NORTHERN LIGHTHOUSE BOARD BOARD MEETING MINUTES 21 FEBRUARY 2012

Transcription

1 NORTHERN LIGHTHOUSE BOARD BOARD MEETING MINUTES 21 FEBRUARY 2012 PRESENT: Sheriff Principal Alastair Dunlop QC Chairman Captain Mike Close Vice-Chairman Sir Andrew Cubie CBE Sheriff Principal Brian Lockhart Alistair Mackenzie Robert Quayle John Ross CBE FRAgS Sheriff Principal Mhairi Stephen Lesley Thomson QC Alistair Whyte Sheriff Principal Sir Stephen Young Bt QC Councillor William Petrie OBE JP DL In Attendance: Roger Lockwood Chief Executive Douglas Gorman Director of Finance & Admin Phil Day Director of Marine Operations Moray Waddell Mike Petrie (for Item 6e only) Director of Engineering QHSE Manager Carolyn Yuill Acting Minute Secretary 1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies for absence had been received from s Kerr, Mulholland, Stephen, Grubb and Scott. The Chairman welcomed Petrie on his return to the Board. 2. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING The minute of the meeting held on 22 September 2011 was approved and confirmation was given that it could now be published on the website. 3. MATTERS ARISING The Chairman reported that there were two action points from the last meeting both of which had been satisfactorily concluded. The Director of Finance gave a brief explanation in reference to his paper concerning NLB Significant Risks explanation of Process and Heat Charts which was noted by the Board. 1

2 4. MAJOR MATTERS 4a) Corporate Plan The Board noted that certain minor amendments had been made to the Corporate Plan in line with the authority given to the Chairman and Chief Executive at the meeting of the Board of s on 22 September 2011 when the Plan was approved. The Corporate Plan had been presented to the Joint Strategic Board for scrutiny at its meeting on 30 January and, following some questions, the Plan had been accepted by the JSB. The Plan had then been forwarded to the DfT, DTTAS and the LAC the following week ahead of the Multi Lateral Meeting on 23 February. 4b) Joint Strategic Board The Board noted that the two JSB Committees on Pensions and Light Dues were continuing their work. Pensions Cubie gave the Board an update on the work of the Committee and advised that certain minor and non-material amendments had been made to the draft paper which had been endorsed by the Managing Board and circulated to all s. The latest draft (version 15) had been discussed between members of the committee and the two Departments and it had been accepted by the two Departments that the report could now be finalised and submitted to the Minister. The Board discussed the proposal in the report to ring fence 104 million in the GLF as a pension fund and noted the need for legislation in order to secure such an arrangement. The Chairman confirmed that pressure will be kept up on the Department to produce the legislation for presentation to the UK and RoI Parliaments. Light Dues Close reported that the draft paper on Options for Restructuring Light Dues Income in the RoI had been prepared in order to assist with the impact of the proposed change in the level of light dues to be charged in RoI. The Chairman advised that it was expected that the final versions of the Light Dues and Pension reports would be signed off at the next meeting of the JSB in May. The Chief Executive advised that most of the items raised in the Atkins Review had been completed or were not to be taken any further. The JSB had carried out a further review of the matrix after which it will be replaced by the JSB road map. 2

