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Committee Secretariat
Committee Secretary / Contact for Agendas and Minutes:
Freya Elliott: email Freya.Elliott@uea.ac.uk
Contacts for Apologies:
Freya Elliott: email Freya.Elliott@uea.ac.uk
2022/2023 Committee Membership
Christine Bovis-Cnossen (Deputy Vice-Chancellor) Chair
Ian Callaghan (Chief Resource Officer) Chair Support
Jason Brown (Director of Finance)
Stephen Wells (Director of Estates)
Paul Dobson (PVC-SSF)
Sarah Barrow (PVC-HUM)
David Hill (Independent Committee member)
Rebecca Holmes (Interim Assistant Head of Internal Communications)
Mark Searcey (PVC-SCI)
Serene Shibli-Sexton (UEA-SU)
Mark Williams (Independent member of Council)
Andy Wood (Independent member of Council)
Freya Elliott (Committee Administrative Support)
Terms of Reference
1) To report to the Executive Team on:
a) Delivery of the University Estates Strategy;
b) The condition of the estate;
c) The functional suitability and fitness for purpose of the estate;
d) Notable risks, issues and priorities for action within the estate especially with respect to matters of legislative compliance and health and safety.
2) To maintain and monitor a dashboard of key performance indicators in relation to the performance of the estate and its sustainability.
3) To oversee every 5 years a refresh of the estates strategy and during that process to function as the steering group for the Estates Strategy Review. This role to be developed to include horizon scanning and close interfaces with strategic planning to inform the size and shape of the University and the priority needs for major capital projects. It will also include identification of longer-term capital investment requirements to inform the overall financial strategy.
4) To receive annual updates on the rolling two year programme of life-cycle works.
5) To receive an annual report on site wide infrastructure capacity and performance.
6) To ensure that all proposals, projects and developments remain consistent with the principles of, and currently approved/adopted edition of, the UEA Strategic Development Framework (i.e. to be custodians of the long-term masterplan for the campus).
7) To receive reports and consider recommendations from sub-committees, working groups and from specialised teams within Estates Services in relation to any estates matters.
8) To receive reports and consider recommendations from Space Management and Planning Group [1] regarding proposals and business cases for new projects and emerging requirements – such proposals and recommendations will be subject to options appraisal and prioritisation such that the Group can consider their affordability and impact on already planned works.
9) To approve/endorse all project briefs and to have oversight of scopes of works (informed by recommendations from Estates Senior Management Team). This may be delegated to individual project boards in specific cases.
10) To commission technical studies and feasibility reports on specific projects and to direct the work of all teams in accordance with the principles of the Estates Strategy and the priorities of the Capital Plan.
11) To ensure that all estates proposals, projects and works are linked directly or indirectly to the Strategic Plan of the University and to ensure through effective space planning and modelling that the University has mechanisms in place to underpin the allocation/prioritisation of space and to ensure it is used before effectively and efficiently [if not already in SPMG’s remit, this item needs integrating with that approach]
12) To recommend to ET the priorities for the capital budget, to report on affordability and to assess risks and issues arising.
13) Under delegated authority be responsible to ET for overseeing the system through which the University manages individual capital projects to ensure that they progress within time, cost, and quality parameters, and deliver their intended benefits. This will include overseeing the work of all project boards and maintaining a role as a “Strategic Programme Board” [2]
14) To establish and monitor schemes of delegated authority to control procurement of projects, works and services. The Group will have regard to the opportunity cost of key decisions and will ensure that project-level and operational level spending controls are robust (all projects will be expected to report on key project parameters and to highlight risks where such indicators may fall outside agreed tolerances. Project Board terms of reference will need to be strengthened to ensure there are appropriate measures in place and that escalation is triggered at appropriate times).
15) To maintain a Risk Register in respect of major corporate risks arising from the estate and to hold at least annually a formal risk workshop
16) To provide a regular assurance report to ET.
[1] Terms of Reference of SPMG also need a review to ensure that it has a remit to challenge and appraise proposals before they are escalated. This work should be supported from within Estates and include both effective stakeholder engagement and rigorous briefing/project definition.
[2] Conceivably, the remit will reach a level at which some delegation to a separate Board or sub-committee will be required although effective design of Project Reports and risk-based exception reporting based on establishing clear project briefs and affordability constraints should ensure that workloads remain manageable.