Court Minutes 27 January 2021

Minutes of the meeting of the Court of Cardiff University held via Zoom on Wednesday 27 January 2021.

Preliminaries

385 Welcome and introduction from the Chancellor

385.1 the Chancellor, Baroness Randerson, duly declared the meeting open and extended a welcome to all attendees;

385.2 that the Chancellor notified members of the procedure for the meeting, due to it being held virtually;

385.3  the Chancellor noted questions may be asked in Welsh and ran through the process for translation.

386 Apologies for absence

Noted

386.1 that confirmed apologies would be appended to the minutes;

386.2 that the meeting met quorum.

387 Declaration of interests

387.1 The Chancellor advised that any relevant declarations of interests should be stated before a member of Court spoke.

388 Minutes: 29 January 2020

Noted

388.1 that section 372 should read “Welcome and Introduction from the Chancellor”.

Resolved

388.2 that subject to the above amendment, the minutes of the meeting of the Court held on 29 January 2020 (paper 20/329) were confirmed as a correct record.

389 Matters arising

Noted there were no matters arising.

390 Report from the Chancellor on the activities of the Chancellor and Pro-Chancellors

The Chancellor provided an oral report on this item.

Noted

390.1 that due to social restrictions, the report on activities was shorter than previous years;

390.2 that the Chancellor, along with the three Pro-Chancellors, had recorded virtual graduation messages;

390.3 that thanks were extended from the Chancellor to all who work for Cardiff University, for ensuring the University continued to operate and even grow in the current climate;

390.4 that thanks were also extended to the students of the University who had adapted positively to the new ways of working;

390.5 that the Chancellor conveyed her thanks to those staff and students involved with the crucial work of the front-line NHS staff during this difficult time.

391 Membership of Court

Members were asked to note paper 20/330 ‘Constitution and Membership of Court’.

Noted

391.1 that the Chancellor welcomed all new members of Court to their first meeting;

391.2 that Court was a widely representative body, providing stakeholders with a formal opportunity to receive information on the work of the University and to raise items of interest.

392 Report on Honours bestowed and deaths since the last meeting of Court

Members were asked to note paper 20/331 on ‘Honours Bestowed and Deaths since the last meeting of Court’.

Noted

392.1 the large number of honours and awards bestowed on members of the University and the distinguished work undertaken during the year;

392.2 with sadness, the deaths of all those who had passed since the last meeting of Court;

392.3 a further three deaths reported since the issuing of the papers:

• Mr Carl Haywood, Campus Patrol Officer in Estates;
• Mr Layton Skilton, CIC Portfolio Programme Manager in the PMO;
• Dr David Lees from the School of Biosciences;

392.4 a moment’s silence was held as a mark of respect to all those who had passed since the last meeting.

393 Report by the Chair of Council

The Court received an oral report from Professor Stuart Palmer, Chair of Council which covered significant matters considered by Council since the last meeting of Court in January 2020.

Noted

393.1 that thanks were extended by the Chair of Council to the Vice-Chancellor, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer for their leadership during the year;

393.2 that thanks were also extended to staff and students for their resilience and flexibility during these times;

393.3 that Brexit continued to be an area of uncertainty and the University had established a Brexit Contingency Group to address all known unknowns in this area and this would continue to operate whilst any future agreements are fully understood;

393.4 that Council remained confident the University was putting measures in place wherever possible to ensure its future financial sustainability;

393.5 that Council had met four times since the previous meeting of Court, along with a further three special meetings to review urgent business arising from the pandemic; Council members had also met regularly to review updates on the financial forecasts as the implications of student numbers and government support became clearer;

393.6 that thanks were extended to the Chief Financial Officer and his team for ensuring Council remained updated during the year;

393.7 that Council had been very impressed with the creation and implementation of the University’s testing service;

393.8 that Council had approved a recasting of the University’s Way Forward 2018-2023 strategy and were pleased to see the ongoing focus on wellbeing;

393.9 that Council had approved a Widening Participation Strategy and a Welsh Language Strategy;

393.10 that Council had reviewed key documents relating to the Students’ Union;

393.11 that outcomes of the Powell Review into governance arrangements had been discussed and would now be implemented; alongside this, a review of the outcomes of the Camm Review had been undertaken and Council approved agreement to the Universities in Wales Governance Charter and Commitment to Action, which form the sector’s response;

393.12 that Council had welcomed a number of new members since the last meeting of Court;

393.13 that thanks were extended to all who had contributed to Council and the University during 2020.

