CIBSE Annual General Meeting minutes

The minutes of the 28th Annual General Meeting of CIBSE held on Thursday 5 May 2005 and published in the July 2005 issue of the Building Services Journal were accepted as a correct record and signed by the chairman.

Annual Report

The chairman referred to the summary version of the Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2005, which had been circulated to all members, and to the full annual report which had been tabled.

2005 had been a very active year for the Institution, with particular focus on energy use, sustainability and innovation. CIBSE had responded to 17 government consultations, and had further strengthened its co-operation with government including ODPM and the All Party Parliamentary Group on Climate Change. A register of low-carbon consultants was being developed with support from the Carbon Trust, and the 100 Days of Carbon Clean Up initiative was underway.

2005 had seen the issue of Guide K on Electrical Services, the first Guide to be issued as a benefit of membership. This initiative had greatly increased the dissemination of information, as had CIBSE's other publications efforts, the Member's CD-ROM and the recent web-casts of conferences that have allowed access to members all over the world.

The Knowledge Series booklets had also been launched, providing practical information for members and others. 28 conferences and seminars had been held during the year, including two two-day events which had been highly acclaimed and financially viable.

Membership numbers reach an all-time high by the year end, and a successful bid for ETB funding to develop registration of engineers had been made; the Institution's interim report on this project had been highly commended by ETB.

A new guide to professional development had been initiated for graduates, and student member presentations had been developed.

The Careers Task Force under Doug Oughton had produced a new careers strategy for the Institution, and international development had been given a high profile through the work of incoming president David Hughes.

More than 200 meetings had been held in CIBSE regions throughout the year, and two new special interest groups on energy performance andintelligent buildings had been initiated. Discussions for a Young Engineers Group were also underway. CIBSE's three societies were also operating well, with positive growth and development of the newer ones.

The CIBSE Patrons scheme

Membership of the CIBSE Patron's Scheme had now reached 100, and the CIBSE-facilitated bursaries initiative was also continuing to expand. A significant addition to the scheme was announced, being a £1500 bursary from the Worshipful Company of Fan Makers which had been committed for a ten-year period.

Three guests from the Worshipful Company - His Honour Judge Jeremy Connor, Professor John Salter, and Mr James Thomas - would attend the President's Address, and the Institution's thanks for the support of the Company were expressed.

The Institution's financial position showed a 10% improvement on the budget for the year, reflecting a very busy and productive year.

The year also saw the introduction of the new governance arrangements, with a Board of Trustees meeting more frequently. The larger consultative Council now met three times yearly, and Council meetings during the year had been well attended, effective and valued by members.

A new Strategic Plan had been developed during the year, with an emphasis on developing membership without diluting the expertise of the qualified grades. New ways of funding research to underpin the technical knowledge base were being sought, and efforts would be made to further develop industry partnerships

The chairman expressed his thanks to all those who had supported him during his presidential year, both volunteers and staff, as well as his colleagues at ZBP and his wife Pauline.

In response to questions, it was confirmed that the Institution continued to set a key emphasis on publications and technical events, and the importance of disseminating knowledge, particularly in a time of rapidly changing legislation, was stressed.

The development of the Society of Public Health Engineers, with a 50% increase in membership, was welcomed as this was seen as an important area in which it was often difficult to engage practitioners. (Post Meeting Note: SoPHE now has 110 members, with membership having increased by 50% in 2005).

Climate change

Regarding climate change, the evidence for human activity being a major cause was questioned. It was explained, however, that the Institution's position was that current advice across the scientific community clearly pointed to mankind's activities as a key factor, and that there was a huge duty to think beyond the immediate, and consider future generations. This was clearly a global problem, however, that could not be resolved by a single nation, and the Institution must take an international role in contributing to solutions.

Annual Report approved

The chairman proposed the adoption of the Annual Report; this was seconded by David Arnold and approved nem con.

Annual accounts

Jon Chantler, on behalf of the auditors, BDO Stoy Hayward LLP, read the Report of the Auditors on the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2005. Honorary treasurer Terry Giles then moved the adoption of the Financial Statements.

Terry Giles referred to the treasurer's report within the Annual Report, and also drew attention to the Short Version of the Statutory Accounts, and the tabled full version of the Statutory Accounts. Copies of the management accounts for the year were also made available to members.

The most significant change to the accounts was the inclusion of the £1.08m deficit on the Institution's Final Salary Pension Scheme on the face of the balance sheet. This figure subsumed the £275,000 provision that had previously been shown in the accounts. It was noted that the Board was considering recommendations from the Fund Trustees to address this deficit, and that whilst it was a matter of concern, the position for CIBSE was not as difficult as for many other companies and organisations.

