January 30, 2017

Minutes of the meeting held on 30 January 2017
Caledonia House, South Gyle, Edinburgh EH12 9DQ at 1700

Attendees

  • Janice Eaglesham MBE, Chair
  • Catherine Goodfellow, Vice Chair
  • Gavin Macleod, CEO
  • Dave Rhoney, Director
  • Gerry Milne, Director
  • Claire Morrison, Director
  • Oliver Barsby, Director
  • Jennifer Griffin, sportscotland Partnership Manager
  • Gary Fraser, Performance Manager
  • Caroline Lyon, Company Secretary

Apologies

  • Jay Runga, Director
  • Iain Smith, Director

1.    Welcome and Apologies

2.    Conflicts of Interest and Legal Register

There were no conflicts of interest and no matters on the legal register of which SDS is aware.

3.    Minutes of Previous Meeting, 12 December 2016

The minutes were agreed with the following amendment.

  • P1: the sportscotland Team Scotland dinner will be held on 21st September.

4.    Matters Arising

  • Bowls Scotland had confirmed they would be willing to assist in the delivery of the IBD World Championships with umpires, volunteers and promotion. Financial support would be the responsibility of SDS or the organising committee and the Performance Manager and Opportunities & Events Manager will clarify with BS. Action: GF, MG
  • It was confirmed that the Intermediate level of the Equality Standard was to be maintained notwithstanding any work on the part of the Opportunities & Equality Manager with regard to the Advanced level.
  • The Finance Director had indicated his need to reluctantly stand down from the role due to both work and family commitments. However, he had sourced a possible replacement Finance Director. A meeting would be set up with the Chair. The Chair expressed the appreciation of the Board for Gerry Milne’s contributions to SDS. Action: Chair
  • Feedback was awaited from Iain Smith on updates to the Data Protection Act and the CEO will follow up. Action: CEO
  • It was agreed that there is a need to develop a volunteer policy in the future.
  • A statement had been placed on the website regarding safeguarding. Information had been sent from sportscotland to the BBC.
  • Jay Runga had attended the South Lanarkshire Branch meeting.
  • The Board would consider the content for the staff presentation at the next Board meeting. Claire Morrison will feed back to the CEO who will liaise with the relevant staff to shape the presentation. Action: All

5.    Performance Presentation

A presentation was delivered by the Performance Manager.

6.    Operational Plan Update

  • The draft operational plan for 2017/18 had been circulated. Changes were in line with the new strategic plan and headings and outcomes had been altered accordingly. The plan would also include the sportscotland target tracker and outcomes agreed with sport
  • Boccia targets should be agreed regarding playing membership and clubs. Investment would require to be confirmed before this could be finalised.
  • The Highland Regional Manager had been working on the establishment of a Shetland Branch after the strategic planning consultation.
  • The Opportunities & Equality Manager had supported Grampian Branch in recruiting the new Chair Len Ironside, who is now in place.
  • The RDMs had trialled videoconferencing and it was considered to have been a success.
  • Education and training targets had been met despite a decrease in Education Scotland funding. UKDIT had been delivered at Edinburgh University and DIT was embedded in the curriculum.
  • The Development Coach Conference had been held at Stirling Court Hotel on 29 January and the Education & Development Manager was congratulated on its success and her work on the conference.
  • Feedback on the media campaign around the Rio Paralympic Games had been received from Burt Greener and was positive. The CEO will circulate to the Board. Action: CEO
  • The Celtic FC Foundation fundraising dinner will be held on 2 March at Celtic Park and SDS will again be beneficiaries. The CEO, Chair and Lori Ure had confirmed attendance along with Sammi Kinghorn, Stephen McGuire and Reegan Stevenson. Seats are available and Board members should notify the Chair if interested in attending.
  • Continued funding from Sainsbury’s had been confirmed to 2020. This will cover tertiary education delivery and an amount towards the e-learning module.
  • The CEO and Stephen McGuire had attended the sports policy conference last week. The Chair had been interviewed on the John Beattie radio show about the redevelopment of Inverclyde.
  • A paper had been circulated regarding the governance audit. A meeting had been held today. The CEO was thanked for his work on preparation for the audit and Board members who had attended a meeting with the auditors earlier today were also thanked.

7.    Sub Groups

Finance

  • Gerry Milne had provided feedback on the financial procedures policy to the Finance Manager and CEO and there were no fundamental changes. The policy was agreed with the amendments and would be circulated at the next Board meeting.
  • Information was provided by the Finance Manager on SDS reserves. It was agreed that these would be kept under review but no changes at present, and that the situation could be re-considered if circumstances changed.
  • The quarterly accounts and breakdown on income sources were circulated and accepted by the Board. The Finance Manager and Finance Director were thanked for their work.

Governance

  • The Financial Procedures Policy was accepted with amendments from the Finance Director.
  • The ICT Policy has been updated by the CEO and Oliver Barsby was thanked for his contribution. It was agreed that the ICT risk assessment was covered in the wider risk assessment and the ICT Policy was agreed.
  • The Board Recruitment Policy was agreed.
  • The Ethic Statement was agreed on condition that policies and procedures be added.
  • The Chair/CEO Separation of Responsibilities Policy was agreed.
  • The Equality Action Plan had been approved by the working group and was agreed by the Board. The Opportunities & Equality Manager was thanked for the large amount of work which had been done on this.
  • The Communications Plan had been drafted. The aim is to engage with a PR company regarding the Commonwealth Games and there may be possibilities for partnering with other sports. Consideration was being given to developing specific sections for Boccia and bowls. Feedback was requested from the Board. Action: All
  • The sportscotland Partnership Manager gave an update on the current budget situation, awaiting final figures from the Scottish Government however it was indicated that funding was unlikely to increase from previous years, therefore in the light of the new strategic plan this should be given due consideration. The Finance sub group would meet to consider options prior to the next Board meeting. Action: Chair, Finance Director, CEO, Finance Manager

8.    Board Updates

  • The Development Coach Conference had been attended by the CEO, Vice Chair, Oliver Barsby and Claire Morrison. Good feedback was given and it was considered to have been a very interesting event with a good quality of speakers and presenters.
  • Dave Rhoney had attended a meeting regarding a shooting DIT with the Education & Development Manager and Oliver Barsby.
  • Claire Morrison had delivered a Boccia session at Forfar Academy with Jennifer Scally.

9.    Partners Updates

  • The CEO had spoken with Neil Tunnicliffe regarding the GBDFA and communicated that SDS would terminate membership for the time being. SDS were thanked for their time, having been involved since the inception of the GBDFA.
  • The BPA had circulated a list of nominees for the Board and Chair. There are four posts available for election including the Chair. Profiles of nominees will be circulated shortly.
  • There has been no change in the circumstances of the UKSA. Funding is in place until April or May and Tracey McCillen is currently working in a voluntary capacity.

10. Sports/Events

  • The events programme and Branch meeting dates had been circulated. Board members were asked to feed back their availability to CL until 13 March. It was agreed that where possible duplication of attendance at meetings would be avoided. The Chair would notify Jay Runga and Iain Smith. Action: All, Chair

11. AOB

There was no other business.

12. DONM

13 March 2017