Our Board
The Board's work this year
There is an annual cycle, set in statute, of planning, consulting on, finalising and then laying our budgets and operating plan in the Scottish Parliament. We then report at year end through externally audited annual accounts, which are also laid in parliament.
On a quarterly basis the Board reviews key performance indicators and performance data, risk registers, financial reports, progress against our operating plan, customer service feedback and reports from the audit and remuneration committees.
The Board also debates key issues of relevance to the SLCC, including tracking progress with reform which may change our legal powers, and discussing how reform may be implemented (depending on its final form). This year the Board also considered updates to our complaints levy policy, updates to our performance reporting framework, the new consumer duty, lessons learned reports on major projects and investment (office move, IT deployment, post-covid working arrangements), a review of our approach to best value, and our appeals policy.
This year the Board also closely monitored the ongoing impact and work coming from the failure of a particular law firm. This had potential strategic issues for the SLCC in terms of the volume of work, required multi-agency liaison, and was of deep concern due to the impact on large numbers of members of the public.
Looking ahead, the Board has commissioned a review of its own governance which will take place in 2024-25.
As well as their governance role, our Board members also make important decisions on complaints as non-staff commissioners. This year our members took part in refreshed adjudication training which incorporated the discussion of real-life case studies, allowing the Board to consider these together and share their approaches.
Board member changes
In July 2023 we welcomed new chair, Jane Malcolm, to the organisation. Our thanks go to lay member June Andrews, who stepped down this year.