AGWG-M03
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REVIEW OF SCOTLAND 'S COLLEGES
WORKING GROUP: ACCOUNTABILITY & GOVERNANCE
Minutes of Meeting
on 4 November 2005 at 2.00 pm
Room 2.06, Europa Building
Attendees:
Aileen McKechnie (Chair)
Margaret McLachlan (Secretariat)
Col Baird, Review of Scotland's Colleges Team
George Reid, FAED
David Caldwell, Universities Scotland
Neil Cuthbert, ASC
Jennifer McLaren, SFC
James Alexander, NUS Scotland
Ian Graham, John Wheatley College
Linda McKay, Forth Valley College
Sandy Watson, Interim Chair Angus College
John Cassidy, EIS
Apologies:
Fiona Farmer, AMICUS
1. Minutes of the previous meeting including action points
- The minutes of the last meeting were agreed.
2. Analysis of questionnaire on Governance and Accountability
- The analysis of the questionnaire on Governance and Accountability was discussed. It was felt that caution should be exercised when interpreting statistics of the returns and that more in depth questions should be asked regarding current practices. It is important to look at overall trends rather than individual cases.
- It was also felt that some of the questions may have been misinterpreted and that responses were not necessarily accurate. For example the terminology used may have determined the response e.g. "Nolan Principles" has been superseded and although still being followed, this is contained within other guidance. The questionnaire only captures a snapshot of the current situation of a Board, for example the balance of a Board can be substantially altered if several members leave around the same time. The Executive found it encouraging that most colleges do not experience any major difficulties in recruiting members for the Board.
- The independent role of the Secretary to the Board was highlighted as being a major protection for the Board and the role needs to be recognised so that if there are any conflicts of interest, the Secretary can raise these with the Chair directly..
- There is a need to look at the training needs for Accountable Officers. It was recognised that although current training may be suitable for the day-to-day management issues, it did not provide advice on how to deal with difficult situations. It was felt that the training could be upgraded to cover situations such as these and should in any case be up-dated.
- It was suggested that the SFC code of audit practice should contain a mandatory requirement that a review of a college's governance arrangements must be included in the internal auditors audit need assessment and the results of that review should be reported to the college's audit committee. The audit committee would then report the outcome of that review in its annual report. It was agreed that the Colin would meet with the Funding Council to discuss this further.
ACTION POINT: Colin to meet with the Funding Council to discuss a possible change to the code of Audit practice and prepare a paper.
3. Research proposals (click here to access this document online, then back to return)
The Group had a wide-ranging discussion which identified the aims and objectives of the research. These were:
» revisions to the ASC Guide for College Board members;
» consideration of amendments to the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992; and
» the development of public policy, including funding decisions.
- Under Para 2 of the Proposal for Research paper [SEETLLD AGWG-P 06], it was agreed to look at other sectors with common issues, including the Baltimore 'Citistat' initiative and its application in Scotland. Members were asked to think about contacts for tender.
- Para 2 should include how boards carry out self assessment.
- The research should also look at how boards relate to other agencies.
- Good practice examples of board chairmanship should be identified.
- Recruitment practices should include information on how independent persons are involved in the process.
- Succession planning should also be considered.
ACTION POINT: Members to put forward possible contacts for tenders. Colin to take account of comments made and re-issue Research Proposal paper to members.
4. A.O.B.
- It was asked when implementation of changes to boards will take place. A recent submission of recommendations was put to DFM for approval. The Executive agreed to keep colleagues updated on progress.
List of Action Points
ITEM 2: Colin to meet with the Funding Council to discuss a possible change to the code of Audit practice and prepare a paper.
ITEM 3: Members to put forward possible contacts for tenders. Colin to take account of comments made and re-issue Research Proposal paper to members.
Margaret McLachlan
FAED
ETLLD
Updated 10 January 2006