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Board of Scrutiny

Helen Thompson
Ordinary
Stephen John Cowley
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2003-11-03T10:59:00Z
2004-02-12T10:36:00Z
2004-02-12T10:36:00Z
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Board of Scrutiny

 

Minutes of the meeting of 30 October 2003

 

 

Present: Mantas Adomenas, Stephen Cowley, Christopher Forsyth
(chair), Elizabeth Leedham-Green, Saskia Murk-Jansen, Timothy Milner, David
Phillipson, Roger Salmon (from item 3.4), John Spencer, Helen Thompson.

 

1.  Apologies

The Board received apologies from
Nicholas Holmes and Jennifer Rigby.

 

2.   Minutes of the meeting of
16 October 2003 

The Board approved the minutes
after minor corrections.

 

3.   Matters arising

 

3.1 Freedom of Information Act

John Spencer advised the Board
that it would have under the provisions of the Act to provide any of its
written records if requested including any information given in confidence.

 

 

3.2  The Discussion of the Eight
Report

The Chair reported that internally
consolidating the University's accounts would require a change to the statutes
and ordinances. The Board notes that this presented no bar to the auditors
presenting consolidated accounts.  

 

3.3  Administrative support

The Chair reported that he had
been in correspondence with the Registrary. He presented the job description
for a support officer for the Board which he had sent to the Registrary. The
Registrary had acknowledged the letter and said  that he would reply shortly.

 

The Board discussed the status of
such an officer.  The Chair agreed to
pursue this question with the Registrary.

 

ACTION: The Chair to continue corresponding with the
Registrary on the matter.

 

3.4   Governance course

The Chair reported that the
leader of the governance course had only 
responded to his e-mails after he had had raised the matter with the
Director of Personnel and the University Staff Development Officer.  The leader of the course had now asked the
Board to provide a speaker for the session, 'amateur and excerpts: quality
control' on 27 January 2004.  John
Spencer agreed to speak.

 

ACTION: The Chair to write to the leader of the governance
course and offer John Spencer as a speaker.

 

 

3.5   Meeting with the
Registrary

The Chair reported that he had
written to the Registrary and asked him to a meeting. The Registrary  accepted an invitation to attend the Board's
meeting on 27 November 2003. The Chair had told the Registrary that the Board
was primarily interested in discussing progress on implementing the recommendations
of Shattock and Finkelstein and legal advice to the University.

 

ACTION: The Chair to ask the Registrary to give the Board
a written up-date on implementing Shattock and Finkelstein before the meeting
on 27 November.

 

3.6 Clarity of Council papers

The Chair reported that
he had written to the Registrary asking if the Board could see the Council
papers for Lent 2003. The Registrary had acknowledged the e-mail, but hadn't
yet given an answer. The Board agreed that it would be good if the issue was
resolved quickly so that it could discuss any issues arising from Roger
Salmon's scrutiny of the papers at the Board's meeting with the Registrary on
27 November.

 

Action: The Chair to press the Registrary for an early
answer.

 

3.7  Other matters arising:
Primate research facility at 307 Huntington Road

The Board discussed the
Council's notice in the Reporter on
29 October about the primate research facility at 307 Huntington Road. It
agreed that the notice was an unsatisfactory response to the questions about
disclosure of information raised in the Board's Eighth Report. The Board
remains concerned that the Council is not disclosing full details about the
proposed building to the Regent House, and that the Regent House has been
misled about the costs of the project in light of the security expenses it
would entail.

 

ACTION: The Chair to write to the Vice-Chancellor
explaining the Board's continuing concern.

 

4 Review of the  Research
Services Division and the Personnel Division

The Board noted that the
Registrary had announced two separate reviews of the Research Services Division
(RSD) and the Personnel Division.  The
Board considered whether, in light of this development, to scrutinise the
operations of RSD this year as it had previously determined to.  The Board agreed to seek a meeting with the
Director of RSD before the end of term, where the Board would be represented by
the Chair, Nicholas Holmes, Stephen Cowley and Roger Salmon.

 

The Board also agreed to monitor
the progress of HERA.

 

ACTION: The Chair to write to the Director of RSD and
request a meeting, and to write to the Director of Personnel and request
documents on the progress of HERA.

 

5 IPR Contracts

The Chair reported that he had
received confidential documents relevant to the operation of RSD. These raised
issues of commercial and legal prudence, and academic freedom.  He informed the Board that he had been in
correspondence with the Registrary about this matter. He had explained to the
Registrary that the Board remained of the view that whilst it wouldn't deal
with individual complaints, it would pursue matters raised by individuals which
might suggest systemic flaws in the operation of a part of the University.

 

ACTION: The Chair
and John Spencer to prepare advice on the legal questions raised by the
contracts for the meeting on 13 November 2003.

 

6. Any other business: University Nursery

The Board noted that the
University had changed the contractors for the University nursery without any
consultation with parents.

 

7. Date of next meeting: 13 November 2003