Minutes of SMT Meeting held on 10 December 2024 at 9.30am in Ladas Drive.
In attendance:
- R Kidd Chair and Chief Executive
- K Neeson Deputy Chief Executive
- B Monson Deputy Chief Executive
- L Burns Deputy Chief Executive
- C Mackey A/Deputy Chief Executive
1. Apologies
There was an apology from N Monson. RK welcomed C Mackey to her first Senior Management Team (SMT) meeting.
2. Minutes of the last meeting
The minutes from the 19 November meeting was agreed.
3. Action points
There were no action points not covered by the agenda.
4. Corporate health, safety and welfare
SMT discussed staffing and the upcoming promotion competitions which could create further vacancies.
A minor change to the fire safety policy where only one person is present on a floor was carried forward.
There was a discussion on some Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) items which we agreed staff could seek to obtain certain items which are harder wearing and give better service.
5. (A) Audit, Risk Management, and Finance (ARMC)
Internal Audits are ongoing and on track for completion in line with our agreed timeframes. Business Continuity Plan (BCP) is completed.
It was noted that our financial position continues to be on track.
5. (B) Emerging risks
The ongoing staff vacancy situation continues to be a concern.
Potential loss of staff through upcoming promotion competitions was noted.
| Date of SMT meeting where Emerging Risk was first discussed | Nature of Emerging Risk | Action required | Current status of Emerging Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 2023 | Board is awaiting a chair and up to three additional board members | We anticipate a competition in December 2024 to appoint additional board members | Planned Public Appointments Unit (PAU) competition in December 2024 to fill board vacancies. New members anticipated in May 2025 |
| Many of the current vacancies are considered to have the potential to jeopardise statutory functions or Corporate Plan (CP) targets in the short term Ongoing staffing will dictate the levels of service that we are able to provide in this current year G6 and G7 competitions have been announced for December to February | 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 Concerns were discussed with the NICS HR business partners and partnership meeting re staffing and ongoing delays in agreeing Candidate Information Booklets (CIBs) etc. SMT will continue to monitor Recruitment needs to be more responsive and the system needs to enable the process to start sooner Comms required from NICSHR as to timescales and realistic targets for competitions | To remain on the risk register as a Business Continuity Risk To remain under review until we see some of the business-critical posts filled Continue to monitor progress as staff take up posts. Trainee Inspector Competition is now live Maintaining knowledge and competence within the organisation will be a challenge if turnover increases to the extent where we lose a great deal of experience in a short period without the opportunity to have proper handovers and training for new staff. SMT has carried out an exercise to examine the number of staff who might consider retirement in the next 3-5 years but we cannot estimate the number that will leave due to promotion or obtaining another job outside of HSENI |
6. Staffing
An internal review of the Regulatory Training Programme (RTP) report has been shared with SMT for consideration. It will then circulate to Head of Groups (HoGs).
7. Case and project work
The team is operating at capacity at present. It is hoped that a number of cases will move ahead in the coming weeks.
SMT will keep the situation under observation.
8. Business planning
Calling note has issued to heads of groups re the new business plan for 2025/26. Head of groups (HoGs) asked to plan on current staffing levels and not anticipated.
9. Replacement CMS system
The project board had its second meeting to discuss the priorities and to hear from the consultant advising on the business case.
A December session has been arranged for all stakeholder to input to the consultants following a number of one to one discussions.
10. Performance monitoring
B Monson updated SMT. The number of fatalities is down on the same period last year. Serious are slightly down. Visit interactions are down but closer to target than expected possibly due to all trainees having emerged from training. Complaints are down by 8 percent. Enforcement activity is on down on last year, but this reflects some specific campaign activity that took place last year but are higher when compared to the previous pre campaign year.
11. Service level complaints
Total received = 5
Responded at Level One (DCE) = 5
Still open Level One = 2
Responded at Level Two (CE) = 0
Still open Level Two = N/A
Escalated to or direct to NIPSO = 3
Still open NIPSO = 2
12. Board business
Annual Report and Accounts (ARA) Draft document to be tabled.
Agenda, minutes and dates to go to Chair before the rest of the board.
13. AOB
SMT discussed the document the Chief Executive (CE) circulated from Department for the Economy (DfE) and agreed a position on it.
14. Next meeting
The date of the next meeting will be January 2025.
The meeting concluded at 2.00pm.