3 4c) Re-classification of GLAs The Director of Finance gave a brief explanation of his paper on the Classification of the s of Northern Lighthouse Board as a Central Government Body which, following discussion, was noted by the Board. 5. CHIEF EXECUTIVE S REPORT The Board noted that the transfer of the out of hours monitoring to Trinity House had gone well with only some minor problems which had been resolved. The Chief Executive reported that the relationship among the three Chief Executives was very positive and that he was working well with the new Chief Executive of Irish Lights (Yvonne Shields) and the Deputy Master at Trinity House (Ian McNaught). Following some discussion the Board noted the report from the Chief Executive. 6. OPERATIONAL MATTERS 6a) Marine Operations Report, including Navigational Consultation Presentation The Board noted the report from the Director of Marine Operations. The Director of Marine Operations gave a presentation to the Board regarding the consultation on the possible closure of 5 major lights and the resultant decisions taken by the Navigation Committee which had been reported to the Managing Board. The Board noted the following decisions:- Hoy Low it was agreed that this light will be retained at a reduced range. Esha Ness it was agreed that this light will be retained but will be reviewed again when major refurbishment work is scheduled. Covesea Skerries it was agreed to decommission this light subject to a North Cardinal Buoy being in place in February. Strathy Point it was agreed that this light should be decommissioned. Turnberry it was agreed that this light will close in 2015 when it becomes due for refurbishment, but will be replaced by a minor light. Negotiations for the sale of the lighthouse and a potential lease-back of space for the minor light will take place in the meantime. 3

4 6b) Engineering Report The Board noted the report from the Director of Engineering. Discussion took place on the number of outages that had occurred during the extreme weather. It was noted that Bulia Skerry had been the longest outage due to the access problems caused by the bad weather. Discussion also took place on the report of a geological fault located under the lighthouse at Copinsay. The Board noted that a second report has been requested to confirm the findings of the first report and in the interim the Technicians carrying out work at this light have been instructed not to use the accommodation. 6c) Finance and Administration Report The Board noted the report from the Director of Finance. 6d) HR Report The Board noted the report from the Human Resources Manager. It was noted that interviews for the post of Temporary HR Advisor were to be held on 24 February and that the post is to be of one year s duration. 6e) QHSE Report The QHSE Manager joined the Board Meeting and was welcomed by the Chairman. The QHSE Manager gave his presentation to the Board and asked for any questions. Following some discussion on various items the Board noted the report. The Chairman thanked the QHSE Manager for his report. 7. COMMITTEE REPORTS 7a) The Minutes of the Managing Board meetings held on 10 November 2011 and 17 January 2012 were noted by the Board. 7b) The Minutes of the Audit and Risk Committee meeting held on 8 November 2011 were noted. It was noted that the actions contained under Compliance with Working Time Directives and the UK Bribery Act 2010 had been carried out. 7c) The Minutes of the Navigation Committee held on 24 November 2011 were noted by the Board. 7d) The business of the Nomination Committee was approved by the Board. 4

5 8. COMMISSIONERS BUSINESS a) Corporate Calendar The Board noted that the s Retiral Dinner had been moved from October 2012 to 29 May The Board Meeting had been moved from the morning to the afternoon at 1400 hrs on 29 May. b) Long Service Awards The Board noted that the Long Service Awards Dinner is to be held following the Board Meeting at the Royal Scots Club. c) s Interests The s were requested to complete the Register of s Interests 2010/2013 form which had been circulated with the Board papers and return to the Chief Executive. d) Inspection Tour The Chief Executive advised that the Inspection Tour is to be held in two groups and there are 7 s in each group. There will be one dinner for invited guests on each tour. 9. ANY OTHER BUSINESS The Chief Executive drew the Board s attention to the fact that the painting of the Bell Rock normally displayed in the Board Room is now being prepared for transit to Paris for a lighthouse exhibition. 10. PRIVATE BUSINESS Subject to formal nomination by the Secretary of State, the Board unanimously agreed, to elect Mr Graham Crerar to the Board as a co-opted. This appointment is due to take effect from 1 April. The Board also instructed the Nomination Committee to re-visit the question of the membership of the Managing Board following the earlier decision that the DfT nominated should automatically be a member of the Managing Board. It was also separately agreed that s Whyte and Mackenzie should exchange places on the Managing Board and Audit and Risk Committees, including the chair of the Navigation Committee. The Chairman noted that this was the last meeting of the Board of s before s Cubie, Petrie, Grubb and Stephen demitted office. The Chairman thanked them for their contributions to the work of the Board. 5