Board report
Report to:
Bolton at Home’s Board
Date of meeting:
17th March 2016
Confidentiality:
Non Confidential
Status:
For approval
Report title:
Board and Executive Skills appraisal 2015/16
Author:
Tina Cunliffe – Assistant Director 01204 328043
Responsible director:
Sharon Taylor – Deputy Chief Executive
Purpose of the report:
To report back to board on the outcome of the Board and Executive skills appraisal and
to propose the statement of skills, qualifications and attributes for BH
Recommendation:
It is recommended that the board consider the results of the skills assessment, discuss
matters arising from them and consider the resulting recommendations in the report
National standards:
It is a requirement of the HCA national standard on Governance and Financial viability
that registered providers shall ensure that they manage their affairs with an appropriate
degree of skill, independence, diligence, effectiveness, prudence and foresight.
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Does the report have implications in respect of the following:
Charitable objects and articles of
Bolton at Home
No
Financial implications/business
plan/liabilities
No
Funder’s or regulatory consent
No
Value for money/trade offs/
opportunity costs/rate of return/social
value and environmental returns
No
Legal implications
No
New policy or strategy
Yes
Human resources (including any
implications for ICT and Facilities
Management services)
No
Customer/tenant involvement
No
Communication and marketing support
No
Equality analysis
No
Risk assessment
No
Has external expertise or assurance
been sought?
No
Additional / background info:
Board reports – Review of effectiveness of
governance 2015/16, Governance review
2016, Compliance with the NHF code of
Governance 2015, HCA national standard –
Governance and Financial viability
Should you require sight of any of the additional / background information, please
contact either Maureen Edwards on (01204) 328110 or Deborah Thompson on
(01204) 328109.
If you require this information in any other format, including an alternative language,
braille, audio or large print, please phone 01204 328109 / 328110.
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Executive Summary
This report provides the results of the skills assessment 2015/16 and goes on to suggest
a proposed statement of the skills, qualifications and attributes required. The final
agreed statement should be reviewed regularly, and whenever BH is about to undertake
new activities or become exposed to new risks.
The results show that BH Board and executive have experts and practitioners covering
all areas of expertise required. There is a good spread of knowledge and experience
across the board and executive and no areas with significant gaps.
The vacancy at BHMT has resulted in the one area highlighted as having just one expert
or practitioner and this will be covered in due course.
The areas with the fewest expert and practitioners (less than 4) were asset
management, data protection and GM devolution and there were no areas with less than
three experts or practitioners. This is a strong positon to be in and therefore there does
not appear to be an immediate need for the board to consider another co-optee.
The audit committee has a wide spread of experts and practitioners and the only areas
without any were legal compliance and modernisation of ICT. There were competent
scrutineers across all areas. Due to the challenges ahead and pressures on our
business plan, current HCA assessment of the audit committee decided that they would
seek to appoint a co-optee to the committee with a financial qualification.
The proposed statement is shown at section 3.1 of the report.
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1.0 Background
In March 2015 the Board approved an approach to carry out the internal review of
effectiveness of Governance for 2015. This approach took into consideration the
requirements of the new NHF Code of Governance (2015 edition) and the HCA regulatory
framework as published in April 2015 (see extracts in appendix three). Both documents
refer to the effectiveness of governance and set out their expectations of registered
providers.
The outcome of the review was reported to Board in December 2015. The conclusion of
the review was that:

The current governance structure works effectively to meet the current demands
of the business. There has been clear evidence of continuous improvement and
members have cited several examples of those implemented over the last year.

There is a governance improvement plan in place to respond to improvements
suggested at board meetings and away days from our self-assessment against
the code of governance (National Housing Federation code 2015) and against the
national standards set by the Homes and Communities Agency.

There was also a recognition that the demands of the board and the committees
are increasing as the business becomes more diverse and to manage external
factors that affect the business. The board have agreed to a more fundamental
review of governance in 2016 (board report 12 November 2015) that will address
more fundamental issues for the future.
In respect of the skills assessment it was noted that:



