1 Requirements under the Statutory Instrument and Articles
The Instrument and Articles specify that the following documents should be made available at the College during normal office hours to any person wishing to inspect them:
- For any meeting of the Corporation where documents do not contain matters which the Corporation has identified as confidential or which name current or future students or employees or any material relating to the Clerk:
- the agenda;
- the minutes;
- any report, document or other paper considered at the meeting.
- A written statement of policy on attendance at committee meetings by persons who are not committee members.
- A written statement of policy regarding the publication of minutes of committee meetings.
- The register of financial interests of members of the Corporation.
- Any rules specifying the conduct of the Search Committee, together with its terms of reference and advice to the Corporation.
In addition, copies of the Instrument and Articles must also be made available for inspection on request during normal office hours to every member of staff and to students.
2 The Corporation’s Arrangements for Public Access
The Corporation’s Standing Orders relating to arrangements for public access to Corporation business include the following statements:
3.10 Declaration of Personal Interest
- The Register (of Interests) shall be made available during normal office working hours at the College to any person wishing to see it.
3.11 Public Access to Meetings
- In accordance with clause 16 of the Instrument, any question whether any person who is not a member of the Corporation or the Clerk to the Corporation should be allowed to attend a meeting of the Corporation shall be determined by the Corporation.
- The Corporation may hold one meeting each year, to be known as the Annual Public Meeting, which is open to members of the public.
- The Corporation often discusses business that is confidential in nature. It also feels that free and frank discussion may be inhibited by the presence of persons other than members. Therefore, members of the public will normally not be allowed to attend meetings of the Corporation and its committees.
3.12 Publication of Agendas, Minutes and Papers
- The Clerk shall ensure that a copy of the agendas and minutes of a non-confidential nature relating to the meetings of the Corporation and its committees shall be posted on the College website. In addition, the Clerk shall also ensure that agendas, papers and minutes are available for public reference at the College during normal office working hours upon request to the Clerk to the Corporation.
- The Corporation shall review regularly all confidential material and make any such material available for inspection where it is satisfied that the reason for dealing with the matter on a confidential basis no longer applies, or where it considers that the public interest in disclosure outweighs that reason.
In addition, the terms of reference for the Governors’ Search Committee specify that the duties of the Committee shall include:
- to make available for inspection by any member of the public, in accordance with paragraph 5(3) of the Articles of Government, the remit of this Committee and the advice that it gives to the Corporation.
Copies of the Instrument and Articles are lodged at each of the College’s Learning Resource Centres and are also available on request from the Clerk.