Dounreay Socio Economic Board minutes - Friday 21 August 2020
Updated 27 September 2023
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Present
| Name | Organisation represented and job title |
|---|---|
| Steve Young | Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd (DSRL) Organisational Excellence Director (Chair) |
| David Wallace | Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) Stakeholder Relations Manager |
| Mark Rouse | DSRL Managing Director |
| Simon Middlemas | Parent Body Organisation (PBO) Socio Economic support |
| Niall Watson | DSRL Unions |
| Lesley Sewell | DSRL Business Services Director |
| June Love | DSRL Socio Economic Manager |
| Peter Faccenda | Caithness and North Sutherland Regeneration Partnership (CNSRP) Programme Manager |
| Neil Smith | NDA Business Development |
Welcome and introduction
Steve Young welcomed everyone to the meeting. He welcomed Neil Smith who had recently been appointed as NDA Business Development Manager supporting Andrew Van Der Lem. Introductions were made round the table.
Before proceeding, Steve Young invited members to raise a safety share. Peter Faccenda noted that with the schools starting back it was key to ensuring complacency in social distancing did not start with pupils falling into bad habits. Niall Watson echoed Peter’s thoughts on complacency stating as restrictions continue to relax in relation to COVID-19 the challenge was how to integrate COVID-19 considerations into business as usual (including safety aspects).
Potential conflicts of interest were tabled, noting that no-one declaring an interest receives any personal benefit from these projects:
| Name | Conflict of interest |
|---|---|
| June Love and Simon Middlemas | Space Hub Sutherland |
| Simon Middlemas | Sustainability project |
Apologies
Apologies were received from John McNamara, NDA Head of Stakeholder Relations and Paul Hetherington DSRL Head of Communications.
Approval of previous minutes
Steve Young noted that the minutes of the previous meeting had been circulated to members in advance – DSEB(2020)M03 refers. Following feedback amendments had been made. Members endorsed the minutes as a true reflection of the meeting. This was proposed by Mark Rouse and seconded by Peter Faccenda.
Action: DSEB(2020)M04/A01 - June to publish minutes (DSEB(2020)M03) on website by 30 August 2020.
Status of actions
The status of actions is recorded at the end of these minutes. Of note:
It was noted that action DSEB(2020)M03/A007 (June Love to provide partnering maturity model survey for members to complete and follow up with 1:1 discussions with Peter Faccenda) would be postponed until after the site transition had taken place in March 2021.
Steve Young stated that this was a sensible approach but stressed the need to continue to encourage a more pro-active participation of partner organisations within CNSRP. Peter Faccenda responded that the CNSRP independent chair was currently speaking with all partners individually to do this and encourage pro-active partnerships.
NDA update
Dave Wallace provided the following update:
- NDA had issued the draft strategy 4 document for consultation.
- NDA had met with the Scottish Government Radwaste team and also Phil Matthew, NuLEAF, who had been appointed as a non-executive director of SEPA..
- Jacq Longrigg, NDA skills had been part of the discussion around the DSRL (and wider Caithness and North Sutherland) skills audit. This work was ongoing with David Reid, Scottish Development International providing information to support the scope of this work.
- Next week, Alan Cummings and Gareth Taylor (NDA) would be visiting the site and there were a number of virtual meetings set up as well as some physical plant visits.
- The One NDA socio economic panel had approved the funding request for consultancy support for the Wick harbour high water gate business plan.
- NDA had been involved in a collaborative meeting with DSRL and North Highland College(NHC) University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI)/Environmental Research Institute (ERI) alongside other key stakeholders. This had been a good meeting in terms of discussing research and development (R&D) and how the nuclear partners work with NHC UHI to support R&D work and funding coming to Caithness.
- NDA were also in discussion with the European Space Agency.
Niall Watson stated it was good to see the Wick harbour project being progressed and asked if there were lessons to be learnt as to how to move these projects forward in a timelier manner. June Love responded that sometimes the delay was due to waiting for the formal application being submitted. Peter Faccenda concurred with this.
