Minutes - 93rd GLAA Board Meeting

1

Welcome and apologies

Welcomed all attendees to the meeting. The Chair noted that the Board is not quorate today and any decisions would need to be ratified out of committee and the 92nd Board minutes signed off at the next Board.

Apologies noted as above. DBT is busy with the committee stage of legislation but have been invited for future meetings.

SI appointed as Board Conscience.

2

Declarations of interest

EM has been appointed to Association of Chief Executives’ Board.

SM and JM have both been reappointed as NEDs.

3

Minutes of the meeting of 20 November 2024 – for approval

The Board noted the minutes were written with the assistance of Co-pilot which was being trialled. This proved helpful but has now been removed. The Executive asked HO to support a business case Co-pilot, given its benefits and potential for efficiency. The HO agreed to support this.

Decision

It was agreed the minutes from 20 November 2024 to be fully ratified at the next meeting when the Board will be quorate.

4

Outstanding Actions

BM85(7) – We expect a ministerial decision on whether the Illegal Migration Act (IMA) will be repealed, or parts of it, very soon. Government does not plan to commence any of the modern slavery measures in the IMA. Content to close.

BM89(1) – This action has not been progressed due to absence.

BM89(2) – In summer 2024, HO was asked for support with unexpected legal costs. HO has provided resource to support work which they have paid for. EM needs to seek confirmation about whether the resource needs to be declared for the audit.

BM91(2) – This is being internally reviewed and will be circulated out of committee.

BM91(3), BM91(5), BM91(6), BM92(2) – An Executive review of all strategic risks is planned for early February. All actions related to risk are to be closed, and a new action to be opened for an update on strategic risks to be presented at ARAC and then Board.

BM91(4) – Content to close.

BM92(1) – Content to close.

BM92(3) – Content to close.

BM92(4) – Content to close.

Decision

The Board agreed to close actions: (to be ratified at next Board when quorate)

•   BM85(7)
•   BM91(3)
•   BM91(5)
•   BM91(4)
•   BM91(6)
•   BM92(1)
•   BM92(2)
•   BM92(3)
•   BM92(4)

Action BM93(1)

For the review of the Strategic Risk Register, including the fundamental review of current risks and addition of any new risks, to be presented at the next ARAC, and then to the Board.

Action BM93(2)

For HO to check how we declare resource.

5

CEO Update, Elysia McCaffrey

[Official and Sensitive information has been redacted from this section]

NAO Audit:

EM gave an update on the progress of the NAO audit and the accounts will be laid late.

Fee Changes:

EM gave an update on the progress of the proposed fee increase and that communications and FAQ's are being drafted for licence holders.

6

Home Office Update

a)    HOSU, Niall Donnelly

Fee Changes:

Statutory Instrument (SI) intended for 31st March 2025, to come into force on 28th April. Drafting the SI is in its final stages and will be sent to the Chair for signing prior to laying.

There are also several products that accompany it, and their current position is: Economic Note, EIA and Explanatory Memorandum – final stages with the EN (thanks to JR and NR for their help with this) and HO will share the other two products with GLAA prior to SCS clearance in the HO.

Consultation - GLAA has a statutory requirement to consult with Northern Ireland. HO will cover consultation with Scotland and Wales and will share our consultation letter once finalised for GLAA to draw upon for Northern Ireland (email letter to NI Minister of Agriculture Environment and Rural Affairs PO).

Cabinet Office have informed us that Collective Agreement is required from the Home and Economic Affair Committee and DBT. HOSU will be coordinating a write round.

In terms of governance, fortnightly meetings have been arranged with GLAA to provide a platform to update on progress and timelines, discuss outstanding matters, and agree action points.

Financial Allocation:

HO expect 2025/26 financial allocations to be given next week. There is no prior indicator what the settlement will be.

In the spending return for 2026/27, 2027/28 and 2028/29, the HO has asked to forecast additional cuts of 11% and 8% on top of the Treasury ask of forecasted cuts of 2% and a flat cash settlement. The Board discussed the requirement to do the spending return if the GLAA will no longer operate in its present format as part of the FWA changes in 2026/27. HO colleagues agreed and will look further into this requirement.

b)    HO Policy, Fareed Amir:

The HO plans to publish an update to the Transparency in Supply Chains guidance in late March 2025. The guidance is being developed in collaboration with businesses, civil society organisations and academics. The Home Office will share the guidance with the GLAA for comments.

There is significant parliamentary interest in forced labour – the Business and Trade Committee have been examining the Employment Rights Bill, including the Fair Work Agency and the UK’s approach to tackling forced labour. The Joint Committee on Human Rights has recently launched a call for evidence on forced labour in UK supply chains.

7

Finance and Performance

a)    Financial Position, Justin Rumball

Currently, the GLAA has a forecasted RDEL overspend of £180k. This is much improved from the original forecast at the start of the financial year, this has been possible due to hard work from the finance team.

The GLAA is currently absorbing the £261k dilapidation cost from Apex Court. HO had agreed they would take on this cost. HO agreed to look further into this.

Action BM93(3)

HO to look further into the HO taking on the dilapidation costs, as previously agreed.

The GLAA are now underspent on CDEL due planned capital expenditure not reaching completion.

The Board thanked JR and his team for their ongoing good work despite challenges, and huge pressure.

b)    Strategic Performance, Samantha Ireland

Overall, the performance is positive, with some of the unmet KPIs being due to external factors. Despite being positive in most areas, the performance data also highlights some underlying fragility and a lack of resilience within the organisation. The Board asked the Executive to focus on the red KPI’s, particularly the disruption orders. The Executive also raised positive work that isn’t currently captured as a KPI which demonstrates success in strategic goal two, such as officers undertaking masterclass training in modern slavery training, webinars and other engagement events. GLAA has contributed to the recovery of £98million in unpaid VAT back to HMRC. HO asked for details of this to be shared.

8

Financial Intelligence – Steve Casey & Steve Buckton

[Official and Sensitive information has been redacted from this section]

SC and SB presented information to the Board on the capability and benefits of financial intelligence on the ability to proactively investigate cases of labour exploitation.

9

Accommodation – Samantha Ireland

As discussed in prior items, this has been a difficult and lengthy project. The Board thanked SI and the project team for their commitment to this project through adversity and challenges. The office is on its way to being fully set up, and the final piece to complete is the Wi-Fi connection. This may delay the go live date by a week, but this will be confirmed by the end of this week.

GPA has agreed to conduct a joint lesson learnt, which once complete will come to the Board. 

Action BM93(4)

The lessons learnt from the accommodation project to come to the Board following its completion.

10

Board Conscience Feedback – Samantha Ireland

The meeting was well run, with plenty of meaningful discussion from all. The conversation was high level and strategic. It was great to hear some operational insight from SC and SB, who delivered an engaging and informative presentation.

11

AOB

None.

Next Meeting: 6th March 2025