Council Minutes 06 July 2020

Minutes of the Cardiff University meeting of Council held on Monday 6 July 2020 by Zoom at 10:30.

Present: Professor Stuart Palmer (Chair), Professor Colin Riordan, Professor Rudolf Allemann, Dr Carol Bell [Minutes 1784-1806], Professor Marc Bühner, Mr Ricardo Calil, Ms Hannah Doe, Mr Tomos Evans, Ms Judith Fabian, Professor Dame Janet Finch [Minutes 1784-1798], Mr Alastair Gibbons, Professor Kim Graham [Minutes 1784-1806], Mr Ken Hamilton [Minutes 1784-1804], Mr Michael Hampson, Professor Mary Heimann, Professor Karen Holford, Ms Jan Juillerat, Dr Steven Luke, Ms Lin Phillips, Mr Len Richards [Minutes 1784-1798], Mr John Shakeshaft, Judge Ray Singh [Minutes1784-1798 and 1800-1830], Dr Janet Wademan and Mrs Agnes Xavier-Phillips.

Attendees: Professor Gary Baxter [Minutes 1784-1792 and 1795-1830], Ms Katy Dale (Minutes), Mrs Rashi Jain, Mrs Susan Midha, Ms Claire Morgan, Ms Alex Payne, Ms TJ Rawlinson, Mrs Claire Sanders, Professor Damian Walford Davies and Mr Robert Williams.

Apologies: Mr Paul Baston, Mr Thomas Hay, Ms Joanna Newman and Mr David Simmons.

1784 Welcome and preliminaries

The Chair welcomed all to the meeting, especially the new Students’ Union President Mr Tomos Evans, the new Vice-President for Education Ms Hannah Doe, and the new Acting University Secretary Mrs Rashi Jain.

1785 Apologies for absence

Apologies were provided by Mr Paul Baston, Mr Thomas Hay, Ms Joanna Newman and Mr David Simmons. The meeting was confirmed to be quorate.

1786 Minutes of the Council meeting of 10 February 2020, 02 April 2020 and extraordinary meeting 05 May 2020

Noted

1786.1 that it was proposed the following be added to minute 1738.15.6 of the meeting of 10 February 2020: “especially in light of the fact that this was the second large scale building project that went significantly over budget”;

1786.2 the minutes of the Council Meeting held on 02 April 2020 [19/763B] were confirmed as a true and accurate record;

1786.3 the minutes of the Extraordinary Council Meeting held on 05 May 2020 [19/764B] were confirmed as a true and accurate record.

Resolved

1786.4 to approve the minutes of the Council meeting held on 10 February 2020 [19/762B], subject to the above amendment;

1786.5 to approve the minutes of the Council meeting held on 02 April 2020 and 05 May 2020.

1787 Matters arising from the Council meeting 10 February 2020, 02 April 2020 and extraordinary meeting of 05 May 2020

Noted

1787.1 a minority expressed the view that the deputation received at the meeting of 10 February 2020 had been treated unprofessionally and the deputation had not been allowed to defend the figures provided, the majority disagreed with this interpretation of events;

1787.2 that the University had communicated with UCU in advance of the deputation regarding the figures provided and had therefore already been provided with an opportunity for correction;

1787.3 that the protocol for deputation as prescribed in Ordinance 11 provided for discussion to be carried out by the Committee only once the Deputation had withdrawn;

1787.4 that the issue presented by UCU in their deputation was and continued to be a contentious and emotive subject.

1788 Declarations of interest

Noted

1788.1 that the Students’ Union President and Vice-President Education held a conflict of interest in relation to agenda item 25 (Students' Union Annual Block Grant Request 2020'21);

1788.2 that there were a number of conflicts of interest in relation to agenda item 16 (Lay Member Appointments to Council & its Committees); in order to avoid severe disruption to the meeting by relevant lay members leaving for this item, it was suggested lay members refrain from contributing to discussions on their own appointments.

