Minutes Deputy Governor and Chief Officers’ Meeting 17th September 2012 Attendees:-Deputy Governor; Ms. Jennifer Ahearn; Mr. Kevin McCormac Ms. Jacqueline Wilson; Ms. Dorine Whittaker; Mr. Alan Jones; Mr. Eric Bush; Dr. Dax Basdeo; Mrs. Sonia McLaughlin; Mrs. Mary Rodrigues; Mr. Stran Bodden; Ms. Cheryl Richards; Mrs. Gloria McField-Nixon; Mr. Tim Hubbell Apologies: - Mr. Kenneth Jefferson; Mr. Leonard Dilbert; Mr. Orrett Connor 1. Welcome The Deputy Governor welcomed everyone and prayer was offered. 2. Presentation There was a presentation by CO Bush and Mrs. Briana Ebanks of the Portfolio of Internal and External Affairs on the employee suggestion and reward program. The Terms of Reference, draft forms and overview of the program were circulated to all Chief Officers. Chief Officers will review all of the information for discussion at the next Chief Officer’s Meeting. 3. Formal Approval of Minutes The September 10 meeting minutes were approved by all attendees for circulation. 4. Matters Arising from Minutes CO Rodrigues will circulate information on the placement of CIFEC students to all Chief Officers. 5. Recruitment Moratorium CO McField-Nixon discussed the way forward with the moratorium on recruitment. She advised that requests which were put on hold during the budget proceedings were now being dealt with. Every request is being looked at in light of the budget for that particular Ministry or Department. Reports on headcount and HR related costs will be provided for the Deputy Governor and the FCO. The meeting to determine moratorium requests will become a monthly exercise and a schedule will be posted. 6. Review of PFML, Miller Shaw Report and Keith Luck Report CO McLaughlin gave an update on the review and implementation of the PFML, Miller Shaw Report and Keith Luck Report. The Committee has gone through three of the reports and is in the process of reviewing the recommendations made, with the view of categorizing them and preparing a report for the Deputy Governor before the end of November. The Deputy Governor thanked CO McLaughlin and the other members of the committee for their hard work and the progress which is being made. 1
7. Review of Implementation of Phases I-III of the Public Service Review Copies of the CO Committee report (CO’s Whittaker, Rodrigues and Connor) were circulated. Key findings: o 11/18 entities reviewed have submitted implementation plans to Cabinet; 2 more submissions are eminent o 21/97 recommendations accepted by Cabinet are recorded as completed to date. o Reasons for delays in submissions or implementation vary; however, in general, there is a critical need for more attention to the implementation phase of the projects- including guidance, templates, monitoring and reporting. The DG has accepted the group’s recommendations for improvements, which include setting implementation targets as part of this year’s performance agreements for CO’s and other agency heads, and the establishment of a project oversight committee to monitor and report to the DG on implementation. The DG thanked the CO Committee and their sub-committee members, Mr. Perry Powell (Ministry of CAG&H), Jason Webster and Robert Lewis (Policy Unit, Cabinet Office) and Delores Gordon (Internal Audit). He noted that this work has provided an important foundation on which, with the Committee’s continuing support, we can develop mechanisms to ensure that recommendations from the reviews can be taken forward effectively.
8. Any Other Business CO McCormac made mention of the recent passing of the Children’s Law and the Traffic Law. He suggested that there be a process to analyze the impact which the implementation of laws would have on Judicial Administration. It would be helpful to have a planned timetable and to ensure that all of the relevant agencies are aware. This process should start at the drafting stage to allow proper preparation. The Deputy Governor agreed with this suggestion and emphasized the need for improved coordination across all agencies. CO Rodrigues queried the status of the comprehensive review of the PSML, which made recommendations for improvement within the Civil Service. The Deputy Governor suggested that a small committee of Chief Officer’s, CO’s McLaughlin, Rodrigues, McField-Nixon and himself, review the report and determine which recommendations were outstanding and ensure their timely implementation. Centralization of fleet – It was noted that there was a need for vehicles for Social Workers when working in the field. The Deputy Governor asked that Chief Officers identify vehicles within their agencies that can be used by Social Workers, to avoid new vehicles being purchased. The centralization of the fleet would minimize expenses. The month of September is Recovery Month 2
21 September is Peace Day The Deputy Governor has been invited to attend the Heads of Civil Service conference in London from the 16-17 October. The cost of this travel will be covered by the FCO. Chief Officers engaged in the Phase 4 Review of the Civil Service – (Rationalization of the Civil Service) will also travel to London, to meet with the Cabinet Office team involved in a similar exercise in the UK. Additionally the Chief Officers will meet with their counterparts in other UK agencies. The FCO is contributing to the cost of travel, in keeping with the commitment made in the White Paper. The Executive Committee selection for the DG Awards will be deferred for a few days to allow everyone the opportunity to review nominations. The draft comp time policy provided by the Ministry of Education, Training and Employment was discussed. The Deputy Governor asked for feed-back for a service-wide policy. Certain aspects will be further discussed, including limits on the amount of comp time that can be accrued and stipulations on when it must be taken.
The meeting adjourned at 3:30pm.
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