NEWSLETTER no 64 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING WEDNESDAY, 7th MARCH 2018, 12 noon The Horse and Farrier, Threlkeld Horse & Farrier Inn Threlkeld, Nr. Keswick, Cumbria CA 12 4Sg Once again we return to the Horse & Farrier in Threlkeld. This has been the venue for all of our Annual General Meetings, chosen because it is relatively easily accessible from most parts of the County and has a separate room for our meetings. For those attending for the first time, directions are given below. From the south use the A591 scenic route through Ambleside and Grasmere, avoiding Keswick by driving through St John’s in the Vale, taking the right turn soon after the King’s Head at Thirlspot, joining the A66 close to Threlkeld. Or use the M6 to Junction 40 then follow the A66 west towards Keswick, turning right into Threlkeld. From the North use either the M6 as previously given or the A595 Carlisle to Cockermouth road, branching off at Bothel for Bassenthwaite and Keswick to join the A66 on the Keswick by-pass, then heading east to Threlkeld. SatNav - CA12 4SQ _____________________________________________________________________________ View of Blencathra from the lakeside path below Catbells Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting held Wednesday, 29th November 2017 at The Bush, Cockermouth. Present: Alastair Yates; Dick Chalmers; David Cornwall; Wyn Cornwall; David Found; Roger Long; Graeme Noble; Rick Preston; John Sandford; Pete Sunter. Apologies: Tom Fraser; Hilary Gee; Gordon Hutchinson; Helen Marrs; Ged Reay; Ralph Moses (NW REM). President’s Business: There was none. Minutes of the last meeting: The minutes of the meeting at the Golden Lion, Maryport were accepted as a true record. Matters Arising: The change of bank mandate signatories is in hand. Those needing to sign the prepared form were present and would complete the necessary paperwork at the end of the current meeting. Secretary’s Business: (i) The dates and venues of meetings for 2018 was considered and agreed. These were provisional and may change once the dates of Rednal meetings are known. They are: Wednesday,14 March 2018 AGM – The Horse and Farrier, Threlkeld * Wednesday, 9 May 2018 – Crooklands Inn, Crooklands Tuesday, 12 June – Thursday, 14 June – NPC Parliament, Blackpool Friday, 6 July 2018 – Pastyfest, the Prince of Wales, Foxfield Wednesday, 19 September 2018 – Armathwaite ** Wednesday, 28 November 2018 – The Manor House, St. Bees * Changed to Wednesday, 7 March 2018 after Rednal dates were published. ** Changed to Wednesday, 26 September 2018 after Rednal dates were known. (ii) A discussion took place regarding the negotiations FRMA Officers are engaged in with NASUWT National Executive which could affect the composition of the FRMA Executive Committee and future subscription levels. The consensus was that Devolved Nations representatives should be included and some misgivings were expressed that the current areas REMs cover are too large to allow regular monitoring and support. Clearly, to have a larger Executive Committee has a financial implication which the National Treasurer needs to take into account when subscription levels are set at Conference if RMAs are to maintain their current level of funding. Further discussion stressed the value of the NASUWT’s Benevolence system, urging members to publicise this with any needy colleagues or their dependants. Treasurer’s Business: In the absence of the treasurer his comprehensive report was welcomed by the meeting. The RMA is solvent with reserves. North West Regional Update: Documents have been forwarded by Ralph Moses, mainly advice from NPC. These are available, on request, from the Secretary. Any Other Business: It was announced, sadly, that Ged Reay’s wife has lost her battle with leukaemia. The secretary will send a sympathy card. The meeting closed at 2.10p.m. AGM Business Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held Wednesday, 15th February 2017 at The Horse & Farrier, Threlkeld Present: Rick Preston; Alastair Yates; Tom Fraser; Dick Chalmers; Helen Marrs; David Cornwall; Win Cornwall; David Found; Hilary Gee; Graeme Noble; Rosemary Spence; Peter Sunter; Ged Reay; Ralph Moses (NW REM) Apologies: Christopher Chleboun; Chris De Cordova; James Horrocks; Gordon Hutchinson; Roger Long; John Sandford; Charles Shaw; Peter Young; Deanna Selby (FRMA Secretary). The President, Rick Preston, opened the meeting, welcoming those present and indicating he had no business to bring to the AGM. Minutes of the AGM 2016: The minutes were signed as a true record with nothing arising. (Proposed Tom Fraser; seconded David Cornwall) Secretary’s Report: The report had been sent to members in the newsletter which advertised the AGM. The report was accepted. Treasurer’s Report: The accounts were tabled