Autscape Management Committee Meeting Minutes
Meeting date: Wednesday 15th September 2010
Meeting time: 1pm
Present: Elaine, Kalen, Martijn, Peter, Trish, Yo. (Stephen was present as
an observer and was allowed to speak on several occasions in order to
volunteer for future roles)
1 Announcements
1.1. Having been appointed interim Chair at the last meeting,
Kalen announced that she is no longer willing to continue in that role
beyond the end of this meeting.
2 Ratifications
2.1. Minutes of August meeting - item skipped (will be reviewed on list)
2.2. The committee ratified its decision to ask Aspects Care Ltd.
to carry out CRB checks on proposed trustees at a cost of
£5 per application
3 Proposals
3.1. The committee agreed unanimously to co-opt Stephen Miller as a
director of Autscape and member of the current management
committee with effect from the end of this meeting.
3.2. The venue coordinator reported that Autscape has a firm
offer of Ammerdown (22 Aug), and a reasonably strong offer from Stonar
School (dates to be decided at the end of the month). Ammerdown will
be more expensive than this year, by a significant margin. Stonar is
much cheaper - on a par with Emmaus. Kalen commented that it is
extremely problematic to choose between venues without knowing the
dates available at each. Yo agreed but was concerned about leaving the
decision any longer. Trish asked whether it was likely that Autscape
could obtain funding to help lower fees (which might make Ammerdown
more feasible). Yo (as sc-fund chair) responded that this is extremely
unlikely. There was a consensus that insufficient information is
available to make a clear decision and the issue was deferred for
review by 30th September.
3.3. The committee delegated Yo, if any difficulty should arise in
executing 2.2 above, to find a suitable CRB umbrella organisation and
initiate the process provided the cost does not exceed £100. (Unanimous)
3.4. The committee agreed to refocus Autscape-plan as a general list for
notification and consultation of those interested in Autscape as an
organisation. Kalen noted that the reason for this is that active work
by non-committee members now happens on subcommittees. (Unanimous)
3.5. The committee agreed to proceed with allowing under 18s to join
sc-youth on the basis discussed on list (hidden e-mail addresses) and
that it was unnecessary to ask the Company Secretary to seek specific
legal advice before doing so. (Unanimous)
3.6. The committee agreed to ask the company secretary to set up a
register of directors' interests. (Unanimous) In discussion it was
clarified that this was intended to be available to directors only (as
it would contain personal information) and that this would ensure the
committee as a whole is aware of any such issues. Peter queried
whether such conflicts would be minuted if raised in a meeting. Yo
clarified that the existence of a conflict and the decision taken to
resolve it would be minuted but that the precise nature of the
conflict need not be.
3.7. Subcommittee membership.
3.7.1. The committee discussed a proposal to limit subcommittee membership to
Autscape members. Yo argued that this would allow Autscape to know the
identities of subcommittee members and that it was reasonable for a
membership organisation. The issue of the current high level of
non-members attending Autscape and the reasons for low membership
rates were discussed. Several complications and concerns were raised
and some committee members were keen to facilitate the widest possible
membership of subcommittees and uncomfortable with imposing any
restrictions. It was agreed to defer the issue for further discussion
and to revisit it at the next meeting.
3.7.2. The committee unanimously agreed that membership of sub-committees is
at the discretion of sc chairs provided: a) that their decisions are
reasonable and in the interests of Autscape; and b) any decision to
deny membership, sanction, suspend or remove an sc member is reported
to the Chair (or the full board in the absence of a Chair) within 72
hours. In discussion it was clarified that personal grudges would
absolutely not considered a reasonable reason and that the purpose of
reporting to the Chair/board is to require another perspective. [Yo
explained that the thinking behind this is *not* to reduce the current
inclusivity in any way but merely to ensure that some mechanism exists
to prevent the actual work of a subcommittee being disrupted by an
individual, to allow sc-chairs to limit the size of very large Scs to
manageable levels etc.]
3.8. Chat list moderation
3.8.1. The committee unanimously agreed to appoint Kalen, Trish and Stephen
as moderators of autscape-chat.
3.8.2. Moderation powers.
3.8.2.1. The committee unanimously agreed to give moderators the power to
moderate the entire list and to hold all post on a specific topic
pending a decision by the committee on the appropriate next
steps. During discussion it was clarified that this power did not
allow moderators to hold the posts of selected individuals but only of
the entire list.
3.8.2.2. The committee decided to limit the time within which a committee
meeting should be held to 48 hours. (5 for 48, 1 for 72)
3.8.2.3. The committee unanimously agreed that, if no committee decision is
possible within the time limit, the chair has the power to either
extend the limit further or make an executive decision to resolve the
situation.
4 Approvals
4.1. General Confidentiality Policy. During the discussion it was clarified
that it is intended to revisit this policy during the coming year. Yo
clarified that the purpose of this agreement in this form is to give
Autscape the ability (at least in theory) to sue a director (former
director) who breaches committee confidentiality (other than in the
ways allowed by the policy) in the future. Trish queried whether this
talking to immediate family/support workers would still be allowed. Yo
clarified that the policy is not intended to prevent informal support
of that type provided the committee member respects any request from
the committee to cease doing so in a particular instance. Yo also
clarified that this policy is intended to be a formalisation of our
existing customs. On this basis, the committee decided to adopt the
draft General Confidentiality Policy (4 in favour, 1 against, 1
abstention).
5 Roles and responsibilities
5.1. There were no volunteers for the role of Chair
5.2. The committee appointed Kalen to the role of 2012 venue search
coordinator (5 in favour, 1 abstention)
5.3. After a brief discussion of the existing responsibilities of the two
candidates, the committee appointed Kalen to the role of registrar (5
in favour, 1 abstention)
5.4. Martijn stated that he might consider the role of Vice Chair. A
decision on this role was deferred to the list due to shortage of time.
5.5. Stephen volunteered for vice treasurer. A decision on this role was
deferred to the list due to shortage of time.
5.6. There were no volunteers for the role of assistant company
secretary. A decision on this role was deferred to the list due to
shortage of time.
6 Key position progress reports
6.1. Trish (programme coordinator) reported that the presenter thank you
letters have been sent, a shortlist of themes has been sent to the
committee and that she intends to initiate a discussion and vote on
that. No decision has yet been made about the applicability of the
participant confidentiality agreement to sc-prog.
6.2. The venue coordinator confirmed that there were no urgent matters to
report.
6.3. The treasurer confirmed that there were no urgent matters to report.
6.4. The company secretary confirmed that there were no urgent matters to report.
6.5. The chair apologized for being unable to offer to continue as interim
chair but made it clear that she is still available to advise. On
behalf of the committee, the company secretary thanked the chair for
her work to date.
7 Any other business
7.1. There was a brief discussion of the feasibility of Stephen becoming a
signatory.
Meeting closed.
[Following the meeting there was a brief discussion of the need to agree
individuals to chair upcoming committee meetings and the following schedule
was agreed: October - Trish; November - Martijn; December - Peter.]