The Council

COUN05-M7

Minutes of the meeting of the University Council held on Tuesday 20 December 2005.

Members:

Sir Bryan Carsberg (Chair); Dr Memis Acar (ab); Phil Blake; Dr Jim Blood; Roger Boissier; Dr Sandie Dann (ab); Peter Davenport; Gareth Davies; Venu Dhupa (ab); Peter Haslehurst; Norma Honey; Sir John Jennings; Rob Kirkwood; Mansoor Moghal; Dr Bill Moss; Jim Mutton; Professor Richard Parry-Jones; Simon Proffitt; Professor Phil Roberts; Dr Fytton Rowland; Professor Peter Smith (ab): Gab Stone; Jackie Strong (ab); Professor Rachel Thomson; Margaret Tomlinson; Professor Sir David Wallace; Professor Peter Warwick; Bob Wilson; Dr Cyril Woodruff; Dr Alan A Woods

In attendance:

Professor Chris Backhouse; Professor Morag Bell; Professor Neil Halliwell; Professor Terry Kavanagh; Professor Ron McCaffer; Sir Charles McCullough, Brian Manley (for item 05/117), Professor Ken Parsons; Michael Pearson; Miranda Routledge; John Town; Jon Walker

Apologies for absence were received from:

Dr Memis Acar, Dr Sandie Dann, Venu Dhupa, Professor Peter Smith, Jackie Strong

05/115 Chairman’s Welcome

The Chairman welcomed Sir Charles McCullough, the University Visitor, and Brian Manley, who had written the report for the Review of Effectiveness of Council, to the meeting.

05/116 Minutes

The Minutes of the Meeting of Council held on 28 October 2005 [COUN05-M5] were CONFIRMED.

05/117 Review of Effectiveness of Council

COUN05-P103

Brian Manley introduced his report of the Review of Effectiveness of Council. He prefaced discussion by stating that, in his view, the University was well run and that he believed Council functioned effectively as a governing body. The report had been written to reflect the concerns of members gathered from questionnaire responses and in one-to-one discussion with Brian Manley.

Several members had commented in their responses on a lack of participation in debate and of rigorous challenge to the Executive. Whilst the report made no recommendations in this area, it was a concern. Brian Manley concluded that it resulted from an overcrowded agenda and Council papers which sometimes made it difficult to identify key issues. The report made a number of recommendations to address this including greater use of the Chairman’s Advisory Group, more delegation of routine approvals to Committees, clearer identification of key issues for debate on the agenda and the introduction of Executive Summaries for agenda papers.

The report was discussed in full and the following comments made by Council members:

i. The suggestion that the Chairman’s Advisory Group meet more often was supported. This would help the Chairs of Council Committees to take a more holistic view of what was happening in the University and would help committees to take decisions in the context of the University vision/strategy.

ii. Council would like more frequent opportunities to discuss University strategy and it was suggested that an annual review would be more appropriate than the current three-year cycle.

iii. Members felt that, although Council performed its “legitimising” or “approving” role effectively, too much time was spent on due diligence issues and could be better spent discussing the strategic direction of the University and advising/challenging the Executive on this.

iv. Too much time was spent on routine reporting and discussion of agenda papers that members had already read. Time could be better used to challenge/question the Executive and to explore the key issues facing the University.

v. Council could increase its efficiency by delegating more routine business to its Committees. The Committee structure would benefit from further review to avoid excessive overlap and repetition of business.

vi. The introduction of Executive Summaries for Council papers was supported. Papers were often written for multiple audiences and the requirement to produce an Executive Summary would help the authors to focus on exactly what was required from Council. Executive Summaries should be a succinct summary of why recommendations had been arrived at, what other options had been explored and how risk had been mitigated.

vii. More thought should be given to presenting the risk factors of initial decisions to Council and it would also be useful to monitor progress against decisions.

viii. It would be useful to receive presentations from the Executive regarding the issues they face which could then be discussed and debated.

ix. If key performance indicators were introduced, Council should receive regular reports but only discuss/debate issues where a warning signal indicated potential problems.

x. Induction and on-going training/briefings were essential. It was important that this was available to staff members as well as lay members.

xi. There may be more challenging debates if the diversity of members was addressed. Council should be looking to appoint members with different backgrounds to bring new perspectives to discussion.

xii. There should be better management of the annual agenda.

xiii. Members would like more opportunities to contribute to agendas.

xiv. It would be helpful if agendas and papers could be circulated earlier, giving more time for members to read them.

xv. The recommendations relating to the Health, Safety and Environmental Committee were endorsed by its Chair.

The Chair of Council welcomed the report and suggested that it be referred back to Executive Officers to come forward with a set of prioritised recommendations for the March 2006 meeting. This would allow the new Vice-Chancellor an opportunity to get involved. ACTION: Executive Officers

Brian Manley was thanked for all his efforts and for the production of a very useful piece of work.