1.1
In the 2014 board assessment, members assessed themselves against a list of
key topic areas that is now out of date. Referring to the HCA regulatory
framework and the NHF code of governance a more thorough skills assessment is
needed for the board to consider and use as part of recruitment and selection for
their own renewal and to identify any skills gaps.
During the one to ones members commented on their strengths, previous
experience and knowledge as well as involvement in other groups and
organisations. During the time of the review the budget changes resulted in the
board developing a new business plan and redefining the organisations objectives
and priorities.
The Board is now also reviewing the organisations ambition and risk appetite. In
light of these changes a new skills assessment is needed (for the board and the
executive – as per the NHF code of governance) and it was proposed that this
followed the internal effectiveness review in December 2015 and in advance of
the Governance review in 2016. The proposed approach to the skills assessment
was approved as shown in appendix two attached.
This report provides the results of the skills assessment and goes on to suggest a
proposed statement of the skills, qualifications and attributes required. The final
agreed statement should be reviewed regularly, and whenever BH is about to
undertake new activities or become exposed to new risks. Our approach to board
renewal is considered in the recruitment strategy and will be considered further in
our Governance review 2016.
2.0 Results of the skills assessment
2.1 During January / February 2016 all members of the Board and the Executive were
asked to complete their self-assessment of key skills.
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The assessment was based on the BH business plan and corporate risk register.
Members of the board and executive were asked to rate themselves against each area
using the key below and providing evidence to support the rating chosen and to update
their CV. The categories for ratings were given as:
Expert knowledge: I could lead a discussion on this topic and would influence the
outcome with my specialist skills, knowledge and experience.
Practitioner with good knowledge: I would be an active participant in a discussion on
this topic and make valuable contributions with my skills, knowledge and experience on
this topic.
Competent Scrutineer: I would know the right questions to ask to help bring out the
skills, knowledge and experiences of others on this topic.
Limited knowledge: I would be able to make some limited contributions to a
discussion on this topic from my limited skills, knowledge and experience in this area.
No knowledge: I would not have many contributions to a discussion on this topic as I
have no knowledge, skills or experience in this area.
The assessment categories are shown in appendix two and the results tables are shown
in Appendix one.
2.2
For the Board and the Executive the combined results showed the following:




2.3
Experts and practitioners covered all areas
The areas of the greatest strength (more than 5 individuals rating as expert or
practitioner) were financial management, funding strategy, strategic performance
management, risk management, regulation, value for money, new business,
focus on customers, workforce planning, welfare reform, maximizing income for
customers, safeguarding, fraud, reputation, industrial relations, business
continuity and rent policy.
The areas with the fewest expert and practitioners (less than 4) were asset
management, data protection and GM devolution
There were no areas with less than three experts or practitioners
For the board members only the results showed that




2.4
Experts and practitioners covered all but one area, legal compliance
The areas of the greatest strength (more than 3 individuals rating as expert or
practitioner) were financial management, funding strategy, strategic performance
management, risk management, value for money, new business, focus on
customers, workforce planning, welfare reform, maximising income for
customers, repairs, safeguarding, reputation, industrial relations and business
continuity.
The areas with the fewest expert and practitioners (one) were asset
management, GM devolution (to be expected given this is a new emerging area),
data protection, ICT and development.
There were no experts or practitioners for legal compliance.
For the audit committee only the results showed that


Experts and practitioners covered all but two areas, legal compliance and ICT
The areas of the greatest strength (more than 2 individuals rating as expert or
practitioner) were financial management, funding strategy, strategic performance
management, risk management, regulation, value for money, new business,
focus on customers, workforce planning, welfare reform, maximizing income for
customers, repairs, safeguarding, fraud and reputation
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

The areas with no experts or practitioners were legal compliance and
modernisation of ICT
There were competent scrutineers across all areas.
The skills assessment for the audit committee was considered at their last meeting and,
in light of the challenges ahead, pressures on our business plan and current HCA
assessment they decided that they would seek to appoint a co-optee to the committee
with a financial qualification. Arrangements for this role will be put in place following
board consideration of this report.
2.5 For BHMT