1789 Deputation from Professors Group

Noted

1789.1 that a deputation was received from the Professors at Cardiff Group in accordance with the provisions of Ordinance 11 (Standing Orders), 13 (Deputations);

1789.2 that three representatives from the Professors at Cardiff Group were in attendance: Professor Julian Gould-Williams, Professor Christine Bundy and Professor Colin Berry;

1789.3 the Deputation sought to provide detail of concerns raised by the Professors at Cardiff Group in relation to the results of the 2019 Staff Survey;

1789.4 the Deputation took the form of a PowerPoint presentation by the representatives, supported by a briefing paper (paper 19/760B);

1789.5 that Council’s decision to receive and note the Deputation would be conveyed to the Deputation in writing by the University Secretary;

1789.6 the matters raised would be discussed at agenda item 32 (2019 Staff  Survey Results and University Response).

1790 Chair’s Report to Council

Received and considered paper 19/765B, ‘Chair’s Report to Council’.

Noted

1790.1 that congratulations were extended to those named in the paper;

1790.2  with sadness, the following deaths:

1. Charalampos Pavlitsas, who had completed an MSc in Astrophysics;
2. Professor Alan Williams, who had worked at Cardiff University during his career;
3. Jill Cheney, a part-time MSc student of Clinical Optometry;

A moment’s silence was held as a mark of respect.

1790.3 [Redacted]

1. [Redacted]
2. [Redacted]

1790.4 [Redacted]

Resolved

1790.5 to approve the appointment of Dr Gabe Treharne for a further term as Pro-Chancellor from 01 August 2020 to the 31 July 2023.

1791 Vice-Chancellor’s report to Council

Received and considered paper 19/780B, ‘Report from the Vice-Chancellor’. The Vice-Chancellor was invited to speak to this item.

Noted

1791.1 that Mr Len Richards joined the meeting;

1791.2 that the Vice-Chair took the Chair during this item;

1791.3 that at present, student recruitment figures were looking positive; however, there were several factors which would influence student enrolment in September;

1791.4 that the University was working hard to ensure the provision of both remote and online leaning was of the highest quality and a consistent blended learning experience was provided;

1791.5 that the University was communicating with current and prospective students every two weeks, to ensure they had the latest information; confirmation on curriculums would be shared once finalised in August;

1791.6 that the University’s research performance had been very positive ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic and this should provide a strong base for future growth;

1791.7 that the University was reviewing learning technologies across the institution and proposing amendments to ensure this was consistent.

1792  Major incident: COVID-19 update

Received and considered paper 19/789B, ‘COVID-19 Briefing’. The Vice-Chancellor was invited to speak to this item.

Noted

1792.1 [Redacted]

1792.2 [Redacted]

1792.3 [Redacted]

1792.4 [Redacted]

1793  The Way Forward 2018-23: revised approach

Received and considered paper 19/790B, ‘Recasting The Way Forward’. The Vice-Chancellor was invited to speak to this item.

Noted

1793.1 that the chairship returned to the Chair of Council at this point

1793.2 that the proposed revised content of the strategy had already been provided to Council at its meeting on 05 May 2020;

1793.3 that the proposed changes had been shared with all staff for consultation; a key outcome from this had been to request clarification on the difference between the proposed Critical Success Factors (CSFs) and previous Key Performance Indicators (KPIs);

1793.4 that there had been some discontent with the prioritisation of financial sustainability over support for staff; however, this was essential to enable support for staff and students and both these items were interdependent;

1793.5 that it was important to measure responses from staff and students to monitor if these were improving; the University was reviewing the possibility of pulse surveys;

1793.6 that in response to a request to add a critical success factor relating to staff capacity to deliver the student experience, it was confirmed this would be included in the current review of the People Strategy being undertaken.

Resolved

1793.7 to approve the proposed revisions to the Way Forward Strategy 2018-2023.

1794 Risk Register

Received and considered paper 19/773B, ‘Risk Register’. The Vice-Chancellor was invited to speak to this item.

Noted

1794.1 that the risk register for the COVID-19 pandemic had been integrated with the risk register in use before this point, to present one coherent register;

1794.2 that the risk relating to financial sustainability and student recruitment are interdependent; the main risk score for both items remained at 25 as, although mitigation measures had been put in place, there were a number of factors outside the University’s control that would affect this;

1794.3 that it was proposed that the risk relating to industrial relations remain on the register, given the possibility of increased tensions during the downturn;

1794.4 that research activity also impacts upon the University’s reputation;

1794.5 that a large amount of research is subsidised by the income from recruitment of international students and therefore there may be a need to prioritise teaching activities in the short term, though this was not action the University wished to take;

1794.6 that there had been positive announcements in relation to government funding for research and it was hoped the risk for this item would reduce in the near future;

1794.7 that given the current working conditions, individuals may feel pressure to meet or increase their workload whilst working from home; there was also a possibility staff would be unable to reduce their research workload given the majority of engagement is external to the University;

1794.8 that there was no reference to the new normal in the document;

1794.9 that Council recognised the large amount of work undertaken to produce and maintain the risk register.

