Minutes of the VSS Board Meeting No 112

Board Meeting Type: Quarter End Board Meeting      

Wednesday 30^th April at 09:45 am  (Members only) and 10.15am (All attendees)

VSS Board Room and MS Teams

Board Members Present:

Sandra Horley (SH)                        Board Member (Interim Chair)

Brian Gilfedder (BG)                        Board Member

Catriona MacArthur (CMA)             Board Member

VSS Staff in Attendance:

Andrew Walker (AW) Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Tara Lewsley (TL)                         Head of Learning and Growth

Victoria Murray (VM)                        Acting Head of Corporate Services

Emma Dargan (ED)                         Head of Community Partnerships

Diksha Balodia (DB)                      Business Support Officer (Minutes) 

A      Apologies

John Cahill (JC)                               Board Member

Nicola Nugent (NN)                         Head of Health and Wellbeing

B      Minutes of Previous Meeting

Minutes of the previous meeting on 20 March 2025 were approved.

C       Action Points

Action Points remaining open from previous meetings:

- 22.05.24 AP1: Remains open. Agreed that an invitation to Louise Warde Hunter (CEO, ICRIR) be extended to attend a Strategic Board session later in 2025/26.

- 25.01.24 AP2: Documents largely drafted, for completion and presentation to Board by end of Q1.

- 13.08.24 AP2: Session scheduled for May 2025 Board Meeting.

- 22.01.25 AP1: Patrick Gallagher will attend the May 2025 Board Meeting. A brief discussion was held regarding content of this meeting and it was agreed that the Board would meet separately to agree proposed topics for discussion. This has been captured as 30.04.25 AP1.

- MSFM Ref 4.4.3 One longstanding AP relating to MSFM Ref 4.4.3 remains open. Discussion followed around communication between VSS Board and the First Minister and deputy First Minister, and the nature of the partnership between VSS and TEO in the context of the new Partnership Agreement. It was agreed that considering the need for/format of communications to engage the First Minister and deputy First Minister (and others) will take place within a planned stakeholder mapping session next month. AW advised these concerns would also be discussed with TEO before signing the Partnership Agreement. It was agreed to close this action point and replace with a new AP from the current meeting, 30.04.25 AP2.

Action Points arising from 30 April 2025:

- 30.04.25 AP1: Board pre meeting to be scheduled before May session with Patrick Gallagher to agree questions and topics for discussion.

- 30.04.25 AP2: Clear mechanisms for communication between VSS Board and First Minister/deputy First Minister and TEO senior officials are agreed as highly important and are not currently included in the Partnership Agreement or regular engagement plan. These should be discussed as part of stakeholder mapping session/communications planning and with TEO ahead of finalisation of Partnership Agreement.

- 30.04.25 AP3: Management to investigate training courses on AI suitable for members to attend.

- 30.04.25 AP4: Timetable/proposed dates for Board involvement in VSP funding call process to be issued at earliest opportunity.

- 30.04.25 AP5: Schedule a session for SMT and Board to review and agree the updated VSS Risk Appetite.

D       Conflicts of Interest

No conflicts of interest were noted.

E       Chair’s Report

The Board noted this paper.

F    Quarter 4 Reporting – March 2025

F1   CEO Exception Report

AW presented the report and highlighted items of note.

VSP Funding Call  

The consultation and co-design process for VSP Funding Call for the year 25/26 was completed following discussion with community partners (27 out of 45 attended sessions). Recommendations were agreed, and the funding call is expected to be opened at the end of Q1 (or early Q2). The business case is pending TEO approval for the 2-year programme, with no budgetary increases foreseen, anticipating increased financial pressures. VSS has submitted a proposal for TEO approval seeking an additional funding contribution from TPDPS funds to supplement VSP, citing the increased demand under VSP activities arising from the TPDPS scheme. VSS is working towards hosting open sessions for the applications process to support any community and voluntary groups bidding for VSP funds.

Discussion followed around the funding model for groups and the funding call process for groups. AW advised that VSS aims for broad geographical coverage, ensuring support for victims and survivors is available in all geographical areas when allocating funds.

2025-26 Budget Allocation

Confirmation of annual budget was received from TEO early this year, with funds available in early April.  which supported the timely disbursement of SDA awards. A higher volume of client phone calls was observed in the lead up to and two weeks after the SDA payments were sent out on 4 April, which has since normalised.

The budget allocation received included a provision for VSS staff pay awards. VM noted that VSS is awaiting confirmation of additional budget to fund the recent increases in employer’s National Insurance contributions. VSS has confirmed to funded organisations that National Insurance and staffing cost increases will be supported through VSS funding.

TEO is not taking new bids for June monitoring due to no increase in budgets for the year. It is anticipated that going forward, budgets will be allocated in 3-year blocks starting next year.