June Love noted that it would be important to ensure the right people were progressing the different elements of R&D, i.e. DSRL would be responsible for identifying any R&D required for site needs while NDA could explore potential R&D requirements for the NDA estate that could be provided from Caithness. Peter Faccenda added that while nuclear would be an important element of potential R&D work there were also opportunities within the wind and space sector.
Dounreay update
Steve Young noted that given time constraints for the NDA participants it would be useful to start with the Dounreay Socio Economic Alliance (DSEA) programme.
- Simon Middlemas ran through the draft DSEA programme, emphasising the need for realistic delivery dates and confirmation of the accountable person for each project in the programme.
June Love noted that discussions had taken place on the draft programme and it was important to finalise this to allow the DSEA programme to be provided to CNSRP as part of the wider programme of activities. Progress on programme delivery would then be reported on a regular basis.
Steve Young noted he was getting additional resource to provide support, commencing on 7 September, for the programme activity.
Mark Rouse noted the programme activity for the engineering/nuclear services hub stating clarity on this would be helpful. From a DSRL point of view it would be useful to create the capacity to allow the workforce to do other things while continuing to deliver the DSRL mission. There was an opportunity to create an NDA Northern Scottish Office to provide services across the NDA estate. He added that if the policy was to shift to the One NDA ethos, and therefore being part of the wider NDA family, it presents more opportunities for the workforce. Dave Wallace, NDA noted that this was something that NDA was aware of and felt it would be useful to explore this further as a potential opportunity.
June Love noted that there was a need to be able to explain the engineering/nuclear services hub to help define this opportunity and set it into a context.
Action: DSEB(2020)M05/A02 - June Love to put engineering/nuclear services hub on the agenda for a full discussion at the next DSEB.
At this point, David Wallace and Neil Smith left the meeting due to other commitments.
June Love provided an update on Dounreay activities. Of note:
Socio Economic budget: Spend of socio-economic funding up to end July 2020 (Period 4) was £211, 000 (from a budget of £650,000). This included £120,000 of COVID-19 support. Projected costs had been adjusted for Caithness Horizons given they were due to open in April 2020 and this has been postponed due to COVID-19. With all funding commitments in place there was £174.000 of uncommitted funding still available.
- CNSRP Support Hub: The funding application process had been completed with a grant letter being issued. No funding had been drawn down as yet, but this would ramp up following the recruitment of two posts.
- Caithness Horizons: A meeting was due to take place between DSRL, The Highland Council and High Life Highland on 24 August to look at opening dates, the business case and agreement of key performance indicators to report against.
- Stakeholder feedback: There had been a lot of positive comments from local stakeholders regarding the COVID-19 support provided alongside the refreshed approach to the nuclear partners working together on socio economic activities.
- NDA grant system: There had been a lot of effort to get the new NDA grant funding system set up ready to go live in July. This was completed on time and all funding activities for 2020/21 had been retrospectively entered into the system. There was still a bit of work to do to tidy up all the files for Dounreay applications and this would continue over the coming months to ensure that all commitments for this year were recorded within this system.
- Space Hub Sutherland: The Scottish Government did not call into the space hub planning application and therefore the approved planning stands. The next stage was the land court application.
Niall Watson asked that if there was a second spike in COVID-19, would the site provide similar socio-economic support to the local community. June Love stated it would be done on a case by case basis, but it was encouraging to see the speed with which some decisions had been made to provide COVID-19 related support. Peter Faccenda added that even if there was not another spike the area was yet to see the full economic effect of COVID-19.
CNSRP support hub update
Peter Faccenda provided the following update:
- All paperwork had now been issued to allow the CNSRP support hub project to commence.
- Two posts were currently being recruited – Project manager and business development. Applicants had just been received with 14 applying for the project manager post and 12 for the business development post. Shortlisting would take place next week with interviews 2 weeks later.
- On the communication front, consideration was being given to whether there should be a recruitment for this post or whether it was something that could be provided via an agency. Discussions with Paul Hetherington had commenced to explore whether there was available DSRL resource to produce a communications strategy. It was stressed that there was a need to get the messaging in place and get some positive stories issued.
