Management Board Briefing
Key points from the Management Board briefing held on the 29th January 2009
Parole Board Rules
The sponsor unit had indicated that the new Parole Board Rules would be in place for 1.4.09. However, it would not be until June or July before they had any real impact as oral hearings were listed three months in advance.
Security Policy and Manual
A survey of members had been carried out about the procedure for delivering dossiers and the result was a 60/40 split in favour of them being delivered by courier. The meeting agreed that dossiers should be delivered by courier.
Adjournments/Deferrals
Work had begun to examine the reasons for adjournments but further analysis was necessary to determine trends. It was considered that part of the problem may be related to the unrealistic scheduling of cases. A paper had been drafted for the Procedural Guidance Committee which included advice on the setting of directions and time estimates for the length of an oral hearing. This would be considered further.
Future status of the Parole Board
It was understood from the sponsor unit that a consultation paper on the future status of the Parole Board was in the process of being prepared.
NAO Report/Public Accounts Committee hearing 27.10.08
The meeting noted that the survey of members backgrounds had been submitted to the PAC and that members concerns about the relevance of the questions had been brought to the notice of the PAC. A report on the hearing was expected from the PAC in due course.
Whole System Target
It was noted that the introduction of the whole system target was due to take place on 1.4.09 and would be backed up by the issue of a Prison Service Order which would include detailed information about the new process including what specific reports were required in a prisoners dossier.
Member appraisal and judicial member mentoring proposals
The meeting agreed with the recommendation to discuss at the Annual Conference proposals to extend appraisals to cover all 3 members on a panel and that the mentoring arrangements for new judges should mirror those for probation officers and independents. Subject to feedback from Conference, the proposals would be put to the Management Board for approval at the May meeting.
Policy on charge cards
The meeting agreed to the policy for having charge cards and that a report on any transactions would be included in the accounts considered by the Audit and Risk Management Committee.
Business Plan 2009/10
The draft Business Plan was considered. The plan contained the standard text plus a balanced scorecard of the Boards priority objectives. It was also linked to the MOJs departmental strategic objectives. There was a view that as currently drafted the objectives were not very outcome oriented and that the plan would benefit from identifying where efficiency savings could be made. Any further comments were to be submitted by 5.2.09.
Policy on chairing IPP oral hearings
The meeting agreed with the proposal that ESP and Smith and West chairs should also chair IPP oral hearings. It was accepted that the Parole Board Rules would first need to be in place. However, in view of the backlog of cases it was considered that training for this role should be planned in anticipation of the Rules coming into force on 1.4.09. It was agreed that the proposed training dates of 14/15 May should be notified to those concerned without delay.
Regional panels
The meeting noted the comments received from the consultation exercise with members who had sat on regional panels and in view of the overwhelming support and the continued savings on travel and accommodation expenses, it was decided that regional panels should continue to be held. It was, however, recognised that with the decline in DCR panels, the number of regional panels would reduce in due course.
Monthly Monitoring Report
Despite a period of reorganisation, overall performance was good. However, the number of indeterminate oral hearing cases in the system was increasing and this was placing serious pressure on staff and members. There were 1,500 cases that needed to be considered. However, there was a severe shortage of judges which made it impossible to make inroads into the backlog. Discussions were taking place with the MOJ to see if pre-tariff work could be taken from the Board in order that resources could be targeted more effectively and efforts were being made to secure more judge time. Smith and West cases were also on the increase. Concern was expressed that some DCR cases were being referred for oral hearing unnecessarily and it was agreed to consider issuing guidance.
Financial update
Expenditure for the month of December was in line with the budget. The result for the first nine months of the financial year was expenditure below the mid-year forecast by £76k and above budget by £231k. The income remaining from grant-in-aid for the year was £2,173k which was £10k less than the forecast expenditure for the fourth quarter. The bank balance at the end of December was £105k.
Forecast
The forecast for the year to 31.3.09 showed a deficit of £307k for the full year. The Board would be able to meet its expenditure due to the bank balance it started the year with which was £485k. However, it would finish the year with a substantial deficit on reserves. It was pointed out that the deficit would appear on the balance sheet for this years accounts and would be carried forward. Consequently, the Boards finances would not have the scope to withstand a large deficit in the following year.
Budget 2009/10
The sponsor department had confirmed in writing that the Parole Boards budget allocation for 2009/10 was £9.8m which was a £1.5m (18%) increase over the 2008/09 figure (£8.3m). In the current economic climate it was a good settlement. However, it was pointed out that the sponsor unit expected that the Board would be considering an average of 2 cases on each oral hearing sitting day and that the on the day adjournment/deferral rate was to be no more than 10%. The current rates were 1.7 cases and 18% respectively. It was also pointed out that it only covered the cost of business as usual and did not provide funding to tackle the backlog. Questions were raised about whether enough had been done to achieve savings and it was agreed to see whether further savings could be made. In relation to clearing the backlog, it was noted that the lack of judges had seen a significant drop in the number of oral hearings that could be listed for March. There was limited opportunity for working judges to provide additional days above their quota. Retired judges could provide more days but some had pointed out that the remuneration was considerably less than they would receive for other work they undertook. It was agreed to explore whether their fee could be increased and combine this with independent members on the panel writing the reasons.
Corporate Risk Register
The risk register had been updated following an annual review. It was felt that some risks had been weighted too high and had therefore been reduced. The two highest risks were lack of judges and inadequate funding.
Judicial Reviews
The meeting commented that the case of Smith was particularly important as it raised questions about who should be chasing directions issued by Parole Board members.
Member Recruitment
The meeting noted the good progress that was being made with the next recruitment round and the dates on which the adverts were being placed. It was confirmed that details would be notified to members in a PBM and included in the February Board Sheet.
Equality and Diversity
It was reported that the launch of the Equality Action Plan took place on 18.12.08 and had gone really well. Around 40 staff and members attended. Afterwards some staff members asked to join the Steering Group which was very encouraging. Cindy Butts, deputy chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority, had agreed to join the Steering Group as an external member. The first meeting of the Steering Group was planned for 17.2.09.
Health and Safety
Information about counselling arrangements available to the magistracy had been found as well as workplace support available to staff in the Ministry of Justice. Further work would be necessary before any advice could be given to members.
Investors in People
The meeting noted the good progress that had been made in implementing the IiP Action Plan and said that it was important for this to continue.
Member and Staff Engagement Survey
The survey took place between 7th and 28th November and had a good overall response rate of 60%. On the whole the responses were very positive particularly when compared with a similar survey held in the Ministry of Justice. However, some areas of concern were identified and an action plan had been drawn up to address those issues. A summary of the findings would be issued to members and staff and a full set of the survey results would be placed on the secure area of the website.
Annual Conference
The meeting noted the proposed format and structure for the 2009 Annual Conference and endorsed the policy that as the start time was 2pm on the first day, delegates should not be allowed to charge for staying the night before. It was agreed that advance warning should be given to all those attending. In relation to the 2010 Conference, there was support for the location to be in the Midlands but it was felt that comparative costs should be obtained from other venues in the area before a final decision was made. Assurance was also sought about what would happen if it was decided to reduce the conference to two days rather then three in view of costs and whether there would be any penalty.
The Parole Board. Working with others to protect the public.