People Committee Assurance Report January - February 2026
Meeting: Trust Board – Public Meeting
Date: 11 February 2026
Report Title: People Committee Assurance Report
Agenda Item: PUB26/02/4.5
Committee Date: 28 January 2026
Meeting Chair: Susan Wilkinson, Non-Executive Director and Acting Committee Chair
Meeting quorate: YES
Purpose: Assurance
| Link to EEAST Strategic Mission: | |
|---|---|
| Patient Mission | |
| Partnership Mission | |
| People Mission | X |
| Productivity Mission |
Summary of items considered at the meeting:
| Issue | Consideration | Resolution | Assurance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apprenticeship update | Discussed previous concerns relating to apprentice safeguarding, and quality of provision | Recent visit from Department for Education, outcome was positive, case manager confirmed risks are now mitigated. Self-assessment for OFSTED completed and confident that we will meet requirements. OFSTED focus likely to be looking at inclusivity, governance and safeguarding. Tripartite meetings now in place to support practitioners. Safeguarding data now supporting specific metrics for apprentices. To review in July meeting 2026 The committee acknowledged all the hard work by the teams | Substantial |
| IQPR | Reviewed metrics – specifically discussed; sickness, safety and employee relations data | Sickness remains a focus, discussed how we can ensure good understanding of what is truly driving the numbers. Sickness policy benchmarked in line with other ambulance trusts and will be reviewed. Working on increasing line manager involvement and accountability. Discussed high turnover in EOC and CAS and what is driving that. Work ongoing through the people transformation programmes. | Moderate |
| People transformation plan | Updates given for all programmes, discussed progress | Team based working – lessons learned reviewed and discussed in ELT. Further sessions planned and will update Trust Board in March 2026. Organisational development – now 18 months into the plan, will review the respect at work policy, note appraisals are now above 80% but need to now work on quality to ensure meaningful for staff. Inclusivity plan – training meeting targets, will take time to feel/ see benefits in the organisation. EDI workshops planned February plan to build specific objectives for Exec Directors. Discussed ensuring that the work across portfolio is aligned to our missions and strategy. Sexual safety, discussed maturity curve and trajectories. | Reasonable |
| Organisational Development plan | Reviewed the plan and progress discussed | Noted good clear plan. Recognised the complexities of other issues impacting on staff, enabling the time to lead. Also discussed how this plan should align/ support the trust strategy and mission. | Moderate |
| Update from Armed Forces Network | This network launched in June 2025, update on work to date in supporting our military veterans, reservists and serving personnel both within our staff groups and their families | 2 main events for this year, armed forces week in June and the Remembrance Day in November. Noted the excellent work undertaken by the network. Discussed differences in culture / work ethics and how this can support the Trust’s ongoing work on culture. The committee offered sincere thanks to the network chairs and staff. | Substantial |
| Health and Safety update | Noted the report and positive improvement in training metrics. | Health and Safety executive continue to work with us and we are now supporting them in their work with other Trusts. Confirmed previous contravention elements were transactional and have all been delivered. Work is ongoing relating to change management to address further issues. Suggested supporting the reporting of good as well as poor behaviour. | Reasonable |
| Employee Relations | Noted the updates and work undertaken, including additional resources to manage the caseload | Discussed ongoing rise in cases and the requirement for additional resources to manage. Discussed what would be a sustainable level of cases to achieve. Ongoing review through this committee. | Moderate |
| Internal Communications | Report discussed | Strong 6 months, launch of Stars of EEAST, supported both internal and external communications. Work still to be done on how to improve scope of reach to all staff. | Reasonable |
| Staff Survey Results | Noted results | Really good improvement in response % for both substantive and bank staff. Noted the results and plans to review, communicate and develop ownership and action plans. Noted the reduction in advocacy scores. Workshops will review and identify priorities for the year. | Moderate |
| Board Assurance | BAF and updates provided | Noted still work to do regarding increasing the quality of reporting. Also questioned how the risk scoring is reviewed and updated as necessary/ appropriate. | Moderate |
| Annual review | This has been completed, paper received and acknowledged | Approved terms of reference and agenda plan but acknowledged this may evolve throughout the year. | Substantial |
Matters for escalation or referral:
| Issue | Resolution | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| People Committee Terms of Reference and Agenda Plan | Public board | The terms of reference and agenda plan are recommended to Board for approval |