June Love said she would progress the communications action with Paul Hetherington over the next fortnight.
Action: DSEB(2020)M05/A03 - June Love to progress the CNSRP Support Hub communication actions with Paul Hetherington by 4 September 2020.
Simon Middlemas noted, that as part of the CNSRP Support Hub, he was progressing the sustainability element and would be setting up a Steering Group with a number of stakeholders involved including DSRL, ERI, Scottish Government Zero Waste and Chester University. This links into the wider CNSRP structures to ensure alignment of all activities.
DSRL funding applications
June Love noted she had received one tentative enquiry for funding for Strathnaver Museum. She briefly outlined the business case and request for £80,000 funding. She noted that previously these applications had not been successful due to budget restrictions. Noting that there was further funding available via NDA for Caithness and North Sutherland projects this was something that now could be explored and fitted within the context of the tourism content of the CNSRP programme. Having described the aspirations of the project she asked members whether this was something they felt could be supported in principle prior to encouraging the applicant to complete an application form.
Peter Faccenda noted that DSRL support was being provided for Caithness Horizons and support to Strathnaver would in effect provide support, under the tourism banner, for North Sutherland. He felt that tourism would be an important topic of CNSRP in the future especially given the challenges of the restrictions placed for COVID-19.
Most members agreed that this was something that could be given consideration on receipt of an application form. Niall Watson noted the business case did indicate the creation of permanent jobs and asked how those jobs would be sustained after public funding ceased.
June Love stated that this agreement in principle did not mean support would be given for the funding until such times that the application form had been submitted and due diligence was carried out. Noting the comments provided she said she would advise the applicant to submit an application for consideration.
Action: DSEB(2020)M05/A04 - June Love to contact Strathnaver Museum to submit a funding application to support their early enquiry for funding to support redevelopment of the museum by 24 August 2020.
Communications
It was noted that communications were now required on the narrative around the engineering/nuclear services hub providing explanation around the short and long-term accommodation aspirations.
Lesley Sewell stated she had held positive discussions with NDA around the long-term accommodation aspirations and NDA were keen to understand what the demand would be from a DSRL perspective and potential use from other agencies. She would speak with June to brief her on the partner discussions on this.
June Love asked whether the short-term accommodation strategy was still a consideration. Lesley Sewell confirmed that it was, and discussions had taken place with NDA. Visits were being made to a prospective building next week.
Peter Faccenda noted there was the potential for discussion with North Highland College and for incubation/rent a desk activity to attract businesses that could make use of this. Steve Young noted that having a collaborative approach for office accommodation may support opportunities for DSRL secondments. Simon Middlemas noted there was a window of opportunity to drive this forward and this could easily get bogged down in detail. He suggested getting the business case developed to allow this to move forward as quickly as possible.
Action: DSEB(2020)M05/A05 - Lesley Sewell and June Love to discuss potential use of long-term accommodation with partner organisations by 10 September 2020.
Mark Rouse agreed that there was a window of opportunity and asked that a realistic date be identified to take this project forward.
Action: DSEB(2020)M05/A06 - Lesley Sewell to provide a timeline for the creation of a business case for long term accommodation.
Niall Watson stated that in terms of projects there was a need to think ‘big and bold’ and move towards these as quickly as possible. In terms of communications, while he recognised the need to communicate externally it would be equally important to communicate with the DSRL workforce as well. He noted that CNSRP had in the past visited site to provide updates to the workforce, but these had not been well attended. He felt that there may be an opportunity to do something virtually as some of the virtual activities (i.e. coffee breaks) had been supported widely across the site.
Staying on the theme of communications, Niall added that while the demographics of the DSRL workforce was such that a sizeable number of people probably believed they would be retired by the interim end state, there was still a need for new opportunities of employment as this would affect the next generation and beyond, as well as the social fabric (for example, the quality of public services) of the area.
