• Bristol SU is a registered charity.
• Our regulator is the Charity Commission
• Our charity number is 1139656

• Bristol SU has in place a code of conduct that sets out the expected behaviour of all members and affiliated groups when participating in any activity under the name of Bristol Students’ Union (Bristol SU), both in-person or online. You can view the most recent version of the Code of Conduct here.

• Bristol SU operates in line with the University of Bristol Freedom of Speech Code of Practice, which can be viewed here.
• Find out more about external speakers here and see the External Speaker Code of Practice here.

• Bristol SU is also a registered company limited by guarantee, which means the assets and resources of the charity are held directly by the company.
• We have to comply with company law.
• Our company number is 6977417
• Our regulator is Companies House
• Our Trustees are also the company Directors
• Registered office: University of Bristol Students' Union, Queens Road, Clifton, Bristol. BS8 1LN
• VAT Registration Number: GB 139221286

We are not for profit, so any income we make from our commercial services goes straight back into providing services for students. We are governed by charity law, which affects what we can spend money on and we work with other Students’ Unions and affiliated bodies to help us achieve this. Our purposes are about advancing the education of students at the University by:

1. promoting the interests and welfare of students at the University and representing, supporting and advising students;
2. being a recognised representative channel of communication between students and the University, and other external bodies;
3. providing social, cultural, sporting and recreational activities and forums for discussions and debate for the personal development of students

Our purposes, also known as the objects of the Union, are stated on page 4 of the Union's Articles, our governing document.

Student groups are legally part of the Students’ Union, and so the laws regarding charitable companies also apply to student groups, and affect what the Union and societies can spend their money on.
The purposes (objects) for which Bristol SU may spend its funds are defined on page 4 of the Union’s Articles. Any expenditure other than for those purposes stated is classed as Ultra Vires and is therefore illegal.

The Golden Rules

Ultra Vires is a phrase used legally to mean anything beyond our stated aim. Legally we are not allowed to make any ‘ultra vires’ payments, so we cannot spend money on things that are not achieving the stated purpose/object of the Union or the society. Any donations are also affected by the legal rules on charitable companies – in their most basic form, this means Bristol SU cannot donate union money to other charities, political parties, campaigns or trade unions.

When considering Ultra Vires we use the following three ‘golden rules’.

1. Students’ Unions shouldn’t use their resources to campaign on an issue that does not affect “students as students”.
2. Students’ Unions should maintain neutrality when it comes to political parties
3. Students’ Unions should not give money to other organisations to do things that they are not allowed to do themselves

The most common examples of Ultra Vires are:

Charity work

We are not for profit, so any income we make from our commercial services goes straight back into providing services for students.

• The Union should not use money to subsidise charity fundraising but the Union can grant funds to a fundraising society to put on events / activities due to the personal development / educational benefits to the event organisers.
• The Union should not donate money to other charities.
• You can still fundraise, but you need to cover the costs from money raised or from society money that is not from the Union.

Campaigning

• Clubs and societies can only use Union money to fund campaigns directly related to members as students.
• You can only use Union money to subsidise places on demos which relate to student issues e.g. top up fees. If campaigns do not fall into these categories, the Union cannot fund them.
• If a campaign did not fall into the permissible categories, you can fundraise and use the club or society membership account to fund the campaign as you wish.

If you decide you no longer want to benefit from your free membership to your students’ union, you can opt out by emailing bristolsu@bristol.ac.uk, addressing the Chief Executive with your request. It will only apply to that academic year and if you wish to remain opted out in future years you will need to send an email each year,  

If you are just looking to receive fewer emails from us, you don’t need to opt out of membership, you can change your communication preferences here, however there are still some emails that we're required to send you regardless of opt in status.

Please note that only full members get to vote in elections for your student representatives.