Northern Regional College

NORTHERN REGIONAL COLLEGE

GOVERNING BODY

Minutes of the meeting of the Governing Body held at 5.30 pm on 20 November 2013 at the Farm Lodge Ballymena Campus, Northern Regional College

Present Mr G Gilpin (Chairperson), Mr T Neilands (Principal), Mrs I Allison,
Alderman J Brown, Mrs K Collins, Mrs J Eve, Mr I Goldsworthy, Mr R Jay,
Mr S Kelly, Mr A Kennedy, Alderman PJ McAvoy, Mrs G McConnell,
Mr M Murray and Mrs A Rankin

In Attendance Mrs B Crotty, Mrs C Moore, Dr C O’Mullan and Mr JA Hunter

UNRESERVED BUSINESS

50.1 Apologies

Apologies were received from Mr S Davidson, Dr D Lennox, Mr S McCartney and
Mr K Nelson. The Chair said that he had visited Mr Nelson recently and had found him in good spirits. He added that Mr Nelson would have to undergo further surgery in the near future.

50.2 Declaration of Interests

There were no declarations of interests.

50.3 Minutes of Last Meeting

The minutes of the last meeting of the Governing Body held on 16 October 2013 were approved.

50.4 Matters Arising

There were no matters arising from the minutes of the last meeting.

50.5 Chair’s Communications

The Chair referred to the following issues:

a) Engagements. The Chair stated that he had attended a number of meetings with representatives from DEL and KPMG since the last meeting. He had also attended an EMT meeting and had met with the Principal on two occasions.

b) Governors’ Council. The Chair reminded members that the next Governors’ Council has been scheduled for 3 December 2013 at 6.00 pm at the Dunadry, Templepatrick.

c) Appraisals. The Chair stated that he had now completed and forwarded Governors’ appraisals to DEL

50.6 Principal’s Report

The Principal referred to the following developments detailed in his Report to the Governing Body:

a) Quality Assurance Agency. The Principal provided a letter from the QAA providing provisional judgements in respect of its Summative Review (5-7 November 2013). He said that the College had achieved the best possible outcome for all three core themes:

(i) Core Theme 1 Academic Standards. The QAA Team had confidence that the College discharges its responsibilities effectively;

(ii) Core Theme 2 Quality of Learning Opportunities. The Team had confidence that the College discharges its responsibilities effectively;

(iii) Core Theme 3 Public Information. The Team concluded that reliance can be placed on the accuracy and completeness of the information that the College is responsible for publishing about itself and the programmes it delivers.

The Principal stated that QAA would send the College the draft Summative Review Report by the middle of December, which would be too late for the Education Committee scheduled for 10 December 2013. The Report would be circulated to the Governing Body (29 January 2014) and the Education Committee (25 February 2014).

The Chair congratulated all those, who had contributed to this favourable outcome.

b) UK Skills. The UK Skills event will take place in Birmingham on 13-16 November 2013. NRC has five competitors taking part in the skills areas of Mechatronics and Industrial Electronics. A group of Hospitality students will also be participating in a showcase event.

c) Link with Kansas State University. Two members of staff from the Counselling Section of the School of Social Care and Early Years spent the week of 10-15 November 2013 at Kansas State University.

d) Saudi Arabia. Colleges Northern Ireland has reached the second stage in a bid to manage a cluster of new vocational colleges in Saudi Arabia.

e) Manchester United Soccer School. The official launch of the Manchester United Soccer School will take place on 5 or 6 December 2013.

f) HE Graduation. The HE Graduation ceremonies will take place on 12 December 2013 at the Dunadry, Templepatrick.

g) Belfast Telegraph Articles. Features on two members of Staff, Mr Bill Watson and
Mr Tom Heaney, have appeared in the Belfast Telegraph.

h) Meetings and Events. The Principal provided details of a number of significant meetings and events he attended since the last meeting of the Governing Body.

