Court Minutes 22 October 2025

Confirmed Minutes of the meeting of the University Court held on 22 October 2025.

Court Members	Court Members
Pamela Woodburn (Chair)	Zoë MacCallum
Janet Archer	James Miller
Patrick Bartlett	Jacqueline Morrison
Professor Richard Butt	Peri Papadimitriou
Silvia Cardinale	Garvin Sealy
Sir Paul Grice	Carol Sinclair
Professor John Harper	Bill Stronach
Steven Hendry	Andrew Watson
Ann Hill
Dr Kavi Jagadamma

Staff members in attendance	Role
Irene Hynd	Vice Principal and University Secretary (Secretary)
Becky Hope-Palmer	GIVE Scheme Participant
Dawn Martin	Assistant Secretary, Governance and Quality Enhancement (Minute Secretary)
Jonathan Matthews	Head of Financial Reporting and Analysis
Angela Smith	Head of HR
Professor Sara Smith	Dean of Health Sciences

The Chair welcomed members to the meeting. Particular welcome was extended to Peri Papadimitriou, newly appointed Trade Union academic staff representative.

The Chair advised that Jamie Cutt had been elected to the vacancy for an elected support staff member and would take up the position with effect from 1 December 2025. She looked forward to welcoming Jamie to the following meeting on 17 December 2025.

Apologies were RECEIVED from Sofia Khan.

A tour of the Innovation Hub had preceded the Court meeting, and the Chair extended her thanks to the Chief Operations Officer for arranging this

There were no conflicts of interest declared.

There were no other items of Other Competent Business.

4.1 Minutes of the meeting held on 18 June 2025

The Unconfirmed minutes of the meeting of the University Court held on 18 June 2025 (paper Court (25) MINS 03) were APPROVED as an accurate record subject to an amendment to indicate that both Deans had been present.

4.2 Matters arising

There were no matters arising.

The Chair reported on her continued engagement in internal meetings around the financial sustainability of the University in particular, and the Scottish Higher Education sector more broadly. These included conversations with the Senior Leadership Team, the Conveners of the Audit and Risk Committees, and the Director of Finance. The Chair had also participated in a meeting with the Scottish Funding Council in August 2025, where there had been discussion around the University’s Change Programme (agenda item 9 refers) and proposed actions in the short- medium- and longer term to address the University’s financial sustainability. The SFC had acknowledged that QMU was not unique in experiencing financial challenges, suggested that a number of universities were being impacted across the sector to varying degrees.

The Chair reported also on her attendance at meetings of the UK Committee of University Chairs (CUC) and the Committee of Scottish Chairs (CSC). Both Committees had discussed the Gillies Report, commissioned by the Scottish Funding Council, and the ongoing review of the UK Higher Education Code of Governance being progressed by the CUC. A detailed draft response to the CUC code consultation would be considered by the US Secretaries Group and shared with other stakeholders.

In terms of external matters, the CSC had also discussed Principals’ remuneration, the planned review of the future framework for Scottish universities (agenda item 6.1 refers), and the Tertiary Education and Training Bill.

The Chair concluded her report with a reminder of some of the many positive developments at QMU since the previous meeting of the Court. Despite the challenging financial circumstances, there was much to be celebrated, including
Patrick Grant’s installation as Chancellor at the July graduation, QMU’s sponsorship of the Scotsman’s Fringe First Awards, and more recently the installation of a public artwork on campus, celebrating the people and activities which make up Queen Margaret University.

Court RECEIVED a detailed written report from the Principal and Vice-Chancellor (paper COURT (25) 23). Speaking to his report, the Principal highlighted matters as recorded below:

6.1 External context

The external context remained challenging in terms of the wider economy, the operating framework for universities in Scotland, societal change and the changing international context.

Whilst Dissolution of the Scottish Parliament was not scheduled until late March 2026, the Principal wished to bring to members’ attention the following two matters of importance during this pre-election period.

Expectations of Good Governance and Financial Sustainability

This matter was covered elsewhere on the agenda under the Chair’s report (minute 5 refers) and the Good Governance briefing (agenda item 11 refers).

