Written evidence from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (NED014)

Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee

The Role of Non-Executive Directors in Government inquiry

Written evidence from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee on the activities, recruitment and experiences of non-executive board members both inside and outside individual departmental boards, and cross-government.

Introduction 

1. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport is pleased to respond to the Committee’s call for written evidence on the activities, recruitment and experiences of non-executive board members (NEBMs) both inside and outside individual departmental boards, and cross-government. 

2.                DCMS NEBMs provide advice on performance, operational issues and the effective management of the Department. They are appointed to provide independent scrutiny for the Department upon request of Ministers and Officials. They also have a role in advising on cross-government initiatives and policies. DCMS uses the Corporate governance code for central government departments 2017 and engages regularly with the Cabinet Office Civil Service Governance Team. 

3.                DCMS has up to five NEBM positions and appointments are made in line with Cabinet Office and Number 10 appointments team guidance. Terms are usually made on a three year basis with the possibility of extending by one further term. DCMS NEBMs are: 

• Claudia Arney. Claudia is the department’s lead NEBM and is currently the Chair of Deliveroo PLC and holds a number of other Non-executive positions at Kingfisher PLC (Home improvement Company) and Derwent London (a property Company). Claudia has had a varied career holding a number of executive and non-executive roles. In her Executive career she has held roles at the Financial Times, Goldman Sachs and also the Treasury. From a Non-Executive perspective, she has held roles with Ocado, Halfords, Telecity and was also Interim chair of the Premier League. Claudia was appointed in April 2021 and is in her first term. 

• Hemant Patel. Hemant is the department’s Audit and Risk Committee Chair and is currently Chief Financial Officer of Whitbread, a hotel and hospitality company which owns brands such as Premier Inn. Hemant was previously a trustee and Chair of the Royal Armouries, a DCMS Arm’s Length Body. Hemant has worked at various multinational companies including Mars Inc, SC Johnson, Asda and Provident Financial plc in financial, commercial and marketing roles. Hemant was appointed in March 2020 and is in his first term.  

• Priya Lakhani OBE. Priya is a NEBM in the department and is the Founder CEO of CENTURY, an award-winning AI education technology company. Priya has had a varied career, having previously been a barrister, she then went on to launch a cooking sauce company, which through its charitable foundation provided millions of meals and thousands of vaccinations to the underprivileged in India and Africa. She has been a member of the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills’ Entrepreneurs’ Forum and sits on the AI Council. Priya was appointed in April 2021 and is in her first term. 

4.                Following Baroness Laura Wyld’s resignation and Sherry Coutu’s term coming to an end the department has up to two vacancies. A recruitment process is ongoing, although there had been a temporary pause whilst the new Prime Minister was announced.   

DCMS NEBM activity

Departmental Board 
 

5.                The DCMS Departmental Board is the most senior Board in the department. It is not a decision making body but provides collective strategic and operational leadership of the Department, bringing together the Ministerial and Civil Service leaders with the NEBMs. It meets formally twice per year and its agenda’s focus on the key strategic issues faced by the department. It also acts as a forum to ensure Ministers can engage NEBM expertise, experience and advice for current and future departmental priorities. 

Executive Board / NEBM engagement 

6.                To ensure NEBM engagement is maintained outside of the Departmental Board, the Department has set up a quarterly Executive Board meeting with NEBMs. This forum acts as a space to engage NEBM expertise but also for NEBMs to challenge and scrutinise senior officials on the delivery and performance of departmental priorities.  

7.                In addition to this forum NEBMs have been paired with Executive Board members to build on work within the department to align their expertise with specific DCMS areas and sectors, be that corporate or policy focused. Regular 1-1 meetings between NEBMs and Executive Board members are in place to maintain rigour on this and plan the input of NEBMs and receive direct feedback on their views of work they have been involved in.  

Audit and Risk 

8.                In addition to the above forums the Audit and Risk Committee, chaired by Hemant Patel and also attended by Claudia Arney (in addition to additional independent members) supports the Departmental Board and Accounting Officer by providing independent scrutiny, support and challenge of DCMS's arrangements for governance, risk management and control.

Internal engagement on the use of NEBMs. 

9.                In addition to the above forums, the central Governance team, who are responsible for all aspects of management for the department’s NEBMs provide regular learning sessions with teams across the department on the use of NEBMs, and how teams can seek their advice and challenge to support their work.  

