Senior Management Team meeting - 16 August 2022
Agenda
1. Welcome and Apologies
1.1 Apologies
1.2 Matters proposed to be considered in private 10 - 12
2. Minutes and Actions from previous meeting
2.1 Draft Minutes of meeting held on 15 July 2022 for approval
2.2 Action Log
3. Commissioner
3.1 Update Paper
4. Accountable Officer
4.1 Risk Register Update
4.2 Audit update (Audit Log)
5. Corporate Services
5.1 Performance Report
6. Finance
6.1 Management Accounts
7. Communications
7.1 Update paper
8. Reviews
8.1 Performance Report
9. Investigations
9.1 Performance Report The following items will be taken in private
10. Legal Services Verbal update presented by Head of Legal Services
11. Accommodation Update Verbal update presented by Accountable Officer/Head of Corporate Services
12. Pay Negotiations Verbal Update presented by Accountable Officer/Head of Corporate Services
Attendees:
Michelle Macleod Commissioner (MM)
Sharon Smit Accountable Officer/Head of Corporate Services (SS)
Ilya Zharov Head of Reviews and Policy (IZ)
Sharon Clelland Head of Legal Services (SC)
John McSporran Head of Investigations (JMcS)
Rhoda Braddick Communications Manager (RB)
Laura Duguid Finance Manager (LD)
Jennifer Fisher Secretariat (JF)
1. Welcome and Apologies
1.1 Apologies
MM opened the meeting and welcomed all Senior Management Team (SMT) members.
Apologies were noted from Phil Chapman, Director of Operations (PC).
1.2 Matters proposed to be considered in private
SMT agreed to consider agenda items 10 to 12 in private, for the reasons set out on the agenda.
2. Minutes of previous meeting
2.1 Draft Minutes
SMT approved the minutes of July 2022 meeting.
2.2 Action Log
SMT noted the updates to the action log.
3. Commissioner
3.1 Update paper
MM provided a detailed summary of the update paper (circulated in advance), drawing attention to the following areas:
- Public Inquiry
- Lady Angiolini Review – Public Consultation submission
- Civil Case
- Stakeholder Engagement
SMT noted the update provided.
4. Accountable Officer
4.1 Risk Register Update
SS provided a detailed summary of the Risk Register to July 2022, (circulated in advance).
SS advised that there have been no amendments to the scores or actions this month.
SS advised that Risk Coordinators have now been identified and are scheduled to attend a training / Risk Awareness session with Richard Mackie (RSM Auditor), on 23 August 2022.
SMT noted the update provided.
4.2 Audit Update (Audit Log)
SS provided a detailed summary of the Audit Log to July 2022 (circulated in advance).
SS advised that she had received a draft version of the IT Health-check audit report. SS further advised that discussions were ongoing to address the High and Mid-level priority actions identified within the report.
SS further noted that mandatory Cyber Awareness training sessions will be arranged for all staff. Details of the training sessions will be communicated to staff during the PIRC ‘Cyber Awareness’ campaign scheduled for October 2022.
SS advised that the next scheduled audits will examine HR Recruitment and Selection, which is scheduled to commence on 29 August and Creditor Payments (including Procurement Cards) which is scheduled to commence on 5 September 2022.
SS informed members that the contract with the current auditors ends in March 2023. SS highlighted that a procurement exercise for internal audit services will begin in December 2022. SS further noted that she will provide feedback to the Audit & Accountability Committee (AAC) on the outcome of the procurement exercise, prior to awarding any contract.
SMT noted the update provided.
5. Corporate Services
5.1 Performance Report
SS provided a detailed summary of the Corporate Services Workload report to July 2022 (circulated in advance), drawing attention to the following areas:
- Annual Leave
- Flexi Balances
- Recruitment and Vetting
- Staff Attendance
SMT noted the update provided.
6. Finance
6.1 Management Accounts
LD provided a summary of the Management Accounts as at end July 2022 (circulated in advance), drawing attention to the following areas:
- Staffing costs
- Running costs
- 3-year forecast budget
SMT noted the update provided.
7. Communications
7.1 Update paper
RB provided a detailed summary of the Communications update as at end July 2022 (circulated in advance), drawing attention to the following areas:
- Media enquiries received
- Project updates: PIRC website/intranet development, Media Management Tool
- Annual Report/publication of Annual Report
- PIRC/PSD Liaison event
SMT noted the update provided.
Website – Content Review
RB asked that members nominate a member of staff from each department to undertake a content review of the current website and highlight to the Communications Team any update requirements.
8. Reviews
8.1 Performance Report
IZ provided a summary of the Reviews Workload reports to July 2022 (circulated in advance), drawing attention to the following areas:
- Number of CHR received/issued
- Number of Heads of Complaints
- Decrease in the number of complaints found to be ‘not reasonably’ handled
- Decrease in the average age of pending cases
- Training for staff on how to complete Workload reports
- PIRC/PSD liaison event scheduled for 2 September 2022
SMT noted the update provided.
9. Investigations
9.1 Progress Report
JMcS provided a summary of the Investigations Workload reports to July 2022 (circulated in advance), drawing attention to the following areas:
- Significant increase in the number of Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) referred investigations YTD
- Significant increase in the number of Category C investigations YTD
- Percentage of reports completed within agreed timescales
SMT noted the update provided.