Announcements
The Board noted with sadness the death of Dennis Parker, President and Countryside Secretary for East Riding & Derwent Area and Beverley Group; the death of Ramsay Bettinson, former Secretary and Chair of the North Yorkshire & South Derbyshire Area and an active volunteer since the early 50s; the death of Harry Wilson, former Chair then President of Sunderland Group; the death of David Shelley, former Countryside Secretary of Shropshire Area; the death of Geoff Rix, Editor and Producer of Notts Walker; the death of Irene Tipping, wife of our Vice-President, Paddy Tipping; and the death of Eileen Gooding, long standing volunteer at central office.
The Board also noted the retirement of Ron Gordon from the Area Committee of Merseyside & West Cheshire Area after 64 years.
Chief Executive’s Report
The Chief Executive reported on the excellent news that the Secretary of State had announced that the consultation into proposals for the sell-off of Forestry Commission (FC) land had been abandoned. The plans, as had been outlined, would not have safeguarded the many permissive paths which criss-crossed FC forests, or the often excellent amenity standards which the FC upholds. The Ramblers, alongside other organisations, had lobbied the government to abandon the plans. It was pleasing that, in the Secretary of State’s statement, she specifically referred to the Ramblers alongside other organisations, and promised that in the forthcoming review, access would be at the heart.
The Chief Executive also updated the Board on the campaign to protect local authority rights of way budgets from cuts. The pattern is very mixed – with very severe cuts in places like the Isle of Wight, Bolton, and Warwickshire. In Cumbria, following campaigning, the level of cuts had been reduced by half – but still amounted to one-third. In order to help local authorities, Areas and Groups were being urged to help with path clearance work, and special ‘How to…’ packs were being made available (click here for details), together with plaques which Groups can display on improved paths to encourage walkers to join the Ramblers (click here for details). More than 800 people have signed up to the Mystery Walkers scheme so far.
On membership, the Chief Executive reported that although there was much recruitment activity, we are not yet in a position to state that we had turned the corner on membership decline. He said that there were now many more Areas and Groups that were focused on membership growth, which was encouraging.
Some of the recruitment activities included:
On the promotion of walking, the Chief Executive stated that there was much activity taking place. Our promoting walking vision is for the Ramblers to be the ‘one stop shop’ for walking – whether they are getting out of their arm chair for the first time, or are walking to the mountain summit. We are working towards better coordination between the Ramblers and local health walks programmes.
He also reported that our CRM database now contained email addresses for 74% of all volunteers (excluding walks leaders). This had increased from 62% in October.
Finally, he updated the Board on ongoing discussions with Ramblers Worldwide Holidays (RWH) to work more closely in cross-promotion. For example, new Ramblers members were receiving a money-off voucher for the first holiday they booked with RWH. RWH had relinquished its exclusivity arrangement with Walk magazine, and so, from March, Walk would also carry adverts from other holiday companies.
Finances
The Board received the latest monthly accounts to the end of January. These show that, four months into the financial year, we are broadly ‘on track’ with income and expenditure.
The Board had budgeted for a neutral budget, plus investment expenditure of £316k (funded from last year’s surplus). Our current reforecast is that – excluding the investments - we will make a small surplus, meaning that the net cost of the investment will be less, at £114k. These figures do not include a number of legacies of which we have been notified. These will only be recognised in our accounts upon the granting of probate.
Key Performance Indicators
The Board reviewed the Key Performance Indicators for the end of January. These are 16 key indicators – covering finance, membership, campaigns, and organisation – which give a snap-shot of how we’re performing against the Business Plan targets. The Board monitors these using a traffic light system. At the end of January, 6 were green, and 8 were amber (we are awaiting data for the remaining two).
The indicator which the Board was most concerned about was that showing length of time for turning around membership applications, renewals and communications. This is currently running at a maximum of 15 working days against a target of 10 (note – the average figure would be lower than the maximum). Extra resources have been brought in to bring this down to within the target, and the hard work of staff was recognised, and it should be back on track by March. The Board discussed what measures could be put in place to deal with the very busy start of the year, which was often a recurring issue.
