Department for the Economy Board minutes 2022 - 18 May 2022

Minutes from the Departmental Board meeting on 18 May 2022.

Present:

Mike Brennan (Chair)
Heather Cousins
David Malcolm
Shane Murphy
Richard Rodgers
Michael McKavanagh (Non-Executive Board Member)
Colm McKenna (Non-Executive Board Member)
Michelle Bell
Sharon Hetherington
Alan Russell

In Attendance:

Nigel Robbins (Observer and for Project Stratum / Gigabit update)
(name redacted) (Boardroom Apprentice)
(name redacted) (Permanent Secretary’s Office)

Apologies:

Paul Grocott
Fiona Keenan (Non-Executive Board Member)
(name redacted)

Agenda

Agenda
Agenda Item	Actions Arising From Discussion	Action Owner and Current Position (to be completed prior to the next Board Meeting)
Agenda Item 1:Declaration of Interests	No new interests declared.
Agenda Item 2:Minutes of 28 April 22 Board Meeting	Agreed without amendment.
Agenda Item 3:Strategic Issues	A number of areas were discussed: Board Members were welcomed to the first face to face meeting since February 2020 Party Leaders had received a presentation from HOCS setting out the budget, circumstantial pressures and proposals for a Programme for Government Review of InvestNI and the Board Effectiveness Review
Agenda Item 4: Discussion of priorities for the year ahead	Discussion was mainly around progressing 10X: Separation of 10X delivery from ODT- the point had been reached when that would now take place. Work to ensure 10X is real for everyone across the Department and its ALBs
Agenda Item 5: Discussion of 2022-23 Business plan and strategic priorities	Alan Russell presented: Nine strategic priorities to be carried forward into the new business plan 10X to be woven into the fabric of actions as an umbrella vision Further work was required to consolidate actions and engagement with the Leadership Team and Non-Executive Board Members would follow.
Agenda Item 6: Finance and Monitoring Round Update	Sharon Hetherington presented: A three year exercise was expected to capture pressures A plan was in place to make best use of the available budget Final accounts for 2021-22 had been provided to the Audit Office
Agenda Item 7: Commercial Capability Plan Update	Alan Russell presented: Board Members noted the contents of the paper Mandatory training had not been completed and it was essential that this was now addressed
Agenda Item 8: Project Stratum / Gigabit update	Nigel Robbins presented: transformational project, successfully future proofing Northern Ireland’s broadband provision for the next ten years. Board Members thanked Nigel for his excellent work on the project
Agenda Item 9: Papers for brief discussion	Quality Improvement Team Annual Report Board Members noted the content of the annual report Risk Register Q4 Update Board Members considered and agreed the Corporate Risk Register quarter four updates DfE Business Plan Q4 Update The Board considered and agreed the quarter four progress updates for the Business Plan and noted that these would be published on the Department’s website
Agenda Item 10: Questions on Papers to Note	HR Update Board Members noted the information provided. Invest NI Review Board Members noted the paper setting out progress in respect of the Independent Review of InvestNI. 10X Economy Research Programme Board Members noted the proposals.
Agenda Item 11: AOB	No further business raised.

Date of Next Meeting: Thursday 30 June at 10.30am in Armagh Campus, Southern Regional College.