Resources Committee - May 2024

This document contains the draft minutes from the Cairngorms National Park Authority's Resources Committee meeting held on 26 January 2024. The meeting covered the approval of minutes from a previous meeting, budget monitoring for the 2023/24 financial year, and an update on the budget position for 2024/25. Discussions included expenditure commitments, staffing for the Cairngorms 2030 project, and potential pressures on the ranger service. The committee was asked to consider the budget management position and review the 2024/25 financial year budget development. There was also a discussion about health and safety, specifically regarding staff working in remote locations and the measures in place to ensure their safety. The next meeting is scheduled for 17 May 2024.

This document contains an overview of the Cairngorms National Park Authority's budget management position at the end of April for the 2024 / 25 financial year. The Resources Committee is being asked to consider the budget management position. The actual spend is 5% lower (£24k) than anticipated, and there have been no changes to the budget since March 2024. Investment in staff is a key part of the budget at £5.625 million, and the project costs relate to the Cairngorms 2030 programme. The budget also allows for performance-related pay increases. Running costs and operational plan expenditure are slightly under budget, and no money has been spent yet on peatland restoration. The budget for 'People' shows an overspend of £12k, relating to uniforms and equipment for ranger teams.

This document contains the estimated financial outcome for the Cairngorms National Park Authority for the 2023 / 24 financial year. The finance team is finalizing the accounts, and while the figures are still draft, they're considered a good indication of the year's financial performance. Overall, there's an overspend of £12,000 against the £11,974,000 of funding from the Scottish Government, which is about 0.1% of the total funding. The result is within the target Key Performance Indicator (KPI) of +1% to -2% of total income, showing a strong performance. The Resources Committee is asked to consider the estimated outturn position for the 2023 / 24 financial year.

This document contains the Cairngorms National Park Authority's (Park Authority) Organisational Development and People Strategy (ODPS) for 2024-2027. The Park Authority aims to be "an outstanding National Park, enjoyed and valued by everyone, where nature and people thrive together". The ODPS is designed to support staff in delivering this vision by creating a high-performance, people-focused culture. The strategy identifies seven key themes, including infrastructure, information and data systems, staffing, wellbeing, values, and communication. The Park Authority will use staff feedback from surveys, working groups, and facilitated events to improve on these themes. The Senior Management Team (SMT) will oversee the delivery of the organisational change program associated with the ODPS. The Resources Committee is asked to consider and comment on the ODPS draft before it is formally consulted with staff through the Staff Consultative Forum.

This document contains a high-level summary presentation from Best Companies Limited, dated December 2023, for the Senior Management Team (SMT). It includes engagement scores and overall factor analysis for the Cairngorms National Park Authority, comparing data from November 2023 to previous surveys conducted in October 2021, September 2019, and October 2017. The presentation breaks down leadership, company culture, manager performance, personal growth, team dynamics, wellbeing, fair deal perceptions, and community involvement into scores and trends. It also has questions and a heatmap of the data.

This document contains the results of the 2023/24 Best Companies survey for the Cairngorms National Park Authority. The survey, launched in October 2023, had an 82% response rate. The survey assesses employee engagement across eight workplace factors, including leadership, wellbeing, and fair deal. The results are displayed in charts and heatmaps, comparing the current survey to the previous four surveys. The Park Authority achieved a One Star rating, and the score was higher than the last four surveys. The heatmaps use color-coding to show the proportion of employees with positive, negative, or indifferent responses to survey questions.

This document contains the draft minutes from the Cairngorms National Park Authority's (Park Authority) Staff Consultative Forum meeting held on 19 February 2024. The meeting included discussions and updates on various policies, including the Supporting Staff Through Pregnancy Loss Policy, the Absence Management Policy, and the Gender Diversity Policy. Staff survey results from "Best Companies" were reviewed, and an update was provided on the 2024/2025 pay award. There was also a health and safety update, a discussion about equalities, and a conversation regarding internal recruitment opportunities. The meeting ended with a review of action items and updates on their progress.

This document contains the draft minutes from the Health and Safety meeting held on 11 January 2024. The meeting covered a range of topics including a review of previous actions, mobile coverage and lone working, health and safety audits, accident and incident reports, facilities matters, ranger matters and peatland matters. Key discussion points included addressing mobile network issues for remote workers, improving completion rates for health and safety training, reviewing accident and incident reports and revisiting the sign-in app policy. The document also outlines action items assigned to various individuals to improve health and safety across the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA).

This document contains the minutes from the Cairngorms National Park Authority Resource Committee meeting held on 17 May 2024. The meeting covered budget monitoring for 2024/25, including an update on Community Lead Local Development (CLLD) community development grant, and estimated outturn for 2023/24, with clarification on peatland restoration costs. The committee also discussed the Organisational Development and People Strategy (ODPS) 2024-2027, addressing staff feedback, workload, training, and housing within the National Park. Additionally, health and safety committee minutes and draft staff consultative forum minutes were reviewed, including discussions on lone working policies. The next meeting is scheduled for 9 August 2024.