RTN – Regional Trauma Network

AW acknowledged the good work done under RTN and collaboration between groups and trusts in delivering services to victims and survivors. The 3-year pilot programme is due for review at the end of this year, where decisions will be made regarding the continuity and potential expansion of the RTN beyond the current remit of victims and survivors.

It was noted that referrals from the C&V sector to the trusts have exceeded the target for this year with 65 referrals. Discussion followed around the low number of referrals made from Trusts to C&V sector, which were attributed to factors beyond VSS’ control. VSS is actively working to raise awareness about the RTN within the C&V sector and trusts about managing the referrals process. It was noted that there may be issues from under-reporting as referrals were being made directly to groups, instead of through VSS.

MBMLW

VSS has been actively providing support to victims and survivors through the testimony gathering phase of the Truth Recovery Programme and will continue to provide support through the Inquiry process, due to commence later this year, or in early 2026. TEO has advised of a change in expectations of VSS’ role in the redress application process, requiring VSS to extend support to victims and survivors throughout the redress process. VSS has been working with C&V partners to identify the best way to provide support for victims and survivors, given the increased pressures from the need for support through the redress process. VSS will discuss the terms with TEO to present the challenges arising from the expectations for support through the redress scheme.

Achievements

The new PEACEPLUS programme was successfully launched on 11 March 2025 under the PEACE PULSE banner.

The first meeting of the PEACE PLUS Advocacy Support Network was completed on 27 February 2025 with positive engagement from 6 partner organisations. VSS will continue engagement with groups through more sessions to encourage collaboration across the sector.

The CEO is scheduled to attend a TEO Committee meeting on 14 May to discuss the TPDPS scheme.

CEO Engagements

AW shared notable CEO engagements from Q4 24/25.

· Introductory meeting with new Veteran’s Commissioner NIVCO David Johnstone in February 2025.

· Various meetings with TEO Committee members to provide a briefing.

· A Communication Strategy session was completed with the new Communications Manager now in post to discuss VSS’ PR and Communications Strategy for the coming year. Another session would be hosted at the May Board meeting to discuss the details of the new VSS Communications Strategy with the Communications Manager.

· AW visited 3 groups in Derry/Londonderry in March to discuss arising needs and expected challenges.

Discussion followed around the Chief Executive’s Forum (CEF) session on AI in the Public Sector. TL advised that VSS would form an internal working group on AI later this year to look at opportunities for incorporating automation and AI capabilities within the VSS systems to enhance internal operations and processes. CMA and BG requested training on introduction to AI, this has been captured as 30.04.25 AP3.

F1.1   Budget Report

The Budget Report was noted by Members. VM updated that the figures for budget reporting had been finalised and sent to TEO, and numbers are slightly different from those in the meeting papers. A final overall underspend of 1.35% was reported after the claims from Groups had been finalised. Spend was slightly below 1.5% tolerance levels on HIA and TPDPS.

F1.2 Organisational Risk Register

VM summarised the Organisational Risk Register. Seven risks remain open – four scored as red, and three amber.

No new risks were added this quarter.

STG76 – Closed, as the deadline has passed.

STG50 – Amendments have been made to risk modelling. The risk score was escalated to red following the January QE Board meeting.

STG77 – Risk score was reduced given the progress made in this quarter.

F2   Quarterly ALB Report

The Board noted the Report. Members discussed risk STG50 as presented in the report and requested that management update this to reflect the detail contained within the Organisational Risk Register, in particular regarding the completion of pre-employment checks and provision of paperwork to Ministers in August 2024. VM confirmed the report remained draft for submission to TEO and this would be updated in the submitted version.

F2.1   VSS Sickness Absence 2024-25

TL presented the Organisational Sickness Absence Analysis report.

A total of 1048 working days were lost in 2024/25, 75% of which was comprised of long-term sickness absence. Significant increases in long-term sickness absences for a small number of staff heavily influence the overall day’s lost figure (given the relative size of VSS staffing).  None of the long-term sick absences have indicated that work in VSS has been a factor in the reason for absence. VSS is working to provide support to staff on long-term sick leave. Comparative NICS data was not available for 24/25, is expected in July 2025.

VSS’ Employee Wellbeing model was discussed, along with the range of supports in place for staff.

Discussion followed about the management of sickness absences within the public sector policy framework. VSS Advised that absences were managed according to the organisational policy on absence management, which included monitoring patterns in sickness absence, trigger points in the number of absences through the course of the year and return to work interviews with line managers. VSS would provide training to managers at all levels on how to manage sickness absences within their teams. It is expected that the results of the Employee Engagement Survey would provide more insight into the issue.

F3   Quarterly Assurance Statement

The Board noted this paper.

F4    M&E Quarterly Reports

TL presented the reports and shared updates.

