21.01.13
Foundation Trusts could miss open meetings deadline
Over 20% of Foundation Trusts have yet to hold open board meetings, the Foundation Trust Governor’s Association (FTGA) has found.
All FTs will be required to do so by the deadline of April 1. A survey by the FTGA showed that whilst 77% are already holding open board meetings, two FTs have not even discussed holding them.
There is some variation in the success of these meetings, particularly around how often they are held and how open they are.
In response, the FTGA has published a set of recommendations to improve this, including a rota for governor attendance.
Dianah Pritchett-Farrell, chair of the FTGA, said: “Open board meetings enable governors to fulfil their roles, especially in holding the non-executive directors to account. Transparency and being able to witness the board in action are key.
“The FTGA will continue to help matters by clarifying and promoting the role of the governor to board members, highlighting open board meetings as necessary for effective governance.”
Last year, NHE spoke to ICSA’s Louise Thomson about some of the wider failures in trust governance – that interview is here.
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