Draft Board and Committee Meeting Schedule to March 2025
Summary
Agency Board Report Number: SEPA 35/23
A proposed schedule of meeting dates from January 2024 is provided in this paper. The Board is invited to approve this as its working calendar to March 2025. The draft schedule is provided as early as possible to allow members to plan their forward diaries. This paper also presents an updated Planner with the proposed seminar sessions and strategic items for tabling at Agency Board and Strategy meetings to December 2023.
For approval.
Agency Board, Corporate Leadership Team, Scottish Government and Public
- Jenny Faichney, Unit Manager, Corporate Leadership Team & Board Support
- Jennifer McWhirter, Clerk to the Board
Introduction
The proposed schedule of Board and Committee meeting dates for 2024-25 is presented in this paper and the Board is invited to approve this as its working calendar from January 2024 to March 2025. The draft schedule is provided as early as possible to allow members to plan their diaries.
This paper also presents, for noting, an updated Planner with the seminar sessions and strategic items for tabling at Agency Board and Strategy meetings to December 2023.
The 2024-25 planner
The tables in Appendix 1 show the proposed calendar of meetings from January 2024 to March 2025. As requested by a few Board members, the school holiday periods have been avoided for Board meetings(Scottish Parliament recess dates for 2024-25 have been used as a guide when producing this paper). The Planner also considers Board feedback about making the best use of Board time, the need for public Agency Board meetings, having meetings on MS Teams and in person, and having time for open strategic discussion as well as information sharing. Further information is provided below.
Meetings of the Agency Board
Six public Board meetings are proposed, alternating between in-person and virtual (MS Teams). As highlighted in the calendar, it is suggested that some of these meetings are preceded in the morning by a visit or seminar. As noted at the May 2023 Board meeting, the Board expressed an interest in attending visits, acknowledging that Board Buddy groups are a great opportunity for this. Additional seminars and visits for groups of Board members, including via Board Buddy groups will therefore be arranged outwith this calendar with the appropriate Corporate Leadership Team (CLT) lead. As detailed in the Standing Orders, special meetings of the Agency Board may also take place where there is business that is urgent and cannot wait to the next meeting of the Agency Board. If it is not practicable to convene a special meeting, the Chair may under exceptional circumstances deal with the matter(s) by correspondence. The Standing Orders allow for papers to be sent to the Board via circulation.
The Agency Board meetings have the following standing items on all agendas: Chief Executive and Chair reports; consideration of new risks; Board Buddy register and other Board engagement; Committee reports.
The following summarises the routine of business expected at each of the six Board meetings throughout the year:
- February Board (MS Teams): Q3 reports for Performance and Financial Monitoring; Draft Annual Budget; Annual Operating Plan (AOP) sign-off; Annual Review of Official Documents and Procedures approved by the Board; Agency Board paper planner. For 2024 - Corporate Plan sign-off.
- April Board (in-person): AOP for approval for publication. Annual review of risk.
- May Board (MS Teams): Q4 reports for Performance and Financial Monitoring.
- June Board (in-person): Calendar of meetings and Forward Planner; Audit & Risk Committee Annual Performance Report.
- September Board (MS Teams): CabSec/Env Minister meeting; Programme for Government; Q1 reports for Performance and Financial Monitoring; SEPA Customer Service Level Complaints Statistics Annual Report.
- November Board (in-person): Annual Report and Accounts - Fully Audited; Q2 reports for Performance and Financial Monitoring.
Committee meetings
Audit & Risk Committee (ARC)
To meet its Terms of Reference (ToR), the Audit & Risk Committee (ARC) meets no fewer than four times each financial year for 2-3hrs to receive reports from the internal auditors, the external auditors and SEPA staff. As requested by the current committee, four shorter (1hr) meetings will also be held for ARC to scrutinise the quarterly Financial Monitoring Reports before going to the Board. ARC is also to hold an annual half day workshop in March.
People & Remuneration Committee (PRC)
To meet its draft ToR (The People & Remuneration Committee draft ToR is due to be approved by the Board at its meeting on 25 July 2023), the Committee meets no fewer than four times each financial year, coordinated with Agency Board meetings to facilitate timely briefing for the wider Board membership. The balance of how time is used in the meetings will be different with up to two meetings each year extended beyond the planned 1.5hrs to focus on remuneration alongside People issues to complement the remuneration planning timetable.
It is proposed that all committee meetings are held online via MS Teams in the mornings of the days stated. Following Board feedback, the committee meeting days have been separated from the days when the full Board is meeting to avoid long working days.
Strategy and planning sessions
Three in-person all-day sessions are proposed from January 2024 to March 2025, the first of which will partly be used as an induction day for new Board members:
- 23 Jan 2024 - Induction/planning day
- 3 Sept 2024 - Strategy planning day
- 28 Jan 2025 - Strategy session on 2025-26 AOP and progress with Corporate Plan.
Proposed seminars and strategic items for Board consideration 2023
The following seminars and strategic items for Board consideration are currently planned to the end of the 2023 calendar year. Please note that this is included here as an update to the paper provided to the Board at its February 2023 Board meeting and the content may be subject to change.
6 September Board and CLT planning day (location: TIC – Strathclyde University)
- Corporate Plan - Innovative approach to regulation
- Annual Report and Accounts (session on front end of report requested at ARC mtg 21 March 2023)
- Board effectiveness (questionnaire results)
26 September Agency Board (MS Teams)
- CabSec/Env Minister visit to Agency Board
- Programme for Government
- Corporate Plan - strategic direction
24 October Strategy Board (location: ASB or another venue – no formal meeting)
- Implications of the Integrated Authorisation Framework (IAF) in practice
- Aquaculture – Sea lice consultation results
28 November Agency Board (MS Teams - no seminar session am)
- Draft Corporate Plan (strategy session)
- Flooding update
12 December Board Strategy (venue: ASB or another venue; no formal meeting)
- AOP 2024-25 (focus of session)
- Annual Report & Accounts 2022/23: Fully audited.
Recommendations
The Board is asked to approve the planner for 2024-25.
