MINUTES. Creative Scotland Board Meeting Thursday 7 February am Meeting Room 1, 249 West George Street, Edinburgh

Transcription

1 MINUTES Creative Scotland Board Meeting Thursday 7 February am Meeting Room 1, 249 West George Street, Edinburgh Present: Sir Sandy Crombie (SC) (Chair) Peter Cabrelli (PC) Steve Grimmond (SG) Sandra Gunn (SGunn) Professor Robin MacPherson (RM) May Miller (MM) Fergus Muir (FM) Barclay Price (BP) Richard Scott (RS) Ruth Wishart (RW) In attendance: Iain Munro (IM) Caroline Parkinson (CP) Kenneth Fowler (KF) Alyson Hagan (AH) Karen Lannigan (KL) David Seers (DS) Vickie Ambrose (VA) Director of Creative Development Director of Creative Development Director of Communications & External Relations Director of Finance & Operations Head of HR Scottish Government Senior PA 1.0 Private session 1.1 A discussion ensued with regard to the business of Creative Scotland. 2.0 Apologies and Declarations of Interest Apologies Apologies were received from Gary West. Declaration of Interest None. 1

2 2.3 Sir Sandy Crombie commenced the meeting by referring to the recent bereavement of Gavin Wallace and a moment was taken for reflection. 3.0 Previous Minutes 3.1 Minutes of the Board Meeting held on 5 & 6 December 2012 The minutes of the meeting held on 5 & 6 December 2012 were agreed as an accurate record of the meeting. 4.0 Executive update Iain Munro provided a presentation of Corporate Change as a progress update for the Board. Staff Planning Group The Senior Management Team will work with a group of staff made up of staff from each department. This will provide the opportunity of every core area being involved in the organisation and planning of a route map for delivering business continuity alongside the change process. It was noted that the recruitment of this group was currently taking place and the first meeting is scheduled to take place next week. All staff meetings The all staff meetings have been positive and constructive. They have been very much valued and more will be planned. It was noted that Board Members would be interested in attending a future all staff event. All staff feedback Iain Munro provided an overview of the feedback provided covering core purpose, culture and values and practical operational measures. External Consultations Creative Scotland has been in dialogue with various external colleagues to assist in creating these first consultation events. The Board agreed the following proposed areas to hold five external consultation events: Dundee (DCA) Dovecot, Edinburgh Eden Court, Inverness The Beacon, Greenock Sabhal mor Ostaig, Skye It was agreed that the same themes would take place at the five suggested areas and that there will be external input to ensure they are partnership events. External Advisory Group Initially this group will be put in place for 6-12 months but may become permanent. The Senior Management Team are currently working on the 2

3 brief for this. It is not a Shadow Board, but can be a strategic soundingboard to compliment the work of the staff. 4.8 Risks Balance - Pace v due process - A cross spectrum of policy interests arts v creative industries - Business continuity v change Practicalities - Confidence - Capacity - Staff holidays - Morale Mitigation Leadership Planning route-map Communications internal and external Relationship management core part of the business enabling us to have effective productive relationships internally and externally Action Plan timeline Iain Munro provided an overview of this item and added that from the current 3-4 months would be an intense planning period for Creative Scotland. The Board noted the Report. 5.0 Business update Iain Munro provided an overview of the Business update which was comprehensive and provided a good insight into Creative Scotland's current activities. Music Sector Review The feedback received from the Steering Group required some amendment to the report which the consultant was currently carrying out before passing to Caroline Parkinson for publication. It was noted that the statistics for the number of students studying music in Scotland was difficult to verify which caused the delay in completing the review. It was noted that Caroline Parkinson expects to receive the Report later in the week. Funding round Iain Munro advised that the Executive are committed to seeing organisations through existing funding processes to enable all to be put on a stable footing for 2013/14 whilst working toward creating a new process in line with Board commitments. 3

4 The Byre It was noted that Creative Scotland had had no prior indication that there was a significant financial problem putting the organisation at risk. It was noted that good governance and management of an organisation rests with their Board and staff and that ongoing discussions are taking place with a view to the possibility of the Byre moving into Fife Cultural Trust. Pitlochry Festival Theatre Iain Munro is scheduled to meet with them tomorrow to hear their plans. Hi-Arts Creative Scotland have been in discussions with them and their partner Highland and Islands Enterprise. National Youth Arts Strategy Creative Scotland will be working with organisations such as the National Youth Companies and Imaginate to move this forward. Sign off of the Strategy is expected from the Cabinet Secretary shortly. It was noted that the Youth Arts Centre has been parked for the time being. A different vision and model is being considered that will honour the Manifesto commitment and underpin the delivery of the Strategy. It was agreed that a briefing paper would be provided to the March Board meeting. Action to Iain Munro SCIP update A discussion ensued with regard to a SCIP update, Forward Plan and how this fits with other organisations. Platform 21 office space It was noted that two parties are interested in renting some of the office space and a paper is being submitted to next week s Senior Management Team meeting. A further advertisement is to be published in respect of the third office space. Platform 21events space The space needs to create 270k per annum to break-even and there has been significant interest in use for events. It was noted that 50k worth of interest has already been registered in use for events 2013/14. Creative Scotland's Communications Department is currently in discussion with the Edinburgh Conference Centre to arrange promotion of the space. Creative Scotland needs to operate the space sensitively in an open market, especially in competition with other venues. Resignations It was noted there had been a higher than normal number of resignations in Creative Scotland. However, from exit interviews held, it would seem that this is coincidence rather than any trend. 4

5 6.0 Estates Strategy It is believed that the lease on 249 West George Street ends on 27 May This is being checked by lawyers, Karen Lannigan and Alyson Hagan. Options are currently being considered to ensure a 'Glasgow Front Door'. It was noted that operational efficiency and effectiveness needs to be reviewed together with the need for a cultural presence in Glasgow. Karen Lannigan agreed to write a proposal to be submitted at the March Board meeting. Action to Karen Lannigan 7.0 Events Board Members 7.1 The Board noted the report. 8.0 Date and venues of future Board meetings 8.1 The proposed dates and venues were agreed with the exception of 16 May Vickie Ambrose agreed to create a Doodle Poll of other options for May for the Board's consideration. Action to Vickie Ambrose 9.0 Delegated Authority Alyson Hagan provided an overview of the report: To formally delegate authority to Iain Munro, Accountable Officer as authorised signatory for Creative Scotland, effective from 10 December To formally delegate authority to Kelly Sweeney, Business Affairs Officer as authorised signatory for Creative Scotland for awards and transactions up to 20,000, effective from 1 February The Board agreed Any Other Business 10.1 Alyson Hagan resignation It was noted that Alyson Hagan had recently resigned and the Board were assured that sufficient cover would be put in place for Alyson's departure. A discussion ensued with regard to strengthening the operations functions of the organisation. It was agreed a significant update would be provided 5

6 to the Board meeting scheduled to take place in March Date of Next Meeting March 2013, 11am Meeting Room 1, 249 West George Street, Glasgow 6