Minutes of SMT Meeting held on 18 June 2024 at 9.30am in the Robens Room at Ladas Drive.
In attendance:
- R Kidd Chair and Chief Executive
- N Monson Deputy Chief Executive
- B Monson Deputy Chief Executive
- L Burns Deputy Chief Executive
- K Neeson Deputy Chief Executive (Via Teams)
1. Apologies
There were no apologies.
2. Minutes of the last meeting
The minutes from the 23 May meeting were agreed.
3. Action points
There were no action points not covered by the agenda.
4. Corporate health, safety and welfare
Consideration of Fire Warden Training discussed.
5. (A) Audit, Risk Management, and Finance (ARMC)
The Annual Report is due to be signed off on Thursday 20 June at a board meeting.
Audit reports will be presented to ARMC.
Following the Partnership meeting our financial position has improved. Our bid for £304k has been confirmed. A further bid will be made in the October or January monitoring.
5. (B) Emerging risks
Increasing staff vacancies as a number of people have resigned to take up posts in the private sector.
Funding & Head Count forms (F&HC) will come directly from the Chief Executive or a Deputy Chief Executive, having first fully considered the financial implications of the new post.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 2023 | Board is awaiting a Chair and up to three additional board members | Minister is to consider the selection and appointment of a new Chair Subsequently we anticipate a competition in Autumn 2024 to appoint additional board members | Minister appointed a new Chair from 17 June 2024 Possible Public Appointments Unit (PAU) competition in Autumn 2024 to fill board vacancies |
| Many of the current vacancies are considered to have the potential to jeopardise statutory functions or Corporate Plan (CP) targets in the short term Plan to meet NICS HR to discuss some ongoing issues A number of issues around Candidate Information Booklet (CIB) format and types of competitions Competitions are being run in inefficient and more costly ways Vacancy numbers increasing once again. Discussion around staff choosing to move to private sector posts for better pay and conditions Also, some resignations due to retirements Ongoing staffing will dictate the levels of service that we are able to provide in this current year Given the opening draft budget SMT need to consider if they are in a position to fill vacancies beyond those to which we are already committed | 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 Indentifying a suitable contact in HR Potentially needing legal advice on HR matters and Candidate Information Booklets (CIBs) HR declined to convene a meeting to address our questions Concerns were discussed with the NICS HR business partners and partnership meeting re staffing and ongoing delays in agreeing CIBs etc SMT will continue to monitor Recruitment needs to be more responsive and the system needs to enable the process to start sooner Concerns were discussed with the NICS HR business partners and partnership meeting re staffing and ongoing delays in agreeing CIBs etc SMT will continue to monitor RK to speak to DM re the anticipated position in monitoring rounds | 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 NISC HR declined to meet or agree to us getting expert legal advice Pay award is likely to too little too late for some Maintaining knowledge and competence withing 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 can not estimate the number who will leave due to promotion or obtaining another job outside of HSENI At present the opening position means we do not have budget cover for the staff in post or to pay the trainee salary uplift or to provide cover for the anticipated pay award in 24/25 year A bid to address this situation was made to DfE and this has been met |
6.Staffing
- slow progress being made on filling of staff vacancies - this is probably exacerbated by the posts being specialists
- SMT to meet with Grade 3 in Strategy Planning & Governance (SPG) to discuss a number of matters
- we will have 14 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) vacancies which will arise in the current operating year
- feedback discussions taking place with trainees on the Regulators Training Programme (RTP)
7. Case and project work
The team continue to be busy with 21 active cases. The staffing will be reviewed in October.
8. Business planning
ARMC and Board will meet on Thursday to sign off the Annual Report and Accounts (ARA). Q1 will be reported at ARMC and then at the July Board meeting.
9. Performance monitoring
B Monson updated SMT. Accidents, serious and over three days are all down significantly. Visit interactions are down. The reasons for this were discussed. Last year 1031 and this year down to 920 on interactions. Complaints are up 20% on last year. Enforcement activity is on a par with last year.
10. 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 at Level Two = N/A
- Escalated to NIPSO = 3
- Still open NIPSO = 2
11. Board business
SMT noted the appointment of Catherine Irwin as the new board chair. It is anticipated that a competition to appoint additional board members will be triggered in the autumn by the Department.
12. Any Other Business (AOB)
Consideration of the establishment of a Whatsapp group between trainees and SMT to assist in Out Of Hours (OOH) cover experience.
B Monson raised the point of the replacement of CMS. A consultant will be employed to scope the project. A short business case will be drafted and the NICS contractor will be asked to carry out the analysis for us.
13. Date of next meeting
The date of the next meeting will be held on 23 July 2024 at 9.30am.
The meeting concluded at 11.45am.