Meetings of the Court of Governors - 23 October 2003

A meeting of the COURT OF GOVERNORS held on 23 October 2003 in the Icons Suite, National Museum & Gallery.

- PRESENT: Paul E Loveluck, President (in the Chair); Susan Davies, Vice President; G Wyn Howells, Treasurer; Mathew Prichard, Immediate Past President; Wynford Evans; Peter Warren; Huw Williams; Dafydd Bowen Lewis; Jane Peirson Jones; Mike Salter; Iolo ap Gwynn; Chris Delaney; D Parry Jones; Gwilym Humphreys; Mair Waldo Thomas; Councillor Delme Bowen; Joan Raum; Councillor R Cass; Win Griffiths MP; Councillor R H Poole; Anthea Wellington; Jonathan Jones; Linda Quinn; Brian Willott.

- IN ATTENDANCE: Mike Houlihan, Director General; Mark Richards, Director of Corporate Services; Robin Gwyn, Director of Strategic Communications; Jon Sheppard, Director of Finance & IT; Michael Tooby, Director NMG; John Williams-Davies, Director MWL; Dafydd Roberts, Keeper, Welsh Slate Museum; Ann John, Head of Museums Branch, Assembly Government; Tony Lloyd, Head of Administration; Tecwyn Jones (Sciences Panel, Collections & Education Committee); Richard Hanbury-Tenison (Arts Panel); Arwel Elis Owen (MWL & MWWI Panel); Victoria Provis (NMG & SE Wales Panel); Colin Jenkins (Collections & Education Committee); Christopher Gridley (Arts Panel); Lord Antrim (Arts Panel); Roger Davies (North Wales Panel); David Walton (Museums & Public Affairs Committee), Sian Rees (Archaeology & History Panel); Ralph Jackson (Archaeology & History Panel); Gill Bernsten (Museums & Public Affairs Committee); Hugh Jones (NMG & SE Wales Panel) and Lois Williams (Arts Panel).

- APOLOGIES:
Apologies for absence from Court were received from John Last, Colin Jones, Geraint Jenkins, John King, Rhiannon Wyn Hughes, Geraint Talfan Davies; Malcolm Parry, Francis Lynch Llewellyn, Dewi Davies, Councillor Paul Thomas, Councillor David Rogers, Helene Mansfield, Hefin Looker, Councillor Lewis Jones and Eurwyn Wiliam, Deputy Director General.

Apologies for absence from Committee and Panel Members were received from Christopher Law, David Mason, Peter Tyndall, Stella Mair Thomas, Charles Stirton, Edmund de Waal, Sian Lloyd, Carys Howell, Bryony Coles, Malcolm Symonds, Isabel Hitchman, Nancy Edwards, P Glanville, Nick Merriman, Elwyn Tudno Jones, Alun Daniel, Mike Stammers, Eleri M Rogers and Martin Lloyd.

1 - WELCOME:
The Chairman welcomed the Court of Governors and those members of Committees and Panels who were able to attend the meeting.

2 - MINUTES:
Resolved: That the minutes of the Court of Governors meeting held on 22 May 2003 be approved.

3 – ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS:
Received and Approved: The 95th Annual Report and Accounts for the period 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003.
Reported: By the President that the last meeting of the Court had been held on the Isle of Anglesey in line with Council's wish to be open and transparent and for its meetings to be peripatetic in Wales. He encouraged members of Court to come along to the Council meetings whenever they were being held in their area.

On introducing the Annual Report the President noted the need for larger and clearer print. He reported that the number of visitors during the reporting year had held up extremely well and had shown an increase on the total for the year before free entry by 67% and was in excess of its target which compared very favourably with the performance of English museums (outside London). There had been 175,000 visitors to the temporary exhibitions held on a whole range of subjects from Walking Dinosaurs, Star Trek, Ceri Richards, Passion for Plants to Cedric Morris Art in Exile. The Outreach work and engaging with the socially disadvantaged in their communities gave the Museum an insight into how liaison needed to be not only aimed at the young but also people throughout Wales. The President highlighted the work on Biodiversity within NMGW and that the Museum had the greatest number of taxonomic experts outside London and that the work in the natural sciences was very relevant to other agencies in Wales. Geology had recently produced a guide to landslide management in north Wales and through such work the Museum was able to forge links with countries such as Japan and China. The President paid tribute to the former President, Mathew Prichard, and the former Vice President, Roger Thomas, and for the continuing assistance of the Treasurer, Wyn Howells. The President felt that work in the Museum was very much dependent on the staff and he thanked all staff but in particular the Director during the time of the report, Anna Southall, who had made a particular contribution in her short time, especially in terms of the Industrial Strategy, including Big Pit, the Museum of the Welsh Woollen Industry and Swansea. He thanked Eurwyn Wiliam for his support during the 6 months awaiting the appointment of a new Director General. He warmly welcomed Mike Houlihan, the Director General, who came to NMGW with a wealth of experience in museums, especially at the National Museums and Galleries of Northern Ireland (MAGNI).

In response to a question from Councillor Delme Bowen the President confirmed that NMGW already had links with the National Botanical Gardens for Wales on the research front but would always consider further joint projects and hoped that some financial solution could be found for the Gardens.

Joan Raum questioned whether there would be any links with Kew Gardens if there was a long term problem with the National Botanical Gardens and the President again confirmed that not only did NMGW already have links with Kew, but also with Edinburgh.

Councillor Dick Cass from Monmouthshire County Council noted to Court that their Shirehall was in disrepair but there was a likelihood that there would be Heritage Lottery funding to refurbish it and asked when complete whether NMGW would look favourably on mounting an exhibition there. He was assured that NMGW had a large number of objects already on loan outside of its museums and that subject to conditions being met, any local authority was welcome to request such loans.

The Treasurer presented the Accounts. He noted that the Museum's income exceeded expenditure by £4.3m. Direct expenditure had risen by £1m and there was an increase in the balance sheet carried forward due to a £10m increase in the fixed assets and the Accounts this year included heritage assets. There was a fall in value of fixed asset investments reflecting the fall in the stock market over the period and the Pension Scheme deficit of £16m, which was a snapshot, as of 31 March was also highlighted. However, this would only became a reality if the Fund was crystallised and at the end of September the improvement in the stock market had shown an estimated improvement of £5m in the Fund. The Pension Trustees were considering along with the Assembly Government options for the future of the Fund. The Auditor General for Wales' opinion on the Financial Statements was that they gave a true and fair view of the state of affairs of NMGW and that he had no observations to make on these Financial Statements.
Resolved: Accordingly.

4 – DIRECTOR GENERAL'S REPORT:
Received: The report from the Director General that is attached at Annex A.

5 – DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING:
Resolved: That the next meeting of the Court of Governors be held on 27 May 2004. Court and members present from the Council's Committees and Panels then discussed:
i) the arrangements of NMGW to consult with its stakeholders and
ii) appropriate ways for NMGW to celebrate its centenary in 2007.
and the notes of these discussions are attached at Annex B.