Transparency data

Board minutes: 7 December 2022

Updated 20 July 2023

Applies to England

This document has been subject to redactions

Date

Wednesday 07 December 2022

Time and Venue

09:00 a.m. in Room 9013 and via TEAMS

Attendees

Board

Ian Bauckham CBE, Chair

Susan Barratt

Hardip Begol CBE

Mark Farrar

Cindy Leslie

Dr Catherine McClellan

Eileen Milner

Clare Pelham

Chris Paterson

Dr Jo Saxton, Chief Regulator

Matt Tee

Frances Wadsworth CBE

Ofqual

David Bowden, Executive Director, Finance and Operations

Richard Garrett, Director, Policy and Strategic Relationships for GQ

Daniel Gutteridge, General Counsel

Michael Hanton, Deputy Chief Regulator

Charlie Henning, Director, People and Culture

Cath Jadhav, Executive Director for Standards, Research and Analysis

Catherine Large OBE, Executive Director for Vocational & Technical Qualifications

Jane Parsons, Director of Communications

Charles Scott, Executive Director, Finance & Operations (Interim)

Ian Stockford, Director Strategic Projects

Also Present

Phil Carr, Director Policy and Evaluation VTQ (Item 50/22)

Danielle Cartwright, Associate Director GQ Policy and Strategic Relationships (Item 47/22)

Andrew Knight, Associate Director Regulatory Compliance (Item 48/22)

[Redacted] Senior Manager, Strategy (Item 46/22)

Emma Scott, Director of Operations for VTQ (Item 48/22)

Emma Wild, Associate Director, Standards for DDE of GQ (Item 49/22)

[Redacted] Board Secretary

Lydia Waine, Director of Legal Affairs and Governance

Mary Webb, Head of Private Office

[Redacted] Private Secretary

Nadir Zanini, Associate Director for Research, Data and Analytics (Item 48/22)

40/22 Welcome and apologies for absence

Apologies were received from Dame Christine Ryan.

The Chair welcome David Bowden, the recently appointed Executive Director, Finance and Operations.

41/22 Declarations of Interest

There were no declarations of interest.

42/22 Minutes and matters arising

The Minutes of the Board meetings held on 13 and 21 September 2022 were approved.

The Board was advised that, following on from the last Board meeting, further amendments had been made to the Governance Framework and the aim was for the revised document to be published by the end of the year. It was agreed that the Framework would only be reviewed every three years going forward, unless the Board called for an earlier review. Chairs of the Committees will be further briefed on the detail of the amendments. Action: DG

All matters arising from previous meetings had been dealt with and were now closed.

The reports and updates from the Board Committees were received and noted.

43/22 Decisions taken by electronic business

No decisions had been taken by electronic business since the previous Board meeting.

44/22 Chief Regulator’s report

The Board received an update from the Chief Regulator.

The Board noted the equalities analyses for GQs and VTQs in 2022 have been published and show no notable changes in attainment gaps since the last time exams were sat. Analysis shows that there is no systemic pattern of bias in relation to protected characteristics in results across 2022 results.

The Board noted that awarding organisations (AOs) have been reminded of their obligation to notify Ofqual of any proposed fee increases that exceed inflation and that Ofqual is monitoring price increases. It was agreed that Ofqual would bring a deep dive into qualifications pricing to a future Board Strategy event. Action: MH

The Board noted the DfE continues to host meetings with T Level providers impacted by the issues with Health and Science, which Ofqual attends.

45/22 Finance update

The forecast prepared at 30 September 2022 indicates a full-year underspend of £0.46 million which is 1.6% of the budget for 2022/23. This includes capital expenditure which is expected to end the year on budget.

The Board noted the final outturn underspend could increase to just under £0.6m which is within the £170k - £748k limits required by HM Treasury.

The Finance and HR Committee had reviewed the risks and opportunities and was able to give assurance to the Board that these are being effectively managed.

46/22 Strategic Risk and Risk Tolerance

The Board considered the Strategic Risk Register and levels of risk tolerance. The Board was advised the Audit & Risk Assurance Committee had reviewed the same at their last meeting in order to provide assurance.

RESOLVED

The Board noted the changes in the Strategic Risk Register and endorsed the proposed risk tolerance for each strategic risk.

