UCU Cymru response to the independent review of governance arrangements in further education institutions in Wales
Lleu Williams, Political Liaison Officer
UCU Cymru
lwilliams@ucu.org.uk
UCU Cymru, Unit 33, The Enterprise Park, Tondu, Bridgend, CF32 9BS
About UCU Cymru
UCU Cymru is the nationally recognised body representing professionals in higher and further education. We are the representative voice for academic and academic-related/lecturing and learning support staff at higher and further education institutions across Wales. 
Our vision is for excellence in teaching, research and scholarships, the promotion of social justice through access for all to good-quality education, truly democratic governance within institutions and to placing a commitment to equality at the heart of our education system. We believe in liberation of potential through education and in social partnership as the building blocks on which to build future policy.
Background to the Consultation 
In April 2009, the then Minister for Skills, John Griffiths announced the Welsh Assembly Government’s intention to review the Governance arrangements of Further Education Institutions.  As part of this review a task and finish group (referred to as the Review Group) was established to advise on options for reform.  Its overall purpose was to provide the Deputy Minister with options for improving governance arrangements.
The Review Group published an Information Document in March 2010 titled ‘Responsibility and Responsiveness Stakeholder Review of governance arrangements’ (referred to in this consultation as the ‘Stakeholder Review’) which proposed a number of recommendations to improve FE governing bodies. The Stakeholder Review outlined a number of recommendations in relation to:
•	Accountability for the use of public funds
•	Effective governance of the institution and scrutiny of senior management 
•	System on network governance
•	Citizen centred responsiveness to students, stakeholders and Wales
•	Learner engagement
•	Staff engagement
The recommendations and outcomes of the Stakeholder Review were accepted by Cabinet on 15 March 2010.
As a result of the Stakeholder Review the Welsh Assembly Government asked Rob Humphreys to Chair an Independent Review of FE governance in Wales.  The Minister for Children, Education and Lifelong Learning confirmed in a plenary session of the Welsh Assembly on 27 May 2010 that the purpose of the Independent Review was to consider whether the governance arrangements in place were relevant for the challenges and expectations that face the sector, to the wider economy in meeting future social and learning needs, and the current and future stakeholders in further education. During the course of the Independent Review of FE governance in Wales, a number of other task and finish groups have been reporting to the Minister.  These include the Structure of Education Task and Finish Group (the ‘Thomas Review’) and the Front Line Services Review.  It is within the context of these Reports to the Minister and Welsh Government policy (outlined below) that the Independent Review of FE Governance in Wales should be considered.
The Independent Review of FE Governance in Wales Terms of Reference
UCU Wales feels that it is important to firstly consider the terms of reference for the Independent review of FE Governance in Wales (the ‘Humphreys Review’).  In particular the requirement to consider the implications of changes to the governance structures of further education institutions (FEIs) in  relation to other Welsh Government policies including the One Wales Agenda, 14-19 Education and Training, post 16 strategies, For our Future, the Welsh Assembly Government Learning and Skills Measure, the economic renewal programme and the social enterprise plan.
Further, the terms of reference also highlight that any governance arrangements recommended should take into account the implications of the transformation agenda and for our future and that the review should consider the social enterprise model and whether elements of governance in these models could be adopted in the Further Education (FE) sector.
It should also be noted that the terms of reference outlined that the review needed to take into account the recommendations of the Stakeholder Review.
UCU is disappointed to note that the Humphreys Review appears not to have given these terms of reference adequate consideration.

The Stakeholder Review
UCU Wales was supportive of the recommendations and conclusions of the Stakeholder Review.  Indeed as a stakeholder involved in the task and finish group UCU welcomed the establishment of the Independent Review to progress the recommendations of the Stakeholder Review, recommendations which UCU Wales considers proposed a strong basis for the future governance of FEIs in Wales. 
UCU Wales is therefore disappointed that the Humphreys Review has determined that it should not ‘...seek to fix something that is not broken’ which appears to be contrary to the conclusion of the Stakeholder Review.
