Constitution

A PDF version of the constitution is available here.

1. The Society

1.1 Name

The name of the Society shall be Cambridge Universities First Aid Society, hereinafter referred to as CUFAS.

1.2 Purpose

1.2.1 The purpose of CUFAS shall be:

  • to promote an active interest in First Aid within the University of Cambridge and Anglia Ruskin University; and
  • to engage in such other activities as are conducive to this goal.

1.2.2 To this end, CUFAS shall be affiliated to St John Ambulance as a Student Volunteering unit.

2. Membership

2.1 Eligibility

2.1.1 Full membership shall be open to any member of the University of Cambridge or Anglia Ruskin University.

2.1.2 There shall be parity in all cases between members from the University of Cambridge and those from Anglia Ruskin University, with exceptions only where mandated by the regulations of the University of Cambridge, where CUFAS is registered (Section 3.2.9).

2.1.3 Associate membership shall be open to any other interested parties, at the discretion of the Committee.

2.2 Subscriptions

2.2.1 Except for the Senior Treasurer, who shall not be required to pay any subscription during tenure of office (and to whom the rest of Section 2.2 shall not apply), membership of CUFAS shall be subject to payment of an annual subscription, which shall be set by the Committee.

2.2.2 Membership shall commence when the conditions for membership are fulfilled and a subscription is received.

2.2.3 Annual subscriptions shall become due on a date determined by the Committee.

2.2.4 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Constitution, a member who has not paid an annual subscription by the 14th calendar day after it becomes due shall not be entitled, on or after that 14th day, to:

  • propose a motion or to vote at a meeting (General, Committee or other).
  • stand for election to a post.
  • provide official support for the electoral candidacy of another.

2.2.5 A member deprived of entitlements under Section 2.2.4, who subsequently pays the due subscription, shall regain these entitlements, but only for meetings not advertised before the time of payment of the subscription. In the case of the Annual General Meeting, the member shall regain these entitlements if and only if the due subscription is paid before the official opening of nominations for Committee posts.

2.2.6 A subscription shall be deemed to have been received under the following circumstances:

  • For a member of CUFAS who is not a Committee member: when the subscription, or a valid instrument that will cause it to be paid, is received by any Committee member.
  • For a member of CUFAS who is a Committee member but not the Junior Treasurer: when the subscription, or a valid instrument that will cause it to be paid, is received by the Junior Treasurer.
  • For the Junior Treasurer: when the subscription, or a valid instrument that will cause it to be paid, is received into a CUFAS bank account.

2.2.7 A member who is still in arrears with an annual subscription on the 28th day after it becomes due shall be deemed to have resigned his or her membership of CUFAS. The Committee may apply reasonable discretion if, during any of this 28-day period, the member is not resident in Cambridge.

2.3 St John Ambulance

2.3.1 All eligible members of CUFAS will be encouraged to become full members of St John Ambulance.

2.4 Termination of Membership

2.4.1 Any member may have their membership revoked at any time by majority vote of the Committee.

2.4.2 In exceptional circumstances, where the needs of CUFAS dictate it to be necessary, the Chair or the Senior Treasurer may revoke the membership of any member. This action must be confirmed or overturned at the next Committee meeting.

2.4.3 The member in question shall have the right to provide a statement for consideration by the Committee at the meeting.

2.5 Retention of Records

Records pertaining to those whose membership of CUFAS has ceased may be kept for up to 18 months following the cessation of membership. Any further retention must be justified by the legitimate interests of CUFAS under prevailing data protection law.

3 Committee

3.1 Functions

The functions of the CUFAS Committee shall include: 3.1.1 To consider proposals and make non-binding recommendations to the General Meeting.

3.1.2 To approve any expenditure on behalf of CUFAS.

3.1.3 To decide on CUFAS policy, where this has not been set by a General Meeting.

3.1.4 To undertake any role appointed by a General Meeting.

3.2 Appointment

3.2.1 Appointment to the CUFAS Committee shall normally be by vote of the Annual General Meeting.

3.2.2 The election of a person as Chair must be by vote of a General Meeting.

3.2.3 A member may be co-opted to the Committee by vote of the current Committee under any of the following circumstances:

  • The member is co-opted as a General Member.
  • The member is co-opted to a post remaining vacant after the preceding General Meeting, and the post is not that of Chair.
  • The member is co-opted as an additional occupant of a post (to which such additional occupation is permitted) that is not vacant, with the consent of all current occupants of the post.
  • The member is co-opted to a post that has become vacant by resignation between General Meetings, the member is co-opted with consent of the last occupant of the post to resign, and the post is not that of Chair.

