Issue - meetings

The Chair advised that Mr Jacob O’Callaghan had submitted questions in advance of the meeting.  Mr O’Callaghan raised his questions at the meeting, and responses were provided by the Chair as below:

1.      To ask if the Board as the Charity's Charity Trustees, and as such with final responsibility for the Charity, will resolve to indeed in future take such final responsibility at meetings of the Alexandra Palace and Park Committee, for considering and agreeing on which days/evenings to light the Mast for commemorative, celebratory, and other non-commercial purposes (unless the Full Council as trustee resolves to do so itself) 

The Board’s role is to ensure the Charity is fulfilling its charitable purposes, by providing strategic direction.  The Policy for lighting the mast is set by the Board in line with its duty to ensure the Trust’s resources are used to deliver its charitable purposes.

The CEO is responsible for ensuring the activities of the Trust remain within the policies set by the Board. The Trustee Board would therefore not be consulted on individual applications to light the mast. 

The Application Form states that lighting requests should align with our charitable purposes. We have been transparent in how such operational decisions are made. However, the Trustee Board will Review its policy and process to ensure that it is as clear and transparent as it can be.

2.      To ask if the Board will resolve that (in line with the Palace's status as a charitable trust, and a Listed building) such purposes will have priority over coloured lighting for commercial purposes, and exceptions to this should be determined by the Board itself. 

The Policy states that any lighting of the mast should be within the Trust’s charitable purposes. The purposes include to provide recreation and entertainment. The activities of the Trust that provide recreation and entertainment, that are deemed commercial in nature are contained within its trading subsidiary Alexandra Palace Trading Ltd (APTL). The profits from APTL’s activities are gifted by a charitable donation to the Trust and contribute, with the licence fee and restoration levy, over 50% of the Trust’s operating costs annually. Requests by APTL to light the mast are therefore within the charitable purposes and in the Trusts best interests.

3.         To ask if they will further resolve to obtain the assurances of officers that those who suggest occasions on which the mast be lit for non-commercial purposes, are in future always informed of the date and time of such meeting and be allowed to make representations to the Board should they wish. 

The requests to approve the lighting of the mast are reviewed against the policy and if appropriate authorised by the CEO or the Deputy CEO, depending on availability. Ordinarily no meeting takes place as it is not required. A recent request was made for an annual commitment, as such the longer-term implications of such a commitment were reviewed, at the request of the CEO, by an internal group of senior staff to assess those consequences,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 104