
The Museums and Galleries Act 1992 allows the Board to establish sub-committees and Councils to more efficiently undertake its activities. These committees may include co-opted members and have at least one Trustee in their membership. All members are appointed by the Board, with the exception of the Tate St Ives Advisory Council which has representatives nominated by the local and regional authorities.
This specialist committee was formed to support the Board in matters related to the Tate Collection. The Committee has delegated authority to consider and decide upon acquisitions within a certain value. Its decisions are reported to the Board for ratification. Acquisitions that are valued over their remit are considered by the Committee and they provide a recommendation on the acquisition to the Board. The Committee also considers loans in and out of the Collection, as well as gifts and bequests. The Director of Tate Collection uses the Committee's expertise to guide him in his management of the Collection Department. It is composed of seven members, four of whom are trustees, who meet five times a year.
This Committee considers in detail Tate's finances, resources and infrastructure on behalf of the Board. It is composed of seven members, four of whom are Trustees and three of whom are co-opted members. They sit on the committee for a period of four years and meet on a two monthly cycle prior to the Board of Trustees' meetings. The Finance and Operations Committee operate in an advisory capacity to the Board of Trustees and have no formal decision-making authority.
Accounting and Treasury guidance requires Tate to establish an audit committee. The purpose of Tate's Audit Committee is to ensure that Tate is compliant with the statutory obligations implicit in its status as a charity and NDPB. It is composed of five members in total, two of whom are co-opted members. They meet three times a year.
This Committee meets annually to advise on contractual terms and remuneration for the Senior Management . It is composed of four Trustee members.
This committee advises the Board on appointments of trustees and membership of its committees and councils.
The Board will occasionally establish a non-executive building project group to provide a sounding board for staff running building projects, as in the case of the Completing Tate Modern Development Group. The project group reports to the Finance and Operations Committee and comprises of six members. Building Project Groups act as an advisory group to staff and the Board and have no decision-making authority.
The Board has established a Council for each of its four galleries. The Councils are a source of independent expert advice for the gallery directors, a panel to bounce ideas off and represent gallery stakeholders (e.g artists, Tate Members, local community, local authorities, visitors etc.). The Councils may advise on exhibitions, displays and educational programme, the future development of the gallery, buildings, programmes and funding. They are comprised of nine to twelve members, at least two of whom will be Trustees. They sit on the Council for a period of three years (which may be renewed at the Board of Trustees discretion) and the meetings, chaired by a trustee, take place at least three times a year.
The Ethics Committee consists of four Trustees, and one co-opted member, and has a remit to review any ethical issue raised by a Director of Tate, or any member of the Board of Trustees, and provide guidance on conflict of interest management. It meets only when required.
The Freedom of Information Appeals Committee is a sub-group of the Ethics Committee. It consists of three Trustees from the Ethics Committee, and performs internal reviews of Freedom of Information requests, where the member of the public who submitted the request is not satisfied with the response provided by Tate. Should the member of the public who requested the internal review remain dissatisfied, they may then approach the Information Commissioner and request a further review of the case.