Christmas cheer was provided to the December meeting of the University Court in the form of the audited accounts for the year to 31 July 2000, writes University secretary Bob Seaton. These showed a surplus, before allocations to capital expenditure, of £993K, which compared very favourably with the previous year's deficit of £916K, though that outturn had been strongly affected by a very substantial investment in the early retirement scheme. A Christmas bonus to the finance officer and his staff took the form of an unsolicited commendation from the auditor on the efficient and expeditious preparation of the accounts this year. An unplanted question from a Court member on the profitability of the subsidiary company, Dundee University Utility Supply Company, gave the director of Estates & Buildings the opportunity to explain that the company's profits, deliberately kept low to minimise VAT exposure, had to be seen in conjunction with the significantly reduced energy costs charged to the University, which now had all its main campus electricity needs and half its heating needs met by the combined heat and power installation. His Christmas add-on was that the University would derive further benefit from its use of "clean" energy in the context of the Government's proposed climate change levy. Not everyone, however, was cheerful at Christmas. The projection of income for the current financial year was disappointing at this stage, even with a contingency sum of £200K set against a shortfall in fee income. Pressure would therefore have to be maintained on expenditure heads if the desired surplus was to be achieved at year end. Despite this, or in a way because of this, Court approved a further allocation of £250K to the early retirement scheme, though with the expressed hope that at least some of the resulting commitments could be deferred until the 2001/2002 financial year. The financial sustainability group was also invited to examine the tension between surplus generation and capital expenditure requirements in the University. The rest of the Court agenda ranged over a miscellany of items, some familiar, some relatively novel. Chapter 47 of the Northern College merger saga still veered towards optimism, with the clear intention by the partners to submit a revised proposal for the Funding Council's meeting in February. An interim report after the tenth meeting of the Court's working group on the Centre for Xenobiotic Research indicated some progress, though final clarity on the accommodation for the company (Xenomics Limited) and on the shareholding arrangements still seemed elusive. Newer topics included a decision to advertise in the Scottish press the opportunities for lay membership of the Court; the difficult balance between safety and welcoming convenience in relation to children on University premises; the quality and scale of musical activity in the University; and whether only individuals who had attended training on harassment and bullying should be eligible for appointment as heads of department.
Court Report
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