It was further noted that next year the Institution would adopt the new accounting standard to SORP 2005, and that the emphasis on risk management would be increased. It was noted that the Board already maintained a risk register and that this was reviewed regularly.

It was noted that subscription income had been helped by membership growth, although not by as much as had been hoped. Publications income was good, though not as high as 2004, and sales of Guide K had been very positive, despite the issue of copies to members. Events had enjoyed a very successful year, with very positive results from the Guide K launch and the Part L event. A one-off increase in admin charges, arising from income in respect of previous years, was also noted, as were the increased dividends from BSPL and NES.

Costs of the members' CD Rom had been below budget due to membership growth being slightly lower than budget. Attention was drawn to regional funding, and to the increase in the cost of reports and printing due to new initiatives. Travel costs were up and would continue to be high as CIBSE developed its international links; Hong Kong and China, ASHRAE and REHVA were all important to the furtherance of the Institution's objectives and CIBSE's role in those areas would continue to develop. Salary costs were down due to unfilled vacancies, but there was a matching increase in consultant and temporary staff costs.

Postage costs had increased, reflecting the cost of ballots and of a more proactive campaign to reduce membership attrition rates. Legal and Professional fees had increased due to the need for advice on a number of contracts, and on pensions issues.

It was noted that the costs of free issue of Guide K had been minimised very effectively, and that the offer of support from the research fund had not been needed in the current year. It was noted that the ETB and Carbon Trust projects would be broadly cost neutral over time.

Terry Giles reported that this was his final year as treasurer of the Institution, and expressed thanks to the HQ finance team for their support.

In response to questions, it was noted that the Institution was committed to staff training and the under-spend on this budget may reflect pressures of work and the difficulty in finding time to undertake training. It was noted that a number of training initiatives had been approved since the year end. The new Performance Management system also put a strong emphasis on training.

Regarding salary levels, Terry Giles confirmed that this was an area to which he paid close attention, but that the Institution had to meet market rates in attracting the right staff. It was also pointed out that the temporary staff budget included the costs of many specialists.

Regarding regions, the budget reflected grant requests and the level of regional activity. Regarding the possibility of introducing contributions to the Final Salary Pension scheme, he pointed out that the scheme now had only 11 active members, and that much of the liability related to 28 deferred members to whom the scheme had an ongoing commitment. Cash balances were high at the year end due to the prepayment of 2006 subscriptions, and high interest accounts were used to gain best value from these balances. Efforts to reduce debtors to the minimum possible level were also in hand.

Terry Giles proposed the adoption of the Accounts, this was seconded by David Wood and approved nem con.

Auditors

Terry Giles proposed that BDO Stoy Hayward LLP be appointed as the Institution's auditors for 2006, and that the Board be empowered to agree their remuneration. This was seconded by David Arnold and approved nem con.

Special Resolution

Terry Giles introduced the proposed subscription increases for 2007. He drew attention to the work of the Grades, Benefits and Subscriptions Task Force, which had involved representatives of all grades of membership, and which had recommended a revised fee structure under which the subscriptions for all grades would be based on an appropriate fixed percentage of the Member grade fee. This had the benefit of transparency in the differentials between fees for different grades. The Board had accepted the proposal, but felt that it could not be fully implemented in one year. The proposed increases had therefore been calculated to provide an inflation uplift in total yield, whilst spreading the introduction of the new relationships between grades over a two-year period.

Terry Giles moved acceptance of the resolution, seconded by Alan Sherratt. The resolution was approved nem con.

The Chairman referred to Terry Giles' excellent service throughout his five years as honorary treasurer and expressed the thanks of the Institution for his work.

Board and Council for 2006/2007

Julian Amey declared the following individuals who had been elected to serve as Officers, Board Members and Council Members to take effect following the AGM 2006:

Officers:

President: David Hughes
President-Elect: John Armstrong
Vice Presidents: Derrick Braham, Ken Holmes, John Swaffield
Hon Treasurer: Graham Manly
Immediate Past President: Donald Leeper

Members of the Board:

Ian Brown, Terry Giles, Mike Murray, Mike Simpson, K O Yeung

Members of Council:

Laurence Aston, Rob Manning, Robert Redfern

The chairman expressed his thanks to all outgoing members of the Board and Council for their work during the year. He also thanked chief executive Julian Amey, who would be leaving the Institution's employment in July. Since taking up the post in 2001, the Institution had seen a period of very high activity and success, during which it had achieved a higher profile than previously, and thanks were recorded to Julian Amey for his work.