An Exeposé investigation into the Sabbs expense claims over the course of the 2012-13 academic year has revealed that last year’s Sabbs claimed back SSB and Arena tickets on their Guild bank account.
Whilst the majority of the claims upon the Sabbatical Officers’ Guild account were legitimate expenses, covering the cost of running Guild campaigns and travel to national conferences or award ceremonies, a number of questionable claims also appear.
The nominal ledger for the Sabbatical Officers’ account discloses that three former Sabbs claimed back their Safer Sex Ball tickets in December 2012, whilst the fourth claimed back a ticket to the Diversity Ball in March 2013, totalling claims of £146.83.
When asked by Exeposé, the former Sabbs confirmed that they did claim back tickets but declined to comment any further.
In addition to this, a claim for Arena tickets was made in November 2012, costing £41.67. Although the Students’ Guild believe these tickets were likely to have been purchased to reward Children in Need organising committee volunteers, this had not been confirmed at the time of going to print.
Other claims made to the account include £85.12’s worth of Christmas cards, £41.19’s worth of push pins and £23.51’s worth of fairtrade bananas. £125.76 was also claimed back for spending in the Ram, allegedly for a meal for the designers of the A&V hub. A 50” plasma screen television for the SSB was also claimed on the account, costing £410.04, though it is believed that this expense was misfiled.
However, the 2013-14 Sabbatical Officers have changed their position regarding the claiming of tickets for Guild events for this academic year. Guild President Hannah Barton told Exeposé: “The Sabbatical Officers carefully consider all potential expenditure and we are taking a fresh approach to managing the Sabb budget for 2013/14. While attendance at Students’ Guild and University events is an important element of the role of the Sabbs, these costs will not be taken from the budget this year”.
James Roberts, a third year History and Politics student, said “It’s unbelievable that the Sabbs claimed for their SSB tickets when all of the money actually goes to charity. If they were there in a personal capacity, they should have paid for their own tickets like everybody else. It’s absolutely right that they will not be claiming back such expenses this year”.
Meg Drewett, Editor
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