Civil Service Pensioners’ Alliance Scotland
CONSTITUTION AND RULES
1. NAME
The name shall be the CIVIL SERVICE PENSIONERS’ ALLIANCE (SCOTLAND).
The CIVIL SERVICE PENSIONERS ALLIANCE (SCOTLAND) is an autonomous and constitutionally.
Independent Branch of the National Civil Service Pensioners Alliance.
2. OBJECTS
The objects of the Scottish Branch shall be:-
a. as in the CIVIL SERVICE PENSIONERS’ ALLIANCE – Rules and Constitution.
b. Liaise with the Scottish Parliament.
3. MEMBERSHIP
Membership of the CSPA (SCOTLAND) shall be open to any member, as defined in CSPA – Rules and Constitution and normally living in Scotland. Such members may be entitled to a Proxy Vote on application to the Branch Administrator. The CSPA will act at all times without discrimination on grounds of age, gender, race, belief, disability or sexual orientation.
(a) Membership of the Scotland Branch shall also be open to any CSPA member who has resided within the purview of Postcodes allocated to Scotland Branch by Head Office, and who now reside in another part of the U.K. but wish to remain a member of the Scotland Branch.
4. ADMINISTRATION
a) The affairs of the CSPA (SCOTLAND) shall be administered by three Officers, Branch Administrator and a Minute Secretary to carry out functions as directed. The Administrator and Minute Secretary will be accorded full voting rights.
b) The officers shall be the Chair, Treasurer, and Membership Secretary. Any of the three elected Branch Officers may be appointed as Branch Vice Chair to undertake any temporary duties as requested by the Branch Trustees. The Branch Trustees shall consist of Branch Chair, Branch Administrator and Branch Treasurer. Honoraria shall be given in the coming year to the Branch Administrator, Branch Membership Secretary, Branch Webmaster, Branch Treasurer and Branch Minute Secretary at the March 2023 Branch AGM
c) Officers and the Minute Secretary shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting.
d) The Chair and Administrator will attend meetings of the National Executive Council and the National AGM. Should the Chair, Administrator or both, not be able to attend the National AGM, then other nominated Branch Members may attend. Prior notice being given to the National Executive Council.
e) Officers shall hold office till the close of the Annual General Meeting following their election. All officers shall be eligible for re-election.
(f) The Officers shall have the power to fill an interim Branch vacancy.
(g) Two Officers shall constitute a quorum.
h) The Officers shall meet at least three times a year.
i) The Officers may appoint a committee or sub-committees as they deem necessary.
j) The Officers shall have a working knowledge of ICT. Officers working directly with the National CSPA Database will abide by the strict rules of this Constitution and the General Data Protection Regulations 2018 and the principles therein. All members must also abide by the strict rules of this Constitution and the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 and the principles therein.
5. DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES
The Branch Officers shall have the power to investigate any occurrence involving a member or members affecting the wellbeing of the CSPA or which brings the CSPA into disrepute or in any other way damages or causes harm to the CSPA officials, members or property. The Branch Officers shall investigate any such complaint or allegation arising under this Rule and will provide a written report and make recommendations within 28 days to the member/s involved, on what actions or steps should be taken. Should there be a complaint against any of the Branch Officers or a Branch Trustee, the complainant will present said complaint in full, in writing to the Branch Officers. Written confirmation of receipt of the complaint must be signed by at least two Branch Officer, not involved in the complaint, and sent to the complainant, prior to the complaint being forwarded to the Deputy General Secretary of the organisation. The member or members involved shall have the right to put their versions of events in writing to the Branch Officers, before any decisions are reached or recommendations are made with regard to any further action. The Branch Officers shall, upon making a finding on the complaint or allegation, have the right to report in full to the CSPA General Secretary to request a suspension for such period as they shall determine or terminate the Membership of any Member.
In the event that the member or members involved in the alleged incident or activity that has led to the invoking of the procedure set out above, wish to disagree the decisions made by Branch Officers, then the member or members will have the right to make a written appeal to the next scheduled meeting of the Branch Officers. This must be passed to the General Secretary with further recommendations as to actions to be taken. Any decision reached shall be regarded as final and binding with regard to the internal aspects of the Alliance’s Disciplinary Procedures.
