Director Training and Development

All Directors have the opportunity for ongoing development and support via:

• A programme of visits to the Support Centre, Distribution Centres, stores and Autocentres.
• Reviews with the Chair to identify any training and development needs.
• Access to the Company Secretary for advice on governance, regulatory and legislative changes affecting the business or their duties as Director.
• Access to independent professional advice at the Company's expense.
• Membership of the Deloitte Academy, a training and guidance resource for Boards and Directors.

Board Appointments

During the year, David Adams stepped down as Senior Independent Director. As detailed in last year's Annual Report, although David's term of appointment was due to expire in Spring 2020, under Corporate Governance guidelines, David agreed to stay until the end of 2020 to ensure continuity for the Board through the COVID-19 pandemic. In August 2020, it was announced that Tom Singer had been appointed as a Non-Executive Director with effect from 16 September 2020. Odgers Berndtson was appointed as advisor to the Committee in the search for external candidates for this role and this process was led by myself as Chair, together with the Committee. Odgers Berndtson does not have any other connection with the Company.

At the AGM, on 15 September 2020, David stepped down as Senior Independent Director, with Helen Jones appointed to cover this position. David continued to act as a Non-Executive Director until 31 December 2020, when he stepped down fully from the Board, and Tom Singer was appointed to cover the position of Chair of the Audit Committee.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Group's Diversity Policy ("Diversity Policy") sets out Halfords' commitment to eliminate discrimination and to encourage diversity and inclusion across the Board of Directors and amongst all colleagues. Halfords' Diversity Policy applies to all activities, including its role as an employer and as a provider of services, ensuring that no colleague, potential colleague, customer, visitor or contractor will receive less favourable treatment on the grounds of gender, race, ethnic origin, disability, age, nationality, national origin, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, religion, beliefs and social class. The Company does not currently publish specific diversity targets but, in practice, it has created a more balanced and diverse Board and Senior Management Team. Half of the Board comprises of women; 37.5% of the Senior Management Team is female and 34% of their direct reports are women. With regard to ethnic diversity, the Board is committed to improving ethnic diversity at Board and senior management level with a target of having at least one person of colour on the Board by December 2023.

Further information regarding diversity and inclusion can be found on Diversity & Inclusion.

Board Succession

The Halfords' Board considers succession planning each year in respect of both Director roles and the Senior Management Team. Senior Executives have well developed skills and experience to fulfil their roles, and their skills are constantly updated as new challenges arise. A key factor in making better decisions is that the business has a diverse range of Directors, Executives and colleagues. Diversity and gender positions are monitored each year to ensure Halfords is able to identify any improvements and benefits.

Looking Ahead

The Strategy of the Company remains on track and the performance during the period has been strong. We will continue to monitor the Digital Transformation and the growth of our garage services business and ensure that the Board has the right mix of skills, diversity and experience to enable this growth to continue.