Present:
R. Woodhouse (Chair)
D. Butler
L Crichton
G Field
S. Duncan (Principal)
In Attendance:
S. Judson (Vice-Principal Finance and Business Planning)
H McCoy (Assistant Principal Performance)
J Blower (Director of Services, Estates & Health & Safety)
G Taylor (Director of Finance)
A Barker (IT Manager)
S Pritchard (Clerk to the Corporation)
V. Charlton (Committee Secretary)
Apologies for Absence
No apologies were received.
101 Conflicts of Interest
There were no conflicts of interest declared.
102 Minutes of meeting held on 26 November 2020
AGREED
That the minutes of the meeting held on 26th November 2020 be approved.
103 Matters Arising
No matters arising.
The Committee agreed to bring forward the Estates and IT items.
104 Human Resources Update
This item was deemed confidential for reasons of commercial sensitivity.
105 ESFA Financial Health
This item was deemed confidential for reasons of commercial sensitivity.
106 Management Accounts
This item was deemed confidential.
107 LIBOR Cessation
This item was deemed confidential for reasons of commercial sensitivity.
108 Estates Update
This item was deemed confidential for reasons of commercial sensitivity.
109 IT Strategy
The Director of IT presented the report and highlighted that the IT strategy had been redeveloped with the input of the new Vice Principal Finance and Business Planning around four pillars: Cyber security, Supporting Curriculum, Upskilling staff with Digital Skills, and Infrastructure.
A member queried why the strategy performance indicator of 100% target for cyber security training for staff was not until 2024 and it was confirmed that this should read 2021 and would be corrected.
The Assistant Principal confirmed that all staff have undertaken basic awareness training for cyber security. The Chair asked for the timetable for training to be broken down into stages to demonstrate progression of training.
A member noted the need to consider the interface between Digital, HR and Estates strategies and how they enable the business now and, in the future, when the next generation of workforce will have different and higher expectations around digital/cyber. The Member queried how the College would get ready for this and noted the need for the College to move at pace to move beyond a foundation level of digital skills.
A member noted that younger people and people who are working longer than ever before are working in the same teams and there was a need to consider how the College could respond to the needs of the staff across those different generations. It was noted that this is a real challenge and that the key will be to differentiate the way in which skills are taught. The Principal highlighted that on one hand the College is delivering digital skills through ESF funding whilst at the same time having to address problems of digital literacy in its own workforce.
A member queried the capacity of the College to deliver the strategy with a limited IT team, noting the need for continual upgrades and training and queried where IT sat in the priorities in the budget and whether it was realistic. The Vice Principal Finance and Business Planning confirmed the College was seeking to be as efficient and effective as it can be and looking at its priorities within the budget.
The Vice Principal Finance and Business Planning confirmed that insight would be provided to the Board as to how priorities had been determined for the budget, so the Board understands what decisions and choices have been made and the constraints under which the College is operating.
The Committee noted the report and recommended it to the Board.
The Director of IT left the meeting.
110 Any Other Business
The Chair welcomed S Judson.