Wednesday 19-02-2020 - 14:49

Yesterday our Vice-Chair of the Trustee Board Graeme Osborn updated you on the appointment of student trustees.

The delays in taking a decision on these appointments have placed the union in a position where there is a majority of paid trustees (six – the Full-Time Officers) to unpaid trustees (four) on the Board for a sustained period of time. This is a violation of our governing documents and of Charity Commission rules. As a result, we have this morning submitted a serious incident report to our regulator, the Charity Commission.

In addition to the violations, the current situation poses a significant governance risk: if five paid trustees (including the President) agree on anything they can pass it through the Board, as the President has the casting vote. This threatens the independence of the Board and prevents it from providing meaningful challenge to the leadership of the organisation. The union has further been advised by its solicitors to seek consent from the Charity Commission to continue paying the salaries of the Full Time-Officers.

We have been able to clearly demonstrate and evidence that numerous steps that have been taken to attempt to resolve the situation and reduce the impact on the charity.

The Chair of the Executive Committee has called an emergency meeting to discuss the ratification of the Student Trustee appointments. The Vice-Chair of the Trustee Board has contacted the members of the Executive Committee encouraging them to make a decision on the appointments in line with the Articles of Association and legal advice they have received.

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

If anyone has any queries please email Misbah Ashraf (Interim CEO) at misbah.ashraf@lancaster.ac.uk