Information for voting members
Expense rates – increase for voting members
For Congress 2013 we will be applying the standard expense rates and policy – rather than the previous separate (lower) rate for Congress. This reflects feedback from members and the increasing costs of accommodation. Voting members will now receive a higher rate of £90 for accommodation (and £5 for coffee and tea), £18 for subsistence on the evenings when there is not an RCN funded event, plus travel expenses.
This is a significant increase and means that for the first time there is a separate subsistence allowance available for voting members on evenings when there are not official RCN funded events.
Members should use the Congress 2013 expense claim form and refer to the policy.
Liverpool Victoria is sponsoring the programme of development events and lunch will be available for all those who attend them. Therefore we will not be paying any expense claims for lunch.
Council also agreed that the number of voting members funded to attend will be based on the formula set out in the Congress constitution. Discretionary funding will continue to be available for first time branch attendees up to the current £1,500 per country/region.
Voting and funding allocations
Council agreed that the new Health Practitioner Committee would be a submitting and voting entity and would receive voting and funding allocations on the same basis as the UK Representatives’ Committees. This will be the first time health care assistants and assistant practitioners have been represented at Congress in this way.
Voting allocations and funding for forums will be calculated on forum members’ first choice forum. The registration of voting members, as usual, will be managed through your country or regional office in the case of branches, and through the RCN Nursing Department for forums. Registration for the Student Committee, the UK Reps Committee and the Health Practitioner Committee will be managed by the relevant advisers. The process for registering first time attendees through the discretionary funds will be handled by country or regional offices as usual.
Historic branch funds
Council has agreed that branches can use historic funds to support non-voting members to attend Congress in 2013. This has to be within the budget allocated for 2013 for the branch. Details are available from your country or regional office.
Voting Members should be funded to attend Congress through the congress budget for voting members. Historic Funds cannot be used to provide additional funding for voting members, to top up voting funding.
During Congress week a voting member can ask a member funded to attend from historic funds to stand in for a Congress session if the country or region does not have sufficient voting members in the hall by substituting the vote at the registration desk.
Travel and accommodation arrangements for non-voting members can be made by the branches but all arrangements must comply with the expenses policy. If any member is sharing accommodation with a voting member the accommodation must be booked through the relevant staff member.
Booking pilot in South East region
There is also a pilot being run in the South East region whereby branch officers can book accommodation for their branch directly with the central booking agency from 2014. This is very important because the reduced rate we pay the conference venue depends on us booking our accommodation through the central booking agency. Depending on the success of the pilot, it could be rolled out across the UK in 2014.
