Finance & General Purposes Committee

1. Membership

The committee shall consist of the Principal and 5 other members of the Corporation (not including staff or student members). The Chair shall be elected on a biennial basis. The Principal cannot be elected as chair.

The Deputy Principal (Finance and Corporate Planning) and the Director of Human Resources and Marketing shall be in attendance. Other staff may be invited to be in attendance for specific agenda items, with the purpose of answering questions from committee members if it is deemed appropriate.

The Director to the Corporation shall be in attendance and be responsible for:

advising the committee on matters in relation to the Instruments and Articles of Government and other associated regulations
Taking the minutes of the meetings.

2. Meetings

The committee shall normally meet five times per year.
The quorum for meetings of the committee shall be 3 members of the committee.
Outcomes of the committee meetings will be reported to the next scheduled meeting of the Corporation.

3. The Role of the Committee

The role of the committee is as follows:

To initiate and consider detailed planning associated with major strategic issues
To have oversight of the financial planning and value for money arrangements;
To recommend adoption of the Annual Income, Expenditure and Capital Budget and medium term financial forecast to the Corporation;
To request and receive reports on income and expenditure including major variations against approved budgets;
To have oversight of the arrangements for safeguarding of college assets and to receive reports on college insurance cover and to advise or make recommendations to the Corporation as appropriate;
To request and receive reports from other committees on any matter having a financial implication;
To have strategic oversight of physical resource planning and facilities management;
To consider strategic planning associated with major changes or development of college premises;
To initiate and receive reports on the state of repair of the premises and planned maintenance within the allocated budget;
Advise, make reports and recommendations to the Corporation concerning any matters related to repair, maintenance and facilities management of College premises and to report to the Corporation when funds are insufficient to maintain the College premises in a fit state of repair;
To oversee the College’s Human Resources strategy and practice including the monitoring of employment trends, including staff turnover, headcount, diversity, disciplinary cases and Employment Tribunals;
To receive information reports on organisational changes and to advise the Corporation as appropriate of significant changes to the management structure;
To monitor staff pay settlements and receive confirmation from the senior management team that fall within the College’s annual budget as recommended for approval by the Corporation;
To oversee employment policy including the consideration of changes to college employment policy, where new or substantial change is involved and to recommend for approval by the Corporation;
To determine or advise the Corporation on any matter within its remit or other matter the Corporation remit to them.

4. Financial limitations

The committee has the following additional delegated functions:

within the approved annual budget, authorise any contract to purchase goods or services valued at over £250,000, subject to management monitoring reports being submitted on contracts over £100,000;
approve the College fees policy;
consider and approve proposals to write off any debt having a value in excess of £5,000;
Recommend revisions to the financial regulations of the Corporation.

Minutes