Experts and practitioners covered all areas.
There were no areas with fewer than two experts and practitioners.
2.6 Variations across constituency groups/individual assessment
There were variations in ratings of skills and experience across the constituency groups
with the independents having the highest levels of experts and practitioners, fewest
areas of limited or no knowledge across the areas of assessment, followed by the
customer representatives and then councillors. Following our work on reviewing our
recruitment approach and the change to the articles in November 2015, all board
members will be recruited according to our skills assessment and recruitment strategies.
Arrangements are being put in place with the council to interview their list of nominees
for the councillor vacancies on the Board.
In addition, the governance review will take account of the future needs of the business
and the most appropriate governance structure to meet those needs.
For each individual board member there were areas of strength and areas with little or
no knowledge. The results of the assessment will be used to inform the training and
development plan for the board and for individual’s personal development plans.
2.7 Overall position
The results show that BH Board and executive have experts and practitioners covering
all areas of expertise required. There is a good spread of knowledge and experience
across the board and executive and no areas with significant gaps.
The vacancy at BHMT has resulted in the one area highlighted as having just one expert
or practitioner and this will be covered in due course.
The areas with the fewest expert and practitioners (less than 4) were asset
management, data protection and GM devolution and there were no areas with less than
three experts or practitioners. This is a strong position to be in and, therefore, does not
appear to be an immediate need for the board to consider another co-optee.
For audit committee, the committee has a wide spread of experts and practitioners and
the only areas with no experts or practitioners were legal compliance and modernization
of ICT. There were competent scrutineers across all areas. Due to the challenges
ahead and pressures on our business plan, current HCA assessment, the audit
committee decided that they would seek to appoint a co-optee to the committee with a
financial qualification.
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3.0 Proposed statement of the skills, qualifications and attributes required.
In light of the results of the skills assessment, it is proposed that BH set out a statement
of the skills, qualifications and attributes required for the board. The HCA code suggests
that organisations have plans to address any skills gaps identified (including through
bringing in external skills), and such plans should be monitored to ensure that they are
followed through.
3.1 Proposed statement of skills, qualifications and attributes for BH – taking account of
all the information in this report and work with the board to date, the statement for BH
is proposed below. We would intend to use this statement in our recruitment process to
seek new board members with a range of blended skills and experience and within the
assessment seek those applicants with a blend of skills which would enhance the overall
skill profile of the Board and BHMT.
BH statement of skills, qualifications and attributes for BH – March 2016
Skills
BH assess the skills of the Board and the executive on an annual basis and whenever we
take on new activities or become exposed to new risks.
The current areas that the Board wish to strengthen through the board and executive
recruitment and /or training and external support are shown in the table below. The
priority areas are shown in red, those areas of current strength in green and areas in
between in yellow.
Skills assessment – BH Board and Executive
Area
Skills assessment
Financial management of the organisation including
stress testing and management of liabilities and viability
Developing and implementing our new funding strategy
Developing and embedding our active asset management
strategy
Strategic performance management
Overall approach to risk management and the internal
controls framework
Regulatory compliance, co-regulation and governance
Value for Money Strategy
New business and diversification leading to profitable
growth
Renewing our focus on customer and communities
Treasury management and compliance with loan
covenants
Identifying and leveraging Greater Manchester
devolution opportunities and building relationships with
strategic partners
Workforce planning
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External advice in place
Information management including data integrity,
protection, security and management
Welfare benefit reform
Maximising income for customers
Repairs service, operational delivery and viability
Health and Safety including all landlord safety checks
Safeguarding
Managing risk of fraud
Data protection and security
Legal requirements clear
and guidance in place
Sector Legal compliance
External advice in place
Modernisation of ICT
Development and new build model
Public perception and reputation
Industrial relations
Business continuity and emergency planning
Rent policy
Qualifications
The appointment of at least one qualified accountant is the only current stipulation of
qualifications for the Board.
Attributes
The board has been working on developing the board and committee culture and
consider the following attributes essential to the role.
An ability and commitment to:









