Minutes of the 64th Annual General Meeting of ENABLE Scotland

Date 9 November 2018

Time 10:00 am to 12:15 pm

Venue Technology and Innovation Centre

University of Strathclyde, Glasgow

Attendees Stuart Adams David Allan Lizzie Allan

Ian Anderson Stephen Beattie Christine Bell

Neil Berry Don Blair Jacqueline Bonar

John Booker Louise Boustead Christine Bruce

C. Buchanan Charles Buff David Butler

Bill Cadger Calum Campbell Julie Carruth

Ivan Cohen Jack Collett Natasha Connon

Bob Cowie Billy Darly T.L. Davidson

John Dock Francis Donnelly M. Donnelly

Shona Earle Russell Easton J. Fairweather

Joan Fraser Heather Gilchrist Lesley Goodall

Gillian Groves Bob Hollis Shirley Hyman

Kevin Jamard Kirsty Kennedy L. Kennedy

Lisa Kerr Maureen Kilgour Neil Kilgour

Josephine King Bill Learmonth L. Learmonth

Robert Mackie Anne MacKinnon M. MacLennan

Sadie Main Scott Main Jodie Manley

Pam McCann A. McDonald Tony McElroy

Fiona McFarlane Callum McGhee Kerry McInnes

Lucy McKee James McLellan Peter McMahon

P. McWalter Colin Menabney Beth Morrison

Callum Morrison Peter Morrison Douglas Murchie

Nigel Over Greg Patterson Anthony Pearson

Andrew Rae Ben Robb Evelyn Robbie

Alison Robertson A. Robertson Harry Robertson

Karen Scott Nicola Scott Stuart Scott

Heather Stewart Wilma Stewart Stewart Stott

Graeme Taylor M. Thompson Ross Ward

Keith Watson Pat Watson Paul Whiteman

Callum Wilson George Wilson Nicola Young

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Other people who were there:

Gary Airnes Umair Akhtar Jane Anderson

Daniel Baker Ainsley Boyd Andy Brogan

Zoe Brownlee David Bryson David Campbell

Liam Campbell Lynne Campbell Lauren Cargill

Carol Coia S. Convery Elaine Cormack

Alice Coyle Jordyn Coyle Laura Crichton

A. Cruickshank Stuart Cumming Emma Dalrymple

Mary Daniel Liz Delaney Adele Docherty

Joanna Doyle John Evans H. Flanagan

Nicole Forsyth Jeff Gable Gail Carstairs

Mari Galletly Karen Gillhaney Richard Hamer

Mark Hamilton Ross Hester Megan Hood

Jonathan Jack Bernie Johnstone Andy Kerr

John Kerr Gary Lindsay G. Lysakowska

Mhairi Maguire Nicola Manson Jackie Mantador

Emma Martin Steven McAvoy Susan McClure

P. McDonald Ann McEwan K. McGourlay

Stuart McHattie Stuart McIntosh Jordan McKenna

Frank McKillop Alan McQueen G. McTaggart

Katie McVey Kate Morris J. Mountford-Smith

Avril Muir Kelly Munro Lauren Murphy

Karen Murray Ruth Myles Natalie Nash

Jen Niven Jason Noonan Paul O’Kane

Emma O’Neill Morag Paterson Lucy Pearson

Hollie Reynolds Heather Richards E. Richardson

Fiona Robb Jamie Rutherford Ashley Ryan

Jan Savage Charlotte Scott Colleen Scott

Lorna Scott Theresa Shearer Aileen Shrimpton

Kirsty Smith Nicola Smith Amy Stewart

Gary Stewart Ishbel Stobo Janine Tannahill

Chantelle Taylor Kirstin Taylor Ross Taylor

Sharon Taylor Karen Telfer Kayleigh Thorpe

Lindsay Wards Janet Wark L. Warnock

Fiona Watt Lorna Webb Caitlin Wemyss

Lianne Williams B. Williamson Stephen Wilson

Johanna Wisbey S. Woodlock

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Apologies

People who could not come and sent apologies:

