Draft minutes of a meeting of the Cabinet held on Monday 9 th March am

Transcription

1 Draft minutes of a meeting of the Cabinet held on Monday 9 th March am Venue: Present: CAN Mezzanine, East Road, London, N1 6AH Ian Bowbrick (Chair), Sarah Beacock, Jennifer Blumhof, Ian Byrne (by phone), Adam Donnan, Kerry Geldart, John Gregory, Trish Hall, Libby Meyrick, Will Pope and Tony Plytas. 1. Welcome and Apologies The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting. A special welcome was extended to Libby Meyrick who was attending her first Cabinet Meeting as the newly appointed Vice Chair of SocEnv. Apologies had been received from Tim Boldero. Ian Byrne attended via telephone. 2. Declarations of interest There were no declarations of interest. 3. Minutes of last meeting: accuracy The minutes of the last meeting were approved as a true and accurate record. It was noted that the statement approved by Cabinet at the previous meeting regarding the RA meeting of the 28 th October had not been circulated with the minutes. The Chair recorded that if this statement had been circulated to both Cabinet and RA members as requested it may have preempted a number of allegations recently made by an RA Expert Member through a solicitor. He asked that in future all attachments be circulated as instructed. POST MEETING NOTE: The Licensing and Standards Manager confirmed that the minutes of the last Cabinet Meeting had been circulated to all Cabinet Members on 14 th November 2014 and the statement had been attached to that as requested. It had not been circulated with the RA minutes. 4. Matters arising The action list summary was reviewed and has been updated at the end of the minutes. Closed Session Minute Item 9 There was concern raised that there had never been any notes / minutes recorded for the Closed Sessions that had been held at the end of several Cabinet Meetings over the past 18 months. Whilst it was acknowledged that there was often a need for these sessions due to issues arising in between meetings, it was felt that Cabinet should be more transparent about the reason for the discussion and an outline of the content of the discussion. The Chair recorded his apologies for not circulating notes taken at previous Closed Sessions and confirmed that for any future occasions a bullet point summary would be circulated to Cabinet once the respective minutes had been circulated. 1

2 SocEnv Meetings Timetable Due to some inconsistencies between dates on the meetings timetable circulated to Council in December and the 9 th March Cabinet Meeting Agenda, it was proposed that the confirmed dates be posted on the SocEnv website. Action: KG to post SocEnv meetings timetable on website and Cabinet Members with link. STRATEGIC AIMS 5. Strategy 5a. Potential new Licensed Bodies A Constituent Body application had been received from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). This would need to be approved by Council but had been presented to Cabinet to review in the first instance and ensure that all criteria had been met. The Chair recorded his thanks to Trish Hall for her work in securing this new Constituent Body for the Society. The application was proposed for Council approval by Jenny Blumhof and seconded by Will Pope. As the March Council has been postponed it was agreed that this application would be circulated to Council for electronic approval. A date for responses would be set and providing that 75% of Council Members voted in favour by that date then the application would be approved. In the event of a Council Member registering any concerns about the application then approval of the application would be postponed until the next Council Meeting. Action: TH to circulate RSC application to SocEnv Council for electronic approval 5b. CEnv Numbers Report The Interim CEO summarised the CEnv numbers report which included numbers up to the end of 2014 and the first two months of In 2014 the number of new CEnvs had been outnumbered by non-renewals and had only increased due to 38 reinstatements. It was recognised that the number one challenge for 2015 would be to focus on marketing and recruiting CEnvs from those Licensed Bodies who had not been registering any. The target in the Business Plan is for CEnv growth within every Licensed Body. The Interim CEO reported that he had visited some of the Licensed Bodies during his time in post to discuss their marketing strategies for CEnv and he hoped that the new CEO would continue this and appoint a marketing person who understood how to market the CEnv qualification to different audiences. Concern was recorded that there had been little progress over the past few months on increasing CEnv recruitment. This had largely been due to limited resources with the ending of the contracts of two staff members and the reduction in the CEO s secondment time from three to two days a week. The Chair confirmed that CEnv recruitment would be in the top three priorities for the new CEO. The CEO would be sketching out some marketing recommendations in his independent review, but until a new CEO was in place there would not be the capacity to deliver on this project. Some of Cabinet felt that the adoption of the Expert Route would be the easiest and quickest way to grow CEnv numbers. The new membership of the RSC and hopefully one 2

