No 6832
Wednesday 8 July 2026
Vol clvi No 37
pp. 608–638
14 July, Tuesday. Discussion by videoconference at 2 p.m. (see below).
23 July, Thursday. Congregation of the Regent House at 10 a.m.
24 July, Friday. Congregation of the Regent House at 10 a.m.
25 July, Saturday. Congregation of the Regent House at 10 a.m.
29 July, Wednesday. Last ordinary issue of the Reporter in the 2025–26 academic year.
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, 2024, p. 111) to attend a Discussion by videoconference on Tuesday, 14 July 2026 at 2 p.m. The following items will be discussed:
1.Report of the Council, dated 23 June 2026, pursuant to Special Ordinance A (ii) 7 (divestment from fossil fuel and arms companies) (Reporter, 6830, 2025–26, p. 572).
2.Report of the Council, dated 30 June 2026, on changes to the senior administrative offices (Reporter, 6831, 2025–26, p. 583).
3.Report of the Council, dated 30 June 2026, on the removal of references to the University Chest in Ordinances (Reporter, 6831, 2025–26, p. 587).
Those wishing to join the Discussion by videoconference should email Discussions@admin.cam.ac.uk 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 Discussions@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 Director of Governance and Compliance, 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.
For general information on Discussions see the Reporter website at https://www.reporter.admin.cam.ac.uk/discussions.
1Any comments sent by email should please begin with the name and title of the contributor as they wish it to be read out and include at the start a note of any College and/or Departmental affiliations held.
2https://www.scrutiny.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/reporter/regent_house_roll/.
The Vice-Chancellor gives notice that there will be an election to appoint one member of the University Council in class (a) (Heads of Colleges) under Statute A IV 2, following Ms Hancock’s decision to step down from 20 July 2026. The person elected will serve with immediate effect until 31 December 2026, the remainder of Ms Hancock’s period of appointment.
For information about the Council, the reasons for standing for election, and the duties and responsibilities of members, please see the Council’s Notice published on 2 October 2024 (Reporter, 6753, 2024–25, p. 26).
Please could candidates send their nominations by email including electronic signatures to registrary@admin.cam.ac.uk by 12 noon on Tuesday, 21 July 2026. The nomination (which can be made on a form available online)1 should include (a) a statement signed by two members of the Regent House, nominating the candidate for election and specifying the class in which the candidate is nominated, and (b) a statement signed by the candidate confirming consent to be nominated. The candidate is also required to provide a personal statement by the same date (see below).
In accordance with the regulations governing the election (Statutes and Ordinances, 2024, p. 118), those standing for election should send to the Director of Governance and Compliance, by 12 noon on Tuesday, 21 July 2026, a statement in support of their nomination, which will be provided to voters. Each statement should be no more than 500 words in length and should cover the following points:
•the candidate’s present position in the University;
•previous posts held, whether in Cambridge or in other universities or outside the university system, with dates;
•the candidate’s reasons for standing for election, and the experience and skills they would bring to the role;
•a note of the candidate’s particular interests within the field of University business.
The complete list of nominations will be published in the Reporter on Wednesday, 22 July 2026.
If the election is contested, a timetable for the election will be announced.
The Council has received the remarks made at the Discussion on 2 June 2026 on the above Topic of concern to the University (Reporter, 2025–26: 6825, p. 475; 6829, p. 541). It has replied to the remarks related to the proposals for changes to senior administrative offices separately (Reporter, 6831, 2025–26, p. 581). This response concerns the remaining points raised in those remarks, including those relating to the creation and sequencing of a University digital strategy, and the initiation of a formal organisational change process in University Information Services (UIS) earlier this term.
The strongest area of consensus among those who contributed to the Discussion is on the need for change in the approach to the provision of digital services, with references to fragmentation, poor user experience, insufficient digital maturity, and growing cyber-security challenges. Some commentators, including Professor Blackwell, Mr King and Dr Rutter, recall the past, noting previous technical innovations and discerning an unwelcome shift towards standardisation and a decline in academic engagement with UIS. However, a larger group – including Dr Gardner, Mr Parsons, Ms Phillips, Professor Philpott and Professor Russell – see positive signs of academic user engagement in the year since Mr Hill has taken up office as the new Director of UIS, with some singling out the consultative approach that Mr Hill has adopted to gather views from across the University.
A second major area of agreement is on the urgent need for a coherent, University-wide digital strategy, to bring institutional priorities, resources and delivery capability into alignment. The principal point of difference is in the sequencing of events. Professor Dennis, Professor Penty, Mr Chris Russell, Dr Roberson and others note that the absence of a strategy has contributed to fragmentation, duplication and inefficiencies. Others, including Mr Beckles, Ms Blair, Mr Haynes and Ms Langley, suggest that proposals for restructuring should wait until the strategy has been defined.