Disincorporation
UCU Wales remains committed to the disincorporation of the further education sector and we welcome that both the First Minister and the Minister for Children, Education and Lifelong Learning share this commitment also.
UCU firmly believes that the governance structures of FEIs in Wales are ‘broken’ and that the only way to fix the sector is for the disincorporation of FEIs. 
Social Enterprise
As outlined in our evidence to the Humphreys Review, UCU is unconvinced that the social enterprise model would represent a departure from the current system of governance.  In particular we were concerned as to how such a model would fit with the commitment made by both the First Minister and the Minister for Children, Education and Lifelong Learning to end incorporation of the sector.
Our concern regarding the social enterprise model appears to be a valid one, given that the Humphreys Review does not address any of the issues raised in the Stakeholder Review.
However, UCU Cymru would highlight that the Organisation for Economic and Co-operative Development (OECD) described the goals of a social enterprise as,
“ to serve the community or a specific group of people, not singe individuals. Serving the community, or a specific group of people, also involves incorporating them as stakeholders into the decision making processes of the social enterprises. Accordingly, voting power on the governing body is not distributed based on ownership of capital shares. Rather, decisions are shared and a high degree of participation of all stakeholders is favoured, accompanied by a democratic management style.”
As trade unionists and educators we believe that further education (FE) governing bodies should serve the local community. This philosophy should underline any governance proposals that are brought forward by the Welsh Government.
Implications of the recommendations of the Humphreys Review on other Welsh Government policy areas
UCU Wales considers that the model of governance proposed by the Humphreys Review does not adequately take into account the issue of collaboration.  There is an inherent contradiction between the Humphreys Review and the Welsh Government’s collaboration and transformation policy.  The Humphrey’s Review focuses on the entrepreneurial nature of FEIs rather than considering them in the context of regional planning as institutions creating public and individual value.  The recommendations in the Humphreys Review do  not assist in the collaboration of institutions.  In order for FEIs to engage in the collaboration agenda, their governance arrangements need to be broadly similar. The Humphreys Review also appears to contradict a number of recommendations of the Thomas Review.  The Thomas Review was established with the task of undertaking a long-term, whole system view on whether education structures enable and support the delivery of best value services to the citizens of Wales.  This was done by considering Schools and Further Education Colleges and the streamlining of service provision.  Such an approach supports the Welsh Government’s 14-19 agenda.
 The recommendations of the Thomas Review included the establishment of regional consortia to drive up performance and delivery of education irrespective of the provider.  Having different governance arrangements for Schools and individual Colleges does not assist the delivery of the 14-19 Pathways Agenda.  Indeed the Thomas Review recommended that regional consortia would require an overarching governance structure; a coherent governance structure for Higher Education, FE and Schools would therefore be required to ensure that regional consortia could deliver on their priorities.
Further, The Thomas Review recommended that a standardized compulsory training programme for Clerks and Governors in both Schools and Further Education Colleges be delivered, with suitable materials being developed by the department for Children Education and Lifelong Learning in the Welsh Government.  Such training should be delivered by regional consortia. 
UCU questions how the recommendations of the Humphreys Review can sit with this recommendation from the Thomas Review.  It is clearly the agenda of the Welsh Government to support collaboration and the 14-19 pathways.  In order to deliver on its commitments in relation this agenda the Welsh Government requires a mechanism for delivery.  UCU Wales is concerned that the training that is proposed for schools, HEIs and regional consortia could be different to that what is being offered to FEI governors. As the report itself notes, there needs to be standardised governance throughout the education sector, and training provision has to meet these needs. Having different governance structures throughout the education sector does not lend itself to standardized training for governors in Wales.
UCU considers it important to note that Schools, FEIs and Higher Education Institutions currently have categories of governors which include representatives from staff, students and the local community. Further, allowing colleges to determine their own governance arrangements with out prescription raises implications for the Welsh Government’s Learner Involvement Strategy with regards to student places on governing bodies as well as learner engagement models. Additionally there are implications for higher education delivered in FEIs. The Quality Assurance Agency, the body that inspects higher education delivery, requires students to be represented on the governing bodies.