Review of the future framework for Scottish universities

This initiative, focussed on the medium- to long-term financial health of the sector, was being led jointly by the Scottish Government and Universities Scotland with support from all political parties. It involved a three-pillar approach as follows:

• Pre-election – Seeking agreement on what a thriving, internationally competitive HE sector would look like and a quantification of the funding gap for teaching, research and infrastructure investment.

• By May 2026 – Sector response including transformation and efficiency work and the support needed to undertake that, whilst simultaneously leading and running institutions.

• Post election – Exploring the policy options for filling the funding gap and resourcing the transformation opportunities.

In the pre-election phase, a Steering Group was being established. This would be co-chaired by the Principal and the recently appointed Minister for Further and Higher Education, Ben Macpherson. Groups reporting into the overarching Steering Group would allow for wide stakeholder consultation, including with staff of Scottish universities, Trade Union representatives, and students. The third phase would ultimately be the most critical, as it would only be possible to move forward with the transformation post-election.

Other updates related to the external context were as noted below:

The UK government narrative around immigration remained unhelpful. More specifically, the Home Office had announced that the changes to the Basic Compliance Assessment of Student Sponsor Licenses were set to be implemented from February 2026 for refusals and enrolment metrics, and February 2027 for completion metrics. Whilst details remained to be confirmed, it was expected that a RED-AMBER-GREEN rating would be introduced for Student Sponsor licences, and that this would provide challenges for universities.

The Principal had met twice with recently appointed Minister for Further and Higher Education, Ben Macpherson. One of these meetings had taken the form of a small roundtable to discuss research; the second had considered the review of the future framework for Scottish universities, the Universities Scotland 2026-27 budget bid, and the Tertiary Education and Training Bill. Members were reminded that the Bill had potential positives in terms of increasing the scope for Graduate Apprenticeships and ‘earn and learn’ provision more widely, but that it also provided scope for amendments that would increase external influence in the governance of universities. The implications of this were under careful consideration through sector groups including the Committee of Scottish Chairs and Universities Scotland.

6.2 Strategy

Work had commenced on the new Institutional Strategy, building on the discussion at the Court Strategy Day in April 2025. A briefing paper, authored principally by the Deputy Principal & Deputy Vice-Chancellor, was considered separately on the agenda (minute 10 refers). A very useful strategy development session had been held with the Leaders’ Forum composed of the senior leaders within the university.

6.3 Financial sustainability

As noted under the Chair’s report (minute 5 refers), work to secure the University’s financial sustainability had been the primary focus over the summer period. The Principal extended his gratitude to members of the Finance and Estates Committee, and the Audit and Risk Committee for their contributions over that period. The University’s financial position was considered in depth under the Budget Forecast Outturn (minute 7 refers) and Budget 2025-26 and Three-Year Forecast (minute 8 refers). Financial Outturn.

6.4 Change Programme

The Change Programme was being conducted in stages, as set out further in paper Court (25) 26 (minute 9 refers). Phase 1 of the Voluntary Exit scheme had opened on 17 September 2025, and would close on 22 October 2025, following which the outcome would be communicated to applicants. Details of the timeline for phases 2 and 3 were set out in the Principal’s Report. The Head of Human Resources expressed cautious optimism in the numbers coming forward through phase 1 and expressions of interest more broadly. In parallel with the VE Scheme, a consultation had launched regarding potential proposals to improve the medium-term financial sustainability of the Schools. A recruitment freeze had also been announced. The Director of Finance and Head of Human Resources were preparing a ‘line of sight’ paper, seeking to model how the University would achieve the £4 million of savings required from the staffing budget by the end of 2027-28.

6.5 Student numbers

The Principal provided an update on student numbers, with the proviso that clearer information, in particular on Scottish entrants, would become available after the annual student census date and the compilation of returns to the SFC in December.

Early calculations indicated a September intake of 1,231 FTE to campus-based programmes, this being 390 FTE below the original planned target and 43 FTE short of the previous year’s September intake. The numbers admitted were reflective of the student recruitment challenges impacting the University and the sector more broadly. Looking ahead, attention had shifted to the main recruitment and admissions cycle for 2026 entry, while also working to secure a strong intake for January 2026. Innovations in recruitment and admissions included rolling out the new chatbot, Maggie, and planned appointment of agents in Nigeria and India to support in-country activity.

