Minutes of the Meeting of the Corporation Held On

BOURNVILLECOLLEGE OF FURTHER EDUCATION

CORPORATION

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE CORPORATION HELD ON

11th JULY 2012

Present:

Staff:Ms A. Elson.

Student:Mr M. Koziol.

Principal:Mr N. Cave.

In attendance:Ms A. Mitchell, Mrs K. Sykes, Mr R. Garcha, Mr B. Hartland, Mr R. Smith and Mr D. Collins.

Apologies

Apologies were received from Mr H. Saycell and Mr J. Hepburn

Conflicts of Interest

There were no conflicts of interest to report

Appointment of Chair

The Chair thanked members for placing their trust in him to carry out the role of Chair and stated that he believed it was a privilege to take on this new responsibility. The Chair also paid tribute to the excellent leadership provided by the outgoing Chair. He commented that Mr Saycell had helped to steer the college through exciting but challenging times and had done so with considerable skill, and with an inspirational approach that was both determined and affable. Members concurred with the Chair and asked that an excerpt of these minutes be sent to Mr Saycell to express members’ appreciation.

The Chair welcomed Mr Simkins to his first meeting of the Corporation since becoming a governor in April 2012. Members were pleased to note that Mr Simkins had been elected as Chair of the Audit Committee and recognised the skills and experience that Mr Simkins was able to bring to this role. The Chair also welcomed Mr Collins to the meeting and advised members that Mr Collins would be presenting a number of agenda items during the meeting. Members were also pleased to congratulate Mr Collins on his appointment as a member of the Senior Management Team from 1st September 2012.

Appointment of Vice Chair

The Vice Chair thanked members and stated that he looked forward to carrying out this new role.

Minutes

Matters Arising

The Clerk to the Corporation advised that, in accordance with the authority of the Corporation, the Principal and the outgoing Chair had approved the establishment of a company through which college commercial businesses can be operated.

Search Committee

The report and draft minutes of the meeting of the Search Committee held on 30th April 2012 were submitted. The Chair confirmed that interviews with Mr Simkins and Mrs Coward had taken place, and that Mr Simkins had been appointed for a term of four years with effect from 30th April 2012, subject to review after one year. He also advised that the committee recommended the appointment of Mrs Coward. It was noted that the committee had recommended the reappointment of Mr Upton as his term of office would shortly come to an end. In addition, the Chair asked that the Corporation consider his own reappointment as his term of office would also shortly expire. It was noted that the committee had been unable to consider this matter due to issues of quoracy.

The Clerk advised that the election of a nominee for the position of staff governor had now taken place, which had resulted in Ms A. Elson being nominated. The Chair recommended Ms Elson’s appointment based on the outcome of this election.

The Chair also advised members that Cllr Huxtable would be leaving the Corporation on completion of his current term of office on 14th December 2012. He thanked Cllr Huxtable for his considerable support during his eight years as a governor, although it was noted that Cllr Huxtable’s final meeting would not be until the Corporation meeting during the next term. The Chair advised members that the committee had considered available applicants for the forthcoming vacancy and had recommended the appointment of Mr M. Terry who had recently left the Corporation but had expressed an ongoing willingness to take up the role again should an opportunity arise.

(Mrs Coward and Ms Elson were invited to join the meeting at this point and were welcomed by the Chair and other members)

Budget 2012/13

Draft Budget

The Corporation considered a presentation by the Director of Finance, which set out the draft Annual Budget for the year ended 31st July 2013, revised draft Tuition Fees Policy and draft Financial Plan. It was noted that the draft budget had been considered in detail by the Employment Policy & Finance Committee.

The Director of Finance outlined the background and key themes for the budget. This included four key areas of focus to increase income during the year, namely, Apprenticeships, Full Cost Recovery, 16-18 Funding and International. It was noted that the budget expected an overall increase in income of around £2.7M. It was recognised that this would necessitate an increase in both pay and non-pay budgets. Staffing plans for 2012/13 were discussed and the Director advised that the pay budget allowed for 25 new teaching posts, as well as expected incremental progression costs and a proposed pay award.

The headline budget figures were noted, including a predicted annual operating deficit of £682K, Non-Pay expenditure of £15.6M and Pay expenditure of £17.7M. The Director summarised the key year-on-year changes. It was noted that the proposed pay budget represented a pay as a percentage of income figure of 57%, which was below the sector average of 62%.The Director also outlined the components of both Non-Pay and Pay expenditure in more detail. Members discussed some key points in detail, including an increase in the Estates expenditure budget, resulting from a number of factors including an end to the rent free period at 2 Devon Way.

(Cllr Douglas Osborn, Miss Kaya and Mr Koziol joined the meeting at this point in proceedings)

The Director advised members in relation to the college’s current and forecast solvency factors, including cash balances, capital position and liquidity. It was acknowledged that 2012/13 would be financially challenging, although members acknowledged that the college’s position remained solvent. However, the Chair of the Audit Committee sought members’ views in relation to setting a further deficit budget and asked the Principal whether the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) was comfortable with these proposals. The Principal confirmed that the deficit budget was in line with longer term financial planning, which had been subject to Corporation approval and had been pre-advised to the SFA. The Chair of the Employment Policy & Finance Committee commented that the budget appeared sensibly conservative, with clear indication of each element being appropriately considered. He added that this was indicated by increases in income expectations in some areas, and decreases or maintained levels in others. Members also commented on the challenges presented by the New Build Project and, in particular, the need to value engineer the project following a significant and short notice reduction in build cost. Members acknowledged that the Senior Management Team had shown effective control of finances in these difficult circumstances.

