Meeting held at 9:00am on 6 February 2025 at Stella House, Newcastle Upon Tyne.
Present:
Sue Douthwaite, Chair (via video conference)
Michael Brodie, Chief Executive
Kathy Gillatt, Non-Executive Director
David Leather, Non-Executive Director (via video conference)
Mathew McKie, Non-Executive Director
Randeep Sidhu, Non-Executive Director
Mel Tomlin, Non-Executive Director (Chair of the meeting)
Brendan Brown, Chief Operating Officer
Darren Curry, Chief Digital, Data and Technology Officer
Mark Dibble, Executive Director of People and Corporate Services
Andy McKinlay, Executive Director of Finance, Commercial and Estates
Allison Newell, Executive Director of Strategy, Performance, Business Development and Growth (via video conference)
In attendance:
Sharon Martin, Head of Sector Insights and Commercial Strategy, Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)
Nigel Zaman, Senior Programme Manager, DHSC
David Jukes, Head of Governance and Corporate Secretary (Secretary to the Board), NHSBSA
Susan Airey, Programme Senior Responsible Officer, NHSBSA (Items 25/07 and 25/08 only)
Jonathan Austin, CEO, Best Companies (via video conference) (Item 25/09 only)
Michael Costello, Head of Strategic Finance, NHSBSA (Items 25/11 to 25/15 only)
Ellen Lynch, DDAT Strategy Lead, NHSBSA (Shadow Board Representative)
Melanie Maughan, Wellbeing, Safeguarding and Social Impact Lead, NHSBSA (Item 25/10 only)
Jane Miller, Head of Colleague Experience and Social Impact, NHSBSA (Item 25/10 only)
Sean Murphy, Head of Commercial Services, NHSBSA (Items 25/11 to 25/15 only)
Jeff Pasternack, Senior Responsible Officer - Future NHS Workforce Solution Transformation Programme, NHSBSA (via video conference) (Item 25/07 only)
Libby Pink, Chief Portfolio Officer, NHSBSA (via video conference) (Items 25/07 and 25/08 only)
Chris Price, Future NHS Workforce Solution Transformation Programme Director, NHSBSA (via video conference) (Item 25/07 only)
Danielle Sharples, Head of OD&D, NHSBSA (Shadow Board Representative)
Naomi Simon, Boardroom Apprentice (Observer)
Katie Wilkie, Head of HR, NHSBSA (Item 25/09 only)
25/01 Apologies for Absence and Declarations of Interest
There were no apologies received. There were no declarations of interest declared in relation to the Board meeting agenda. S Douthwaite informed the Board that she had resigned as a Non-Executive Director of British Business Investments Ltd on 31 January 2025 and that she would update details of this on the NHSBSA Declarations of Interest Register in ESR.
25/02 Minutes of the Meeting held on 12 December 2024
The minutes of the previous meeting were AGREED as an accurate record.
25/03 Matters Arising and Outstanding Actions from Previous Meetings
The Board discussed outstanding actions.
All other actions were complete or not yet due.
The Board NOTED completed actions.
25/04 Chair's Opening Remarks
M Tomlin welcomed S Martin to the meeting. M Tomlin welcomed E Lynch and D Sharples to the meeting as Shadow Board representatives. M Tomlin welcomed N Simon to her first NHSBSA Board meeting as the 2025 Boardroom Apprentice. N Simon thanked members for their time and warm welcome during her induction.
S Douthwaite thanked M Tomlin for chairing the meeting in the room, as she was not able to travel and therefore was having to attend via video conference. S Douthwaite reflected on examples of healthcare delivery in other countries and the value of learning from different approaches and cultures, including examples of the use of technology to improve both efficiency and effectiveness and the end-to-end patient journey. This included working closely with end users to design and implement the services needed by communities.
S Douthwaite reflected on the ALB CEO/Chairs meeting she had attended with M Brodie on 28 January 2025.
The Board NOTED the update.