Resolved

1794.10 to include reference to the impact of research on the University’s esteem;

1794.11 to include reference to the possibility individuals may feel pressure to meet or increase their workload whilst working from home;

1794.12 to include reference to the “new normal”, with a possibility of monitoring the same.

1795 Report of the President of the Students’ Union

Received and considered paper 19/733, ‘Students’ Union President’s Report 201920’. Mr Tomos Evans was invited to speak to this item.

Noted

1795.1 that there were a number of key updates since the report had been written:

1. that the Students’ Union had moved quickly to reduce expenditure, with 60% of staff furloughed; the student voice and student support elements had been maintained and it was expected that the Students’ Union would report a loss for this year;
2. that work had commenced on reviewing what could be provided to students for Fresher’s Week and the Students’ Union were working closely with the University on this;
3. that the new Sabbatical Officers for the 20/21 year were now confirmed;
4. that a number of award ceremonies had been held virtually;
5. that the Students’ Union continued to keep students informed of changes due to COVID-19; the partnership with the University during this time had been very positive and had grown in strength, and the Students’ Union President was keen for this positive relationship to continue;
6. that the Students’ Union had been voted the 3rd Best Students’ Union in the UK by Student Hut.

1796 University of Bremen change of status to strategic partnership

Received and considered paper 19/711, ‘Partnership with University of Bremen’. The Vice-Chancellor was invited to speak to this item.

Noted

1796.1 that there was currently a good partnership with the University of Bremen;

1796.2 that the original purpose of the partnership had been to mitigate some impacts of Brexit, though this had been superseded by the COVID-19 pandemic;

1796.3 that the University was keen to elevate the status of this partnership to match those with KU Leuven, Xiamen University, University of Campinas and Beijing Normal University.

Resolved

1796.4 to approve an international Strategic Partnership with the University of Bremen.

1797 Report from Chair of Governance Committee to Council

Received and considered paper 19/737B, ‘Report from Governance Committee to Council’. Ms Lin Phillips was invited to speak to this item.

Noted

1797.1 [Redacted]

1797.2 [Redacted]

1797.3 [Redacted]

Resolved

1797.4 to approve the Cardiff University Open Research Action Plan;

1797.5 to approve the Cardiff University Open Research Position Statement;

1797.6 to approve the revisions to the Council Members’ Benefits Policy.

1798 Powell Review: recommendations and actions

Received and considered paper 19/771B, ‘Powell Review Recommendations & Actions’. Ms Jan Juillerat was invited to speak to this item.

Noted

1798.1 that Professor Dame Janet Finch, Mr Len Richards and Judge Ray Singh left the meeting during this item;

1798.2 that thanks were extended to members of the Working Group for the contributions;

1798.3 that the paper included feedback received from Governance Committee and the latest position in relation to the Camm Review;

1798.4 that it was recommended the Audit Committee be renamed the Audit and Risk Committee; discussions were held on the possibility of the name being the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee;

1798.5 that it was recommended the Policy and Resources Committee be renamed the Finance and Resources Committee;

1798.6 that it was proposed the Investment and Banking Sub-Committee and the Estates and Infrastructure Sub-Committee are retained; it was proposed at the meeting these become advisory committees to the Finance and Resource Committee;

1798.7 that it was proposed Council is reduced to 22 members, in line with the Camm Review, with a proposal for membership offered to Council for discussion;

1798.8 that members of Council were reminded that individuals appointed are not ‘representatives’;

1798.9 that it was queried whether it was appropriate to separate out Academic and Professional Services staff and whether there should be a one category for staff members who offer a blend of viewpoints;

1798.10 that a discussion was held on whether a Pro Vice-Chancellor member would provide an academic perspective;

1798.11 that, once agreed, there would be flexibility built into Ordinances to allow an increase in lay members should this be required for a specific purpose or to add a specific skill set;

1788.12 that there were concerns in reducing the number of UEB members, the number of Academic members and the number of Professional Services members;

1798.13 that it was proposed any agreed changes are phased in over two or three years;

1798.14 that agreed actions would be implemented once recruitment had been completed to the Governance Services Team and alongside the Camm Review and the Governance Effectiveness Review.

