13 December 2021
Glenurquhart Road
Inverness
IV3 5NX
25 August 2021
Please ask for: Miss J Maclennan
Email: [email protected]
To: Directors of the Board of High Life Highland
| David Finlayson | Donald McLachlan |
| Nick Finnigan | Linda Munro |
| Michael Golding | Ken Nicol |
| Tom Heggie | Ian Ross |
| Andrew Jarvie | Mark Tate |
| Tracy Ligema |
Dear Director
A meeting of the Board of HIGH LIFE HIGHLAND will take place REMOTELY on MONDAY 13 DECEMBER 2021 at 2.00 pm.
Yours faithfully
STEWART FRASER
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 2019-24 PP 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 2019-24.
4. Confirmation of Minutes PP 2-23
The following Minutes are circulated for approval:-
i. Board Meeting held on 1 September 2021 (pp.2-9);
ii. Finance and Audit Committee held on 15 November 2021 (pp.10-14);
iii. Health and Safety and Environmental Compliance Committee held on 5 November 2021 (pp.15-18);1
and for noting:-
iv. High Life Highland (Trading) (draft) held on 1 September 2021(pp.19-23).
5. Matters Arising – Board Meeting of 1 September 2021 P 24
There is circulated, for information, matters arising from the meeting of the
Board held on 1 September 2021.
The Board is invited to note the position.
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
6. Appointments
i. High Life Highland – Council Director
Following the resignation of Ben Thompson from the Highland Council, the Company Secretary will inform the Board who the Council, at its meeting on 9 December 2021, appointed in his place as a Council Director to the Board of High Life Highland.
ii. Finance and Audit Committee
The Board is invited to fill the vacancy on the Finance and Audit Committee.
7. Board Development PP 25-42
There is circulated Report No. HLH25/21 dated 24 November 2021 by the Chief Executive providing an update on the outcome of the Board Development workshop held on 25 October 2021.
The Board is invited to:-
i. note the final Board Review Workshop report; and
ii. comment on and agree the actions and implementation timetable proposed in the action plan.
STRATEGY
8. Budget Planning 2022/23
The Chief Executive will give a presentation on the planning for the budget changes for financial year 2022/2023.
The Board is invited to comment on and note the position.
9. Draft Business Plan BOOKLET A
Directors were aware of the need to review and update the current HLH Business Plan 2019-24 for the post-COVID environment and the timeframe for agreeing a final version. In this regard, there is circulated separately the final version of the draft Business Plan taking into consideration recent 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.
As was the case for the current business plan, a one page key points summary has been prepared for use with key partners and public enquiries. A draft is appended for Directors comment.
The Board is invited to:
i. provide final comment on and approve the High Life Highland Business Plan for 2022-27; and
ii. comment on the draft key points summary.
10. Environmental Policy PP 43-48
There is circulated Report No. HLH26/21 dated 25 November 2021 by the Chief Executive presenting a draft Environmental Policy.
The Board is invited to:-
i. review and discuss the contents of the draft Environmental Policy as attached within Appendix A of the report; and
ii. approve and agree the implementation of the Environmental Policy from 1 April 2022.
QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE
11. Finance Report PP 49-57
There is circulated Report No. HLH27/21 dated 22 November 2021 by the Chief Executive providing an update on the financial performance of High Life Highland for quarter two 2021/22 and other relevant matters.
The Board is invited to note:-
i. the results for the period July to September 2021 detailed in Appendix A reports a net deficit of £553k for the quarter;
ii. using the financial scenario planning model detailed in Appendix E of the report, an improved year-end deficit of £4.67m is projected with planned use of £2m reserves;
iii. no breaches of internal controls have been reported in the past quarter;
iv. no data breaches have been reported in the past quarter;
v. the robbery at Ferrycroft Visitor Centre;
vi. the award of contracts as detailed in paragraph 8 of the report;
and agree:-
vii. to delegate approval of the Catering Goods contract to the Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee.
12. Performance Report PP 58-86
There is circulated Report No. HLH28/21 dated 25 November 2021 by the Chief Executive presenting performance information for the period July to September 2021.
The Board is invited to comment on the report and agree that the overall health check on the charity for that period is assessed as “green”, on target, reflecting indications of customer recovery following COVID-19 restrictions and additional financial support having been agreed by The Highland Council for financial year 2021/22.
13. Human Resources PP 87-99
There is circulated Report No. HLH29/21 dated 1 December 2021 by the Chief Executive updating Directors on Human Resources activity for the period July to September 2021 which includes information relating to absence, disciplinary and grievance issues during this period as well as information on the pandemic’s impact on staffing related matters.
The Board is invited to note and comment on:-
i. the content of the quarterly HR report including the update on the staffing establishment, attendance management and union engagement;
ii. the changes to the payment of enhanced weekend and public holiday rates for employees engaged prior to August 2020;
iii. the draft Gender Pay Gap Report in Appendix B of the report and approve its submission to the UK Government and publication on the HLH website;
iv. HLH’s engagement with the UK Government’s Kickstart Scheme;
and agree to:
v. the one-off recognition payments made to staff affected by the reintroduction of enhanced rates for weekends and public holidays.
The Board is asked to resolve that the following two items be restricted to Directors, representatives from HLH and the Company Secretary’s office.
14. Policy Review and Health Check – CONFIDENTIAL
There is circulated Report No. HLH30/21 dated 3 December 2021 by the Chief Executive.
The Board is invited to agree the recommendations.
15. Cessation of Business – CONFIDENTIAL
There is circulated Report No. HLH31/21 dated 3 December 2021 by the Chief Executive.
The Board is invited to agree the recommendations.
16. Marketing and Communications Update PP 100-103
There is circulated Report No. HLH32/21 dated 1 December 2021 by the Chief Executive provide an update on the Marketing, PR and Communications service as a result of a number of staffing changes since the last update to the Board.
The Board is invited to note the report and comment on any salient points.
17. Board Work Plan and 2022 Meeting Dates PP 104-123 PP
There is circulated Report No. HLH33/21 dated 22 November 2021 by the Chief Executive setting out the Board Work Plan for High Life Highland for 2022.
The Board is invited to:-
i. comment on and agree the Work Plan in Appendix A of the report;
ii. agree meeting dates and timings for the Charity Board as detailed in paragraph 4.1 and summarised in Appendix B of the report;
iii. agree meeting dates and times for the Trading Company as detailed in paragraph 4.1 and summarised in Appendix B of the report;
iv. agree meeting dates for the Finance and Audit Committee as detailed in paragraph 4.2 and summarised in Appendix B of the report ;
v. agree meeting dates for the Health, Safety and Environmental Compliance Committee as detailed in paragraph 4.3 and summarised in Appendix B of the report;
vi. note the scheduled dates for the Inverness Castle Project Delivery Group meetings as detailed in paragraph 4.5 and summarised in Appendix B of the report ;
vii. note the provisional date for the Volunteer and Staff and Long Service Awards 2022 event;
viii. note the position relating to Directors’ facility visits;
ix. note the position relating to Local Government elections; and
x. agree the meeting format for 2022, subject to regular review.
18. Chair/Chief Executive’s Updates PP 124-128
There is circulated Report No. HLH33/21 dated 2 December 2021 by the Chief Executive providing information to Directors and the opportunity for them to discuss issues affecting HLH and its work at an early stage.
The Board is invited to comment on and note the updates.
