Board Meeting Summary
Meeting Date: Wednesday 23rd April 2025
REGULATION AND INTEGRITY REVIEW UPDATE
Alan Switzer (Chief Financial Officer, BHA) provided a presentation update on the Deloitte Regulation and Integrity Review.
GREAT BRITISH BONUS (GBB) SCHEME AND PROJECT PACE UPDATES
Philip Newton (Chairman, TBA), Claire Sheppard (Chief Executive, TBA) and Charlotte Newton (GBB Operations Manager, TBA) provided a presentation on the GBB scheme. This was followed by a verbal update on Project Pace by Philip Newton in his capacity as Chair of the Project Pace Steering Group.
VETERINARY RESEARCH GRANTS
The Board confirmed that £2.76m would be made available for new industry funding for equine disease surveillance and veterinary science and education in 2025.
NON-FIXTURE GRANTS UPDATE
The Board received an update on Non-Fixture Grants. Following the update the Board specifically considered its guidelines with a view to adding some wording to provide a recourse for rejected applicants but only under certain criteria and also related to funding salaries as part of grant applications.
RACING WELFARE: WORKFORCE WELLBEING PROGRAMME
The Board agreed to provide funding for the WWP until the end of 2025 with a stipulation that it would expect to see a proposal to develop a sustainable industry funding model thereafter, involving the relevant beneficiaries of the service.
SAVANTA STAKEHOLDER REPORT: ACTION PLAN
The Board considered a proposed action plan which highlighted a number of ideas for HBLB to consider in interacting with its stakeholders, one of which was to provide a regular HBLB newsletter outlining some of its activities, which was welcomed by the Board.
GRANT IMPACTS ASSESSMENT REPORTS
The Board commended the work done on producing the impact assessment reports and approved a proposal to conduct regular externally reviewed impact assessments on two grant recipients each year.
BUSINESS PLAN 2025-2028 UPDATE
The Board received an update on progress for producing the new HBLB Business Plan 2025-2028 and members were invited to provide comments and suggestions before a scheduled publishing date towards the end of June 2025.
MEMBERS’ REGISTER OF INTERESTS
The Board noted the updated Members’ Register of Interests.
CAPITAL CREDIT APPLICATION: KELSO
The Board approved a Capital Credits Grant to Kelso Racecourse of £144,000 towards the cost of the drainage system and to fit out the workshop and stable staff rest area.
MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTS TO 28 FEBRUARY 2025
The Board approved the Management Accounts to 28 February 2025.