Discussions were in progress with the Scottish Funding Council to explore possible adjustments to subject price group funding allocations to reflect the reality of the balance of QMU’s non-controlled student numbers. This had potential to impact positively on the financial position. In parallel, the University continued to innovate with new programme proposals, including the forthcoming launch of the undergraduate Graphic Design degree.

The Vice-Chair commended the University on the student recruitment numbers given the increasingly competitive nature of recruitment. He acknowledged the particular challenge involved in positioning university entry tariff requirements to reflect those being applied increasingly in competitor institutions, while also maintaining tariff requirements at a level necessary for successful progression within Higher Education.

6.6 Land Development

The Principal thanked the Chief Operations Officer, the Director of Campus Services, and the Edinburgh Innovation Hub Director for their leadership during the development and launch phase for the Innovation Hub. An update on the Land Development Project was provided separately (minute 12 refers).

6.7 Research

The Principal highlighted the following recent achievements, extending his congratulations to colleagues involved in the successful bids.

• The appointment of IGHD’s Honorary Professor Karina Kielman as Principal Investigator for a project titled Co-designing Health Innovations to reach Mobile Men with Co-Morbidities in Uganda and Zambia (HIMM). This project was funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation and had been awarded £1.3m.

• The award of a Scottish Government Grant of £240k to support further exploration of commercial and licensing opportunities to market the palm-fat alternative (Pam-Alt) developed by the Scottish Centre for Food Development and Innovation

• A Scottish Funding Council award of £750k for QMU to lead a consortium of Small Modern and Specialist Institutions to develop a sustainable model for a shared commercialisation and Knowledge Exchange (KE) infrastructure.

6.8 NSS

QMU’s 2025 NSS scores showed a marked improvement from the previous year with 80% of students satisfied overall with the quality of their course compared to 73% in 2024. Notably, for the second year running, the Students’ Union had scored the highest among Scottish Higher Education Institutions for the question, ‘How well does the students' union (association or guild) represent students' academic interests?

Theme results saw a welcome increase in positive responses compared to 2024. The theme results with the greatest levels of improvement were Organisation and Management, Assessment and Feedback and Teaching on my Course. The Principal conveyed his thanks to colleagues and student leaders for their ongoing hard work and commitment in relation to the NSS themes.

6.9 League tables

QMU had climbed 39 places in the Times/Sunday Times League table with some very strong performances, including being third in Scotland for Social Inclusion. Disappointingly QMU had fallen six places in the Guardian League Table. However, there were also some strong performances within this, including ranking in the top 20 UK institutions for ‘value added’ and ‘entry tariffs.’

In discussion members considered the extent to which league tables were a reference point for prospective students and other audiences. The Principal and Student President – Academic advised that parents and external partners tended to be interested in league tables, with applicants placing more value on the NSS results (minute 6.8 refers). The Vice-Chair commended the action taken in response to the NSS and resulting impact on some league tables, according to the metrics used. It was noted that the positive results could be used to good effect for marketing purposes.

6.10 GEN AI

The Principal advised that Senate had APPROVED the adoption of a Scottish Tertiary Education Statement on the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), and an accompanying Framework for Generative AI in assessment and curriculum for Scottish Higher Education. The sector statement and principles therein had been developed by the Scottish AI in Tertiary Education Network (SCAITEN). The Framework had been developed by a short-life working group established on the request of the Universities Scotland Learning and Teaching Committee (USLTC). The Statement and Framework would serve as main points of reference for QMU’s Generative AI Steering Group.

6.11 SEATS

From the start of the 2025-26 academic year, the University had introduced a new Student Attendance and Engagement Management system, provided by SEAtS. The SEAtS system enabled the delivery of the University’s updated Student Attendance Policy by providing a consistent and equitable approach to support student wellbeing and promote positive outcomes for students. The intention was to introduce the ‘Engagement’ component of the SEAtS system from September 2026.

The Student President-Academic and academic staff members on the Court provided their early reflections on SEaTS. Whilst there had been some challenges, for example related to systems integration, and student concerns regarding the impact on progression, these were being addressed and kept under review.

6.12 QM 150

The Principal provided an update on the QM150 celebrations. He noted that the public art installation (minute 5 refers) had been made possible by generous donations from the QMU community for whom the installation now served as a permanent celebration of the University.