50.7 Balanced Scorecard

The Governing Body received a Report providing details of the following:

a) Final 2012/2013 Balanced Scorecard 2012/2013.

b) Balanced Scorecard 2013/2014. It was noted that information is not available for a number of targets at this early stage of the year. Reference was made to the FLU target, which reflected an additional allocation of 34 FLUs. It was noted that the FLU target came with a 2% tolerance. A Governor observed that the College had already exceeded its Entitlement Framework (EF) target despite the fact that the future of EF is unclear. A Governor expressed disappointment with the target for the generation of income by means of Business Development activity and suggested that it should have been pitched at a higher level.

50.8 Review of Financial Controls and Key Processes

The Governing Body noted that KPMG had provided a draft of the first section of the report relating to the Review of the effectiveness of the financial controls and key processes within the College. It was anticipated that a complete draft report would be available during the forthcoming week, which may require some adjustments to the Annual Report and Financial Statements. It was noted that this need not delay the approval process relating to the Annual Report and Financial Statements. The Governing Body could approve the document in principle and Governors could be requested electronically to approve any necessary adjustments

50.9 Correspondence

The Governing Body noted the following correspondence:

a) Correspondence from DEL, dated 22 October 2013, indicating that it is in a position to progress the exercise to engage an external consultancy to undertake a ‘Stock-Take Analysis’ designed to improve the economy, efficiency and effectiveness in the management or operation of the College. It was anticipated that the exercise would commence in early January 2014 and conclude in late March 2014. Governors stressed the need for the Governing Body to have an input regarding the Terms of Reference of the exercise. It was suggested that the Chair and the Principal should discuss this matter with DEL

b) Correspondence from Councillor Paul Frew MLA, dated 17 October 2013, regarding the Minister’s proposals for the revision of the Common Funding Formula.

c) Correspondence from DEL, dated 5 November 2013, indicating that DEL intends to meet biannually with Chairs of FE College Governing Bodies to provide them with an opportunity to engage directly with the Department as a group.

50.10 Audit Committee

The Governing Body received the minutes of the meeting of the Audit Committee held on
12 November 2013. Mrs Rankin, the Chair of the Audit Committee, drew attention to:

a) Pre-Meeting with Auditors. The Audit Committee, less staff representatives, met with the Internal and External Auditors and representatives from DEL and NIAO prior to the meeting. Mr O’Brien (KPMG) provided an update regarding progress in respect of the Review commissioned to validate the factors giving rise to the unplanned deficit, and to provide an outline assessment of the robustness of the 2013/14 budget within the College. He advised that no contrary views were anticipated and that the Review was likely to confirm the views of Management expressed in the Report on the Financial Out-Turn 2012/2013 presented to the Finance and General Purposes Committee (16 September 2013) and the Governing Body (16 October 2013).

b) Annual Audit Committee Report 2012/2013. The Committee received a copy of the revised Audit Committee Annual Report 2012/2013 for submission by the Chair of the Audit Committee to the Governing Body and subsequently to DEL. The Chair referred Governors to the revised Report, which she intended to submit to the Department.

c) Internal Audit Update. The Internal Auditors presented the following documents:

(i) Revised Annual Statement of Assurance for 2012/2013. On the basis of the programme of work performed during 2012/2013 the Internal Auditors stated that they have concluded that the Northern Regional College has established procedures that are adequate to meet management’s control objectives in the systems audited and have provided a Satisfactory level of assurance over the control environment at the organisation except for Budgetary Control, which would receive a limited assurance rating.

(ii) Progress Report against Audit Plan for 2013/2014. The Internal Auditors presented a Progress Report providing details of the status of the programme of work detailed in the Annual Audit Plan for 2013/2014.

(iii) Updated Internal Audit Strategy (2012/2013 – 2014/2015) and Annual Plan (2013/2014). The Internal Auditors provided a proposed updated Strategic Audit Plan for 2012/2015 and proposed revisions to the Operational Audit Plan for 2013/2014. It was noted that changes had been made to the Audit Plan 2013/2014 to allow for a sector wide review of prompt payment to be carried out. The Committee agreed that the changes be approved

d) Annual Assurance Return 2012/2013. The Committee noted the Annual Assurance Return 2012/2013, prepared by the Principal, for submission to DEL by 30 November 2013.

e) Purchase Order Direct Award Contracts. The Committee received details of Direct Award Contracts for the months of September and October 2013. It was noted that in future the reporting format would indicate the reasons for the actions taken in regard to purchases.

