APPROVED
NHS Grampian (NHSG)
Minute of Endowment Committee Meeting
Held on Monday 25 November 2013 at 10.00am
In the Conference Room, Summerfield House
Present
Mr Raymond Bisset (Chair), Non-Executive Board Member
Mr Mike Scott (Vice Chair), Non-Executive Board Member
Cllr Stewart Cree, Non-Executive Board Member
Mr Alan Gray, Director of Finance
Ms Sharon Duncan, Employee Director
Mrs Laura Gray, Director of Corporate Communications and Board Secretary
In Attendance
Mrs June Jessop, Standard Life Wealth (Item 5)
Mr Garry Kidd, Assistant Director of Finance
Miss Tracey Leete, Minuting Secretary
Item / Subject / Action1. / Apologies
Dr Roelf Dijkhuizen, Medical Director
Cllr Bill Howatson, NHSG Board Chairman
2. / Declaration of Interest
No declarations of interest were noted.
3. / Minute of Meeting held on 24 September 2013
The minute of the above meeting was approved by the Committee.
The Committee also agreed the accuracy of the minute of the Annual General Meeting of Trustees held on 24 September 2013 recognising that this would require to be formally approved at the next Annual General Meeting of Trustees.
4. / Matters Arising
4.1 / The Committee reviewed the action log from the previous meeting and highlighted the following items:
11.3.13 Item 5.2 – Organisational and support arrangements
Mr Kidd advised the committee that the job description for the post of Operational Support Manager was shortly to be submitted for evaluation and grading. The job will be advertised as soon as possible in line with NHS Grampians recruitment and vacancy control procedures.
Mr Kidd to provide an update on progress for the March 2014 meeting.
13.6.13 Item 10.7 - A&E pre hospital rapid response – update
Mr Kidd advised the Committee that a written update will now be provided by Mr Lofthouse at the March 2014 meeting.
24.9.13 Item 5 - GAPF Endowment Funding
Mr Kidd advised the Committee that the ongoing maintenance costs of the staff gym equipment will be included in the General Endowment budget submission for 2014/15 which will be considered at the March 2014 meeting.
24.9.13 Item 8.2 – “The Space” – update and additional funding request
Mr Kidd advised that an additional funding request of £74k to provide enhanced display and interactive presentation facilities had been denied at the last Committee meeting. Subsequently however, an agreement had been reached for NHS Grampian to use £25k of capital funding to underwrite the enabling infrastructure for these enhanced facilities on the understanding that GHAT would repay this investment through local fundraising initiatives during 2014/15.
The Committee noted the position.
24.9.13 Item 8.8 Nurse documentation project – Computers on wheels
Mr Gray advised the Committee that a revised bid will now be submitted to March 2014 Committee for consideration.
24.9.13 Item 9 NHSG Endowment Fund Conference
The Committee agreed to defer the local Endowment Seminar until the appointment of the Operational Support Manager. / GK
JL
GK
AG
5. / Update on Investment Performance – Standard Life Wealth
Mrs Jessop presented the current performance of the investment portfolio. The overall market value of investments was valued at £41.6 m at 31 October 2013 compared to £40.9m at 31 March 2013. This capital growth continued to be matched by income which was forecast at £1.5m for the year compared to a target of £1.25m. This healthy performance was a result of the strategic position taken with emphasis on non UK equities particularly stocks in Asian and emerging markets and capital bonds rather than government gilts. The decision of the US Federal Reserve to reduce quantitative easing had a small negative impact on markets but the position was starting to recover.
Mrs Duncan queried whether it was appropriate for the Fund to be invested in certain media related equities in light of recent publicity deemed detrimental to the National Health Service. Mrs Jessop explained that these equities particularly those with a significant internet presence are a key growth area. The Committee considered this issue and agreed that, as Trustees, all NHS Grampian Board members, when deciding on matters relating to the Charity, have a legal obligation to place the interests of the charity before all other interests. It would not be appropriate therefore, regardless of the impact of any publicity generated by these organisations, to exclude profitable media related equities that operate within the ethical criteria outlined in the Funds Investment Policy.
The Committee members noted the positive investment performance and expressed their thanks to Mrs Jessop for her support with the NHSG Portfolio.
