November

• Officers released a cost-of-living statement. You can read this here
• Making sure the Guild building is a warm, free space for students to sit, eat, study and socialise. 
• Free, permanent microwaves and hot water dispensers in the Guild.  
• Free hot water at all University owned catering outlets on campus, on request.
• The Officer team have met with the University and given feedback on their plans to support students through the cost of living crisis. We also plan to work with the University to improve the student Hardship Fund and bursary provisions for students. 

On a National Level:

• We call on opposition leaders to support the abolition of tuition fees and student debt, as well as the introduction of a windfall tax to ensure oil and gas companies pay their fair share during this crisis. 
• We have signed NUS’ open letter to the Government, and you can get involved with NUS’ campaign by signing the petition here.

December

• We worked with the University to propose a cost-of-living package Senior Leadership. One of the outcomes of this was that the University agreed and announced to increase the hardship fund to £1.5 million. We are still working with the University on some of our further asks.

Kathryn

• I am due to meet with the University to talk about cheaper food offers on campus and the cost of food that is provided by the University in the Guild building.
• I met with MPs Paula Barker and Kim Johnson to discuss how the cost-of-living crisis is affecting students, and ask how the Government and the opposition are helping, and what their plans are.

February

• New cheaper food options are available across campus and the Guild including off peak Burrito for £3.50 and sauce pumps.
• Conducted a cost-of-living survey to finds out how the cost of living is impacting students.

November

I am reviewing the current bursary provision to see where the gaps and issues are, and have contacted the University to find out if they have plans to review the bursary offer.

December

Vas

• I have been in discussions with University staff about University provided bursaries, the amounts students receive and the income thresholds for these. The University have agreed to the Guild being involved in reviewing the bursary thresholds for the next academic year.

Kathryn

• I have arranged a meeting with the University to discuss bursaries and what the next steps are in terms of reviewing and increasing these.

February

• In talks with the university to get them to commit to a bursary and scholarship review.

November

• The Officer team worked together to collate student feedback from various surveys about student experiences of using public transport in the city and write a proposal on how the council can improve their new 10-year strategy ‘Local Transport Plan’. This included prioritising safety during night-time travel. The council have agreed to revise the plan and adopted many proposed changes, which included bringing back the 86 night-bus when the bus services are franchised in the next few years.
• We are still working on short-term solutions to bring back the night-bus more immediately, we have continuously raised the issue with local bus companies, MPs and councillors and are working on a way forward.
• We have also raised the cost of transport and bus tickets, pointing out that the introduction of the £2 adult fares should mean a more significantly discounted ticket for students, e.g. the possibility of extending the MyTicket to students, which the council cannot currently do. We will be meeting with Arriva to explore these more.
• We have also met with Student Officer teams from JMSU, Hope SU and Edge Hill Unions, to understand their students issues and increase pressure to bring back the night-bus.

December

• After complaints from students about busses being late and not running to timetable, we created a survey for students to fill this out to collect data and experiences.
• Following this, we are organising to meet with bus companies and the University with the evidence we have gathered, to discuss current bus issues, cheaper tickets, and a night bus service.
• We are also meeting with local MPs about a campaign for a night-bus.

February

• Waiting for a group to be set up about the night bus after meeting with Allison McGovern MP.

Kathryn

• Will be attending the Travel and Transport Working Group to discuss public transport in the city region including night buses and cost of buses.

November

• We have met with LSH about collaborative working, regulating landlords, providing advice to students and promoting tenants rights.
• We had begun plans in the Guild to run a student Know Your Rights campaign.

December

• We are planning on launching a Know Your Rights Campaign that aims to educate students on rights including: Housing, Police and Protests and the Workplace.

Vas

• Focusing on launching a series of events pertaining to Housing Rights in collaboration with Liverpool Students Homes (LSH).
• Organised a meeting with LSH and the Guild to plan a housing rights workshop.
• The introductory Housing Rights Workshop will focus on looking at private rented accommodation on Monday 28th November 2022.
• The sessions were well attended, and I will be continuing to host these sessions throughout semester two.