Web Development Investment
The Board agreed to 12 months additional web investment of £186k (£86k in this financial year and £100k in the next financial year). This is in addition to the £75k approved within the 2010/11 budget, and will be funded out of the better than expected financial position.
Our web vision is to be ‘Britain’s Walking Website’ – to be THE destination on the internet for all walking issues, for all who walk or are interested in walking. This major investment will help us to catch up on lost ground, and will provide significant financial and non financial benefits to members, volunteers, areas and groups.
The Board’s Finance and Audit Sub-Committee will monitor progress on this major piece of work, and report to the Board at each meeting.
Legal and National Casework Designated Fund
The Board agreed to establish a designated fund, initially of £250k, for use in legal and national casework in England, Scotland and Wales. This will be divided into three ‘pots’: £25k pot for exclusive use of Scotland; £25k pot for exclusive use of Wales; and £200k pot for GB as a whole. The Scotland and Wales pots would be managed by their own senior officers, for spending on legal and other specialist professional advice and activity. The GB pot would be managed by the Head of Walking Environments, and to be considered for spending from the fund, cases should meet at least one of the following criteria:
- The case is of national significance (either at a GB-wide or country-wide level);
- The case will set, or overturn, a legal precedent;
- The case is long-standing, all other avenues have been exhausted, and victory will provide clear public benefit.
Whilst it is unlikely that the fund would all be used in any one year, the intention is to ensure that the resources are available if and when needed. It is the largest amount of funds that the Ramblers has ever put aside for these purposes. Each year, in setting the budget the Board will consider whether to put any further funds into the 3 pots of the designated fund, depending on factors such as: the balance of the fund, the financial position of the charity, and the likely call on funds.
Governance Review
The Board received a report from Mr James Thorne into the Governance arrangements of the Ramblers, following a resolution of General Council last year. It agreed for the report to be published in advance of General Council, for discussion. The recommendations in the report will be consulted on over the next 12 months. To view the report, click here
CRM Review
The Board received a report from Andy Rogers into the lessons learnt from the CRM implementation mistakes. It agreed to publish the report in advance of General Council, and also agreed all the action points in section 11 of the report. To view the report, click here
Devolution Working Party
The Chair gave an update of the workings of the devolution working party. Much progress had been made, although there were still some sticking points. The hope was to reach agreement in time for a report to go to General Council.
Priorities for next year’s business plan and budget
The Board agreed to consult with Areas on four draft priorities for 2011/12. These are intentionally very similar to this year’s priorities – for continuity. They are:
- More members
- More income
- Campaigning on public paths and access (in light of the public spending cuts)
- Promotion of walking
Areas will be asked for their views on these shortly. We will also be providing Areas with an update on how we are doing with this year’s business plan.
The Chief Executive warned that next year’s budget was likely to be much tighter, due to factors such as the ending of grants, and high levels of inflation.
General Council
In keeping with the theme of General Council, (how do we grow Ramblers membership?), the Board agreed to invite Derek Twine, Chief Executive of the Scouts, to give a presentation to General Council entitled, “From Decline to Growth: The Scouts’ Story”. After many years of falling membership, the Scouts had managed to turn this around, and there could be lessons for the Ramblers in this.
Confidentiality of minutes
The Board discussed whether to make minutes of Board meetings publicly available. Whilst there were arguments in favour of doing so, particularly transparency, there were also arguments against – for example, the need for the Board to be able to discuss confidential information when taking decisions. The Board decided to revisit the issue after a couple of board meetings.
Office relocation
The Board heard that its Strategy and Governance Sub-Committee had considered the issues on moving the main office out of London when the lease comes up for renewal in some years' time. Financially, the costs of relocation would be likely to outweigh the benefits in the short to medium term. However, there were other factors to take into consideration, such as the desire to be closer to the centre of Britain. The sub-committee is continuing to look at options, including the possibility of dividing up operations between two or more smaller offices, and gradually increased levels of ‘remote working’.
