Welsh Government Board meeting: 14 March 2025

• Tim Moss (Deputising Chair)
• Carys Williams
• Aled Edwards
• Mike Usher
• Tracey Burke
• Judith Paget
• Tim Moss
• Dom Houlihan
• Natalie Pearson
• Nia James
• Dean Medcraft
• Lead Co-Chair of the Shadow Board
• TUS representative
• Wellbeing of Future Generations Champion

In attendance

• Sinead Gallagher
• Head of Centre of Corporate Governance
• Senior Principal Research Officer Corporate Research and Analysis
• Principal Research Officer Corporate Research and Analysis 

Secretariat

• Permanent Secretary’s Office

 Apologies                                                               

• Andrew Slade                                       
• Andrew Goodall (Chair)
• David Richards
• Mutale Merrill 

1.1 The Chair welcomed all to the meeting and noted the apologies received. Tim Moss chaired the meeting on behalf of the Permanent Secretary. The minutes of 24 January were agreed.

1.2 Tracey Burke noted this was Tim Moss’ last Board meeting before leaving Welsh Government to take up the role of Chief Executive Officer of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA). On behalf of the Permanent Secretary and the Board, Tracey thanked Tim for his support and contributions to the organisation as Chief Operating Officer and Director General for Corporate Services and Inspectorates and offered congratulations on his new role.

1.3 The Chair noted the recent announcements by UK Government on civil service reform. Dom Houlihan provided an overview of the proposed changes to performance management for the Senior Civil Service. As the Senior Civil Service is not devolved to Welsh Government the proposed changes will have an impact on the organisation and how the Welsh Government supports ministers. Dom added that Welsh Government officials had not been engaged in discussions with UK Government ahead of the announcement. Mike Usher observed that there may be some public misconceptions over the size of the Welsh Government civil service, noting that there had not been the same growth post-Brexit as with the UK Government.

1.4 The Chair noted the announcement by UK Government on the future of NHS England. Judith Paget noted that while these changes do not impact directly on Wales, they will impact on the relationships officials have built up with NHS England.

1.5 Dom Houlihan noted the UK Government’s intention to bring forward legislation during the spring to introduce a general duty of candour. Dom noted that while the legislation impacts on Welsh Government, officials have not been engaged early in the discussion. Carys Williams queried whether staff are clear on the differences between a duty of candour and whistleblowing and suggested that People and Remuneration Committee could explore this point further. Judith Paget noted that there is already a statutory duty of candour for the NHS.

2.1 The Chair welcomed Sinead Gallagher to the meeting and invited her to update Board on the Programme for Government (PfG). Sinead noted that the first round of bilateral meetings between the Counsel General and Minister for Delivery and ministerial colleagues have taken place and that preparations are underway for the second round. Sinead outlined how her team are working with colleagues across the organisation to examine thoroughly progress against those PfG commitments that remain open.

2.2 Aled Edwards noted the complexity of delivering those PfG commitments which require significant input from other organisations and queried how best to support the wellbeing
of staff working on those areas. Sinead agreed and noted that these areas will be
discussed in more detail during the next round of bilateral meetings. The Chair suggested that a ‘route to green’ should be identified for those commitments reported as being Amber

2.3 Looking ahead to the nest Senedd term, Mike Usher reflected on how external factors can influence delivery and queried how this can be accounted for in the programme for the next government.

2.4 Sioned Evans raised the importance of clarity on ministerial priorities for the last 12 months of the current Senedd term.

2.5 The Chair thanked all for their comments and noted that the Board had received and discussed the update.

3.1 The Chair welcomed the Head of the Corporate Governance Centre of Excellence and invited her to update Board on the latest iteration of the Corporate Risk Register (CRR). The CRR has been informed by discussion at the Finance and Corporate Services Subcommittee on 29 January and the Executive Committee on 06 February. The CRR was also presented to the Welsh Government Audit and Risk Assurance Committee on 25 February.

3.2 The Board noted the updates to the CRR and discussed including the implications of Senedd Reform on the organisation on the CRR. Board was advised that discussions with lead officials are underway to formulate an appropriate high level risk for inclusion in the CRR.

3.3 Mike Usher noted that ExCo on 6 March had discussed and agreed proposals to reshape Group Audit and Risk Assurance Committees.

3.4 Reflecting on Risk 2.1 and responding to the Covid Public Inquiry, Judith Paget reminded Board that there are a number of public inquiries underway in the UK at the moment and that half of these are linked to health and require input from Welsh Government officials.

