Corporation Board 22 October 2013
CARLISLE COLLEGE CORPORATION
Minutes of the Meeting of Carlisle College Corporation held on Tuesday 22 October 2013 at 5:30pm in Room G38, Carlisle College
PRESENT: Ian Boit, David Carter (Chair), Sheila Don, Craig Johnstone, David Johnston, Aftab Khan, Khaled Pervaz, Lee Tait, Margaret Robb and Moira Tattersall
IN ATTENDANCE: Elaine Price, Steven Salkeld (Assistant Principal) and Gareth Catterson (Temporary Clerk to the Corporation)
01/14 APOLOGIES
Darren Crossley and Robin Hooper
02/14 DECLARATION OF INTERESTS
The Chair reminded governors of the requirement to declare their interests in any agenda items. For any such declaration governors would not be eligible to speak or to vote on the matters under discussion.
03/14 CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES
The Board received the minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 9 July 2013
RESOLVED that the minutes be approved as an accurate record and signed by the Chair.
04/14 COMPLAINTS REVIEW – ANNUAL REPORT 2012/13
The Board received the Annual Complaints Report Academic Year 2012/13 for scrutiny. The Board were asked to note that the College had received 20 formal complaints compared with 16 during the previous year. All complaints, across seven curriculum areas had been resolved satisfactorily with no appeals. None of the complaints were related to equality and diversity (E&D) issues. Action was taken to change practice in a number of areas as a result of the complaints. There had been miscellaneous external complaints about the behaviour of students who, because they were not in uniform, were assumed to be from the College. The Board questioned whether impact issues had been addressed as a result of the complaints regarding teaching in Construction and were informed that a replacement tutor had been used and therefore there was no consequent impact on learning. In answer to a query regarding teacher training placements the Board was informed that it was made clear to students they were responsible for finding their own placements. They could not assume a placement would be found in the College though this was done wherever possible.
RESOLVED that the Annual Complaints Report Academic Year 2012/13 be accepted and noted.
05/14 STAFF SURVEY 2012/13
The Board received the Staff Survey 2012/13 for scrutiny. The Board were asked to note that the College had decided to work with York College’s staff survey that allowed for benchmarking of staff views across 33 colleges. 148 members of staff had participated and the College was ranked in the top four overall. The lowest ranking for any area was eleventh. Three areas for improvement had been identified.
RESOLVED that the Staff Survey 2012/13 be accepted and noted.
Elaine Price left the meeting.
06/14 PROPOSED NEW MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTS FORMAT
The Board was asked to review and comment on the proposed new management accounts format laid out in a report by the Assistant Principal. The format was based on the most appropriate of two sets of model management accounts recently produced by the Association of Colleges (AoC). The Board considered the RAG rated “Headlines” section to be very helpful and understandable. However, the report was still considered to be too long, and the amount of information was not needed on a monthly basis. For example cash flow forecasts could be received on a termly basis, preferably in a graphical format. Appendix 2 detailing where the Contribution is coming from was deemed very important as it highlighted overstaffing or low class numbers. The Board questioned whether central overheads would be allocated and were informed that this would be very difficult to do equitably and therefore Contribution consisted only of direct costs. The length of the report was discussed further with some Board members liking the detail into which they could drill down if they so required. The Board asked for the key risks to be drawn out and highlighted more clearly.
RESOLVED that the proposed new management accounts format be approved and implemented subject to the changes discussed.
07/14 TERMLY HR REPORT
The Board received the Termly HR Report for scrutiny. Information contained in the report consisted of:
· Establishment figures
· Labour turnover
· Annual sickness absence rates
· Teaching Qualifications
· Performance management reviews
· Trade union relations
· Safeguarding and staff
· Legislation Changes
Concern was expressed regarding the increase in sickness and the Board asked if this was similar to a previous high incidence of sickness. They were informed that the incidence was not as high as previously and was attributable to a random spike in the number of operations/major illnesses. In these cases the services of Occupational Health were used and often a phased return was recommended, ensuring a very supportive approach to return to work.
RESOLVED that the Termly HR Report be accepted and noted.
08/14 EXCEPTIONS TO TENDER REGULATIONS ANNUAL REPORT 2012/13
The Board received the Exceptions to Tender Regulations Annual Report 2012/13 for information. It highlighted five occurrences where a full tender process had not been used and gave the reasons for this. It was explained that this was not a retrospective process as the exceptions had already been approved by the Principal and Vice Principal, as allowed by the Financial Regulations.
RESOLVED that the Exceptions to Tender Regulations Annual Report 2012/13 be accepted and noted.
