30 September 2005
MUSEUMS AND GALLERIES OF NORTHERN IRELAND
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Minutes of a meeting of the Board of Trustees held on Friday, 30 September 2005, at 11.00 am, at the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum.
Present:
Mrs Margaret Elliott (Chair)
Miss Linda Beers
Sir Kenneth Bloomfield
Mr Dan Harvey
Dame Geraldine Keegan
Professor Eithne McLaughlin
Mr Sean Neeson
Ms Wendy Osborne
Mr Tom Shaw
Dr Alistair Walker
In Attendance:
Mr Tim Cooke (Chief Executive)
Mr John Gilmour (Director of Development)
Mrs Jude Helliker (Director of HR & Organisational Development)
Ms Amanda Lilley (Director of Finance and Planning)
Mr Marshall McKee (Director of Operations)
Ms Jenny Carmichael (Minute Secretary)
1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies were received from Mr Harvey Bicker, Ms Patricia Flanagan and Mr Bill Montgomery.
2. CONGRATULATIONS
On behalf of the Board of Trustees, the Chair congratulated Professor McLaughlin on her recent appointment as a commissioner of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland.
3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON 24 JUNE 2005
The minutes of the meeting held on 24 June 2005 were accepted as a true record and approved.
4. MATTERS ARISING FROM MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON 24 JUNE 2005
There were no matters arising from the minutes that would not be covered under later agenda items.
5. BUSINESS OF EXECUTIVE
5.1 Executive Summary
The Executive Summary had been circulated in advance of the meeting. Trustees noted with thanks the extent of activities which staff had been able to deliver over the period under review.
In reviewing Visitor Figures, Trustees noted the following points:
- the figure of 690,237 web site visitors represented actual visits rather than page impressions. From the next quarter, it would be possible to start making comparisons with earlier periods;
- it was hoped to develop, in due course, a partnership with Belfast City Council whereby visits to the Botanic Gardens and to the Ulster Museum could be promoted jointly;
- W5 had recently welcomed its one millionth visitor, a member of the Tan family from Belfast.
The Chief Executive reviewed the summary, drawing Trustees' attention to a number of points, including the launch of the Ulster Museum's refurbishment project by the Minister on 26 July 2005; the launch of the Voluntary Early Retirement Scheme on 6 September 2005; and the appointment of Amanda Lilley to the post of Director of Finance and Planning.
5.2 Corporate Plan
The Chief Executive advised Trustees that DCAL had requested revision of the draft Corporate Plan to ensure consistency with the Strategic Outline Case (SOC) and in light of the views of the new Minister, which were still to be made known to MAGNI. He anticipated that the Executive Team would be in a position to begin the revision in November.
Ministerial approval was also awaited of the SOC, approved by the Board at its last meeting and subsequently submitted to DCAL. Approval had been received for the business cases for the Ulster Museum Project and for the Voluntary Early Retirement Scheme (VERS)
The Chief Executive reminded Trustees that the Business Plan for 2005/06 had anticipated a much earlier launch of the VERS than had materialised. The first leavers under the scheme would retire at the end of January 2006, leaving only two months savings in salaries in the current financial year. A bid for funding to cover this deficit had been submitted to DCAL in the October monitoring round and the outcome was awaited.
5.3 Ulster Museum Project
The Director of Development brought to Trustees' attention the significant programme of capital expenditure that would be undertaken between October 2005 and March 2006. A schedule setting out the programme was tabled.
Ulster Museum Project: The Director of Development referred to the successful launch of the project by the Minister in July and tabled copies of press cuttings for information. Following the launch, the contract had been awarded to Hamilton Architects. Hamiltons would bring with them a team of specialists, providing also the project manager. Research for the feasibility study was already under way and would be followed by a condition survey of the building. The deadline for completion of the Stage E architectural drawings - to tie in with Heritage Lottery Fund requirements - was April 2006. In-house, a number of teams had been formed to work on specific aspects of the project, including outreach, exhibition planning, learning and access, and education.
Ulster Folk & Transport Museum: it was expected that the shell of the new Silent Cinema Complex at the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum would be completed by the end of March 2006.
Ulster American Folk Park: the redevelopment of the entrance and car park would proceed over the next 6 months.