6. MEETING PLACES
(a) The Glasgow & District Group will be renamed and now be known as Scotland Branch Members meetings.
(b) As this is presently the only Members meeting remaining in the Scotland Branch, it has been agreed at this Branch AGM to allow any Scotland Branch member/s, regardless of postcode area to be able to attend.
Meetings, in person, or virtually and to have full voting rights on decisions made at the meetings.
This open policy also applies to being able to attend the Christmas lunch or members outings.
(c) One of the functions of Members shall be:
(i) to assist in attracting new members
(ii) to make the objects, policy and aims of the CSPA known to potential members, to the public in each Postcode area, to local branches of Civil Service organisations and Members of Parliament and members of the Scottish Parliament within each Postcode area and to establish liaison with other or-ganisations representing pensioners.
(iii) to make local representations on behalf of members.
(d) a copy of audited accounts showing all expenses (e.g., outings) and any related costs should be sent to the Scottish Treasurer as soon as possible (preferably the third week of January) in order that the assessment of the Branch expenditure can be carried out.
7. WEBSITE
The CIVIL SERVICE PENSIONERS ALLIANCE (SCOTLAND) shall have a website.
It will be updated timeously by a Webmaster appointed by the Branch Officers. Details of Branch and members activities, photographs and reports, should be submitted to the Webmaster as a matter of course, for possible publication in Branch Newsletters or the Pensioner Magazine.
8. GENERAL MEETINGS
(a) The CIVIL SERVICE PENSIONER’ ALLIANCE (SCOTLAND) shall be governed by General Meetings
(b) The Annual General Meeting shall be held before the end of May.
(c) Motions to be moved at the Annual General Meeting and Nominations for the Branch Officers must be notified, in writing, to the Administrator and received not later than the February Branch Officers Meeting.
(d) A Special General Meeting shall be convened at any time on application made in writing to the Administrator and signed by not less than forty members. Any such application shall state the precise purpose for which the meeting is desired and will be specified in the notice convening such a Meeting.
(e) The Branch Officers may, at their discretion, call an Extraordinary General Meeting at any time.
(f) Notice of all General Meetings shall be advertised in the Pensioner magazine and the Branch Newsletters.
(g) To preserve topicality and expedite matters of urgency the Office-Bearers if appropriate, is authorized to proceed with matters deemed urgent by a majority of Office-Bearers between meetings, with the proviso that all such action be reported back to the next appropriate meeting(s) for approval/further consideration.
9. FINANCE
a. The Financial Year shall run from 1 January to 31 December, and the Branch Treasurer shall present to each Branch AGM an audited statement of Finance & expenditure.
b. The Chair, the Administrator and the Treasurer, shall be the trustees of all funds and property, For the pur-pose of this rule, the property in all Branch funds collected in the name of CSPA and constitutionally retained in Branch accounts shall be deemed to be vested in the Trustees and the Branch Treasurer shall have possession of such funds on behalf of the Trustees for the purpose of Branch expenditure. On dissolution of Any Group, such Treasurer, after meeting all financial liabilities and following a duly constituted meeting, shall forward the balance of the funds to the Branch Treasurer to be held in trust for five years after which the amount held shall be added to Branch funds. The Trustees shall not be responsible for any debts incurred so long as the Trustees have adhered to the purposes and conditions of their Trust.
c. The annual accounts shall be audited by a professional auditor, or a firm of auditors. Such auditors shall be chosen by the Treasurer to suit location and be approved by the Branch Officers.
10. SUBSCRIPTIONS
(a) Life and annual subscriptions payable by members shall conform with those of the CIVIL SERVICE PENSIONERS’ ALLIANCE
(b) The first annual subscription shall be payable on admission and subsequent annual subscriptions on the first day of January each year unless the initial subscription was paid after 30 September of the previous year.
(c) Any member who is more than six (6) months in arrears shall be deemed to have resigned their membership except where the Branch Officers decide otherwise. Names of members calling for special treatment should be brought to the notice of the Branch Officers.
11. AMENDMENTS OF RULES
Any of these rules may be altered, amended, or added to or rescinded by an Annual or General meeting provided that the alterations are specified in the normal manner and submitted in accordance with the rules of such meetings and that the resolution approving such alteration has been passed by a majority of not less than two-thirds of those attending the meeting.