Charlene Allison Christopher Ball C. Barraclough

Jameel Bashir Naveed Bashir Margaret Bauld

Philip Beck John Brady A. Braithwaite

Joseph Brannan Jean Brown Wallace Brown

Shona Campbell Catherine Clark John Clarke

S. Codona Graeme Colgan Siobhan Cowan

I. Cowie J. Cowie John Cranston

George Davidson Moris Devine Margaret Dodds

W. Donaldson John Feehan Martin Gallagher

Craig Gass Jean Gilmour George Gordon

Jessie Gordon Maureen Grear P. Grieve

V. Halliday Peter Johnson Alastair Kidd

Eunice Kidd William Kidd Clemence Lynd

James Lynn Irene MacDonald E. Mackie

G. MacWalters Barbara Mason Joan McCartney

M. McClure Amanda Miller C. Newlands

Russell Petrie J. Pittendreigh P. Rooney

Anne Speake Dorothy Steven Fergus Taylor

C. Thomson M. Whoriskey C. Wilson

H. Wotherspoon Chris Yiu

Minutes

Welcome

Jan Savage, Executive Director of Campaigns and External Affairs, welcomed everyone to the 64th Annual General Meeting of ENABLE Scotland. Apologies from people who could not attend were noted. Jan asked Kirsty Kennedy, Chairperson of National ACE, to explain the red and green cards that everyone had been given.

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Kirsty said if you want to speak, raise your green card. If you need help or are not sure about something, then raise your red card. Kirsty said it was very important that everyone uses accessible language to make the meeting inclusive. Jan asked if there were any amendments to the previous minutes. Several names were to be added to the attendance list: Heather Gilchrist, Lucy McKee and Pat Watson. With those changes, the previous minutes were proposed as correct by Andrew Rae and seconded by Shona Earle. Jan noted that matters arising would be covered in the reports.

Trustee’s Report – Bob Cowie

Bob Cowie, Chair of ENABLE Scotland, gave the Trustees’ Report. Bob thanked Theresa, the staff and trustees of ENABLE Scotland for all their hard work. He also thanked Scottish Council members for everything they do. He congratulated Ivan Cohen on being elected as the new Convener of Scottish Council, and thanked Nigel Over for his three years as Convener. Bob noted that Ivan was the first ever person who has a learning disability to be elected Convener of Scottish Council.

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Bob updated members that the current trustees of ENABLE Scotland are:

• Bob Cowie (Chair)

• John Brady

• Calum Campbell

• Andrew Charters

• Andrew Coull

• Tony McElroy

• Paul McMahon

• Karen Scott

• Margaret Whoriskey

• Chris Yiu Bob thanked the trustees who had stepped down this year:

• Mandy Bradley

• Theresa Merrick

• Harry Robertson He also thanked Bill Learmonth for all his work on the board of the Trustee Service, from which he was standing down. Bob welcomed Karen Scott and Chris Yiu to the board as new trustees. He also said that Charles Newlands would join the board to replace Harry Robertson as a Scottish Council representative. Strategy Bob updated on ENABLE Scotland’s strategy. He said he was delighted to report great results for the third year in a row. The strategy is based on four key areas that are really important to ENABLE Scotland. These are:

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Cash Making sure we spend our money wisely. Customers We put the people and families we support at the centre of all our decisions. Co-workers This was about valuing the 1,800 amazing people who work for ENABLE Scotland and making sure they have the best possible pay and working conditions. Challenge Working with members to identify barriers to an equal society for every person who has a learning disability and campaigning to break down these barriers. This has made sure that the organisation is well placed to continue its success into the year ahead and beyond. Bob said the trustees were very happy with all of the hard work everyone in ENABLE Scotland has done over the last year to look after the organisation’s finances well. Bob said there are a lot of challenges in the charity sector and for social care providers. Local authorities are getting less money to provide services. This means we need to work hard to get them to agree to give us enough money to deliver services and pay our staff the Scottish Living Wage for every hour worked. Bob said he was proud that our exciting new partnership with Sense Scotland was the first of its kind in the charity sector in Scotland.

