## **ULSTER UNIVERSITY STUDENTS' UNION** ## **TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025** The trustees, who are also directors for the purposes of company law, have pleasure in presenting their annual report and the financial statements of Ulster University Students' Union (the 'Union' or 'UUSU') for the year ended 31 July 2025. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charity's Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (effective 1 January 2019). ## **Objectives and activities** The Union's objective is the advancement of the education of students at Ulster University for the public benefit by: - promoting the interests and welfare of students at Ulster University during their course of study and representing, supporting and advising students; - being the recognised representative channel between students and Ulster University and any other external bodies; and - providing social, cultural, sporting and recreational activities and forums for discussions and debate for the personal development of its students. ## _Public benefit_ The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charity should undertake. - 1 - ## **ULSTER UNIVERSITY STUDENTS' UNION** ## **TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT) (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025** ## **Achievements and performance** ## _Significant activities and achievements against objectives_ UUSU has continued to represent its student members through a range of services. These encompass academic representation, the provision of social opportunities through sport, societies, events and activities and the advice bureau to assist students with individual issues they encounter during their University experience. The main campaigns in the 2024/25 academic year carried on from the previous year with a focus still on cost of living and sustainability. UUSU lobbied local government along with other student representative bodies to ensure that student maintenance loans were increased for the 2025/26 academic year. This success was in addition to preventing the proposed student fee increases proposed by the NI Universities. UUSU worked with university departments to introduce Lifestyle hubs on each campus which offered free food and useful resources to students in need. The joint initiative with Compass catering continued to offer students pre-packed sandwiches with a short shelf life to be stored in Food Bank branded fridges within the students’ union. These helped students in hardship but also assisted with food waste on campus and sustainability goals. Student and society events offered students an opportunity to meet others with similar interests and make friendship groups outside the classroom. The UBelong campaign held various events with “Brew Monday” offering free tea & coffee being well used. There were 109 active societies providing a variety of opportunities for students across the three campuses. UUSU networks were established to function as communities which empowers students to advocate and lobby for meaningful change. The Women’s Empowerment Network and the Students with Additional Needs Network are student led and provide the opportunity to bring together student voices with similar interests. Other campaigns that were profiled over the year were sustainability, sexual health, student safety and seachtain na gaelige. Sustainability is brought to the fore particularly in Green Week when the Wellbeing garden is promoted. The Sexual Health and consent campaign raised awareness to students through having local advice services on campus and sex toy bingo event was the most successful in the year. Student safety is always a UUSU priority and is focused on drink spiking and getting home safely. UUSU launched a Charter Tackling Violence against Women and Girls in March. The charter was launched at an external venue and was attended by many politicians highlighting the importance of this issue in society. Seachtain na Gaeilge campaign was repeated in 2024/25 and offered students the opportunity to learn some basic Irish language skills using initiatives such a film night, café and career workshops. The Magee campus is planning a period of significant growth as a result of the Shared Island fund and North West Regeneration fund. It plans to grow from 5,000 to 10,000 students and this presents both opportunities and challenges for students. UUSU is represented on the Magee task force so that student concerns are addressed as part of the plans going forward. This is a long-term commitment for UUSU but considered to be a very important project to be involved in. The Advice Bureau dealt with 525 cases across a range of issues. Whilst the advice bureau traditionally focuses on academic and housing issues, the team have dealt with a number of concerns on behalf of International students and the cost of living is a consistent problem that students are struggling with. The student officers were delighted to be recognised for their work in the year by winning a number of awards in the Student Achievement Awards Ireland which are organised by the Union of Students in Ireland. UUSU representatives won four awards as detailed below and were nominated for a further six awards. - Irish Language campaign of the year - • Social Justice campaign of the year - Student Activist of the year - International student of the year - 2 - ## **ULSTER UNIVERSITY STUDENTS' UNION** ## **TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT) (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025** ## **Raising of funds** The Union's main source of income is by way of block grant awarded by Ulster University. Other income is generated through sponsorship, advertising and ad hoc grants. ## **Governance** Governance of the organisation is of vital importance and is assessed on a regular basis through the review of the Strategic Plan, Risk Register and Financial