4.0
operate for the greater good of BH and not for personal interest
create and operate in a healthy challenge environment
create and operate in a high support environment
appreciate each other’s differences and contributions
work to consensus ,whenever possible and promote healthy debate
understand that constructive disagreement/dissent is not a bad thing
create an environment with high levels of trust
openness in communications/transparency of intent
display candour
Recommendations
4.1
That the board considers the outcome of the skills assessment of the board and
executive (includes audit committee) and the conclusions outlined in this report.
4.2
That the board approve (or amend and approve) the proposed statement of skills,
qualifications and attributes for BH and review this at least annually or whenever BH is
about to undertake new activities or become exposed to new risks.
4.3
That the board use the approved statement in all forthcoming recruitment of
board members to seek those applicants with a blend of skills which would enhance the
overall skill profile of the Board and BHMT.
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Appendix one – results of skills survey 2015/16
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Appendix two - Assessing board and executive skills, knowledge and experience.
The assessment is based on the BH business plan and corporate risk register. Members of the board and executive are asked to rate
themselves against each area using the key below and providing evidence to support the rating chosen:
Expert knowledge: I could lead a discussion on this topic and would influence the outcome with my specialist skills, knowledge and
experience.
Practitioner with good knowledge: I would be an active participant in a discussion on this topic and make valuable contributions with my
skills, knowledge and experience on this topic.
Competent Scrutineer: I would know the right questions to ask to help bring out the skills, knowledge and experiences of others on this
topic.
Limited knowledge: I would be able to make some limited contributions to a discussion on this topic from my limited skills, knowledge and
experience in this area.
No knowledge: I would not have many contributions to a discussion on this topic as I have no knowledge, skills or experience in this area.
Area
Expert
Financial management of the organisation including
stress testing and management of liabilities and viability
Developing and implementing our new funding strategy
Developing and embedding our active asset management
strategy
Strategic performance management
Overall approach to risk management and the internal
controls framework
Regulatory compliance, co-regulation and governance
Value for Money Strategy
New business and diversification leading to profitable
growth
Renewing our focus on customer and communities
Treasury management and compliance with loan
covenants
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Practitioner
Competent
Scrutineer
Limited
Knowledge
No
knowledge
Area
Expert
Identifying and leveraging Greater Manchester
devolution opportunities and building relationships with
strategic partners
Workforce planning
Information management including data integrity,
protection, security and management
Welfare benefit reform
Maximising income for customers
Repairs service, operational delivery and viability
Health and Safety including all landlord safety checks
Safeguarding
Managing risk of fraud
Data protection and security
Legal compliance
Modernisation of ICT
Development and new build model
Public perception and reputation
Industrial relations
Business continuity and emergency planning
Rent policy
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Practitioner
Competent
Scrutineer
Limited
Knowledge
No
knowledge
Appendix three – HCA and NHF code of governance 2015 requirements
HCA ref
HCA requirement
Code
2.2
Registered providers
shall ensure that
they manage their
affairs with an
appropriate degree of
skill, independence,
diligence,
effectiveness,
prudence and
foresight.
13) The regulator anticipates that an assessment of the effectiveness of governance arrangements
may vary in terms of depth and scope in line with the internal and external environment within which
the registered provider operates. Some parts of a governance review may be carried out to a different
timescale than an annual review where this helps ensure the quality and effectiveness of the review.
Where this is the case, the annual assessment of the effectiveness of governance arrangements
should give assurance on the timescale and progress of work on these areas.
14) Paragraph 2.2 of the Standard complements the board’s responsibilities to act lawfully and
responsibly. Compliance will include both behavioural aspects, such as ensuring that the board and
executive foster a culture of constructive challenge and debate, and good governance practices.
15) To ensure that registered providers have the requisite skills and capability to perform their
functions, the regulator would expect them to:
 have an appropriate skills strategy to address the needs of the business
 regularly assess whether boards and management have the right competencies, experience, and
technical knowledge appropriate to the size, scale and risk profile of the organisations
 ensure that all material decisions are made with appropriate internal/external expertise or advice
and should satisfy themselves of the impartiality of any support or advice

have plans to address any skills gaps identified (including through bringing in external skills), and
such plans should be monitored to ensure that they are followed through
16) In order to determine the appropriate level of independence, registered providers should have
regard to their adopted code of governance, relevant legal requirements, e.g. charity law and to their
business model. In some businesses, influence is inherent in the corporate structure of the registered
provider (for example a profit making registered provider which is a subsidiary of a group). In other
cases, influence may not be inherent in the corporate structure but result from close associations the
registered provider has with other organisations or individuals.
17) In managing their affairs with an appropriate degree of independence, board members should
exercise independence of judgement and act at all times in the best interests of the registered
provider. There should also be appropriate mechanisms in place to manage any conflicts of interest to
demonstrate probity and value for money.
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18) Registered providers should not be subject to undue influence from third parties that could
reasonably be expected to lead to non-compliance with regulatory standards.
Extract from the NHF code of governance 2015
The NHF code of governance 2015 makes reference to skills assessment of Boards in the extract below, the full code and BH compliance with
it is available as presented to February Board 2016
D1 – Boards must have a strategy for their own renewal which is based on an agreed statement of the skills, qualificaitons and attributes
required and balances the need for experienced members with that for new thinking and independent challenge. This statement should be
reviewed regularly, and whenever the organisation is about to undertake new activities or become exposed to new risks.
D3 – Where a member comes to the end of their individual term of office and is eligible for reappointment this must be subject to
consideration of the members appraised performance and skills and to the wider needs of the board at that time.
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