25/05 Chief Executive's Report
M Brodie highlighted key points from his report, including in relation to:
- ALB CEO/Chairs meeting he had attended with S Douthwaite on 28 January 2025
- DHSC Second Permanent Secretary NHSBSA visit planning, and wider system engagement activity
- NHS AI Strategic Alignment Committee update
- HR Shared Services - Voice of the Customer case study
- Estate update
- Upcoming events and campaigns being supported by the business, including LGBT+ History Month in February, International Women's Day in March, and the Annual Careers Fair in Newcastle on 13 February 2025.
The Board NOTED the update.
25/06 DDaT Update
D Curry provided an overview of the DDaT Update paper.
The Board NOTED the update.
(Susan Airey, Jeff Pasternack, Libby Pink and Chris Price joined the meeting)
25/07 Future NHS Workforce Solution Transformation Programme Status Update
J Pasternack and C Price provided an overview of the paper.
The Board NOTED the update.
(Jeff Pasternack and Chris Price left the meeting)
25/08 Transforming Dental Systems (TDS) Full Business Case (FBC)
S Airey and L Pink presented the FBC. Following discussion, the Board APPROVED the TDS FBC and endorsed its submission into the DHSC approval process.
(Susan Airey and Libby Pink left the meeting)
(Jonathan Austin and Katie Wilkie joined the meeting)
25/09 Employee Engagement Survey Report
M Dibble introduced J Austin, CEO of Best Companies. M Dibble and J Austin provided an overview of the survey approach and results.
M Tomlin thanked J Austin for attending the meeting and providing useful insight into the results.
The Board NOTED the report.
(Jonathan Austin and Katie Wilkie left the meeting)
(Melanie Maughan and Jane Miller joined the meeting)
25/10 Health, Safety, Safeguarding and Wellbeing Annual Report 2023/24
M Dibble introduced the agenda item. J Miller provided an overview of the paper, including performance during the year.
The Board NOTED the report and RATIFIED the steps being taken to strengthen existing arrangements.
(Melanie Maughan and Jane Miller left the meeting)
(Michael Costello and Sean Murphy joined the meeting)
25/11 Finance Report
M Costello provided an overview of the Finance Report.
The Board NOTED the report.
25/12 Contingent Labour Contract
S Murphy presented the Contingent Labour Contract paper. Following discussion, the Board APPROVED the award of a contract to Alexander Mann Solutions for a period of 6 years and 2 months commencing 17 June 2025 and granted delegated authority to the Chief Executive Officer to execute the contract.
25/13 Debt Collection Services Contract
S Murphy presented the Debt Collection Services Contract paper. Following discussion, the Board APPROVED the award of a contract to Sopra Steria Limited for a period of 3 years and 3 months commencing 25 September 2025 and granted delegated authority to the Chief Executive Officer to execute the contract.
25/14 Public Cloud Services Contract
S Murphy presented the Public Cloud Services Contract paper. Following discussion, the Board APPROVED the proposal for the NHSBSA to enter into a call off contract with Amazon Web Services EMEA Sarl, UK Branch for the provision of Public Cloud Services AWS under the CCS G-Cloud 14 Framework following the completion of the procurement exercise, and granted authority to the Chief Executive Officer to execute the contract.
25/15 IT Service Management Tooling Contract
S Murphy presented the IT Service Management Tooling Contract paper. Following discussion, the Board APPROVED the proposal for the NHSBSA to enter into a 'Gold' Contract with SoftCat Ltd for the provision of IT Service Management Tooling and granted delegated authority to the Chief Executive Officer to execute the contract.
(Michael Costello and Sean Murphy left the meeting)
25/16 Business Performance Update (Operational Performance Temperature Check)
The Board reviewed the Operational Performance Temperature Check report. B Brown provided an overview highlighting key points.
The Board NOTED the update.
25/17 Any Other Business (AOB)
The Board NOTED the AOB items highlighted.
25/18 Communications from the Meeting
The Board would like to thank all colleagues involved in the ongoing business planning and budget work. The Board wished to congratulate all colleagues involved in achieving Better Health at Work Awards - Maintaining Excellence & Ambassador status.
25/19 Forward Agenda and Training Plan
The Board NOTED the forward agenda and training plan.
25/20 Date and Venue of the Next Meeting
The next Board meeting was planned for 20 March 2025.