3 other Licensed Body in 2015 would contribute towards CEnv growth through the grandparent route. The Vice Chair asked what the Cabinet could do to help the executive team promote CEnv amongst the membership of the Licensed Bodies. It was suggested that a supply of marketing materials including postcards / CEnv Specs could be distributed for circulation with Licensed Body journals. Action: SocEnv Executive to circulate CEnv marketing materials to all Licensed Bodies 5c. Year End Finance Summary The Deputy CEO provided provisional figures for the end of the year. Overall the Society had managed to reduce expenditure by 55K from the budget. Cabinet were pleased to note that the Society was not running such a large deficit. The cost reductions came from a reduction in staff numbers, a part-time CEO and an underspend on the marketing budget. In terms of CEnv income the Society is above budget on renewals but under budget on new CEnvs. The absence of new recruits is directly feeding through to the income performance. Once the necessary adjustments had been made to the year end figures they would be submitted to the accountants for auditing. A draft set of accounts would be circulated to the Cabinet for comment prior to approval by the Council at their next meeting. Action: Deputy CEO to circulate draft set of accounts to Cabinet. 5d. CEO Recruitment A recruiter has been appointed and is working through a list of individuals at professional institutions for approach. It had been posted on the Guardian website and would shortly be circulated to all SocEnv Licensed Bodies. The closing date for applications is 6 th April An internal recruitment panel has been appointed as follows: Ian Bowbrick Libby Meyrick Francesca Berriman Jenny Blumhof The Interim CEO requested that the Deputy CEO, Kerry Geldart, be included on the recruitment panel. This would be discussed during the Closed Session of the Cabinet Meeting. A plan for gap management between the departure of the Interim CEO on 31 st March and the appointment of a new CEO would also be addressed in the Closed Session. 6. Operations 6a. Environment: Priorities for the Next Government The Chair recorded his thanks to everyone who had been involved in producing this excellent report. He urged everyone wishing to attend the event on 16 th March to register as soon as possible. Once the report has been launched a press release will be sent out to all Licensed Bodies with a request to mail it to all of their media and political contacts and CEnvs. All Licensed 3

4 Bodies had been invited to contribute to the report with 12 participating. However, the successful delivery of this report meant that some of those who did contribute have shown interest in participating in future reports. The Deputy CEO reported that the Environmental Audit Committee had asked for an embargoed copy and it is hoped that one of their members will be on the panel at the SocEnv event. In addition it is hoped that they will refer to the SocEnv report in their own report that is being launched on the 18 th March Castle Debates are also launching another report on the 17 th March, so there will be lot of environmentally-focused events in Parliament during that week. The Interim CEO confirmed that the report was part of the development of a house style that would extend to other publications, for example the Practice Directions. The staff suggested that the next report could focus on priorities from a corporate perspective Environment Priorities for Business which could be used as part of the employer engagement plan. It is important that SocEnv maintains the momentum and continues to produce regular, well thought out policy documents meeting a specific purpose. 6b. Associate Body Practice Direction The Interim CEO reported that he had been talking to two potential licensed bodies, The Chartered Institute of Public Relations and The Chartered Institute of Marketing who had both shown an interest in joining SocEnv but not becoming licensed. There are benefits for them having an association with SocEnv. This had prompted the CEO to review the current Associate Body Practice Direction and re-write it in a more positive manner to enhance the benefits of this grade of membership. The draft document had been reviewed by the Registration Authority. A further review by the Cabinet was requested prior to the new Practice Direction being submitted to Council for approval. The Chair requested that any specific questions on the document be submitted to the Honorary Secretary who would circulate an response to all Cabinet Members. In addition he would investigate voting rights for this level of membership. Action: Cabinet Members to submit comments to Honorary Secretary Action: Honorary Secretary to investigate voting rights for Associate Bodies 6c. Eminent Practitioner route update The Audit and Risk Committee had met to discuss the risks and benefits to the Society in operating an Expert / Eminent Practitioner route which would hopefully contribute towards an increase in CEnv registrants. Notes from the meeting had been typed up and a report capturing all of the comments recorded was to be produced. As Cabinet Members had not seen the report they were unable to discuss this item in detail. The Chair requested that the minutes from the meeting be circulated to both Cabinet and the Registration Authority as soon as possible so that this could be progressed. Action: CEO/IWB to circulate minutes of Audit & Risk Committee 7. Standards 7a. RA Report A Report from the RA Meeting held on 11 th February 2015 had been circulated to Cabinet. 4

