Board of Scrutiny

Thursday 11 March 2004

Robinson College

GardenRoom

Present: Stephen Cowley, Christopher Forsyth (Chairman),Nicholas Holmes, Elisabeth Leedham-Green, Saskia Murk-Jansen, Timothy Milner,David Phillipson, Jennifer Rigby, Roger Salmon, John Spencer, Helen Thompson.

1.Apologies.Mantas Adomenas

2.Minutes of the Meeting of 26February 2004. The Board confirmed the minutes with a minorcorrection.

3.Matters to Report. The Chairreported that Mantas Adomenas has resigned from the Board after intermittinghis fellowship at Gonville and Caius.

4.Matters Arising.

4.1.Administrative Support. The Chaircirculated a draft of the advertisement for a support officer for the Board.The Board approved it after making some minor changes.

4.2.Paper on the Effectiveness ofCouncil. The Chair circulated an e-mail he had received from the Registrary onthe issue of the Board’s paper on the effectiveness of Council. The Boardagreed to discuss the issue at its meeting on 22 April 2004 that theVice-Chancellor will attend.

4.3.The Building Maintenance Fund. NickHolmes reported that he had received minutes of meetings relating to buildingmaintenance, which he circulated to the Board. He noted: (i) that the BuildingSub-Committee has recommended a significant increase in building maintenance;and (ii) that there was an assumption that the volume of buildings wouldincrease by 3 per cent a year, which would lead to a further increase in theneed for maintenance expenditure. The Board noted that some Departments andFaculties are spending money on maintenance from funds other than the EMBSbudget.

4.4.Request for the Blue Book. The Chair reported that copies ofthe Blue Book were available for members of the Board to see.

4.5.The University’s Investment Policy. The Chaircirculated a set of documents that he had received on the University’sinvestment policy.On first readingRoger Salmon noted: (i) that there were important constraints on the way thatthe University can manage its investments, especially relating to capital distribution;(ii) that there are questions to ask about the coherence of the University’sasset allocation policy; and (iii) that as a piece of theoretical modelling,the University’s portfolio is not ideal. The Board agreed that to write aworking paper on issues relating to the University’s endowment.

ACTION: Roger Salmon to draft a paper on the issue.

4.6.Visit to Management InformationServices Division (MISD). The Chair noted that he would be writing tothe Director of MISD to arrange a meeting.

ACTION: The Chair to write to the Director of MISD.

4.7.Estates Plan. NickHolmes reported that he had received a copy of the Estates Plan. He noted thatthe University had the lowest proportion of C-graded buildings of anyinstitution of higher education in the country. He also noted that the Planreflected clear, strategic thinking, which the Board applauded.

Hereported that the Director of EMBS had suggested that the Board visit him todiscuss the Plan. The Board agreed to accept the invitation.

ACTION: The Chair to write to the Director of EMBS toarrange a meeting.

5.Audit ManagementLetter. After a discussion of the issue, the Board reiterated its view thatthere is no statutory bar to consolidating the accounts of CUP and theUniversity, and commended all efforts being made in the University to achievethis end.

6.Estate Management and BuildingService. Stephen Cowley explained that he was still concerned about thecost-efficiency of the services provided by EMBS. The Board agreed to raise theissue of the EMBS’ systems for assessing whether it received value for moneywhen it met the Director of EMBS.

7.HEFCE Funding Announcement. StephenCowley reported that his analysis of HEFCE’s announcement on funding suggestedthat the University would do somewhat better for research and somewhat lesswell on teaching than last year. This, he judged, was probably the result ofchanges to the HEFCE teaching-weightings for different subjects

8.Preparation of the Annual Report. The Boardagreed that it would aim to have a draft of the Report for it’s meeting on 10June with the aim of approving it on 17 June. If, the Board also agreed, itdoes not receive the Allocations Report in time to meet this timetable, then itwill publish a separate report covering that material.

ACTION: The Chair to write to theRegistrary to explain the Board’s proposed timetable. Stephen Cowley and NickHolmes to draft the section on RAM. Stephen Cowley to draft the section on K9.John Spencer to draft the section on governance. Jennifer Rigby to draft thesection on HERA. Stephen Cowley and John Spencer to draft the section onstatutes and ordinances and contracts.

9.Any Other Business.

9.1.Secretary for Easter term. The Boardappointed Stephen Cowley secretary for Easter term to cover Helen Thompson’sleave.

10.Date of Next Meeting. Noon on 22 April 2004.