Voicepiece
NHS Appointments Commission chairman Sir William Wells talks about board reappointments, training and remuneration
This is the first of the commission's newsletters in the new bulletin format. I hope you will find this format interesting and that the blend of news and views is helpful. We have plans to develop the bulletin to include some readers' views and commissioned short articles. If you have any ideas or topics you would like to see please let us know.
We are now entering the first personal performance review round of the new appraisal procedures that we introduced in February 2002. Training in review techniques has been provided for all chairs and all non-executives will have received the self-study pack. We will be reviewing the success of the process later in the year and I hope that over time it will be seen increasingly as a crucial development tool for boards in focusing individuals on key objectives and developing their full potential in the non-executive role.
The non-executive performance review and objective setting exercise for 2003/4 should be completed by the end of June. The chair performance review, other than for strategic health authority chairs, should have been completed by the end of May.
Plans for the training support structure for chairs and non-executives are now well advanced. With strategic health authority chairs we have agreed the establishment of seven Local Training Bodies (LTBs). They will be run locally and supported administratively from the annual training levy. The Board Leadership Programme in London will continue in its current form. Each LTB will be represented on a National Training Body. We hope that this approach will enable chairs and non-executives to have access to nationally consistent programmes but arranged locally, often through local providers and with the flexibility to address particular local needs and issues.
There will still be a place for nationally organised activities and induction training for new non-executives is likely to remain one of them. Our six events at the beginning of the year were welcomed and five further events during June and July are already fully subscribed. Further event details are elsewhere in the bulletin.
You may recall that as part of our move towards identifying the competencies needed by chairs and non-executives, we began work to identify the role of boards. This has developed into a substantial piece of work on board governance (of which more in the Top News section) and analysis to draw from this the competencies we seek is now underway. I am grateful to those of you who have helped in developing our thoughts and in the ongoing consultation process.
In my last newsletter I explained that the Department of Health would be advertising for a new Commissioner for the South West to replace Gillian Camm. Unfortunately, the panel were unable to recommend a suitable appointment and the post will shortly be re-advertised.
Ian Mills (London) and John Marshall (Northern) will be retiring from the Commission at the end of September. They have both given very significant service to the NHS over a long period of time and will be difficult to replace. Nevertheless, we will be advertising for their successors later in the month. I hope that some of you who may be seeking a new national direction for your service to the NHS will consider applying.
And finally, I am pleased to say that the Secretary of State has agreed to an increase in remuneration of 2.5 per cent for 2002-2003. This is effectively last year's award and will be paid retrospectively.
A number of you have also raised the issue of business mileage. I am pleased to say that following our representations, the Department of Health has agreed to raise the threshold between higher rate and lower rate mileage allowances from 5,000 to 7,500 miles. This came into effect from 3 June.
The commission is the only NHS organisation with the sole objective of supporting NHS chairs and non-executives. Overall I believe that many of the strands of our activity are now coming together effectively.
As always there remains much to do but we remain committed to supporting you in your vital role at the forefront of modernising the service we provide to patients.
Please contact me with your views or ideas through the contacts in the 'About this Bulletin' page or at WW.Bulletin@apcomm.nhs.uk
