Tuesday 18-02-2020 - 09:26

Update from Graeme Osborn, Vice-Chair of the students' union Trustee Board

The students’ union is in the process of recruiting Student Trustees and I wanted to update members on our progress in this important matter.

Background

The Trustee Board currently has two vacancies for Student Trustees. One vacancy arose over the summer, and the other on January 1 when a trustee finished their final term in office. The union has been working hard at all levels of the organisation to fill these.

The Trustee Board decided to fill these vacancies on October 11. This is to ensure that there is adequate student representation on the Trustee Board, as well as sufficient diversity of experience and background to enable effective decision-making, and to restore the balance of paid to unpaid trustees. This was announced at the AGM on October 28 and is in line with the motion passed at the AGM calling for the appointment of Student Trustees.

The Appointments Committee approved two candidates in Michaelmas Term. Their nominations were sent to Executive Committee for ratification, as required by the process for appointing trustees, set out in the union’s Articles of Association.

Current Situation

The appointments are currently awaiting ratification by the Executive Committee. The union is not aware of any issues with the merits of the candidates or their ability to act as trustees. However, some members of the Executive Committee would rather not ratify the appointments following the referendum in Michaelmas Term, in which students voted for majority of elected trustees on the Trustee Board.

After that referendum, the Trustee Board approved a democratic governance review to be carried out in the second half of this academic year. The referendum result and the motions passed at the AGM in October will be key points of focus for the review, which will be based upon extensive student consultation.

The aim of this review is to produce a set of recommendations to improve the union’s governance arrangements and governing documents, which will then be approved through the required process.

Changes to the Articles of Association require a lengthy process, including consultation with students and the opportunity for amendments. The final proposal must then be approved by the Trustee Board, by students (in either a referendum or student members’ meeting), and by Lancaster University, before being submitted to the Charity Commission.

The changes to the appointment process for trustees called for in the referendum motion cannot be put in place until this process is complete.

What will happen now?

If the Executive Committee decides not to ratify the appointments, there is a risk that the lack of student inclusion and diversity on the Trustee Board could adversely impact students and the union. Student Trustees play an important role in decision making, and if their voices are not heard then the decisions taken by the board may be less effective. It would be unfortunate if a desire to act in line with the outcome of a referendum calling for students to have more influence over who represents them on the board resulted in students having fewer representatives on the board.

At present there are more paid trustees (the Full-Time Officer Trustees - six) than there are unpaid trustees (External and Student Trustees - four). This is contrary to Charity Commission guidance, which requires paid trustees to be in the minority. The rationale for this rule is that the union’s funds, as a charity, should be used to fulfil its objectives, and the interests of achieving these objectives must be put before the interests of individual trustees.

If the position is not rectified soon the union and the trustees are at risk of censure by the Charity Commission. There is also the risk that a financial penalty can be imposed, wasting valuable charity resources.

The Trustee Board has a lot of important work to do in the coming months, and I look forward to having a full set of Student Trustees to play their vital role.

We will keep members informed of our progress in this matter.