Resolved

1798.15 with reference to Powell recommendation 15A to approve Audit Committee be renamed the Audit and Risk Committee;

1798.16 with reference to Powell recommendation 15B to approve the Policy and Resources Committee be renamed the Finance and Resources Committee;

1798.17 with reference to Powell recommendation 15B to approve the Working Group recommendation that the Investment and Banking Sub-Committee and the Estates and Infrastructure Sub-Committee remain as advisory committees to the Finance and Resource Committee;

1798.18 with reference to Powell recommendation 6 to approve Council membership be reduced to 22 members and this be implemented incrementally over the next two or three years;

1798.19 with reference to Powell recommendation 6 for the Vice-Chair of Council to discuss the proposed amendments to UEB membership with the Vice-Chancellor;

1798.20 for a further proposal for Powell recommendations 6 and 7 regarding Council membership to be presented to Governance Committee;

1798.21 for a further working group to be convened, if required;

1798.22 for a review to be carried out of the impact on reducing the number of lay members of Council on the lay membership of sub-committees of Council;

1798.23 with reference to Powell recommendation 8, to approve the Working Group recommendation that there be no change to the current term of office of lay members;

1798.24 with reference to Powell recommendation 9, to approve the Working Group recommendation that provision should be made for the Chair to be a lay appointment recruited via internal and external competition;

1798.25 for Powell recommendations 1-5, 10-14, 15C, 15D, 17 and 18 as set out in Paper 19/771B to be approved.

1799 Lay Member appointments to Council and its Committees

Received and considered paper 19/766B, ‘Lay Member Appointments to Council and its Committees’. Mrs Rashi Jain was invited to speak to this item.

Noted

1799.1 that the paper provided an update on recruitment activity, recruitment of the next Chair of Council and to seek approval of appointments to Council and its committees;

1799.2 that a meeting had been held with Perrett Laver to shortlist lay member candidates; during the summer there will be meetings and discussions with the shortlisted candidates;

1799.3 that it is proposed to go out to tender in the Autumn for an agency for appointment of the next Chair of Council.

Resolved

1799.4 to approve a recruitment agency be invited to support the University in its search for the next Chair of Council, and that this activity begins no later than the autumn of 2020;

1799.5 to instruct the University Secretary to initiate the process reviewing the Statutes (via the Privy Council) and Ordinances to allow for the Chair of Council to be appointed from outside of the existing lay members of Council;

1799.6 to approve the following lay member appointments:

1. reappointment of Dr Carol Bell for an exceptional third term of 5 months until the 31 December 2020;
2. reappointment of Mr Alastair Gibbons for an exceptional third term of 5 months until the 31 December 2020;
3. appointment of Ms Judith Fabian as Chair of Governance Committee from 01 August 2020 to the 31 July 2021 (aligned with Ms Fabian’s term as a member of Council);
4. appointment of Mr Len Richards as a lay member of Governance Committee from 01 August 2020 to the 31 July 2021 (aligned with Mr Richards’ term as a member of Council);
5. reappointment of Mr. Alastair Gibbons as Chair of the Policy & Resources Committee, for a period of 5 months until the 31 December 2020 (to align with his exceptional re-appointment as a member of Council);
6. appointment of Mr John Shakeshaft as Chair of the Policy & Resources Committee from 01 January 2021 to the 31 July 2022 (aligned with Mr Shakeshaft’s term as a member of Council);
7. appointment of Mr David Simmons as a lay member of Policy & Resources Committee from 01 January 2021 until the 31 July 2022 (aligned with Mr Simmons’ term as a member of Council);
8. re-appointment of Dr Carol Bell as Chair of the Investment & Banking Sub-Committee, for a period of 5 months until the 31 December 2020 (to align with her exceptional re-appointment as a lay member of Council);
9. re-appointment of Mr Alastair Gibbons as a lay member of the Investment & Banking Sub-Committee, for a period of 5 months until 31 December 2020 (to align with his exceptional re-appointment as a lay member of Council);
10. appointment of Ms Agnes Xavier-Phillips as a lay member of the Honorary Fellows and Degrees Committee from the 01 August 2020 – 31 July 2021 (aligned with Ms Xavier-Phillips’ term as a member of Council);
11. appointment of Ms Judith Fabian as a lay member of the Academic Standards and Quality Committee from the 01 August 2020 – 31 July 2021 (aligned with Ms Fabian’s term as a member of Council);
12. appointment of Dr Joanna Newman as a lay member of the Academic Promotions Committee from the 01 August 2020 – 31 July 2023 (aligned with Dr Newman’s term as a member of Council);
13. appointment of Professor Nick Topley as the Chair of the Biological Standards Committee from 01 August 2020 – 31 July 2023.

