The Union Council is in place to make important decisions that affect the student body and ensure that the wide diversity of the student body is fairly represented in these decisions

The Union Council is made up of 13 Part time officers, 5 elected Sabbatical Officers and 15 School Representatives. It is also attended by the Chief Executive and staff support members. The Chair of the Accountability Board also attends these meetings, to observe and ensure that they are taking place in a fair and democratic manner.

What does the Union Council Chair do?

The role of the Union Council Chair is a vitally important one. The Chair ensures that these meetings are as effective as they can be and that all representatives are acting in the best interests of students. Their primary focus will be to uphold the democratic principles of UPSU and act in a fair and unbiased way to influence positive change to the student experience of your peers

Commitment and duties

The role of Union Council Chair is voluntary and we understand that your time is precious. In terms of time commitment, the Union Council meets on average once per month and the estimated time you’d be spending in this role would be 10 hours per month. These 10 hours will be spent:

• Attending and facilitating Union Council meetings, including supporting the collation of agenda items and papers for the meeting and receiving apologies.
• Working closely with the Chair of the Accountability Board to review and track actions given to representatives at Union Council
• Attending relevant other meetings relating to the post and to represent and act in the best interests of students and to report pertinent information back to Union Council.
• Providing an annual summary of activities and achievements to the Board of Trustees and at the Annual General Meeting.

What happens at Union Council?

The Union Council is a regular meeting where members present can:

• Give updates and feedback about the things they are working on.
• Discuss, organise, and support campaign, events and projects and ideas.
• Debate policy proposals, and vote on whether to approve them to become the political policy of the union

Policy Proposals

A policy proposal is basically a fancy way of saying "idea". Any student can submit a proposal to Union Council, and suggest ways for UPSU to improve. In order to submit a policy to Union Council, you must have a proposer (you) and at least one person who will second your idea (seconder). You can then submit your proposal to the Student Voice Team, who will help you develop your proposal, if needed, and include it on the agenda for the next meeting. The members present at the meeting will debate then vote on whether to approve your proposal. If your idea is approved, it will then become a part of UPSUs working policies, and we will work with you to make it happen!

You can also submit your ideas in collaboration with a Part-time Officer

Please use the Policy Proposal Template to formally submit a proposal for debate at Union Council - do get in touch with Student Voice for help with this if you are not sure what to do!

Minutes of meetings:

Union Council meeting minutes

22nd October 2019

19th November 2019

23rd January 2020

25th February 2020

Motions passed:

Motion	Date Passed	Date motion lapses
Electronics Watch Affiliation	Nov 2017	Nov 2019
Fossil Fuel Divestment	Nov 2017	Nov 2019
Women's Forum Name Change	Nov 2017	Nov 2019
NUS Delegate Accountability	Nov 2017	Nov 2019
Standing up for Student Sex Workers	Feb 2018	Feb 2020
Keep Wednesday Afternoon Free	May 2018	May 2020
Students Not Suspects (Prevent)	May 2018	May 2020
Know the Line	May 2018	May 2020
Plastic Cups proposal - discussion only	NA	NA
Postgrad Research Officer	Feb 2020	Feb 2022