Memorandum. The Students' Union Student Executive, consisting of seven full time elected Officers and relevant staff, meets every three weeks to discuss Students' Union policy and membership issues. The Senior Management Team meets every two to three weeks to review operational matters. The Trustee Board meetings include the review of management accounts, progress of the Strategic Operating Plan, and monitoring of the Risk Register. ## **Financial review** The Students' Union income for the current year was £2,894,144 (2024 - £2,947,165) and net income before exceptional pension movements was £484,954 (2024 - £171,070). After accounting for movements in the pension provision the net income for the period was £295,910 (2024 - net expenditure of £22,752). The net deficit of the charity at 31 July 2025 was £2,632,107 (2024 - £2,928,017). The main reason for the deficit is the deficit funding commitment in relation to the Students' Union Superannuation Scheme, which amounted to £3,660,345 at 31 July 2025 (2024 - £3,780,643). At 31 July 2025, restricted funds were £166,210 (2024 - £168,204) and general unrestricted funds totalled £855,480 (2024 - £677,874). Designated funds at 31 July 2025 of £6,548 (2024 - £6,548) relate to the balance of funds held in relation to the National Lottery Community Fund Wellbeing grant and National Lottery Breakfast grant after income and expenditure during the year. ## _Reserves policy_ Reserves will be established to safeguard activity should funding not be available from the principal funding source. At 31 July 2025 the Union had free reserves of £817,719 (2025 - £658,268). ## _Principal Funding Source_ The principal funder is Ulster University through the allocation of block grant funding to the Union. ## _Major risks_ The Trustees have overall responsibility for ensuring that the Union has in place an appropriate system of controls, financial and otherwise, to provide reasonable assurance that: - the Union is operating efficiently and effectively; - its assets are safeguarded against unauthorised use or disposition; - proper records are maintained, and financial information used within the organisation or for publication is reliable; - it complies with relevant laws and regulations; and - that the systems of financial control are designed to provide reasonable, but not absolute assurance against material misstatement or loss. The major risks to which the Union is exposed are set out in the Risk register and systems have been established to mitigate those risks. - 3 - ## **ULSTER UNIVERSITY STUDENTS' UNION** ## **TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT) (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025** ## **Plans for future periods** The core of UUSU’s current strategy is based on the principle of the ability to be adaptive and flexible to meet the needs of members, where, when and how they need us. The twelve overarching principles allow us to pivot these into core operational areas of development and this philosophy will be continued into 25-26. One core focus for UUSU over the past 12 months has been integrating ourselves into the fabric around the planning for the Magee campus and its expansion. As illustrated within the section detailing achievements and performance, UUSU over this last annual period has successfully embedded its student voice across all decisionmaking functions. The next step is to ensure sufficient infrastructure is in place to support a significant influx of students which includes a targeted lobbying campaign and an increase to our on-campus services. The need for external services across transport, accommodation and accessibility is stark and much time is therefore required to ensure external stakeholders are aware of this. Equally, our current campus capacity both from a profile and resource perspective is not equipped to deal with the increase in numbers and this needs to be represented to the University to ensure investment in both areas. To note, again, this is a long-term vision project so progress is likely to manifest over the next decade. As part of our investment last year into the Student Voice area of UUSU, an outworking will be the development of ‘Networks’. These groups will bring together like minded individuals to be able to advocate for change and bring about positive change for that network and across the campuses. This year will be the last year that UUSU administers sport for the University. As such there is a body of work to ensure that the final piece of the transition is smooth and allows for a continuation and continuity of experience for those involved in sport. It is anticipated that there will be a period of crossover shadowing to help support this transition. As part of this process, there will also be related representational structures embedded to ensure that student voice remains at the core of club sport. We have identified an opportunity to provide an additional layer of engagement for some of our most engaged students that we are aiming to bring to fruition this year. Student Council remains the highest democratic body in UUSU, however an additional opportunity exists to use some of this group as part of a small scrutiny body to sense check policy and student-led decisions before these go to Council. As Council is a busy meeting, it allows for additional student input and thought in a structured manner. Dedicated student spaces on campus, and in particular Belfast, remain a challenge and something UUSU want to see enhanced over the next 12 months. Currently there are lots of shared space i.e. flexible circulation space that students can use, but a lack of closed-off, dedicated spaces for events, activities and the general bringing together of larger groups in a structured way. We are aiming to lobby the University to re-consider the current allocation of spaces and whether any opportunity might exist to create additional spaces for student