3.2.4 Nominations for all posts shall open 14 days before the Annual General Meeting and close 48 hours before.

3.2.5 Any member wishing to stand for election must advise the Secretary of this during the nomination period and have their application supported by two other members of CUFAS.

3.2.6 Members shall ordinarily be elected to stand until the next Annual General Meeting, except for the Senior Treasurer, who shall only leave post by resignation, dismissal by a General Meeting or failure to fulfil the criteria herein for occupation of the post.

3.2.7 Any member of CUFAS may stand for election, save that the Senior Treasurer must be a resident member of the Senate or an individual approved by the Junior Proctor.

3.2.8 Should the post of Senior Treasurer fall vacant, the Committee shall appoint a willing person (who need not be a member of CUFAS before appointment) to the post and shall place before the next Annual General Meeting a motion for the ratification of their appointment. Failure to ratify the appointment shall not thereby invalidate any action taken in the interim by the person appointed.

3.2.9 A majority of the Committee shall be members of the Regent House, or members in statu pupillari, and at least two of the Chair, Secretary, and Junior Treasurer shall be members in statu pupillari (see Section 2.1.2).

3.2.10 Consideration shall be given, wherever possible, to ensuring members from both the University of Cambridge and Anglia Ruskin University form the Committee.

3.3 Positions

3.3.1 The following Committee posts shall exist:

  • Senior Treasurer
  • Chair
  • Secretary
  • Junior Treasurer
  • Events Co-ordinator
  • Training Co-ordinator
  • Equipment Manager
  • Publicity Manager
  • Webmaster

3.3.2 Other positions may be established by the Committee from time to time.

3.3.3 Any Committee post, save those of Senior Treasurer, Chair, Secretary and Junior Treasurer, may be divided amongst more than one Committee member.

3.3.4 The work of a Committee post may be devolved to any other member(s) of CUFAS, subject to the approval of the Committee. The responsibility for this work may not be devolved, unless this is necessitated by the post being vacant.

3.4 Roles

3.4.1 Senior Treasurer

  • To inspect and sign the annual statement of accounts before submission to the Junior Proctor.
  • To advise the Committee on any matter regarding the running of CUFAS when so requested.

3.4.2. Chair

  • To chair all meetings of CUFAS.
  • To ensure CUFAS runs in accordance with the Constitution, the rules of the University of Cambridge and the rules of St John Ambulance.
  • To liaise with other St John Ambulance divisions and the assigned Area Support Officer.
  • To have overall responsibility for the smooth running of CUFAS.
  • To liaise with trainers and SJA training personnel, including the Regional and District Training Teams, to provide CUFAS members with the opportunity to attend courses.

3.4.3 Secretary

  • To be responsible for the recruitment of new members to CUFAS through the running of recruitment events.
  • To organise social events to facilitate both recruitment of new members and retention of existing members.
  • To take minutes at all meetings of CUFAS.
  • To be responsible for all correspondence not covered by other Committee members.

3.4.4 Junior Treasurer

  • To maintain a record of the financial transactions of CUFAS.
  • To carry out the normal banking transactions of CUFAS.
  • To create a full statement of accounts at the end of each academic year and when requested by the Senior Treasurer.
  • To issue invoices, receipts and cheques as necessary.
  • To maintain a list of members of CUFAS.

3.4.5 Events Co-ordinator

  • To liaise with other representatives of St John Ambulance and external organisations to arrange first aid cover for events.
  • To advertise these events to members of CUFAS in order to ensure adequate cover for events.
  • To liaise with the equipment manager to provide adequate equipment for events.

3.4.6 Training Co-ordinator

  • To perform an annual training needs assessment for CUFAS.
  • To liaise with external organisations and CUFAS trainers to provide training on a commercial and informal basis.
  • To liaise with the equipment manager to provide adequate equipment for courses and training events.
  • To arrange CUFAS meetings on Tuesdays, including liaison with guest speakers.
  • To arrange additional pre-assessment training when required.

3.4.7 Equipment Manager

  • To be responsible for the safe storage and maintenance of all equipment and supplies owned by CUFAS.
  • To order additional supplies as necessary to ensure the smooth running of CUFAS.
  • To liaise with the events co-ordinator, training co-ordinator, and other members of CUFAS to ensure equipment is provided when required.

