General Information
The contents of this page are intended to provide impartial information regarding the potential affiliation of Glasgow University Students’ Representative Council (GUSRC) to the National Union of Students. The Permanent Secretary of GUSRC has responsibility for providing impartial information. Please email any questions to b.hay@src.gla.ac.uk. The Permanent Secretary has been appointed as deputy to the independent adjudicator. When questions are received they will be posted up on this web page along with the response. This section will only deal with questions of fact.
For matters of opinion you should email the chairpersons of the “Yes” and “No” campaigns at nus-yes@src.gla.ac.uk and nus-no@src.gla.ac.uk.
There are a variety of external sites which you may wish to visit that offer views on the pros and cons of affiliating to NUS. To find out more about NUS it might be worth visiting this yes2nus site For another perspective you might wish to visit the University of Sunderland’s website here.
More Information
What is the National Union of Students (NUS)?
NUS bills itself as the national representative organisation for students across the UK. It’s membership is made up of Further and Higher Education institutions and campaigns on their behalf. For more details about the role of NUS you can visit their main website at http://www.nusonline.co.uk
What will it cost to affiliate to NUS?
The SRC have been advised that it will cost £52,531.25 per year to affiliate to NUS. This is the maximum fee which NUS charge any organisation. You can read the letter from the NUS outlining the cost here
Who will pay the affiliation fee?
If there is a “Yes” vote then the affiliation fee to NUS will be paid by the SRC.
How will the SRC fund the NUS affiliation fee?
The SRC has no contingency funds that would cover an affiliation fee to NUS. The SRC would apply to the University for additional funds to cover these costs. The University last year restricted the increase in SRC funding to 3%. The SRC contacted the University’s Secretary of Court to find out if the University would increase the SRC’s annual funding to cover the costs of affiliation and received the following response;
“The Student Finance Committee considers submissions for funding in terms of what the SRC is doing to enhance the life of students on campus, and if SRC is persuaded that affiliation to NUS will help it in that respect then the Committee will certainly listen to the argument for additional funds. But I’m not in a position to make any commitment”.
How much is the current block grant from the University?
The University block grant is split between 5 different organisations. The breakdown for revenue allocation 2006/2007 was as follows:
- Students’ Representative Council (SRC) £410,000
- Glasgow University Sports Association (GUSA) £177,000
- Queen Margaret Union (QMU) £142,000
- Glasgow University Union (GUU) £156,000
- Hetherington Research Club £28,000
- Total £913,000
In addition money was allocated from the Student Development Fund for “one off” capital expenditure; Allocations were as follows:
- GUSA £3,000
- SRC £25,000
- QMU £67,000
- GUU £77,000
- Hetherington £30,000
- Total £202,000
How does the SRC currently spend its money?
The SRC doesn’t run any bars or catering facilities. Virtually all of its resources are allocated to non-income generating activities such as student services and representation. The minutes of the University’s Student Finance Sub Committee reflected this:
“The Sub-Committee noted that there was limited scope for income generation by the SRC. It also noted that there was a pleasingly high level of co-operation with the University with both parties seeking to establish a seamless provision of services to students. On the other hand the need for the SRC to maintain a high degree of autonomy in areas such as representation at student appeals and complaints was also recognised”. (Extract from Student Finance Sub-Committee’s meeting held on 28 April 2006)
The SRC ‘Draft’ accounts for 2005/06 can be downloaded here (pdf)
If it affiliated could the SRC save money by buying through NUS Services?
In some cases it is argued that Student Unions can actually save money by affiliating to NUS. This is because affiliated Student Unions are able to access NUS’s bulk-buying consortium known as NUSSL more details of which can be accessed from their website at http://www.nussl.co.uk/ the argument goes that the reduction in possible prices on the products that go into students’ union bars and shops (by buying through NUSSL) can be offset against the affiliation fee. As the SRC has no trading operations (apart from a couple of photocopiers and vending machines) it will not benefit from any potential ‘offset’ of affiliation fees against procurement savings. The £50,000 affiliation fee would therefore be a net cost to the SRC.
Can the Unions save money by buying through NUSSL?
The SRC would be able to grant the right to the GUU and QMU to purchase through NUSSL. However the Unions would have to reach that decision themselves. The Unions have informally expressed a view that they would not be inclined to move from their current buying consortium (Northern Services) to NUSSL. The Unions do not believe that they could make any savings on their current purchasing arrangements. A letter has been sent to each Union seeking formal clarification of their position. The QMU has formally responded advising that, because of a historical arrangement, they would be able to join NUSSL at any time regardless of NUS affiliation. QMU has further confirmed they"will not consider making any financial contribution to NUS". QMU do not believe there would be any any cost savings and further believe that QMU’s independence could be curtailed by NUSSL’s ‘must stock’ policy, advising “We believe we should have the right to choose the products we sell without having to operate to a predetermined quota". The full text of the formal response from QMU can be downloaded here