Governing Bodies
The Stakeholder Review recommended that governing bodies of FEIs in Wales should include categories of membership, as well as keeping two reserved places for staff (one academic, one support staff) as well as reserved places for learners. UCU Cymru believes that these proposals provided a strong basis for the future governance of FEIs in Wales.
The Humphreys Review in contrast recommends the removal of membership categories in order for governors to be chosen on the basis of skills, quality and experience that are useful to the FEI, whilst also placing a duty on boards to consider national and regional roles and strategies of the FE sector. 
UCU Cymru is clear that if any FEI is to be accountable, and for any board to be able to scrutinise effectively there must be a minimum of two reserved places for staff (one academic, one support staff), and that these positions must be democratically elected. This will ensure that current arrangements for staff representation on governing bodies continue, providing consistency with those governing arrangements for Schools and HEIs in Wales, providing cohesive governance right across the education sector in Wales.
UCU Cymru also believes that any re-drafting of the Instruments and Articles of Government for FEIs should take into account the implications of the formation of regional consortia, those governing boards on regional consortia and the implications that these might raise with regards to the delivery of Welsh Government Collaboration and Pathways policies. 
Further, Instruments and Articles of Government for FEIs must include provisions of national bargaining over local bargaining for terms and conditions for staff.  The national pay scales for lecturing and management spine staff must be maintained and colleges should be encourage to implement a national pay scale for support staff, once agreement has been reached within the school sector. The national contract is currently being negotiated for all employees in FE and the articles should require institutions to implement the agreements in full, with no amendments.
UCU Cymru believes by ensuring that categories of membership are kept, the governance of FEIs can better reflect the community in which they operate. By ensuring that there is fair representation for key stakeholders (including staff) on governing bodies, an FEI governing body can better serve the community and stakeholders it represents. This includes involving them in the decision making process at the highest level of governance in an FEI.
The Humphreys Review also recommends giving consideration to enabling boards to introduce remuneration for board members. UCU Cymru is strongly opposed to any form of remuneration for governors of FEI boards in Wales. Whilst governors currently do not receive remuneration, this has not deterred governors of real calibre taking seats at these governing boards. UCU Cymru is gravely concerned that this would incentivise governors for becoming governors for the wrong reasons. If a Principal pays governors, that relationship is then affected by the cash nexus and brings in to question the ability to take independent decisions. A cash relationship is an employment relationship; governors are not employees of the FEI. If governors are remunerated, it could severely impact on their ability to scrutinise effectively. On the other hand, staff and learner governors are given time off to be governors, and do this without any form of remuneration. UCU Cymru believes that time spent as a governor should class as public duty and supported as such through time off arrangements with their employer.
Membership Boards
The Humphreys Review recommends the establishment of membership bodies, and that these bodies are established for every FEI in Wales. The review also recommends that these boards should act as a sounding board to governing bodies, and must include staff and learners, as well as other membership categories. The review also recommends that the membership boards should be engaged with the strategic direction of the FEI, as well scrutinise the FEI to ensure the needs of learners, community and stakeholders are at the heart of decision making.
Whilst UCU Cymru conditionally welcomes the formation of membership bodies as a vehicle for further scrutiny and engagement of FEIs, UCU Cymru strongly disagrees with the proposed structures for membership boards as outlined in the Humphreys Review. The recommendations from the Humphreys Review for the membership boards remove important stakeholders such as staff, students and the local community from the main board. 
UCU Cymru agrees that membership boards should be established for every FEI in Wales; these boards should be engaged with the strategic direction of the FEI and be responsible for such activities such as ratifying board decisions. However, we believe these recommendations are futile unless the powers of a membership board are prescribed by law. 
UCU Cymru believes that a model, which incorporates the idea of membership bodies, could provide a stronger form of governance for FEIs in Wales as well provide the strong scrutiny and accountability needed for these institutions to deliver for their local communities. 
