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Forge Press ISSUE 146 | WEDNESDAY 2 SEPTEMBER 2020
Games 38
THE UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER
FORGETODAY.COM
University cuts SU grant, leaving student societies and SU staff in limbo
University halts plans
Student societies and committees have had their budgets cut by up to 97%, after the University reduced Students’ Union funding as part of Covid-19 enforced cuts.
rehire’ staff Kate Procter
Alex Brotherton Committees and societies will have to drastically alter their operations this year, meaning that students could miss out on opportunities previously available to them. The SU made the difficult decision to reduce budgets after the University confirmed a 15% cut to the SU’s grant, a reduction implemented across all University faculties. The cut, which came despite the SU projecting a fall in turnover from £12 million to £4 million for 2020/21 due to the closure of SU outlets over lockdown, follows two years of budget freezes by the University. Esme Constanti, President of SUTCo (Sheffield University Theatre Company) that lost 97% of its annual budget, said: “SUTCo are left unable to do anything - we can’t even afford our insurance and have had to cancel all of our shows. The rest of our funding usually comes from sponsored socials, but if we are unable to do them because of coronavirus then we’ll be left with no income at all. “With funding we could massively improve our online activities, like recording radio plays professionally and holding online events.” Working committees, described by the SU as “a core part of the Students’ Union”, will also struggle. As a result of receiving 8.7% of its
usual annual budget, Forge Press will become an online-only publication for the foreseeable future. SU Activities Officer Joel Kirk, said: “Finance and budgeting in an organisation of our scale is never as straightforward as diverting money savings in one area to the spending of another. Earlier in the summer the SU was in a dire financial position, and since then a significant reduction in staff costs has resulted in a saving of £2.3 million to help
balance the budgets. “Overall, budget cuts have been made across all areas of the SU, including societies’ budget which has reduced from approximately £46,000 to £21,000 this year. We’ll be working closely with the Societies Committee on managing the reduction, which recognises that some activity will be limited given the current circumstances for example, much activity will be moved online and won’t incur the
same cost as in-person events.” He added: “The savings made in student-led activity have played a vital part in keeping the SU’s doors open, and through initiatives such as the opt-in scheme for A account grants (where more financially stable societies can choose not to accept £50), we’re finding ways to support the SU and student activity. The Student Executive Committee are going to be constantly reviewing budgets... (continued on page 5)
Sheffield University has announced a U-turn on proposals to cut salaries and promotions for staff due to financial concerns related to coronavirus. The move comes after weeks of campaigning from trade unions representing staff angered by the issuing of a Section 188 notice that could have seen workers being dismissed and re-engaged on lower salary contracts. The proposal, termed ‘fire and rehire’, was halted after the university found that more students planned to attend than expected, and the government’s decision to lift its cap on intake numbers. In an email to staff, the human resources department said that a recently launched consultation on cost reductions would be closed. They said the pandemic had not “put students off going” and the government lifting the cap on how many people they could accept meant their intake could be higher. They noted that other cost-saving measures had also helped, including voluntary redundancies resulting in “£12m in staff salary savings for 2020-21”. The university had entered into consultation with unions in July with a view to reducing contractual terms and conditions in an attempt to save £100 million. The proposals included... (continued on page 5)