| Description | Signed minutes of the sub-committee appointed by University Council for the oversight of the management of Staff House, which was constructed on the Edgbaston campus and opened in September 1962, from the first meeting held on 11 October 1961 to the final meeting of the committee on 21 July 1988
Staff House was conceived in the late 1950s as the home of the University Senior Common Room, and as a centre in which members of the University and associated outside bodies could arrange functions. It was built with funds provided by the University Grants Committee and when it opened, the Senior Common Room was re-housed from its previous home at Westmere, which had been used for staff since 1948. Staff House was intended to be self-supporting, with funds provided through the Senior Common Room partly through the subscriptions of members. It was independent from the Refectory and other University catering units in existence in the early 1960s, but it was understood that the University would bear the costs of maintaining the building. Staff House was considered as a hotel. Residential accommodation was provided, and services were expected to be provided from the early morning to late evening. It offered accommodation for functions, conferences and other events including wedding receptions.
The Senior Common Room was heavily involved in the organisation and use of Staff House, and Senior Common Room members were represented on the Staff House sub-committee which consisted of two members of Council; the President of the Senior Common Room; the Vice-President of the Senior Common Room; the two Joint Secretaries of the Senior Common Room; and one member of the Senior Common Room committee. The Staff House sub-committee met at least once a term to consider accounts and budgets and to deal with other matters. The Senior Common Room committee organised programmes of social and cultural events in Staff House, and for records of the Senior Common Room and its committee, see UB/SCR
Early minutes of the committee contain references to the construction of the Staff House building and the expected completion date. There is also discussion about the organisation and finance of Staff House. A paper on the financial organisation of Staff House is included with minutes of the meeting held on 19 February 1962. The committee was also concerned to consider membership of Staff House. Minutes of the meeting held on 14 May 1962 state that membership was open to Professors, Lecturers, Research Fellows, Research Associates and members of the Administrative or Library staff of equivalent status. It was pointed out that the committee should also consider the position of people who might be thought to have a claim to membership, especially the wives of members of staff, visiting lecturers, examiners, and guests of the University. It was agreed by members of the Senior Common Room that membership of Staff House should be compulsory for all qualified members of staff who would then be obliged to pay a subscription. The committee went on to discuss the constitution and rules of Staff House, and the minutes state that 'it would not appear possible to utilise the Rules and Organisation of the Senior Common Room since that body is not responsible for the general conduct of the affairs of Staff House'
Another responsibility of the committee before the opening of Staff House was to appoint a manager, and minutes of the meeting held on 19 February 1962 include a list of the names and personal details of applicants for the post, as well as other papers relating to licensing and staffing. Minutes of committee meetings held in the summer of 1962 record continued discussion about membership and membership fees and include papers and correspondence about membership and honorary membership. There is also information about the recruitment of staff, prices of meals, charges for the use of rooms and for residential accommodation, and the progress of the building work.
By the time of the meeting held on 31 August 1962 the public areas in Staff House were available for use, though the minutes note that minor work was still taking place and some equipment was not yet installed. The minutes refer to the appointment of a Wine committee to provide advice on general policy relating to the purchase, storing, and selling of wines in Staff House. Reports and minutes of the Wine committee are included from September 1962 onwards.. Minutes of meetings held in September and October 1962 contain sample suggested menus for special dinners, prices for food available at the snack bar and for cafeteria service lunch, and information about arrangements for large functions at Staff House. Minutes of the meeting held on 21 September 1962 include a list of staff names and their wages. Further lists of staff and wages are included sporadically in minutes of later meetings. The minutes also discuss the closure of the Staff Club at Westmere and the transfer of catering, waiting and housekeeping staff to Staff House.
Minutes of committee meetings held in the autumn of 1962 contain discussion of staffing and services, car parking, access, difficulties with the introduction of waitress service and ways of making self-service more efficient, and ways of using rooms in Staff House in more effective ways once the building was in use and there was a better understanding of its capacity and space.
Minutes of the meeting held on 7 December 1962 include the first report of the Staff House Manager to the committee. These reports continued to be submitted regularly and include financial statements as well as information about stock control, licensing, staffing, services and administration. Minutes of the meeting held on 28 January 1963 contain discussion about the control of the use of Staff House by the committee. It was emphasised that undergraduate students would not be allowed to use the building unless invited by a Staff House member to use one of the private rooms booked by staff as part of a group. The minutes refer to the Guild of Undergraduates being refused the use of parts of Staff House for its annual dinner, but it was decided to reverse this decision. There are also papers relating to the refusal of the committee to allow Library staff to hold a party in Staff House, because most of the staff were not in academic-related posts and so were not members of Staff House. Minutes of this meeting also contain a report of the Works of Art committee about works in Staff House.
