Governance
Age Concern Islington is run by and for local older people. It is run by a Board of ‘Trustee Directors’, who are Trustees under charity legislation, and Directors under companies legislation. They are elected by the members of the charity at the Annual General Meeting for terms of three years. The Board members are currently as follows:
Ms Kathrin Meyrick, Chair
A Project Manager with BP and local resident. Kathrin also acts as the Board champion on older lesbian, gay and bisexual issues.
Mrs Jeanne Franklin, Vice Chair
A former Carer, local resident and older person, with experience of older people’s issues, including social care needs, care homes and dementia.
Mr David Evans, Treasurer
Mr Chris Bulford
Human Resources consultant, older person and local resident, with extensive experience of working in the NHS.
Ms Monica Douglas Parris
Carer, former Senior Nurse, local resident and older person, with experience of immigration and older people’s needs, including dementia.
Ms Mouna Hamitouche
A local older person and founder member of the British Algerian Connection, active in providing support to the local Algerian community.
Mr Firdause Ahmed Sheikh
A local older person with a range of experience from community research to journalism and an understanding of the needs of the South Asian communities.
Ms Angela Sinclair
Secretary of Islington Pensioners Forum, local resident and older person, former social worker, and active campaigner on a wide range of older people’s and other issues.
Ms Marjorie Thiman
An experienced children’s Carer, local resident and older person, with experience of immigration, social care needs, and charity governance.
Mr Mark Warwick
Local older resident and Barrister, currently specialising in property law and with expertise in trust law.
The Board comprises mainly local older people. It includes members from black and ethnic minorities and members who are disabled.
The Role of the Trustees
The Board of Trustees have full meetings six times a year. In addition, they have around 15 additional meetings a year of Board sub‑groups, covering: finance and IT; human resources; projects development; health and safety and the environment; and the trading subsidiary, which is a separate company board in its own right. Each group is supported by Age Concern Islington staff, and may include outside members for additional expertise.
The Board sets the strategic direction for the charity and determines policies and procedures. The Board regularly reviews performance, the financial position, compliance, risk management, etc. Operational and day-to-day management of the organisation is delegated to the Chief Executive of the charity and her team of skilled staff. Major new initiatives are always put to the Board. Work in pursuit of previously agreed objectives is undertaken by staff and reported to the Board. Regular reports to the Board include performance against targets for each service and project, the financial position and financial outlook, equal opportunities and diversity issues, and upcoming issues and opportunities. The Board scrutinises these reports against agreed targets to assess the performance of the charity in achieving its charitable objectives to a high standard and cost-effectively.
Age Concern Islington’s Memorandum and Articles of Association were updated in 2006 to ensure that they allowed the charity to operate efficiently in the current environment.
Trustee Recruitment
Trustees are recruited by various means. We contact local community groups and businesses setting out our needs and inviting applicants. Sometimes interested parties approach us directly. We have also advertised through voluntary agencies, such as Bar in the Community. We seek to cover a specified range of expertise and backgrounds on the Board. We take up references for applicants.
Normally a sub‑group of Board members will meet a prospective Trustee to discuss their application, and if all is satisfactory then they are invited to attend a trial Board meeting, after which the Board as a whole will decide whether or not to appoint them. Any appointment is then put to the subsequent Annual General Meeting for Members to vote on.