5 The RA Chair reported on the CIWEM 5 Year Licence Review. This had been a joint licence review with the Engineering Council and Science Council and all three regulators had reached the same conclusions. The RA had approved the review panel report and the recommendation for a two year licence with visits after six months and 18 months to check progress against actions. Thanks were recorded to Tony Plytas for his help and assistance and to Trish Hall for her contributions to the review. 7b. Audit and Risk Committee The Honorary Treasurer reported that the Audit and Risk Committee had met on 19 th January 2015 specifically to discuss the issue of the Expert / Eminent Route. He recorded his apologies that the minutes from this meeting had not yet been circulated. 7c. Remuneration Committee The Remuneration Committee are currently meeting electronically, the sessions will be closed within the next week. There was nothing to report as the Committee had not meet since the last Cabinet Meeting. 7d. Honorary Fellows Panel The CEO reported that the Hon FSE Panel had met on 11 th February 2015 to discuss a publication that would be produced after the election. They had also considered defining what is an Hon FSE to a greater degree in order to give Licensed Bodies a better idea of the types of people they should be nominating for this title. 8. Any Other Business Adam Donnan advised Cabinet that this would be his last meeting as Interim CEO of SocEnv. He recorded his thanks to everyone for all of their help during his time in post. The Chair responded by thanking Adam on behalf of the SocEnv Cabinet and Council for taking over the reins during a very difficult and challenging time. Thanks were also recorded to Adam from the SocEnv staff. 9. Closed session 10. Future Cabinet Meetings 2015: 23 rd June 8 th September 3 rd November 5

6 Action List Summary Item Ref. Action Action On Date Required Status C7/3 SocEnv secretariat to come up with a solution for revising the consultation response policy. C7/7 CEO to follow up Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) to ask them to consider including CEnv and REnvTech. C7/7 Two additional quotes to be sought on IP transfer. Vice Chair to provide details of one lawyer specialising in this area. C8/8 IB to circulate agenda and details of IOM3 event on engaging with young people to Cabinet. C9/4a TP to review Code of Conduct / Warning System for SocEnv Committee Members and submit proposal to Cabinet. C9/5a SocEnv CEO to contact IOSH CEO for progress update on CB application. C9/5a CB application pack to be circulated to Cabinet for review / comments on how the application process can be simplified. C10/4 Minutes of discussions by the Audit & Risk Committee on the risks and benefits of Expert Route to be circulated to Cabinet and RA as soon as possible. C10/4 Appoint and lead a three person task and finish working group to work up a final proposal on the Expert Route AD Dec 2015 To be reviewed with new CEO as part of wider strategy AD March 2015 KG will do this as soon as REnvTech Privy Council issues resolved. WP/LM Asap KG has followed up current status with WP and AD. Additional quote sought before action. IJB May 2015 Details will be circulated as soon as available TP June 2015 Draft code of conduct included in papers for info AD March 2015 TH received call from CIBSE still under consideration. TH May 2015 Included in papers for information AD/IWB March 2015 Circulated to RA for discussion at 28 th April RA meeting. JB May 2015 A sub group has been set up by the RA and will report to the 9 th July RA 6

7 Item Ref. Action Action On Date Required Status for approval by the RA and Council. C10/4 Arrange an Extraordinary Meeting of the Council to finalise the Expert Route. C10/3 Update of SocEnv website to be included on next Cabinet Meeting agenda. C10/6b Provide Deputy CEO with role description for Honorary Treasurer position as part of the overall review of documents. C11/4 Deputy CEO to all Cabinet with link to SocEnv Meetings Timetable on website. C11/5a CB application from the Royal Society of Chemistry to be circulated to SocEnv Council for electronic approval. C11/5b Secretariat to circulate CEnv marketing materials to all Licensed Bodies. C11/5c Deputy CEO to circulate draft set of accounts to Cabinet prior to Council approval. C11/6b Cabinet members to submit comments on Associate Body C11/6b Practice Direction to Hon Sec. Investigate voting rights for Associate Bodies. meeting. Exec April 2015 Meeting held on May 11 th. Route needs further consultation before bringing to Council for final approval KG Sept 2015 Website improvements to be considered with new CEO as part of wider strategy. IWB May 2015 COMPLETED KG March 2015 COMPLETED TH March 2015 COMPLETED AND APPROVED KG/TH/ER April 2015 TO BE COMPLETED KG April 2015 INCLUDED WITH CABINET PAPERS Cabinet TP May 2015 DRAFT INCLUDED WITH CABINET PAPERS TP June 2015 TP to report to Cabinet June 23rd 7