Synopsis of the Management Council meeting held on Saturday 6 August 2005 at the Newcastle Branch Offices, 2 Woodland Mews, Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne

The meeting of Management Council scheduled for 6 August 2005 was moved from the usual location of the MS Society in London to the Newcastle Branch Offices in Newcastle upon Tyne. The reason for the move was threefold, firstly to allow members of Council to look at the Newcastle branch premises as the branch have a proposal to sell part of it, secondly to hear an appeal by a Newcastle Branch member (it was felt that his attendance might be facilitated by holding a meeting there) and thirdly because of the bombs in London and the possible disruption to travel arrangements.

All the Trustees were present apart from Bill Finch, Madeleine Henry, Ros Sinclair and Bob Stephens. The first main matter of the agenda was an appeal by Mr David Douglas, a Newcastle Branch member, against a Sub-Committee of Council’s decision to not allow him to be a member of the new incorporated company. Mr Douglas felt unable to attend and sent in a written submission. This was duly and thoroughly considered by Council but by a vote of eight for, none against and one abstention, Council decided that the decision of the original Council Sub-Committee was correct and the appeal would not be allowed. Further discussion on the decision to ban Mr Douglas from being a member of the company was then considered and it was agreed unanimously that the decision of the original Sub-Committee was correct.

The Council then considered two applications for funds from the Metcalfe Fund. This is a fund generously given by an member in a legacy to help and support members of Scottish Branches. The first request was for computer equipment to aid the Regional Officers in their work. Council felt that this was not a suitable use of the money. The second application was from members of the Paisley Branch to take part in some complementary therapies. After due deliberation it was felt that this may be a good idea for a pilot project and the sum of £1000 was awarded to the Paisley Branch to enable two or three worthy members to take part in complementary therapies, provided that a full report is submitted on the benefits of this which will provide useful information to other members of the Fellowship who might be thinking about taking up complementary therapies.

The next item on the agenda was the 2005 election progress and Council was extremely pleased to hear that there were 1200 votes received for the Southern Area Election and to date over 2000 ballot papers have been returned in the national election. This is seen as an extremely good by-product of incorporation as the membership is once again taking part in elections. This will enable those Trustees elected to have a clear mandate of the way forward.

The 2005 AGM agenda was also discussed and the three resolutions received so far, all dealing with Area Trustees, were discussed and what action could be taken to aid our discussions on this issue.

Trustees were then treated to a presentation by our Campaigns Volunteer, Rachel Cooper. Rachel gave a presentation on both her approach to the strategy, including all the people that she has spoken to and sent a questionnaire to regarding what they believe we should be doing in this area together with details of the campaigns that might be relevant and Public Relations and publicity strategies. Rachel also answered questions from the Council and received several good ideas from them as well. Rachel was thanked for her work on this strategy which will enable the Fellowship to appoint an External Relations Officer to take forward this area of our work.

As it was the last board meeting it was felt right that the board should appraise itself. There are six hallmarks of a good charity identified by the Charity Commission. The board was able to satisfy itself that it has completed most of the tasks within those six categories to a satisfactory level and that it has worked well this year. On the individuals own work for the board and the Fellowship it was felt that this would best be achieved by pairing up to question each other and the whole issue of board appraisal would be placed on the agenda for the new Council very early in their meetings schedule.

The Chief Executive then expanded on his circulated report and was able to bring the Trustees up to date with the latest issues at Central Office. He reported that an interview panel had met that week to interview five applicants for the post of Polio Networks Co-ordinator. He reported that all five candidates were of a good standard and could have easily been offered the post. Two particularly stood out and one had slightly wider skills than the other and she was offered the post. Carol Neale, who is coincidentally a member of the Fellowship, and currently Chief Executive of the Blackpool and Fylde CVS, will be starting work with us on 3 October 2005. This is a home-based post and she will work throughout England to support branches and set up new ones and see how the members can be supported in the field.

The Treasurer gave a finance report and the Trustees then considered the latest draft of the Trustees Report and Accounts for 2004/5. Following discussion the accounts were approved and are to be submitted to the AGM for adoption. The Trustees were pleased to see that there had been a significant improvement in the finances and that the loss last year was only £35,000 compared to the deficit in the previous year of £252,000. It is hoped that this year we will break even or even show a small surplus.

Reports from the Information Manager and the Fundraising Manager were then discussed. Council considered the issue of heating grants for this year and felt that a small committee should be set up to assess each one and that these will be dealt with on the basis of need and the amounts granted could vary depending on that need. The Council was also pleased to hear that the raffle has already reached £10,000 with a good level of donations and that other fundraising targets are being reached or exceeded.

Under any other business the Chief Executive explained that there had been several high profile deaths recently and that obituaries could become a major feature in the Bulletin. This would obviously increase in the years ahead as our members grow older. If the Bulletin is not to be filled with obituaries we need a policy to deal with them. After discussion it was agreed that one line entries of deaths could be published in the Bulletin to keep members aware of who had died and that the Chief Executive would decide if more detailed obituaries would be printed.

The meeting closed but not before the Chairman thanked those Trustees who would definitely not be Trustees next year, that is Liz Smith, Charles Peck, Heather Jones, Clive Maskell and Shirley Parker, for their contributions and the commitment they have shown to the Fellowship. The Chairman also thanked the Newcastle Branch for its hospitality and with special thanks to the team form Newcastle who had provided such a good lunch for the Council.

The next meeting of Council will be the first meeting of the new Council to be held immediately after the AGM on 24 September 2005.