Political Fund Review

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Conference
2003 National Delegate Conference
Date
25 February 2003
Decision
Carried as Amended

Conference approves the recommendations contained in the National Executive Council’s report on the Political Fund Review:

1)the current political fund arrangements offering choice between the General Political Fund (GPF) and the Affiliated Political Fund (APF) should be retained. Alternatives, which remove this choice or introduce a third fund, should be rejected.

2)a new set of measures should be put in place to encourage members to make speedy and informed choices on their political fund options;

3)the changes made by the APF and the GPF to improve the operation of the funds should be endorsed and in particular the APF is urged to develop a programme of action in conjunction with the rest of the union to extend UNISON’s influence at all levels of the Labour Party;

4)in addition the National Executive Council should consult with the National Affiliated Political Committee (NAPC) with a view to bringing forward proposed measures, including any necessary changes to UNISON rules, to ensure that the terms of its delegation of responsibility for the APF to the NAPC under Rule J.8.2 include:

a)that there is an appropriate degree of accountability between the APF and the union’s structures at branch, regional and national levels, consistent with the need to preserve the APF’s administrative separation and control by levy payers; and

b)that the structures of the APF embody the member-led principles used in the rest of UNISON’s structure, by giving primacy and accountability to bodies, forums, based on delegations from branches;

c)all to be done consistently with the need for approval of the National APF Committee of any changes concerning the operation of the APF.