THE WELSH PONY AND COB SOCIETY CYMDEITHAS Y MERLOD A R COBIAU CYMREIG

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1 THE WELSH PONY AND COB SOCIETY CYMDEITHAS Y MERLOD A R COBIAU CYMREIG Minutes of the Council meeting held at Bronaeron, Felinfach, Lampeter, SA48 8AG at a.m. on Monday 13 October 2014 Present: Ann Bigley (Chair), Steve Everitt, Stewart Franklin, Dai Harris (President Elect), Angela Kember, John Kirk (Vice Chair), Dania Leyson, Mary Redvers (President), Lisa Reed, David Roberts, Jo Sheil-Morgan, Gethin Williams Attending via Teleconference: David Blair, Elizabeth Russell, Gilly Thomson Apologies: In Attendance: Minute Taker: Peter Morgan Bethan Jones (Acting Principal Officer) Jayne Willis (PA) Welcome & Apologies The Chair welcomed all to the meeting with apologies as noted above a) MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 11 AUGUST 2014 Action Points It was proposed by Angela Kember, seconded by Gethin Williams, that the minutes be accepted as a true record of the meeting. All in favour. Motion carried. MATTERS ARISING xxxxxx p a) FHR Junior Membership Elizabeth Russell queried whether the reduction of the junior membership fee to 12 should go to the AGM for ratification by Members. Bethan Jones confirmed that this was not the case as the junior members have no voting rights. p f) Young Peoples Committee Meetings Following a question from the Chair, Bethan Jones confirmed that the scholarship application form forwarded by the YPC, was an incorrect copy and the final version is to follow which would note the age range for applicants. The possibility of local YPC meetings within the existing Area Associations was discussed, suggesting that YPC chairs of the local groups should attend an annual meeting at Bronaeron. Further discussion ensued and it was agreed that John Kirk would ask the Young Peoples Committee if they would like additional support in the form of a mentor. J. Kirk to action Dai Harris, President Elect, had attended the YPC meeting during Royal Welsh week and was encouraged by their enthusiasm, but noted that they had been disappointed at the low turnout of Trustees on the day. They had also mentioned that no-one from Council had talked to them before voting Council 13/10/14 1

2 to change the Young Judges age range. Mr Harris hoped that Council would support the young peoples committee to enable it to move forward, rather than criticising them. p Parentage Verification As of this year the number of random verification of foals has been doubled, with every 300 th foal registration being tested. It was agreed that this information should be made available to the membership. p Correspondence g) WPCV Netherlands, Harmonisation of the Stud Book Mrs Jones to carry out three spot checks as soon as possible, as the WPCV need to have everything signed off by mid-october or the Dutch government will not allow them to register foals. It was proposed by Elizabeth Russell, seconded by Gethin Williams that Bethan Jones shows a member of staff how to carry out the spot checks. All in favour. p AOB g) Jobs Growth Wales Bethan Jones reported that she is in the process of arranging a meeting with a representative of Jobs Growth Wales. p AOB h) Disciplinary Policies Updated policies and procedures will be addressed at a short Council meeting to be held at on Monday 15 November 2014 before the committee meetings. BJ to action BJ to action b) CONFIDENTIAL MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 11 AUGUST 2014 (D.BLAIR) David Blair and Angela Kember left the room Confidential minutes available David Blair and Angela Kember returned to the room c) MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 15 SEPTEMBER 2014 It was proposed by Stewart Franklin, seconded by Jo Sheil-Morgan that the minutes be accepted as a true record of the meeting. All in favour. Motion carried. MATTERS ARISING p WPCS COMPLAINTS & DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURE The Chair reported that Gethin Williams and Steve Everitt had been working on revising various policies and codes of conduct, and copies of the following were tabled: Complaints Procedure General Code of Conduct Standing Orders Trustees Code of Conduct Welfare Complaint Process Council 13/10/14 2

