Minutes of a Meeting s2
Minutes of a Meeting of the Board of Corporation held on
Tuesday 28 April 2015 in Farrington’s Restaurant
Present: / Skill Members: / S. Barnes (Chair), C. Baker, H. Malik, K. MoynesStudent Members: / J. Goodall, A. Worden, C. Waring
Staff Member: / C. Pye
Principal / A. Melton
Officers: / D. Rothwell (Deputy Principal), V. Eastwood (Clerk)
In Attendance: / A. Ghidotti, P. Britton, A.Rushton, J. Barber
1. / Apologies for Absence
Apologies for absence were received from R. Pheasey, H. Khan, D. Whatley J. Pope,N. Rashid, P.Storey and J. Cleaver.
2. / Declarations of Interest
Members were reminded of their responsibility to declare an interest in relation to specific items on the Agenda if appropriate.
3. / Minutes of the Previous Meeting – Wednesday 11 March 2015
The Minutes of the previous Meeting held on Wednesday 11 March 2015 were agreed as a true and accurate record.
Resolved CG 15/17 / That the Minutes of the previous Meeting held on Wednesday 11 March were agreed as a true and accurate record.
4. / Matters Arising
The Chairman stated that it was clear that the governor portal was not being used effectively and therefore the policies uploaded to the portal were not being thoroughly approved. It was agreed that going forward policies and procedures would be presented to the Board in hardcopy format.
5. / Risk Management Update
The Deputy Principal reported that the Risk Action Plan and Register contained little variation to the version Board Members had previously received.
The Chairman asked if there were any issues and what were the risks concerning sub-contracting. The Deputy Principal replied that there was a high risk in view of funding agencies and issues of third parties being involved in funding delivery. The College currently had one sub contract with Lancashire Fire Service but this was potentially an area of growth and discussions had taken place regarding extending sub-contracting further.
The Chairman stated that the Radicalisation Agenda was at the forefront and there was a need to demonstrate actions and plans to prevent radicalisation.
The Chairman proposed that the report be accepted and any further issues be brought back to the Board as and when they arose. This was agreed by all present.
Resolved CG 15/18 / That the Report be received.
6. / Board of Corporation
(a) / Audit Committee Minutes (Unapproved) (24.03.15) & Update
In the absence of the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Audit Committee, the Clerk reported that at the March meeting of the Audit Committee, the Internal Audit Reports for Block 1 had been received and discussed. They were pertaining to:
Hair and Beauty
Arrangements for Free School Meal Provision
Debtors Ledger and Tuition Fees
She informed Members that the review and appointment of Financial Statements Auditors 2013/14 had been discussed but this would be brought to the Board for approval at the June Meeting. The Deputy Principal advised that the benchmarking figures had been shared with the Committee and the Financial Statements Auditors fee remained competitive.
Members were further informed that the Audit Committee had discussed the new and emerging risks detailed in the risk management update provided earlier in the Board Agenda.
Resolved CG 15/19 / That the Report be received.
(b) / Audit Committee Annual Report
The Clerk reported that at the March Audit Committee Meeting it was noted that the payment for additional services provided by Baker Tilly had been omitted from the Annual Report of the Audit Committee 2013/14 before it was presented for approval to the Board at the December Meeting. Baker Tilly were paid an additional £1000, year ending July 2014 for assistance with the end of year PSA (PAYE Settlement agreement) and assistance in pulling together the College’s dispensation with HMRC.
Members were advised that this omission would not affect the Audit Committee’s opinion to the Board, and the report had been resubmitted for completeness. It was agreed that the amended version be approved.
Resolved CG 15/20 / That the Report be received and the amended version of the Audit Committee Annual Report be approved.
7. / Finance Reports
(a) / Finance Report
The Deputy Principal reported that there were no changes to the fundamentals of the College’s financial position and the College continued to be on track with regard to the position at mid-year point. The performance ratio (‘cash adjusted’) surplus ytd was £775k compared to £771k reforecast profile.
Members were advised that the Adult Skills Budget (ASB) remained the single biggest risk area. In year income recognition for this area continued to be based on the reforecast performance assumption of £2,451k. In year monitoring and updated projected activity indicate that the College was broadly on track to achieve this estimate. This represented a shortfall against contracted funding to be paid (of £2,651k) with Adult Apprenticeships being the primary area of underperformance against contract.
The Deputy Principal informed Members that the staff cost budget was generally on track and the overall non-pay spend was broadly in line with reforecast with individual exceptions being monitored and managed. Business planning for 2015/16 was at an advanced stage and the process was going reasonably well. With reference to the £1mn target saving over 2 years, there were actual and identified savings of £400K to hit that target inclusive of projected savings in hourly paid teaching budgets arising from planned reductions in teaching hours across a range of programmes.
The Chairman thanked the Senior Management Team and all those involved for their hard work in the business planning process.
The Principal stated that growth projection was based on students this year and increased applications. The College needed to decide how it would make the second savings but should remain cautiously optimistic. The Deputy Principal added that lagged funding would put more pressure on the budget, contributing to a projected operating budget deficit for 2015/16.
The Chairman asked where the extra students had come from. The Principal replied that the increased numbers were as a result of growth in A-levels. The deficit in Year 1 students from two years ago had a big impact but the College’s reputation was stronger
In response to a question from the Chairman, the Assistant Principal A-levels replied that there was lots of support from the Heads of local schools and they expressed positive opinions about the College. The Assistant Principal – Enterprise & Engagement added that there had been some growth in numbers from within Pendle but a lot of growth from Burnley. The bus services had resulted in an increase in students from out of the area.
Resolved CG 15/21 / That the Report be received.
8 / Physical Resources
(a) / IT Strategy Report
The Deputy Principal informed Members that the report highlighted developments within the three year plan. There had been no major operational problems in the last term and work was now taking place to develop the outline of the next three year strategy.
The Assistant Principal – A-levels reported that the E-Strategy Group was now in place to focus on IT within teaching and learning and the current system was working well.
The Chairman stated that the report read as in year performance management report and welcomed the new plan going forward.
Resolved CG 15/22 / That the Report be received.
The Deputy Principal provided Members with the notes from the LEP Engineering Tender Interviews, held on Thursday 23 April 2015. Discussion took place on the prices submitted, programme and timescales and funding security.
9. / Date of Next Meeting: Monday 22nd June, 5.30pm.
The next meeting of the Board of Corporation will take place on Monday 22nd June, 5.30pm.
The Chairman thanked all in attendance for their contribution.
The Board of Corporation Strategic Planning Event followed the Board Meeting and in addition to those listed above, was attended by Jane Cleaver, Rob Pheasey (Vice Chairman) and the College Management Team. The Agenda for the event and copies of the powerpoint presentations are attached.
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