As part of the Anniversary Celebrations, a special public talk and Q&A would explore the remarkable legacies of women who had shaped Scotland’s history and were associated with the University. The event, ‘Acting with Head, Heart and Hand’ would take place at the University on 13 November 2025, and feature two distinguished historians who would bring these stories to life. Court members were warmly invited to attend the talk and any of the other anniversary events.

The Chair thanked the Principal for his very comprehensive update. Given the breadth of significant activity, she advised that, having consulted with the Secretary, it was proposed to bring the Court Strategy Day forward from April 2026 to February 2026.

Court RECEIVED a paper on the financial outturn forecast for the financial year 2024-25 (paper COURT (25) 24). Court RECEIVED a paper updating on the budget for the financial year 2025-2026 and the financial forecast for subsequent years submitted to the Scottish Funding Council (paper COURT (25) 25).

The Director of Finance delivered a presentation highlighting the key points from the papers as noted below:

7.1 Budget Forecast Outturn 2024-25

There had been a deterioration in the forecast position since the last report to the Court, with the deficit now projected at £4.1m vs £3.7m reported previously.

Movements since the previous report were noted as follows: refinement in SFC Recovery (£0.4m favourable); endowment expenditure (£0.3m adverse); other operating expenditure (£0.6m adverse) and other income/expenses offset (£0.4m each – P&L neutral).

The increase in Other Operating Expenditure was subject to further investigation but attributed in part to late invoices, invoices without a Purchase Order (PO), or a PO provided after purchase. Further, some items had not been flagged to the Finance Business Partners as part of the Finance review. Steps that were being taken to address this included improved reporting to better understand organisational compliance with the ‘no PO no pay’ policy and analysis of instances of ‘after the fact Pos’, where goods/services had already been procured before a PO raised. Communications and training were also being strengthened to reinforce institutional understanding of the policy and its importance, as well as looking to increase engagement.

7.2 Budget 2025-26 and three-year forecast

Developments since the June Court meeting and the impact of these were noted as follows

• Confirmation of the approach on SFC Recovery (£1.9m adverse): The extent of the SFC recovery had not been anticipated.

• Review of student recruitment (£1.1m adverse): While there has been an uplift from the previous year, there was a significant shortfall against the budget, almost exclusively arising from not meeting international student targets. More positively, there were some signs of a moderate uplift, largely due to retention of continuing students.

• Progress on other operating expenditure savings (£0.5m adverse): There had been an extensive review and reduction of budgets over the summer, resulting in a saving of £2m. Finance and the SLT would keep this under review, including in the context of the review of campus services.

• Forecast savings from a VE scheme (£0.5m favourable).

Cumulatively, these had resulted in a significant deterioration in the deficit to £6.9m and reduction in headroom to loan covenants, with potential impact on the assessment of going concern.

7.3 Actions progressed

Stakeholder engagement was ongoing to ensure transparency and support action planning. This included regular meetings with the SFC and the external auditors, Ernst & Young (EY). There had also been positive conversations with Santander. Further actions were being progressed under the Change Programme (minute 9 refers), and through the review of price groups with the SFC, and the SFC Transformation fund application process. Actions identified as being necessary in 2025-26 and beyond were to identify and embed longer term savings, and to review growth opportunities and SFC price group decisions. Stakeholder engagement would continue. A report on longer term forecasting would come to the meeting of the Court in December 2025.

The Chair invited the Conveners of the Finance and Estates and Audit Committees to speak to the minutes of the most recent meetings, including the Extraordinary meetings held on 14 August 2025 (FEC) and 17 September 2025 (ARC) (minutes 14 and 16 refer).

7.4 Finance and Estates Committee

The FEC Convener reported that the Committee had expressed disappointment at the adverse variance, particularly as this had arisen at a late stage in the finalisation of the year-end result. The Committee had discussed whether there was a need for further action to improve compliance with the ‘no PO, no pay’ policy. There was discussion also of the number of credit card holders, and whether this represented an appropriate means of incurring expenditure. While the Committee appreciated the quality of financial information now being presented, there was residual concern about the level of fluctuations between reports, and a concern to ensure that a greater level of certainty was achieved in future in terms of information provided.

In terms of the 2025-26 budget, the FEC Convener suggested that more detailed scrutiny of student number assumptions would support the translation of forecast numbers into a more realistic budget. The Principal acknowledged that international student number forecasts had been optimistic and offered his assurance that this had been addressed.

