AT A MEETING of the CORPORATE BOARD held in the College on MONDAY 12 JULY 2010 at 6.00 p.m. Present J G MOORLEY in the Chair A Armstrong N Baldry P Fisk B Guthrie J Heads A Isherwood E Lugg C Middlemass R Milburn S Owens A Palmer and A Townsend. Apologies for absence were received from B Allen P Ball C Holliday and B Ollerenshaw. Also in attendance L Oliver (Clerk) and N Brewster and S Ruddock (Directorate). 1.
Declarations of Interest There were no Declarations of Interest made prior to the consideration of business.
2.
Constitution of the Board – a) New Member The Chair informed the Board that following discussions with the Principal as agreed at the last Search & Governance Committee he had invited Andrew Palmer to become a member of the Board, it having already been agreed that Mr Palmer had the appropriate skills to enhance the profile of the Board. Mr Palmer gave an indication of his experience and expertise. Resolved That the action of the Chair in inviting Mr Palmer to become a member of the Board be endorsed. b)
Appointment of Chair of Board for 2011/12
The Board noted that only one nomination had been received that of Brian Allen for Chair of the Board for 2011/12 Resolved That the matter be discussed further at the next meeting of the Board. 3.
Minutes The Minutes of the meetings held on 10 and 24 May 2010 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.
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4.
Minutes of Committees Minutes of the following Committees were considered – a)
Finance & GP Committee of 7 and 29 June 2010
The Committee Chair reported on the many discussions held both in Committee and at the informal Financial Improvement Plan meetings and the need to adopt a strategic approach to maximise financial gain was essential though the target of ÂŁ1.6m of savings to be initially by cost cutting. With regard to the development of the Nursery he informed that it had been considered appropriate to consider the upgrading of the external building despite the additional cost. The over spend on Phases 2 and 3 of the New Build were being investigated and would be subject to further report. The possibility of sharing back office services was being discussed by the Colleges in the County and in an effort to achieve savings as an existing contract for IT services with Stockton & Riverside College had proved fruitful. The Chair also referred to the recommendation in Minute 9 of the meeting held on 7 June 2010 regarding the proposed tuition fee policy from 2010/11. Resolved 1. 2.
That the approach to revitalising the nursery be endorsed. That the tuition fee policy in Minute 9 of the meeting held on7 June 2010 be endorsed.
b)
Personnel Committee of 14 June 2010.
The Committee Chair reported that with regard to statistics on KPIs the target for sickness absence and staff turnover had been set at 5%. And that the pay award would be discussed later on the agenda. c)
Search & Governance Committee of 14 June 2010
d)
Standards Committee of 21 June 2010
The Committee Chair referred to Minute 6 and the importance of now receiving success rates taking account of equality and diversity. He also drew the Board’s attention to the success of the Integrated Quality and Enhancement Review.
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e)
Audit Committee of 8 July 2010
The Board was informed that the internal Audit Reports were amongst the best the College had had. With regard to Minute 10 Year End Audit Planning the Board was asked to endorse the decision that a financial limit under which errors in the accounts need not be brought to the attention of the Board be set at £2500. Resolved That the decision of the Audit Committee regarding errors in the accounts be endorsed. 5.
Principal’s Report The Board noted the report of the Principal providing an overview of the following current topics – Self Assessment Financial Improvement Plan Strategic Plan Change to educational policy Community learning Student achievements Official Opening of the Skills and Employment Centre Business Training Services Newton Aycliffe Queen’s Birthday Honours
6.
SAR 2009/10 for Corporate Governance The Board considered a report presenting for approval the proposed process for completion of the 2009/10 self assessment report for Corporate Governance. The report detailed the on-line process for Governors to follow and sought approval for a small group of Governors to review the aggregated responses to the on-line questionnaire with the draft SAR being presented to the September meeting of the Corporate Board. Resolved That the process be endorsed and the following Governors form the Sub-group – The Chairs of the Corporation and of the Standards Committee together with B Ollerenshaw and B Guthrie.
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7.
Quality Improvement Plan 2010: Governance The Board considered a report presenting the draft Quality Improvement Plan 2010 for Governance. Attached to the report was a first draft of the points raised during the 10 May Board Workshop and it was recommended that it would be a ‘live’ document evolving as progress was made and outcomes from the annual self assessment process were incorporated. The Board understood that this was necessary and represented a fundamental change in the College’s ambitions as the priorities strengthened the focus on necessary improvements in quality, finance and reputation. Resolved That the Governance Section of the Quality Improvement Action Plan 2010 be endorsed and that a monitoring group be established using the same membership as for the SAR for Corporate Governance (Minute 6).
8.
Final College Self Assessment Report 2008/9 The Board considered a report presenting the final College SAR for 2008/9. The report listed the amendments made since January 2010. Included in the amendments were reductions in some grades as the College needed a level of credibility in its gradings. For the benefit of new Governors it was explained that at the last Ofsted the College was given a Grade 2 and was working to at least maintain that level and with that in mind the grades had to be justifiable. It was expected that Governors would challenge grades seek clarification on justification. Although the 2008/9 document was now historic any inspection in the near future would of necessity need to make considerable reference to it. It was anticipated that work on the 2009/10 SAR would follow the structure of the September 2009 Common Inspection Framework. The data in that SAR would have strengthened emphasis on data analysis as detailed in the report. Resolved That the final version of the College SAR for 2008/8 be endorsed.
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9.
