guild council motions - february 2, 2012

8/3/2019 Guild Council Motions - February 2, 2012

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GC.2.12.10a

If you have any queries, please e-mail [email protected]

10.a Holding Guild Officers and Trustees to

Account

Author Name: Ben Aylott

Purpose:

Amend Existing Policy/Bye-Law x

Add New Policy/Bye-Law x

Summary: To amend Bye-law 11 and add a new Bye-law so as to empower

students (through Guild Council) in holding Officers and Trustees to

account.

Please submit all motions to [email protected] by the motions deadline.

Section One: Amend Existing Policy/Bye-Law

1.1. Title of Belief and Commitment or Bye-Law

1.2. Proposed Amended Text (normally no more than 200 words in case of Belief and

Commitment)

Section Two: Add New Policy/Bye-Law

2.1. Belief and Commitment Title or Bye Law

2.2 Proposed Text (normally no more than 200 words in case of Belief and Commitment)

Section Three: Mandate A Guild Officer(s) or Committee

GUILD COUNCIL MEETING

2.2.12

Attached

See attached

Removal of Guild Officers b Guild Council

Bye-Law 11 – Scrutiny Committee

mailto:[email protected]






GC.2.12.10a



Account

Section Four: Written Statement in Support of Motion (please do not go outside the box)

The 'Reclaim the Guild' report (available at http://bit.ly/x1TTLa) makes several

recommendations for improving Guild democracy and the accountability of its Officers

and Trustees.

One of these recommendations is to return the power to remove Guild Trustees and

Officers (some of whom are also Trustees) to Guild Council (GC) through motions of

no confidence.

Currently petitions calling for motion of no confidence must pass a 'Scrutiny Committee'

(SC) composed of Trustees and a member of the University nominee who is not one of the

trustees.

As well as being a bureaucratic obstruction, the SC, as it stands, significantly impedes

the ability of GC and students to hold Officers and Trustees to account. It also

represents a poor separation of powers as Trustees, not students, get to determine if

GC can even debate serious mis-conduct of an Officer or Trustee.

As the report makes clear, the Guild is one of only three student unions in the Russell

Group universities which have a SC and the problem of the accountability of its TB is

compounded by it being the only student union in the Russell Group which does not

have a majority of students on its TB.

We propose to eliminate the SC for petitions calling for motions of no confidence in

Officers. Instead these will go straight to GC by the processes outlined below. To this

effect we propose to amend bye-law 11 so that it no longer covers Officers and add a

new bye-law which outlines clearly the processes by which Officers can face a

motion of no confidence in GC. In summary, these are:

By a petition of twenty members of GC submitted at least 7 days prior to a GC

meeting.Automatically by receiving three consecutive censures.

Guild Officers who are removed from office by this process will be permitted to stand

in any subsequent cross-campus election to fill their position.

We propose to change the membership of the SC for petitions calling for motions of

no confidence in Trustees so that it is an all-student committee. To this effect we

propose amendments to bye-law 11 which change the composition of the SC to:

Chair of GC (who replaces the role of the Chief Executive)

Student Trustee chosen by the Trustees (except the person subject to the

petition)Four Guild Councillors elected by GC annually

We also make small changes to the time-frames involved in the process to reduce

the amount of time necessary to complete it.

We believe these changes significantly empower Guild Council and students in

holding Officers and Trustees to account whilst retaining sufficient safe-guards to

prevent spurious and unreasonable attempts to remove them.





Account – Appendix 1

BYE-LAW 11 – Scrutiny Committee

1. Purpose

1.1 In accordance with Article 20.2, a Trustee (except the University Trustee) may be removed

from office by a motion of no confidence passed by a two thirds majority vote of Guild Councilprovided that the motion is triggered by a petition of no confidence signed by a two thirds

majority of the Scrutiny Committee.

1.2 The Scrutiny Committee is therefore responsible for deciding whether or not it is

appropriate for a motion of no confidence in a Trustee to be put to a vote of Guild Council.

1.3 In this Bye-Law, the Trustee who is the subject of the proposed motion of no confidence shall

be referred to as the “Relevant Individual”.

2. Membership/Composition

2.1 Subject to paragraph 2.2 below, the Scrutiny Committee shall consist of:

(a) the Chair of Guild Council

(b) a Student Trustee, appointed by the Board of Trustees; and

(c) four Guild Councillors elected by Guild Council

2.2 The Trustee who is the subject of the proposed motion of no confidence shall not take part in

the appointment of the Student Trustee.