The FEC Convener concluded his report by concurring with earlier comments on the starkness of the financial position reported. He reiterated the reduction in headroom to loan covenants that had been reported previously by the Director of Finance, adding that EBIDTA was now close to zero. It was essential to have a clear direction of travel to deliver the necessary savings. The potential savings arising from the VE Scheme offered encouragement, as did the discussions with Santander in terms of its flexibility.

7.5 Audit and Risk Committee

The ARC Convener endorsed the points covered in the FEC Convener’s report. The ARC Extraordinary Meeting had been convened to consider movement in the financial forecast presented to the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) in June 2025, and specifically to consider from an audit position, the underlying assumptions that formed the basis of scenarios presented to the Committee. As set out further in the minutes (paper AUDIT (25) MINS 03), ARC had welcomed the ongoing constructive dialogue with the SFC. Discussions to date with Santander had also been open, transparent and encouraging in terms of flexibility.

At the meeting, EY had reported that its annual audit assessment would give ‘serious consideration’ to whether Material Uncertainty (MU) disclosures were required in the year end accounts in relation to going concern, recognising, in particular, the extent of the institution’s reliance on third-party support. Court members were advised that a declaration of this nature would be very serious and reputationally damaging.

The importance of reaching an agreed position with EY had been discussed further at the ARC meeting on 30 September 2025 (paper AUDIT (25) MINS 04). To ensure that a collective understanding was established at an early point, the ARC Convener and the External Auditor would meet at the end of October to discuss progress. In response to a question about the prevalence of MU disclosures across the sector, the Director of Finance advised that no universities had made a declaration to this effect in the previous year. This year’s position was unknown.

7.6 Discussion

In discussion members reiterated the importance of meticulous attention to detail in the 2025-26 budget. Going forward, the Principal expressed his commitment to providing the budget considerably earlier in the cycle.

Other matters covered included the following:

Absence of Purchase Orders: It was explained that the new Finance System supported improved reporting and that this had increased visibility of instances of ‘no PO’ invoices.

Control measures for credit cards: A review of the number of credit card holders and acceptable use was in progress, as part of which, consideration was being given to digital cards. It was advised that credit card holders typically used these for essential business travel eg recruitment visits overseas.

Capital Expenditure: It was confirmed that this was being considered carefully under the auspices of the Finance and Estates Committee.

Staff communications around the financial position: The Principal advised that there continued to be regular communication with staff through a range of in-person and written updates. Most recently this had included the ‘all staff’ update held in the Halle Lecture Theatre, and the Leaders’ Forum. The financial updates communicated to staff mirrored those provided to the Court but with reduced level of detail. There continued to be regular engagement with the Trade Unions. A new Employee Engagement Forum was also being established that would provide an additional channel. Through his engagement with staff, the Principal advised that he had been struck by the supportiveness and determination to succeed. He reiterated also the collective aspiration to go beyond financial survival to a position of success.

The Chair closed the discussion by thanking members for the robust scrutiny and level of challenge. Particular thanks were extended to the Conveners and members of the Finance and Estates and Audit and Risk Committees and to the Director of Finance for the clarity and quality of financial information. The budget would come back to the December meeting of the Court following FEC and ARC scrutiny. It was advised that these committees were currently scheduled to meet jointly, but that consideration was being given to separate meetings, with a joint session on the audited financial statements.

Court RECEIVED an update on progress with the Change Programme, and on discussion with the SFC on funding in support of transformation (paper Court (25) 26).

Introducing the paper, the Principal advised that, in terms of scope, the Change Programme covered all areas of the University, incorporating and advancing the work progressed under Project Evolve. Project Evolve would therefore be rolled into the wider University Change Programme, and that programme would be supported by KPMG, subject to sign-off. This would build on the SUMS work and provide the capacity and expertise needed to support the University in delivering the necessary change.

Several of the areas covered in the paper had been addressed earlier in the agenda, including the Voluntary Exit Scheme, recruitment freeze and School sustainability consultation (minute 6.2 refers). Non-staff savings included review of licences, subscriptions and travel, as well as critically assessing spending on campus services including IT.

