University Council Minutes 28 March 2023

Minutes of the meeting held on 28 March 2023 at 9.15 am via Microsoft Teams.

Membership:

• Ingrid Barker
• Paul Crichard
• Nicola de Iongh (Chair)
• Chris Fung (until C.23.50)
• Steve Gardiner
• Ellie Hill
• Dr Louise Livesey
• Stephen Marston (until C.23.52)
• Steve Mawson
• Stephen Maycock
• Mehjabeen Patrick
• Dr Adeela Shafi
• Pamela Sissons
• Elonka Soros
• David Soutter (from C.23.49)
• The Rt Revd Robert Springett (until C.23.50)
• Joe Sucksmith
• Beth Timmons
• Julie Walkling
• Dr Peter Warry

In attendance:

Lindsey Ingle (for C.23.47-49), Director (Financial Performance and Analysis)

Prof Sarah Jones, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic Enhancement and Research)

Prof Jackie Labbe (until C.23.52), Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost

Jess Lawson (for C.23.50), Director (Planning)

Camille Stallard, Chief Financial Officer

Dr Nigel Wichall (for C.23.49), Director (Estates)

Dr Matthew Andrews (Officer), Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Governance and Student Affairs)

Penny Gravestock (Minutes), Assistant Secretary to Council

C.23.38          Prayer

                     The Rt Revd Robert Springett opened the meeting with a prayer.

C.23.39          Welcome and Apologies

                     Received: apologies for absence from Steve Mawson and Mehjabeen Patrick. Apologies for late arrival were received from David Soutter, and for early departure from Chris Fung and the Rt Revd Robert Springett.

C.23.40          Business of the Agenda

                     Noted: that there had been no requests to unstar any items on the agenda and that therefore papers C/24/23 and C/25/23 had been approved or noted as stated.

C.23.41          Declarations of Interest

                     Noted: that no interests were declared.

C.23.42          Minutes of the meetings held on 7 February, 2 March, and 8 March 2023 (confidential)

                     Resolved: it was agreed that the minutes were accurate records of the meetings held on 7 February, 2 March, and 8 March 2023.

C.23.43          Matters Arising (C/16/23)

                     Received: details of the matters arising as outlined in the paper.

C.23.44          Chair’s Business

C.23.44.1       Received: updates from each of the Committee Chairs on key discussions held at the following  meetings:

1. Remuneration and Human Resources Committee, 1 March 2023;
2. Audit and Risk Committee, 10 March 2023;
3. Finance and General Purposes Committee, 14 March 2023;
4. Council Chairs’ Group, 15 March 2023.

C.23.44.2       Noted: that since the previous meeting, there had been no exercise of delegation nor any use of the Company Seal, but that the following decisions had been made by circulation:

1. confirmation of Nicola de Iongh’s second term of office as Chair for four years from 1 October 2023;
2. decisions regarding the recruitment process for a new Vice-Chancellor (as outlined under minute C.23.52.1).
   
   

C.23.45          SU Update Report to Council (C/17/23)

C.23.45.1       Received: the Students’ Union (SU) update, noting in particular:

1. issues with the recent election process;
2. the ongoing Varsity competition with University of Worcester;
3. the impact of the Advice Service and the need for continued resource;
4. work with the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic Enhancement and Research) following the Teaching Excellence Framework submission;
5. ongoing SU campaigns.

C.23.45.2       Considered:

1. reports through the Advice Service that students had been impacted by a lack of accessible communications, and the work with teams within the University to ensure that messages were student-friendly and accessible for those with disabilities, whilst still retaining the necessary content;
2. the support for the election process from the University.

C.23.45.3       Resolved: Council:

1. reviewed and responded to current work undertaken by the Students’ Union;
2. offered suggestion and support for ongoing work throughout the year, with particular attention to Officer priority campaigns;
3. noted the suggested actions to Council found throughout the paper.

C.23.46          CONFIDENTIAL: Vice-Chancellor’s Report (C/18/23)

C.23.46.1       Received: a paper updating Council on major developments affecting the University since the previous meeting, including reports on the Lifelong Loan Entitlement, international student recruitment, and government funding.

C.23.46.2       This discussion was undertaken under Confidential Business.

C.23.46.3       Noted: the developments set out in the paper.

C.23.47          CONFIDENTIAL: January YTD Results and Forecast 2 (C/19/23)

                     This item was considered under Confidential Business.

C.23.48          CONFIDENTIAL: 2023/24 Draft Fee Income Budget (C/20/23)

                     This item was considered under Confidential Business.

C.23.49          CONFIDENTIAL: City Campus Contract / Update (C/21/23)

                     This item was considered under Confidential Business.

C.23.50         CONFIDENTIAL: Project Reset Update (C/22/23)

                     This item was considered under Confidential Business.

C.23.51         Risk Management Report: Updated Risk Register and Action Plan 2022/23 (C/23/23)

C.23.51.1       Received: an updated version of the Risk Register and Action Plan for 2022/23. The Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Governance and Student Affairs) reported that the paper had been revised to reflect comments made by Audit and Risk Committee.

C.23.51.2       Considered:

1. the layout of the report;
2. whether the report was too thorough and could be simplified to reduce the time and resource for production;
3. that despite discussions at the meeting regarding the University’s finances, there had been no update to Risk 3. It was noted that the lack of an update did not necessarily reflect the severity of the risk, and that Risk 3 was already highly rated with all actions on target for future dates;
4. whether the owner of a risk should be listed by name or role;
5. that given the experience of recent years, whether the Register should include an item on the management of the risk of future pandemics.

C.23.51.3       Resolved: Council considered and approved the Risk Management Report including the updated Risk Register and Action Plan for 2022/23. It was requested that risks in the report should be listed by the current rating, and recommended that the inclusion of a risk related to the management of future pandemics should be discussed at the risk workshop in August 2023.

ACTION: Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Governance and Student Affairs)

Prof Jackie Labbe and Stephen Marston left the meeting.

C.23.52         Vice-Chancellor Recruitment Update

                     This item was discussed under Confidential Business.

C.23.53          Annual Report and Action Plan for the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers* (C/24/23)

                     Resolved: Council approved the report and action plan which had previously been approved by the University Research Committee, University Executive Committee, and Academic Board.

C.23.54          Council Schedule of Business* (C/25/23)

                     Noted: the Schedule of Business.

C.23.55          Minutes from Council Committees*

                     Noted: that the minutes from the following meetings would be available from https://connectglosac.sharepoint.com/sites/UniversityCommittees: 

1. Remuneration and Human Resources Committee, 1 March 2023;
2. Audit and Risk Committee, 10 March 2023;
3. Finance and General Purposes Committee, 14 March 2023.

C.23.56          Any Other Business

                     No other business was raised.

C.23.57          Date of Next Meeting

                     Tuesday, 16 May 2023 at 9.15 am (via Teams)

Action list for the meeting held 28 March 2023