Thursday, 28 January 2016, 18.00 – 21.00. Luton G101.
Welcome
Charlie Hughes, Beds SU President, welcomed students to the event. The quoracy was not met (__ students were present), but an executive decision was made to go ahead with the AGM.
A test vote was conducted with the members and it was explained that to approve or pass a motion, the voting must reach 66%.
Charlie Introduced the Green Hub team (sponsors of the AGM) to give a small pitch about Go Green Week.
Attendance and ApologiesExecutive Committee - Attendees / Department Reps
Charlie Hughes (President), Chair 1 / Shermayne Berry (Department of Journalism and Communications)
Steve Owen (VP Activities & Engagement) / Cindy Acheampong (Department of Life Sciences)
Tara Alade (VP Education), Chair 2 / Philip Gatward (Department of Accounting and Finance)
Melissa Wilson (VP Welfare & Equality) / Nuno Sarzedas (Department of Healthcare Practice (Butterfield))
Clive Sheridan (Entertainment Officer, Bedford) / Nicola Hemmings (Department of Applied Social Studies)
Sean Mcgeever (Disabled Student Officer, Bedford) / Jess Leatherland (Department of Teacher Education)
Daniel Johnson (LGBT Officer, Bedford) / Ashlin Humphreys (School of Law)
Ashley Beckman Whelan (Campaign Officer, Luton) / Beccie Haywood (Department of Education Studies)
Suzie Plumbley (Disabled Student Officer, Luton) / Saboor Ifthikar (Department of Management & Business Systems)
Ahmed Mustafa (Entertainment Officer, Luton) / Rob Negus (Department of Marketing Tourism and Hospitality)
Dalu Umeh (International Students’ Officer, Luton) / Bert Klemmer (Department of Sport Science and Physical Activity)
Katie Tebrook (LGBT Officer, Luton) / James Smith (Department of Physical Therapies & Rehabilitation)
Raya Gancheva (Sustainability Officer, Luton) / Muhammad Dharejo (Department of Clinical Education & Leadership)
Ryan Marner (Sports Officer, Luton)
Komala Dass (RaG Officer, Bedford) / Beds SU Staff - Attendees
Gul-e-raana Malik (Women’s Officer, Luton) / Helen West (Beds SU Interim CEO)
Michael Wigg (Beds SU incoming CEO)
Trustees - Attendees / Sunil Kalyan (Head of Commercial Services & Operations)
David Barrett (External Trustee) / Amy McClaughlan (Incoming Head of Membership Services)
Sue Lowe (External Trustee) / Laura Bright (Education & Representation Manager)
Rachael Frith (External Trustee) / Kayleigh Clydesdale (Finance & Administration Officer), Minutes
Philip Gatward (Student Trustee) / Josh Habimana (Learner Rep Co-ordinator)
Tim Stone / Adam Demski-Bowden (Representation Support Co-ordinator)
OASC Members / Rianna Price (Student Activities Assistant, Bedford)
Ashlin Humphreys / Louise Paterson (Marketing & Communications Officer)
Kai Staines
Oluwakemi / Apologies
Shaney Saunders (RaG Chair, Luton)
Student Council Chair
Nicola Hemmings
Conflicts of Interest
None were declared. It was noted that during the presentation of the motions, it would be a conflict of interest if the chair formed part of the debate; therefore for this agenda item, the chair will change to Tara Alade, VP Education, who will only manage discussions.
Minutes from the last MeetingThe AGM was asked to approve the minutes from the last AGM (27 Nov 2014) for accuracy. Charlie Hughes noted that the minutes have been present on the website since November 2014; they were deemed accurate by the senior management and Executive Team at the time of submission and that Beds SU has received no objections from students since their publication on the Beds SU website. As there was no challenge from the audience, the minutes were accepted as accurate.
Matters Arising/Actions from the last AGMSafe Space Policy – Charlie Hughes
This policy was passed at the last AGM and replaced the ‘No Platform Policy’ that stated that no proscribed person or organisation should be given a platform to speak, nor should the SU share a platform with them. The ‘Safe Space Policy’ provides freedom to invite speakers onto campus and encourage debate, whilst protecting the union from any hate messages that might occur on campus.
