Court Minutes 29 January 2020

Minutes of the meeting of the Court of Cardiff University held in the lecture theatre, Hadyn Ellis Building on Wednesday 29 January 2020.

Preliminaries

372 Welcome and introduction from the Chancellor

372.1 the Chancellor, Baroness Randerson duly declared the meeting open and extended a welcome to all attendees;

372.2 the Chancellor noted questions may be asked in Welsh and that translation headsets were provided.

373 Apologies for Absence

Noted

373.1 that confirmed apologies would be appended to the minutes;

373.2 the Chancellor confirmed the meeting met quorum.

374 Declaration of interests

374.1 The Chancellor advised that any relevant declarations of interests should    be stated before a member of Court speaks.

375 Minutes 30 January 2019

Noted that the Minutes of the meeting of the Court held on 30 January 2019 (paper 19/323) were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

376 Matters arising

Noted there were no matters arising.

377 Report from the Chancellor on the activities of the Chancellor and Pro-Chancellors

The Chancellor provided an oral report on this item.

Noted

377.1 that two of the Pro-Chancellors were in attendance at the meeting;

377.2 that the Chancellors and Pro-Chancellors were working closely with the University to provide an ambassadorial role;

377.3 that the Chancellor and Pro-Chancellors had played an important role in graduation which was the highlight of the year for students and the staff who had taught them;

377.4 that the Chancellor and Pro-Chancellors had attended several University organised events including the Sir Stanley stewardship event in May, the Reith Lecture in June, the IWA/Cardiff University debate in October and the Cardiff Half Marathon in November;

377.5 that the Chancellor had spoken at the launch of the University’s partnership with the University of Bremen and hosted a table at the fundraising dinner for the statue of Rhodri Morgan; the Chancellor noted how the University’s reputation has grown, not only in Wales, but globally;

377.6 that Dr Gabe Treharne and Reverend Canon Gareth Powell had been asked to carry out independent reviews into the costings of the Cardiff Innovation Campus and the University’s governance respectively;

377.7 that the Chancellor had visited several schools and departments to gain a better understanding of the institution and hoped to continue this work;

377.8 that the Chancellor thanked the Vice-Chancellor and his team for their support.

378 Membership of Court

Members were asked to note paper 19/324 ‘Constitution and Membership of Court’.

Noted

378.1 that the Chancellor welcomed all new members to the meeting;

378.2 the Chancellor expressed thanks to all those who were attending their last meeting of Court and thanked them for their contribution.

379 Report on Honours bestowed and deaths since the last meeting of Court

Members were asked to note paper 19/325 on ‘Honours Bestowed and Deaths since the last meeting of Court’.

Noted

379.1 the large number of honours and awards bestowed on members of the University;

379.2 with sadness, the deaths of all those who have passed since the last meeting of Court;

379.3 a moments silence was held as a mark of respect to all those who had passed since the last meeting.

380 Report by the Chair of Council

The Court received an oral report from Professor Stuart Palmer, Chair of Council which covered significant matters considered by Council since the last meeting of Court in January 2019.

Noted

380.1 that issues surrounding Brexit, industrial action and financial sustainability identified in the report last year do not seem to have been settled;

380.2 that a period of industrial action had been held at the end of 2019;

380.3 that the Chair was grateful to the Vice-Chancellor and his team for their efforts in continuing to lead in this period of uncertainty;

380.4 that Council had met five times since the meeting of Court in January 2019;

380.5 that Council continued to review the University’s 5-year financial forecast and had approved the Financial Statements for the year 2018/19;

380.6 that Council have received updates as the proposals for Transforming Cardiff begin to take shape;

380.7 that Council had reviewed key documents relating to the Students’ Union;

380.8 that Council continued to scrutinise estates developments and their progress;

380.9 that Council had welcomed a number of new members since the last meeting of Court.

381 Annual Report and Statement of the Financial affairs of the University

A short film was shown, demonstrating key achievements since the last meeting of Court. Members of Court were invited to put questions to the Vice-Chancellor at the end of the film.

The Chancellor then invited Mr Rob Williams, the Chief Financial Officer, to present his report on the Annual Statement of the Financial Affairs of the University. Members of Court were invited to ask questions at the end of the Chief Financial Officer’s presentation.