activity. In 2023-24 we were the founder member of the Charter Tackling Violence against Women and Girls. As part of our commitment across this charter, we signed up to a set of principles we will embody and fulfil. There will be some work required to maintain or grow into these principles over the next year and as such this will be a priority campaign, as it is critical as the founding member we embody the ongoing aims of the Charter. We continue to try to grow and develop our engagement strategy and having recently appointed a new Director covering Membership and Engagement, we now can address this at a greater pace. Core initial priorities and initiatives will include: - Enhancing internal comms and collaboration to ensure a first-class experience for our student members. - Reviewing our digital presence to ensure we are where most members can access and engage with us. - Redefining our engagement strategy to ensure a greater number and greater profile of opportunities to engage directly with us and get involved in our services and structures. - Closing feedback loops to ensure that student issues are addressed and then communicated back to the student body successfully. - 4 - ## **ULSTER UNIVERSITY STUDENTS' UNION** ## **TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT) (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025** ## **Structure, governance and management** The charity is a company limited by guarantee and does not have a share capital. It was incorporated on 15 June 2017 and is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 15 June 2017. The members of the charity for the purposes of company law are the trustees and the liability of each member is limited to an amount not exceeding £1. Prior to 1 September 2017 the activities of the Students' Union were carried out through an unincorporated entity and were governed by the Constitution of the unincorporated entity. On 1 September 2017 the assets and liabilities of the unincorporated entity were transferred to the charity and it commenced its activities on that date. The total amount transferred was net liabilities of £2,566,431. The Board of Trustees is responsible for the management and administration of the Union and may exercise all the powers of the Union. The application to become a registered charity was approved by the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland on 12 April 2019. The charity number is NIC107053. The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were: Ms A Neill Mr D Fowler Ms A Probets Mr E Millar Ms A Bradley Mr W Atkinson (Resigned 11 February 2025) Mr E Davis (Resigned 30 June 2025) Mr C Taylor Mr R Armstrong (Resigned 30 June 2025) Mr C Murray Ms E Roberts Ms C Heaney (Appointed 1 July 2025) Mr L Doran (Appointed 1 July 2025) ## _Recruitment and appointment of trustees_ The trustees are made up of the following persons: - Four student officer trustees agreed by the Student Executive - Two student trustees appointed by application and selection process - Five external trustees appointed by application and selection process. Student Officer trustees can serve a maximum of three years in single year terms, student trustees can serve a maximum of two terms, each term lasting two years and external trustees may serve a maximum of two terms; each term being a maximum of four years in duration. The Chief Executive, Mr D Longstaff, carries out the day to day management of the Union. The trustees meet six times each year. Procedures have been put in place for the induction and training of trustees and the Union ensures trustees are aware of their responsibilities on Corporate Governance. ## **Relationship with related parties** The relationship between Ulster University and the Union is established in an Ordinance of the University's Governing Documents and the Union receives a block grant from the University, by agreement with the University on an annual basis. There is also non-monetary support which is intrinsic to the relationship between the University and the Union in relation to the provision of office space. Although the Union continues to generate supplementary funding from various mutual trading activities, it is dependent on the University's financial support. There is no reason to believe that this or equivalent support from the University will not continue for the foreseeable future. - 5 - ## **ULSTER UNIVERSITY STUDENTS' UNION** ## **TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT) (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025** ## **Statement of trustees' responsibilities** The trustees, who are also the directors of Ulster University Students' Union for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to: - select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently; - observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP; - make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; - state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and - prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation. The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. ## **Auditor** In accordance with the company's articles, a resolution proposing that GMcG BELFAST be reappointed as auditor of the company will be put at a General Meeting. ## **Small companies exemption** In preparing this report, the directors have taken advantage of the small companies exemptions provided by section 415A of the Companies Act 2006. ## **Disclosure of information to auditor** Each of the trustees has confirmed that there is no information of which they are aware which is relevant to the audit, but of which the auditor is unaware. They have further confirmed that they have taken appropriate steps to identify such relevant information and to establish that the auditor is aware of such information. The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees. Ms E Roberts **Trustee** 27 November 2025 - 6 -