Cable warns of the impact of tax reduction on universities
Vince Cable recently warned that the new plans to cut tax reduction on charity donations could seriously affect British universities.
With continued political criticism slamming George Osborne’s new plans to restrict reductions on tax for those donating to charity, The Liberal Democrat Business Secretary is further challenging the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
The new scheme, expected to be introduced from April 2013, will prevent high-rate taxpayers who have donated money to retrieve more than £50,000 per year or 25 percent of their income from their taxes.
The present version of the law permits anyone who is a donor to get back more than half of the tax.
This could seriously deter potential donors, since the policy will discourage the Coalition work to support charitable giving, as John Whittingdale, the chairman of the culture, media and sport committee pointed out.
Universities, which also rely on donations from private individuals, have raised concerns about this plan with Mr Cable, who said he “is sympathetic to those concerns.”
UCLan in particular is open to donations through The Harris Bursary Fund, established as a charitable fund through the University of Central Lancashire Foundation.
The Foundation is dedicated to offering financial aid to students from a poorer background, as well as investing in new equipment.
However, there have not recently been any significant contributions towards the Fund.
Deborah Reid, Director of Finance, said: “Much of the fundraising for the Harris Bursary Fund is carried out through fundraising events supported by students, staff and friends of the university.
“It is not envisaged that UCLan would be affected very badly at the moment although it may have an impact on the university’s ability to raise funds in the future especially for large specific projects.”
At the moment, the Coalition announced it would back the cuts on tax relief, but some flexibility will be allowed in applying the change in certain circumstances.
An eclectic contemporary arts festival is currently underway on UCLan campus.
The festival exists to present the work of UCLan undergraduate performers and directors. Work will include performances, exhibitions, music, and installations.
<P.L.U.G IN> is taking place on a number of dates at 7pm in UCLan’s Media Factory, one being tonight, one on the 26of April, 30 April and the last 2 of May.
Tickets to the event are free but still need to be reserved. Anyone wishing to attend can book by either calling on 07526775587 or emailing NMMorris@uclan.ac.uk or P.L.U.G@hotmail.co.uk.
UCLan’s Amnesty International Society is hosting a free event tonight at 7pm in the Atrium to raise money for ‘Games to Gaza’.
The event titled come to ‘Amnesta’ is raising money for the charity ‘Games to Gaza’. There will be games, cakes to buy, a raffle prize, a variety of stalls where goods will be being sold and a documentary about Palestine.
A local band night, ‘Wampy’, will be providing an acoustic performance during the evening.
‘Games to Gaza’ is holding a two week summer camp for children in Gaza. The camp will include a selection of recreational and educational activities such as arts, crafts, creative writing and sports. Inspired by the London Olympic Games which are due to take place this year, the society hopes it will bring a smile to children’s faces.
Emma Smith, 20, a second year Advertising & Marketing Communications student said: “I got involved with he group because I think Amnesty International is a really important organisation, and it’s a good society to be a part of. I’m down on paper as the kind of marketer for the group – but we all do everything really.”
Smith later added: “The event is to raise money for the Games to Gaza, and we just think it’s important that the children out there have as good a quality life as they can, and it’s a fun and worthwhile charity to help.”
Members of UCLan’s LGBT Society have been celebrating after a successful weekend at the national conference.
The society won Campaign of the Year at the National Union of Students (NUS) LGBT Campaign Conference in Manchester, while Neuropsychology student, Sam Whalley, was elected onto the national committee as Disabled Students’ Rep.
Awarded for their ‘Think Outside the Box’ campaign, with the aim to implement UCLan’s first gender neutral toilets anda tick box outside of gender binary on university forms, the society were also shortlisted for Society of the Year.
LGBT Chair, Alex Re, was delighted with the award.
“It was amazing to know that we had not only made a difference within our union but had made our motion more visible within the LGBT community – hopefully also within NUS in general,” he said.
“We knew that we’d been noticed by the NUS LGBT Committee as a few had made comments about how successful our work has been this year, however we did not expect to necessarily win the award.
