Background
The Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) is a company limited by guarantee, controlled by the Local Government Association, that provides improvement support to local authorities in England.
Among other things, IDeA is joint owner (with Ordnance Survey) of GeoPlace, the entity responsible for central management of address and street data in the UK.
IDeA is governed by a Company Board that meets several times a year. Papers of Company Board meetings were released on the LGA website up until January 2020, but currently only the dates of meetings are published.
In 2023 I requested and received papers of IDeA Company Board meetings held from January 2020 through January 2023. Those papers are available in an earlier blog post.
This post covers the recent disclosure of papers from six further meetings held in the period from June 2023 to June 2024. Some of the information has been redacted.
I've summarised the contents of each of the PDFs below, with links. You can also download all of the documents in a single zip file:
2024 FOI request for IDeA Board papers.zip (20.4 MB)
The disclosures include material on plans for GeoPlace's future operating model, and IDeA's accounts for the financial year to March 2024 – which have not yet been filed with Companies House.
Papers for meeting of 7 June 2023 (including minutes of meeting on 25 January 2023)
Download: IDeA Board papers from meeting 7 June 2023.pdf (3.1 MB)
Non-standing items:
- Audited Financial Statements for the year 2022/23
- Recruitment of Independent Directors of IDeA Board and Chair of PSAA (Public Sector Audit Appointments Ltd)
- Public Sector Audit Appointments (PSAA) update
- 2022/23 DLUHC Improvement Grant Performance Report
- Update on 2023/24 DLUHC grant negotiations
- IDeA grants and ringfenced funding update
- Net Zero Living: Thriving Places Programme - funding application
- GeoPlace - review of operating model
Notable redactions:
- The Partners in Care & Health update in the January 2023 minutes is redacted.
- The report related to the Audited Financial Statements for the year 2022/23 has been redacted (50+ pages), other than summary information and public accounts.
- The Net Zero Living: Thriving Places Programme - funding application item has been mostly redacted.
- The GeoPlace - review of operating model item contains redactions in point 5 (partial, related to open data for UPRNs and USRNs) and point 8 (in full, subject unknown).
Papers for meeting of 18 October 2023 (including minutes of meeting on 7 June 2023)
Download: IDeA Board papers from meeting 18 October 2023.pdf (1.3 MB)
Non-standing items:
- August 2023 Financial Report
- 2023/24 Q2 DLUHC Improvement Grant Performance Report
- IDeA grants and ringfenced funding update
- Planning Advisory Service Programme update
- Public Sector Audit Appointments (PSAA)
Notable redactions:
- The Net Zero Living: Thriving Places Programme - funding application item in the June 2023 minutes is redacted.
- The August 2023 Financial Report item is mostly redacted, including six pages redacted in full.
Papers for meeting of 19 December 2023 (including minutes of meeting on 18 October 2023)
Download: IDeA Board papers from meeting 19 December 2023.pdf (3.8 MB)
Non-standing items:
- Partners in Care and Health - Commercial Arrangements for 2024/25
- Funding Improvement - risks and mitigations
Notable redactions:
- The August 2023 Financial Report update and IDeA grants and ringfenced funding update items in the October 2023 minutes are redacted.
- The Partners in Care and Health - Commercial Arrangements for 2024/25 item is mostly redacted.
- A three-page appendix to the Funding Improvement - risks and mitigations item is redacted.
Papers for meeting of 24 January 2024 (including minutes of meeting on 19 December 2023)
Download: IDeA Board papers from meeting 24 January 2024.pdf (9.2 MB)
Non-standing items:
- GeoPlace - future operating model
- 2024/25 Budget Assumptions
- IDeA Improvement Funding Update January 2024
- Joint Inspection Team update
Notable redactions:
- The Partners in Care and Health - Commercial Arrangements for 2024/25 item in the December 2023 minutes is redacted.
- The GeoPlace - future operating model item contains various redactions, and a nine-page attachment (possibly a report from GeoPlace or PA Consulting) is entirely redacted.
- The IDeA Improvement Funding Update January 2024 item contains various redactions.
- The Joint Inspection Team update item contains various redactions including a 30+ page attachment (apparently a draft funding agreement) that is redacted in full.
Papers for meeting of 19 March 2024 (including minutes of meeting on 24 January 2024)
Download: IDeA Board papers from meeting 19 March 2024.pdf (2.7 MB)
Non-standing items:
- IDeA Company Budget - 2024/25
- Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 update
- Improvement Programmes 2024/25 - Current Position
- Appointment of Chair of PSAA and Non-Executive Director of IDeA
Notable redactions:
- All non-standing items in the January 2024 minutes contain various redactions.
- The IDeA Company Budget - 2024/25 report (16 pages) is entirely redacted, other than a short summary with recommendations.
Papers for meeting of 5 June 2024 (including minutes of meeting on 19 March 2024)
Download: IDeA Board papers from meeting 5 June 2024.pdf (2.1 MB)
Non-standing items:
- Audited Financial Statements for the year 2023/24
- Improvement Programmes 2024/25 Funding Update
- Improvement update: Update and sector support programme for 2024/25
- Partners in Care and Health: Commercial Arrangements for 2024/25
- National Land Information Service (NLIS) and Land Data
- PSAA Ltd - Update
Notable redactions:
- The report related to the Audited Financial Statements for the year 2023/24 has been redacted (20+ pages), other than summary information and public accounts.
- The Partners in Care and Health: Commercial Arrangements for 2024/25 item is mostly redacted.
- The National Land Information Service (NLIS) and Land Data item contains extensive redactions.