3.5 The Board considered the Issues Log and Dean Medcraft assured the meeting that the issues listed are being managed proactively by officials. The Chair agreed and added that the Issues Log does not drive behaviour but demonstrated how issues are being managed. Carys Williams suggested discussing the definition of an issue for the purposes of the log outside of the meeting with the Head of Corporate Governance Centre of Excellence.

4.1 The Chair invited Dean Medcraft to update Board on the current in-year position. Dean began by noting the efforts of finance teams across Welsh Government to prepare for the Second Supplementary Budget, the final 2025
-26 budget and prepare for PAPACs scrutiny on the Welsh Government accounts. Dean provided an overview of the in-year position as of 31 January highlighting the remaining risks ahead of the year end and the options to manage the position.

4.2 Mike Usher congratulated Dean and Ffnance teams across Welsh Government for their work and asked whether it might be possible to increase the permitted amount in the Wales Reserve going forward. Dean agreed that this is something he would like to pursue.

4.3 Looking to the new financial year, Carys Williams asked what the greatest risk is likely to be, highlighting planning for the 2026-27 budget ahead of the 2026 Senedd elections. Dean Medcraft advised that discussions on the budte planning process for 2026-27 have started and noted the financial challenges to running the organisation in the years ahead.

4.4 Sioned Evans thanked Dean for the positive way the central finance team have managed the budget and communicated with Groups.

4.5 Aled Edwards noted the investment needed to adopt new technologies and asked for clarification around Welsh Government’s powers to raise taxes, in particular the speed at which they could be implemented. The Chair replied that this is one area the Welsh Government Spending review will consider, and Dean added that it may be necessary to approach Uk Government for additional resources to invest in new technology to drive efficiencies.

4.6 The Chair thanked all for their comments and echoed the thanks to the finance team for their efforts throughout the current financial year.

5.1 The Chair invited Dom Houlihan to provide an overview of the analysis of the results of the 2024 People Survey highlighting variations in the results across grades and outlining actions planned or taken in response to the survey findings. The Board was asked to consider what additional steps should be taken to address the disparity in results and what else should the organisation be focusing on to further strengthen the link between FM priorities, organisational and individual performance.

5.2 The Lead Co-Chair of the Shadow Board highlighted the importance of line managers understanding their responsibilities and having the support to discharge them, and all colleagues understanding what support they should be receiving from their line managers in order to empower them to access what they need.

5.3 Reflecting on the variations in the results Carys Williams suggested taking a task and finish approach to addressing the issues underpinning the survey findings, with high performing leaders sharing best practice with colleagues. noted the need to address the variations directly within teams, not solely through HR strategies. Carys highlighted the importance of effective performance discussions for both line managers and their teams.

5.4 Mike Usher welcomed the progress reflected in the survey findings and agreed with comments online managers sharing good practice.

5.5 Sioned Evans emphasized the importance of staff having clarity over the purpose of their role and their objectives and suggested that further efforts are needed to tackle poor behaviour.

5.6 Aled Edwards welcomed the results and questioned how survey feedback is presented to Ministers.

5.7 The Chair invited Dom Houlihan to respond to the points raised. Dom welcomed the points raised and recognised the positive survey results given the number of polarising issues facing the workforce at present and highlighted the need to “go back to basics” on performance management and agreed with calls to share good practice amongst line managers. Dom advised the Board that poor performance is being addressed but suggested that conversations may not be happening in a timely fashion. The TUS representative agreed and noted the time it can take to resolve issues.

6.1 The Chair welcomed the Senior Principal Research Officer Corpprate Research and Analysis and the Principal Research Officer Corporate Research and Analysis to the meeting and thanked both for their hard work on developing the balanced scorecard. The Board were asked to review the Q3 report and discuss options for annual reporting.

6.2 Dean Medcraft noted that payment performance had been identified as an area for action at Q2 and highlighted the excellent level of support from Finance and Corporate services subcommittee members in making improvements in this area.

6.3 Mike Usher welcomed the Q3 report and suggested giving further thought to the metric used for measuring performance on impact assessments. The Chair recognised the limitations of the current measure and assured Mike that further work will be undertaken.

6.4 Carys Williams requested an update on efforts to improve HR data and asked how technology/AI could assist in creating the scorecard. Dom Houlihan advised that work to improve HR data is in hand, including considering how to automate further.

6.5 On behalf of the Shadow Board the Lead Co-Chair noted concerns over the accuracy of the sickness absence data in the scorecard. The Board considered options for annual reporting on performance. Mike Usher welcomed the options appraisal paper and supported the proposal to align with the new Blavatnik Index of Public Administration. Board members echoed this support. The Chair thanked all for their comments and noted the Board’s preference to align with the new Blavatnik Index of Public Administration.

7.1 No items of any other business were raised. Board will next meet on 09 May.