Corporate Board minutes: December 2025

Attendees and apologies

Members

• Joe Griffin (Chair), Permanent Secretary
• Mark Adderley, Non-Executive Director (NXD)
• Lesley Fraser, Director-General (DG) Corporate
• Gregor Irwin, DG Economy
• Manish Joshi, NXD
• Andy Kerr, DG Net Zero
• Caroline Lamb, DG Health and Social Care
• Sean Neill, Director for Housing (for Miriam Craven, DG Communities)
• Belinda Oldfield, NXD
• Neil Rennick, DG Education & Justice (until 15:00)
• Shona Riach, DG Exchequer, Strategy and Performance
• Neil Richardson, NXD
• Jim Robertson, NXD
• Jenny Stewart, NXD
• Tom Taylor, NXD and Chair of Scottish Government Audit and Assurance Committee (SGAAC)
• Annabel Turpie, Director of Marine Scotland

In attendance

• Andrew Bruce, Director of Communications & Ministerial Support 
• Jonathon Curry, Deputy Director People Strategy (item 5)
• Nick Ford, Director of Procurement and Property (item 7)
• Jackie McAllister, Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
• Iain MacNab, Head of Risk Management Policy (item 6)
• Nicola Richards, Director, People Directorate 
• Steven Turnbull, Head of Strategic Support and Governance (item 7)
• Kirsty Walker, Board Secretary

Secretariat

• Shaun Docherty, Policy Officer, ETSGO
• Aimee Gray, Corporate Governance Manager, ETSGO

• Carolyn Younie, Head of Strategic Governance, ETSGO

Apologies

• Miriam Craven, DG Communities
• Ruaraidh Macniven, Solicitor to the Scottish Government and Director of Scottish Government Legal Directorate (SGLD)

Items and actions

Welcome, apologies, declarations of interest, and minutes

The Chair welcomed members and attendees to the fourth meeting of the Corporate Board (CB) in 2025. A warm welcome was extended to Mark Adderley, newly appointed Non-Executive Director (NXD) and Andy Kerr, newly appointed Director-General Net Zero, both attending their first CB meeting.
The minute of the meeting held on 22 September 2025 was approved as an accurate record pending one point of clarification.  Members were invited to declare any interests: NXD Neil Richardson noted his role as Chief Executive officer of Turning Point Scotland which is the recipient of a Scottish Government grant. The Board Secretary then provided an update on actions and the development of a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) Corporate Dashboard. The Chair agreed to revisit specific actions proposed complete.

SGAAC Chair update

The Chair of the Scottish Government Audit and Assurance Committee (SGAAC) provided a summary of key discussion points from the meeting held on 24 November 2025. Topics covered included: Workforce Reduction and Budget, Risk Management, Financial Governance, Cyber Security (added to the SGAAC 2026 forward plan), Prison Population, delivery of the NHS Implementation Plan (with a separate discussion to be arranged at a later date) and escalations from the most recent DG Assurance round.

Organisational health – public service reform (PSR)

Director General Exchequer Strategy and Performance (DG ESP) introduced the new PSR Portfolio Management Approach: which outlines the key roles and governance arrangements currently being established to support implementation of the PSR strategy.  Responsibilities and requirements for these key roles (for Lead Directors, Partner Directors and Paired DGs) were outlined; alongside the establishment of a new accountability framework (including a new PSR Board and PSR Working Group) which will govern the implementation of PSR. The importance of NXD engagement with this system was also outlined.
DG ESP, as the Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) for implementation of PSR, confirmed she has now engaged with each DG on their new role within this system.  Each individual DG then provided a brief overview of their role, responsibilities and progress to date supporting PSR activities.

In discussion, the Board noted:

• the importance of clear accountability; the criticality of people, skills, and our capacity and capability to deliver; alongside the need for a strong PMO function
• the need to clearly identify cashable savings which can be incorporated into multi-year spending plans and illustrate a path to fiscal sustainability
• that ongoing work is at different stages of maturity; the importance of strategic intent; coherence of investment and targeting of duplication
• the utility of moving at pace and maintaining momentum; the need to be transformational, delivery focused and more than a collection of efficiency savings
• the benefit of CB tracking performance and monitoring sufficiency of work 
• the importance of relationships with trade unions and delivery bodies; the need for a compelling narrative which promotes citizen benefits

Organisational health - finance

DG ESP provided an update on the SG funding position, which, following the UKGOV budget announcement in November, is now clearer, allowing final allocations to be considered in preparation for the SG 2026-2027 Budget. Updates on the Scottish Spending Review (SSR), Infrastructure Delivery Pipeline and Infrastructure Strategy, all due to be published alongside the 2026-2027 budget, were also provided.
The Chief Financial Officer then summarised the in-year financial position. An overview of current capital and resource spending was provided, alongside analysis of the opportunities, pressures and management of risk required to achieve a path to balance.  The utility of accurate forecasting was also illustrated.  

In discussion, the Board noted:

• good progress with portfolio efficiency plans; the importance of good governance and external oversight; and linkages between forecasting, spending decisions, delivery and economic impact 
• action has been taken to learn lessons from the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) early data release of UKGOV budget

Organisational health – people

Deputy Director for People Strategy introduced the item which provided an update on the current workforce position and development of a workforce strategy. The board received confirmation that 2025/26 workforce targets were within tolerances to be attained; while conversations around longer-term ambitions for a workforce plan, and wider work on capability, have commenced.  SG continues to discuss workforce issues with various stakeholders, including Trade Union partners.   

In discussion, the Board noted:

• the importance of organisational design, spans of control, and opportunities to review grade groupings 
• the need for early planning and utilisation of all tools to manage workforce numbers in 2026/27
• the importance of aligning strategic workforce planning with PSR and testing deployment approaches across different business areas

Organisational health – risk

The Head of Risk Management Policy provided a summary of risks that are scheduled to reduce and reach their target level by the Scottish Parliamentary Elections in May 2026.  Each DG owner then introduced their risk and summarised their confidence level that these targets would be achieved within the May 2026 timeframe. 

In discussion, the Board noted:

• the benefits of better understanding specific Artificial Intelligence (AI) risks and opportunities, at both a societal and organisational level

Biannual stocktake on SG core estate and operations

The Director for Property and Procurement introduced the item which considers performance and risks throughout SG core estate and operations on a biannual basis. The update focussed on estate maintenance, health and safety challenges and the development of a multiyear Estate Transformation Programme.

In discussion, the Board noted:

• the requirement to promote and champion a positive health and safety culture with greater focus and prioritisation from senior leaders and in SG governance; consideration for developing a Health, Safety and Wellbeing strategy
• the significant investment needed for estate improvements; the need to develop an estates strategy aligned with PSR and workforce reduction targets

Any other business

The National Performance Framework (NPF) item will be taken by correspondence, first to ET and then to Corporate Board. This may come through during the festive break.
The date of the next meeting was confirmed as 16 March 2025.