The various workstreams covered in the paper, including the new institutional strategy (minute 10 refers) would inform the University’s expected submission to the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) in response to the call for invitations to bid for transformation funding in the New Year (likely March 2026). Regarding SFC discussions, the Principal advised that he had met with the SFC Director of Finance on the morning of 22 October 2025 and that he would update members once he had received a written statement on the next steps for student number recovery and price group allocation.

The paper also included an update on discussions with Edinburgh Napier University to explore and where possible, as equal partners, deepen the existing collaboration by building on the positive experience of the Bright Red Triangle, shared PhDs, and the joint BA Hons for Acting and Screen. A copy of the MoU, including details of the governance arrangements had been provided as an Appendix.

Members welcomed the update and looked forward to hearing more on each of the workstreams. In noting the ENU collaboration, a staff member on Court requested that this be made visible to QMU staff, and that it be made explicit that there was no cost to the University.

There was brief discussion on means to reach out to potential benefactors and donors. The Principal advised that the QM150 communications had been valuable in terms of raising the University’s profile. He thanked lay member Ellenore Hobkirk for her support, and work with the Alumni and Development Team, drawing on her expertise as a philanthropy wealth planning specialist.

Court RECEIVED a paper and presentation on a draft framework for the development of the University Strategy (paper Court (25) 27).

Introducing the paper, the Deputy Principal & Deputy Vice-Chancellor reminded members that the current five-year institutional Strategy was due to come to an end in 2025. Whilst the 2020-25 Strategy had been broadly effective, the SLT had determined that the new Strategy required a more explicit definition of the University’s desired future direction, and the road map to it, in the form of a set of coordinated choices. The Strategy would need to be specific enough to inform colleagues' decisions and actions without being overly prescriptive. Whilst there would be some continuity from the previous strategic planning period, the new Strategy would respond to the challenging financial and wider external operating context.

The SLT had adopted Lafley and Martin’s ‘Playing-to-Win' framework to guide the development of the new Strategy. The Deputy Principal & Deputy Vice-Chancellor explained that the framework differed from more conventional strategic planning processes in that it was based on a few key ideas, the most important of these being that strategy is about making choices.

The timeline for Strategy development was set out in an Appendix to the paper. The first milestone had been a full day workshop with the Leaders’ Forum on 21 October 2025. At this session, Forum members had considered the key questions in the framework around aspirations, markets, distinctiveness, capabilities, and systems. This had surfaced strategic achievements, challenges and opportunities. The Leaders’ Forum had welcomed the structured approach to developing the new Strategy, following the steps in ‘Playing to Win.’

A draft of the Strategy would come to the Court in December 2025, informed by discussions at the Senate, and staff and student input, importantly including contributions from the Students’ Union. Bringing the Court Strategy Day forward to February 2026 would provide for detailed discussion and approval and subsequent development of plans for implementation.

Court members welcomed the approach, noting that the framework structure helpfully pared back potentially wide-ranging and less focussed discussions to the essential considerations. It was expected that would result in a more sharply defined ambition with a clearer route map to inform the work of the University.

Court RECEIVED a paper on sector and institutional matters of corporate governance (paper Court (25) 28).

10.1 Gillies Report

The paper included a briefing on the Gillies Report, the SFC commissioned independent investigation into the causes and contributing factors to the deterioration of the University of Dundee’s financial position. Key themes identified in the report included financial acumen; the accurate, consistent, clear and comprehensive reporting of financial data; a knowledgeable, responsive and effective Court holding senior management to account, and the value of an engaged workplace and inclusive University culture in which challenge and dissenting voices are welcomed and listened to. The report also included seventeen (17) key lessons for the wider sector.

Following the publication of the Gillies Report, the SFC had published on 24 September, its Expectations of Good Governance. The Committee of Scottish Chairs (CSC) and Universities Scotland had submitted a joint response, which was provided as an Appendix. This set out the collective view of the Scottish sector that the Scottish Code of Good Higher Education Governance remained fit for purpose but suggested too that the CSC would draw on the outcomes of the current CUC review in considering any required updates. The response also highlighted ‘structural funding challenges’ and urged the Scottish and UK Governments, Scottish Funding Council and others to take a number of actions to bring about positive changes in the sector’s operating environment.

