Agenda and minutes

It was moved by Deputy Michael Cassidy, duly seconded and

RESOLVED – That Alderman William Russell takes the Chair prior to the election of a Chairman. 

Apologies for absence were received from John Chapman, Michael Hoffman and Jeremy Mayhew.

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive the Order of the Court of Common Council, 25 April 2019, appointing the Board and approving its terms of reference.

The Board noted the Order of the Court of Common Council appointing the Board and approving its terms of reference.

RECEIVED.

To appoint a Chairman in accordance with Standing Order No. 29.

The Town Clerk read the names of those Members eligible to stand as Chairman for the ensuing year. Vivienne Littlechild being the only Member putting themselves forward for the office, it was

RESOLVED – That Vivienne Littlechild be elected as Chairman of the Board of Governors for the ensuing year. 

Upon taking her seat, the Chairman thanked Governors for her election, also welcoming George Abrahams to his first meeting.

To appoint a Deputy Chairman in accordance with Standing Order No. 30.

The Town Clerk read the names of those Members eligible to stand as Deputy Chairman for the ensuing year. Graham Packham being the only Member putting themselves forward for the office, it was

RESOLVED – That Graham Packham be elected as Deputy Chairman of the Board of Governors for the ensuing year. 

Upon taking his seat, the Deputy Chairman thanked Governors for his election.

To agree the public minutes and summary of the meetings held on 19 November 2018 and 18 February 2019.

RESOLVED – That the public minutes of the meetings held on 19 November 2018 and 18 February 2019 be approved as a correct record.

To receive the public minutes of the following meetings:-

Governance and Effectiveness – 1 April 2019

Audit and Risk Management – 16 April 2019

Finance and Resources – 29 April 2019 

Remuneration and Nominations – 29 April 2019 

The public minutes of the Governance and Effectiveness Committee (1 April 2019), Audit and Risk Management Committee (16 April 2019), Finance and Resources Committee (29 April 2019) and Remunerations and Nominations Committee (29 April 2019) were received.

The minutes of the Finance and Resources Committee and Remunerations and Nominations Committee were considered as late items with the agreement of the Chairman.

RECEIVED.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Board had before them the Town Clerk’s report on the appointment of committees, working groups for 2019/20. After discussion it was

RESOLVED – That

(a)  the terms of reference of the Capital Projects Strategic Working Group be amended, to provide for that Working Group to co-opt appropriate persons, and that the chairmanship may also be taken by such a person without residential or electoral interest in the Barbican Estate;

(b)  the quorum for each of the Board’s committees be set at three persons;

(c)   an additional meeting of the Governance and Effectiveness Committee be convened by the Town Clerk, before the next meeting of the Board, to consider a report of the Principal on higher education governance matters and the chairmanship of the Board’s Audit and Risk Management Committee;

(d)  proposed minor revisions to the terms of reference of the Remuneration and Nominations Committee, as agreed by that Committee at its 29 April 2019 meeting, be considered by the Board at its next meeting; and  

(e)  the following appointments be made to the Board’s committees and working groups for 2019/20:-

Audit and Risk Management Committee

Marianne Fredericks (Chairman)

Randall Anderson   

John Chapman   

Ann Holmes (until further appointment of co-opted member(s))  

Finance and Resources Committee

Vivienne Littlechild  (Chairman) 

Graham Packham  (Deputy Chairman) 

George Abrahams   

Professor Geoffrey Crossick   

Lew Hodges (co-opted)  

Michael Hoffman   

Governance & Effectiveness Committee

Professor Geoffrey Crossick   

Professor Maria Delgado   

Marianne Fredericks   

Michael Hoffman   

Ann Holmes   

Vivienne Littlechild

Graham Packham   

Lynne Williams   

Reference Sub

Vivienne Littlechild  (Chairman) 

Graham Packham  (Deputy Chairman) 

Randall Anderson   

Michael Hoffman 

Remuneration and Nominations Committee

Randall Anderson   

John Chapman   

Marianne Fredericks   

Shreela Ghosh   

Michael Hoffman   

Vivienne Littlechild   

Graham Packham   

Andy Taylor

Academic Assurances Working Group

Professor Geoff Crossick

Professor Maria Delgado 

Anne Holmes

Katharine Lewis

Vivienne Littlechild

Graham Packham

Lynne Williams

SU President

Capital Projects

The Board agreed to vary the order of business to first consider items for decision 10 (public), 17, 21, 22, 25 (non public) and 28 (confidential) before returning to consider the remainder of public and non public business for information.