The Director of Development advised Trustees that he was seeking their approval to proceed with this work. The level of expenditure would necessitate the writing of individual orders which would be in excess of the Chief Executive's delegated authority level. Normally such orders were approved at a meeting of the Board. These matters had already been considered and endorsed by the General Purposes and Finance Committee.
Trustees gave their approval for the undertaking of this programme of capital expenditure.
5.4 Other Capital Development
The Chief Executive drew Trustees' attention to three major capital development issues which had arisen and which required urgent attention. These were:
- the provision of accommodation for Ulster Museum staff during the refurbishment project
- the development, in the longer term, of a coherent overall accommodation strategy, including provision for the centralisation of services
- the addressing of shortcomings in MAGNI's collections storage provision.
The Executive Team had commenced the work of finding long-term, sustainable solutions, with identified funding. Senior managers from across the institution had been brought together in a leadership forum to assist in teasing out some of the issues. The Chief Executive believed that he was now in a position to put before Trustees outline proposals. Schedules summarising aspects of the proposals were tabled.
The proposals were as follows:
a) Accommodation of Staff
It was proposed that staff decanted from the main Ulster Museum building, together with staff from the Malone Building (80+ in total) would be accommodated at Cultra. A recent inspection of the Malone Building had identified the need for some £450,000 of refurbishment work. The Executive Team had proposed that, as the building was not part of MAGNI's long-term portfolio of property, it was best to dispose of it at this stage.
The rental of city centre office accommodation had been considered but rejected on the basis of value for money. Instead it was proposed that high quality modular accommodation be provided on the Cultra site. This, together with the refurbishment of the existing Administration Building at Cultra, would result in two high quality buildings being available for staff, providing the opportunity to create a MAGNI corporate headquarters.
The above proposals had been raised with DCAL and the indications were that the Department would view them favourably.
b) Accommodation for Collections
The Ulster Museum's collections were to be removed from the building by September 2006 and stored in the short term - a period likely to last until 2008 - in rented accommodation. It was recognised that there would be substantial rental and fit out costs incurred. A number of premises were at present under consideration.
In the longer term, it was proposed that centralised stores be built at the Cultra site. The new building would provide storage accommodation, including elements of open storage, a collections resource centre and accommodation for the institution's conservation facilities. Costs had still to be identified but were expected to be in the region of £6 million and the Executive Team was hopeful that the project would be eligible for funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The Executive Team proposed that income from the disposal of capital assets should be earmarked for this project. Trustees raised concerns that DFP might not release all of the expected receipts to MAGNI. The Chief Executive acknowledged that at present MAGNI could only be certain of retaining 50%, but he was hopeful that the strength of the case for the resource centre and the demonstration of the strategic use to which MAGNI wanted to put the funding, would convince DFP to grant MAGNI 100% of the income.
The Chief Executive outlined the way forward if these proposals were adopted by Trustees. Two business cases would be prepared. That for the accommodation proposal could be prepared quickly, and once approved by the Board, forwarded to DCAL. A firm of accountants would be employed to prepare the economic appraisal. The case for the collections centre would take longer.
The Chief Executive asked Trustees to approve the strategy and time frames outlined above.
Trustees approved the strategy placed before them and authorised the Executive Team to proceed with the preparation of the two business cases.
5.5 Review of Public Administration
Trustees noted the response to the Review of Public Administration Consultation Document which had been submitted to the Review body on their behalf by the Chair.
5.6 MAGNI IT Strategy
Copies of the draft IT strategy, as approved by the Executive Team, had been circulated to Trustees in advance of the meeting. The Director of Operations reminded Trustees that, arising from internal audit issues, it had been agreed that an IT strategy would be prepared and brought to them for approval.
The Director of Operations reviewed the main points of the strategy. Progress, especially in recent months with the introduction of key applications and the Wide Area Network, was encouraging, and the strategy identified areas for further development. One clear recommendation put forward in the strategy was the need to strengthen the provision of in-house IT support, which had not grown at the same rate as IT usage. The strategy recommended the appointment of an IT manager and an IT Technician. Trustees noted that the draft document had been welcomed by the Audit Committee.
The Board adopted the MAGNI IT Strategy.
