LSIS is governed by a Member Council made up of 30 elected Single Voice Members and 10 appointed Members.
This governance structure ensures that LSIS is ‘sector-owned’, a customised classification by the Office of National Statistics and the Cabinet Office which recognises that LSIS is owned by further education and skills providers. The rationale is that excellence in further education can only be achieved if providers take responsibility for their own continuous development and improvement.
Elected Members are drawn from nationwide representative Constituencies to reflect the richness and diversity of the sector. Appointed Members are chosen by the Board in order to balance the Council membership and provide additional diversity of voice. Appointed Members may be sought from outside the sector.
The Council has an advisory, consultative and representative role, with the powers in the Memorandum of Articles to hold the Board of LSIS to account at the annual and general meetings. It is intended that the Council should operate as a principal channel of communication between LSIS and the sector. The spirit of this is perhaps best summed up in an extract from the Framework Agreement:
“The LSIS Board will be accountable not to government but to a Council of Members drawn from further education providers. These Members will be elected by their peers and the Council will be a forum to exchange ideas, debate the key challenges facing providers and then feed messages into Board decisions. The Council will also monitor the performance of the company and that funds are deployed where they best serve sector need. LSIS is committed to engaging in a sustained and honest dialogue with the further education sector, so that it is truly providers who set LSIS’s strategic direction.”
Representative Constituencies:
|
Constituency* |
No. of Members
|
| 1 |
AoC South West Region |
1
|
| 2 |
AoC London Region |
1
|
| 3 |
AoC South East Region |
1
|
| 4 |
AoC West Midlands Region |
1
|
| 5 |
AoC East Midlands Region |
1
|
| 6 |
AoC Eastern Region |
1
|
| 7 |
AoC North West Region |
1
|
| 8 |
AoC Yorkshire & Humberside Region |
1
|
| 9 |
AoC Northern Region |
1
|
| 10 |
AoC Governors Council |
4
|
| 11 |
157 Group |
1
|
| 12 |
Landex |
1
|
| 13 |
NATSPEC |
1
|
| 14 |
Sixth Form Colleges Forum |
1
|
| 15 |
Mixed Economy Group |
1
|
| 16 |
Association of Learning Providers |
6
|
| 17 |
NIACE/HOLEX |
6
|
*The Constituencies are determined by the Single Voice
Council achievements
The inaugural Council achieved the following in 2008:
- Guiding and approving the direction of the strategy for LSIS
- Approving the quarter three performance report via the performance review panel
- They will shortly be approving the corporate plan.