7 December 2023
Glenurquhart Road
Inverness
IV3 5NX
29 November 2023
To: Directors of the Board of High Life Highland
| Biz Campbell | David Finlayson |
| Nick Finnigan | Michael Golding |
| Roddy Henry | Marianne Hutchison |
| Andrew Jarvie | Tracy Ligema |
| Drew Millar | Ken Nicol |
| Kerry Ross | Mark Tate |
Dear Director
A meeting of the Board of High Life Highland will take place in Boardroom, Inverness Library, Farraline Park, Inverness on Thursday 7 December 2023 at 2.00 pm.
Yours faithfully
STEWART FRASER
COMPANY SECRETARY
BUSINESS
1. Apologies for Absence
2. Declarations of Interest
Directors are asked to consider whether they have an interest to declare in relation to any item on the agenda for this meeting. Any Director making a declaration of interest should provide some information on the nature of the interest. Advice may be sought from Officers prior to the meeting taking place.
3. High Life Highland Purpose, Key Business Objectives and Corporate Values 2022-27 PP.1-2
There is circulated summary of High Life Highland’s purpose, key business objectives and corporate values as extracted from the High Life Highland Business Plan 2022-27.
4. Confirmation of Minutes PP.3-22
The following Minutes are circulated for approval:-
i. Board Meeting held on 31 August 2023(pp.3-9);
ii. Health and Safety and Environmental Compliance Committee held on 6 November 2023 (pp.10-13);
iii. Finance and Audit Committee held on 14 November 2023 (pp.14-17);
and for noting:-
iv. High Life Highland (Trading) held on 31 August 2023 (pp.18-22).
5. Matters Arising – Board Meeting of 31 August 2023 P.23
There is circulated, for information, matters arising from the meeting of the Board held on 31 August 2023.
The Board is invited to note the position.
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
6. High Life Highland – Council Director
Following the resignation of Sarah Rawlings from the Highland Council, the Council, at its meeting on 14 September (adjourned and reconvened on 3 October) 2023, appointed in her place Mr Drew Millar as a Council Director to the Board of High Life Highland.
7. Board Work Plan and 2024 Meeting Dates PP.24-26
There is circulated Report No. HLH22/23 dated 27 November 2023 by the Chief Executive setting out the meeting dates for High Life Highland for 2024.
The Board is invited to:-
i. agree dates and timings as detailed in Appendix A of the report; and
ii. note the position relating to Directors’ facility visits.
STRATEGY
The Board is asked to resolve that the following item be restricted to Directors and representatives from HLH and the Company Secretary’s office.
8. Service Delivery Contract Review PP.27-31
There is circulated Report No. HLH23/23 dated 27 November 2023 by the Chief Executive providing Directors with an update on discussions with the Highland Council on the Service Delivery Contract Review.
The Board is invited to note and comment on the update.
QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE
9. Finance Report PP.32-39
There is circulated Report No. HLH24/23 dated 15 November 2023 by the Chief Executive updating Directors on the financial performance of High Life Highland of quarter two 2023/24 and other matters relevant to the remit of the Committee.
The Board is invited to:-
i. note the results for the period to September 2023 detailed in Appendix A of the report, reports a net deficit of £1.75m;
ii. note the draft year-end outturn of a net deficit of £0.5m with mitigations through use of reserves and residual Highland Council financial support totalling £400k;
iii. note the projected negative year-end reserves position of minus £100k;
iv. note the implementation of Pay Modelling;
v. note the award of contracts noted at paragraph 7.1 of the report;
vi. agree to delegate authority to the Chief Executive in consultation with the Chair and Vice Chair to approve the tender detailed in paragraph 7.2 of the report;
vii. note no breaches of internal controls have been reported in the last quarter; and
viii. note no data breaches have been reported in the past quarter.
10. Financial Planning 2024/25
The Chief Executive will provide a presentation on Budget Planning for 2024/25.
The Board is invited to comment and note the position.
11. Quarter Two Performance Report PP.40-79
There is circulated Report No. HLH25/23 dated 24 November 2023 by the Chief Executive presenting performance information for the period July to September 2023.
The Board is invited to:-
i. comment on the report and agree that the overall health check on the charity for that period is rated as amber because of the performance indicators relating to finance, reserves and highlife subscriptions;
ii. comment on and note the actions underway to address the amber RAG rating in this report and the Finance and Service Delivery Contract Review reports elsewhere on this agenda; and
iii. note the positive response that there was to HLH and the services it provides on behalf of the Council at its Education Committee meeting held on 24 November 2023.
12. Human Resources Update PP.80-88
There is circulated Report No. HLH26/23 dated 22 November 2023 by the Chief Executive providing an update on the charity’s Human Resources related matters.
The Board is invited to note and comment on:-
i. the standing HR matters for Q2 (July – September 2023);
ii. note the pending SJC Pay Award; and
iii. approve the Gender Pay Gap Report in Appendix C of the report for submission to the UK Government and publication on the HLH web site.
13. Marketing and Communications Update
The Director of Corporate Performance will give a presentation on all Marketing and Engagement activity since the last update to the HLH Board in June 2023.
The Board is invited to comment on and note the position.
14. Chair/Chief Executive’s Updates PP.89-90
There is circulated Report No. HLH27/23 dated 15 November 2023 by the Chief Executive providing information to Directors and the opportunity for them to discuss issues affecting HLH and its work at an early stage.
The Board is invited to comment on and note the updates.
