22 May 2025 - Minutes of the meeting of the Board of Commissioners
Minutes of the meeting of the Board of Commissioners, Thursday 22 May 2025.
10:00 Board room at Victoria Square House, Birmingham.
Commissioners:
- Charles Counsell (Interim Chair)
- Lloydette Bai-Marrow
- Helen Dodds
- Sheree Howard
- Claudia Mortimore
- Helen Phillips
- Andrew Rhodes
- David Rossington.
Executive team:
- Helen Child
- Lucy Denton
- Katharine Diamond
- Sarah Gardner
- Helen Gibson
- Natasha Harris
- Tim Miller
- Alistair Quigley
- John Tanner.
In attendance: REDACTED.
Apologies: None.
1. Private Session for Commissioners and Secretariat
This item was not minuted.
2. Welcome, apologies and declarations of Interest
There were no apologies received.
There was a new declaration of interest from Helen Phillips who has been appointed as Senior Independent Director for the Environmental Services Association.
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The Chair welcomed REDACTED as an observer for today’s meeting.
The Chair asked all attendees to keep the reflections from the Board and Executive Away Day in mind. The Ways of Being slide is in the meeting pack, and in future meetings these will be posted on the walls.
3. Minutes, actions and forward look
Draft minutes of the meeting of 20 March 2025
The minutes of the meeting of 20 March 2025 were agreed as a true record, subject to comments and changes noted.
Paragraph 9.12 – add in the word ‘regulatory’ before sector.
Actions
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Forward Look
The Chair invited input outside of the meeting on the Forward Look for the next 12 months.
4. Chair's Report
Board received a report covering the Chair’s engagements and his reflections on the Away Day and the Colleague Conference. On the Conference, the Chair congratulated the communications team on their organisation of the conference and noted the engagement of a number of Commissioners on the day.
Board members shared reflections on the Conference, in particular that they valued time spent with Commission colleagues and getting involved in the work on the tables. Board members noted that hybrid working is valued but observed that on the day there were many colleagues who did not know each other or do not have shared knowledge about the work that different teams do. Board was advised that there is not currently any arrangement within the Commission for days when all colleagues are in, and this would be something to be encouraged. Board noted that the Commission does not have enough space for everyone to come in on the same day, but there is co-ordination across teams to support collaboration.
Board noted there is a need to consider purposeful interactions rather than a blanket mandate as this drives presenteeism. Throughout the year, the Commission does have multiple points where attendance is encouraged to support both collaboration and social interaction.
The first round of meetings with industry Chairs has now concluded. The next step is to consider options for the Chairs’ Forum.
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5. CEO's Report
Board received the CEO’s report and noted the following additional points: the Gambling Commission has published its response on financial risk checks, with positive coverage.
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6. Board Effectiveness Review Report and Action Plan
Board received the report for decision. Board was invited to approve the recommendation that the BER and away day actions are combined into a single action plan and progress against action is tracked through Board meetings. The Board was also invited to approve the action plan.
Board noted that the next scheduled BER will be externally facilitated.
Appendix A: Final BER
Board discussed the BER and noted that not all those asked to comment responded to the review. The recommendations relating to impact metrics were welcomed, acknowledging that there is more to do.
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On Expert Groups, a greater presence from Expert Groups on relevant Board discussions would be welcomed.
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Board noted a wider issue in the need to prioritise time to continue those useful discussions to ensure that the Board can meet the expectations of an incoming Chair. That will require everyone to devote time and resources to development. Board noted the need for regular updates on the action plans, and that actions will be reported back to the next meeting in July. There will be a separate action tracking process.
Board reflected on whether the time is being given to focus on this work, noting that the next Away Day is not until November. One proposal was a half day before Board could be devoted to development on a quarterly basis, in addition to 2 away days. One of those half days could be devoted to follow up subject to Board and Executive commitment to in person attendance.
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Board agreed the action plan, noting that this is a part of the work that needs to be done.
ACTION: REDACTED.
7. 4NL Update - REDACTED
8. Accommodation Final Business Case
Board was asked to approve the business case recommendation to renew the lease on Victoria Square House from February 2026 to September 2029 (3.5 years, business case option (4)).
Board was advised that the table on page 122 allows for a comparison as to what 3.5 years in each of the options offers. This accounts for the difference in numbers in the paper.
Board are asked to approve the spend, not the budget position. Board noted that in an economic case they would expect the year-on-year costs to be discounted to reflect today’s costs and reflected that this could make a difference.
Board noted that this is a fundamental point in the preparation of business cases which should be reflected in future business cases presented to Board. Finance to review business case guidance.
ACTION: REDACTED.
Board welcomed the details included in the proposal and asked about the resource involved in relocating in February 2026 and whether that could be quantified. Board was advised that it would be difficult to assess the costs that could be applied to this work, but a narrative could be offered. There is a cost element but in addition there are cultural issues and disruption. The cost of physical move and fit out is set out in the paper. Putting a cost on the management of a move alongside other commitments within the Digital, IT and Facilities Team would be difficult, and it is unclear what value that would add.
