Board of Scrutiny

Minutes: 16 October 2003

Present: Mantas Adomenas, Stephen Cowley, Christopher Forsyth(chair), Nicholas Holmes, Elizabeth Leedham-Green, Saskia Murk-Jansen, TimothyMilner, David Phillipson, Jennifer Rigby, Roger Salmon, John Spencer, HelenThompson.

1.Apologies

None were received.

2.Minutes of the meeting of 2October 2003

The Board approved the minutesafter minor corrections.

3.Matters arising.

3.1 Freedom of Information Act

The Board considered a paperwritten for the Council and the General Board on the Act. The Board agreed thatit needed to consider the implications of the Act for its own papers. The Chairand John Spencer agreed to give the Board advice at a future meeting on theprecise reach of the Board's legal obligations.

Action: The Chair and John Spencer to prepare advice.

3.2The Discussion of the EightReport

The Chair reported on theDiscussion for those who did not attend. The Board discussed the claim pressedat the Discussion that there was a statutory bar to consolidating theUniversity's accounts.

Action: The Chair to ascertain whether there is astatutory bar to consolidating the University's accounts.

3.3Administrative support

The Chair reported that DavidHowarth had drawn up a job specification, but that it was unclear whether theRegistrary had given authority to proceed with an appointment.

Action: The Chair to write to the Registrary to clarifythe situation.

3.4Governance course

The Chair reported that he hade-mailed the leader of the governance course, Ian Hewes, and asked whether theBoard of Scrutiny would be covered in the session and offered a speaker. TheChair had received no reply.JohnSpencer noted that he had also heard nothing when he had contacted Ian Hewesearlier in the year.

Action: The Chair to write to Peter Deer to pursue thematter.

3.5RAM

The Board discussed theanticipated timing of the new proposals for the RAM. The Board agreed to askthe appropriate person in the Planning and Resource Division when the RAMreport is published. The Board agreed that it would look carefully at a set ofissues under the proposals: the future of HEFCE band (d) departments, themethod by which buildings are costed, and central expenditure.

4.Programme for the year.

4.1 Research Services Division (RSD)

The Board agreed to pursueoutstanding issues from last year about the performance of RSD.

Action: The Chair to write to David Secher and invite himto come to a meeting of the Board later in the term. Nick Holmes to prepare abrief for the Board on RSD issues for the meeting on 13 November.

4.2Implementation of Shattockand Finkelstein recommendations.

The Board agreed to ask theRegistrary in a meeting during the course of the term for an audit of theimplementation of the Shattock and Finkelstein recommendations. The Board alsoagree to ask the Registrary for the follow-up report from the HEFCE audit.

Action: The Chair to write to the Registrary for thefollow-up report from the HEFCE audit. The Chair to write to the Registrary andask him for a meeting with some members of the Board at his convenience.

4.3Legal advice to theUniversity

The Board agreed to raise withthe Registrary in a future meeting the issue of whether the University isreceiving cost-effective and accurate legal advice.

Action: The Chair to write to the Registrary and ask himfor a meeting with some members of the Board at his convenience.

4.4 Other issues

The Board agreed to pursue arange of issues over the year.

The University's finances and the RAM.

As well as continuing to pursuethe concerns about RAM it identified in its Seventh and Eighth Reports, theBoard agreed to pay particular attention this year to issues about the futureof undergraduate education.

Governance: clarity of Council papers.

The Board continued itsdiscussion about the opacity of some University papers. Roger Salmon offered toread through a term of Council papers and report back to the Board on theirclarity.

Action:TimothyMilner to advise the Chair on a suitable term to scrutinise. The Chair to writeto the Registrary and ask him for a set of papers for a particular term.

CARET

The Board agreed to enquire aboutthe progress of CARET.

Action: Jennifer Rigby to pursue.

Responsefrom the Council to the Board's previous reports

The Board agreed to update itsrecords on outstanding recommendations from previous reports.

Action: The Chair to ask Susan Lintott for her records.

The University's sub-contracting and sourcing

The Board discussed theUniversity's subcontracting of various services. It noted that there weresometimes tensions between the University's expectations and the interests ofthe contractors.The Board agreed toraise the issue in future meetings with the Director of Finance and the Registrary.

Personnel and Hera

The Board agreed to continue tomonitor the progress of HERA and the introduction of a single pay spine.

Action: Stephen Cowley and Jennifer Rigby to pursue.

5. Any other business,

There was no other business.

6. Date of next meeting: 30 October 2003