The Learning and Growth team have been working to improve the reporting process. The T/c M&E report was presented in the new format detailing delivery against targets for 24/25, alongside a closer look at the outcomes and achievements from the INP and VSP programmes. A section highlighting the work completed by a Community Partner organisation delivering social support was presented to showcase the value delivered through the C&V sector.

Spotlight on the work of community partners was noted as a valuable addition to the reporting format. It was noted that a deep dive into the data would provide beneficial insights in the future.

The Board noted the HIA and MBMLW papers which were prepared in a similar format.

G    Board Sub Committees

G1    Audit and Risk Committee

BG provided an update in the absence of JC.

The Board expressed some concerns around the increased workload likely to arise from the new funding calls, given the Board remains under complement with no update on the appointment of new Board members. Members requested that management provide a timetable of proposed dates for Board involvement at the earliest opportunity, captured as 30.04.25 AP4.

The results from the internal audit of SDA Bereavement and Budget management were both reported as “satisfactory”. BG enquired of management regarding plans for reappointment of Cavanagh Kelly after 2025/26. VM advised that the internal audit contract will expire in June 2026 and a new procurement exercise will be completed in line with public sector procurement guidelines. Preparations for this procurement activity have already begun with a business case being drafted for approval by TEO. It was agreed that VSS will seek out and invite to tender auditing firms with a wide range of expertise to suit internal business needs.

Discussion followed regarding opportunities for VSS Board members to visit C&V groups. This will be included in the Stakeholder Engagement Plan going forward.

G2    Health and Wellbeing Committee

The last meeting of the Health and Wellbeing Committee took place on 12 February 2025. The following updates from the meeting were noted.

- The Clinical Governance and Child Safeguarding Policy was under review and was due to be updated.

- PEACEPLUS - VSS Staff training needs would be addressed through a 3-strand approach including the assessment of training needs.

- The Trauma-Informed Quality Mark conference earlier in the quarter was an important networking opportunity where VSS received recognition for their work as leaders in implementing a trauma-informed approach throughout the organisation, achieving a silver quality mark.

- The VSS Employee Engagement Survey results were being collated and are expected to provide useful insights into the current position of the organisation.

- The terms of reference had been updated to support co-option efforts with the Department of Health earlier in Q4, but no applications were received. VSS to re-engage with contacts in DoH, or escalate through procurement.

The next meeting of the Health and Wellbeing Committee is scheduled for 22 May 2025.

H    Board Workplan and Development

H1  Board Attendance and Workplan

The Board noted this paper.

H2 Board Training Questionnaire

VM noted that this document serves as a mechanism for the Board to feedback to VSS about their training needs and is designed as a support tool alongside ongoing engagement.

The Board requested introductory training on AI and its applications within the public sector.

H3 Board Self-Assessment Update

Board members agreed that the actions stated in the document would supersede the previous years’ actions.

VM raised item 4 under Annex 1, “Roles, responsibilities and relationships”, which will require further discussion to agree specific actions.

I    Standing Agenda Items

I1  Compliance Update

VM updated that the fraud case VSS/FR/43 from November 2019 had reached court and the preliminary hearing had completed in April 2025. Arraignment is due in May 2025.

GDPR incidents: 7 incidents were reported as of 31 March 2025. The high rate of incident is attributed to heightened awareness of data protection across the organisation, resulting in better incident reporting. No incidents of major concern were noted.  Most of these are low level and reported out of an abundance of caution and for maximum transparency. Management will review the frequency of incidents in the next quarter to identify if further actions are required in this regard.

I2 Client Risk Update

The Board noted this paper.

J    Any Other Business

J1  Partnership Agreement – Review and Discussion

Noted, Members agreed to discussion the Partnership Agreement further in their meeting with Patrick Gallagher in May 2025, with further consideration given to actions arising after that meeting.

J2  Risk Management Strategy

VM presented the updated Risk Management Strategy for discussion. Key points were noted as:

- The risk matrix had been expanded from a 3x3 format to a 4x4 structure to add a level of nuance to the classification of organisational risks and allow for a broader risk score range and finer categories for escalation.

- A new category “Cautious” for risk appetite was included to expand the original triad of “Averse – Open – Hungry”, with no changes to the existing risk appetite classifications.

Some discussion followed on Appendix 6, item “Finance, Governance & Accountability” and the appropriate risk appetite under the new Risk Management Frameworks. It was agreed that the risk category should be divided into two separate categories described in more detail to capture the different types of risk involved.

Members agreed that the Risk Appetite would benefit from further consideration and discussion in a separate session. This will be scheduled by management, 30.04.25 AP5.

J3   2025/26 Opening Budget

VM presented the 2025/26 Opening Budget, drawing particular attention to committed expenditure and management’s proposed allocation of uncommitted funds. Members noted that the paper provided clear analysis and had no further questions. The Board approved the opening budget position for the year 25/26.

K   Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting will take place on 21 May 2025.