3. Process

3.1 Twenty members of Guild Council may submit a request to the Chair of Guild Council that a

motion of no confidence in the Relevant Individual be put to a vote of Guild Council (the“Request”).

3.2 The Request should contain a statement of the grounds upon which the Request is brought

and of the facts and matters relied upon.

3.3 Upon receipt of the Request, the Chair of Guild Council shall arrange for the members of the

Scrutiny Committee to be appointed. The Chair of Guild Council shall also notify the Relevant

Individual that the Request has been submitted.

3.4 The Scrutiny Committee shall meet within 14 days of the submission of the Request to the

Chair of Guild Council.

3.5 The members of the Scrutiny Committee shall elect one of their number to preside as chair of

the Scrutiny Committee (the “Chair”).

4. Notification of Meeting

4.1 The Relevant Individual shall be given at least 10 clear days‟ written notice of the date,






time and place of the meeting of the Scrutiny Committee and shall be provided with a summary

of the matters contained in the Request.

4.2 The Relevant Individual has the right to submit written evidence to the Scrutiny Committee.

Such evidence must be submitted to the Scrutiny Committee at least 2 days prior to the date of

the meeting.

5. Procedure before the Scrutiny Committee

5.1 The function of the Scrutiny Committee is to review the reasonableness and appropriateness

of the Request.

5.2 The Scrutiny Committee will consider the documents, statements and other evidence

contained in the Request.

5.3 The Scrutiny Committee will also consider any evidence submitted by the Relevant Individual

in response to the Request.

5.4 Where the Chair considers it appropriate or necessary, the Scrutiny Committee may hear

submissions from and cross examine the Relevant Individual and the members of Guild Council

who submitted the Request. The Scrutiny Committee shall not interview or cross examine any

witnesses.

6. Courses of action which the Scrutiny Committee may take

6.1 The courses of action which the Scrutiny Committee may take are:

(a) to grant the Request, provided a two thirds majority of the members of the

Scrutiny Committee agree; or

(b) to reject the Request.

6.2 Within seven days of the Scrutiny Committee deciding on the appropriate course of action,

the Chair of Guild Council will notify in writing the decision of the Scrutiny Committee to the

Relevant Individual and to the members of Guild Council who submitted the Request.




10a. Holding Guild Officers and Trustees to


Removal of Guild Officers by Guild Council

1. Purpose

1.1 This Bye-Law specifies two processes by which a motion of no confidence in a Guild Officer

can be put before Guild Council.

1.2 The motion of no confidence shall require a two thirds majority vote of a quorate Guild

Council meeting to pass.

1.3 If a motion of no confidence is passed by Guild Council the Guild Officer shall be removed

from their position with immediate effect.

1.4 If the Guild Officer is also a Trustee a successful vote of no confidence shall also serve as a

request to the Trustee Board to remove them as a Trustee by the process outlined in Article 22.

1.5 The removal of a Guild Officer by Guild Council shall not affect their eligibility for

participating in any subsequent Guild Officer election.

2. Motion of no confidence by petition

2.1 Twenty members of Guild Council may submit a petition to the Chair of Guild Council that a

motion of no confidence in the Guild Officer be put to a vote of Guild Council (the “Request”).

2.2 The Request should contain a statement of the grounds upon which the Request is brought

and of the facts and matters relied upon.

2.3 The Chair of Guild Council shall immediately notify the Guild Officer on receipt of the request.

2.4 If the Request is received at least 7 days prior to the next scheduled Guild Council meetingthe motion of no confidence shall be considered by that meeting. Otherwise it will be submitted

to the next scheduled meeting.

2.5 The Request and any supporting documents, as well as any documents received in defence

from the Guild Officer in question, shall be distributed to all Guild Councillors as part of the

motion of no confidence.

3. Motion of no confidence by censure

3.1 If a Guild Officer receives three censures during their term in office, either since a previous

motion of no confidence in them fell or since the beginning of their term of office, this willautomatically introduce a motion of no confidence as the next item on the agenda of the Guild

Council meeting in which they receive the censures.




10b. Appointment Panel

GC.2.12.b

Author Name: Tim Lucas

Purpose:


Summary: To amend appointments panel make up and quoracy.