showing £650 had been spent and a surplus of £73 remained to add to reserves. Cumbria’s membership increased and was so by the highest percentage of all RMAs for the year. The affiliation to FRMA rose by 50p for the year commencing January 2017, but this should not lead to unsurmountable problems. The meeting agreed the voluntary contribution from NASUWT Honorary Life Members remain at £10 per member. The treasurer was thanked for his work. Election of Officers: Alastair Yates was installed as President and took the chair of the meeting. Helen Marrs was elected Vice-president (Proposed: Dick Chalmers; seconded Peter Sunter) Tom Fraser was elected Treasurer Dick Chalmers was elected Secretary The two above were re-elected en bloc (Proposed: Win Cornwall; seconded: Ged Reay) Helen Marrs agreed to continue as Newsletter Editor and was thanked for her continued work in this capacity. All present at meetings are counted as committee members. The new President thanked his predecessor and the officers for their work. The meeting closed at 12:32 pm to be followed by lunch and an Ordinary Meeting. The Agenda for this year’s AGM and the Voting and Attendance forms are included separately if you receive the newsletter by post . If you receive an email newsletter the forms will be sent as a separate attachment. Cumbria Retired Members’ Association Newsletter accounts summary for 2017. Dear Cumbria RMA members: Please see below for a summary of Cumbria RMA’s accounts for 2017. The full accounts will be presented at the AGM and can be e-mailed to members on request to the Treasurer. Your annual subscription is still set at £22 and is split between NASUWT, which retains £8 per member and £14 which goes to the Retired Members. The latter is subdivided so that for 2017 £9- 50 per member was available to be spent locally, with £4-50 going to the FRMA. For 2018 this FRMA precept is unchanged, although there may be an adjustment proposed for 2019. In 2017, achieved a reasonable surplus, given that equality between income & expenditure is difficult to achieve exactly: NASUWT retains 10% of our funding during the year, but then credits it to us at the end of the year, adding income generated from any new members gained during the year. (This exercise is known as the End of Year Adjustment; a more detailed explanation, plus exact figures, are contained in the full accounts). In 2017 we gained 3 new members overall, resulting in an extra £28-50 being credited to Cumbria RMA, so the surplus became £163-98. Our local spending is done via our Unity Trust Bank current account; when a cheque is paid out, a claim is made to the Rednal Finance Department, who should then top up the current account to its maintained amount of £195-30. We have made 4 claims during the year, after each of our 4 meetings. * However, for this year there is a slight anomaly: the discrepancy between our Imprest surplus and the actual surplus is explained by the fact that an error was made by the HQ Finance Dept. when processing our May claim, resulting in an extra £19-50 being transferred from our Imprest fund to the current account. Thus we now have £214-80 in the current account. It was decided to take no further action on this matter as the net result allows more flexibility with a larger balance in the current account. A balance sheet is also sent by the Rednal Finance Dept. at the end of the year, which has to be signed by 2 officers other than the Treasurer and returned to Rednal as proof that all is above board. This balances with the accounts presented at the AGM: all did so as far as our Imprest dealings were concerned! Balance of income & expenditure for 2017: Income: Income from paying members (71 x £14-00) £994-00 Honorary Life Member income (5 x £10) £50-00 Guest payment for meal £9-50 Income for 2017 £1053-50 Expenditure: Subscription transfers to FRMA (71 x £4-50) £319-50 Meal subsidies £480-65 H Marrs Newsletter expenses £64-37 Contribution to P Smith present (H Marrs expense) £25-00 Total expenditure in 2017 £889-52 Balance: Income £1053-50 Expenditure £889-52 2017 surplus +£163-98 Balance of Imprest statement: (Cumbria RMA Imprest reserves on 31/12/2017) £1106-05 (Cumbria RMA Imprest reserves on 01/01/2017) £971-57 2017 Imprest surplus* +£134-48 (Plus extra amount in current account)* £19-50 (Plus cash in hand) £10-00 (Actual surplus) +£163-98 Total available funds: Cumbria RMA Imprest reserves on 31/12/17 £1106-05 Current account balance on 31/12/17 £214-80 Late donation received, currently cash in hand £10-00 Total available end of year funds £1320-85 Tom Fraser, Cumbria RMA Treasurer, Jan. 14 2018. Secretary’s Report for 2017 Given our membership numbers we have continued to meet four times each year in venues to suit the placement of active members in a RMA where travel is not always easy.