20 January 2022

Attendees

Those present: 

Mostaque Ahmed, Finance Director and Managing Director of Finance, Portfolio and Performance  
John Benger, Clerk of the House [Chair] 
Isabel Coman, Managing Director of In-House Services and Estates 
Marianne Cwynarski, Director General (Operations) [item 2 onwards]
Sarah Davies, Clerk Assistant and Managing Director of the Chamber and Participation Team 
Mandy Eddolls, Managing Director of People and Culture 
Alison Giles, Director of Security for Parliament 
Tracey Jessup, Chief Digital and Information Officer 
Colin Lee, Managing Director of the Select Committee Team  
Saira Salimi, Speaker’s Counsel 
Penny Young, Librarian and Managing Director of Research and Information  

Apologies:

David Smith, Managing Director of the Parliamentary Digital Service  

In attendance:

Emily Baldock, Director of Strategy and Business Planning [item 1]
Malin Eliasson, Director of Financial Management & Performance [item 1a]
Tom Goldsmith, Principal Clerk, Table Office [item 2]
Matthew Hamlyn, Chair of the Strategy Steering Group [item 1b]
Alice Holmes, Director of Communications      
Jane Hough, Head of Performance [item 1a]
Gosia McBride, Head of the Governance Office and Secretary to the House of Commons Commission
Jane O’Mahoney, Deputy Director, Estate Based Staff Workstream [item 2]
Sarah Petit, Director of Cultural Transformation [item 2]
Mary Savvides, Corporate Risk Management Facilitator [item 3g]
Emma Wharton-Love, Director of Hybrid Working [item 2]
Katharine Williams, Governance Manager and Secretary to the Commons Executive Board 

Meeting

1. Quarterly theme: Strategy and finance

a) Performance reports

i. Financial monitoring report

The CEB noted the report for November 2021 and a verbal update on developments. The Commission had agreed the Medium-term Financial Plan for 2022-23.
The CEB agreed that good forecasting was critical and should be managed through risk management and business planning processes.
The CEB agreed that recruitment challenges were contributing to the underspend and delays to project delivery, and the new HR working group would look into this as a priority.

ii. Quarterly performance report

There were nil-returns and inaccuracies in the report. The CEB:

• reviewed the data and agreed to update the report before it was sent on to Member committees.
• committed to making the returns a priority in future and empowered the report author to escalate any non-compliance to Managing Directors and ultimately the Clerk.
• agreed that board members would use the monthly update section of the meeting to raise any concerns about actions.
• suggested some improvements to the report to provide further analysis and assurance.
• agreed that tighter gatekeeping was needed on the actions that went into future reports.
• requested a calendar of all financial and performance reports and asked that in the longer-term reporting was rationalised as far as possible to limit duplication.

iii. Portfolio performance report

The CEB noted the report for December 2021. A paper on supply chain risks would be circulated for information.

b) Outline proposals for new House Service strategy

The CEB discussed the proposed strategic priorities for the new House Service strategy 2023-2027 and gave some steers. The points would be followed up offline and fed into the work.
The CEB committed to prioritising work on the strategy and agreed that boards and groups and senior managers in key business areas should support work to flesh out the details of specific priorities.

c) Draft corporate business plan 2022-23

This item was postponed to a later meeting.

2. By exception

a) Working Lives

The CEB discussed the paper and:

• agreed the overarching Working Lives progress statement for use in communications to all staff and gave further steers on communications.
• agreed that relevant data on working patterns would be collected from staff twice in 2022, ideally in May and October, to feed into the next two Working Lives Progress Reports, and also
• asked specifically that data be gathered on staff who had joined the organisation recently, under remote and hybrid working arrangements.
• agreed the working assumption that the trial would end in December 2022 as planned to provide certainty to colleagues and services from that point forwards. That would be reviewed and reconfirmed in June 2022 and was not expected to change unless the second six-monthly report showed a substantial change in the ability of the trial to draw conclusions about future working requirements.
• agreed that Teams should conduct their own individual equality analyses in the spring, with central support.
• agreed the proposed next step areas to trial relating to contracts and job-adverts

b) Estate-based Community

The CEB agreed that addressing digital provision, space and time were key to improving the working lives of the estate-based community, Specifically, the CEB:

• approved the approach for extending digital access to the workforce and for Business Management Directors and HR Business Partners to help with rollout.
• supported the concept of shared functional welfare spaces in the development of future spaces.
• agreed that IHSE should so far as possible expedite its work to provide improved spaces to meet the needs of the Estate-based Community, and further agreed that the provision of additional spaces was desirable.
• recognised that colleagues needed protected time to spend on learning, engagement or growth but that the business need for this would vary. MDs agreed to propose solutions for their areas, which would then be reviewed in the round.
• agreed that the CEB’s commitment to this work should be communicated and evidenced with a plan, budget and demonstrable progress, and agreed to take a monthly update at board meetings until this was delivered.

c) Cultural Transformation

The CEB reviewed the measurement data and evaluation of progress and agreed the priorities and approach for 2022/23, and endorsed the future approach to Valuing Everyone training.

3. Monthly updates

a) Director General

The CEB took note of an update from the Director General.

b) Parliamentary business

The CEB took note of an update from the Clerk Assistant and the Managing Director of the Select Committee Team.

c) Finance

The CEB took note of an update from the Managing Director of Finance, Portfolio and Performance, including an update on outstanding audit actions.

d) Major projects

The CEB took note of an update from the Managing Director of In-House Services and Estates.

e) Security

The CEB took note of an update from the Director of Security for Parliament and the UK Parliament Chief Digital and Information Officer.

f) Sub-boards

The CEB took note of an update from the Head of the Governance Office.

g) Risk

The CEB took note of an update from the Corporate Risk Management Facilitator.

4. Reflections, updates and AOB

a) Culture reflection

The CEB reflected on culture during the meeting.

5. Take note papers

The CEB took note of the following papers:
a) CEB decision and action log / minutes
b) Reports from the Commission and Domestic Committees
c) Sub-board agendas and minutes
d) Minutes of the Restoration & Renewal Sponsor Body Board meeting – November
e) Assurance process
f) Structural and budgetary team reports
g) Review of Recharge: Shared Services
h) Internal audit report: Transforming Digital
i) Estate-based Community - annexed information

6. By correspondence

The CEB took the following papers by correspondence ahead of this meeting:

a) TUS communications

The CEB noted the paper.