UCU Cymru would contend that it is highly likely that each institution in Wales, given the transformation and collaborations agenda, will become multi sited institutions. We believe a membership board for each site would provide the essential structure for the engagement of individuals and groups.  Communities in Wales consider their local campus as the college itself, and possibly wouldn’t make the same connection with the main board of the governing body of that institution. By ensuring that each campus has a membership board, FEIs will be able to demonstrate their accountability in governance to each of the local communities in which they operate. This is even more vital in geographically challenged FEIs. 
We believe each membership board should compromise of the following categories of membership, all democratically elected by their peers to ensure they are accountable to the groups they are from:
College community: staff, students and parents
Local employment: local business, employers, SMEs
Local community: local volunteers, councillors, third sector organisations
Education partners: schools, HEIs, training providers
These four groups would be the main focus of each membership board, with a chair elected from amongst that group. We believe that each of these membership boards would then feed in an elected member to the governing body itself, with the membership boards elected members making up 51% of the governing bodies; whatever that number may be for each institution. This would in turn ensure a strong accountability to a wide range of stakeholders, throughout the entire FEI.
The Humphreys Report recommends that principles and codes of governance should be developed for governors, as well as the creation of an All-Wales training programme for all those involved in the governance of an FEI. 
UCU Cymru welcomes the report’s recommendation that Colegau Cymru should develop principles and codes of governance in conjunction with the Welsh Government. But UCU Cymru would like to stress that the recommendations from the stakeholder review must be taken into account, and that these principles and codes of governance must be developed with other stakeholders in the sector, as equal partners, including Governors Wales, FE Trade Unions and NUS Wales.
UCU Cymru also welcomes the recommendation for training for governors, as we did in with the same recommendation from the Stakeholder Review. UCU would also urge the Welsh Government to ensure that all FE stakeholders contribute to this training programme, including FE Trade Unions and NUS Wales.
Term Limits for Governors
The Humphreys Review fails to make any recommendations with regards to term limits for governors on governing bodies. UCU Cymru strongly believes that any final recommendations must include term limits for governors. For equality and diversity purposes, as well as ensuring that governors are kept motivated and fresh, that a maximum of two terms of three years are introduced for governors in FEIs in Wales. This would also compliment five year strategies and three year funding cycles in FE in Wales.
Two tier governance
The Humphreys Review recommends the creation of Executive and Non Executive Directors for governing bodies; a stark contrast to the recommendations of the Stakeholder review.  UCU Cymru believes that firstly the introduction of Executive and Non Executive Directors, as proposed, would introduce two issues. The first issue is the use of the term ‘director’, which would make it different to that of the roles in schools and HEIs. The second issue is the introduction of two tier governance with Executive Directors being seen as above Non-Executive Directors, where UCU Cymru believes that all governors should be, and be seen to be, equal in stature and responsibility. This would be the same for the role of the membership board. 
UCU Cymru considers that membership boards would be seen as redundant and irrelevant if this recommendation was pursued. UCU believes that the term governor should remain, maintaining the coherence of educational governance across Wales. In addition UCU believe that the only one member of senior staff should be a governor, the Principal.
Consultation Questions
1)	What are your views on ‘the purpose of further education’, set out in paragraph 12 of the Humphreys Report?
UCU Wales agrees with many of the points that have been set out in paragraph 12 of the Humphreys Report.  UCU Wales welcomes the recognition of providing high quality learning through the widest choices and raising the aspirations of communities and of learners.
However, UCU Wales disagrees with the use of the term “customers” to refer to learners.  
UCU also is disappointed that staff were excluded from paragraph 12. The Humphreys Review recognises the need to work with “partners, users, customers, and the Welsh Government to achieve positive economic, environmental, social and cultural outcomes for wider society.’ UCU strongly believes that staff play a vital role, not only as lecturing and support staff, but also as local citizens with an extra community investment in these local institutions. The Humphreys Review notes that students are in essence double stakeholders in the FEI, as they are both students, as well local citizens. This is also true for FEI staff as they are both staff FEI, and in the majority, live locally to their FEI and thus should be considered in the same bracket as students in this context.  