1800 Report from Chair of Policy and Resources Committee

Received and considered paper 19/731B, ‘Report from Policy and Resources Committee to Council’. Mr Alastair Gibbons was invited to speak to this item.

Noted

1800.1 that Judge Ray Singh joined the meeting during this item;

1800.2 that there was currently no budget for agreement due to the fluidity of the situation; Policy and Resources Committee continued to receive regular updates on the financial position;

1800.3 that the Llanrumney Busines Case and Treasury Management Policy were presented for approval by Council;

1800.4 [Redacted]

Resolved

1800.5 to approve the Llanrumney Busines Case;

1800.6t o approve the Treasury Management Policy Updates;

1800.7 to approve Barclays to be appointed as managers of the listed equities portion of the Bond Repayment Fund.

1801 Finance report

Received and considered paper 19/781B, ‘Financial Report’. The Chief Financial Officer was invited to speak to this item.

Noted

1801.1 that currently the forecast outturn was an operating surplus of £4.6m;

1801.2 that during the last quarter there had been a reduction in fees from residences and contribution centres; there had also been increased spend for COVID-19 related issues;

1801.3 there was a slowing on staff costs;

1801.4 that there was still uncertainty over possible claims from students for tuition fee refunds;

1801.5 that it was estimated the year would end with a small operating surplus; there would also be an accounting credit in relation to revised pension valuations.

1802 Capital Investment plan update

Received and considered paper 19/778B, ‘Capital Investment Plan Update’. The Chief Financial Officer was invited to speak to this item.

Noted

1802.1 that the main area of spend related to the Centre for Student Life; funding for the Cardiff Innovation Campus and Architecture expansion had been deferred;

1802.2 that the University was also preparing to undertake work relating to the Network Upgrade, which had become more important in the current situation;

1802.3 that a number of projects had been placed on hold, whilst details of available funding were still unclear; Policy and Resources Committee had agreed to place these projects on hold for one year;

1802.4 that there were concerns the Fire Strategy work had been placed on hold; it was confirmed adequate fire protection was in place and this work related to enhancing the protection for expected future regulation;

1802.5 that it was confirmed the £78m University fund available was held in deposits and consideration would need to be given to their use.

Resolved

1802.6 to approve the permanent stop to projects currently on hold.

1803 Cardiff Innovation Campus (CIC) Risk Management Plan

Received and considered papers 19/707B, ‘CIC Risk Management Update’ and 19/794B ‘Addendum to Cardiff Innovation Campus Risk Management Plan Paper’. The Deputy Vice-Chancellor was invited to speak to this item.

Noted

1803.1 that the paper provided an update on the £16.5m risk budget previously presented to Council;

1803.2 that there had been a reduction in the costed risk, and it was hoped this would continue as further risks are closed out;

1803.3 that there was at present no risk budget allocated for COVID-19 impacts; a compensation event was being prepared by Bouygues in relation to this;

1803.4 that due to social distancing rules, the site was currently working at 75% capacity; the distancing rules were expected to continue until at least September;

1803.5 that an overall budget position, along with details of the compensation event and revision to programme, were included in the addendum;

1803.6 that cashflow was being reviewed to determine if this could be reduced at peak periods to assist the University.

1804 Estates Disposal Strategy

Received and considered paper 19/768B, ‘Estates Disposal Strategy’. The Chief Financial Officer was invited to speak to this item.

