Minutes of SMT Meeting held on 13 December 2023 at 9.30am, via Microsoft Teams.
In attendance:
- R Kidd Chair and Chief Executive
- N Monson Deputy Chief Executive
- K Neeson Deputy Chief Executive
- B Monson Deputy Chief Executive
- L Burns Deputy Chief Executive
1. Apologies
There were no apologies.
2. Minutes of the last meeting
The minutes from the 15 November meeting were agreed.
3. Action points
There were no action points not covered by the agenda.
4. Corporate health, safety and welfare
- fire wardens proposal paper has been circulated to staff for consideration and comments
- prices have been obtained for the provision of Emergency First Aid at Work training - we will seek expressions of interest in the new year with the hope of providing dedicated training on site for our staff
- face-fit testing is well underway and the completion date of end of January 2024 should be met
5. (a) Audit, risk management and finance
- bid submitted to DfE for additional funds to support work in this current year has been met in full
- business cases were approved by the board to approve additional spend up to £125K for the Work Related Health (WRH) project preparations and £70K to extend the Workplace Transport Campaign (WTC)
- the first Internal Audit (IA) has completed, the Terms Of Reference (TOR) for the second has been agreed to go to the Audit Risk Management Committee (ARMC) and third is drafted
5. (b) Emerging risks
SMT noted that there was nothing new to report at this time.
Table of emerging risks
| Date of SMT meeting where Emerging Risk was first discussed | Nature of Emerging risk | Action required | Current status of Emerging Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Board loss of staff | Loss of board chair and two members | Change to standing orders (completed at October board meeting) | Continue to monitor. Pulic Appointments Unit process to appoint a new chair is underway |
| 18 April 2023 - Reviewed 16 August reviewed 13 September 19th October - reviewed 15 November - reviewed 13 December - reviewed |
Many of the current vacancies are considered to have the potential to jeopardise statutory functions or Coorporat Plan targets in the short term | Regular liaison with NICS HR to highlight the importance of filling critical vacancies – a number of meetings took place with NICS HR and following these we have seen some slow progress towards launching competitions Some progress on a number of posts |
To remain on the Quarter 2 risk register as a Business Continuity Risk with the likelihood of 3 and an impact of 3 To remain under review until we see some of the business critical posts filled Some staff in post and some confirmed start dates in October and first half of November. Risk reduced in Business Disruption on Corporate Risk Register to a likelihood of 2 and an impact of 2 in October 2023 Continue to monitor progress as staff take up posts Ongoing |
6. Staffing
SMT discussed a number of staffing matters including the next trainee inspector recruitment and consideration of resilience in the wake of potential retirements in the next two to three years in a number of areas.
7. Case and project work
SMT noted the Major Investigation Team (MIT) update and the fact that there are cases under consideration. Limited capacity exists and cases will be prioritised by MIT with the focus on fatalities.
8. Business planning
- SMT discussed the initial consideration work that is underway for the replacement of the Content Management System (CMS) and things will need to be progressed in terms of procurement and informing the Department
- SMT Head of Groups (HOGs) agreed that the meetings would take place every other month starting in February 2024 and we will review this later in the year - a discussion topic will also be added to each agenda
9. Performance monitoring
B Monson talked SMT through the report. SMT noted fatals are already over last year’s, interactions are up significantly, site visits are down slightly but we believe we are on track to make the end of year target. Over three day absence incidents are down too.
Workplace transport safety
The campaign is running very well. Business areas have reported that in many cases the transport inspections have taken more time than was anticipated, especially after the publicity surrounding the nature of the visits. In many cases this has led to notices being served.
10. Board business
- a competition to appoint a Chair to the HSENI board is due to launch imminently from the Department
- SMT noted that the existing board had approved the business cases to bid for additional funds to bring forward some preparation and planning work, given the uncertainty in over budgets once again for 2024/25
11. Any other business (AOB)
There were no AOB items discussed.
12. Date of next meeting
The date of the next meeting will be in January and a date will be confirmed but provisionally is 24 January.
The meeting concluded at 11.40am.