05/118 University Accounts

05/118.1 Financial Statements

COUN05-P104

The Treasurer and the Bursar introduced the University Financial Statements for the year ended 31 July 2005 and made the following comments:

i. Staff costs continued to rise at a higher rate than turnover.

ii. The Local Government Pension Scheme was projecting a deficit and would require considerable increases in employer contributions over the next few years. USS remained relatively stable.

iii. International student fees remained an important source of income. It also remained a significant area of risk as 50% currently came from one country (China). The University was developing its strategy to expand into other markets but it was proving difficult to achieve.

iv. UK/EU fee income would increase with the introduction of top-up fees from 2006.

v. Research grant income was peer reviewed and awarded in a competitive environment. The proportion of income that the University received from this source was encouraging.

vi. Conference and residential fees were an increasingly important source of income.

It was confirmed that the Audit Committee had been entirely satisfied with the presentation of the accounts and that there were no issues from the Auditors that needed to be brought to Council’s attention. Council APPROVED the adoption of accounts for 2004/05.

05/118.2 Financial Compliance Review 2004/05

COUN05-P105: RECEIVED

05/118.3 Income Summary 2004/05

COUN05-P106: RECEIVED

05/119 Capital Programme

05/119.1 Progress Report

COUN05-P107

Council RECEIVED a progress report, noting that the Burleigh Court works were running slightly behind schedule. It was essential that the lines of communication with customers who had booked rooms were kept open.

05/119.2 New Finance System

COUN05-P108

Further to Council’s last meeting, proposals for the new Finance System had been considered by Operations Sub-Committee and the Treasurer’s Committee. The Treasurer’s Committee’s challenge had focused on ensuring that the implementation programme was sufficiently monitored and managed. A member commented that a number of departments and sections currently ran their own systems and therefore clear communication was essential to ensure that all requirements were met by the new system.

Council APPROVED the purchase of the Agresso system, subject to final agreement on the contractual terms, and requested that it receive regular progress reports. ACTION: Bursar

05/119.3 Development of Residential Accommodation

COUN05-P109

Council RECEIVED a progress report from the Steering Group for information. A number of important issues were currently under consideration and Council would continue to receive regular progress reports on the project.

05/119.4 Health and Exercise Biosciences Building

COUN05-P110

Council NOTED that the Chair of Council had approved the release of £1.5M for asbestos removal and £1.2M for design and pre-construction fees.

05/120 Residential Hall Fees

COUN05-P111

Meetings had been held with representatives of Loughborough Students’ Union (LSU) to agree increases to the residential hall fees. LSU were thanked for their responsible negotiations. Council APPROVED a rate of increase of 4.9%. This rate of increase had been agreed on the condition that students be allowed to stay in halls over the Christmas vacation period. The Dean of Engineering commented that potential students were traditionally invited to stay on campus over the Christmas vacation and he was concerned that, if the rooms were not available for this purpose, it could have a negative impact on recruitment. Mechanisms were needed to resolve the dialogue between imago and the academic departments affected as soon as possible. ACTION: Bursar

05/121 Audit Committee

05/121.1 Report of Meeting

COUN05-P112

Council RECEIVED a report of the meeting held on 27 October 2005. The Chair of the Audit Committee drew Council’s attention to the discussions on the governance aspects of the Health, Safety and Environmental Committee which would be further investigated by the internal auditors (KPMG). Council also noted that all outstanding fire safety assessments were expected to have been completed by the end of June 2006.

05/121.2 Annual Report of the Audit Committee 2004/05

COUN05-P113: RECEIVED

05/122 Health, Safety and Environmental Committee

COUN05-P114

Council RECEIVED a report of the meeting held on 16 November 2005 and APPROVED the following recommendations:

i. Blood Borne Viruses Policy

ii. Pathogens Policy

iii. Display Screen Equipment Policy

The Chair of the Committee drew Council’s attention, once again, to the jet nozzle rig issue which the Committee had been grappling with for several months. The remedy for resolving the issue had now been progressed to stage D of the Capital Programme. The Committee and the University took the matter very seriously and had worked hard to find a solution. The Health and Safety Executive were reportedly satisfied with the continued action from the University and were not contemplating serving an enforcement notice.

An agreed operating protocol was in place and was being adhered to. In the event of a breach of the protocol, the Dean of Engineering would be informed immediately. However, the protocol meant that what amounted to a very important piece of equipment was only available for use out of hours. Whilst this was a short term solution, it was not satisfactory for the long term. Relocation was the best option and a potential site on Holywell Park had been identified.