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He explained that it was set up to share the costs of delivery so that both charities could invest more in their staff and the people we support. He said the Board of Trustees is asking members to support the motion to change ENABLE Scotland’s rule book to let this partnership go ahead. Bob said ENABLE Scotland is more than a campaigning charity and more than a service provider. It truly is one big ENABLE Family. Bob said the board will continue to make sure ENABLE Scotland is a charity that values its staff and workforce, while supporting lots of adults and children who have a learning disability, their families and carers to find jobs, get active in their community and live the life they choose.

Chief Executive Officer’s Report – Theresa Shearer

Theresa Shearer gave the CEO’s Report. She thanked Bob and all the Trustees for giving their time and skills to ENABLE Scotland, and providing an excellent strategic direction for our charity. ENABLE Scotland’s achievements Theresa said one her most important jobs is to make sure we look after ENABLE Scotland’s money. Theresa shared the good news that ENABLE Scotland had saved £400,000 last year. This means that over the last 3 years, the charity has fully replaced the money it lost in 2014/15. This puts ENABLE Scotland in a strong position going forward and she thanked everyone who helped us get here. Theresa said ENABLE Scotland has grown the services it provides so it is now delivering in 26 local authorities.

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She also said the Care Inspectorate think ENABLE Scotland is one of the best performing charities in Scotland. Theresa said ENABLE Scotland wanted to pay the Scottish Living Wage for every hour worked to all our staff. She said ENABLE Scotland is doing this for staff who only work waking hours, and is campaigning hard to get local councils to fully fund the Scottish Living Wage for overnight support too. She said ENABLE Scotland wants to keep recognising and rewarding staff to in order to provide the best support to people across Scotland. Theresa talked about the success of ENABLE Works and the difference it makes to people looking for a job. She said ENABLE Works has supported 300 people into a job this year, and has helped around 1,400 more get skills for work. She spoke about the Breaking Barriers partnership with Strathclyde Business School and Scottish Power, and said how proud she was of the 8 students who have a learning disability who graduated from the programme yesterday. Theresa said it was a great honour to mentor Lucy McKee, who is Chair of National ACE Youth and one of our Change Champions. She asked Lucy to give an update on ENABLE Scotland’s campaigns.

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Lucy said ENABLE Scotland’s #IncludED in the Main?! Campaign had achieved a major victory, with the Scottish Government agreeing to produce the first ever Guidance on the Presumption of Mainstreaming in schools. She said the new #BeTheChange campaign had engaged with MSPs at the Scottish Parliament, and brought more than 300 people to Get to Know Us events with local ACE Groups for Learning Disability Week. Theresa thanked Lucy for the update, and said it was great to hear about all the work ACE and our members are doing. New partnership Theresa said next she was going to talk about a special partnership ENABLE Scotland was starting. She said the charity and social care sectors face big challenges over next few years with fundraising, recruitment and retaining staff. So ENABLE Scotland has decided to do something about this. We are hoping to form a new partnership with Sense Scotland. Theresa asked Andy Kerr – CEO of Sense Scotland – to say a few words about the partnership. Andy said this partnership is very significant for the people we support. He said Sense Scotland was also founded by parents, and both charities have common histories and values.

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Andy spoke about becoming a bigger family, and said this would make sure we have the best staff in place and deliver services to the highest standard. Theresa thanked Andy, and said 2019 will be a big a year for ENABLE Scotland as the charity will celebrate its 65th birthday. Theresa said we will encourage people to raise and donate more money and to support our campaigns to mark our anniversary, and we will need all your help to do this. Theresa said we will keep campaigning and influencing, growing ACE and supporting people who have learning disabilities and their families.

Finance Report – Stephen Wilson

Stephen Wilson – Director of Finance – gave the Finance Report. He said that ENABLE Scotland had received £34.9 million in the last year, and spent £34.5 million. He said most of the money comes from local councils who pay us for the support we provide to people who have learning disabilities. Stephen said we also get money from donations, legacies and other fundraising activities like the Kiltwalk and the ENABLE Scotland Ball. This year’s ENABLE Scotland Ball was our most successful ever, raising £155,000! Stephen said the majority of money we spend is on staff wages.

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We also spend:

• £1m on buildings we work in.

