Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Lucy Frew and Vivienne Littlechild.

There were none.

To approve the public minutes and summary of the Barbican Centre Board meeting held on 15 July 2015.

The public minutes and summary of the Board meeting held on 15 July 2015 were approved.

To receive the draft public minutes and summary of the Finance Committee of the Barbican Centre Board meeting held on 30 September 2015 (TO FOLLOW).

The draft public minutes and summary of the meeting of the Finance Committee of the Barbican Centre Board held on 30 September 2015 were received.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Board received a report of the Town Clerk setting out the outstanding actions list and noted the various updates and additions.

Flying System: The Head of Projects informed Members that, due to the turnaround times between the forthcoming Royal Shakespeare Company production and the end of the Hamlet production, it was likely that the outstanding fix might not be implemented until January or possibly the summer. However, workarounds were in place and there were no safety implications associated with any delay.

Board Composition: The Chairman advised that he was continuing to work on the report and provided Members with a brief summary of the issues that he had been considering. He sought and obtained confirmation from the Board that they would like to seek approval to increase the number of external Members on the Board by two.

Report of the Managing Director.

Members received a report of the Managing Director providing updates from the Barbican Directors on their respective areas. The Directors spoke to each update, with a number of questions asked and comments subsequently made by Board Members.

A Member, also the Chairman of the Education Board, commented positively on the work being done by the Creative Learning department as part of the cultural hub scoping exercise, which was drawing together the extent of cultural educational work across the totality of City departments. The work of cultural institutions in supporting education was also becoming an increasing area of focus for central government.

In response to queries around the financial benefits to the Centre of the Antigone production, which was currently touring, the Director of Arts undertook to provide the relevant financial information for the next meeting. The Managing Director also advised that Members would be provided with the financial information relating to the benefits accruing from the Hamlet production at the same time.

Responding to questions around the Hamlet production, the Managing Director advised that it was too early to analyse the full suite of lessons learnt as the production was continuing to run until the end of October. However, a number of points were already apparent, such as the issues associated with the amount of time that front of house management had needed to allocate to deal with the volume of fans.

A Member commented on the range of new audience members attracted to the Barbican by Hamlet, which meshed well with the Centre’s vision of Arts Without Boundaries. The Managing Director echoed the Member’s comments, observing that 56% of those booking tickets for the show were booking tickets for an event at the Barbican for the first time. Not only this, but it was apparent that a significant proportion

Report of the Head of HR, Barbican Centre.

The Board received a report of the Head of HR presenting an Equality and Diversity Action Plan for the Centre, with particular reference to the planned efforts over the coming year and the intent to gather and analyse a greater range of data to inform future activity.

In response to queries as to how the four initial focus areas had been selected, the Head of HR advised that in view of the present lack of data across the board it had been felt sensible to focus first on those areas where it was sensed that the Centre was underperforming, without significant data being needed to underpin these assumptions, and where a quick impact could be made. This would ensure that progress could be affected whilst data collection to inform other areas of work in future years took place simultaneously.

A Member urged that consideration be given to a focus on sexual orientation and LGBT issues in future years, as too often within the arts sector an implicit and sometimes unwarranted belief that there were no issues was taken for granted; it was also suggested that Stonewall’s best practice guidance around data collection could be particularly useful. The Head of HR thanked the Member for his comments and advised that the Corporation had recently employed an expert to provide advice and establish a number of diversity groups across the Corporation, including the Barbican Centre.

A Member observed that the language used within the strategy was sometimes difficult to penetrate and thus could cause difficulties in facilitating an understanding of what the Centre was seeking to measure; it was urged that clear wording and communication be used. The Head of HR agreed that it would be important to avoid jargon and advised that the Barbican’s Communications team would be exploring this issue

Report of the Director of Operations & Buildings.

The Board considered a report of the Managing Director providing the lessons learnt from a project to migrate plant to a new Building Energy Management System, and recommending the project’s closure.

The Chairman advised that the report had been well-received by the Projects Sub Committee, which had also approved the project’s closure at a recent meeting.

RESOLVED: that the lessons learnt be noted and, following processing of the final contractors payment, the project be closed

There were no questions.

There were no urgent items.

MOTION – That under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items, on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of Exempt Information, as defined in Part 1, of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act

RESOLVED – That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

To agree the non-public Minutes of the Barbican Centre Board meeting held on 15 July 2015.

The non-public minutes of the Board meeting held on 15 July 2015 were approved.

To receive the draft non-public minutes of the Finance Committee of the Barbican Centre Board held on 30 September 2015 (TO FOLLOW).

The draft non-public minutes of the meeting of the Finance Committee of the Barbican Centre Board held on 30 September 2015 were received.

Report of the Managing Director (TO FOLLOW).

The Board received a report of the Managing Director setting out the performance review for 2014/15 and outlining future prospects.

Report of the Director of Audiences & Development.

The Board received a report of the Director of Audiences & Development providing an update on progress made in respect of the Centre’s new five-year strategic plan.

Report of the Managing Director.

The Board received a report of the Managing Director providing an update on the Centre’s progress in meeting the Service Based Review targets.

Report of the Vice Principal and Director of Music, Guildhall School of Music & Drama.

The Board received a report of the Vice Principal and Director of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, which provided an update on the review of under 18 music provision and its integration across the Barbican and Guildhall School.

Report of the Chief Operating & Financial Officer.

The Board received a report of the Chief Operating & Financial Officer presenting the Business Review for the Period 5 Accounts 2015/16.

Report of the Chief Operating & Financial Officer.

The Board received a report of the Chief Operating & Financial Officer which set out the latest fundraising results against budget.

Report of the Director of Operations & Buildings.

The Board considered and approved report of the Director of Operations & Buildings providing an update on the Barbican Centre’s Capital Cap programme and a number of non-Capital Cap projects.

Report of the Director of Operations & Buildings.

The Board considered and approved a report of the Director of Operations & Buildings proposing a project to replace the theatre main house light dimmers and the pit theatre dimmers and control.

Report of the Managing Director.

The Board considered and approved a report of the Managing Director proposing investment to create a new retail space within the Barbican foyer.

----

RESOLVED: With two hours having elapsed since the start of the meeting, in accordance with Standing Order No. 40 the Committee agreed at this point to extend the meeting by up to thirty minutes.

----

Report of the Managing Director.

The Board considered and approved a report of the Managing Director outlining the preferred options for the delivery of a number of projects to take place within the Concert Hall during 2016.

Report of the Managing Director.

The Board considered and approved a report of the Managing Director proposing the preferred option for the refurbishment of Level 4 of Frobisher Crescent.

Report of the Managing Director.

The Board considered a report of the Managing Director providing the lessons learnt from a project to refurbishment Garden Room, Conservatory and Conservatory Terrace, and the Level 3 Toilets, and recommending the project’s closure.

Report of the Director of Operations & Buildings.

The Board received a report of the Director of Operations & Buildings providing an update on the status of all ongoing projects across the Barbican campus.

Report of the Chief Operating & Financial Officer.

The Board received a report of the Managing Director updating Members on the key risks facing the Centre and detailing the steps being taken to mitigate these risks.

There were two questions.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the Chairman also took the opportunity to thank the Director of Audiences & Development, noting that this would be her last Board meeting before her departure to take up post as the new Managing Director of the Welsh National Opera. He took the opportunity to express his sincere gratitude on behalf of the Committee for the outstanding work she had delivered during her tenure and wished her good luck in her new role.