09/14 PAY AWARD
The Board received details of the current situation in respect of proposals for the pay award for 2012/13. The AoC had undertaken collective negotiations with relevant trade unions before making a recommendation to member colleges on a pay award as follows:
· A consolidated salary increase of £282 for staff earning equivalent to spine point 4 of the AoC harmonised pay scale (£14,052); and
· A consolidated salary increase of 0.7% for all other staff.
The Board was informed that the AoC recommendation had been accepted by all trade unions except the University and College Union (UCU), who would declare a dispute unless 5% was offered. The recommendation by the AoC was affordable and the Board was informed that it would be appreciated by staff if the award could be agreed quickly in order to ensure it was paid before Christmas. The expected cost of implementing the AoC offer was £42k for established staff and was within budgeted levels. The Board asked how many UCU members there were in the College and were informed that this information was not available. The award would effectively be imposed on any UCU members, though they were entitled to refuse it if they so wished. With respect to the Board’s expressed concerns regarding payment of a living wage they were assured that no one on the payroll fell into this category.
RESOLVED that the staff pay award recommended by the AoC, as detailed, be approved and implemented from 1 August 2013.
10/14 MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTS - JULY 2013
The Board received the Management Accounts, as at 31 July 2013, for scrutiny. These accounts were in draft form and would be presented to the December meeting as the end of year accounts upon completion of a satisfactory audit. Information was included on:
· a commentary detailing major issues in respect of the accounts
· summary of income and expenditure account
· reconciliation of forecast movements
· balance sheet
· capital expenditure
· rolling cash flow forecast
The Board was pleased to note that there was a favourable variance in the pre FRS17 operating surplus of £100k compared to the original budget of £8k. There was some discussion around the provision of the Learner Support Fund. The Board was assured that the College looked positively at the business, moral and curriculum cases if allocations were exceeded. There was never an intention to underspend in this area. The Board sought clarification with respect to the Financial Ratios and were informed that 2-3% was considered satisfactory, and 5-6%, good.
RESOLVED that the Management Accounts, as at 31 July 2013 be accepted and noted.
11/14 STRATEGIC PLAN MONITORING REPORT – OUTTURN FOR 2012/13 AND TEMPLATE FOR 2013/14
The Board received the Strategic Plan Monitoring Report for scrutiny. It presented the draft outturn position in the standard format. There were no surprises, with the report being in line with previous reports.
The Principal drew the Board’s attention to Appendix 2 of her report that set out the items under both Quality Data and Student Numbers & Finance that are included in reports to the Board. These were items that should be monitored; however, it was clear from this information that there was considerable overlap between reports. She suggested that the Teaching and Learning Report be presented termly and that the current Principal’s Briefing be absorbed into a Principal’s Report to the Board. This would also include “nice to know” information, such as students success in competitions etc.
When the Board were asked to indicate their preferences, they expressed a desire to continue receiving the Principal’s Briefing as it provided a reminder on how items fit into the governance framework. A termly Principal’s Report should provide an overview, contextualising and reflecting on changes to provide a qualitative understanding.
RESOLVED that the Monitoring Report – Key Strategies for the Academic Year 2012/13 be accepted and noted and changes in reporting, as identified above, be approved.
12/14 GOVERNANCE SELF-ASSESSMENT
The Board received the notes of the self-assessment workshop held on the 9 July 2013 for approval.
RESOLVED that the notes of the self-assessment workshop held on the 9 July 2013 be approved as a fair refection of the process and outcomes.
13/14 STAFF GOVERNOR ELECTIONS
The Board received a report prepared by the previous Clerk, and supported by the Temporary Clerk, regarding an amendment to the timing of Staff Governor elections. It was noted that the existing Staff Governor was prepared to continue in post until the end of the academic year 2013/14 if amendments were approved.
RESOLVED that the Staff Governor election be moved to the May of every second year, with the appointment ratified at the following July Board and the term to commence on the subsequent 1st September.
14/14 FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ANNUAL REPORT
The Board received the annual monitoring report on requests submitted to College under the Freedom of Information Act for 2012/13. The Board noted that there had been a slight reduction in the number of requests compared to the previous year. Of the nine requests received, eight had been complied with and one had been declined. All requests had been dealt with within the required timescale.
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RESOLVED that the Freedom of Information Annual Report be accepted and noted.
RESOLVED that, as the items to be discussed related to commercially sensitive information, as well as information regarding the terms and conditions of service of senior post holders, the Board moved into confidential session.
The meeting closed at 7:20 pm