RESOLVED – That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the non public and confidential items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1 and 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

Report of the Principal. 

With the agreement of the Chairman, the Board considered the Principal’s late report on amendments to the Instrument and Articles of Government.

RESOLVED – That the Board recommends the Court of Common Council to approve the amendments to the Instrument and Articles of Government to remove references to the Privy Council and HEFCE and to maximise the opportunity for the student interest to be represented at every Board meeting. 

The Board then went into non public session.   

To agree the non public minutes and summary of the meetings held on 19 November 2018 and 18 February 2019.

RESOLVED – That the non-public minutes of the meetings held on 19 November 2018 and 18 February 2019 be approved as a correct record.

Report of the Principal.

With the agreement of the Chairman, Governors considered the late revised report of the Principal on the latest School budget 2019/20.

Report of the Principal. 

With the agreement of the Chairman, the Board considered the late report of the Principal on the higher education tuition fee schedule for 2020.

Report of the Principal.

The Principal reported to the Board on recommendations for Fellowships and Honorary Fellowships 2018/19.

To agree the confidential minutes of the meeting held on 19 November 2018.

RESOLVED  - That the confidential minutes of the meeting held on 19 November 2018 be approved as a correct record.

The meeting then returned to public session.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Board noted the Town Clerk’s report on dates of Board and committee meetings in 2019.

RECEIVED.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Town Clerk updated the Board on outstanding actions.

RECEIVED.

Report of the Principal. 

With the Chairman’s agreement, the Board considered the Principal’s late public report.

A Governor raised the issue of the survey of the School’s space usage and made the point that the 65% figure would be considered appropriate in many organisations. Other members asked the Principal to let Governors know if they could be of assistance in helping to resolve the accommodation matter.

During further discussion, a Governor raised the issue of delay to the appointment of a Quality Assurance Officer (Programme Development). It was noted that this appointment had been delayed for a number of reasons. In response to a question asked, the Principal also undertook to confirm whether the School had responded to the consultation on the knowledge exchange concordat.

RECEIVED – with the Board confirming that the interim report on academic assurances annexed to the report provided assurance that academic governance continued to be effective.  

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Board noted the Town Clerk’s report on urgent action taken between meetings.

RECEIVED.

There were no questions.

There was no other urgent public business.

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

The Board again moved into non public session for the remainder of the meeting.

To receive the non public minutes of the following meetings:-

Audit and Risk Management – 16 April 2019

Finance and Resources – 29 April 2019 

Remuneration and Nominations – 29 April 2019 

The non-public minutes of the Audit and Risk Management Committee (16 April 2019), Finance and Resources Committee (29 April 2019) and Remuneration and Nominations Committee (29 April 2019) were received.

The minutes of the Finance and Resources Committee and Remunerations and Nominations Committee were considered as late items with the agreement of the Chairman.

Report of the Principal. 

With the agreement of the Chairman, the Board considered the Principal’s late non public report.

Report of the Vice Principal and Director of Advancement

The Board had considered the Principal’s revised business case for acquisition of a new building as part of discussions on the previous item. 

Report of the Principal. 

With the agreement of the Chairman, the Board considered the late report of the Principal on the School Management Information ‘Dashboard’ 2018/19 – March 2019 (period 12).

Report of the Vice Principal and Director of Advancement.  TO FOLLOW

The Board considered an oral report of the Principal and the Chamberlain on the CoL fundamental review.

The Board agreed to consider the remaining items of business after the usual 2 hour duration for meetings.

There were two non public matters raised.

There were no further urgent non public matters.