Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Wendy Mead, Trevor Phillips, Judith Pleasance and Jenny Waldman.

                 There were no declarations.

To approve the public minutes and summary of the Barbican Centre Board meeting held on 18 July 2018.

The public minutes and summary of the Board meeting held on 18 July 2018 were approved, subject to the amendment of two typographical errors on page 2.

APPOINTMENT OF AN EXTERNAL MEMBER

At this point in proceedings, the Chairman asked that item 11 be taken to facilitate the consideration of a proposed new Board Member.

In accordance with Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the Board therefore RESOLVED to exclude the public at this point in order for the item to be considered.

RESOLVED: That Stephen Bediako be appointed to the Barbican Centre Board for an initial term of three years.

FURTHER RESOLVED: That the public be readmitted.

Mr Bediako was invited to join the Board and welcomed to the meeting.

To receive the public minutes of the Finance Committee of the Barbican Centre Board meeting held on 5 September 2018 (TO FOLLOW).

The draft public minutes of the Finance Committee meeting held on 5 September 2018 were received.

To receive the public minutes of the Nominations Committee of the Barbican Centre Board held on 18 July 2018.

The draft public minutes of the Nominations Committee meeting held on 18 July 2018 were received.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Board noted the various outstanding actions and the updates provided thereon.

In relation to the action 5 regarding market sensitive information, the Chairman noted that there were a lot of non-public reports at this meeting which was disappointing in principle; however, it was clear why when reviewing the content. The Chairman stated the need to be as public as possible when reporting to the Board but appreciated that this was not always possible. It was noted that Members could question the decision if they did not feel that a report was market sensitive.

Regarding action 12, the Chairman thanked the team for organising the Business Model Workshop and encouraged Members to attend the workshops as they provided good insight and learning.    

With regards to the Work Programme, Members were advised that the Long-Term Financial Plan would now be reported to the Board with the High-Level Business Plan in March 2019.

RECEIVED.

Report of the Director of Learning & Engagement.

The Board considered a report of the Director of Learning & Engagement providing an update on the Barbican’s approach to digital strategy. The following comments were made:

·         Members were advised that the appendix item had been made non-public before the meeting due to concerns regarding digital security.

·         Members were advised that detailed updates on the progress and impact of individual digital projects and initiatives were now embedded in departmental updates in line with the distributed approach set out in the strategy. The last page of the report provided the next stage for the digital strategy which seeks to align with the City’s Corporate Plan 2018–23.

·         A Member highlighted the importance of staff getting the relevant training to learn how to use and best exploit new technology. It was also noted that it took time for an organisation to adapt to new technologies post-implementation.

·         Members noted concern regarding the management of CRM and agreed this needed to be covered in the risk register to ensure the correct resources and plans were in place.

·         In response to a query regarding the rate of change with regards to the digital revolution, Members were advised that the Centre would continue to keep working on its digital strategy and distributing where they were whilst continuing to track what others were doing. It was noted that gaps in expertise would be filled as the Centre became more digitally minded.

·         A Member queried whether the Centre, which was leading on programming and PR for the Culture Mile, was momentum building on this with C4M and tying in digitally. Members were advised that Culture Mile and C4M were vital and needed to be digitally imbedded in every area; however, it was noted that this was difficult to achieve as the Culture Mile may have a different approach to digital

Report of the Director of Learning & Engagement.

The Board considered a report of the Director of Learning & Engagement concerning the Islington Music Education Hub announcement and the following comments were made:

·         Members were advised that Islington Council were partnering with the Guildhall School and the Barbican to launch a new Islington Music Education Hub from October 2018. It is the first time a Music Education Hub will be led by a local authority, working with an internally renowned conservatoire and in alliance with a leading arts centre.

·         Members saw this project as a great opportunity to show the role of an arts centre in implementing education for young people.

·         In response to a query regarding detailed plans and resources, Members were advised that time was needed to work out how the partnership would work, and the Board would be updated as the initiative developed.

·         It was noted that the appendix item was missing, and the Town Clerk agreed to circulate this to Members via email.

RECEIVED.

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 18 July 2018.

The non-public minutes and summary of the Board meeting held on 18 July 2018 were approved.

To receive the non-public minutes of the Finance Committee of the Barbican Centre Board held on 5 September 2018 (TO FOLLOW).

The draft non-public minutes of the Finance Committee meeting held on 5 September 2018 were received.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Board considered and approved a report of the Town Clerk, proposing the appointment of Lucy Musgrave to the Board for an initial three-year term.

Report of the Managing Director.

The Board considered a report of the Managing Director providing a Performance Review assessment of the 2017/2018 year by the Directors.

Report of the Director of Operations & Buildings.

The Board noted a report of the Director of Operations & Buildings providing Members with an update on the Centre’s building and refurbishment projects that fall under the Capital Cap programme which was due to cease at the end of 2016/17, but funding had been carried forward to allow projects to be completed in 2018/19.

Report of the Chief Operating & Financial Officer.

The Board received a report of the Chief Operating & Financial Officer setting out the Business Review for the 2018 Period 4 accounts.

Report of the Director of Operations & Buildings.

The Board considered a report of the Director of Operations & Buildings providing Members with an update concerning the risk management system in place at the Barbican, the significant risks that have been identified and measures for mitigation of these risks.

Oral update – the Managing Director to be heard.

The Board received an oral update from the Chief Operating & Financial Officer regarding C4M.

There was one question.

There were no urgent items.