This has been fully adopted and was reapproved at Student Council in November 15. A motion to further amendment this policy is on the agenda.
Student Retention Policy – Charlie Hughes
This policy committed Beds SU to supporting the University in promoting ventures like Peer Assisted Learning scheme (PALs), Personal Academic Tutors (PATs) and the StEPs initiative to aid the retention of its students.
This was approved at the last AGM, but has since lapsed. No student has put a motion forward to Student Council or AGM to reapprove it and has therefore been archived.
Sustainability Student Officer Motion – Melissa Wilson
A motion to include a ‘Sustainability Officer’ to the portfolio of student officers was passed at the last AGM. This was adopted and a Sustainability Officer in Luton was elected for the 2015-16 academic year.
RaG Restructure Motion – Steve Owen
A revised RaG structure was approved at the last AGM and it was agreed that ‘a review of this restructure would happen after a year and any amendments will be taken to an AGM or OGM’.
A meeting with the VP Activities & Engagement, Education & Representation Manager, Volunteer Support Manager, Student Activities Assistant Manager, Student Activities Assistant and the Luton RaG chair took place to review the system. Everybody was keen to keep the committee structure, but agreed that the 2-tier election process was confusing; especially when electing additional committee members to a ‘society-like’ committee at the same time as the club/society elections. It also caused a problem if the RaG Chair is elected in the by-election because this was after the club and society elections, meaning that they would be without a RaG committee.
A motion to change the election process is on the agenda.
International Conflict No Stance Policy – Tara Alade
This policy mandated the union not to hold a policy stating a political view in support or opposing a particular side in an international conflict. It did however encourage well-organised events where political issues could be discussed.
This was approved at the last AGM, but has since lapsed. No student has put a motion forward to Student Council or AGM to reapprove it and has therefore been archived.
Financial ReviewCharlie Hughes, gave a short report on the financial activity of year:
Financial Review
Following the significant student research linked to the development of the Strategic Plan in 2011, Beds SU entered into lengthy negotiations with the University to increase the resources allocated to the Union through the block grant. As a result, in October 2012 Beds SU was awarded an increase to the Beds SU Block Grant of £97,400 and up to £60k capital investment by the University for a bar/social space to be utilised by Beds SU. In 2013, we were awarded further additional funding to increase our capacity in our Communications and Marketing team, enabling us to develop a rolling one year full-time paid internship opportunity for a University of Bedfordshire graduate. In 2014, Beds SU was successful in being granted an uplift of £30,000 to support the implementation of a senior leadership team, however the Union subsequently faced a cut back on the additional funding and, disappointingly for Beds SU, this has meant that the planned recruitment of the new Head of Membership Services Engagement position has been placed on hold pending identification of resources to support this appointment. As a result, the Union is reviewing a number of areas of delivery to look at cost efficiency and potential savings that might be achieved in year and in the year ahead to ensure the resources of the union deliver against core priorities, fulfil our legislative responsibilities and enable us to deliver the best mix of support, services and activities to meet the needs and expressed wishes of our diverse student population.
To the year in question, 2013/14, I can report that Beds SU made a modest surplus of £4,393 against a budgeted surplus of £15,540. The principal funding source was the University Block Grant of £665,012. The Union also received a ring fenced Sports Grant of £154,073 to support the delivery of competitive sport. This figure was supplemented by Athletic Union membership fees, student contributions, sponsorship and a number of additional financial grants from the university to support coaching, facility hire and team development as well as an allocation from the central block grant supporting both societies and sports provision.
We received a one off ring fenced grant to enable us to support, welcome and advise students in the new UCMK Milton Keynes campus.
The introduction of a new nightclub venue in October 2013 brought positive opportunities to enhance the night time student experience and a further capital investment of £100k to refurbish the venue from the previous entity of The Park Pub to the rebranded and revitalised SUB2 venue. Beds SU also invested capital in the project to supplement the sum allocated by the venue. We encountered some challenges in early 2014 and the venue ceased trading for a number of weeks, with the main Wednesday night relocating to The Lounge.