Some contributors, including Professor Brandt and Ms Egan, question whether it is appropriate to increase the number of senior roles whilst reducing front-line services. Mr Hey, Ms Phillips, Ms Traub and others note that the proposals under discussion affect a relatively small number of existing staff, including 18 roles that are at risk of redundancy primarily owing to reduced demand, and support the rebalancing of capability and strengthening of accountability. Several contributors, including Professor Dennis, Mr Hill, Professor Philpott and Mr Parsons, note the significant increase in the UIS operating costs budget and headcount in the last five years, and the need to make a 5% contribution towards the professional services savings target, suggesting a need for more immediate action. Others, including Ms Allan, Mr Downie, Ms Livingstone and Professor Simons, see restructuring as an enabler for the development of strategy, by creating the leadership capacity to support decision-making. The Council agrees with Mr Chambers that, whilst every redundancy is significant to the person who holds that role, these are modest changes. It notes Mr Hill’s comment that UIS needs to make changes to its staff structure now, so that it has the right skills and capabilities to assist with the digital strategy development process. It agrees with Professor Dennis that the longer we wait to develop a digital strategy, the further we are likely to fall behind in developing the University’s digital maturity and capabilities.
Dr Hosking quotes from the University’s Accessibility Statement on the main website, which lists known accessibility issues, and observes that the University has failed to meet its own deadline for fixing them. The Council agrees that there remains work to be done across the University’s 2,000+ sites, but it disagrees that the delay is caused by resourcing within UIS. UIS has already provided the Cambridge Web Platform that enables websites to be accessible by default, but it relies on those managing websites to opt to use it. Over 200 websites are already using the platform and a further 300 are expected to join them by the end of 2026.
The Council notes the remarks on the consultation with staff affected by the UIS reorganisation, and on the use of fixed‑term contracts in UIS and the process relating to their expiry. As those processes are ongoing, the Council does not consider it to be appropriate to comment at this time.
The Council has received the remarks made at the Discussion on 16 June 2026 concerning the above Report (Reporter, 2025–26: 6827, p. 510; 6830, p. 576).
Dr Jones reiterates his concern about trends in non-academic staff growth in previous years. As Dr Jones acknowledged in his remarks in an earlier Discussion, professional services staff – inside and outside the UAS – are an essential enabler of education and research in the University. The requirement to reduce operating expenditure has exerted control over the recruitment of staff in the central professional services; the Resource Management Committee is satisfied that the actions being taken to achieve this by each of the UAS Divisions are without significant detriment to their core, enabling functions, but – as indicated in the Report – has accepted that further, material reductions in expenditure are unlikely to be sustainable within the current structure and organisation. The Council’s commitment to review and redesign the University’s operating model for professional services – a process which can be neither rapid nor straightforward – is reflected in its decision to seek a Secondment Fellow to support this work, alongside an external specialist and the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Resources and Operations; and in the proposed changes to the University’s senior administrative offices, in particular the proposed appointment of a Chief Operating Officer.
The Council notes Dr Astle’s remarks explaining his decision not to sign this Report.
The Council is submitting a Grace (Grace 1, p. 617) for the approval of the recommendations of this Report.
The following Notice is published to advise the University of works which are not considered to be a ‘substantial alteration’ within the meaning of Statute F II 3 and therefore do not require a Report but are nevertheless of interest or consequence to members of the Regent House (see Reporter, 6259, 2011–12, p. 498).
A Report recommending the disposal of the freehold of the Mill Lane North site to King’s College was published on 30 April 2025. The recommendations of that Report were approved by Grace 2 of 29 May 2025. The Report noted that the usual procedures will be followed for determining whether to notify, or seek approval from, the Regent House regarding any building works required as part of the programme to relocate current occupants of the Mill Lane North site by the end of July 2027.
The Mill Lane North Programme Board has endorsed a proposal to relocate the Office of the School of the Physical Sciences from 17 Mill Lane to the second floor of the Old Cavendish Laboratory (East Wing), Free School Lane. An external staircase which previously provided a secondary means of escape from this part of the building was removed as part of an earlier project to create the Student Services Centre. A new internal staircase, to reinstate that secondary means of escape, will be provided as part of the current project. Some vacant space on the first floor of the East Wing will also be refurbished and will be allocated in due course by the Estates Committee’s Space Management Sub-committee.
The total estimated cost is approximately £1.6m. The work is scheduled to commence in July 2026 and conclude in December 2026. Planning permission and listed building consent from Cambridge City Council were achieved in April 2026.
The Council has agreed that Discussions will take place at 2 p.m. on the following Tuesdays in the 2026–27 academic year:
|
Michaelmas Term 2026 |
Lent Term 2027 |
Easter Term and Long Vacation 2027 |
|
6 October |
19 January |
27 April |
|
10 November |
16 February |
11 May |
|
15 December |
16 March |
1 June |
|
15 June |
||
|
29 June |
||
|
13 July |