Noted

1804.1 [Redacted]

1804.2 [Redacted]

1804.3 that Professor Ken Hamilton left the meeting at this point.

Resolved

1804.4 to approve Estates progress negotiations of a possible one-year extension to the Department of Work and Pensions lease at the Heath Park West site.

1805 Annual report on Joint Ventures 2018/19

Received and considered paper 19/712B, ‘Annual Report on Joint Ventures’. The Chief Financial Officer was invited to speak to this item.

Noted

1805.1 that discussions had been held with IQE on extending the Compound Semi-Conductors Joint Venture until March 2022; with current performance, it was hoped the EBITDA would be doubled for 2020;  
1805.2 that this Joint Venture had been awarded a major grant of £43m, of which the University would receive around £3.6m;

1805.3 that the High Performance Computing Wales Ltd. venture was being dissolved;

1805.4 that the strategy for the Cardiff Medicentre venture at Heath Park site with the Cardiff and Vale Health Board was being reviewed.

1806 Financial projections 20/21

Received and considered paper 19/791B, ‘Financial Projections 2020/21’. The Chief Financial Officer was invited to speak to this item.

Noted

1806.1 [Redacted]

1806.2 [Redacted]

1806.3 [Redacted]

1806.4 [Redacted]

1806.5 [Redacted]

1806.6 [Redacted]

1806.7 [Redacted]

1806.8 [Redacted]

1806.9 [Redacted]

1806.10 [Redacted]

1806.11 [Redacted]

1806.12 [Redacted]

1806.13 [Redacted]

1806.14 [Redacted]

1806.15 [Redacted]

1806.16 [Redacted]

1806.17 [Redacted]

1806.18 [Redacted]

1806.19 [Redacted]

1806.20 [Redacted]

1806.21 [Redacted]

1806.22 [Redacted]

1. [Redacted]
2. [Redacted]
3. [Redacted]
4. [Redacted]
5. [Redacted]
6. [Redacted]
7. [Redacted]
8. [Redacted]
9. [Redacted]
10. [Redacted]

1807 2021/2022 - Tuition fees methodology and levels

Received and considered paper 19/708B, ‘2021-22 Tuition Fee Levels’. Professor Rudolf Allemann was invited to speak to this item.

Noted

1807.1 that the paper proposed the maximum fee level of £9k for home and EU undergraduate students;

1807.2 that it was proposed to maintain the fee level for PG and International students at the 20/21 level, to avoid dissuading students from study.

Resolved

1807.3 to approve the fee levels for 2021/2021 as detailed in the paper.

1808 Students’ Union annual block grant request 2020/21

Received and considered paper 19/776B, ‘Students’ Union Annual Block Grant Request 2020’21’. Ms Claire Sanders was invited to speak to this item.

Noted

1808.1 [Redacted]

1808.2 [Redacted]

1808.3 [Redacted]

1808.4 [Redacted]

Resolved

1808.5 to approve the Students’ Union Block Grant is maintained, with the provision that 10% of the Block Grant may be required to be repaid.

1809  Report from the Chair of Audit Committee

Received and considered paper 19/767B, ‘Report from Audit Committee to Council’. Mr Michael Hampson was invited to speak to this item.

Noted

1809.1 [Redacted]

1809.2 [Redacted]

1809.3 [Redacted]

1809.4 [Redacted]

1809.5 [Redacted]

1809.6 [Redacted]

1809.7 [Redacted]

1809.8 [Redacted]

Resolved

1809.9 to approve the Annual Report of Fraud, Bribery and other Financial Compliance.

1810 External Audit Plan and Fees 2019/2020

Received and considered paper 19/769B, ‘Cardiff University External Audit Plan and Fee 2019’2020’. The Chief Financial Officer was invited to speak to this item.

Noted

1810.1 that the key risks for the year related to going concern and financial sustainability; the University was communicating regularly with the Audit Committee and External Auditors on the actions undertaken in these areas;

1810.2 that there was a small increase in fees due to the change in the major risk area from the impairment of the Compound Semi-Conductors Joint Venture in the previous year, to going concern.

Resolved

1810.3 to approve the External Audit Plan and Fee for 2019/2020.