A cover sheet has been provided for Governors giving details of the following issues considered at the meeting on 12 November 2013.

a) Presentation Risk Management. The Committee received a presentation from Mrs Moore, Director of Finance and Corporate Development, on risks associated with the staffing domain

b) Review of Financial Controls and Key Processes. The Internal Auditors provided a verbal update regarding the Review being undertaken within the College, as noted in the pre-meeting minutes above. Mr O’Brien (KPMG) advised the Committee that KPMG would be providing a satisfactory level of assurance over the control environment at the College except for budgetary control, which would be limited.

c) Statement of Recommended Practice. The Chair stated that she had written to KPMG to express thanks for an informative meeting regarding the implementation of the new SORP, which will be International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) compliant. It was noted that the requirement to produce accounts compliant with IFRS will firstly be effective for the financial year 2015/2016.

d) Correspondence. The Committee noted correspondence from DEL indicating that until such times as CPD is able to fully take on the procurement role for Colleges, decisions for direct award contracts <£30k will remain the responsibility of the College and there is no longer a requirement to forward DAC1 forms to the Department for guidance. John Smith, DEL, has agreed to act as proxy for DAC1s >£30k.

e) Risk Management Group. The Group updated the College Risk Register and forwarded a copy of the revised College Risk Register to the Audit Committee and Governing Body

50.11 Report To Those Charged With Governance

The Committee received the Report To Those Charged With Governance (RTTCWG) from the Northern Ireland Audit Office on the audit of the Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 July 2013. Mrs Rankin informed the Governing Body that the Report had been scrutinised by the Audit Committee (12 November 2013). The Committee had noted that the Comptroller and Auditor General would be issuing a qualified audit opinion as there was an issue during 2012/2013 concerning the approval process of the pay progression increments to staff. The Director of Finance and Corporate Development advised that NIAO was still awaiting a decision from DFP before making a statement on the issue

Mrs Rankin drew attention to the section dealing with Audit Findings, which made a number of recommendations to the College regarding issues arising from the final audit. She stated that management’s response, which addressed these findings, had been appended to the Report.

50.12 Annual Report and Financial Statements

The Committee received the Annual Report and Financial Statements 2012/2013, which indicate that the College has reported an historic cost deficit of £1,447k during the financial year 2012/2013, exceeding the projected out-turn by £1,118k. Mrs Moore said that the Audit Committee (12 November 2013) had scrutinised the Report and had recommended that the Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 July 2013 be adopted for submission to the Department. It was noted that adjustments from the RTTCWG from the NIAO and from the KPMG Review would be necessary prior to submission to the Department.

The Governing Body agreed that:

a) The Annual Report and Financial Statements 2012/2013 be adopted, in principle, subject to any necessary adjustments.

b) The Chair should sign-off the document for submission to DEL in the forthcoming week.

50.13 Finance and General Purposes Committee

The Governing Body received the minutes of the meeting of the Finance and General Purposes Committee held on 4 November 2013. Mrs Collins, the Chair of the Finance and General Purposes Committee, drew attention to:

a) NRC Fees Policy and Regulations. The Committee received a copy of the revised Fees Policy and Fees Regulations for 2014/2015. It was noted that a number of changes had been made to the document. The Committee endorsed and forwarded the Fees Policy and Regulations for 2014/2015 to the Governing Body for approval.

The Governing Body approved the NRC Fees and Regulations for 2014/2015.

b) Monthly Management Accounts. The Monthly Management Accounts for the period up to 30 September 2013 indicate that the College has an historic cost surplus of £576k (£6k ahead of Budget). It was noted that the Bank Balance as at 30 September 2013 was £1.9 million and that £500,000k had been invested with Santander.

c) Estates Issues. Mrs Crotty, Director of Planning and Customer Services, provided an update regarding the following estates issues:

(i) Disposal of Antrim Campus. The Committee agreed that:

(a) The College should offer the entire site to Fold Housing Association at market value. The Strategic Investment Board has advised against ‘lotting’ of the site for disposal;

(b) Fold Housing Association should be given until 25 November 2013 to indicate whether it is interested in purchasing the whole site;