Notices

Calendar

18 March, Tuesday. Discussion by videoconference at 2 p.m. (see below).

21 March, Friday. Full Term ends.

Discussion on Tuesday, 18 March 2025

The Vice‑Chancellor invites members of the Regent House, University and College employees, registered students and others qualified under the regulations for Discussions (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 111) to attend a Discussion by videoconference on Tuesday, 18 March 2025 at 2 p.m. The following items will be discussed:

1.Second-stage Report of the Council, dated 25 February 2025, on the alteration and redevelopment of the Hutchison Building on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus site (Reporter, 6772, 2024–25, p. 284).

2.Reports and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 July 2024 (Reporter, 6773, 2024–25, p. 298).

3.Topic of concern to the University: Support for the Veterinary course (see p. 396).

4.Report of the Council, dated 4 March 2025, on a new temporary facility for the Molecular Imaging Chemistry Laboratory at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus (see p. 399).

Those wishing to join the Discussion by videoconference should email UniversityDraftsman@admin.cam.ac.uk from their University email account, providing their CRSid (if a member of the collegiate University), by 10 a.m. on the date of the Discussion to receive joining instructions. Alternatively contributors may email their remarks to contact@proctors.cam.ac.uk, copying ReporterEditor@admin.cam.ac.uk, by no later than 10 a.m. on the day of the Discussion for reading out by the Proctors,1 or may ask someone else who is attending to read the remarks on their behalf.

In accordance with the regulations for Discussions, the Chair of the Board of Scrutiny or any ten members of the Regent House2 may request that the Council arrange for one or more of the items listed for discussion to be discussed in person (usually in the Senate-House). Requests should be made to the Registrary, on paper or by email to UniversityDraftsman@admin.cam.ac.uk from addresses within the cam.ac.uk domain, by no later than 9 a.m. on the day of the Discussion. Any changes to the Discussion schedule will be confirmed in the Reporter at the earliest opportunity.

General information on Discussions is provided on the University Governance site at https://www.governance.cam.ac.uk/governance/decision-making/discussions/.

Sermons before the University in 2025–26

The Vice-Chancellor gives notice that the following dates have been appointed in the manner prescribed by Ordinance for Sermons to be delivered during the next academic year:

Preachers will be announced in the Reporter later. These University Sermons will be delivered in Great St Mary’s, the University Church, at 11.30 a.m. on the Sundays stated. Members of the University are reminded that they should wear academic dress in the University Church when attending University Sermons. All are welcome and those present will be invited to take refreshments with the Preacher afterwards.

Amending Statutes for Selwyn College

26 February 2025

The Vice-Chancellor gives notice that she has received from the Governing Body of Selwyn College, in accordance with the provisions of Section 7(2) of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge Act 1923, the text of proposed Statutes to amend the Statutes of the College. The current Statutes of the College and the proposed amendments are available on the College’s website at: https://www.sel.cam.ac.uk/about/finances-and-governance.

The Council will consider the amendments after 10 a.m. on Friday, 21 March 2025.

University maternity leave and other family-related leave policy

27 February 2025

On 25 September, the Council and the General Board gave notice of changes to the University’s policies on maternity and paternity leave (Reporter, 6752, 2024–25, p. 3). They have since approved an additional change to reflect current policy. The sentence on University paternity leave, as reproduced in Statutes and Ordinances, 2024, p. 679, has been revised to read as follows, with effect from 1 October 2024:

In the light of the right to paternity leave and pay under the Employment Act 2002, the Council and the General Board give notice of the existing, more favourable University paternity leave provision offered to eligible employees of up to twelve weeks on full pay.

University of Cambridge Financial Regulations: Correction

27 February 2025

There was an error in the Council’s Notice of 25 July 2024 (Reporter, 6751, 2023–24, p. 858).1 In Regulation 18.4(d) the thresholds included VAT, but they should have stated that they excluded VAT. Following correction, the text now reads as follows (revised wording shown in bold):

(d)The Chief Financial Officer’s advice is needed for:

•procurement (other than construction) where the Total Value exceeds £100,000 excluding VAT if applicable;

•procurement where the Total Value exceeds £50,000 excluding VAT if applicable and supplier terms are used.