Commitment)



Please explain the rationale for your motion. Please ensure that your statement does notcontain any profane or derogatory language.


2.2.12

Amend appointments panel in by laws.

3.2 Membership and Composition 3.2.1 The Appointments Panel will consist of: the President; the Chair of the Trustees; two representatives of the University of Birmingham; Vice President (Democracy and Resources);

two members of Guild Council; two members of the Guild Officer Group who are not Trustees; one postgraduate Student;

Review August 2012 3.3 Quorum 3.3.1 No business shall be transacted at an Appointments Panel meeting unless aquorum is present. A quorum will be at least 9 members of the Panel one of whommust be the Chair of the Trustee Board, or the President or a representative of theUniversity of Birmingham.








10b. Appointment Panel

Section Four: Written Statement in Support of Motion

The role of the appointments panel is see below:3.4 Main Duties

3.4.1 To recruit, shortlist and interview prospective Trustee candidates.3.4.2 To carry out regular skills, experience and diversity audits of the Board ofTrustees and identify the skills, experience, characteristics and backgrounds that areneeded to provide high quality effective governance.3.4.3 To prepare role descriptions, person specifications and an information pack forprospective Trustees and to be realistic about the time commitments involved and whatis expected of each Trustee.3.4.4 To prepare a recruitment plan and timetable, and to consider the mostappropriate recruitment mechanisms.3.4.5 To identify a list of prospective Trustees and develop their interest in the work ofthe organisation.3.4.6 To meet the prospective members of the Board of Trustees, to scrutinise theirsuitability and to make recommendations to the Board of Trustees.3.4.7 To induct, mentor and involve new members of the Board of Trustees.3.4.8 To appoint the Chief Executive of the Guild.

Given that one of the roles of the trustee board is to hold the chief executive toaccount, it is clear that any influence of the chief executive on the appointments panelmust be avoided at all costs. Recently the role of the chief executive with regards theappointments panel has come into question (whether rightly or wrongly). Currently thechief executive is only meant to be observer and as a result the move to take the ChiefExecutive out of the process should not any impact on the process. This will hopefullyincrease confidence in the appointments panel and avoid any controversy in the future,allowing for a truly independent process.

Due to the high importance placed on the trustee board in any charity, the process ofselecting trustees should be seen as one of the most important in the organisation.Currently quoracy is only 5 members out of the suggested 10. As a result it is my beliefthat no real effort is ever made to achieve the full 10 members required in the articlesof association. The reason why this is important is that the full 10 members are meantto bring a range of views and experiences to contribute to any appointment. Increasingquoracy to 9 will force the organisation to take the requirement to obtain all 10members seriously and also hopefully reduce conflicts of interest and personalagendas clouding any decision made by the appointments panel.

It should be noted that the removal of the chief executive from being an observer may

result in the trustee board having to amend the articles of association to accommodatethis change in the by-laws. I am more than happy that the trustee board will considerguild councils request to make this amendment and respond to guild council if it is notpossible, although they can only reject a motion on set criteria.




10c. Biological Recording

GC.2.12.c

Author Name: Ben Aylott

Purpose:

Add New Policy x

Mandate Officer(s) or Committees(s) x

Summary: Guild Support for students campaigning against the closure of the

Biological Recording programmes






3.1. Person(s) Responsible For Delivering Mandate

3.2. Completion Date for Mandate


2.2.12

We believe that the Guild should be consulted at least a month in advance of anyconsultation (or action) representing major alterations to academic provision.

We believe that strategic incompatibility, on its own, is not an acceptable basis on

which to close otherwise popular and financially viable academic programmes.

Major course changes

February 9th 2012

President

Vice-President (Education)








10c. Biological Recording

3.3. Mandate Text (shall normally be no more than 200 words)


Communicate to the Vice-Chancellor, by a letter (which is also to be posted on

the Guild website) that the Guild (i) supports the campaign by student

representatives of the Biological Recording programmes to achieve at least a full

transfer of the academic and administrative functions of the courses to another

HEI (ii) believes that recruitment on the MSci programmes needs to resumeimmediately to ensure the continuing viability of these programmes (iii) believes

that incompatibilities with the Universities business strategy, on its own, is not an

acceptable basis to close otherwise successful and sustainable courses (iv)

protests the lack of communication with the Guild prior to the beginning of the

consultation .