The Thomas Review highlighted the importance of educational practitioners on the ground and recommended that the Department for Children Education and Lifelong learning utilise the expertise of educational practitioners by seconding them to the department, as policy makers can be sometimes unaware of what is happening on the ground. UCU Wales therefore considers that if the importance of staff in decision making is recognised by the relevant Government department then it should also be recognised for governing bodies of FEIs.  
UCU Cymru would recommend that the Welsh Government take into account of the vital role that staff, and learners, play in their FEIs in Wales. 
The Thomas Review further notes that the purpose of the FE sector is to create public value, where this means contributing to economic skill development, economic prosperity and social cohesion, and individual value. UCU Cymru believes that the Humphreys Review doesn’t promote this message for FE governance.
2)  Do you have any comments on the recommendations of the review which deal with Scrutiny and Accountability (Recommendations R1 - R17)?
UCU Cymru strongly believes that any revision of the regulatory framework within which FE corporations operate must include reserved places for staff and learners on any governing bodies.
Further UCU Cymru would reiterate its comments in relation to the requirement for any redrafting of Articles and Instruments must include provisions of national bargaining over local bargaining for terms and conditions for staff and consider the wider implications of the collaboration and the Transformation agenda.
UCU Cymru would also recommend that any form of remuneration is immediately ruled out by the Welsh Government as it is within HEIs and schools, and that being an FEI governor is seen as public duty- and that it is recognised as such.  Recognising that the role of Governor is a public duty and as such would trigger the requirement for time off for public duties.
UCU Cymru is concerned that any decision to reduce the number of governors will have an impact on equality and diversity.  UCU would therefore expect that any recommendations taken forward from the Humphries Review will be subject to an equality impact assessment.
UCU Wales further considers that there must be a minimum number of governors; the size of the Board of Governors should be representative of the size and function of a college.  For example, a large college covering a large geographical area will require a larger board than a college serving a smaller geographical area.
UCU Wales believes that there must be a legal framework to support the construction of a Board of Governors and any membership board.  This is to ensure consistency and to assist with collaboration and transformation.
In relation to this question UCU Cymru would encourage the consideration of its concerns outlined above titled scrutiny and accountability and Governing Bodies.
2)	Do you have any comments on the recommendations of the review which deal with Ownership i.e. the Membership Body and its responsibilities (Recommendations R18 – 35)?
UCU Wales notes that recommendation 20 states that “every membership board should reflect the diversity of the different communities they serve including language use, in accordance with the equality strands outlined in the Equality Act 2010.” If representatives are going to sit on these governing bodies from a range of different backgrounds they should be actively encouraged to represent the views of the group that they belong to. 
UCU Cymru agrees that membership boards should scrutinise and challenge the governors on the performance and achievements of the FEI to ensure the needs of the learner and the interests of the community and stakeholders are at the heart of decision making.  
Further, UCU recommends that all appointments to membership boards take place through democratic processes to ensure a strong sense of ownership as well as accountability to the groups they represent.
In order for any membership board to fully scrutinise and hold the Board of Governors to account any powers of the membership board, including for example the right to veto decisions, should be prescribed by law.
UCU Cymru strongly believes that any final recommendations must include term limits for governors. For equality and diversity purposes, as well as ensuring that governors are kept motivated and fresh, that a maximum of two terms of three years are introduced for governors in FEIs in Wales. This would also compliment five year strategies and three year funding cycles in FE in Wales
4)  Do you have any comments on the recommendations of the review which deal with Capacity and Effectiveness (Recommendations R36 – R41)?
UCU Cymru welcomes the Humphreys Review recommendation that for each region a single collaborative group be formed in supporting partnership arrangements with other providers. In order for such a proposal to succeed, a governance structure for FE that is broadly similar to that of schools and HE will be required.  UCU considers that coherence in education governance in schools, FEIs and HEIs is essential for these groups to perform appropriately and successfully.
UCU Wales would also wish to highlight its concerns outlined above in the body of its response to the Consultation.
5) We have asked a number of specific questions. If you have any related issues which we have not specifically addressed, please use the space below to report these.
UCU Wales is concerned at the approach that the Humphreys Review has taken.  UCU Wales requests that the consultation has regard to the points made above on pages 4 to 8 in response to this question.