Minutes of SMT Meeting held on 23 July 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
- N Kean NICSHR Business Partner, and
- J Smyth HR Business Partner (Via Teams)
- (Joined until 10.25am to discuss HR resourcing issues)
1. Apologies
There were no apologies.
2. Minutes of the last meeting
The minutes from the 18 June 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 and is working well.
5. (A) Audit, Risk Management, and Finance (ARMC)
The Annual Report was laid on 4 July 2024.
5. (B) Emerging risks
Increasing staff vacancies as a number of people have resigned to take up posts in the private sector. This continues to bite.
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 Upadated June 2024 | Board is awaiting up to 4 additional new members | We anticipate a competition in autumn 2024 to appoint additional board members | Planned Public Appointment Unit (PAU) competition in autumn 2024 to fill existing 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 SMT met NICSHR SPG team 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 | 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 Potentially needing legal advice on HR matters and Candidate Information Booklets (CIBs) HR People & Organisational Development team (P&OD) 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 and the board have been appraised Recruitment needs to be more responsive and the system needs to enable the process to start promptly | 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 NISC HR declined to meet or agree to us getting expert legal advice 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 As a result of SMT meeting with G3 in Strategic Planning & Governance (SPG) in late June, Perm Sec DfE has written to Perm Sec DoF in an effort to move the issue |
6.Staffing
Slow progress being made on filling of staff vacancies. This is probably exacerbated by the posts being specialists.
SMT met with Grade 3 in SPG to discuss a number of matters. The recommendations from that meeting have been actioned. A follow up meeting to discuss progress is planned for September.
We currently have 14 FTE vacancies which will arise in the current operating year.
An internal review of the RTP is almost complete.
A discussion on work areas under pressure due to vacancies and the options for redeployment took place. It was acknowledged that there is no simple solution due to the number of vacancies and the increasing demands on teams. It was agreed that certain areas of work will need to be suspended and we will look at this with each Head of Group (HoG) to identify relevant areas that can be stopped.
7. Case and project work
The team continue to be busy with 21 active cases. The staffing will be further reviewed in October.
8. Business planning
Board will meet on Thursday for Q1 reporting.
9. Performance monitoring
B Monson updated SMT. Accidents are down significantly. Serious are slightly down. Visit interactions are good at 1500. Complaints are up 10% on last year. Enforcement activity is on a par with last year but notices served showing a healthy increase
10. Service level complaints
- Total received = 5
- Closed = 3
- Still open Level One = 0
- Still open Level Two = 0
- Still open NIPSO = 2
11. Board business
Nothing anticipated.
12. Any Other Business (AOB)
SMT will be cancelled for August and the SMT HOGS will also take place in September.
The outside of the building has got scruffy and we will request Property Services Division (PSD) to arrange a tidy up.
Specialism email to issue to staff.
13. Date of next meeting
The date of the next meeting will be September.
The meeting concluded at 12.30pm.