Union lacks contingency plans for recession

According to the Students’ Union’s Governance and Finance officer, “finances are doing well,” but the Union is relying upon their business plan being “robust this year”.

In an interview with the _Boar_, Andy Glyde indicated that students’ incomes has not been as adversely affected by the economic downturn compared to other parts of society, “it’s touch and go whether we see a decline in revenue…we’re hoping that it means it should be okay for at least this year”.

However, whilst he believed that the Union would “easily” hit the budget deficit projection of £719,000, he was “not sure yet” whether it was possible to be beaten.

Glyde remained bullish about the prospects for the future of the Union, claiming that he “welcomed healthy competition” from the Uni-Express, conceding that “it’s going to be a tough and interesting time in term three.

“We haven’t seen… a massive decline as a result…when we’ve got a brand new nightclub which is going to be awesome, it will be interesting to see whether many people still get on the Uni Express.”

He added, “we have a massive number of niche nights that offer real alternatives to your usual cheesy pop […] we can offer what students want.”

However, he refused to give any figures for both the amount of cash reserves that remain at the Union’s disposal, or the savings that could be made before the end of the academic year. There is “not a massive amount [of reserves] left,” he said.

Citing “uncertainty on how things will be in the future.” Glyde also remained elusive about the Union’s prospects if it fails to make a surplus next year, but believed it could survive.

“Serious questions will need to be asked if there isn’t a surplus,” he said.

“The current deficits have been down to an inefficient building compounded by the fact that we are redeveloping.”

Progress is apparently being made already; “energy prices are coming down which is good – things are levelling out a little bit.”