“I remember saying to more than one person at the conference: ‘We’re nominated for a few, I’d be happy to be shortlisted for Society of the Year again.’
“Well we didget nominated for Society of the Year… but this time we won Campaign of the Year alongside it!”
Sam Whalley said she aims to promote the important of mental health on the committee, after being open about her own issues.
She said: “LGB people are 1 in 3 times more likely to develop depression and trans people are even more prone to commit suicide. These kind of figures cannot be ignored and I want as many unions as I can reach, to be equipped with the skills to help and facilitate the wellbeing of all their disabled LGBT students.”
Both Alex and Sam are confident this year’s success can only strengthen the society.
“This award will not only help put our Union on the map and make those outside of our institution aware that “we’re here and we’re campaigning”, but it will reinforce the work we’ve done internally and provide a perfect foundation for the coming academic year,” said Alex.
Sam added: “Safe to say UCLan LGBT is on the map at NUS and I have every faith it will stay that way.”
Congratulations to 2011/2012 committee; Lauren McCleary (Campaigns & Membership Officer), Sheryl Anderson (Public Relations), Cris Montgomery (Treasurer), Graeme Hopkinson (Secretary & Trans Representative) & Ceri Jones (Social Secretary).
Lee Macneall won by a record margin. Photo: Edward Farthing
A candidate in the UCLan Students’ Union (SU) election is believed to have achieved the highest number of votes for one position in the union’s election history.
Lee MacNeall, who is the new Campaigns Officer elect, said he was “ecstatic” after he earned 791 out of the 1474 votes cast for the position; a majority of 508.
MacNeall, who is a second year Advertising student, said just after he won: “I’m ecstatic! It’s a massive blur – 500 votes! I know I tried my best, but I didn’t expect to get this much!
“It has not really hit me yet, I don’t know what to say!
“I want to say a massive thank you to everyone who voted for me and supported me; all my friends, all my campaigns team, people who I really care about who are close to the heart, the ones who made it happen – just a massive, massive thank you to them!”
The single transferable vote system was used in the election, and saw candidates ranked in order of preference at voting time.
The number of votes cast set a quota, which means if a candidate reaches this point they win outright.
If the quota is not met, as candidates are eliminated, their votes are redistributed amongst the remaining ones until the quota is met by the winning candidate.
Quota
Lee was the only SAC candidate who exceeded the transferable vote quota of 738 votes in order to gain an outright win.
The soon-to-be Students’ Council Chair, Hayley White, exceeded the voting quota of 721 by just one vote, to beat current Chair, Jason Smith, by 17 votes.
Edward Graham-Hyde was elected President, after beating second-place candidate, Lauren Ashcroft, by just five votes.
Education Officer was another tightly fought battle, with the second and third rounds seeing just one and three votes between first and second candidates respectively.
The election results were announced in the Atrium at 6pm on Wednesday 21 March, after voting closed on the same day at noon. Voting had been open since Monday 12 March, and the total number of votes cast stood at over 2800, beating all previous records.
The election results ceremony saw candidates elected to the Student Affairs Committee (SAC) and student council positions for the next academic year.
The SAC position winners were: President, Edward Graham-Hyde; Education Officer, Joe Guy; Campaigns Officer, Lee MacNeall; Media Officer, Sophie Bennet and Ben Latham, Activities and Participation Officer (APO).
Students’ Council saw new members elected to it too, with Chloe Vinden winning Women’s rep, Noella Kibwe elected Black and Minority Ethnic (BME), Lauren McCleary voted as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) rep and Mike Gilliam elected as Disabled Students’ rep.
Five open positions were also up for grabs on Students’ Council, with Will Ferris; Adam Legg; Keara Lynch; Alex Re and Mohammed Ali Majid all being successful in their campaigns.
Reni Eddo-Lodge, the current SU President, spoke directly after the results. She said: “To be honest, I’ve not been an impartial President this year, and I don’t think SU Presidents should be.
“I’ve been openly partisan, and have openly backed candidates – I am a member of the union, I have every right to do so.”