47/22 Memoranda of Understanding

The Board was updated on the ongoing work on the Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) between Ofqual and the Department for Education (DfE), Ofqual and the Standards Testing Agency (STA), Ofqual and the Universities and Colleges Admissions Services (UCAS) and Ofqual and the Quality and Assurance Agency (QAA).

It was noted the MoU between Ofqual and the STA was the final draft, agreed by the STA, for approval by the Board.

The Board agreed sign off of the MoU with the DfE by electronic business.

RESOLVED

The Board approved the recommendations to:

1. i. Agree the Memorandum of Understanding between Ofqual and the STA as presented.

2. ii. Agree that the Board delegates to the Chief Regulator, in consultation with the Chair, the sign off for:

   1. a) The final form of the Memorandum of Understanding between Ofqual and UCAS.

   2. b) The final form of the Memorandum of Understanding between Ofqual and the QAA.

The Board agreed the final form of the Memorandum of Understanding between Ofqual and the DfE should be approved by the Board via electronic business.

48/22 Update on review into delayed results in 2022

The Board received a presentation on the review Ofqual conducted into the delayed results in summer 2022. It was advised Ofqual will continue with its AO investigation, publish a full report of its findings in 2023 and, in the short term, introduce a series of measures which will mitigate the risk of delays in 2023.

RESOLVED

The Board agreed that:

1. i. The investigation will continue.

2. ii. Consultation on any of the actions that require such should be undertaken.

3. iii. Continued Board engagement on the more strategic matters should take place.

49/22 British Sign Language GCSE

A presentation was given to introduce the Board to the development work being undertaken on the proposed new GCSE in British Sign Language (BSL).

The Board noted the DfE is currently developing the subject content and proposals will be brought back to the Board next year to adopt, in principle, the draft subject content into Ofqual’s regulatory framework.

50/22 Post 16 Qualifications Review: Proposed regulatory approach to Level 2 and below qualifications supporting progression to higher levels of study (excluding qualifications supporting progression to T Levels)

The Board was advised of where this group of qualifications sits within the landscape of the proposed future Level 2 and below qualifications and the four different sub-groups it comprises. The Board was advised of the proposed regulatory approach and the additional qualification level conditions and guidance proposed to be introduced and the relevant timelines.

RESOLVED

The Board approved the recommendations to:

1. i. Agree Ofqual’s proposed overall regulatory approach for qualifications supporting progression to higher levels of study (excluding qualifications supporting progression to T Levels which was agreed on 21 September 2022).

2. ii. Delegate to the Technical Committee all necessary decisions in relation to the development of the detailed policy proposals and the policy consultation.

3. iii. Delegate to the Chief Regulator and Chair final sign-off of the policy consultation document.

4. iv. Delegate to the Technical Committee all necessary decisions in relation to the development of the draft regulatory framework, following the policy consultation.

5. v. Delegate to the Chief Regulator and Chair final sign-off of the consultation analysis document, decisions document, technical consultation document and the draft framework for consultation.

6. vi. Delegate to the Technical Committee all necessary decisions in relation to finalising the regulatory framework following consultation.

7. vii. Delegate to the Chief Regulator and Chair final sign-off of the consultation analysis document, decisions document and regulatory framework following the technical consultation.

51/22 Publication of Papers

The Board agreed to publish Open Papers.

52/22 Any Other Business

i. Appointment of Dr Jo Saxton to the Technical Committee

The Chair nominated Dr Jo Saxton be appointed to the Technical Committee.

RESOLVED

The Board approved the appointment of Dr Jo Saxton to the Technical Committee.

1. ii. TQ Qualification Level Conditions

The Board was advised Ofqual will be proposing to consult on making changes to the TQ Qualification Level Conditions to make necessary changes following the commencement of the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022 and DfE policy changes.

1. iii. Meeting Dates for 2023-2024

Proposed Board and Committee meeting dates had been distributed to the Board for approval. It was noted Board meetings would be held in-person wherever possible and Committee meetings would be mainly remote with some in-person meetings to be determined by the Committee.

It was noted dates for the Technical Committee meetings would be distributed to Committee members at a later date.

RESOLVED

The Board approved the Board and Committee meeting dates for 01 January 2023 – 31 March 2024.

1. iv. Next Board Meeting

The next Board meeting will be held in Coventry on Wednesday 15 March 2023.

The meeting ended at 13:25 p.m.