MEETING OF THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT STRATEGIC BOARD: HELD ON THURSDAY, 29 JANUARY 2009
Present
- Sir John Elvidge KCB (chair)
- Robert Gordon CB
- Andrew Goudie
- Stella Manzie
- Philip Rycroft
- Alyson Stafford (For Agenda Items 1 & 2 only)
- Richard Wakeford
- Kevin Woods
- Bill Bound
- Heather Logan
- Apologies: David Fisher
In Attendance
- Norman McFadyen (For Agenda Items 1 - 6 only)David Simpson
- Katie Wood
- Sarah Davidson (For Agenda Items 1, 2 & 6 only)
- Paul Gray (For Agenda Items 1- 6 only)
- Ros Cockrell (For Agenda Item 2 only)
- Barbara Allison (For Agenda Item 3 only)
- John Ewing (For Agenda Item 5 only)
- Craig Russell (For Agenda Item 5 only)
- Maureen Bruce (For Agenda Item 7 only)
- Hilary Morrison (For Agenda Item 7 only)
- Elizabeth Baird (For Agenda Item 9 only)
- Jonathan Dennis (For Agenda Item 9 only)
- Drew MacFarlane (For Agenda Item 9 only)
- Philip Wright (For Agenda Item 9 only)
Agenda Item 1: Minutes and Matters Arising
1. The Board considered the minutes of the meeting held on 18 December.
2. The Strategic Board agreed:
(a) That outstanding action points be brought to the attention of the Strategic Board by way of a regular report at the Board's meetings. The first report should be brought to the next meeting of the Board; (Action: Cabinet and Corporate Business Secretariat) and
(b) The minutes of the Board meeting held on 18 December.
Agenda Item 2: Finance Director's Report (SB(09)01)
3. Alyson Stafford introduced paper SB(09)01 which reported on key financial developments, including a high level overview of forecast end of year outturn expenditure informed by spending in the first nine months of 2008-09.
Part of the record of discussion under this agenda item is considered exempt from publication at this time and has been redacted.
4. Ms Stafford said the Budget (Scotland) Bill had not won Parliamentary approval at Stage 3 on 28 January. She said that the Bill had been resubmitted to the Parliament on 28 January after the vote at Stage 3, in a form unchanged from the version introduced on 8 January and that consideration was being given to suspension of Standing Orders to allow the resubmitted Bill to be taken through all its Parliamentary stages more quickly than normal.
5. In relation to the forecast of expenditure against the Scottish Parliament Budgets, Ms Stafford said that the Spring Budget Revision (SBR) had been presented to Parliament and would be considered by the Finance Committee on 24 February.
Part of the record of discussion under this agenda item is considered exempt from publication at this time and has been redacted.
[Alyson Stafford left the meeting]
Agenda Item 3: Role of Scottish Government HR in the wider Scottish Public Sector (SB(09)02)
6. There was insufficient time to consider this paper fully. The Strategic Board agreed that the Change and Corporate Services Directorate would have bilateral discussions with the Directors-General of Health and Economy. Paper SB(09)02 would be revised to reflect those discussions and then circulated to the Board for information. (Action: Change & Corporate Services Directorate)
7. The Permanent Secretary welcomed the Scottish Government officials who joined the meeting at this point to observe the proceedings.
Agenda Item 4: Pro-Active Publication Pilot (presentation)
(a) Paul Gray provided an update on the pro-active publication pilot that had taken place in three business areas over a three month period.
Part of the record of discussion under this agenda item is considered exempt from publication at this time and has been redacted.
8. The Strategic Board agreed that:
(a) Work should be put in hand to remove from the storage system all material which was not required for the official record;
(b) The creation of standard formats and templates would greatly assist the move towards achieving a greater degree of consistency of tone and style in relation to written material. This, along with other measures which might help in this regard, should be actioned quickly; and
Part of the record of discussion under this agenda item is considered exempt from publication at this time and has been redacted.
