Departmental Board Members
The Departmental Board (DB) consists of the following members:
Chair
Katrina Godfrey, Permanent Secretary and Departmental Accounting Officer.
Executive Members
- Mr Robert Huey, Deputy Secretary (Veterinary Service and Animal Health Group;
- Mr Norman Fulton, Deputy Secretary (Food and Farming Group)
- Mrs Fiona McCandless (Rural Affairs, Forest Service and Estate Transformation Group)
- Mr Brian Doherty (Central Services and Contingency Planning Group)
- Mr Roger Downey(Finance Director)
- Mrs Tracey Teague (Deputy Secretary Environment Marine & Fisheries Group)
- Ms Paula Bratton (HR Business Partner - NICS HR)
- Mr Paul Donnelly (Chief Executive, NIEA)
- DR Kathryn Clarke (Director of Corporate Services)
Non-Executive Members
- Mrs Sharon McCue
- Dr Bernie Stuart
More useful links
- Departmental Board - Board Operating Framework
- Departmental Board - register of interests
- Corporate Governance Framework
- TMT standard agenda
Departmental Board - minutes of meetings
- Minutes of meetings 2023
- Minutes of meetings 2022
- Minutes of meetings 2021
- Minutes of meetings 2020
- Minutes of meetings 2019
- Minutes of meetings 2018
- Minutes of meetings 2017
- Minutes of meetings 2016
Departmental Board Committees
- Leadership and Engagement Committee
- Strategy Committee
- Resourcing and People Committee
- Equality and Diversity Steering Group Committee
- Finance Committee
- Delivery Committee
- Audit and Risk Assurance Committee
Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC)
The Principal Accounting Officer has established the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC) as a Committee of the Departmental Board (DB) to support the officer in their responsibilities for issues of risk control and governance by reviewing the comprehensiveness of assurances in meeting the Board and Principal Accounting Officer’s assurance needs and reviewing the reliability and integrity of these assurances.
The ARAC will meet at least six times a year. The timing of these meetings will be dependent on the availability of scheduled papers for consideration. The Chair of the Committee may convene additional meetings as deemed necessary.
As well as providing assurance to the Principal Accounting Officer, the ARAC will ensure that high level information on risk and control is brought to the Principal Accounting Officer’s attention, through DB, in order to assist them in identifying their priorities for action.
The main objective of the Committee is to contribute independently to the Board’s overall process for ensuring that governance, risk management and internal control processes operate effectively. The Committee will do this by forming a consolidated view of all assurance activity within the Department.
The ARAC is advisory in nature and its primary role is to oversee, promote and provide input to all activities associated with business risk, corporate governance and audit.
Casework Committee
The purpose of the Committee is to provide greater assurance to the Accounting Officer and Departmental Board around significant expenditure decisions made within DAERA. It will increase collective decision making and buy-in to projects, particularly where affordability is a significant consideration.
Delivery Committee
The Delivery Committee has a key role to play in the development, implementation and co-ordination of Risk Management and Strategic Business Planning within the Department. The Committee provides strategic clarity for the Department, including oversight of the development and monitoring of the Department’s Strategic and annual Business plan and monitor the delivery of objectives. It also has an oversight role in risk identification and in keeping under review the potential sources of risk. This will promote consistency of approach to Risk and to Business Planning and will provide the Departmental Board with assurances regarding the management of risks and performance against business plans.
Arms Length Bodies Committee
The ALB Committee will ensure that there is a coherent and strategic approach across DAERA in the management of Arm’s Length Bodies. This will promote consistency of business objectives between DAERA and its ALBs and the management of sponsorship arrangements. The ALB Committee will provide the Departmental Board with an oversight of progress of ALB governance arrangements.
DAERA Publication Scheme
The Department has in place a Publication Scheme to ensure it meets its responsibilities under the Freedom of Information Act. This requires all public bodies to have a scheme in place. In order to meet these obligations the minutes and agendas of DB meetings and its committees, with delegated responsibility, have to be published.
More useful links