Glenurquhart Road
Inverness
IV3 5NX
12 March 2015
Please ask for: Miss J Maclennan
Telephone: (01463) 702121
TO: ALL DIRECTORS OF THE BOARD OF HIGH LIFE HIGHLAND
| Richard Armitage (tbc) | Catriona MacLean |
| Jenny Clarke | Kenneth Nicol |
| Jaci Douglas | Fraser Parr |
| Ken Gowans | Ian Ross |
| Douglas Graham | Jenny Welch |
| Donald McLachlan |
Dear Director
MEETING OF THE BOARD OF HIGH LIFE HIGHLAND – 19 MARCH 2015
A meeting of the Board of HIGH LIFE HIGHLAND will take place in the BEN NEVIS HOTEL, FORT WILLIAM on THURSDAY 19 MARCH 2015 at 2.05 P.M.
A note of the business to be transacted at the meeting is appended.
Yours faithfully
MICHELLE MORRIS
COMPANY SECRETARY
BUSINESS
1. Apologies for Absence
2. Declarations of Interest
Directors are asked to consider whether they have an interest to declare in relation to any item on the agenda for this meeting. Any Director making a declaration of interest should indicate whether it is a financial or non-financial interest and include some information on the nature of the interest. Advice may be sought from Officers prior to the meeting taking place.
3. High Life Highland Purpose, Key Business Objectives and Corporate Values P 1
There is circulated summary of High Life Highland’s purpose, key business objectives and corporate values as extracted from the High Life Highland Business Plan 2012-15.
4. Confirmation of Minutes PP 2-13
The following Minutes are circulated for approval:-
i. Board Meeting held on 12 December 2014 (pp 2-8);
ii. Nominations Committee held on 28 January 2015 (p 9);
iii. Nominations Committee held on 19 February 2015 (p 10); and
iv. Finance and Audit Committee held on 26 February 2015 (pp 11-13).
5. Matters Arising – Board Meeting of 12 December 2014 P 14
There is circulated, for information, matters arising from the meeting of the Board held on 12 December 2014.
The Board is invited to note the position.
6. High Life Highland Successes PP 15-51
There is circulated Report No. HLH 1/15 dated 2 March 2015 by the Chief Executive presenting the best submissions from staff teams on the successful work being carried out by High Life Highland throughout the Highlands and across all areas of work.
The Board is invited to comment on the items presented and:-
i. note that the selected items will form part of the long list for the annual Staff and Volunteer Award Scheme for 2014/15; and
ii. agree the revised selection criteria.
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
7. Committee Appointments
a) Board of High Life Highland
The Company Secretary will provide a verbal update as to who the Highland Council, at its meeting on 12 March 2015, appointed to the Board of High Life Highland as:-
i. a Council Director, to replace Mr D Millar; and
ii. Independent Directors, following the recommendations made by
the Nominations Committee.
b) Appointment of Director to Chief Executive Performance Review Committee
The Board is invited to appoint a Council Director to the Chief Executive Performance Review Committee.
c) Appointment of High Life Highland (Trading) C.I.C. Recruitment Sub
The Board is invited to appoint a Director to the High Life Highland (Trading) C.I.C. Recruitment Sub Committee whose remit is to select Directors for the Trading Company.
8. OSCR Report on Arms Length External Organisations
The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) undertook a detailed review in ALEOs registered as charities in Scotland in 2014 and High Life Highland (HLH) was one of the sample of 11 charities selected. In HLH’s case this was because it is wholly owned by The Highland Council (THC) and OSCR wished to test the degree of control exercised by THC. The review took the form of submission of key documents and a face to face interview involving the former Chair, Director Jaci Douglas, the Company Secretary, Chief Executive and other key managers. At a recent national meeting of ALEOs, Claire Stuart, Accounting Advisor, OSCR explained the background to the investigation, its process and key findings and recommendations. In summation she said that the report http://www.oscr.org.uk/media/1778/2015-01-09-oscr-aleo-report.pdf was very positive and that the vast majority of concerns proved unfounded, with sport, leisure and culture trusts particularly proving to be good models of ALEO set up, producing more widespread benefits than merely rates savings.
The Board is invited to note the outcome of the 2014 review.
STRATEGY
The Board is asked to resolve that the following 2 items, circulated in Booklet A, be restricted to only those Directors and officers requiring to remain in attendance.
9. ICT Re-Provision Project BOOKLET A, PP 52-68
There is circulated Report No. HLH 2/15 dated 2 March 2015 by the Chief Executive updating Directors on the work underway to secure ICT provision beyond the current Fujitsu contract.
The Board is invited to agree the recommendations as set out in the report.
10. High Life Highland Business Plan BOOKLET A, PP 69-89
a) Following the productive two days of strategy planning with consultant David Gass, Directors considered the draft Business Plan at their 12 December 2014 meeting. The final version of the draft Business Plan is appended taking into consideration comments from Directors. HLH Managers have begun work developing operational plans based on the business plan content, the reporting on which will be included in the Performance Report at future meetings.
b) At the December 2014 meeting Directors suggested the preparation of a one page key points summary for use with key partners and public enquiries. A draft is appended.
The Board is invited to:
i. approve the High Life Highland Business Plan for 2015-19; and
ii. comment on the draft key points summary.
QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE
11. Finance Report PP 90-97
There is circulated Report No. HLH 3/15 dated 10 March 2015 by the Chief Executive providing Directors with an update on the financial performance of High Life Highland for the period ending 28 February 2015.