6. / Annual Accounts Consolidation
Mr Kidd presented a report briefing the Committee on the issues and risks associated with the consolidation of the financial statements for NHSG Endowment Funds with those of the NHS Grampian Board and highlighted the following points:
· The signed and audited consolidated accounts will require to be available by 30 June 2014.
· Consolidation of Endowment Funds will not affect the financial target achievement of the main NHS Board.
· Both the main Board and Endowment Fund figures will be clearly and separately identifiable on the face of the consolidated accounts.
· It is for each individual Board to agree consolidated accounting policies with their auditors.
A programme to deliver the audited consolidated accounts has been agreed with Deloitte LLP, the funds External Auditors. This requires the draft Endowment Funds accounts and supporting working papers to be available for audit on 9 May 2013 alongside the Boards accounts and the consolidated accounts.
Mr Kidd explained that recent vacancies will leave the finance team short of cover at this time of increased workload arising not only from the requirement to produce consolidated accounts but also from the need to further develop the availability of financial management information on the Funds activities. Accordingly he requested that the Committee approve recruitment of a temporary whole time assistant accountant on a six month contract to cover the period February to July 2014. The £10k cost of the post would be covered by the existing vacancies.
Mrs Duncan queried if this post would be covered by an existing job description. Mr Kidd clarified that the role would be based on an existing NHSG Assistant Management Accountant job description. Mrs Duncan asked if 6 months would be sufficient or if this would be a recurring issue. Mr Kidd explained that the post is necessary on a short term basis only to allow time to develop and consolidate new processes within the finance team.
The Committee noted the paper and agreed the recruitment of a temporary assistant management accountant for a period of 6 months. / GK
7. / GAPF Endowment Funding: Approved requests from 1 September to 31 October 2013
Mrs Duncan presented a summary of two recent requests and highlighted the following:
· The application for replacement PCs for Induction was withdrawn by the Training and Development department.
· The application for Patient Handling Risk Assessment was not approved.
The committee noted the report.
8. / Donations: Donations greater than £1,000 received from 1 September to 31 October 2013
Item 10.1 Expenditure requests approved from 1 September to 31 October 2013 was also discussed under this item.
The committee noted the reports and acknowledged, with thanks, the receipt of the recent donation from the Friends of Cornhill Hospital.
9. / Proposal for the Improvement of Clinical Service Accommodation
Mr Kidd presented a paper outlining the legal advice received from the Central Legal Office on the proposed use of the funds to improve the quality of patient accommodation at ARI and also a set of key criteria against which future proposals of this type will be considered.
The Committee noted that the use of the funds meets the charity test and is in line with the purpose of the charity and approved, in principle, the proposal to invest £176k in the East End 1 Block at ARI and £682k at the East End 2 Block pending further confirmation of the appropriateness of this expenditure from a second independent firm of charity law experts.
The Committee also agreed that it was important to encourage a balanced approach to future investment andagreed the following statement inviting proposals and also detailing the key criteria against which future strategic schemes can be considered:
The Trustees wish to adopt a balanced approach to future investment andinvite innovative proposals for the use of General Endowment Funds in line with NHS Grampian’s strategic objectives.Proposals are invited from all areas of the clinical serviceand across all parts of our physical infrastructure.
All requests for approval must include a written case justifying the investment against thefollowing keycriteria:
· The overall scheme isin line with NHS Grampian’s 20/20 vision.
· The Endowment funded elements are in addition to the core NHS provision.
· The schemewill enable benefits to patients through improvements inthe overall quality of care, physical environment and/or amenity.
· The scheme has the agreement of all stakeholders including service users andstaff.
The Committee highlighted the importance that all areas of service should be made aware of the key criteria.
Mr Kidd to prepare a paper for the March 2014 meeting, incorporating the advice from a second independent firm of Charity Law experts and considering the options available to support a wider and more strategic use of the endowment funds. / GK
10. / Funding requests
Items 10.1 and 10.2 were discussed above.
10.3 / Ophthalmology OSC scanner – update
Mr Kidd informed the Committee that this has now been purchased and is operational.
The Committee noted the position.
10.4 / AMH – RVS Café refurbishment – update
The Committee noted the previous approval in principle for the use of RVS funds gifted to AMH to refurbish the existing café was conditional on the agreement of the General Manager for Facilities and Estates regarding any impact on the staff Canteen and this issue had not yet been resolved.
