July 2009 Board Meeting

REPORT OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD

Held on Thursday 23 July 2009 at the Terraces at Sport England

Present : Brian Lomax [BL] (Chair), Rob Bradley [RB] (Vice - Chair), Elaine Dean [ED], Simon Cope [SC], Yvonne Fletcher [YF], Sean Hamil [SH], Joe Hill [JH], Neil Le Milliere [NLM], Ian Todd [IT]

In attendance : Dave Boyle [DB] (Chief Executive), Bruce Burford [BT] (Treasurer), Malcolm Clarke [MC] (FSF Chair), Raakhee Thakrar [RK] Clare Oakley [CO] (Secretary)

Apologies :  Tony Taylor [TT](Vice-Chair), Steve Powell [SP], Kris Stewart [KS], Bob Booker [BB] (Representative from the Football Foundation)

1.              PRELIMINARY BUSINESS

(i) The Chair advised the Board that he had received a letter of resignation from Stuart Duncan and had responded thanking him for his service to SD. It was noted that Stuart had served two years of a three year term and a bi-election for his seat would be held in conjunction with the upcoming elections.

(ii) It was noted that Yvonne Fletcher's term of office was coming to an end and this would be her final board meeting. The Board expressed their thanks for her contribution to SD.

(iii) Elaine Dean thanked the board members for the cards and flowers she had received during her recent illness.

2.              MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETINGS

The minutes of the Board Meeting held on 19 May 2009 were agreed as correct record, with the following exceptions;

(i) Bruce Burford had not been present and had given his apologies.


3.              MATTERS ARISING

(i) Minute 6 - It was noted that the work plan had essentially been superseded by the contents of the funding proposal which would be discussed later on the agenda.

The status of management actions and matters arising from previous minutes were noted.

4.              MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTS 

The Board received and noted the management accounts for the period April - June 2009.

5.              FINANCIAL CONTROLS

The Board received and adopted the proposed Internal Financial Controls Procedures for SD.

6.              RECOMMENDATION FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF THE AUDITOR

The Board considered the appointment of the auditor for the following financial year and approved the following resolution to be recommended to members at the AGM;

"That Osbornes Accountants Limited be and is hereby re-appointed auditor of the Society to hold office from the conclusion of this meeting top the conclusion of eth next general meeting at which the Financial Statements are laid before the Society and the remuneration to be fixed by the directors."

7.              CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

The Board received and noted a report updating them on action being undertaken in relation to various Corporate Governance matters including a review against the Co-operatives^UK Code of Best Practice, Rules Review and the Review of Committee Terms of Reference.

8.              ELECTION POLICY

The Board approved changes to the election policy to enable results to be declared at the AGM and the proposed timetable and election arrangements. It was noted that an opportunity would be provided for candidates to answer questions submitted by the membership, this would be done via the intranet. It was agreed that changes to the constitution of the Board would be discussed at the next meeting followed by a debate and vote at the AGM. 

9.              CHIEF EXECUTIVES REPORT INCLUDING FUNDING BID

The Board received and noted the Chief Executives report including a copy of the bid submitted to the Football Stadium Improvement Fund.

10.          TRUST RUN CLUBS

The Board received and noted a paper highlighting the difficulties faced by trust-run clubs and proposing actions which could be taken by SD to offer greater support. The Board supported the ideas proposed in the paper and agreed the Chief Executive should continue with the work.

11.          CONFERENCE 2010

The Board received a paper requesting their input into the main objectives of the 2010 conference. It was agreed that the conference should contain less training and focus on ‘blue sky' thinking and discussion on policy and an opportunity for delegates to question key speakers.

12.          FA COUNCIL REPORT

Malcolm Clarke provided a verbal report on the recent FAC meeting.

13.          DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING

It was noted the next meeting would be held on September 11 2009 at 2pm

14.          MEMBERSHIP REPORT

The Board received and noted the Membership Report as at 15 July 2009.

15.          SCOTLAND REPORT

The Board received and noted the Scotland Report for July 2009.

There being no further business the Chair closed the meeting and thanked everyone for their attendance.