Finance and Assets Committee Non-confidential minutes of the meeting held on Monday 29th April 2024 at 4.30pm via Microsoft Teams

1.0 Welcome and Apologies 

No apologies were received.

2.0 Declarations of Interest 

Interests Declared

• JS
  • CEO/Principal Nottingham College
  • Trustee and Board Members of Skills and Education Group (SEG), awarding organisation and charity
  • Ofsted Inspector
  • Member of D2N2 LEP Principals’ Group
  • Member of the Performance and Quality Committee of Futures Group 

No other interests were declared.

3.0 Minutes of the Previous Meeting 

The Committee resolved that the non-confidential and confidential minutes of the meeting held on 11th March 2024 (distributed as F&A.290424.002/003) be approved as a true record (subject to the correction of a typographic error (action RR)).

4.0 Actions and Matters Arising 

4.1 Action Tracker 

The open action tracker (distributed as F&A.290424.004) was reviewed. It was confirmed that all actions were complete. 

4.2 Matters Arising 

There were no matters arising.

5.0 P8 Management Accounts

DN took governors through key points of the P8 management accounts (distributed as F&A.290424.005): 

• EBITDA is below YTD budget but there is nothing at present to indicate that the full year EDITDA budget will not be achieved 
• Small risks to some income lines as highlighted in the report 
• Delay in capturing ALS provided to adult students 
• Pay costs are below YTD budget, largely due to not recruiting to all budgeted roles in line with expected timelines 
• Non-pay spend is below YTD budget, the variance is expected to close but there is scope to make full year non-pay costs savings 
• On target to meet bank covenants in place for 23/24 

AC confirmed that all ALS provided has now been captured and will show in P9 accounts. A governor queried the variance in AEB and noted that this regularly took until near the year end to unwind. AC confirmed that work was ongoing in this area and that there was a small risk to delivering the full year budget. A governor queried the reason behind the delay in registering the ALS provided to adult learners and queried whether this was a control problem. AC confirmed that the issues in pulling through the data had been identified and that this had now been resolved. 

A governor queried whether it was internal delivery or subcontracted delivery that was behind budget. AC confirmed that achieving the budget for internal delivery was the greater issue but that work remained ongoing. A governor queried the reduced expenditure on pay costs and asked if there is a downside in increased agency spend and has there been an impact on teaching and learning. AC confirmed that agency staffing costs are within the overall pay costs, he noted that the use of agency staff was more expensive where this had to be used. He also confirmed that the lower spend had not impacted teaching and learning and related to the mix and balance of staffing. 

The committee accepted the management accounts.

6.0 Enrolments and Applications 

CE presented the report to governors (distributed as F&A.290424.008). She confirmed that the curriculum planning process was being completed and took governors through the target numbers and growth across areas of delivery. CE confirmed that there is a focus on progression, these applications will support the achievement of the increased target numbers for next year. The committee were provided with updated information on 16-19 applications, CE confirmed that this was now over 100 ahead of the same point last year. Governors noted the detail applications by curriculum area and the areas currently at risk of not achieving their target. 

A governor queried the ability to meet demand in oversubscribed subjects. CE confirmed that applications would settle, and that further work would be undertaken through interviews and advice and guidance that would ensure that applicants are directed towards the right course and level of study for them.

A governor queried the learning from 23/24 for AEB and how that would be used for the 24/25 target. CE noted that enrolment for AEB would continue through the summer term, and it was noted that the number of enrolments does not necessarily translate directly to predictions of income. The governor further queried how AEB numbers convert to income and how assumptions can be tested. JS explained that AEB enrolments are highly variable in terms of the course or courses that the applicant wishes to take and as such it is not possible to plan in the same granular way as it is for other areas of delivery. As result the college will usually have a flat target that it can deliver and from a budgeting perspective AEB may therefore be viewed as a higher risk area. 

The committee accepted the report.

7.0 Refinancing

This item was minuted as confidential.

8.0 MIS 

RW took governors through the MIS delivery plan update (distributed as F&A./290424.008). He confirmed that the plan for 23/24 was progressing satisfactorily with progress across all areas. 

The committee accepted the report.

9.0 IT 

The committee reviewed the IT strategy and delivery plan update (distributed as F&A.290424.009). RW highlighted the key points of the report: 

• the college continues to work towards Cyber Essentials certification 
• deployment of MFA to students is in progress 
• change to data centre and cloud server strategy 

A governor noted the significant number of projects and asked if these could be presented to enable governors to identify actions/projects viewed as critical. RW confirmed that the report only includes projects and actions that are of strategic significance or of a larger scale but that this would be considered for future reports. 

Action RW - To highlight actions/projects viewed as critical to delivery of strategy in future reports 

A governor asked for confirmation of when the new IT strategy would be available. RW confirmed that the new strategy was near to completion. The governor queried whether this would feed into the financial planning for 24/25, it was confirmed that it would. A governor queried work in progress around data recovery and cyber security, RW provided an update on plans in progress. 

The committee accepted the report.

10.0 Estates

10.1 Estates and projects update 

This item was minuted as confidential. 

10.2 High Pavement – classroom refresh 

This item was minuted as confidential. 

10.3 Highfields – Phase 1 

This item was minuted as confidential.

11.0 Health and Safety Policy 

Governors received a draft of the updated policy and noted the proposed timeline for further review leading to approval by the Board in July (distributed as F&A.290424.013). GM confirmed that amends had been made to the policy in response to points raised at the last meeting and that an external review process with the British Safety Council was being undertaken. 

The committee noted and agreed the updated timeline for approval.

12.0 Subcontracting 

This item was minuted as confidential.

13.0 Review of Risks

The committee received and noted the finance and resources section of the risk register (distributed as F&A.290424.015).

14.0 Date of the Next Meeting 

The next Finance and Assets Committee meeting will be held on Monday 17th June 2024 at 4.30pm via MS Teams. 

The Chair closed the meeting at 6.03 pm.