Minutes of committee meetings from 1963 onwards contain information about staffing and staff changes; the catering service and the pricing and purchase of supplies; the use of Staff House for functions and for residential accommodation; redecoration and maintenance of the building; and requests for additions and alterations to facilities. Financial statements and budgets are regularly included and discussed, in particular in relation to the effects of price and wage increases. Minutes include information about applications for group bookings for functions and the names of the organisations requesting the bookings are given. Some matters were referred to Staff House sub-committee by the Senior Common Room committee, and minutes of the meeting held on 28 June 1963 include discussion of matters arising from the annual general meeting of the Senior Common Room.
Minutes of the meeting held on 10 October 1963 include a paper setting out architects proposals for the re-arrangement of the ground floor of Staff House, with alternative uses of office space and the bar. Minutes of the meeting held on 17 December 1964 include a copy of a memorandum on Staff House expansion which discusses suggestions for changes, figures for the current numbers of meals provided, the number of seats, and turnover, and suggestions for longer-term planning for use of the building. Minutes of the meeting held on 26 January 1967 include plans and details of proposed alterations to the bar, and there is further discussion of these proposed alterations in minutes of the meeting held on 16 March 1967, with additional plans included with minutes of the meeting held on 16 November 1967.
Minutes of committee meetings held in the late 1960s contain increasing references to the need for repair work to the building, particularly to deal with water leaks in the kitchen, and to necessary changes in the services offered. It had been noted in minutes of the meeting held on 12 November 1964 that demand for weekend residential accommodation was irregular, though during the week rooms were often booked on a long-term basis by the same people. There is evidence elsewhere in the minutes that changes were made to catering offered on Saturdays due to relative lack of demand. By 1970 the committee was discussing the low use of accommodation for overnight guests and appealing to academic departments to suggest the use of the residential accommodation for guests and official visitors.
Minutes of meetings held in 1972 record details of discussion about the financial problems facing the University Centre, and copies of reports by the Joint Working Party of University Centre and the Guild of Students Union committee are included, which contain references to Staff House for the committee to consider. Minutes and financial statements of the committee refer to increased operating costs and selling prices of food, though the minutes also state that in 1972 the University viewed the financial situation of Staff House as satisfactory, especially in relation to other catering units. However, minutes of committee meetings held later in the 1970s indicate that Staff House was building up a substantial deficit, and there are references to the introduction of wide-ranging economies. Minutes of the meeting held on 27 February 1975 discuss closing the bar and ending waitress service on Saturday evenings. Minutes of the meeting heldon 22 May 1975 discuss the long-term future of Staff House and the committee's submission to the Finance and General Purposes committee which admits that Staff House was losing money each month and discusses possible ways of reducing the deficit, including a subsidy from the University, reducing facilities offered by Staff House, or opening Staff House to a wider membership. Minutes of the meeting held on 20 November 1975 confirm that Staff House would be closed on Saturdays during vacations. Minutes of the meeting held on 15 July 1976 present a report on service economies and staff redundancies, and minutes of committee meetings held in 1977 present evidence of further perceived threats to Staff House, in the context of a review of catering across the University.
A copy of the annual report of the Staff House sub-committee to University Council, included with minutes of the meeting held on 22 March 1978 refers to the success of Staff House between 1962 and 1974, and to the subsequent losses incurred due to changing social habits but principally to high national inflation. The report states that the committee had been able to reduce the deficit by abandoning less economic services, leaving staff posts unfilled, and reducing facilities. It also mentions that the Senior Common Room committee had been given a mandate by members to increase subscription rates, and was in a position to increase substantially its annual contribution towards the expenses of keeping Staff House a separate entity.
Minutes of the meeting held on 18 February 1980 discuss the First Report of the Working Party on the University Centre which contains options for changes to catering services provided and the implications for catering at Staff House. Minutes of committee meetings held in the 1980s contain the same kinds of details about staffing, catering, and the use of Staff House for functions as in previous decades. Minutes of the meeting held on 5 January 1987 include Senior Common Room responses to the Report of the Council Working Party on the Jarratt Report, which urges the University to keep Staff House open and presents supporting arguments. Minutes of the meeting held on 26 February 1987 mentions that proposals were now under consideration by the Space Management committee.
The Staff House sub-committee was disestablished by University Council with immediate effect at its meeting in December 1988, approving the recommendation of the Working Party on Catering in the University. Council agreed that, if necessary, a consultative committee could be established through which consumers' needs could be made known to University management. It was thought that this function could be fulfilled by the Senior Common Room committee, augmented as appropriate by representation for non-academic staff |