1811 Internal Audit Strategy and Plan 2020/2021

Received and considered paper 19/793B, ‘Internal Audit Strategy and Annual Plan 2020/21’. Mr Michael Hampson was invited to speak to this item.

Noted

1811.1 [Redacted]

1811.2 [Redacted]

1811.3 [Redacted]

Resolved

1811.4 to approve the proposed Internal Audit Strategy and provisional costs for 2020/2021, subject to future review.

1812 External Audit Contract 2020/21

Received and considered paper 19/792B, ‘External Audit Contract 2020/2021’. The Chief Financial Officer was invited to speak to this item.

Noted

1812.1 [Redacted]

1812.2 [Redacted]

Resolved

1812.3 to approve the extension of PricewaterhouseCoopers’ contract for external audit provision to include the 2020/21 academic year.

1813 Report from Senate

Received and considered paper 19/777B, ‘Report from Senate to Council’. The Vice-Chancellor was invited to speak to this item.

Noted

1813.1 that the results of the Quality Enhancement Review were very positive and an action plan was included for approval.

Resolved

1813.2  to approve the QER Report and Action Plan.

1814 The Student View and University response

Received and considered papers 19/714, ‘The Student View 2020’ and 19/715 ‘University Response to The Student View 2020’. Ms Claire Morgan was invited to speak to this item.

Noted

1814.1 that the Students’ Union President thanked the University for its response and the comments provided;

1814.2 that the University thanked the Students’ Union for their detailed report.

Resolved

1814.3 to approve the University response to the Student View;

1814.4 for an update on actions to be brought to a future meeting of Council.

1815 2019 Staff survey results and University response

Received and considered paper 19/772B, ‘Staff Survey 2019’. The Deputy Vice-Chancellor was invited to speak to this item.

Noted

1815.1 that the Deputation had provided useful context to the Staff Survey and the Deputy Vice-Chancellor would write to the Professors at Cardiff Group on behalf of UEB to thank them for their contribution;

1815.2 that three key areas for action had been identified:

1. senior leadership, visibility, and transparency led by the Vice-Chancellor;
2. culture and engagement, led by Sue Midha;
3. internal Communications, led by Ms Claire Sanders;

1815.3 that the Deputy Vice-Chancellor would have oversight of all three areas;

1815.4 that concerns had been raised during the Deputation on the low levels of trust in senior management and it was therefore queried whether it was appropriate for senior management to lead the key areas;

1815.5 that the Vice-Chancellor accepted there were a number of negative themes that required addressing and noted there are marginal extremes within the responses, which should also be considered;

1815.6 that it was crucial the tone of the response reflected the seriousness with which management were addressing the concerns raised and members of the University felt involved in the process;

1815.7 that this provided an opportunity to introduce targets that celebrated success within the institution as well;

1815.8 that the executive had consulted with a diverse group on the results and University response to the survey.

Resolved

1815.9 for the Deputy Vice-Chancellor to lead further work on the University response and bring to a future meeting of Council.

1816 HR dashboard

Received and considered paper 19/724B, ‘HR Dashboard’. Ms Sue Midha was invited to speak to this item.

Noted

1816.1 that the data in the report was as at 31st January 2020, and therefore before the COVID-19 pandemic; a review of the timing of the reports was being reviewed to ensure these are more up to date;

1816.2 that during the last year, headcount had increased by 4.8% and FTE by 0.3%; the main areas of growth had been T&R and MPSS and it was noted the majority of MPSS posts were project based and so short term;

1816.3 that the increase in headcount was also due to staff reprofiling (e.g. exam invigilators categorised as academic staff).

1817 Redundancy Committee report to Council

Received and considered paper 19/709B, ‘Report from Redundancy Committee’. Ms Sue Midha was invited to speak to this item.

Noted

1817.1 that the paper requests a number of approvals from Council;

1817.2 a query regarding who is prescribed as the Chair of the Committee within Statutes and Ordinances.

PostScript: Statute does not prescribe who is Chair of the Committee but notes in can be the Deputy Vice Chancellor, or a nominee from the lay members of Council.

