In the interests of transparency, the CCRC publishes minutes of our Board meetings, which are generally held every other month.
We also hold a public Board meeting once per year, which is typically held in November. This meeting provides an opportunity for members of the public to gain insight into the important work that the CCRC carries out.
We hope that this page provides you with the information you need to better understand the workings of the Criminal Cases Review Commission and its commitment to ensuring that the best possible reviews of potential miscarriages of justice take place.
Most recent Board minutes – 24 March 2026
Minutes of a Meeting of the Board
24 March 2026
Meeting held remotely by video conference
Present:
Dame Vera Baird – (Interim Chair)
Ms Tracey Calleia – (Interim Chief Executive)
Ms Amanda Pearce – (Director of Casework)
Mr Peter Ryan – (Finance & Corporate Services Director)
Ms Rachel Ellis – (Commissioner)
Ms Johanna Higgins – (Commissioner)
Mr Rob Ward – (Commissioner)
Mrs Linda Lee – (Commissioner)
Mr David Brown – (Commissioner)
Ms Nicola Cockburn – (Commissioner)
Ms Jackie Mann – (Independent Non-Executive Director)
Mr Mark Oldham – (Independent Non-Executive Director)
1. Apologies and declarations of interest
Apologies: Mr Ian Comfort (Commissioner)
Declarations of interest: none.
2. Minutes of Board Meeting: 27 January 2026.
The minutes of the last Board Meeting held on 27 January 2026 were approved.
Matters arising:
In respect of item 8, the Board confirmed its previous decisions regarding the Business Plan and Corporate Plan.
i. Delay the next Corporate Plan until the review concludes.
ii. Propose to the MoJ that the current Business Plan be extended.
Option i was amended to note that the Board did not consider meaningful progress to have been made against the Corporate Plan priorities due to significant external factors.
Part 2 Minutes – VB noted that an item intended for delegation had not been actioned; she would delegate within the next few days, and return to the next Board meeting.
3. Interim’s Chair’s update
The first stakeholder meeting was held on 18 February and was well attended, with Appeal, CALA, Advocate, Innocence Projects, JENGba and the Law Commission represented. Early discussion considered whether charities could support applicants who have not yet appealed, with some interest expressed subject to practical constraints. Commissioner Higgins noted the absence of Northern Ireland representation. The Chair and Commissioner Higgins will discuss options for Northern Ireland engagement, likely involving the new Northern Ireland Commissioner.
The Chair noted widespread misunderstanding among stakeholders about CCRC processes; and short explanatory videos were being considered. The Chair to speak at the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Miscarriages of Justice on 15 April.
The Chair reported that updated correspondence templates (non-decision letters) have now been implemented, further to our resolution to communicate, to our applicants and their representatives, in an improved way. Decision document templates were being revised and would be shared in draft form for the Board’s comments. The Chair reiterated her strong concern about the template referring to the ‘Samaritans’. Decision-makers may remove it. Revised wording, supported by a formal policy would be brought back to the Board.
The No Appeal Pilot has launched internally, with early cases completed more promptly, under the new system. Although general case queuing pressures remain, CRM recruitment has begun again, with the recruitment pack nearing completion.
Discussions are underway on arranging for regional work hubs, for staff, who live away from Birmingham who may wish to accept the proposed offer of working in an office, and potentially with colleagues, from time to time.
New Commissioners will join on 7 April, and planning for their induction was underway. Board members were asked to consider how they wished to welcome them.
The forthcoming Commission dinner at Mowgli provided an opportunity for Commissioners to meet Tracey Calleia Interim Chief Executive and Jackie Mann, newly appointed Independent Non-Executive Director ahead of the forthcoming staff day.
HMCPSI and MoJ review work was moving towards completion, with reports pending. Inspections of the legal team and the Forensic Opportunities Programme have concluded, while the Chair continued to gather views on the Commissioners’ role, including from former Commissioners and previous Chairs. Commissioners were reminded to complete the role review questionnaire, part of the Chair’s Review, by the end of March.
4. Interim Chief Executive Update
The Interim Chief Executive provided a brief overview of her professional background, including senior leadership roles across the courts service and national roles in enforcement and compliance. She noted that this was her seventh day at Stephenson Street and that she was undertaking a detailed induction programme, which had been valuable in understanding current casework, staffing structures and corporate services.
Tracey commented on the strong commitment and enthusiasm of staff and noted that key areas of interest include future workload management, organisational direction, and Remote First arrangements. She advised that her initial focus was on listening and observation, alongside consideration of the forthcoming HMCPSI review. She also confirmed plans to increase external outreach, including Prison Radio, and to strengthen internal communications with staff.
5. Actions update
The Director of Casework noted no further issues on the action tracker. She highlighted early results from the no-appeal pilot, with cases completing in around 30 days compared with the usual 90.
6. Management Information Pack
On the Management Information Pack, the Director of Casework observed that KPIs remained below target due to portfolio sizes and workload, though queuing had begun to reduce portfolios slightly and cases awaiting decision remained steady at around 80, an improvement on the previous backlog. She also reported that applications had reached 1,800 for the year to date, surpassing the Commission’s previous highest annual intake.
