Government
The Guild is a students' union for the purposes of the Education Act 1994. Under section 67 of the Act, all students of the University are by law automatically members of the Guild unless they deliberately opt out, and the role of the Guild is to democratically represent this body of membership. However, the University of Birmingham does not disclose any details of its students to the Guild, which natually makes the Guild's job of democratically representing its membership something of a challenge.
The Guild's Constitution sets out in detail how the organisation should be run.
The Guild's sovereign body and Union Council is Guild Council, made up of elected councillors representing academic, student group and hall of residence constituencies, as well as 12 who have a cross-campus mandate. There are 80 seats on Guild Council. The role of Guild Council is legislative: it hears, debates and votes on policy proposals to guide the Guild Executive; it holds the Executive to account over their actions in pursuit of approved policy and their duties generally; and it has a role in setting the Guild's priorities by hearing and voting on the Guild budget.
In August 2008, the Guild moved from its previous model of an unincorporated association to become a charitable company limited by guarantee (CLG) and as result; a Trustee Board was established to provide guidance, expertise and strategic oversight of the Guild of Students. The Guild became a charity in 2010.
This decision was made following a Referendum which took place in February 2008 and was approved by over 4000 students, the Executive, Guild Council and the University. Key to the governance review was a need to clarify how decisions were made and by whom, especially in respect to the role of the Trustee Board and Guild Council.
The Trustees have ultimate responsibility for the day-to-day management of the Guild, which is delegated to the Chief Executive and Management Team. They ensure the Guild remains legally compliant and solvent, in accordance with Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Bye-laws and Guidance and Strategy documents.In the past, when it had far fewer members than today, this group of trustees was Guild Council. The Trustee Board is made up of 4 Sabbatical (Officer) Trustees, 3 Student Trustees, 3 (external) Lay Trustees, 3 University Alumni Trustees and 1 University Trustee.
Read more about this topic: Birmingham University Guild Of Students
Famous quotes containing the word government:
“The government is huge, stupid, greedy and makes nosy, officious and dangerous intrusions into the smallest corners of life—this much we can stand. But the real problem is that government is boring. We could cure or mitigate the other ills Washington visits on us if we could only bring ourselves to pay attention to Washington itself. But we cannot.”
—P.J. (Patrick Jake)
“[F]rom Saratoga [N.Y.] till we got back to Northampton [Mass.], was then mostly desert. Now it is what 34. years of free and good government have made it. It shews how soon the labor of man would make a paradise of the whole earth, were it not for misgovernment, and a diversion of all his energies from their proper object, the happiness of man, to the selfish interests of kings, nobles and priests.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
“The putting into force of laws which shall secure the conservation of our resources, as far as they may be within the jurisdiction of the Federal Government, including the more important work of saving and restoring our forests and the great improvement of waterways, are all proper government functions which must involve large expenditure if properly performed.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)