394 Annual report and statement of the financial affairs of the university

A short film was shown, demonstrating the University’s screening service. The Vice-Chancellor then provided a report on the Annual Report. Members of Court were invited to put questions to the Vice-Chancellor at the end of his presentation.

The Chancellor then invited Mr Rob Williams, the Chief Financial Officer, to present his report on the Annual Statement of the Financial Affairs of the University. Members of Court were invited to ask questions at the end of the Chief Financial Officer’s presentation.

Noted

Introduction by Vice-Chancellor

394.1 that the University had successfully managed the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and had initiated a Gold and Silver command team to manage the initial crisis; as time had progressed, an operational Task Group had also been implemented to manage business as usual;

394.1 that due to the emergence of the new variant and following in-house scientific advice, the University had delayed resuming on-site teaching for all until at least the 22February 2021 and this date was kept under constant review;

394.1 that the University was playing a leading role in tracking the new variant through its own laboratory services;

394.1 that the University had exceeded its student intake targets in all areas;

394.1 that there had been a record level of research income awards, totalling over £150m;

394.1 that work had slowed on capital projects due to the pandemic but not stopped and these continued to progress;

394.1 that the University had pivoted quickly and successfully to deliver teaching and assessments virtually and thanks were extended to staff and students for their hard work and co-operation;

394.1 that thanks were extended to colleagues working in Professional Services who were supporting students currently on site and in University accommodation;

394.1 that the future political landscape was uncertain , especially in relation to the impact of Brexit on schemes such as Turing and Horizon Europe and the 2021 Senedd Elections which would see a new Minister for Education;

394.1 that there also remained uncertainty over the UK International Education Strategy and the outcomes of the Augar report;

394.1 that in response to a question, there had been a large amount of positive feedback from staff and students in providing teaching digitally and the University would be looking at how to incorporate these positives going forward;

394.1 that in response to a question, although there had been challenges in the ability to undertake research (for example by being unable to access facilities), it was hoped the majority of these challenges would be overcome as soon as pandemic restrictions were lifted;

394.1 that the University was already reviewing the impact of the pandemic in the longer term and the best way to provide education for students in the future;

Presentation from the Chief Financial Officer

394.1 that the University ended the financial year in July 2020 with an operating surplus of £14.1m; following adjustment for one-off non-cash items, mainly around pensions, the reported total surplus was £31m;

394.1 that given the restrictions throughout the year, the University had seen reduced income from research and commercial areas such as residences and catering;

394.1 that total income for the year had increased by 5.6%, mainly due to an increase in tuition fee income and HEFCW grants;

394.1 operating expenditure had also increased by 1.8%, due to increased staff costs and costs associated with ensuring a COVID-safe site;

394.1 that postgraduate student figures had increased by over 30% in the last four years, with undergraduate student figures up by 10%; similarly, international student figures were up by over 30% and home/EU students by 11% in the same period;

394.1 that recurrent grants to the University had dropped over recent years, and had only started to increase from 2018/19;

394.1 that staff numbers had decreased, but staff costs had increased by 5.4%, mainly due to an increase in pension contributions.

395 Date of the next meeting of Court

Members of Court were asked to note the next meeting of Court which would take place on 26 January 2022.

396 Any other business

Noted

396.1 that links were shared with Court members relating to events run by the alumni team.

Attendance (P = Present, A = Apology)

Summary of attendance

Members

Officers: Rashi Jain (University Secretary), Robert Williams (Chief Financial Officer).

In Attendance: Katy Dale (minute taker), Robin Hughes, Sue Midha, Claire Morgan, TJ Rawlinson, Claire Sanders and Lorna Turner.