3 Mrs Russell requested a copy of the Trustees Code of Conduct be ed to her. There being no further amendments it was agreed that the Chair would them to Ms E Bamber at Geldards, and the documents would be addressed further by Council at its 15 November 2014 meeting, in order for the relevant policies to be included in time for the Judges Handbook. MAB to action 9239 MINUTES OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE MEETINGS HELD ON 15 & 16 SEPTEMBER 2014 Trustees now receive copies of all standing committee meetings as and when they are available. a) Finance & HR 16 September Minutes tabled Mrs Russell reported that the September accounts were not available to report on and will be on the agenda for the FHR meeting on 11 November b) Education & Welfare 15 September 2014 Minutes to follow Mrs Leyson reported that the WPCS Voluntary Area Welfare Representative and the WPCS Voluntary National Welfare Coordinator Vacancies had been circulated to all Area Associations week ending 10 October This information will be uploaded to the Society s website and Facebook page along with the Laminitis Survey. c) Judging & Showing 15 September 2014 Mr Everitt reported that arrangements for the 25 October 2014 Judges Assessment were in hand, including the provision of animals on the day. Mrs Russell had received a call from Natasha Thomas regarding the cost of accommodation for the assessment at 61 pppn, and she agreed that this is paid; and noted that she would not be able to attend the assessment. It was proposed by Lisa Reed, seconded by David Roberts that the B&B costs be put against assessment costs rather than Trustees costs. All in favour. Lisa Reed raised an issue regarding the marking forms sent out, and following a discussion it was agreed that a further letter be sent clarifying the process. NT to action C Hodgson to action NT to action Steve Everitt suggested that in future if there are 50 applicants over all sections then the assessment should go ahead. This will be discussed further at the Judging & Showing meeting in November. d) Members Services 15 September 2014 Lisa Reed spoke to the minutes of the meeting, and suggested that each chair of the standing committees should write a brief resume of their meeting to be ed to Trustees. Preferably that evening or send to the office for distribution the following day. p Equine Area update this will be discussed at the Society s meeting with the Royal Welsh on 27 October 2014; along with Veteran Council 13/10/14 3

4 Classes. p AOB b) Conformation Leaflet David Blair asked what constituted revamping. Jo Sheil-Morgan noted that new pictures of ponies and cobs were inserted and the various languages were removed. e) Promotions 15 September 2014 No minutes taken on this occasion. An from Peter Morgan was read out. Update from Promotions Breed and Welfare leaflets were being updated by Bethan, and are ongoing. Display stand for HOYS finalised, suggest formal thank you letter issued by Council to Staff, Ceri Fell and Jacky Kirk. Formal thanks should also be passed to current Council and former Council members who covered the stall whilst Niki was ill. Initial discussions have taken place with Gary Atkinson regarding the development of Apps. Two suggestions are to be considered. Firstly to approach an existing app holder, Dobson and Horrell for example, to use their app once rebranded into WPCS, reducing cost and development times. The other long term project would be to develop a bespoke App for WPCS linking conformation with a visual display. A full specification will be drawn up on both projects and presented to promotions and Council. BJ to draft to PM Promotions to write 9240 WPCS PAVILION, ROYAL WELSH SHOWGROUND Steve Everitt spoke to the revised plan which now depicted an affordable single storey Pavilion, noting that there is provision for an 8ft deep basement for use by the bar staff and as storage. If the plan is agreed in principle, it will be discussed with the RWAS at their October meeting, and thereafter the Pavilion & Estates group will apply to Powys County Council for planning permission. All being well the building work would start approximately a year from today. Jo Sheil-Morgan suggested a pre-planning application to Powys Council for 120, which they will suggest amendments to if required, before full planning permission is sought. Estates Group to confirm the planned green elements for the building. Following further discussion it was proposed by Lisa Reed, seconded by Angela Kember that the Chair writes to the Charity Commission, regarding the proposed expenditure on the new Pavilion and noting the educational possibilities. All in favour. Motion carried ASE to action Estates Group to action Chair to action 9241 IT UPDATE Minutes recorded in agenda order Peter Cooper reported on progress to date and the next stage of the update. Council 13/10/14 4

5 Mrs Russell felt that the proposal was value for money. Mr Franklin had received feedback from other IT companies and was told that this was good value. Mrs Reed felt that this was more beneficial to members to invest the money in this proposal in comparison to the solar panels. Mrs Sheil-Morgan commented that it is apparent that Peter Cooper knows the needs of the business. Mr Cooper confirmed that he has the copyright to the XiS system, but the content is owned by the Society. It was proposed by John Kirk seconded by Jo Sheil-Morgan that the proposal is accepted. All in favour 9242 OPEN FORUMS 1 st Nov 2014 Scotland - Over 20 names on the list so will go ahead. 2 nd Nov 2014 Lancaster Only 10 on the list so will be cancelled. Dania Leyson reported that she had received an invitation from the North Wales association to attend one of their meetings following last year s open forum. Lisa Reed proposed the possibility of the Area Associations becoming involved in hosting forums in conjunction with their winter meetings or events which take place anyway and, for example, the Ceredigion Association would invite Severn Valley, Dyfed and Carmarthen to attend the same event. However Elizabeth Russell reminded Council that it had agreed to review the situation after this year s meetings, given the hefty cost per head. It was agreed that the Members Services Committee will review the Open Forums and look at possible adaptations. To Members Services 9243 CORRESPONDENCE a) Animal Health Trust Letter received b) Ms A L Prytherch Council thanks Ms Prytherch for her comments. c) D M Waters Council takes note of the letter s content and thanks Mr Waters for his letter. Office to write Office to write d) Xxxx e) Welsh Assembly Government: Annexes to the Commission Implementing Regulations (Equine Passport Regulation) Bethan Jones will be attending a WAG meeting at Stoneleigh on 24 October 2014 and will a report to Council via on her return. BJ to action f) E Newman Mrs Bigley had exchanged s with Mr Newman, and Mr Everitt confirmed that he had not received any telephone message from him. Office to write to note that Council thanks Mr Council 13/10/14 5