05/123 Matters for Report

05/123.1 Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research)

i. Research Grant Applications – first quarter

COUN05-P115: NOTED

ii. Research Grants Awarded – first quarter

COUN05-P116: NOTED

05/123.2 Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching)

i. Preliminary Student Intake Targets 2006

Preliminary intake targets for 2006 had been agreed with departments and were in line with University strategy to maintain the undergraduate population at its current level and to increase postgraduate students.

ii. Applications for 2006 Entry

The current round of undergraduate applications was the first under the new fee regime. UCAS were reporting a national decrease in applications (approximately 6%). The University’s applications for 2006 reflected this.

05/123.3 Director of Business Partnerships, Innovation and Knowledge Transfer

COUN05-P117

Council RECEIVED a report from the Director of Business Partnerships, Innovation and Knowledge Transfer. The Chair of Council noted the complexity of the work in this area and suggested that it would be useful for Council to have a strategy session at some point in the future.

05/123.4 Director of External Relations

COUN05-P118

Council RECEIVED a report from the Director of External Relations. As part of the celebrations of the 40^th Anniversary of the Royal Charter being granted, Council APPROVED an additional University Holiday (19 April 2006) for all members of staff.

05/124 Vice-Chancellors Report

i. Ian Tomlinson had been voted “Achiever of the Year” for his work in cancer research. Council conveyed its congratulations to Margaret Tomlinson for her son’s achievement.

ii. AUT and AMICUS had accepted recommendations under the Job Evaluation project. However, UNISON was recommending that its members rejected the proposals and would be balloting members in early 2006.

iii. At national level, the AUT were formally in dispute with the employers over UCEA’s failure to enter into negotiations regarding the amount of additional tuition fees that would be dedicated to staff salaries.

iv. Council is the embodiment of the University's autonomy, with all that that entails in terms of authority and responsibility for understanding and balancing the interests of all stakeholders. The Vice-Chancellor stated his passionate belief in the vital importance of this autonomy, and Council's continuing stewardship of it..

05/125 Travel, Expenses and Benefits Policy & Procedures

COUN05-P119

Council APPROVED Travel, Expenses and Benefits: Policy & Procedures.

05/126 Guarantee to Co-operative Bank plc

Council RESOLVED, after due consideration of all the circumstances and on being satisfied that it was for the benefit of the Guarantor and in the interests of the Guarantor for the purpose of carrying on its business, to create a Guarantee in the form now produced (the Guarantee) to secure all the
liabilities of Imago @ Loughborough Limited to the Co-operative Bank plc and further to resolve that the Guarantee be executed as a deed by the Guarantor.

Note: this Guarantee supports the hire purchase of new fitness equipment for Burleigh Court.

05/127 Senate

COUN05-P120

Council RECEIVED a report of the meeting held on 23 November 2005 and APPROVED the following recommendations:

i. Introduction of Master of Research Award (MRes)

ii. Programme Proposals

iii. Establishment of New Prizes, Amendments to Existing Prizes and Discontinuation of Prizes

iv. Establishment and Revisions to Constitution and/or Terms of Reference of Committees and Sub-Committees:

a. Performance Monitoring Group

b. Estates Management Committee

c. Student Services Committee

d. Residential Provision and Management Sub-Committee

e. (Establishment of) Student Support Sub-Committee

05/128 University Ordinances

COUN05-P121

On the recommendation of Senate, Council APPROVED:

i. amendments to Ordinance III: Substantive Awards and Honorary Degrees, with immediate effect

ii. amendments to Ordinance IV: Titles of Degrees and Conditions of Award, with effect from 2 October 2006

iii. amendments to Ordinance XVII: Conduct and Discipline of Students, with immediate effect.

05/129 Common Seal

COUN05-P122

Council RATIFIED the action of the Registrar in affixing the University Seal to the documents listed.

05/130 Annual Alumni Report

COUN05-P123: NOTED

05/131 Loughborough University Development Trust

COUN05-P122

Council RECEIVED a report from the Loughborough University Development Trust and summary financial statements for the period to 31 July 2005.

05/132 Reports of Committees

Council RECEIVED reports from the following Committees:

i. Audit Committee/Treasurer’s Committee - 24 November 2005 [COUN05-P125]

ii. Performance Monitoring Group – 1 December 2005 [COUN05-P126]

iii. Research Committee – 27 October 2005 [COUN05-P127]

iv. Resources and Planning Committee – 28 October 2005 [COUN05-P128]

v. Student Services Committee – 2 November 2005 [COUN05-P129]

vi. Treasurer’s Committee - on 24 November 2005 [COUN05-P130]

05/133 Dates of Future Meetings in 2005/06

Friday, 31 March 2006 (10.15am)
Wednesday, 19 July 2006 (10.15 am)