Recruitment 

10.            The department aims to run open and transparent recruitment processes for NEBM appointments, which aligns to the approach taken for wider public appointments, although the appointments are not subject to the same rules stipulated within the Governance Code for Public Appointments. The department works closely with both the Cabinet Office and Number 10 appointments team. On occasions where a candidate is identified as outstanding and a recruitment exercise would not result in a better outcome for the department, direct appointments are considered. However the default position is that an open and fair recruitment process is run. 

Out of the three current candidates, two were directly appointed and one was appointed following a recruitment process. As mentioned above, to fill the two vacancies the department has within the NEBM team a recruitment process has been launched. A longlist of candidates has been compiled and the department aims to complete this process as swiftly as possible. 

Experiences of DCMS NEBMs 

12.            Claudia Arney: 

• I hold bi-weekly one to one sessions with Sarah Healey, the department’s Permanent Secretary to plan my work and interaction with the department. Periodically I also meet directly with the Directors General to stay close to developing priorities within their groups, I also provide advice directly to them on governance within ALBs. I lead on the appraisal of the Permanent Secretary, which includes getting feedback from all direct reports, the Secretary of State and other key stakeholders. In regards to cross Whitehall interaction I attend regular Cabinet Office stocktake meetings. I also attend the Lead NED meetings and represent DCMS and ensure contribution to cross government initiatives. Alongside these regular meetings, I also arrange periodic sessions with the just the Non-Executive team to discuss key risks and challenges.
• Over recent months I had a significant amount of engagement with the Sports team who have been working on the sale of Chelsea Football Club as well as wider football governance work to respond to Tracy Crouch’s review. This has been a good use of my skills and experience, having previously been chair of the Premier League. Along with the wider Non-Executive team we have provided structured challenge and advice on Spending Review strategy and bids, and the post that on the department’s sustainable resourcing approach to business planning. This has included us providing advice on organisational change approaches following the Civil Service 2025 commission.

13.            Hemant Patel: 

• I chair the department’s Audit and Risk Committee and in my time with the department and through my leadership of that committee, I have placed a focus on improving risk management, cybersecurity and have implemented a deep dive programme on principle risks, assurance framework and corporate capability. I also chair a forum that brings together Audit and Risk Committee chairs from across the departments Arms Lengths Bodies. This provides a forum for sharing best practice across DCMS ALB audit, risk and assurance committees.
• With regards to my wider involvement with the department’s work I have supported planning and implementation of shared service ERP solutions across matrix cluster (inc DCMS). I have provided advice and challenge on the department’s work that supports the Government’s wider levelling up agenda. I am on the Board and investment sub-committee of the Culture Recovery Fund. Following this I supported the department on management of the loan book across culture and sports.
• Corporately, I have been involved in the approach to the Spending Review and the sustainable resourcing project following the department’s settlement as well as providing advice on wider transformational activity. I meet the department’s Finance Director and Director General for Strategy and Operations to plan my interactions with the department.

14.            Priya Lakhani: 

• I have focused on the portfolio of and meet the Director General of Digital and Media and also the Deputy Directors involved with digital strategy and online safety because of recent policy developments in these areas. My role is to challenge, provide scrutiny and help to ensure that the work delivered is relevant in a 'real world' context, particularly in the fast-paced and fast-changing innovative environment of technology.
• My areas of expertise are digital technology, artificial intelligence technology, the education sector, digital skills and as a former libel and privacy barrister I also have expertise in OFCOM regulation which, combined with knowledge of how a software company operates and how persuasive technology is engineered and its ethical issues, gives me helpful background to online safety issues as well as a technology company's KPIs in terms of engagement metrics to its investors.
• I work with the teams at various stages of policy drafting, with a particular focus on how policy plays in practice and challenge on potential outcomes, offer guidance and help on stakeholder engagement strategy and very much enjoy championing DCMS to the digital and education sectors. I update the lead NED on my areas of focus and I receive updates on the wider department to keep abreast of any issues or challenges facing DCMS. I also have direct access to the Permanent Secretary and Director Generals should I wish to discuss any issues or ask questions, which I particularly appreciated in the first few months of appointment as this has helped speed up my onboarding.
• I also attend a comprehensive Executive Board Meeting led by the Permanent Secretary, for which detailed papers are provided in advance so I am able to hear about and understand all issues challenging the Directors across the department as well as listen to and take part in any debate. I feel I am able to contribute well, debate, challenge and add value to the department because the NEDs share the wide portfolio - I am able to focus deeper on the areas I have expertise in and still get involved at a high level in other areas focused on by my fellow NEDs at Executive Board meetings. 

September 2022