(Action: Change and Corporate Services Directorate)
Agenda Item 5: Efficient Government: Future of the Efficiency Programme (SB(09)03) and the Second Progress Report on Efficient Government (SB(09)04)
9. Craig Russell and John Ewing introduced paper SB(09)03 which presented the Strategic Board with five options for developing a more sophisticated approach to public sector efficiency beyond the current programme, particularly in light of the increased budget pressure that was likely to be faced in the coming years. They invited the Board to discuss the options for developing a new approach to public sector efficiency and agree that further work should be undertaken to refine these options. They also invited the Board to note the content of the Second Progress Report on Efficient Government, as set out in paper SB(09)04.
10. Mr Russell said that the current efficiency programme was in year 4 of two consecutive 3 year programmes and that, while the efficiency targets had helped achieve considerable success and would continue to do so, this was the right time to develop a more sophisticated approach to achieving sustainable efficiencies in the longer term and beyond the current programmes. Mr Russell said that the options set out in the paper could be both combined and refined and it would be helpful for the Board to give an indication of its views on the options. The Board was not being asked to design a new efficiency programme but rather to provide a broad steer to enable development of the preferred approaches, allowing such approaches to be brought back to the Board, in due course, for further consideration.
11. Points made in discussion:
(a) Efficiency measures should not be seen primarily as money-saving exercises but rather as better ways of achieving delivery of the organisation's goals. It would be important to communicate this message clearly;
(b) It was important to recognise that the approach taken by the current efficiency programmes had been successful, with significant improvement beyond the targets being realised and that the use of targets allowed for a measurable and auditable programme. Thought, however, could be given to adopting a more outcome based approach, as used in the Performance Framework, alongside the retention of targets;
(c) It would be important to identify a clear set of priorities before embarking on the exercise and to explore the use of selective targeting in order to achieve the highest benefit; and
(d) It would be essential to harness input and ideas from colleagues across the organisation regarding delivery of any programme.
12. The Strategic Board agreed:
(a) That the time was right to consider a more sophisticated approach to public sector efficiency, but with recognition that the approach to date had been successful and that it would be important not to risk loss of that effectiveness. The options set out an Annex A of paper SB(09)03 should be developed to allow for further detailed consideration of the various propositions. Such development would require the input of Finance colleagues; (Action: Efficiency and Transformational Government Division and Finance Directorate) and
(b) To note the content of the Second Progress Report on Efficient Government, as set out on paper SB(09)04.
Agenda Item 6: Internal Communications (SB(09)05)
13. Sarah Davidson introduced paper SB(09)05 which updated the Strategic Board on the current work of the Scottish Government's internal communication team and sought agreement on specific proposals designed to build on the work to date. She said the Taking Stock report had highlighted gaps in the organisation in relation to internal communications activities and skills and that, while progress had been made, gaps remained. She highlighted, in particular, the need to develop a strategic approach to internal communications. Ms Davidson said that the aim of the proposals was to achieve effective and consistent communication across the organisation. If the proposals were adopted, they would require compliance across the organisation at every level. Leadership by Strategic Board members would be instrumental in ensuring the delivery of strengthened and effective internal communications.
14. Points made in discussion:
(a) It was important to recognise that staff had a right to information and to receive that information in a way that was effective to their individual needs. Officials often had to explain the work of the Scottish Government to external stakeholders, so it was essential that they were entirely familiar with core messages, including what the Scottish Government was doing to achieve the organisation's purpose and objectives. Ensuring that the information on the intranet and internet was streamlined and updated regularly would assist in this regard;
(b) The use of language, and the approach used, should be tailored to meet the needs of the various audiences. To assist this, a culture of encouraging team-talks, face-to-face meeting and a more visible senior management presence would be helpful. There should be a balance between messages delivered by senior staff, and those which are delivered more rightly at a local level. Thought should be given to ways of encouraging staff to want to learn and understand more about the organisation for which they work;
(c) While it was important to develop and maintain a corporate style, innovative ideas and approaches should not be stifled and the proposals in the paper were not to be seen as removing existing good practice; and
(d) Commitment, discipline and leading by example would be key to delivering effective communications, systems and processes alone would not deliver. Thought could be given to including more effective communications as an objective in the appraisal process.