Any other business Prior to opening up for any other business, Steve Young noted that the DSEB Terms of Reference (ToRs) had been recirculated to members taking on board previous comments. Members agreed that the ToRs were now final and could be issued.
Action: DSEB(2020)M05/A07 - June Love to issue DSEB Terms of Reference and place on internal system by 28 August 2020.
Members then raised the following:
- Simon Middlemas noted that it was now urgent that communication went out about the engineering/nuclear services hub. June Love noted she had taken an action early and would progress. Niall Watson agreed saying that there was a need to paint the big picture.
- June Love noted she had one other issue to raise. At this point, Simon Middlemas left the meeting. The discussion centered around succession planning and it was agreed that this would be included in the succession planning discussion due to be held in relation to the Organisational Excellence Directorate.
- Niall Watson noted that this had been a good meeting, keeping information at a high level and whilst being informed by the detail not letting it distract from the bigger picture.
Close
There being no further business, Steve Young thanked everyone for attending and formally closed the meeting.
Steve Young (Chair) Organisational Excellence Director 23 August 2020
Status of actions
Actions arising from this meeting
| Action number | Action description |
|---|---|
| DSEB(2020)M04/A01 | June to publish minutes (DSEB(2020)M03) on website by 30 August 2020 |
| DSEB(2020)M05/A02 | June Love to put Nuclear Services Hub on the agenda for a full discussion at the next DSEB |
| DSEB(2020)M05/A03 | June Love to progress the CNSRP Support Hub communication actions with Paul Hetherington by 4th September 2020 |
| DSEB(2020)M05/A04 | June Love to contact Strathnaver Museum to submit a funding application to support their early enquiry for funding to support redevelopment of the museum by 24 August 2020 |
| DSEB(2020)M05/A05 | Lesley Sewell and June Love to discuss potential use of long-term accommodation with partner organisations by 10 September 2020 |
| DSEB(2020)M05/A06 | Lesley Sewell to provide a timeline for the creation of a business case for long term accommodation |
| DSEB(2020)M05/A07 | June Love to issue DSEB Terms of Reference and place on internal system by 28th August 2020 |
Actions ongoing from previous meetings
| Action number | Action description | Action status | Action update |
|---|---|---|---|
| DSEB(2020)M01/A005 | June Love and Paul Hetherington to work together to develop the annual review and explore ways of providing this in a short, easy to read document by 20 March 2020 | Action ongoing | Comments provided on annual review. With Communications for final edit and design |
| DSEB(2020)M03/A007 | June Love to provide partnering maturity model survey for members to complete and follow up with 1 to1 discussions with Peter Faccenda | ||
| DSEB(2020)M03/A008 | Peter Faccenda and Paul Hetherington to work up a single page summary describing the CNSRP Support Hub by 28 July 2020 |
Actions Completed since last meeting
| Action | Action description | Action Status | Action update |
|---|---|---|---|
| DSEB(2020)M01/A004 | All DSEB members to provide comment on the Dounreay Socio Economic Alliance Impact Plan 2020-2023 by Friday 28 February 2020 | Action complete | comments received on draft plan and with Communications for final review. |
| DSEB(2020)M03/A001 | June to publish minutes (DSEB(2020)M02) on website by 2 July 2020 | Action complete | |
| DSEB(2020)M03/A002 | All members to review the high-level socio-economic programme to ensure all activities are included and delivery dates are achievable by 10 July 2020 | Action complete | Programme was on agenda of meeting held on 21st August 2020 |
| DSEB(2020)M03/A003 | June Love to put the CNSRP Support Hub funding application and additional information into the new NDA socio economic system by 1 July 2020 | Action complete. | |
| DSEB(2020)M03/A004 | June Love to draft letter of funding approval with conditions for Board comment/approval prior to being issued by 15 July 2020 | Action complete | |
| DSEB(2020)M03/A005 | David Wallace to provide Lesley Sewell with contact details for Tony Smithers, NDA Property by 1 July 2020 | Action complete | |
| DESB(2020)M03/A006 | All DSEB members to provide final comment to June Love on the Terms of Reference by 15 July 2020 | Action complete |