Topics we will be discussing include:

• What types of accommodation are available?
• Where to look?
• What is a Tenancy Agreement?
• What does ‘bills included’ mean, and what to look out for?
• What money can you be asked to pay upfront?
• What is a Guarantor?
• Commons Mistakes and things to look out for when looking for accommodation?
• How to get your Tenancy Agreement checked

February

Kathryn

• Meeting with the Liverpool City Council Development Manager for neighborhood development over private student housing in the city.

Vas

• Hosted the first Know your Rights Housing campaign. We discussed what ‘bills included’ actually mean, what to look for and what type of accommodation is available.
• The sessions were well attended, and I will be continuing to host these sessions throughout semester two.

November

• For the Guild to reflect the student population and uplift the voices of those from minority backgrounds.
• We want to expand the Liberation History Month work of the Guild and run intersectional activity throughout the whole year for all of the groups.
• We will socials, forums and campaign activity for liberation groups, working closely with societies. This includes BAME, LGBT+, Women & Disabled students, and also post-graduate, mature, international, commuter and carer students.
• Increase diversity of employees within the Guild, specifically black staff and staff of colour For the Guild to reflect the student population and up life the voices of those from minority backgrounds.
• Explore the possibility of creating an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) staff role in the Guild.
  • We have reviewed, updated and created content for the Guild ’More than a Month’ webpage. This page was launched in October.
  • We have organised a schedule of Black History Month events, collaborating with Societies, and launched this for October, including a free club night at 24 Kitchen Street. We are planning our Disability History Month events.
  • We have planned and facilitated our first set of Meet & Greets events for BAME, LGBT+, Women & Disabled, post-graduate, mature and international students. These were successful and well attended, we met some lovely people who were eager for the groups to continue. We are planning further social type events and some campaign events.
  • We are planning focus groups for Disabled, Asian, Black, post-graduate, mature, community and international students, to understand these students experiences of the Guild and how we can improve our support.
  • All officers introduced themselves to their societies to create an initial connection with the Guild. Socials made it clear how to join a society and answered said queries when students came to our office asking for support.

December

• We have planned our second set of Meet & Greets events for BAME, Black, LGBT+, Women & Disabled, post-graduate, mature and international students.
• Held focus groups for Disabled, Asian, Black, post-graduate, mature, commuter and international students. We have taken on issues raised in these meetings, where issues were guild-based in some instances changes have already been made, for example we now have a new network specifically for Black Students.
• We have launched activity for Disability History Month and launched a number of updates affecting disabled students on campus, such as campus accessibility. DHM has also included running a weekly quiet space as a trial to inform the University developing a permanent location for a quiet space on campus.

February

• We have launched activity for LGBTQ+ History Month: 
• This includes collaborating with library on creating extensive resource lists including our top picks for Queer literature and film as well as an inspiring person of the month.
• We have held all of our second set of Meet & Greets for our underrepresented groups. They were even more sociable than the last few times. We had a lot of good feedback and will definitely continue fostering these connections through safe and social spaces.
• Released a statement to offer condolence to those in Türkiye and Syria after the earthquake. You can read our full statement here Officer Statement: Message of condolence following earthquake

Lina

• Met with the Library teams and the library EDI team to talk discuss improving inclusivity within the libraries – including the development of quiet spaces. I also discussed the importance of intersectionality when selecting materials for the History Month displays.

November

December

• Released a statement in solidarity with UCU:
• Contacted the University, let them know the Guild position and requested that they meet the demands of the UCU, in order to bring an end to the action due to the impact on students.
• Took a tea trolley round the picket lines for striking staff.
• Attended the CWU & UCU rally with students.
• Attended a meeting with the UCU branch at the University.
• Arranged Teach-Out events & a banner making session for students.

February

• Continuing support for the UCU strikes in February and May by attending rallies and picket lines

November

Lina + Vas

• Have attended the REC committee and EDI committeeporting the University’s REC focus groups
• Have proposed to the University that students or Guild representative be on the recruitment panels

Kathryn

• I have contacted the BAME students PGR lead- awaiting response.
• A meeting has been arranged between myself and the leads of the PoC PGR progression project.

December

• Supporting the University’s REC focus groups
• Led REC discussion groups with leadership teams

Kathryn & Vas

• Waiting to arrange a meeting with the new lead of the PoC PGR.

Kathryn

• Met with a member of staff who is involved in PoC PGR progression.