Noted

Introduction by Vice-Chancellor

381.1 that the Vice-Chancellor noted the highlights of the year set out in the film and identified there had also been some difficult areas during the year;

381.2 that the University was working hard in relation to the climate emergency and was reviewing the use of energy;

381.3 that the University was looking to launch a university-wide mental health strategy;

381.4 that the University as a whole was working to tackle racial inequalities;

381.5 that the University was working locally to address issues raised during industrial action and would also work nationally on these issues;

381.6 that, in response to a question, Court was in practice reviewed every three years;

Presentation from the Chief Financial Officer

381.7 that the operating deficit for 18/19 had been -£7m, as opposed to the -£11m budgeted;

381.8 that income had risen by 4%, mainly due to an increase in tuition fee income, HEFCW grants and research income;

381.9 that other sources of income had dropped, mainly due to the removal of the Wales Centre for Pharmacy Professional Education and Wales Deanery from the University;

381.10 that tuition fee income had risen by 5.4%, mainly due to an increase in the number of overseas students;

381.11 that the fee received for public funded teaching (i.e. tuition fees for undergraduates) had not risen in the last 7 years, despite the cost of teaching increasing through inflation; the University had therefore to look for additional funding to fill this gap;

381.12 that research income was up 9.6%, mainly due to charity funding and grants from English and Welsh governments; there had been a slight drop in funding from the EU;

381.13 expenditure had risen by 2.3%, mainly from increased staffing costs and the 1% increase in staff numbers; the growth in staff costs was slowing;

381.14 that there was a deficit of £117m and this was due to exceptional matters principally relating to pension liabilities;

381.15 that the USS deficit in 2014 was £5.3bn and in 2017 was £7.5bn; the University’s share of the 2017 deficit was £140.8m and a provision of £92.9m had been made in the accounts to reflect this; this in effect represented the need to repay this at £10m per annum  for the next 14 years ;

381.16 that a further valuation of the pension liability had been carried out in 2018 and had given a deficit of £3.6bn; this would be reflected in the next year’s accounts;

381.17 that the Chief Financial Officer was undertaking careful monitoring of expenditure;

381.18 that as part of Transforming Cardiff, the University was aiming to return to an operating surplus;

381.19 that, in response to a question, the University was looking to increase its research and government funding income to ensure delivery of excellent teaching for students; the University was also reviewing the mix of staff within Professional Services as part of Transforming Cardiff;

381.20 that, in response to a question, the University had fully divested from fossil fuels at the end of 2019 and that this had not impacted on its investment returns;

381.21 that, in response to a question, the new Centre for Student Life building was funded from University reserves;

381.22 that the Chief Financial Officer addressed questions raised by the unions in relation to the methodology used for the USS valuations; in this context, the Joint Expert Panel had been formed and had carried out two reviews which had provided recommendations on the valuation methodology and governance of the scheme.

382 Presentations from the students of the University

The Court received presentations from two Cardiff University students, Stavroula Briseniou, undergraduate student and Aidan Starr, PhD student, who both shared their experiences of the University.

383 Date of the next meeting of Court

Members of Court were asked to note the next meeting of Court which will take place on 27 January 2021. Written notification will be issued to all members of Court later in the year.

384 Any other business

Noted

384.1 that a clarification was provided on the Centre for Student Life; this would house the student support functions and not be a new building for the Students’ Union;

384.2 that the Annual Report had noted the economic impact of the University was estimated at over £3bn; the Vice-Chancellor encouraged members of Court as ambassadors to promote this, especially given the often

negative news stories surrounding universities generally;

384.3 that the University was aware of a query relating to the ability to make voluntary contributions for the benefit of those on the Cardiff University Pension Fund (CUPF) pension scheme and were considering this as an element of the review of the scheme;

384.4 The meeting was formally closed and guests were invited to join the Chancellor for drinks and canapés in the reception area whilst visiting the exhibition stands.

Attendance (P = Present, A = Apology)

Summary of attendance:
Present 76
Apologised 27
Absent 41

Members

Officers: Ms Deborah Collins (Chief Operating Officer & University Secretary), Mr Robert Williams (Chief Financial Officer)

In Attendance: Professor Amanda Coffey, Ms Katy Dale (Minute taker), Ms Sue Midha, Ms Catrin Parri (Translator), Ms Alex Payne and Ms Claire Sanders.