Date: 28/03/22
Meeting time 9:30 – 10:30
Meeting title: NHSCFA Board Meeting
Members:
- (TT) Tom Taylor (Non-Executive Director – Chair, NHSCFA)
- (AC) Alyson Coates (Non-Executive Director, NHSCFA)
- (AF) Andrew Flanagan (Non-Executive Director, NHSCFA)
- (AR) Alex Rothwell (Chief Executive Officer, NHSCFA)
- (MJB) Matthew Jordan-Boyd (Director of Finance & Corporate Governance, NHSCFA)
- (TM) Tricia Morrison (Director of Performance & Improvement, NHSCFA)
Attendees:
- (PG) Paul Golightly (Head of DHSC AFU)
- (AS) Ann Sturgess (Head of Business Support & Board Secretary, NHSCFA)
- (SS) Sonia Sousa (Governance & Assurance Assistant, NHSCFA) note taker
Apologies:
- Jayne Scott
- Gaon Hart
- Martin Spencer
Welcome
TT welcomed all to the meeting.
Apologies
Apologies were received from Jayne Scott, Martin Spencer and Gaon Hart
Declarations of interest
No new declarations of interest were made.
Minutes of Board Meetings 23.02.22
The Board agreed the minutes as a true and accurate record.
Action log
The Board reviewed the action log. TT requested target dates are added for those where these were not recorded for action(s) carried forward.
General update from the Chair
TT thanked all those who have contributed for the finalising of the 2022-23 Business Plan, which the full Board supported.
TT updated the Board to confirm DHSC has requested the NEDs annual Objective Setting (2022-23) and Review (2021-22) form to be completed by 31st May.
TT handed over to AR who gave a brief update on the relevant parts of the Spring Statement recently presented by the Chancellor and published (23rd March).
General update from the NEDs
AC highlighted the current challenge organisations are facing in terms of building/ retaining their workforce. Apprenticeship schemes and more direct relationships with higher education institutions are two of the ways being used to complete recruitment within other organisations she works with.
Finance update (Paper 1) including Proposed budget for 2022-23
The finance paper was noted as it had already been discussed at the recent ARAC meeting. MJB introduced the proposed budget for 2022-23 highlighting this is a provisional budget as we are still awaiting confirmation of funding allocation from DHSC.
The proposed provisional revenue budget is based on a flat cash settlement of £12.727m.
MJB highlighted the budget includes the following:
- Incremental drift (increment applied to each individual salary)
- 3% Pay award increase
- Confirmed increase of 1.25% on employers NI contributions
- Travel & Subsistence – in line with 2021-22 budget plus an additional allocation for costs associated with new roles
- Cloud hosting costs
- Estates budget in line with current and new lease agreements
- Inflation of 2% on non-pay costs (e.g. contracts)
In terms of the Capital Programme, funding levels are yet to be confirmed as mentioned previously. MJB stated that once we have that confirmation a proposed capital budget and associated programme will be shared with the Board for approval.
A small discussion ensued. The proposed revenue budget was formally approved by the Board as well as a capital spend up to the level of the previous year subject to final paper being brought once DHSC fund allocation have been confirmed.
Annual review of documents (Papers 2 -7)
The Board formally approved the following documents:
- REMCO ToR (Paper 2)
- ARAC ToR (Paper 3)
- Board ToR (Paper 4)
- Matters Reserved to the Board (Paper 5) – subject to discussion between TT and AR regarding para 2.3.3 as per para 9.2 below
- Standing Financial Orders (Paper 6)
- Standing Financial Instructions (Paper 7)
AF queried the approval levels (only expenditure on goods and services in excess of £1,000,000 (excl. VAT) require approval by the Board) when compared against the small size of the organisation. TT agreed it was a valid point and suggested a discussion with the CEO about the matter.
Forward Planner (Paper 8)
It was agreed the Enforcement Workshop on the 20th April will be virtual due to current high level of Covid cases. Consideration will be given in due course regarding the next Board meeting on the 17th May.
Review of the effectiveness of the meeting
It was agreed that the meeting had been conducted effectively.