Draft Tuition Fees Policy

The Director outlined the key elements of the draft Tuition Fees Policy and it was noted that there were no significant changes from the current year. However, it was noted that the policy now included provision for setting fees for International courses.

Draft Financial Plan 2013-15

The Director of Finance reported on the three year financial plan for the period to the end of July 2015. The Director stressed that the plan would be subject to potential changes during the course of the period as the levels of future funding within the sector were uncertain. The Director drew members’ attention to the key highlights within his presentation, including expected levels of growth in income and expenditure. It was noted that the plan forecast that the college would return to operating surplus at the end of 2013/14. It was also noted that cash balances had decreased since the accounting impacts of the new build had come to an end, although cashflow would improve again during the course of plan period. The Director also advised that the plan incorporated taking forward a number of capital proposals that would be discussed later in the meeting.

Members noted that the plan included income growth to £37M by the end of the three year period. The Principal commented that the college retained an ambition to reach £40M of annual income in this period but advised that the plan needed to be sensibly cautious.

Strategic Plan 2012/13

The Vice Principal (Business Development) explained that the Strategic Plan aims to codify the college’s mission, values and strategic priorities, as well as providing detail of how these will be achieved, measured and evaluated. He added that the plan forms a significant part of the college’s progression plans, along with other documents such as the self-assessment report, the financial plan and the property strategy. It was noted that the plan had been reviewed during the recent Governance Development Weekend, including a specific review of the college’s values.

The Vice Principal outlined the process for ongoing review of the plan, including update reports to the Corporation. He also summarised a number of key points within the plan. This included the addition of ‘growth’, ‘diversity’ and ‘openness’ into the value framework and the formation of this framework into a Public Value Statement. It was recognised that these changes had resulted from governor recommendations during the development weekend. The Vice Principal added that, subject to formal approval later in the meeting, this would be the last annual strategic plan as it would be recommended that the process would be altered to introduce three-yearly planning.

Members discussed the links in the plan between strategic objectives and the risk register and noted that the risk register would also be monitored by the Audit Committee throughout the year. Members also discussed the key themes within the plan and how they related to the nine key strategic priorities. The Vice Principal demonstrated how the objectives for each key market within the plan cross referenced to these strategic priorities.

Members noted that the commercial income budget had been significantly reduced year on year but were concerned that the required income still represented an increase of over 200% compared to actual income during 2011/12. The Vice Principal explained that income from the commercial businesses was low in 2011/12 and represented a starting point from which a significant percentage improvement could be achieved. The Principal also added an assurance that the budget figures for 2012/13 for the commercial areas were realistic.

Members discussed the process for challenging the content within the plan and noted the role of each committee in terms of helping to formulate ongoing objectives during normal committee business. The Vice Chair commented that, whilst the mission and key strategic priorities were formulated by the Corporation following discussions with the Senior Management Team, operational delivery remains a management responsibility. He added that the Corporation receives adequate opportunity to challenge or comment on the content.

Governance Matters

The Clerk advised that he had discussed committee membership with the newly-appointed governors and summarised proposed committee membership arrangements. He also recommended that the new Chair should join the Employment Policy & Finance Committee, given the key financial responsibilities attached to the role.

The Clerk drew members’ attention to the provisional governor attendance data for 2011/12 and it was recognised that the year had seen a further improvement following significant improvements in the previous year. It was noted that attendance at Corporation meetings had increased to around 85% compared to 80% in the previous year (and 63% in 2009/10). It was also noted that committee attendance remained strong at 80%. The Clerk confirmed that no governor had failed to attend meetings for a continual period of six months or greater.

Governance Development Weekend

The Clerk provided a summary of the activity included at the recent Governance Development Weekend held at Puckrup Hall, together with a summary of the governors’ feedback. Members agreed that the event had been both enjoyable and informative.

The Clerk outlined specific discussions relating to the Instrument & Articles of Government and new freedoms and flexibilities offered by the Education Act 2011. Members discussed proposals to carry out a research and review process to determine whether changes are required to its committee structure, the information provided to members, and the content of the college’s Instrument & Articles of Government. The Clerk recommended that the AoC ‘sample’ Instrument & Articles are adopted as an interim measure to ensure the Instrument & Articles meet new legislative requirements emanating from the 2011 Act.

It was also noted that the strategic planning period had been discussed and members had concurred during the event that it may be appropriate to revert to three-year strategic planning now that the move to the new campus had been completed.

Arrangements for the following year’s development weekend were discussed and it was agreed that, due to a number of issues relating to the service and facilities at Puckrup Hall, an alternative venue should be used. The Clerk advised that he was currently negotiating arrangements and costs with the Welcombe Hotel in Stratford. He added that he would confirm arrangements with members once arrangements were finalised. It was suggested that the development weekend should take place on 14th and 15th June 2013.

Health, Safety and Welfare Policy

The Assistant Principal (Estates) advised that the Health, Safety & Welfare Policy had been reviewed and no substantive changes were recommended. However, it was noted that a number of minor amendments were required to effect changes to the management structure and responsibilities. It was also noted that the policy contained provision for the Annual Health & Safety Report, which would provide details of relevant activity, statistics and benchmarking data.

AoC India Partnership

The Principal carried out a presentation regarding the recent formation of the AoC India Partnership. He advised that the purpose of the partnership was to develop opportunities for the FE sector in India. Members noted that the growth within India presented significant income opportunities and commented that the college’s company in India demonstrated early recognition of these opportunities by the Principal. The Principal explained that 34 colleges from all parts of the country had either joined the initiative or expressed an intention to do so.