Reni reaction
When reflecting on the results, she poured praised upon some of the winning SAC candidates. She said: “I’m over the moon that some of my dream candidates won; Edd Graham-Hyde for President, Lee MacNeall for Campaigns and Joey Guy for Education; they are the three candidates and the three students who I think display leadership, involve students in a way that I am envious of, not just through the campaigning but through the entire time that I have been involved in the union.
“Joey Guy has an extremely intelligent analysis of Education and the union, and students need that over the coming year, so I am absolutely over the moon.
“Lee MacNeall didn’t win Campaigner of the Year two years ago for no reason; he is an amazing campaigner who not only is very popular but also has very solid values and is open to listening to different students’ ideas. He is a brilliant candidate.
“Edd, I have seen him organise student events and lead students again for the last year and half in a way that I am somewhat envious of.
“I think that he will demonstrate great leadership over the next year when the Union needs it.
“I think he will bring fresh ideas and an innovative approach to the role, and for those thee, I am over the moon! Ben Latham, again, is a student I have seen quite recently over the Preston Guild; he has been around the office, he has been involved and really good.”
The new SAC will begin their new roles on July 1, after a two week ‘handover’ period where the current sabbatical officers help to train them up for the year ahead. Councillor positions will begin from the beginning of the next academic year in September.
UCLan Students’ Union practical advice centre, Headroom, is launching their ‘5 a day’ campaign which looks to raise awareness about mental health.
The Headroom service offers a variety of advice for students who are experiencing difficulty in everyday life with problems relating to wellbeing and mental health. Whether you’re suffering from depression or finding it hard to cope with exams or university life, headroom is here to help.
It’s ‘5 a day campaign’ encourages students to follow five simple steps in order to raise awareness of mental wellbeing. Instead of eating five a day to maintain physical health, the fruit and vegetables are replaced by guidelines to ensure a healthy mental state. Connect, be active, take notice, keep learning and give are the five steps to follow, inspiring students to get involved, stay active and remain positive.
The most recent scientific evidence on health suggests that this set of five simple actions can help to improve your wellbeing and even increase your life expectancy.
Alice McGregor, who works for Headroom and the 5 a day campaign, told Pluto that they plan to publicise the campaign using social networking sites which will include using playlists of ‘feel good’ songs suggested by students as part of ‘feel good Friday’.
As they are on a trial run to raise awareness of the campaign, they plan to stay in the health setting as volunteers to officially launch the 5 a day campaign for the first time at UCLan.
Alice says she has already achieved her hopes of gaining experience in her career path, even in the early stages of the project. She said: “I’d really like to see how running a campaign works and gain any experience that I can use in the future.”
Roxie, on work placement with Alice, wants to know if people are interested in the 5 a day idea. She said: “I really want to do this as a job when I graduate university; it’s really interesting working with the students.”
Paid work placements are now available for students at UCLan after the university was accepted onto a financial work placement scheme.
Students can now apply with leading financial companies in London through the City based scheme which is ran by New City Initiative (NCI).
The scheme was piloted last year and has twenty one internship places available. Only six universities in the country have been accepted onto the programme and are allowed to apply, of which UCLan is one of.
The programme gives student’s free accommodation and £250 a week living allowance, and provides them with the chance to work with some of the top independent asset managers in London for three weeks.
The Dean of UCLan’s Lancashire Business School, Dharma Kovvuri, said: “These placements will deliver an introduction to financial services for students who might consider a career in this field after university and of course the chance to network with leading players in asset management.
Kovvuri later added: “Unlike other work experience schemes, participants are given a financial reward and free accommodation, which will allow many more students to take part who may have otherwise been hindered by financial restraints.”
There have already been 30 asset managers that have signed up to the programme, and collectively manage over £200 billion in assets. The members of the NCI include different wealth and fund management companies which give investment services to a variety of institutions and clients across the world.
Pluto is the independent student newspaper of the University of Central Lancashire. We are run by a team of student volunteers headed by the Students' Union's Media Officer. If you've got a story or would like to write for Pluto contact sumedia@uclan.ac.uk.
