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Trade Union Funding

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Dear sirs,

I am writing to obtain information about the total amount of money paid to trade unions by your organisation, the amount of staff time spent on trade union duties and/or activities and the payment of subscriptions.

To outline my query as clearly as possible, I am requesting:

1. A list of trade unions which received payments from your organisation and the total amounts paid to each union for financial years a) 2011-12 and b) 2012-13. If it is not possible to list the amount paid to each union, please provide a total amount paid to all unions. Please do not include membership dues or salary costs. Please only include direct payments.

2. Please state:
a) Which trade unions your organisation provide staff time to work on trade union duties and / or activities (sometimes called ‘Trade Union facility time’) in i) 2011-12 and ii) 2012-13.

b) The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff that were provided for each trade union in i) 2011-12 and ii) 2012-13. For example, if a member of staff spends 2 days per week on union business, this is equal to 0.4 FTE.

3.

a) Does your organisation provide the facility to deduct trade union subscriptions from staff salaries in the payroll process?

b) If so, for each union please state what your organisation charged for this service (whether as a fixed amount per employee or a percentage), and the total amount collected in:

i) 2011-12

ii) 2012-13

Please note that the guidelines issued by ACAS state that: “An employee who is a member of an independent trade union recognised by the employer in respect of that description of employee is to be permitted reasonable time off during working hours to take part in any trade union activity. An employee who is a member of an independent and recognised trade union is also permitted to take reasonable time off during working hours for the purposes of accessing the services of a Union Learning Representative (provided those services are services for which the Union Learning Representative is entitled to time off).”

If the information is not recorded, there is no way of ascertaining whether the time off provided is reasonable. I therefore do not expect the response that the organisation does not hold this information. If a formal record is not kept then I will accept a reasonable estimate.

If the response to any of the questions is ‘nil’ or you are unable to answer any of them, please continue to respond to the other questions

My preferred format to receive this information is electronically, but if that is not possible I will gladly accept letters at the address below.

I would be grateful if you would acknowledge receipt of this request as soon as possible.

Kind regards

Alex Wild

OBR Enquiries,

Dear Mr Wild,

Re: Freedom of Information request

Thank you for your request for information under the Freedom of
Information Act, which we received on 29 July 2013.

You requested the following information:

1. A list of trade unions which received payments from your
organisation and the total amounts paid to each union for financial
years a) 2011-12 and b) 2012-13. If it is not possible to list the
amount paid to each union, please provide a total amount paid to all
unions. Please do not include membership dues or salary costs. Please
only include direct payments.

2. Please state:
a) Which trade unions your organisation provide staff time to work on
trade union duties and / or activities (sometimes called 'Trade Union
facility time') in i) 2011-12 and ii) 2012-13.

b) The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff that were provided for
each trade union in i) 2011-12 and ii) 2012-13. For example, if a member
of staff spends 2 days per week on union business, this is equal to 0.4
FTE.

3.

a) Does your organisation provide the facility to deduct trade union
subscriptions from staff salaries in the payroll process?

b) If so, for each union please state what your organisation charged for
this service (whether as a fixed amount per employee or a percentage),
and the total amount collected in:

i) 2011-12

ii) 2012-13

In response to question 1, the Office for Budget Responsibility did not
make any payments to Trade Unions for the periods 2011-2012 and 2012-13.

In response to question 2, the Office for Budget Responsibility
recognises First Division Association (FDA) and Public Commercial
Services (PCS). No staff time was spent on union business in 2011-12 and
2012-13.

In response to question 3, the Office for Budget Responsibility provides
the facility to deduct trade union subscriptions from salary. We do not
charge for this facility.

If you have any other queries about this letter, please feel free to
contact OBR enquiries at [OBR request email].

Yours sincerely,

Andy Ginever

Freedom of Information
Office for Budget Responsibility

Copy right notice

Most documents supplied in response to a Freedom of Information request
continue to be protected by copyright. You are free to use these
documents for your information, including for any non-commercial
research you may be doing. Documents can also be used for the purposes
of news reporting. Any other re-use, for example commercial
publication, would require the permission of the copyright holder.
Government officials will have produced most documents supplied by the
OBR and so the information will be Crown Copyright. Crown Copyright is
managed by HMSO and you can find out details on the arrangements for
re-using Crown Copyright on
http://www.hmso.gov.uk/copyright/licence...

Your right to complain under the Freedom of Information Act 2000

If you are not happy with this reply, you may request a review by
writing to OBR Enquiries, Office for Budget Responsibility, 20 Victoria
Street, London SW1 0NF or by email to [OBR request email].

Any review request must be made within 2 months of the date of this
letter.
It would assist our review if you set out which aspects of the reply
concern you and why you are dissatisfied.

If you are not content with the outcome your complaint, you may apply
directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the
ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints
procedure provided by the OBR. The Information Commissioner can be
contacted at: The Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House,
Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.

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We don't know whether the most recent response to this request contains information or not – if you are Alex Wild please sign in and let everyone know.