Transparency data

HM Courts and Tribunals Service Board meeting – 30 November 2023

Published 25 October 2024

Applies to England and Wales

1. Attendees

1.1 Present

Name	Role
Sir Richard Broadbent	Chair
Nicky Wilden	Non-Executive Member
Lakh Jemmett	Non-Executive Member
Nick Goodwin	Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Andrew Baigent	Chief Financial Officer
Paul Harris	Deputy Chief Executive and Operations Director
Louise Alexander	HR Director
Lord Justice Andrew Edis	Senior Presiding Judge (SPJ)
Sir Keith Lindblom	Senior President of Tribunals (SPT)
District Judge Tim Jenkins	Judicial Board member

1.2 Additional attendees and presenters

Name	Role
Annabel Burns	Strategy, Analysis & Planning Director
Richard Price	Director General, Performance Strategy and Analysis
Jerome Glass	Director General, Policy – Courts and Access to Justice
Jan Gower	Change Portfolio Board member/Critical Friend
Antonia Romeo	MoJ Permanent Secretary (part)
Alison Wedge	Deputy Director, Head of Governance and Assurance
John Laverick	Chief Digital and Information Officer
Ed Wagstaff	Deputy Director, Business Strategy
Joint Head of Business Strategy, Judicial Strategy & Workforce Planning
Andrew Key	Judicial Office CEO
Alex McMurtrie	Judicial Appointment Commission CEO
Head of Risk and Assurance

1.3 Secretariat

Role
Board Secretary and Chief of Staff
Head of Corporate Governance and Board Secretariat
Head of Operational Judicial Private Offices

2. Board Minutes

The draft minutes from 1 November 2023 were approved.

3. Non-Executive Director Recruitment

An update was provided on the recruitment process for two new non-executive directors to succeed Victoria Cochrane and Lakh Jemmett due to the expiry of their terms.

4. Governance Review

The planned governance review, its remit and the proposed approach was discussed.

5. HMCTS Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC)

Risk had been a focus at the recent ARAC meeting. There was a discussion around the potential different approaches to risk registers and whether all critical risks were being captured adequately.

6. Performance and Finance Updates

The Board noted resolution of the industrial action of security staff employed by external providers and improvements to recruitment.

Updates were provided on the impact of prison capacity on the courts, Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) surveys and expectations around office-based working. There was a discussion in relation to judicial security and fire safety at HMCTS sites.

The Board discussed the performance of a number of key jurisdictions. In terms of financial management, the resource and capital expenditure positions were discussed.

7. Civil and Family Sitting Days in 2023/24

Work was ongoing around assumptions in order to optimise current year sittings and to ensure there were agreed assumptions for the coming year.

8. 2024-25 Budget Allocation

The Board noted the scenarios that HMCTS was modelling in respect of next year’s financial allocations.

9. Reform Programme – additional information on proposed plan impacts

Following the provision of the additional information, the Board confirmed its agreement to the proposed changes to the scope and timeline of the Reform Programme, subject to responses to the points it had raised.

10. Principals Review of HMCTS Performance

The Board endorsed the proposed report, subject to consideration being given to its feedback.

11. Judicial Recruitment Programme update

The Board endorsed the direction set out on the judicial workforce strategy, recognising that certain areas were reserved to the judiciary.

12. Review of Risk Register & Risk Appetite

The Board was asked to consider and provide its steers on HMCTS risks and overall risk appetite.

Subject to consideration of its steers, the Board endorsed the risk appetite levels for each of the ten risk categories.