18 August 2010
MANAGEMENT BOARD
MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON 18 AUGUST 2010
CONFERENCE ROOM 1, CROWN OFFICE
Present:
(Chair) Catherine Dyer, Crown Agent
Peter Collings, Deputy Chief Executive
Janice Irvine , Director of Human Resources
Robert Gordon, Non Executive Director
Bill Matthews, Non Executive Director
Morag McLaughlin, Area Fiscal, Lothian and Borders
Lesley Thomson, Area Fiscal, Glasgow
In attendance:
Alistair Brown, Deputy Director of Finance, Scottish Government
Helen Cameron, Deputy Director, Strategic and Economic Policy Division, Scottish Government
Mark Howells , Director of Finance
John Logue, Head of Policy
Kevin McArthur , Secretary
Geri Watt, Director of Strategic Delivery Division
Apologies :
John Dunn, Deputy Crown Agent
Welcome
1. Catherine Dyer welcomed everyone to the meeting.
2. Apologies were accepted from John Dunn.
Minutes of Previous Meeting and Matters Arising
3. The minutes of the meeting of 16 June 2010 were approved.
4. The Crown Agent addressed the action points from the previous meeting. During discussion the following points were noted:
a) Bill Matthews advised that, as a number of Audit Committee members are due move on in the coming months, a decision on who should attend AFG when risk management is discussed should wait until new members have been identified.
Corporate Reports
5. The meeting noted the usual Performance and Workload papers MB(10)31 (Healthcheck) and MB(10)32 (Target Summary) which provided MB with an overview of the Service's performance against targets and workload and an overall view of the main performance targets from April 2010. During discussion:
a) The meeting noted that performance targets were exceeded again in July;
Finance Update
6. Catherine Dyer welcomed Mark Howells to the meeting.
7. Mark Howells introduced paper MB(10)33 which advised the meeting of the latest financial developments. During discussion:
a) Mark reported that the financial outlook remains uncertain and fluid;
b) The meeting noted that the Annual Business Planning round will run to the same timetable as the last two years;
c) The meeting considered the Cost Analysis and Awareness report compiled by Robin Doyle. The report indicates how the COPFS budget is spent. The meeting discussed a number of areas of work where cost and efficiency savings could be made;
d) Mark advised that a version of the Cost Analysis and Awareness report which provides a breakdown of all expenditure is available for Areas and Units. It was agreed that this would be a valuable tool for Areas to use in future when forecasting;
e) Catherine Dyer advised that questions, comments and suggestions about the financial future of COPFS on the Crown Agent Forum and during office visits have largely been very positive;
f) The meeting noted the Audit Scotland Improving Efficiency in the Public Sector toolkit and the summary of the reports issued by Audit Scotland this financial year and agreed that both provide very useful reference material;
g) Mark indicated that both the COPFS and QLTR (Queen's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer) accounts have been signed off;
SCS Seminar Outcomes
8. The meeting noted paper MB(10)35 and its contents.
CISG (Corporate Issues Sub Group) Update
9. Peter Collings updated the meeting on significant issues arising from the CISG meeting held on Monday 16 August 2010.
10. The meeting were advised that the Clear Desk Policy is currently being reviewed.
Shared Services
11. Peter Collings provided the meeting with a presentation on possible areas where COPFS could share services with our criminal justice partners and other agencies.
12. The meeting considered the benefits and experiences of current services we share, e.g Procurement, Internal Audit and Civil Law.
13. Peter advised the meeting of several opportunities where COPFS could share services with our criminal justice partners and other agencies. These included Human Resources, Estates, Information Technology and training.
14. The meeting agreed that Peter should explore these opportunities further and report back to Management Board.
Action: Peter Collings
ATLAS/Cadder Project
15. Michelle Macleod provided an update on the current position of the Cadder Project.
16. Michelle presented the project plan to the meeting and advised that the Project Board have scoped the possible implications of the outcomes from the decision due to be published on 20 October 2010.
Spending Review 2010
17. Peter Collings welcomed Alistair Brown, Deputy Director of Finance and Helen Cameron, Deputy Director, Strategic and Economic Policy Division, both Scottish Government, to the meeting.
18. Alistair Brown and Helen Cameron provided Management Board with an update on the possible outcomes of the forthcoming UK Spending Review which is due to be announced on 20 October 2010 and the resulting Scottish Government Spending Review to be published on 18 November 2010.
19. The meeting were advised of Scottish Government's decision to defer immediate budget reductions for this financial year to 2011/12.
20. The meeting were advised that until the Scottish Government Spending Review is published it will be difficult to forecast completely what the pay policy and budgets for each portfolio will be.
Phoenix Update
21. Peter Collings introduced paper MB(10)34 which provided the meeting with an update on the current position of the Phoenix project.
22. The elaboration stage of the project has now been completed. Findings suggest that the system we require is significantly more complex than originally projected.
23. The meeting were advised that at the joint Area Fiscals Group and Area Business Managers meeting in August it was agreed that no data migration would take place with the benefits in terms of data integrity, cost and minimal risk to the new system.
MB Secretariat
18 August 2010