5.7 Approval of Loans
The Board of Trustees approved the schedule of loans to the Ulster Museum dated 30 September 2005.
6. BUSINESS OF CHAIR
7. TRUSTEES' COMMITTEES
These two agenda items were taken together.
6.1 Appointment of Director of Finance and Planning
On behalf of the Board, the Chair congratulated Amanda Lilley on her appointment to the post of Director of Finance and Planning.
7.1 General Purposes and Finance Committee
7.1.1 Verbal report of meeting held on 16 September 2005
The Chair gave a verbal report of the General Purposes and Finance Committee meeting held on 16 September 2005. The Committee had noted the announcement by the Minister of the Ulster Museum project. It had also noted the launch of the Voluntary Early Retirement Scheme but had expressed regret that the delay in launching the scheme had led to a significant reduction in the savings originally envisaged in the 2005/06 year.
Committee members had expressed growing concern about the lack of approval from DCAL of MAGNI's revised staff structure, submitted on 27 September 2004.
The Chair advised Trustees that she had conveyed the concerns of the Board to DCAL and had received an assurance that there would be a response from the Department by the end of October. The Chair advised Trustees that if no response - or an unfavourable response - was received, she would call a special meeting of the Board to consider the way forward.
7.2 Staffing Committee
7.2.1 Verbal report of meeting held on 20 September 2005
Mr Shaw, Chair of the Staffing Committee, reported on the meeting of the Staffing Committee held on 20 September 2005. He said that the Committee welcomed the launch of the Voluntary Early Retirement Scheme, having been concerned about the financial implications of its delay. The Committee had further welcomed the creation of the Leadership Forum, seeing it as an excellent means of engaging a wide range of staff in current issues, and also the development of the Human Resources ICT system which was in the process of being rolled out across the organisation.
The Committee had noted the ongoing negotiations with the trade union, NIPSA, on the Staff Protocol. Members were anxious to find a way forward so that the Protocol could be finalised and operational in time for the pending restructuring exercise. A possible way forward had been proposed and the Director of Human Resources had been authorised to negotiate with NIPSA on those terms.
Turning to other matters, Mr Shaw reported that the Committee had expressed concerns over the delays in the introduction of the revised staff structure; it had acknowledged the anxieties being experienced by Ulster Museum staff, especially Visitor Guides, over the forthcoming closure; and it had noted that MAGNI's response under the Article 55 Review had been submitted to the Equality Commission. Trustees would be advised of the outcome of this in due course.
7.3 Audit Committee
7.3.1 Approval of minutes of meeting held on 24 June 2005
The Board of Trustees approved the minutes of the meeting of 24 June 2005.
Sir Ken Bloomfield, Chair of the Audit Committee, referred to the Audit Committee meeting held that morning. He said that it was a matter of regret that at each of its meetings the Committee was compelled to return to the same themes, but that progress was being made and the position regarding outstanding audit recommendations was improving.
8. WhoWhatWhereWhenWhy (W5)
8.1 Minutes of W5 Board meeting held on 22 June 2005
The Board of Trustees noted the minutes of the W5 Board meeting held on 22 June 2005.
Mr Harvey, Chair of the W5 Board, drew a number of items to Trustees' attention. These included:
- Visitor Figures: attendances at W5 had been adversely affected over the summer months by the good weather.
- New Exhibits: three new exhibit areas, funded by the Millennium Commission and the Welcome Trust, would be launched on 19 October 2005, and the redesigned 'Start' area would be opened on 12 December 2005.
- Grants and Sponsorship: the Management Team at W5 was to be congratulated on its success in securing a number of new grants and sponsorships, including arriving at a new arrangement with BT, all of which would address, in some measure, the sponsorship lost.
- Funding: discussions were ongoing with DCAL regarding W5's funding for the five-year period ahead. This remained the main concern for Directors and it would be an item on the agenda of the Board meeting later that day.
9. ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Trustees noted that the Chair had given permission for a law student to attend the next meeting of the Board to gain experience of corporate governance issues. The need to respect the confidential nature of many of the items of business had been explained.
10. DATE AND VENUE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting of the Board of Trustees would take place on 16 December 2005 at the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum.
The meeting ended at 1.35 pm.