Topic of concern to the University: Support for the Veterinary course

4 March 2025

The Registrary gives notice that she has received the following request for the discussion of a Topic of concern to the University:

Support for the veterinary course at the University, including questions of general principle regarding reasonable processes within the University

The General Board set up a Veterinary School Review Group in May 2023:

•to provide an objective perspective on the delivery of the Clinical Services Business;

•to provide a view on management and organisation of clinical services and the wider Department that exist in the support of teaching for the Veterinary Sciences Tripos, final Bachelor degree of Veterinary Medicine, and research;

•to research clinical educational needs and benchmark alternatives to our current delivery model.

That Review Group has produced a confidential interim report, but has yet to publish a final report. In the meantime, the Veterinary Programme in the University received a negative accreditation review from The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS). The RCVS has indicated that there would be further review in September 2025 to determine whether the Cambridge course would be accredited for the September 2026 intake.

In November 2024, the General Board wrote to the Head of Department of Veterinary Medicine, giving the Department around four weeks to outline a commitment to take forward work to develop an alternative option for clinical course delivery in partnership with one or more other clinical providers, or to indicate that this effort will not be pursued. In the former case, the proposed partners would need to be identified with their willingness to partner documented. Subsequently, the General Board wrote to the Department and asked for external assurance by early March 2025 that there was no likelihood of a terminal accreditation decision following the RCVS visit in September 2025, and that all RCVS recommendations could be appropriately addressed. The General Board suggested that it was minded to suspend the veterinary course, closing it to new entrants in 2026, if such assurance from the Department was not forthcoming.

As well as the future of the Vet.M.B. course, aspects of the above process are matters of concern.

•Was it reasonable for the General Board to ask the Department to develop an alternative option for clinical course delivery within four weeks when its own Review Group has, so far, taken over 20 months to report?

•Why did the General Board ask for an external assurance of accreditation from the Department, when that is in essence an impossible condition to meet six months before the RCVS return visit?

This request is supported by the 86 members of the Regent House listed in Annex A.

The Council has agreed that this topic will be included on the agenda of the Discussion on Tuesday, 18 March 2025 at 2 p.m. by videoconference (see p. 395).

Annex A

Public consultation on the future planning application for North West Cambridge

The Estates Division is preparing a new planning application to support additional housing at the North West Cambridge development. The first phase of the development is called Eddington which is the centre of the residential community. Eddington is the University’s response to the need to provide affordable housing for staff so it can attract and retain top talent to retain its global competitiveness.

The neighbourhood, which opened in 2017, includes affordable homes for University and College key workers, market homes for the community, student accommodation, and a range of social facilities, independent retail, infrastructure, and open space.

Outline planning permission for 3,000 homes, 2,000 student rooms, 100,000 sqm research space and associated infrastructure at North West Cambridge was granted in 2013. Planning permission for the residential homes has now lapsed and a new outline planning consent is required for any future homes to be delivered (excluding homes that currently have detailed planning consent and are under construction). There is the potential for the development site to accommodate more than 5,000 homes in the future in this sustainable location. Future phases will build on the successes of Eddington, deepening design principles and learning lessons, while ensuring that they support the academic and social goals of the University, with the aim of creating a vibrant, long-lasting and sustainable place.

To support the pre-application process, public consultations are being held for all members of the community. Attendance is encouraged and feedback will directly inform the development proposals. Subject to recommendation from the Council and approval by the Regent House anticipated to be requested in summer 2025, a new planning application to the local authorities will be submitted in autumn 2025.

The dates and venues of the upcoming public consultations are as follows:

For more information visit https://eddington-cambridge.co.uk.