The University Secretary advised that action was also being taken internally in response to the Gillies Report and the publication of the SFC Expectations of Good Governance Report. With the approval of the Audit and Risk Committee, and as part of this year’s Annual Audit schedule, Henderson Loggie, the University’s internal auditors, had been commissioned to undertake an independent evaluation of the University against the findings of the Gillies Report. Amongst other matters, this would consider systems, processes and controls for financial management and governance. The audit would complement the findings from the most recent externally facilitated Court Effectiveness Review in 2022-23. A number of court members would be invited to meet the auditors, either on campus, online, or at the auditor’s office in Edinburgh.

Planning for Finance training for Court members was being developed, taking into consideration the diversity of members’ backgrounds and any training needs identified through their appraisals with the Chair. A ‘Finance for Board Members’ session delivered by an external provider would be scheduled as soon as possible, and ideally before the next meeting of the Court.

The ARC Convener suggested that the provision of monthly finance reports, as suggested in the Gillies Report, could strengthen oversight. He would discuss this further with the Director of Finance to ensure any requirements remained useful and proportionate.

10.2 Companies House: verification of identity

Members were reminded of the requirement to complete Companies House ID
Verification by 31 October 2025.

10.3 Scottish Charity Law

An update was provided in respect of modifications to certain aspects of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 (the 2005 Act).It had been advised to Court previously that, from the end of 2025, accounts submitted to OSCR will be publicly available on the Scottish Charity Register for at least five years. OSCR also required (from June 2025) that, when filing the annual report and accounts, the following details be submitted for each charity trustee: Name, Home address, Email address, Telephone number and Date of birth. It was confirmed that this information would not be published.

10.4 Gender Representation

The paper also included, as an Appendix, a report on gender representation under the requirements of the Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act 2018. This showed that QMU had met the gender representation objective of having 50% of non-executive members who are women at the start of the census period in January 2023 and the end of the census period in December 2024. This report had been published on the University’s website.

Court RECEIVED an update on progress with the Land Development Project (paper Court (25) 29).

Introducing the paper, the Chief Operations Officer highlighted the following:

Local Development Plan: The local authority consultation process to produce an updated LDP was ongoing. The University continued to engage with the planning department based on the updated Masterplan Delivery Strategy (MDS).

Edinburgh Innovation Hub: The projected cost of the overall development remained within the approved budget, meaning some of the surplus could be directed to the Innovation Park. The building handover had been rescheduled from 10 to 20 October 2025 at the client's request. This delay was to allow the contractor to provide all required certificates and would not negatively impact tenant occupancy.

Operation: Activities to ensure the operational readiness of the Hub and the Operating Company (OPCO) were ongoing. Members were reminded that operational support services for the Hub would primarily be provided by QMU through its commercial subsidiary, QMU Enterprises. Since July, there had been a significant increase in interest from prospective tenants for the Hub, of which the majority aligned fully with the Gateway Policy.

Edinburgh Innovation Park: The Joint Venture Partners were exploring opportunities and timelines for the broader Park development with current efforts concentrated on the possibility of a City Deal 2.

University Benefits: The Innovation Hub Strategic Engagement Board (IHSEB) had set out several recommendations to SLT on how best to map university actions to support engagement with the Innovation Hub and its tenant companies. A phased approach to Hub engagement would be followed, with more detailed and targeted engagement once the sectors and interests of Hub tenant companies were better known.

The Benefits Realisation paper from 2021 was included, partly for the benefit of newer members, but also by way of reminder. This was being updated by IHSEB, and it was suggested that an annual update should come to the Court.

Following the successful completion of the Hub, members looked forward to future progress reports, including updates on risks and benefits as well as governance.

Court CONSIDERED the Research and Knowledge Exchange Reports detailed in 13.1 and 13.2 below.

The Deputy Principal and Vice-Chancellor reminded members that the reports offered an insight into the University’s use of the SFC Research Excellence Grant (REG) and Research Postgraduate Grant (RPG). An optional question around risks for research activity was noted as an important addition to this year’s RAAR. Consistent with the wider financial context, it was reported in the RAAR that QMU had added research funding as a new stand-alone risk on the institutional risk register, categorising this as a risk to both reputation and financial security.