7. Casework Report including Forensic Opportunities Programme
The Director of Casework reported continued strong referrals performance and good progress on the Forensic Opportunities Programme, with 690 Phase 2 assessments completed and around 40 cases with ongoing enquiries. Some recent forensic results were not supportive of the applications, which she noted was expected within the programme.
On IPP cases, at least two of the three referrals had been listed for hearing on 22 April, with a judgment expected soon after. The Commission currently holds around 150 open IPP cases.
Regarding the Henley recommendations, most activity had now transitioned to business as usual. The remaining items related to completion of the DNA Casework Guidance review and rollout of new DNA database functionality in April, which would enable the Commission to flag interest in relevant profiles. The Director of Casework recommended ceasing Henley reporting following publication of the Annual Report, as the work was now fully embedded.
She also provided a short update on current high‑profile cases.
8. Exit Strategy
A phased plan was proposed to reduce and ultimately eliminate the queued cases from June onwards by allocating more cases than are added each month. The approach was deliberately conservative in estimating capacity. For Type 1 cases, three methods would be used: deploying two experienced CRMs alongside the two new starters to focus on Type 1 work; periodic “surge” weeks where selected CRMs concentrated solely on queued Type 1 cases; and limited use of overtime. Type 2 at‑liberty cases would be absorbed through normal allocations. The success of the plan depended on stable CRM capacity and case volumes. Work had begun to track queue size, case age and allocation timelines, and this monitoring would be added to the monthly Board management information pack.
9. PND Reconnection
The Board received an update on progress to restore the CCRC’s access to the Police National Database (PND), which was lost following the move to 23 Stephenson Street. In the absence of direct access, staff currently rely on Section 17 requests, which were noted to be slower and less effective. The Board noted the proposal to meet the PND access requirement by submitting limited intelligence reports in relevant cases, with data no broader than that currently provided under Section 17 and subject to appropriate safeguards. This would support CPIA evidence‑retention requirements identified through the Forensic Opportunities Programme and enable case flagging for future intelligence updates. The Board noted that reconnection would incur no additional cost beyond standard licensing fees and would improve access for both live and closed cases. Issues accessing Northern Ireland records were also noted, and further discussions were agreed to explore potential access via Causeway.
10. Indicative Budget
The Director of Finance and Corporate Services introduced the paper. The Board noted that the CCRC had secured over £1m in additional funding, a positive outcome relative to other ALBs, following bids highlighting pressures for 2026/27. However, significant challenges remain in deploying this funding effectively due to persistent difficulties recruiting and retaining Case Review Managers (CRMs).
The CCRC was forecasting its first overspend in seven years, driven largely by Review costs, while pay budgets continue to underspend due to recruitment gaps. Despite increased Commissioner capacity in 2025/26, projections show open cases would not reduce until 2031 without further intervention.
The Board noted ongoing recruitment challenges within the CRM function. Actions underway include enhanced advertising, improved recruitment materials, stronger early candidate filtering, and mitigations such as converting trainees, using Kalisher interns, and more flexible use of paralegal. The Board also discussed structural issues affecting CRM workload and support, including measures to reduce administrative burdens.
The Board discussed CRM pay levels; market evidence was mixed and previous MoJ requests for pay flexibility had been declined. The draft budget and resourcing plan would be updated following confirmation of the MoJ settlement and returned to the Board for final consideration, with further Board input invited.
11. Cyber Security
Peter Ryan introduced the paper, and Hannah Taylor presented it to the Board. The Board noted that the Red Team ethical hacking exercise by Arista (£27k) was nearing completion. An interim report identified 24 findings (10 high, 10 medium) across infrastructure, firewalls, DLP and SharePoint. While core controls were in place, configuration weaknesses resulted in broader user access than intended; no evidence of staff misuse was found. A 90‑day remediation plan was underway, with high‑priority actions already in progress (£3k spent). The Board noted progress on the organisation’s technology and information management improvement programmes. The work identified a number of areas for continued development and enhancement, which are being taken forward as part of the ongoing improvement plan. Options for MoJ oversight via LawTech and the development of a sandbox environment were noted. A full update would be provided to the Board in May. Commissioner Higgins noted that Commissioners had some concerns regarding the proposed tighter use of permissions. It was agreed that this should be recorded as a point of caution.
12. Comms Update
A written Comms update would be provided by Paul Napier after the meeting.
13. Any Other Business
Courts & Tribunals Bill:
The Director of Casework outlined the Courts & Tribunals Bill provisions affecting the CCRC. Crown Court appeals would align with Court of Appeal procedures, including a new “substantial injustice” test for referrals based on legal developments, which should not cause operational issues as the CCRC already applied a similar approach. The provision preventing harsher sentences following a CCRC referral had been removed; the Bill now clearly prevented worse outcomes, making the removal non‑problematic. Commissioner Higgins also raised a note of caution regarding the need to safeguard the “no worse off” principle (notably s11(6)) and expressed appreciation for the Director of Casework’s explanation. The Director of Casework would also review other relevant proposals (including bad character/false confession amendments) and circulate a briefing note to the Board.
Board minutes archive
Our archive of meetings goes back to April 2020, allowing you to review the decisions and discussions made by the Commission since then.