December 2008

last updated:March 2010

Meeting of Executive Committee, 3 December 2008

Mid Year 2008-9 Budget Review
The Head of Finance highlighted the key areas of this paper which provided the Committee with the outcome of the mid year review process where budget managers reassessed their annual budget forecasts and requirements. She stated that the position indicated a significant improvement from previous years with a slight reduction in revenue expenditure. A Member raised the question of a lower inflation forecast being factored into the three-year budget strategy in terms of its impact on salaries, cost of supplies and debt financing upon which the Head of Finance responded. The Committee note however that this would be counteracted by a reduction in interest receivable but was a factor to be borne in mind.
 
Committee:

• approved the budget adjustments under the delegated powers of the Executive Committee, that were recommended by SMT and the Leadership Team
• approved the supplemental budget adjustments under the delegated powers of the Executive Committee
• noted the impact on the annual budget for the current year and the three-year budget strategy.

Code Project Progress Report
Jane Steele and David James attended for this item and highlighted key progress with the Code project and the latest position regarding the consultation exercise.

The Committee welcomed this document and believed it to be positive in its content, style and tone. The Committee suggested some presentational changes which were recorded by Jane Steele and there was some debate regarding the presentation of the identified core values of the teaching profession which needed some more thought.

Key discussion centred on the section on behaviour standards inside and outside of the school and the Committee believed that this was as issue that needed to be fully clarified as the text was not sufficiently robust. The Director of Communications referred to an article in the Times Educational Supplement last week which covered behaviour outside of the workplace. The Registrar stated that behaviour issues had been significantly tested across other professional bodies and Hearing Committees would need to ask where the line was drawn with reference to the code. Jane Steele stated that there was some significant diversity of opinion on this subject in the consultation.

Suggested presentational amendments included a specific reference to the “public” hearing process, the fact that the hearing processes related to a very small minority of teachers and that sometimes the Hearing Committee sanctions did not always best fit the allegations before them.

The Committee also noted a point made by Gillian Stainthorpe that local authorities and some schools would soon have responsibility for referring directly to the GTC which would be addressed once these arrangements were confirmed. A Member referred to the incorporation of the unique selling point of teaching and the Chief Executive stated the vision statement for Teaching in 2012 intended to address this, adding that there needed to be a counter argument around the strong misapprehension that the GTC ‘hounded’ teachers when in fact they were responding in public to matters referred.

The Director of Communications reported on recent consultation events which had been very positive and that the Communications team were planning a press briefing and advertising in the Teacher Union magazines.

Committee welcomed and commented on the consultation draft as recorded above.

Information Assurance – Progress Report
David Manning (Data Governance Manager) attended the meeting for this item and introduced the report referring to a paper which would be submitted to the Audit Committee on 9 December.

The Director of Corporate Services updated the Committee with additions to the list of Information Asset Owners. Committee noted that whilst the Cabinet Office report had yet to be formally disseminated to local authorities, who were a key information partner with the Council, the Data Governance Manager stated that the LGA had sent a letter regarding data handling procedures but it was scant in detail. The Chief Executive whilst highlighting the huge reputational risk to the Council added that security needed to be balanced against a lockdown of teacher data that was so secure it could not be used by the Council. He stated that no additional resources had been received for the requirements around data handling to public sector organisations and there would be resource implications for the GTC for the foreseeable future which would need to be budgeted for. In response to a Member question regarding any external validation of the Council’s approach the Chief Executive stated that external expertise was being commissioned.

The Committee noted that there was a significant resource required to the Council in terms of staff training upon which guidance was still awaited from the Cabinet Office despite it being promised in the Autumn.

In terms of the medium term financial planning for this significant area of work the Leadership Team were looking at the 2009/10 budget and beyond. A Member stated that this additional requirement should be considered in terms of the presentation of efficiency savings.

The Committee placed on record its thanks to David Manning for his work in this area.

Committee endorsed the approach being taken to manage information assurance set out in the paper.