Committee.

1. ii. Appointment of Matt Tee to the Audit & Risk Assurance Committee
   The Chair nominated Matt Tee be appointed to the Audit & Risk Assurance Committee in order to keep the Members of the Board on the Committee at the same level.
   It was noted that Matt Tee will resign his position on the Technical Committee accordingly.

RESOLVED

The Board approved the appointment of Matt Tee to the Audit & Risk Assurance Committee

1. iii. Strategy Day
   Because of a proposed train strike on the date scheduled for the Board Strategy Day, 05 October, the Board had been given alternative dates for this meeting and the date of Tuesday 29 November was agreed.
   The location will be in central London and members are encouraged to attend in person. An amended invite will be sent out.
   Action: LS

2. iv. Next Board Meeting

The next Board meeting will be held in Coventry on Wednesday 07 December 2022 and members are encouraged to attend in person if at all possible.

The meeting ended at 12:50 p.m.