Board approved the business case with a request that the numbers in table 4 are to be discounted.
9. Gambling Survey for Great Britain - Contract Renewal - REDACTED
10. Finance and Procurement Reports
Board noted that work to streamline the finance pack is continuing. The pack sets out the year end position, subject to audit. The outturn is less than 1 percent in respect of expenditure.
On the procurement side, a media report published this morning on Commission spend on Government Procurement Cards is not technically correct. It costs around £700 a year to use the cards and there are some categories of purchase which can only be made by cards (for example software descriptions). The Commission has a small number of cards which are closely monitored.
A new Head of Commercial is working with the Finance and Procurement teams to look at the demand and resource availability. Board noted that the Head of Commercial is on secondment from the Government Commercial Function for 2 years at the Commission’s request. This reflects challenges in recruiting to this role for support in 4NL and beyond.
The Board welcomed the 1 percent variance outturn.
Appendix B: Procurement Report for the period ending 31 March 2025
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11. Update on Draft Annual Report and Accounts (verbal)
Board noted that the NAO Audit will begin at the start of June 2025 and the annual report and accounts will be shared for comments to Board and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
The Board are asked to delegate authority to the Chair of the Board, Accounting Officer and Chair of ARC to approve the final ARA on or after the 7 July, unless there are material concerns or amendments which need to be highlighted to the Board.
A trust statement has been requested by Treasury to focus on the Economic Crime Levy revenue received by the Commission. This year this has been decoupled from the ARA process, but as of next year it will form part of the external audit. This year, the statement will be laid before the end of January 2026. NAO will set out their audit plan subject to confirmation of the scope of the statement.
DECISION: The Board delegated authority to the Chair of the Board, Accounting Officer and Chair of ARC to approve the final ARA on or after the 7 July, unless there are material concerns or amendments which need to be highlighted to the Board.
DECISION: The Board agreed to delegate authority to the Chair of the Board, Accounting Officer and Chair of ARC to approve the final ARA on or after the 7 July, unless there are material concerns or amendments which need to be highlighted to the Board.
12. Performance Report
Board noted that the performance papers now include the People and Culture Dashboard. Reporting reflects the position as of 31 March 2025 and work is underway to review what can be included, as well as looking at options to report on in year progress against the business plan and the Corporate Strategy.
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Board noted the business plan deliverables update, the extent of completion and the positive outcomes.
People and Culture Strategy Dashboard
Board noted that the dashboard continues to evolve, and there are some ongoing system issues which are limiting access to data.
Areas of focus over the next few months will be on recruitment processes and the employee value proposition as well as the flow of representation through the organization at different levels.
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On the Pulse Survey, Board noted the view of People Services is that the run rate of the engagement score was going to plateau. Work will pivot to remind people of all the benefits of working in the Commission. The likely outcome is a slight increase over the next 6 to 12 months, noting there is a high degree of change and a focus on a high performing culture.
Regarding the high number of applications for roles, Board noted that there are a significant proportion of people who join the Commission because of our purpose and mission, and that our offer is about more than just base pay. The recruitment landscape and what people are looking for in a workplace has changed.
Board noted that the Learning and Development team have responsibility for core skills, with professional development being developed to Executive level. People Services are consulting with Execs on key areas of focus, as well as encouraging individuals to take ownership of their own development. More work needs to be done to review and understand the return on investment.
Board requested that the report develops the line between application to appointment in terms of diversity. A report will be presented 3 times per year.
13. Communications and Engagement Strategy
Board received the report for information. In respect of the overview of the year, Board noted that the Communications team plan to a high level as well as working through prioritisation on a fortnightly basis and carrying out a weekly forward look to ensure that responsive planning is possible and able to be incorporated into planning.
Board noted that internal messaging about wider initiatives which might affect the Commission is part of the work and consideration is given to the right way to distribute the right messages.
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Connect with Exec sessions are held monthly, and average attendance is around 200.
Board noted that it would be useful to consider the question of what the Commission would like to hear from different stakeholder groups in the next 12 months. Board noted what does good look like is challenging – in some cases the fact that we are being referenced is a good thing.
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ACTION: REDACTED.
14. Audit and Risk Committee Assurance Report
Board received the report for assurance and noted the update from the ARC Chair that the May 2025 meeting was very positive.
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In respect of the Moderate opinion, GIAA reflected that improvements in risk management, along with the positive attitude of the Commission to internal audit have contributed significantly to the annual opinion. The Board further noted the approach and work delivered by GIAA to be constructive, balanced and appropriately challenging, and that GIAA reflections on behaviours and maturity have usefully contributed to the work.
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15. Any other business and review of the meeting
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ACTION: REDACTED.
Board was advised that the Civil Service Pay remit guidance for 2025 to 2026 has just been published and provides for a 3.25 percent average award. There is flexibility for a pay business case.