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NUS LOSES £1.1M

ANOTHER BAD YEAR AS LOSSES FOR 2006/7 ARE ANNOUNCED

Figures show that the National Union of Students lost over £1.1 million last year, a dismal sign that their financial difficulties look set to continue despite efforts to improve the situation.

The emergency conference held four years ago heralded the introduction of NUS extra cards, costing students £10, in 2006; an ambitious move directed at generating finance through advertisement and marketing whilst offering students direct access to thousands of discounts. This scheme cost the NUS a staggering £740,000, a gross over -expenditure and due to competition from stores already using discount cards, such as HMV and Topshop, has contributed heavily to further losses this year.

Bureaucracy and lavish expenditure are also factors in its failure; the annual conference cost £300,000 alone and a further £100,000 was spent on a business development manager with little impact on the success of its pilot schemes. The NUS receive the majority of their funding through students’ unions who pay tens of thousands of pounds for membership - money that could otherwise be given back to students. Senior NUS officers have been receiving £22k a year salaries whilst overseeing these losses.

NUS National Treasurer Dave Lewis defended the union: ‘NUS finances are definitely on the way to recovery’, a comment coupled with a promise, ‘we are committed to breaking even within three years’.

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