Dear Colleague
You will find herewith updates on the following, which we hope will be of interest;

Advice and Updates for Groups & Branches –
i) HQ Team – Roles and Responsibilities
ii) Recruitment Materials
iii) CSPA Website Updates
iv) Copyright Advice – Use of online images
v) CSPA HQ Relocation

i) HQ Team – Roles and Responsibilities

Sally Tsoukaris, General Secretary (3rd from left) – represents and make representations on behalf of CSPA at meetings with Government representatives, politicians and official bodies, other pensioner organisations and at CSPA members’ meetings. The GS supports the work of the Executive Council and its Sub-Committees and is responsible for the efficient running of the Head Quarters’ Office and the staffing
of the same, together with their supervision. sally.tsoukaris@cspa.co.uk (Full-time)

David Luxton, Deputy General Secretary – is responsible for recruitment and organisation, group liaison and group closure arrangements, membership benefits (including travel insurance contractual rrangements), Governance (including corporate insurances, GDPR, premises leases, etc) and the AGM contractual arrangements. The DGS also prepares EC briefing notes, assists with campaigns and co-ordinates work with the National Pensioners’ Convention (NPC), and (with the GS and others) he meets with the LLA partners, Cabinet Office, and other stakeholders. The DGS deputises for the GS, when required. david.luxton@cspa.co.uk (Full-time)

Mike Sparham, National Treasurer (pictured centre) – has overall responsibility for finance and financial policy. Mike deals with the authorisation of invoices and expense claims, the preparation and issue of outgoing invoices, and has oversight of Group accounts (but not the accounts of the two Branches). M.Sparham@cspa.co.uk (Part-time – Mon to Thurs (am only))

Christine Haswell, Pensions & Personal Case Manager (far left) – deals with individual pension cases, consultations and engagement with the Civil Service scheme at both Cabinet Office (scheme managers) level and MyCSP (scheme administrators) level. Chris also writes articles for The Pensioner magazine, the website and occasionally supports our parliamentary work. christine.haswell@cspa.co.uk (Part-time –
Mon/Tues/Wed)

Christine Buckley, Editor (3rd from right) – Christine is the first point of contact for all submissions from Groups, Branches, Regional Reps and EC members for inclusion in The Pensioner. As well as being the editor of the magazine, she deals with the publishers and printers, accessing mailing lists and reports from the HQ teams in accordance with deadlines for going to print to ensure that the magazine hits members’ doorsteps when expected. Christine is always happy to receive letters, poems and other content and suggestions from members by email and post. christine.buckley@cspa.co.uk (Part-time – Tues/Wed)

Verity Morrish, Digital Campaigns Manager (2rd from right) – manages all electronic communications to members and potential members. This involves ensuring that the websites are accessible, easy to navigate and informative, and includes publishing relevant articles regularly, managing CSPA’s social media pages and creating and sending email messages. Members are welcome to submit updates and photographs of Group/Branch/Regional events to her for publication on our digital channels. Verity also oversees the production of branded CSPA recruitment and promotional flyers, leaflets and other materials, and can tailor posters to suit Group/Branch/Region’s requirements on request. verity.morrish@cspa.co.uk (Part-time – Mon/Tues/Wed)

Robyn Hampson, CRM Manager (4th from right)- as the CRM Manager Robyn manages member data, monitoring the accuracy and functionality of the CRM system, and works with the CRM (membership database) software developers to troubleshoot and improve software functionality. She assists other team members in reconciling accounts, updating records and communicating with members, as well as compiling mailing lists for The Pensioner and Group Newsletters. robyn.hampson@cspa.co.uk (Part-time – Tues/Wed/Fri)

Marion McAuliffe, Finance & AGM Manager (far right) – deals with the banking of annual membership subscription payments by Direct Debit and cheque, liaising with the pensions administrators to ensure we are notified of deduction cancellations, and with our bank to keep our member records updated in respect of Direct Debit payments. Marion is also the events manager for the AGM and is responsible for overseeing all the administrative work that goes on in the background to make this annual event run smoothly. marion.mcauliffe@cspa.co.uk (Part-time – Wed/Thurs)

Lorraine Lydon, Office Manager (2nd from left) – ensures all office equipment is working and serviced and orders office supplies, so the HQ team can work efficiently. In addition, Lorraine assists the GS with the management of office cover and staff annual leave and the DGS in maintaining office policies and procedures. Lorraine is
responsible for the distribution of Group Newsletters in the post (via Impress), and also updates CRM membership records, as necessary. Please remember that we need to receive newsletter copy from Groups at least 10 working days before they will need to be sent out, and that they need to be addressed to Lorraine in the first instance. lorraine.lydon@cspa.co.uk (Part-time – Mon/Tues/Wed)

Benedetta Makanju, Deputy Office Manager/PA to GS (4th from left) – is the first point of contact for any issue pertinent to members or membership records. Benedetta also coordinates the issue of most HQ communications to the EC, Groups and Branches, and assists with meeting room bookings and catering arrangements. Any matters arising that cannot be resolved efficiently and effectively in the first instance, and those best dealt with by other team members, are redirected as may be appropriate.
benedetta.makanju@cspa.co.uk (Full-time)

Doreen Parkinson, Minutes Secretary – is responsible for attending and taking notes at all of the EC meetings and Sub-Committee meetings, as well as the Annual General Meeting. The notes recording the AGM are shared with members in the December magazine as a supplement. Doreen also assists with office cover from time to time. (Part-time – 40 days PA)

ii) Recruitment Materials
Verity Morrish, our Digital Campaign Manager, has produced a range of suited recruitment materials including the attached flyers, which can be printed off at either A5 or A6 size for handy distribution. You are welcome to contact HQ if you would like us to send you some. We can also make you an A4 or A3 poster, which can be customised to include your contact details if required. You are also welcome to
request copies of paper joining forms, if and when required, should you wish to recruit new members.

iii) CSPA Website Updates
In order for members to log into the Members Area of the website we need to hold a current email address for them on our membership database. Please direct anyone having difficulties logging in, or who has not logged in within the last six months or so, to get in touch with us by email enquiries@cspa.co.uk or to call 020 8688 8418 (Office) to check that we hold the correct email address on their records.

iv) Advice on Copyright and the Use of Online Images
It is very easy to see a photo online, copy it and use in a newsletter or on a Facebook page. However, in doing so you run the risk of breaking copyright laws and being issued with, what could be, a substantial fine. It is always wise to assume that any image used on a news website, such as the BBC or by a newspaper, is owned by someone and that you would need a paid for licence to use it in any capacity.
To avoid this there are a number of places that offer Royalty Free images, those that are free to use anywhere. We suggest using www.pexels.com – there is a wide range of images and videos that are free to use. Simply put relevant key words in the search bar, such as people talking, busy city centre, people playing chess, and you’ll be shown a range of photos. It sometimes takes a few searches using different words to find something but there are hundreds, if not thousands to choose from.

v) CSPA HQ Relocation
We are pleased to report that the CSPA HQ team have now settled into the new premises near Clapham Junction. Members can use the same email addresses and telephone numbers to contact us, but please be advised that our street and postal address has changed to 160 Falcon Road, London, SW11 2LN.
If you have any questions or require any further information about the matters covered by this Group Circular, please don’t hesitate to contact us, either by emailing benedetta.makanju@cspa.co.uk or by telephone on 020 8688 8418 (Office).

Yours sincerely
Sally