Minutes of the 63rd Board Meeting of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact

Board members

Tamsyn Barton (Chief Commissioner and Chair)

Hugh Bayley (Commissioner)

Tarek Rouchdy (Commissioner)

Attendees

Andrew Forbes (Secretariat)

Ekpe Attah (Secretariat)

Faith Cowling (Secretariat)

Gemma Roberts-Kinnear (Secretariat)

Jo-Ann Kelly (Secretariat)

Max Manning-Lowe (Secretariat)

Nabila Jiwaji (Secretariat)

Pauline Worthington (Secretariat)

Lauren Pett (Agulhas, items 3 and 4)

Marcus Cox (Agulhas. items 3 and 4)

Nigel Thornton (Agulhas item 3 and 4)

Jon Hews (FCDO – Head of Internal Audit, item 4)

Chris Mace (FCDO – Deputy Head of Internal Audit, item 4)

Jon Heath (FCDO – Deputy Head of Internal Audit, item 4)

1. Minutes and actions from June 2021 Board

• The minutes and actions from the June 2021 ICAI Board Meeting were agreed.
• Commissioners discussed the outstanding action relating to an outreach event for parliamentarians and considered the options for external speakers/attendees.

Action 1: Secretariat to organise the outreach event for parliamentarians before the Christmas recess.

2. Business update

• The Secretariat advised that the Head of Engagement vacancy is causing a forecast underspend in the Admin /FLD budget. Commissioners discussed the continuing programme budget challenges resulting from both inadequate budget allocation and the delays currently being encountered with access to FCDO information. The Chief Commissioner continues to meet regularly with the Secretariat to review the forecast programme spend.

Action 2: Head of Delivery to provide the latest financial forecast to the part-time commissioners.

• Commissioners discussed the Head of Engagement vacancy and the ongoing need for external communication and engagement support until this vacancy is filled.

Action 3: Head of Secretariat to provide statistics on rejected recommendations to commissioners.

FOI update

• Commissioners noted there had been two FOI requests in September and these, together with three requests outstanding since August, remained outstanding due to the current lack of access to FCDOs corporate filing system. In the interim, we have provided the holding line suggested by FCDO Information Rights [all outstanding requests have since been responded to].

Corporate Risk Register

• Commissioners discussed the Corporate Risk Register focusing on the risks relating to Covid-19, machinery of government changes, the spending review and access to information.

Action 4: Head of Delivery to update Corporate Risk Register to reflect commissioners’ comments.

GDPR

• Commissioners noted there had been no Subject Access Requests in the last quarter.

Safeguarding

• Commissioners noted there had been no instances of non-compliance with ICAI safeguarding standards in the last quarter.

3. Progress against current and future workplan

• The Head of Reviews updated commissioners on progress with current reviews and the future workplan. Commissioners discussed the list of prospective reviews to be agreed with the International Development Committee (IDC), the challenges presented by some of the topics, the need to obtain early approval on two topics in order to progress the workplan in a timely manner and the importance of avoiding overlap in the selection of review topics. Commissioners discussed the scheduling of the workplan and the need to plan for adequately spaced publications.

Action 5: Head of Reviews to finalise the list of potential review topics for presentation to IDC and obtain early approval for two topics to start immediately.

Action 6: Head of Reviews to review the workplan timetable to ensure a balanced publication schedule.

4. Guest Speakers: John Hews, Chris Mace, Jon Heath, FCDO Internal Audit and Investigations Directorate (IAID)

• Jon Hews provided an update on the newly formed IAID, roles and responsibilities, the new audit report format and style, retaining best practice from the two legacy departments and IAID’s proposed incorporation in the Government Internal Audit Agency (GIAA). Commissioners’ questions and discussion included audit coverage of ODA spend and countries, IAID’s role in auditing ICAI, safeguarding and information security.

5. ICAI’s commitment to anti-racism

• The Head of Reviews introduced the subject and team members each presented a short introduction to their area of research. Commissioners discussed what actions ICAI could take in this area in the relatively short-term – such as ensuring the next external service provider invitation to tender includes appropriate requirements in this area – as well as the possibilities over the longer-term.

Action 7: Secretariat to produce an action plan on ICAI’s commitment to anti-racism for commissioners.

6. Communications and Engagement Update

• Commissioners were provided with an update on activity over the last two quarters.

Action Log from 63rd Board Meeting October 2021