Related to research funding, the Deputy Principal and Deans had taken the difficult decision to pause the QMU bursary programme for 2025-26 to accelerate the pace at which income and expenditure in this area would rebalance. Research matters were also included in the Change Programme discussions around School sustainability.

12.1 Research Assurance and Accountability Return

Court APPROVED the University’s Research Assurance and Accountability Return (Court (25) 30).

12.2 Concordat for Researcher Development Annual Report

Court APPROVED the University’s Concordat for Researcher Development Annual Report (Court (25) 31).

12.3 Concordat for Research Integrity Annual Statement

Court APPROVED the University’s Concordat for Research Integrity Annual Report (Court (25) 32).

Court NOTED the Compliance Reports for quarter two (paper Court (25) 33) and quarter three (paper Court (25) 34).

14.1 Extraordinary meeting held on 14 August 2025

Court RECEIVED the Confirmed minutes of the Extraordinary meeting of the Finance and Estates Committee held on 14 August 2025 (paper FEC (25) MINS 03). All matters for the attention of the Court had been covered earlier on the agenda.

14.2 Meeting held on 1 October 2025

Court RECEIVED the Unconfirmed minutes of the meeting of the Finance and Estates Committee held on 1 October 2025 (paper FEC (25) MINS 04). All matters for the attention of the Court had been covered earlier on the agenda.

14.3 Matters arising (briefing from the FEC Convener)

This had been covered earlier on the agenda.

15.1 Extraordinary meeting held on 17 September 2025

Court RECEIVED the Confirmed minutes of the Extraordinary meeting of the Audit and Risk Committee held on 17 September 2025 (paper AUDIT (25) MINS 03).

15.2 Meeting held on 30 September 2025

Court RECEIVED the Unconfirmed unreserved and reserved minutes of the meeting of the Audit and Risk Committee held on 30 September 2025 (paper AUDIT (25) MINS 04). Matters for the attention of the Court had been covered largely elsewhere on the agenda. The following additional matters were noted:

Cyber Maturity Assessment: This had been included as an Appendix. The assessment had identified some significant risks. Recommendations would be addressed through a 24-month programme of 12 projects and 4 immediate tasks/deliverables. The SLT had approved the work to commence immediately, and updates would come to future Court meetings.

Invitation to tender audit (reserved business): Court APPROVED the recommendation to extend Ernst & Young’s contract as external auditors to 31 July 2026. The tender process for audit with effect from August 2026 would commence in January 2026. As set out in the reserved minutes (minute 3 refers), it would be challenging to appoint a new auditor at this time of financial challenge and workload pressures impacting the Finance team. it was acknowledged also that the consistency of EY’s team and their understanding of QMU’s operations were invaluable.

Court RECEIVED the Confirmed minutes of the meeting of the Senate held on 25 June 2025 (paper SEN (25) MINS 03). The following matter was brought to members’ attention:

Divisional Structure: School of Health Sciences (minute 4.1 refers): At the meeting on 18 June 2025, Court had approved the recommendation from the Senate that the Division of Dietetics, Nutrition, Biological Sciences, Physiotherapy, Podiatry and Radiography (DNBSPPR) be restructured to form two separate divisions, namely: ‘Dietetics, Nutrition, Biological Sciences and Radiography’ and ‘Physiotherapy and Podiatry.’ At that time, it had been advised that the organisational change would be implemented from 1 August 2025, or as soon as a Head of Division for Dietetics, Nutrition, Biological Sciences and Radiography had been appointed. An update on this matter was provided, noting that the change in the University’s financial circumstances since the June meeting of the Court had resulted in a pause to the restructuring and recruitment process. An update would come to a future meeting.

Court RECEIVED the Confirmed minutes of the meeting of the Equality and Diversity Committee held on 19 June 2025 (paper EDC (25) MINS 03). There were no matters brought to members’ attention.

Court RECEIVED the Unconfirmed minutes of the meeting of the Health and Safety Committee held on 26 June 2025 (paper H&S (25) MINS 03). There were no matters brought to members’ attention.

The University Court would meet on the following dates in Session 2025-26:

Wednesday 17 December 2025 at 3.00pm in the Boardroom
Wednesday 18 February 2026 – Strategy Day – all day event
Wednesday 22 April 2026 at 3.00pm in the Boardroom
Wednesday 24 June 2026 at 3.00pm in the Boardroom