A College Strategy for 2010/13 The Board considered a report presenting a draft revised Strategy for Bishop Auckland College 2010/13. The Board was informed that a more presentable sophisticated document would be available by September. It was suggested that the document needed amending as follows More use made of target dates ‘Our Vision’ needed to be reworded More information was required re local context Performance measurements included for a 3 year cycle Bullet point 3 in Strategic Priority 2 to be linked to ‘teaching’ Other comments included – The need for an increase in informal contacts The need for a stakeholder engagement plan to be linked to it The need for performance links between Chapters 1,2 and 4. Obtain feedback from other organisations such as the Enterprise Agency and Durham County Council
10.
Employer Responsive Performance Report The Board noted a report on the performance to date of the Employer Responsive activities including Apprenticeships, Train to Gain, Distance Learning (Adult Responsive) and the 6 Month Unemployed. With regard to Apprenticeship 2009/10 Contracts there was an anticipated shortfall of £100k despite expectations of further recruitment. The shortfall will be included in the next set of accounts. Funding for Apprenticeships in 2010/11 is expected to be enhanced by the diversion of some Train to Gain funding.
11.
Responsive Learning The Board noted a report providing an up-date on out-turn for Responsive for Learning (Young People and Adults) for 2009/10 and Higher Education. Attached to the report were success rates for 16-19 year olds and adults for 2009/10. The main points to note were that – The report showed growth from 2006/7 to 2009/10 in Young People provision. Local Developments with local partnerships would continue despite changes in Government spending priorities
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Funding targets for Adult responsive Learning had been achieved Higher Education targets for 2009/10 had been achieved despite 36 withdrawals and it was expected that there would be a potential 290 learners for 2010/11. 12.
Financial Improvement Plan The Board considered a report on the status of the Financial Improvement Plan. Attached to the report was the report presented to the JCC on 11 June 2010. Tabled at the meeting was a list of staffing changes since the preparation of the main report. Resolved That progress towards the savings required under the Financial Improvement Plan be endorsed.
13.
Pay Award The Board considered a report on the need to determine a pay award for 2009/10 and a pay strategy or award for 2010/11. The report reminded the Board that it had a legal obligation to declare an annual pay award to its employees though the award could be nil. For 2009/10 the Board was reminded that a nil award had been made for 2008/9 and that at its May 2009 meeting it was minded not to make a nil award for 2009/10. However the budget position for 2009/10 was that any award would have to be self financing though this was now not achievable because of the impact of the funding cuts on baseline staffing. For 2010/11 provision for an award based on the AoC pay recommendation of 1.5% for 2009/10 had been included in the budget with the award and the implementation date being dependent on achieving the required reductions in the Financial Improvement Plan. In reaching its decision the Board took account of the impact any award would have on the required number of redundancies and the considerations outlined in the report that the Personnel Committee had recommended that the Board should consider. Additionally the Personnel Committee believed that whilst a nil award for 2 consecutive years was not sustainable from an employment view point that any award agreed for 2010-11 should recognise that nil pay awards had been made in the 2 preceding years.
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Resolved That subject to an appropriate level of savings in the Financial Improvement Plan being realised an award of 1.7% for 2010/11 made up of the recommended 1.5% for 2009/10 and 0.2% for 2010/11 be recommended to the Corporate Board at either its September or December 2010 meeting. 14.
Financial Report to May 2010 The Board noted the Financial Report to May 2010. The main points included – Full year forecast update Forecast included impact of costs of implementing the FIP Operating deficit to date of £241k against the full year forecast of £390k deficit and a full year target budget deficit of £374k Cash balance at 31 May 2010 of £3.1m and forecast at £1.7m at 31 July 2010 Financial Health (solvency) ratios are satisfactory. Current ratio being 1.68 at 31 May and forecast of 1.56 for 31 July. The revolving credit facility was repaid in early May as intended.
15.
Draft Budget 2010/11 and Three Year Plan The Board considered a report on preparation for the 3 Year Financial Plan which was required to be submitted to the Skills Funding Agency by 31 July 2010. The report informed that unlike previous years no guidance had been issued by either the Skills Funding Agency or the Young people’s Learning Agency. However the AoC had issued some guidance based on information from the newly established Office of Budget Responsibility on the general state of the national economy. The report went on to indicate that the Financial Improvement Plan process had provided a working budget for 2010/11 and that a provisional draft forecast for the following 2 years had been prepared to illustrate a general standstill on most funding streams with a small cut in adult learner responsive for 2011/12. Whilst the Plan would require further adjustment to take account of the scant guidance from the AoC the indications are that activity reductions would require staffing costs to be reduced by 5% and 2.5% for 2011/12 and 2012/13 respectively in order to maintain a 2% operating surplus. Resolved 1. 2. 3.
That the 3 year financial plan be approved. That the 2010/11 year of the plan be endorsed as the as the budget for that year. That the 2010/11 budget be reviewed during the Autumn Term in the event of any significant post Budget changes affecting the College. Page 7 of 8
16.
Safeguarding Issues The Board noted a report on the following safeguarding issues – Student Risk Assessment Training Safeguarding Procedure Safeguarding and Vetting Safeguarding Committee to monitor College Health & Safety issues Liaison arrangements with external agencies
17.
Course Fees The Principal informed the Board that as it was critical to meet adult learner responsive targets it was proposed that a 50% reduction in fees be given to new students in receipt of tax and child credits given the changes being made by other colleges. Resolved That the proposed new fees policy be endorsed.
18.
Principal Qualification The Chair referred to the current requirement for all Principals to complete a programme of qualification within 2 years of appointment but that the new Government was now not concerned about the requirement. He informed the Board that he considered it an unnecessary burden and in the circumstances he proposed to speak to the Principal and make an appropriate recommendation to the next meeting of the Search & Governance Committee.
19.
Date of Next Meeting The Board noted that its next meeting would be held on 13 September 2010.
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