• £500,000 on staff travel costs.

• £3m on everything else, such as computers, phones, etc.

Overall, we have been able to put more money in the bank than last year. We put an extra £400,000 into our savings account. The charity’s reserves are now sitting at £6.6 million. Stephen said his team check the bank balance every morning to always make sure we know exactly how much money we have.

Questions and Answers

Jan thanked Bob, Theresa and Stephen for their reports, and asked if members had any questions. Some of the points raised and discussed were:

• It would be good to learn more about the other trustees.

• Lots of people like doing the Kiltwalk, but members would like different ways to raise money too.

• Asking supporters to donate small amounts from their bank account every month could really help ENABLE Scotland raise more money.

• A new Branches Committee has been set up as part of Scottish Council, and our Membership Manager will be offering more direct support to branches, including visits.

• ENABLE Scotland gives members unique opportunities, like the Inclusion International Conference in Birmingham.

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• Campaigning for more support for carers is an important priority for members.

• Sometimes, it is difficult to get local councils to fund the services people need.

• There is sometimes a gap between what the Government wants to happen for people who have a learning disability, and the funding and support that is actually provided.

• It is important that we know what the issues are that members are facing so we can do more to help.

• Charities need to recognise the challenges that lie ahead and do what they can themselves to make sure they can meet them.

Jan thanked everyone for their questions and for raising so many important points.

Constitution Change

Mhairi Maguire – Head of Legal and Corporate Governance – spoke to members about the proposed change to the ENABLE Scotland rules. She said a change to the charity’s rule book was necessary to make the new partnership with Sense Scotland happen. Mhairi said Scottish Council members suggested that our partnership with Sense Scotland would be like us sharing a house together. She said the change to our rulebook is what will let us build the house we will move into with Sense Scotland.

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The rule change would make the Board of Trustees the legal member of ENABLE Scotland for a short time. This will be until a Board meeting next year. To build a charity group, we need to set up a new charity that will be called our parent. It will also be Sense Scotland’s parent. When that happens, we will need to make another change to our rule book that says we have a parent. Then we will have created Scotland’s first group of social care charities. Mhairi said we will make sure that Scottish Council and membership rights are in the new rule book. At that point, the power to make legal decisions about ENABLE Scotland will return to the membership. Mhairi said this change in no way reduces the importance of our members to ENABLE Scotland. We will still have Scottish Council, we will still have our AGM and Annual Conference, we will still share our accounts with members and we will always talk to our members about important issues about ENABLE Scotland. Mhairi asked if anyone had any questions before the motion was put to a vote. Points made in response to questions were:

• ENABLE Scotland and Sense Scotland will never disappear. They will just be part of the same group.

• The two charities will not lose their own identities but will be able to operate more efficiently.

• ENABLE Scotland will not change its name.

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• The two charities will share some office buildings.

• The parent charity will have some influence, but ENABLE Scotland’s trustees will still make decisions about legal changes for ENABLE Scotland.

• We will not need another General Meeting to change the rules again. The trustees will be the members until the new group is legally set up, and then they will change the rules to re-establish the place of ENABLE Scotland’s membership.

• ENABLE Scotland has made a number of big changes over the last 65 years – including changing its name 3 times!

• The duty of the trustees is to do the right thing for ENABLE Scotland.

When all the questions were answered, the motion – that ENABLE Scotland will make its Board members the legal members of ENABLE Scotland for a short time to help ENABLE Scotland to set up the new group – was put to a vote, and passed unanimously.

Member Awards

Hazel Irvine – ENABLE Scotland’s Honorary President – then joined Bob Cowie to present the ENABLE Scotland Member Awards. The winners of the ENABLE Scotland Member Awards were: Campaigns Ambassador James Anderson Community Connections Neil and Maureen Kilgour

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Fundraising Champions Heather Gilchrist and Lisa Kerr Member led Campaign Rachel Page Outstanding Achievement Ivan Cohen Star Member Bill Cadger

Close AGM

Jan congratulated the winners of the Member Awards and thanked everyone for taking part in the AGM. She then formally closed the 2018 AGM.