People Committee Assurance Report - February 2025
Meeting: Trust Board – Public Meeting
Date: 12 February 2025
Report Title: People Committee Assurance Report
Agenda Item: PUB25/02/4.2
Committee Date: 30 October 2024
Meeting Chair: Wendy Thomas, Non-Executive Director and Committee Chair
Meeting quorate: YES
Purpose: Assurance
Link to Strategic Objective:
- Be an exceptional place to work, volunteer and learn
- Provide outstanding quality of care and performance
Summary of Items Considered at the Meeting
| Issue | Consideration | Resolution/Outcome | Assurance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dyslexia Update | The Committee received an update from Justin Honey-Jones, Lecturer Practitioner, who was leading the initiative. Statistics demonstrated that 20 out of every 100 people recruited would be near divergent, and 200 members of staff were currently being supported as they lived with dyslexia. EEAST was the only Trust to have specialist lecturer/practitioners working in this field. Justin was pleased to report that the Dyslexia Association had awarded the Trust bronze and silver status for its work in this area. It was also a finalist in the “inclusive employer” category in the upcoming awards ceremony. | The Committee was delighted to hear of this work and suggested that Justin attend a Public Board meeting to share details. | Substantial |
| Men’s Wellbeing Network Update | The Committee received an update from Sylvester Mathias, Network Chair. The work plan for the current year was to support men recovering from trauma/illness. The main areas of concern were struggles with finances, time with family, and fitness; a wellbeing plan was in place to address these areas. The second area of concern was prostate screening in the workplace but this required funding; several options were being considered. | The Committee noted the great work of the Network and thanked Sylvester for his leadership. Dr Hein Scheffer and George Lynn offered to support the Network with their work plan. | Moderate |
| Disability Support Network | Marika Stephenson provided an update: the network was looking at the increased use of social media to support staff, one-stop support for managers, disability history month and finally, Esther the Chair has won a Star of EEAST award for her leadership of this network. | The Committee noted the report and sent their congratulations to Esther. | Moderate |
| Inappropriate Behaviour Report | The Committee received the report and noted that the themes were similar to previous years. There was improvement in many areas but still so much to do. Staff felt more able to speak up now and valued the wellbeing support. People also feel that any allegation of sexual harassment was now handled in a much better way and the Trust had systems and processes to manage this. Reasonable adjustments were now seen as business-as-usual with co-ordination being easy, transparent and smooth. | The Committee noted the progress but accepted that there was still much to do to improve the experiences of staff. | Moderate |
| Inclusivity Plan | The EEAST Inclusivity Plan had been submitted and the Committee discussed how to ensure that impact could be demonstrated at the end of Year 1. All the WRES and WDES standards could now be linked to one plan; effectiveness would be key. | The Committee agreed to monitor progress during the first year. | Moderate |
| Integrated People Services Report | Time to Lead progress: 4.5 LOMs and 91 Team Leader posts were left to fill, with 61% of Team Leader posts offered. More assessment centres were planned after the Winter period. There was still concern over the high number of Employee Relations cases: two Case Managers and one Hearing Chair (ELT were reviewing). Time to hire now 8-weeks. | The Committee noted the great progress made. | Substantial |
| Integrated Strategy, Culture and Education Report | The Committee received an update. The Leadership Development Programme continued to receive excellent feedback with 78% attendance and 95% satisfaction. Mandatory training remained at 84% compliance. Information Governance required attention at 77% compliance. | The Committee noted the progress made. | Moderate |
| People Committee IPR | The Director portfolios were in the process of changing, as agreed by the Board. Duty sick would have an impact on sickness levels; this information was now being captured, monitored and reported (previously unseen sickness). EEAST needed to progress how to measure the volunteer hours in the IPR (Chris McGregor was leading this work). | The Committee noted the progress made. | Substantial |
| Internal Audit - Wellbeing | Internal Audit offered an opinion of reasonable assurance. The two recommendations made were both on target for completion. | The Committee was assured following review of the report. | Moderate |
| Transformation Programme Board - Highlight Report | The Committee was unable to discuss this report as the person who presented was unwell. | The Committee agreed to defer to the next meeting. | Limited |
| Staff Appraisals | The Trust was on target to achieve 85% at year-end; assurance was now required on the quality of appraisals. Staff needed to feel the appraisal was useful for them. Training was to be provided for managers on what a good appraisal should look like. The new electronic system was ready to launch (following training). | The Committee was pleased to note the progress made. | Moderate |
| Board Assurance Framework | The Committee received the BAF and noted the mitigation. Risks remained high for SR1a and SR1b. The controls were effective and Internal Audit reports provided assurance. | The Committee agreed to keep the current strategic risk rating at 12 for SR1a and 16 for SR1b. | Moderate |
There were no matters for escalation or onward referral.
