HMCTS Board meeting summary - 19 January 2021
Published 31 March 2021
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1. Present HMCTS Members
| Board member | Role |
|---|---|
| Tim Parker | Independent Chairman |
| Victoria Cochrane | Senior Independent Non-Executive Member |
| Lakh Jemmett | Non-Executive Member |
| Nicky Wilden | Non-Executive Member and Audit and Risk Assurance Committee Chair |
| Kevin Sadler | Acting Chief Executive |
| Andrew Baigent | Chief Finance Officer |
| Gemma Hewison | Strategy and Change Director |
| Paul Harris | Acting Operations Director |
| Annabel Burns | Director, Judicial and Legal Services Policy Directorate – MoJ Representative |
| Lord Justice Keith Lindblom | Senior President of Tribunals (SPT) |
| Lady Justice Kate Thirlwall | Senior Presiding Judge (SPJ) |
| District Judge Tim Jenkins | Judicial Board member |
1.1 Presenters and additional attendees
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Jan Gower | Non-Executive Change Portfolio Board member/Critical Friend |
| Catherine Blair | Deputy Director, Strategic Finance |
| Joe Gilonis | Portfolio Delivery Deputy Director |
| Head of Strategy Unit | |
| Clare Farren | Deputy Director, Judicial Private Offices |
| HMCTS Board Secretary | |
| Head of HMCTS Corporate Governance & Board Secretariat |
2. Welcome and Introductions
Tim Parker welcomed attendees to the meeting.
3. Minutes and actions
The minutes from 3 December 2020 were approved and updates on actions were noted.
4. Amended HMCTS Reform Programme Business Case refresh (PBC6)
The Board was invited to consider the draft addendum to the Portfolio Business Case 6 of the HMCTS Reform Programme and draft additional paper in response to queries from Her Majesty’s Treasury and the Infrastructure and Projects Authority.
There was a discussion about the two additional options that had been developed. Executive board members provided their views as to the potential impacts of these options and answered queries that were raised.
In conclusion, the Board re-affirmed its approval of its preferred option, and reiterated that the messaging around this option must be strong and robust. The Board agreed that, subject to the amendments discussed at this meeting (and at the recent meeting of the Change Portfolio Board) being made, the addendum reflected the risks and issues of each of the options identified, and therefore endorsed the contents of the addendum, on the express understanding that the options in the addendum were not the Board’s preferred approach.
5. HMCTS allocations 2021 to 22 – update
The Board was informed that, following the conclusion of the Spending Review process, engagement was taking place in relation to allocations for 2021 to 22. There was a discussion around potential challenges in relation to both capital and revenue funding. The Board considered the initial sitting days in each jurisdiction proposed by MoJ officials compared with the assumed sitting days for the Spending Review bid and 2020 to 21 allocation.
In conclusion, the Board provided its steers and indicated that it would welcome further updates and engagement as matters progressed.
6. Next steps for Performance Management in HMCTS
The Board was informed that the performance management hierarchy had been updated to reflect recent Board discussions. The Board provided further comments on this updated hierarchy and noted the next steps, which included additional scoping work, planning timelines and more detailed engagement across the MoJ and with the judiciary.
7. HMCTS Board Effectiveness Evaluation 2021
Following a discussion, the Board agreed to the proposed approach for the 2021 Board Effectiveness Evaluation and the questions to be asked, subject to the addition of a further question to cover the Board’s response to COVID-19.