Weekly Report: Week 9

In my weekly reports i try to keep you informed about all that i have been up to over the last seven days.

In the week after Welcome Week i was always bound to be tired, and sure enough i have found myself sleepwalking through the last seven days. However there were some incredibly useful developments this week, some of which i will save till next week to blog about when i will be able to have the whole story!

This Week i:

- Approved the allocation of this year's RA (Residents Association) grants. Grants are allocated to us by the University, and in the interests of transparency, here they are. If you have any questions, comments or complaints then get in touch that's what i'm here for!

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- Attended my very first 'Fitness to Practice' hearing. Sabbatical officers are required to represent students facing appeals or fitness to practice cases, acting as their friend and guidance during what can be a very stressful time. If you ever need sabbatical representation, just get in touch with the ARC by popping in during the week or by emailing thearc@guild.bham.ac.uk

- Began detailed discussions with the community wardens, the university, relevant Guild societies and local forums about the possibility of establishing some sort of IT class for elderly local residents, using student skills to help others in the local community. Hopefully i will be able to blog good news on this next week!

- Sat on the first MLAS Steering Group of this academic year. MLAS stands for Midland Landlord Accreditation Scheme, and is our approved scheme for celebrating the good landlords whilst avoiding the bad. MLAS is going from strength to strength since being established 3 years ago, and it was great to begin planning the ceremony we will hold very shortly to celebrate the 1000th landlord signing on. All houses let through the SHAC will be MLAS accredited, so wherever you look, watch out for the tick logo!

- Held my regular catch-up session with Lesley Stewart (Head of Student Accommodation). There have been some interesting developments over the past couple of weeks. One particular issue that may well grow bigger is the fate of the students living in Chelwood Hall of Residence. Chelwood is a tiny hall located on the Vale next to Aitken Wing, traditionally kept empty and used this year as a temporary overspill. It seems that the current residents of Chelwood (who have been closely involved with Aitken's Freshers activities) have grown to love where they live and many are extremely worried about their future (they were promised accommodation in Chelwood for one term only). The University is committed to ensuring that these residents find a place in their preferred hall of residence, but if you do live in Chelwood and you feel the need to speak out please do get in touch either with me or with the Aitken RA President Mark Harrop (mxh888@bham.ac.uk). This is something i will continue to monitor closely.

Weekly Report: Week 1

In my weekly blogs i try to keep you up to date with all that i have done (both big and small) over the last seven days.

This week i...

Moved into my office!

- Received training on how to represent students facing serious plagiarism hearings. If students wish, they can take a sabbatical officer into hearings with them for support and guidance. For more information on this simply pop into the ARC (Advice and Representation Centre) in the Guild or email thearc@guild.bham.ac.uk

- Wrote the Guild's response to the Governments Housing Consultation. In a nutshell, the Government is looking at ways to tackle the issue of 'studentification' whereby students are accused of tearing the heart out of local communities like Selly Oak and turning them into 'student ghettos'. One option on the table is to change the law so that the local council would have much more power to refuse permission for landlords to convert their properties into Houses of Multiple Occupanccy (HMOs). Essentially, those that support the scheme hope that these changes will prevent students being able to form more than 20% of the local population in an area.

Whilst we understand the concern of local residents, we don't believe that changing the law is the right way to go about it. Only 0.8% of wards across the country are in this sort of situation so making a nationwide law could turn out to be very dangerous, discriminating against other users of HMOs such as migrant workers. Besides, we believe students can be a force for good in the local community and can make it a better place to live, not a worse one.

So to that end i wrote a report for the local Government describing our position and pointing out all the incredible things students at Birmingham do to make a difference in the surrounding areas.

I'll be happy to email you a copy of the report feel free to ask!

- Consulted with staff at the Guild, University and City Council about how best to implement a property based accreditation scheme in Selly Oak. At the moment, we have plans for a bronze/silver/gold type scheme, with houses receiving different ratings according to how secure, safe and insulated they are. This would provide an incredibly useful and easily accessible way for students to quickly see which landlords and properties are best and which ones they should avoid at all costs. This forms a key part of the campaign to improve housing in Selly Oak so as to cut down on crime and the exploitation of students.

- Attended NUS Action Through Advocacy Training. This is a 4 day training course designed for Welfare and Education officers to prepare them for the year ahead. I had a great time meeting officers from all over the country and sharing ideas with them. My head is full of ideas now for ways in which to really improve the lives of students here in Birmingham. These include ways to tackle rising hall fees, prevent students from being the victims of crime and planning how to take a highly visible stand against lifting the cap on top-up fees on December 3rd for the NUS Town-takeover day. Watch this space...