The Committee noted the position and asked Mr Kidd to request an update on progress from the appropriate Service Manager for the March 2014 meeting. / GK
10.5 / Moray Life Sciences Centre equipment
Mr Kidd stated that, following assurances from local management that the ability to redeploy existing equipment was maximised within the bid, members had now approved the request to purchase additional training equipment.
The Committee noted the position and asked Mr Kidd to request an update on progress for the March 2014 meeting. / GK
10.6 / Mortuary – Update
Mrs Gray informed the Committee that the plans for the improvements to the Mortuary accommodation are not yet finalised.
The Committee noted the position and requested that Mrs Gray provide an update on progress for the March 2014 meeting. / LG
10.7 / Therapeutic Roof Garden
Mrs Gray informed the Committee that fund raising efforts to date had raised approximately £340k towards the overall target of £700k.
The Committee noted the position.
10.8 / Talent Management
The Committee considered the development proposal from the Head of Organisational Development, to support development of a Talent Management and Succession Planning Framework for NHSG.
The Committee were supportive, in principle, of the concept but raised concerns that for the proposal to be effective this would require a recurring commitment. The Committee agreed to refer the proposal to the GAPF Endowment Sub Group for further consideration.
Mrs Duncan to arrange for the proposal to be considered on the agenda for the next GAPF Endowment Sub Group. / SD
10.9 / Foresterhill Mosque
The Committee considered the application from the Mosque Committee for a funding contribution of £123,000 towards the cost of an extension to the Foresterhill Mosque. The Committee noted that the bid had the support of the Spiritual Care Committee. The Committee agreed that this project would be an appropriate use of Endowment Funds but felt that the university students would benefit significantly from this investment and that 50% of the requirement should be met by the University.
The Committee approved funding of up to £61,500 from General Endowment Funds, being 50% of the total requirement, as a contribution towards the cost of extension of the Foresterhill Mosque.
10.10 / Bereavement Counselling
The Committee considered a revised application to enhance the accommodation available to support the bereaved including development of a garden area. The revised request was significantly in excess of the original request which the Committee had previously approved in principle.
After consideration the Committee expressed their support for the development but asked Mr Kidd to request further clarification on the following points :-
· Exact nature of the scheme e.g. does it include the garden and conservatory?
· Status of cost estimate.
· Who will be the project manager ?
· Source of funding – how much will come from the original bequest, external fundraising and/or general Endowment funds ?
· What is the source of funding for the planned bereavement service that will occupy the redeveloped accommodation?
· Confirmation of the University’s agreement to develop the existing site.
Mr Kidd to request clarification of the points raised and, when available, circulate the Committee for approval. / GK
11. / Financial Performance Report
Mr Kidd presented the summary financial report as at 31 October 2013 and highlighted the large cash balance which was being held pending final agreement on the funding towards the East End 1 and 2 schemes at ARI.
Mr Bisset requested that consideration is given to the development of financial reporting so that all Fund Stewards are kept up to date with the strategic financial position of the Fund. Mr Kidd responded that the intention was to gradually develop enhanced financial management information, as resource allows, in the coming months. Progress will be reported as part of the regular Financial Performance update to the Committee.
Mr Kidd also advised the Committee that he had recently been in discussion with the Director of Research concerning the utilisation of R&D funds and that a proposal would be forthcoming for consideration by the Committee at a future meeting.
The Committee noted the report.
12. / Review of Risk Control Plan
Mr Kidd led a review of the risk control plan.
The Committee noted the risk control plan.
13. / Update to NHSG Board
The Committee agreed that the following points would be of interest to Board members (including the previous meeting and AGM) :-
· Approval of the Endowment accounts at the AGM of Trustees.
· New Scheme East End Blocks at ARI and new criteria.
· Consolidation of Accounts
· Investment Performance
Mr Kidd to draft the report for Mr Bisset’s approval. / GK/RB
14. / AOCB
Mr Bisset highlighted the need to improve patient experience in hospitals e.g. enhance availability of wi-fi and television. Mrs Duncan advised that Mr Lofthouse is working on a bid for Endowments, with particular focus on isolated patients.
The Committee asked Mr Kidd to request an update from Mr Lofthouse for the March 2014 meeting. / GK
Date of Next Meeting
Monday 3 March at 10.00am-12.30pm
Conference Room, Summerfield House.
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