NORTHERN IRELAND TRANSPORT HOLDING COMPANY

Transcription

1 NORTHERN IRELAND TRANSPORT HOLDING COMPANY Summary Minutes of the 190 th Group Board Meeting of the Directors held on Wednesday 10 th September 2014 at 9.30am at Chamber of Commerce House, Belfast PRESENT: APOLOGIES: IN ATTENDANCE: J Trethowan (Chairman) J Brown A Coffey T Depledge B Mitchell G Milligan (Interim GCE) P O Neill (COO) F Hewitt C Burns (Board Secretary) J P Irvine (Company Secretary) S Armstrong (Finance Director part of meeting) GROUP STATEMENT The Directors of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company are also the Directors of all other companies within the Group. As such they are mindful of their responsibilities and statutory duties to each. These minutes record the business of the Group meeting at which matters, factors and decisions relating to individual companies were raised and addressed. 1. DECLARATION OF INTERESTS Members did not have any declaration of interests. 2. INTRODUCTION & WELCOME The Chairman welcomed members back after the summer break. He gave a brief overview of the meeting and explained that as there were a number of items which required a lengthy discussion, that all other reports would be taken as read and updates given by exception. 3. MINUTES The Minutes of the 189 th meeting held on the 9 th July 2014 were reviewed by correspondence and adopted as a true record of the meeting. 4. MATTERS ARISING Individual Board Member Appraisals for DRD The Chairman requested the Board Secretary to contact the Department to enquire about their status. 1

2 Action: Members to receive a final copy of their Appraisal when they had been signed-off by the Department. GCE & Executive Objectives The IGCE reported on the recent off-site session with the Executive Team when corporate objectives were discussed. He confirmed that one-to-one meetings with executives had been arranged to finalise their individual objectives. Review of Pension Arrangements The IGCE advised members that the first stage review of pensions by the Pensions Adviser had been concluded. (iv) Ministerial Performance Meeting Members noted that the bi-annual performance meeting with the Minister had been confirmed for 18 th September. (v) Board Effectiveness Review Members agreed that a future board effectiveness review would align with the timing for a new complement of board members, and could feature in next year s Internal Audit plan accordingly. 5. CHAIRMAN & BOARD BUSINESS Ulster in Bloom The Chairman thanked the COO for agreeing to officiate at the Ulster in Bloom event in Derry on 17 th September. Events/Meetings attended by Members The Chairman reported on the meetings he had attended and invited members to give details of their attendance at the Belfast Rapid Transit Board on 30 th July and the Meet the Managers event on 5 th May at Short Strand. Both directors praised the professionalism of the Translink staff at the meeting/event and remarked on the excellent job they performed on behalf of the company. 6. DRD CORRESPONDENCE Belfast Rapid Transit (BRT) Members discussed the detailed letter from the Deputy Secretary in response to clarification sought and issues raised about BRT at the Tri annual meeting in July. He added that good progress had been made on the Park & Ride initiatives and bus priority measures. Independent Review of the Coleraine/Londonderry Phase 2 Project 2

3 The Board noted the letter and from the Deputy Secretary. They noted a review of the Coleraine/Londonderry Phase 2 Project would commence on 15 th September. Funding Cuts & Challenges from the June Monitoring Outcome The Chairman thanked members for their input to the response to the Deputy Secretary s (DP) letter regarding the poor outcome of the June Monitoring Round in terms of funding allocation to Translink and other DRD arms length bodies. He said that the response was required today as the DP had to provide the Minister with a briefing. The IGCE gave a brief overview of the important funding position to be relayed to DRD in particular stressing the need for all parties to be mindful of the questionable sustainability of the business over a three year outlook, rather than a narrow one year view. Members noted the importance of achieving Programme for Government targets and giving formal early notice to the Department if there were any difficulties in this regard. 7. AD HOC MATTERS FOR DISCUSSION Register of Interests Update Members were asked to contact the Board Secretary if they wished to revise their Register of Interests form. Action: The Board Secretary to issue Register of Interests Forms. 8. FOR INFORMATION (a) Interim Group Chief Executive Report The Board noted the contents of the Interim GCE Report and the following matters were highlighted:- Central Station Development Opportunity The IGCE gave an update on the development opportunity brought to NITHC by Belfast City Council the main landowner at the area. Wages Negotiation 2014 Members noted the update on the 2014 wages negotiation. Employee Engagement Feedback from Pulse Employee Survey The Board noted the superb results from the pulse survey in comparison with the 2013 survey. This was undertaken to enable an assessment of the action plans to determine if the organisation was progressing in the right direction and helping to improve employee engagement. The IGCE was pleased to report that the key results 3

4 which showed that Satisfaction; Advocacy; Loyalty; Involvement and Alignment had all increased. (b) Chief Operating Officer s Report The Board noted the contents of the COO Report and the following matters were highlighted:- Events The COO drew members attention to the number of events the organisation was involved with during the Summer period in addition to providing special services in connection with the marching season. The Chairman, on behalf of the Board asked the COO to pass on thanks and best wishes to everyone involved in all the events, praising their professionalism, hard work and commitment to the organisation. Belfast Transport Hub The COO reported on the current status of the Transport Hub. Schools Contract The Board noted the update on commercial negotiations with the Education & Library Boards in relation to schools transport. (iv) Noteworthy/Significant Incidents. Members noted the updates on significant incidents since the last meeting. (c) Group Finance Report The Finance Director reported on the results for Period 5. (d) Corporate KPIs Members noted the KPIs. (e) Minutes of Committee Meetings The minutes of the Board Committees were noted. 9. ANY OTHER BUSINESS Induction for GCE The Chairman confirmed that he would be meeting with the IGCE and Company Secretary to finalise the induction framework for the new GCE. 4

5 10. DATE OF NEXT MEETING The next meeting of the Board will take place at 9.30am on Wednesday 8 th October 2014 at Chamber of Commerce House, Belfast. 5