The combined venue trading activities generated a surplus of £16,565 however it must be recognised that the Union was provided with grants of £25,000 for SUB2 and £12,500 for Pub in the Hub to support the start-up and embedding of these trading activities. The grant for the Hub ceased at the end of the financial year and SUB2 will benefit from a tapered grant of £12,500 for the financial year 2014/15. As such, in the year ahead it is absolutely critical for the union to ensure the viability of the trading activity and the Board of Trustees has convened a commercial focused Board of Trustees meeting in December 2014 to assess and discuss trading activity and to consider the associated risks and opportunities for the forthcoming period. The support of the Warwick Student Union Commercial team during the past year and the introduction of a new Head of Commercial Services Operations in October 2014 heralded a sharp focus with review of product lines, purchasing, policies and procedures which will ensure a tightly run operation across all three venues. Ultimately, the support of students in all of our venues is the deciding factor – many unions are closing their bars and nightclubs due to the climate in the night time economy. Beds SU has fought hard for our venues and we want to keep them open and vibrant and fun for all students but we must make a small surplus to ensure their continuity.
The Union partnership arrangement with the University Caterers, Aramark, was a success with a number of successful joint events, a plethora of promotions and marketing, and Beds SU undertaking student focus groups to provide feedback to the caterers about the provision, quality and pricing of the catering offered on campus. The joint commitment to increasing the number of student staff employed through the catering outlets across campus was prioritised and joint training for student staff was facilitated utilising the expertise in both organisations. This arrangement brought in a fixed fee of £10,000 in the year. This partnership will continue in the forthcoming year with clear KPI to achieve to secure the financial return.
A big highlight in the year was the successful funding bid made to the NUS Students Green Fund. Over 120 unions applied and only 25 were successful. We were awarded £230k from the overall £5m HEFCE Fund. We delivered against a wide range of project objectives in year one of this ambitious 2 year project with strands of activity focusing on increasing engagement, running events and activities, raising awareness and changing behaviours. The project has enabled us to significantly increase the number of student staff, interns and volunteers in the Union and provided a wider range of opportunities for student engagement. We received benefit in kind from the University to support the project with identified staffing time, paid internships, and a space at Putteridge Bury for the Student Eats project. It should be noted that the funding formally comes to an end in July 2015, with potential for an extension of some staffing hours to continue to December 2015 after which the designated funding will cease.
The full and final report and accounts can be found on our website at www.bedssu.co.uk > representation > you voice > student meetings. As we are now a registered charity, the accounts are also being prepared in a format that complies with Charity Commission requirements known as SORP and these will also be published once they have been finalised and signed off by the Board of Trustees.
Reserves Policy
During the year Beds SU Finance, Staffing and Remuneration Committee reviewed the Reserves Policy and the proposed policy was agreed by the Board of Trustees at the meeting in October 2013. The policy is as follows:
The reserves policy of the University of Bedfordshire Students’ Union is to maintain a level of unrestricted funds, not committed or invested in tangible assets, which will enable the Union to ensure continuity of activity and have the ability to adjust, in a measured way, to any significant changes in resources. The Reserves Policy recognises that reserves are necessary to maintain the day to day operations of the Union for a period of up to 3 months. The appropriate measure of free reserves is therefore net assets, less restricted and designated funds, less fixed assets attributable to unrestricted funds. The total unrestricted reserves at the end of the financial year 2013/14 were £138,914.
These accounts were approved.
For % / Against % / Abstained %Appointment of Auditors
Charlie Hughes presented on the financial auditor recommendation.
He highlighted that Beds SU has a legal requirement to have our financial accounts audited by a third party. In additional to this legal requirement, having our accounts audited by an external organisation allows the Board of Trustees to receive critical information that allows them to make robust decisions about the financial future of the organisation.
It was noted that the appointment of the auditors should be voted upon at the Annual General Meeting on an annual basis and to date Beds SU has always appointed Farid Mazloomian of F Mazloomian & Co. The trustees however wish to undertake a search to appoint a new auditor for the 2015/2016 accounting period.