Resources Committee - 16 May 2025

This document contains the agenda for the Cairngorms National Park Authority Resources Committee meeting on 16 May 2025 at 1pm, held at their office in Grantown-on-Spey and online. The agenda includes welcoming attendees, approving minutes from previous meetings, discussing any other relevant matters, and declarations of interest. There will be a review of the 2024/25 estimated financial outcome, budget monitoring, and updates on the Health and Safety Committee and Staff Consultative Forum. The committee will also discuss pay policy and staff pay, before setting the date for the next meeting on 29 August 2025.

This document contains the draft minutes from the Cairngorms National Park Authority's Resources Committee meeting on 24 January 2025. The meeting covered several key areas, including actions from previous meetings, a personal use of social media policy, budget monitoring, development of the 2025/26 budget, health and safety committee minutes, staff consultative forum minutes, and the Resources Committee annual report. Discussions included updates on peatland restoration, social media guidelines for staff and board members, budget adjustments, and staff reward policies. Key action items arising from the meeting include staff and board member training on social media, further investigation into staff recognition and reward policies, and arranging a budget monitoring information session for board members. The next meeting is scheduled for 16 May 2025.

This document contains information for the Resources Committee of the Cairngorms National Park Authority, prepared by Louise Allen, Head of Finance and Corporate Operations. The purpose of the document is to present the estimated financial outturn position for the 2024/25 financial year, with the finance team currently closing the accounts. The overall position shows an underspend of £300,000 against the £12,404,000 funding from the Scottish Government, which is 2.4% of funding. While the draft result is outside the target Key Performance Indicators (KPI), the target for Hectare (Ha) of peatland restoration delivery was exceeded. The Resources Committee is asked to note the estimated outturn position for the 2024/25 financial year, with further updates to be provided as the finance team finalise the closing position.

This document contains cash movement information for the year ending 31 March 2025. The Cairngorms National Park Authority report includes details of income, like grants and interest, and expenditures, such as staff costs, facilities, and conservation efforts. A large portion of the budget was allocated towards peatland capital. The report also notes that some peatland funding wasn't used and that two tranches of funding were allocated to Cairngorms 2030, to allow for procurement of design work on active communities projects. The Authority aims to break even against expenditure limits.

This document contains an overview of the Cairngorms National Park Authority's budget management position at the end of April, the first month of the 2025/26 financial year, prepared by Louise Allen, Head of Finance and Corporate Operations. The Resources Committee is asked to consider the budget management position for 2025/26. Funding from the Scottish Government has been confirmed, but resource funding is £50,000 lower than initially indicated, and funding for peatland restoration is still to be confirmed. The document also discusses potential funding from the Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) and Community Led Local Development (CLLD), staff and board investment, Cairngorms 2030 (C2030) project costs, and overheads and operational plans. Initial signs suggest the payroll budget is sufficient, and expenditure on the second year of the C2030 programme has started without any issues, with operational expenditure similar to the previous year.

This document contains the draft minutes from the Cairngorms National Park Authority's Health and Safety Committee meeting held on 11 February 2025. The meeting covered a range of topics, including a review of previous minutes and actions, updates to the "Driving at Work Policy," sexual harassment legislation, and National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) training. Discussions also included a C2030 Bike project involving community hubs and staff bike usage, path inspection protocols, and updates to the Health and Safety Committee Policy. The committee addressed a recent incident involving a staff member's heart attack, reviewed the sexual harassment risk assessment, and discussed operating procedures for led bike rides, accident and incident reports, and ranger service matters. Finally, the committee considered facilities matters and agreed on actions to improve safety and accessibility, with the next meeting scheduled for 13 May 2025.

This document contains the draft minutes from the Staff Consultative Forum held at the Cairngorms National Park Authority office on 12 March 2025. Attendees included Adam Streeter-Smith, Brenna Jessie, and David Cameron, among others. The meeting covered a social media policy, a driving at work policy, an equality mainstreaming and outcome report, a sexual harassment risk assessment, and a pay award. There was also a health and safety update, discussion of leadership, and equalities. Action items included future updates to be brought back to the Staff Consultative Forum (SCF), an electric car salary sacrifice scheme, and developing an equalities page. The meeting concluded at 3.25pm.