Governance Report

The Audit and Scrutiny Committee, chaired for this purpose by Mr Nigel Turnbull, communicated in the Gazette on 19 March 2008 on the subject of its review of the University’s governance arrangements, in response to HEFCE (Supplement (1) to No. 4839 reprinted as Supplement (3) to No. 4840, 16 April 2008; also available at www.ox.ac.uk/gazette/2007-8/supps/1_4839.pdf). 

That review has now been completed and the Committee’s Governance Report was received by Council at its meeting on 19 January. The review was not unanimous in all of its recommendations. In view of this, it was evident to Council that the Report would require careful consideration by Council itself and by Congregation. Council members considered that discussion of some of the recommendations may be relatively straightforward, for example the recommendations that Council should have a quorum requirement for its meetings and that the University’s Annual Review should contain a Statement of Primary Responsibilities; discussion of others may be less so, for example the recommendations relating to the procedures of Congregation or those relating to the composition of Council and of its committees.  

Council wishes to take time itself to reflect on the report. It will return to these matters at its next meeting (16 February 2009), when Mr Turnbull will be present, and will report further thereafter. In the interim, Council recognises that the Report should be made more widely available at this point, and it has therefore been posted on the web at www.ox.ac.uk/document.rm?id=849. Any legislation ultimately resulting from this process would of course require the approval of Congregation.

A copy of the Report, together with this notice, is also being sent to HEFCE.

This notice will appear in the Gazette on 29 January.