The Board is invited to note:-
i. the current financial position of High Life Highland as detailed in Appendix A of the report;
ii. that the financial results for the 11 months to 28 February 2015 reports a positive variance on budget of £128,646 (Unrestricted Reserves) and £170,000 (Restricted Reserves);
iii. the projected final out-turn for the year remains on target to the approved budget with a projected positive to budget of c£128k – Unrestricted Reserves; and
iv. the award of contracts to YMCA George William College, Porteous Leisure, Cobbs, Monika Maleszka-Ritchie, Demco Interiors, Bibliotheca, Jura Consultants and Fitness Training Scotland.
12. Risk Register Update – Annual Review PP 98-109
There is circulated Report No. HLH 4/15 dated 4 March 2015 by the Chief Executive providing Directors with an update on High Life Highland’s Risk Register.
The Board is invited to:-
i. note the updates to the Risk Register; and
ii. following discussion add any risks to the Register that the Board identifies at the meeting.
13. Budget 2015/16 Report PP 110-114
There is circulated Report No. HLH 5/15 dated 10 March 2015 by the Chief Executive providing Directors with an update on the Budget of High Life Highland and its Trading Company for the year 2015/16.
The Board is invited to approve the 2015/16 Operating Budget as summarised in Appendix A of the report.
14. Performance Report PP 115-126
There is circulated Report No. HLH 6/15 dated 20 February 2015 by the Chief Executive presenting performance information for the period October 2014 to February 2015.
The Board is invited to:-
i. comment on the report and agree that the overall health check on the company for the period is assessed as green;
ii. note the performance of the company against its business plan objectives;
iii. agree to remit the task of developing new performance indicators on the work by the Board at its ten year strategy workshop to the Finance and Audit Committee;
iv. note the positive contribution made by High Life Highland to the Council’s annual survey of performances and attitudes; and
v. note that the data protection policy has been reviewed and no changes were necessary.
15. Human Resources Report PP 127-134
There is circulated Report No. HLH 7/15 dated 20 March 2015 by the Chief Executive providing an update on Human Resources activity for October–December 2014 including a quarterly report on absence, disciplinary and grievance issues. It also includes an indication of action taken following reviews of Human Resources policies.
The Board is invited to:-
i. note the content of the quarterly report including the update on the staffing establishment; and
ii. approve the revised policies on Overtime, Redeployment and Redundancy, Special Leave and Whistleblowing.
16. Chief Executive Verbal Updates
a) Change to date in Work Plan Calendar due to clash with Community Planning Partnership meetings
Directors will recall that HLH has now been asked to join the Community Planning Partnership Board – a positive step forward as not something happening with our equivalent ALOs across Scotland. These meetings (4 per year) will be attended by the HLH Chair or representative There is a clash with the CPP meeting and the HLH Board Annual Review and Assessment session on the 11 September 2015 and it is suggested that the Annual Review and Assessment date is moved to 4 September and the Board Work Plan Calendar updated to reflect this change.
The Board is invited to agree the change in date for the Annual Review and Assessment to 4 September 2015.
b) Chief Executive’s Presentations/Engagement with outside organisations:
The Chief Executive has taken the opportunity to be involved in two recent events, which have been useful in promoting the work of HLH.
Scottish Government Health and Sport Committee – “expert witnesses” were invited to take part in a round table discussion with MSPs on the Committee on topics including: the effect of the Commonwealth Games on activity levels; the community use of the school estate; whether pricing levels for public leisure facilities were pricing out sections of the community; and activities promoting the Prevention agenda. The other witnesses were the Chief Executives of sportscotland and the Scottish Sports Association and senior managers from Glasgow Life, Edinburgh Leisure and East Lothian Council. Together with being quoted in other national fora, it is felt that there is a growing recognition that HLH and the “Highland voice” have a contribution to make alongside the larger, more established organisations.
HIE’s Strengthening Communities annual management seminar – As part of reviewing its managed clients, HIE invited HLH as one of two case studies to present to their management seminar. The presentation was a useful opportunity to showcase the wide range of HLH work, the penetration into Highland Communities and in particular the more recent, non Highland Council contract work on the Prevention agenda and to show appreciation for HIE’s assistance to the Board and management of HLH. Feedback was very positive – many HIE staff were previously unaware of the range and depth of the work of HLH and of the Health related aspects in particular.
The Board is invited to note the updates.
c) Proposed update to the Scheme of Delegation
The Scheme of Delegation lays out the relative responsibilities of the Board, Chief Executive and Company Secretary. Until now, where the Highland Council has requested that HLH adopt the management of further facilities or services, the Chief Executive has reviewed the budget proposed for transfer, along with fit with existing business and when satisfied, proceeded with the adoption, reporting on the new business opportunity to the Trading Company. Examples of this are community facilities at Culloden Academy Community Complex and Ben Wyvis Primary School. On the other hand, when adoption of external facilities has been proposed, incurring significantly more risk to the company, a full business case has been considered by the Board, leading to a decision on adoption. Examples of this include the Averon Leisure Centre and the Highland Football Academy. It is therefore proposed that the Scheme of Delegation be amended to reflect current practice, with the proposed wording being included in the review of the Scheme due to be considered by the Board at its meeting scheduled for 18 June 2015.
In the meantime, Directors are informed that the Highland Council has asked HLH to adopt the management of both the Ferrycroft Visitor Centre and the Glen Nevis Visitor Centre on a permanent basis. Full costs of operating the facilities would transfer to High Life Highland within the Services Delivery Contract Fee paid by the Council. The Trading Board, at its meeting on 20 March 2015, will discuss the transfers and the business opportunities they present.
The Board are invited to agree the amendment of the Scheme of Delegation to reflect current practice in this regard and for the wording within the Scheme to be reviewed at the Board meeting on 18 June 2015.
