Scottish Government

SB(07)8th Conclusions

STRATEGIC BOARD MEETING

3 MAY 2007

Agenda item 1: Minutes and matters arising

1. The minutes of the previous meeting (SB(07)7th conclusions) were formally agreed for publication. Under matters arising, it was noted that the Board had expected to see Mr Pagliari's note on the key elements of the people strategy for this meeting, and the secretariat agreed to arrange for this to be circulated as a matter of urgency. Under item 5 (the challenge function in the SE), Kevin Woods noted that the Delivery Group had now looked at the challenge paper, and that a paper was coming to the Permanent Secretary on the monitoring of a future government's commitments. Delivery Division would support the Strategic Board in assessing progress on delivery against commitments, but owners of the tasks would be responsible for ensuing that they were delivered. It was agreed that the paper on this subject should come to the Board for consideration, once the style and nature of the incoming administration's programme for government was known. (Action: Kevin Woods and Delivery Division)

Agenda item 2: Forth Crossing

Part of the record of discussion under this agenda item is considered exempt from publication at this time and has been redacted.

Agenda item 3: update on Taking Stock Action plan

2. Kate Vincent introduced paper SB(07)17 which provided a high level assessment of progress against those actions which were due for completion by May 2007. The overall picture was encouraging, in that there were no actions assessed as being red. Some of the commitments which were showing as amber required greater clarity about what was to be achieved, and there were also some areas where interdependencies affected progress. The next stage would be to review whether the actions were having the desired impact on the organisation and what it was trying to achieve.

3. In discussion the following points were made:

• Good progress had been made in the right direction, with more impacts on business due to be seen shortly;
• There was a hierarchy of amber commitments, those which were on track, but a few weeks adrift; those where the ambition required to be more precisely defined; and those where the coming political interaction was likely to require some re-thinking of the commitment;
• It was too early to carry out a significant review of impacts at this stage, but that when a review was undertaken, it would be important to be rigorous in posing the same challenges as had been put by the Taking Stock review team;
• It was important to treat this plan as being dynamic, and to review and amend it as circumstances changed;
• The next round of organisational development, when the agenda would be refreshed, should be planned for autumn/winter 2007. Those leading the workstreams needed to lead that thinking, engaging with existing networks and reference groups as appropriate, including the current staff reference group. It would also be important to ensure the right triangulation with the staff and stakeholder surveys;
• The resources available to lead the next stage of organisational development would depend on the level of resource available.

4. It was agreed that each Board member should review for their interests those amber commitments where the level of ambition was not clear, and report their conclusions on where the tasks should be pitched; and that Kate Vincent should illuminate the critical interdependencies in the action plan where there were currently not properly articulated between the different sections of the plan. (Action: all Board Members and Kate Vincent)

5. Owen Kelly presented paper SB(07)18, a re-draft of the 'corporate story' which had been revised in the light of comments at an earlier discussion. Board members proposed a number of further amendments to clarify and strengthen the narrative, and it was agreed that a further version would be circulated in due course. (Action: Owen Kelly)

Agenda item 5: preparations for an incoming administration

6. Sarah Smith updated the Board on the preparations in hand to support political parties in preparing for, and becoming, a new administration. It was agreed that the key supporting work which had been prepared on the basis of the parties' manifestos would be distributed to Board members. (Action: Sarah Smith and Lesley Fraser)

Agenda item 6: any other business (note: this item was taken after item 1)

Part of the record of discussion under this agenda item is considered exempt from publication at this time and has been redacted.

7. The Board agreed that: Public Bodies and Pay Policy divisions should work together to set out options for the better governance and assurance of this process, looking at the wider issues associated with devolution of pay. This work would enable the Board to take a view on what should be recommended to incoming Ministers in terms of a public sector pay policy. The work should be reviewed by the Remuneration Committee if time allowed, but David Fisher and Shonaig Macpherson should, in any case, be invited to make an input into the shaping of this work at an early stage. (Action: Andrew Goudie, with Public Bodies and Pay Policy)

Date of next meeting

8. Thursday 17 May at 08.30.

Cabinet Secretariat

May 2007