6 Newman for his letter and notes that a Section C class will be run at the next Judges Assessment. Office to write 9244 ENROLMENT OF NEW MEMBERS & RENEWAL OF MEMBERSHIPS It was proposed by Angela Kember, seconded by Gethin Williams that Council accepts the new members as listed. All in favour. Members accepted 9245 ANY OTHER BUSINESS Minutes recorded in agenda order 1) xxxx 2) Stallion Licence for Performance Animals John Kirk wished to note that he did not think this was a good idea, as the Society will lose people if it insists that Performance animals be licenced. 3) HOYS 2014 Angela Kember congratulated the staff on the stand for their hard work, noting that the stand was very well received by people not associated with the WPCS. Ann Bigley concurred with Mrs Kember, in that staff were a credit to the Society and worked very hard, but that there should have been three members of staff present. Lisa Reed suggested that Niki Brewer writes a full report on what did and did not work for the Promotions committee to consider, with a full review to take place at some stage. With Dai Harris noting the long hours, and the high cost of food available for staff. Promotions to action David Blair was of the opinion that the Society should concentrate on the educational element rather than shop sales, with Elizabeth Russell noting that she thought the balance between shop and education was just right. Trustees to any further comments to Peter Morgan for discussion at the next Promotions meeting. 4) Magazine Angela Kember had spotted some mistakes in the autumn magazine, and will provide a copy for David Blair. Trustees to action AJK to action 5) AGM 2016 The President-Elect, Mr Dai Harris, reported that he had booked The Vale Resort, in the Vale of Glamorgan, for the AGM and Dinner on Saturday 2 nd April This is a short distance from the M4 and the centre of Cardiff. He had managed to get the room for 500 instead of the initial quote of 3,000. Mr Harris further noted that more written information is required for the future President-Elect about the role and the expectations of the Society. The Chair asked that Mr Harris lists any issues he encounters throughout his year in office, in order to provide more information for the future President-Elect. Mr Harris to action 6) Solar Panels Mr Franklin reported that he had received three quotations for 20 kw of solar panels (80 panels) on the front roof of Bronaeron, with a 20 year feed in tariff from the government, and the office using free electricity during the day. Council 13/10/14 6

7 Following a discussion it was proposed by Steve Everitt, seconded by John Kirk that if the Finance & HR committee approve the proposal to install photovoltaic panels at Bronaeron, Council will accept their decision. For: 11. Against: 1. Majority in favour. Motion carried. FHR to action 7) Container Mrs Bigley had received a query regarding the storage container, as to whether it will be removed now that the Journals are being sold off. Bethan Jones noted that the container is used as a fire retardant safe for Society documents outside the office, not for storage. 8) Exhibition Unit Mrs Bigley had received a query regarding the proposed lean-to cover for the exhibition unit, and it was noted that this is currently under review. 9) Animals in War Remembrance Mr Kirk asked why the Society is not represented at this annual event held in London. It was agreed that Mrs Bigley will make enquiries. It was further agreed that the President, Mrs Mary Redvers, would write an article and supply photographs - on the role of the Welsh breeds during the World Wars. This would be placed on the Society s website on 11 November ) Educational Visits Office to circulate list of proposed visits to Trustees. Chair to action Mrs Redvers to action David Roberts left the meeting at 2.45 pm A short Council meeting will take place at on Monday 10 November before the standing committee meetings. The next full Council meeting will take place at on Monday 8 December With no further business the Chair closed the meeting at 4.30 pm This report is prepared solely for the purpose of Council. It is private and confidential to members of Council. They must not be reproduced or disclosed to any other individual. The remarks made by any specific members of Council as reported in these Minutes are their personal views and not the views of the Society unless ratified by the Society. Council 13/10/14 7