3.4.8 Publicity Manager

  • To be responsible for the recruitment of new members to CUFAS through an online presence.
  • To maintain the social media presence of CUFAS.

3.4.9 Webmaster

  • To maintain the online presence of CUFAS, including the website, email addresses and mailing lists.
  • To assist other members of CUFAS with the creation of online resources.

4 Meetings

4.1 Committee Meetings

4.1.1 Committee meetings shall be held, wherever possible, at least twice in each Term.

4.1.2 The date, time and venue of each meeting shall be determined by the Chair.

4.1.3 The quorum of the Committee shall be three, or one third of the current Committee members, whichever is the greater.

4.1.4 Voting shall be by simple majority. In the event of a tie, the Chair shall have a casting vote.

4.2 General Meetings

4.2.1 Subject to the rules of the University of Cambridge and St John Ambulance, General Meetings shall have sovereignty in the running of CUFAS.

4.2.2 Once a meeting has been arranged, the Secretary shall make all reasonable efforts to advise all members of CUFAS of the date, time, and location.

4.2.3 Voting shall be by secret ballot, using the Single Transferable Vote system.

4.3 Annual General Meeting

4.3.1 The Annual General Meeting shall be held in Lent Full Term each year.

4.3.2 The agenda shall include:

  • reports from serving Committee members;
  • presentation of a full statement of accounts; and
  • election of Committee members as detailed in Section 3.2.

4.3.3 The quorum for an Annual General Meeting shall be two.

4.4 Extraordinary General Meeting

4.4.1 An Extraordinary General Meeting may be called at any time by:

  • vote of the Committee.
  • presentation of a petition to the Chair or Senior Treasurer, signed by at least one quarter of the members of CUFAS resident in Cambridge, or 8 members, whichever is the fewer.

4.4.2 The motion or petition calling for the meeting shall include a clear statement of the purpose of the meeting.

4.4.3 Once called, the Chair shall determine the date, time, and venue of the meeting.

4.4.4 Once called, the meeting shall take place within 10 days.

4.4.5 The meeting shall only go ahead at a time when a quorum of at least two thirds of those calling for it are able to attend.

4.4.6 An EGM shall be called by the Senior Treasurer if at any time the Committee becomes inquorate.

5 Finance

5.1 Authority

5.1.1 Any transfer of funds out of a CUFAS account shall be authorised by two current Committee members.

5.1.2 Liability for the finances of CUFAS shall be shared jointly and severally amongst the serving Committee members, with the exception of the Senior Treasurer, who shall not be liable for any financial debt or other obligation of the Society, unless they have personally authorised such a debt in writing.

5.2 Expenses

5.2.1 No member shall be expected to incur personal expenditure on behalf of the Society.

5.2.2 Reimbursement of expenses shall be in accordance with a policy agreed by the Committee.

6 Conduct

6.1 General

All members of CUFAS shall conduct themselves in such a fashion as to maintain public confidence in first aid, CUFAS and St John Ambulance.

6.2 Branding

Members of CUFAS shall not display or use the name or logo of CUFAS unless approved by the Committee (for example, when branded apparel is offered for sale). Particular note should be taken of Section 6.1 when CUFAS branding is publicly visible.

7 Dissolution

7.1 Active

If the Committee (or, in the absence of the Committee, the majority of remaining members) foresees the need to dissolve the Society, all remaining assets, minus the value of any outstanding debt, shall be offered as a donation to St John Ambulance. All remaining assets by the formal time of dissolution shall be passed over to the Societies Syndicate.

7.2 Passive

7.2.1 If an AGM is not held by the end of Lent Term in any year, the Proctors’ Office shall have responsibility for dissolving CUFAS(note this is the end of the entirety of Lent term, as governed by the Statues and Ordinances).

8 Constitution

8.1 Amendment

8.1.1 The terms of the Constitution may only be varied at a General Meeting of CUFAS.

8.1.2 A constitutional amendment may be proposed by any member, provided that the proposal is submitted in writing to the Secretary at least 14 days before the meeting.

8.1.3 Any constitutional amendment shall require a two-thirds majority of those present and eligible to vote to be passed.

8.2 Interpretation

Interpretation of the constitution shall be by the Committee, with regard to the opinion of the Senior Treasurer.