Operational Plan April 2025 – March 2026

As an Arm's Length Body of WG, CDPS undertake its activities in accordance with:  

• its objects as specified in its Articles of Association;  
• all applicable laws and regulations; 
• the terms of any relevant State Aid approvals;  
• the Remit Letter; 
• Business Plan as approved by the Welsh Ministers; 
• the Welsh Ministers Welsh Language Standards; and, 
• the principles, rules and guidance in Managing Welsh Public Money. 

Over the last 12 months, our permanent Board of non-executive directors appointed by Welsh Government in the summer 2022, have ensured effective and appropriate governance of the business and have provided evidence to the Critical Friend Review. 

The board of directors, currently meet bi-monthly to provide an appropriate level of governance and oversight of the business, receiving financial reports and updates against the delivery of the Objectives and Key Results through its revised reporting pack. The cadence of board meetings will be reviewed over the year to ensure that the board time and effort is appropriate.

The Audit & Risk Committee, (ARC) a subgroup of the board, will continue to meet quarterly. They scrutinise CDPS finances and reporting, whilst also considering the corporate risk and issues register to ensure that appropriate mitigations are in place to manage current and potential future risks.

Following a successful re-procurement in 2024-25, TIAA have been appointed to continue delivery of our internal audit services.  The draft internal audit plan for 2025/2026, agreed by the Audit & Risk Committee, is as follows and will be conducted following best practice guidelines, reviewing our current policies and frameworks, and reported back to ARC: 

Internal Audit Plan:

• ICT Infrastructure
• Strategic Control and Corporate Governance
• Workforce Management
• Procurement
• Risk Management – Mitigating Controls
• Key Financial Controls 

The appointment of our external auditors HSJ, was approved by Board and the Cabinet Secretary during 2024-25 and during Q1 to Q3 2025-26, they will audit the financial accounts and the operations of the business for the period 1st April 2024 to 31st March 2025. They will prepare their audit report for approval by the ARC Board and for submission to Companies House along with a full set of accounts by 31st December 2025.

We have a set of financial delegations which give named staff the authority to commit to CDPS expenditure through procurement activity. The authority to commit to expenditure must not be exceeded or delegated further. Financial delegation is based on the procurement threshold values set by CDPS (noting any guidance on delegation within the Framework Document). The thresholds are broken down into 4 groups which are detailed below: