Court report

By Peter Evans

Membership
The first meeting of the Court of 2004/05 was held on 25 October. The new Chairman, John Milligan, paid fulsome tribute to his predecessor, Larry Rolland, who had held the office for six years. Larry was welcomed back, however, in his continuing role as Chancellor's Assessor.

New members were Rami Abboud (elected by the Academic Council) and Fraser Millar (President of the Students' Association). Despite these reinforcements, the Court began the new session one member short, as existing member Esther Roberton had been nominated by the Rector, Lorraine Kelly, as her Assessor on Court. It was reported that the Nominations Committee was already searching for another lay person to replace Esther in the co-opted membership category.

Norma Stewart, the elected representative of manual, technical and clerical staff on Court, has been promoted to an academic-related grade. This was excellent news for her, but unfortunately she has thereby become ineligible to hold the non-academic staff position on Court and the election of a successor is currently in process.

Merger of Funding Councils
The Court received a briefing note on the current position regarding the Further & Higher Education (Scotland) Bill, which had been signed by the Minister on 30 September 2004. The Bill had been substantially changed from the early draft which had been the subject of consultation. The new version satisfactorily addressed the large majority of the objections made by Universities Scotland - which had argued that, while there might be administrative advantage in merging SFEFC and SHEFC, such a reorganisation should not be broadened into a merger of the two sectors. It was agreed that the redrafting was very welcome and was a good example of the open, consultative approach adopted by the Scottish Executive and the Scottish Parliament. A cautionary note was sounded, however, as the Bill was still subject to debate in the Parliament, where undesirable changes might occur as a result of political compromises.

Principal's Report
One outcome of the review of Court and corporate governance, completed in June 2004, was the remodelling of the committee structure, including the creation of a Senior Management Team comprising the Principal (Convener), the Vice-Principals, the Deans, the Secretary, the Director of Finance and other senior officers as required. The Senior Management Team has a formal remit and is accountable to the Court, effectively replacing the former Planning & Resources Committee and the informal Principal's Advisory Group. As a result of these new arrangements, the Court received the usual Principal's report in written form for the first time. The report included comment on such matters as the increased student intake in 2004 and the associated need to address both entry qualifications and retention issues; developments in 'research pooling' across Scotland; and the launch of Dundee University Press.

Spending Review
Discussion of the Principal’s report focused mainly on the Scottish Executive's Spending Review for the period 2005/06 - 2007/08, which was expected to deliver a 17% increase in SHEFC funding. It was not yet clear how much individual institutions would receive, but a significant uplift in resources was anticipated. The Court was warned, however, that this should not be regarded as completely free for additional expenditure.

The Financial Strategy approved by Court envisaged surpluses increasing year-on-year: if these targets were not met there could be a serious shortfall for the capital programme. Also, salary costs were rising faster than income and it was essential to avoid building up a cost base which could not be supported if the increased funding were not sustained beyond 2008. Another likely source of financial pressure was the increasing costs of pension schemes.

Review of Court and Corporate Governance
The recommendations arising from the recent review required a number of immediate follow-up actions, which were addressed by the Court. First was the proposed revision of part of Statute 9 concerning the composition of the Court, entailing its reduction from 28 members to 23. The amendment was approved by the requisite majority, but remains subject to confirmation at the next meeting and to subsequent approval by the Privy Council. Bearing in mind the timescale for approval and other practicalities, the Court accepted a proposed implementation date for the new membership structure of 1 August 2005.

The Court also approved the following:

- a Statement of Primary Responsibilities for the Court (www.dundee.ac.uk/academic/);

- a revised statement on the role and responsibilities of the Chairperson;

- a Code of Conduct for members of the Court;

- a revised Schedule of Delegation and Decision-Making Powers, reflecting the new committee structure and providing for increased delegation of responsibilities and powers to Senate, Court Committees and senior officers (https://secure.dundee.ac.uk/academic/).

Pension Schemes

Action was taken on the Court's behalf during the summer to make provision for the payment of backdated employer’s contributions for past and present part-time employees, who had become eligible to enter the University of Dundee Superannuation Scheme following a ruling by the House of Lords in 2001.

The Court approved the recommendation of the Trustees of the University of Dundee (Former CNM Staff) Pension Scheme that Professor Sheila Hunt be appointed as a Trustee, following the retiral of Mr David Muir.