Resolved

1817.3 to approve the procedure in relation to the two applicable categories of staff detailed in this paper for 12 months from October 2020;

1817.4 to confirm it is desirable that there be a reduction in the academic staff in relation to the projected contract terminations of the two applicable categories of academic staff across the University over the following year from 01 October 2020;

1817.5 to set up Redundancy Committees to consider such terminations;

1817.6 to approve delegation to the Chair or Vice Chair of Council the authority to approve any selection recommendation made by the Redundancy Committee, or to remit it to the Redundancy Committee for further consideration in accordance with their further directions;

1817.7 to approve delegated authority to the Director of Human Resources to issue dismissal notices following a decision taken on behalf of Council by the Chair or Deputy Chair of Council.

1818 Remuneration Committee report to Council – 9 April 2020

Received and considered paper 19/736B, ‘Report from Remuneration Committee’. Ms Jan Juillerat was invited to speak to this item.

Noted

1818.1 that an additional meeting had been held in May and a further meeting had been scheduled in July.

1819 Staff Drug and Alcohol Policy and Guidance

Received and considered paper 19/735, ‘Staff Drug & Alcohol Policy’. The Deputy Vice-Chancellor was invited to speak to this item.

Noted

1819.1 the policy was a revision of the 2015 version;

1819.2 that Governance Committee were thanked for their contributions;

1819.3 that updates were in line with Welsh Government policy;

1819.4 that clarification had been added that staff must not return to work after consuming alcohol, even if provided at a work function.

Resolved

1819.5 to approve the Staff Drug and Alcohol Policy and Guidance.

1820 Pensions update

The Chief Financial Officer provided a verbal update.

Noted

1820.1 that the 2020 valuation for the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) was being progressed; UUK was developing a straw man of reformed benefits to improve flexibility for members;

1820. 2 [Redacted]

1821 Ordinance amendments

Received and noted papers 19/721 ‘Ordinance Amendments PVC Title’ and 19/722B ‘Ordinance Amendments RemCom ToR’.

Noted

1821.1 that the reference to Chief Operating Officer and University Secretary within the Terms of Reference for the Remuneration Committee may need to be amended, given the current separation of the two roles.

Resolved

1821.2 to approve the amendments within Ordinances to change the name from Pro Vice-Chancellor Student Experience and Academic Standards to the Pro Vice-Chancellor Education and Students;

1821.3 to approve the amendments to the Terms of Reference to the Remuneration Committee.

1822 Students' Union financial agreement annual review 2019/2020

Received and considered paper 19/731B, ‘Students' Union Financial Agreement Annual Review’.

Resolved

1822.1 to approve that, following the 2019/2020 review, there are no changes proposed to the Students' Union Financial Agreement and that the next review will be taken in early 2021.

1823 Any other business

Noted

1823.1 that a concern was raised regarding the changes in staff within the Governance Services Team within the last two year; it was agreed this was an operational matter for management by the Acting University Secretary with support from HR;

1823.2 that in light of the current situation, the Legal Services Team are exercising Force Majeure and frustration of contract where appropriate and will review enforceability of clauses going forward;

1823.3 that thanks were extended to Professor Marc Bühner and Professor Mary Heimann for their contributions to Council;

1823.4 that Ms Alex Payne was attending her last meeting and thanked for her advice and expertise in supporting Council and the governance of the institution;

1823.5 that Ms Lin Phillips was attending her last meeting of Council and was thanked for her hard worked and wished all the best for the future;

1823.6 that communication would be shared with Council members of proposed meetings of Council in August and September.

1824 Annual Welsh Language Monitoring Report 2018/2019

Received and noted paper 19/710B ‘2019 Welsh Annual Monitoring Report’.

1825 Management response: 2018 HEFCW Inst. Assurance Review

Received and noted paper 19/720B ‘Management Response 2018 HEFCW Institutional Assurance Review’.

1826 Emeritus/Emerita Titles Awarded

Received and noted paper 19/704 ‘Emeritus and Emerita Titles’.

1827 Research grants and contracts

Received and noted paper 19/705 ‘Research Grants and Contracts’.

1828 Sealing transactions

Received and noted paper 19/693 ‘Sealing Transactions’.

1829 Calendar of key meetings 2020/21

Received and noted paper 19/706 ‘Key Meeting Dates 2020-21’.

1830 Draft agenda for the next meeting: 6 July 2020

Received and noted paper 19/719B, ‘Draft Agenda for Council Meeting 23 Nov 2020’.