21. The Strategic Board agreed that it was very supportive of the direction proposed and that work should continue to develop these proposals. It agreed that the proposals should be developed in a way which would encourage those who are currently communicating effectively and that there should be a clear minimum standard of communication across the whole organisation. (Action: Communications Directorate)
Agenda Item 7: Balanced Scorecard (SB(09)06)
22. Maureen Bruce and Hilary Morrison introduced paper SB(09)06 which presented the corporate balanced scorecard in its new format and highlighted some key issues for the Strategic Board's consideration. Ms Bruce said that the scorecard was one component in the corporate management process and was designed to help illustrate the corporate health of the organisation. It was now separate from the corporate risk register, as previously agreed by the Board.
23. Points made in discussion:
(a) It was expected that the scorecard would continue to evolve over time but a good foundation was in place. Some areas did not carry specific performance targets and consideration should be given as to whether such targets were merited. Consideration could be given as to whether any of the performance indicators should could carry "Red-Amber-Green" status to highlight their level of performance;
(b) Overall, the refinements to the scorecard had delivered a clearer and more concise document leading to easier analysis of the data.
24. The Strategic Board agreed that:
(a) The scorecard, together with appropriate commentary and analysis on its content, should be presented to the Board on a quarterly basis; (Action: Strategy and Performance Division and Cabinet and Corporate Business Secretariat)
(b) Strategy and Performance Division would work with OCS and the data owners to challenge existing performance reports and to research the appropriateness of introducing performance targets or tolerance levels. The Board would also continue its involvement in the ongoing development of the scorecard, including consideration of what indicators and targets may be helpful; (Action: All, Strategy and Performance Division and OCS) and
(c) Strategy and Performance Division would work with DG Finance and Corporate Services to investigate the feasibility of linking the measures in the scorecard to the high level aims in the Corporate Strategy. (Action: Strategy and Performance Division and DG Finance and Corporate Services)
Agenda Item 8: The Scottish Government's Role as an Employer in Developing Enterprise and Employability Skills in Young People and those further from the Labour Market (SB(09)07)
25. Philip Rycroft introduced paper SB(09)07 which invited the Board to endorse a proposal on how the Scottish Government, acting as an employer, could help develop the enterprise and employability of young people and those furthest from the labour market.
Part of the record of discussion under this agenda item is considered exempt from publication at this time and has been redacted.
26. Points made in discussion:
(a) It would be useful, when taking this work forward, to set targets against which progress could be measured; and
(b) The proposals were positive steps for the long term and should not be viewed only as measures appropriate in the current economic climate.
27. The Strategic Board agreed to endorse the proposal set out in paper (SB(09)07).
Agenda Item 9: Committing to UK Government Carbon Budgets and the Consequences for Scotland (SB(09)08)
28. Richard Wakeford introduced paper SB(09)08, noting that the Government had to respond to the UK Government on the carbon budgets advised by the Committee on Climate Change by the end of February.
Part of the record of discussion under this agenda item is considered exempt from publication at this time and has been redacted.
29. Mr Wakeford said that Committee on Climate Change had proposed two possible sets of budgets - the intended budgets (to apply in the event of a global deal on emissions reductions) and the interim budgets (to apply for the period before a global deal is reached). The interim budgets would require emissions in 2020 to be 34% below the 1990 level, whereas the intended budgets would require a fall of 42%. He said the Committee's advice was for the UK as a whole.
Part of the record of discussion under this agenda item is considered exempt from publication at this time and has been redacted.
32. The Strategic Board agreed to the recommendations in the paper, subject to an agreement that further analysis, evidence and costs would be provided to the Board, which will inform future decisions in this area. (Action: DG Environment and Climate Change Division)
Agenda Item 10: Any Other Business
33. No other business was brought to the Board.
Date of Next Meeting
34. Thursday, 19 February at 9.00 am, St Andrew's House.
Cabinet and Corporate Business Secretariat
February 2009