Pursue the full transfer of the programmes to another HEI by lobbying the

University and actively participating in the task force being setup by the

University to achieve this.

The University is currently consulting on the closure or transfer of the Biological Recording

programmes based at the Gateway centre in Shrewsbury.

The University regards the courses as being of a 'high quality' and accept that they are

cost neutral despite consuming (un-specified) resources on main campus.

The University has accepted that it is closing the programmes not for reasons of quality or

finances but because they are not compatible with the long-term 'strategy' of the School

of Biosciences.

These are non-traditional programmes with qualifications offered between UCert and MSc

with a diverse intake of recently graduated and mature students.

The course is unique in the UK in providing practical unified training in the area ofBiological identification, which is essential for fieldwork/data collection in areas ranging

from ecology to climate science.

It provides certification and training in skills and knowledge of which there is a shortage

nationally and graduates from the programme have excellent employment prospects.

Students on the programmes are currently mounting a highly organised campaign which

has already won the support of several learned societies.

The students have already won several concessions from the University, including an

extension of the consultation deadline to September 2012 (originally January) and the re-

opening of recruitment on the UCert programmes.

In order for a successful transfer of the of the course to another institution it is essential that

pressure is maintained on the University. Particularly important for the continuing viability of

the programmes is that applications to the MSc program is re-opened.

This motion provides the framework for continuing and extending the support the Guild is

providing to the students.




10d. Change to Election Running

GC.2.12.d

Author Name: Simon Furse

Purpose:

Add New Policy/Bye-Law

Mandate Officer(s) or Committees(s)

Summary: All major changes in the way we run elections to have to pass

through Guild Council





Please remember that the text of a Belief and Commitment should establish generalbeliefs of the Guild of Students‟ on an area of medium or long-term concern and any

commitments necessary to achieve them. Beliefs and Commitment may not mandatethe Guild of Students or individual Officers or Committees to carry out specific actions nor should they contain statistics, data or other forms of factual information.






2.2.12

Major Changes in the way that elections work need wide consultation in the student

body and must pass through Guild Council. Software that matches voters tocandidates is very controversial and needs serious debate and thought before it canbe implemented.

Consultation on Chan es in Elections

VPDR

Before the next Guild Council

The VPDR will organize a debate on whether vote match software will improve Guild

Elections and submit a motion to the next guild council on whether it is to beimplemented.








10d. Change to Election Running


The Vote Match software has been announced without any kind of consultation or

mandate from students. It has been portrayed as a neutral and obvious way of improving democracy when it actually relies on certain ideas about what politics is andshould be. This motion is not against Vote Match (I remain undecided myself) butsimply that there are serious questions to be thought about and that we should not

rush into anything like this before fully consulting students.




10e. Diverse Food

GC.2.12.e

Author Name: Nicola Levy & Alex Fenton

Purpose:


Summary: Mandate the President, VPDR and VP Sport to look into providing more kosher,

halal, vegetarian and vegan food provisions in the guild outlets








2.2.12

President, VPDR, VPSport

To look at the possibility of providing and increasing the availability of Kosher, Halal and

vegetarian/vegan options in the Guild to cater for minority groups and their dietary

requirements.

The University of Birmingham Guild of Students is rightly proud of the many students from

religious minorities involved in Guild activities. The Guild should also be rightly proud of the

wide-range of tasty delicacies that are currently available through its existing food outlets.

The Guild is continuously looking to open its doors to more and more students, often just as

a place to meet socially. It is clear that some students from religious communities would

feel more comfortable to do so if greater provisions were made to include them.

By looking into the possibility of looking into providing and increasing the availability of

Kosher, Halal and vegetarian/vegan options in the Guild, we can start the ball rolling oncreating an even more inclusive atmosphere for our students. This should be done, where

appropriate, both in-house and in conjunction with the university for maximum effect and

availability.

This is not simply for a short-term benefit. This is an investment in the Guild that will send a

clear message to prospective students that their future Union is interested in catering for

their individual needs.

End of Academic Year








10f. Give ‘em the ole heave-ho soldier!

GC.2.12.f

Author Name: Matt Saull and Chris Bates

Purpose:


Summary: Mandate VPAD and VPHC to create a mechanism whereby

Society and RA committee members can be removed by their

members in the case of their incompetence.








2.2.12

VPHC and VPAD

We mandate the VPHC and VPAD to consult their relevant sub-committees toformulate a viable option for the removal of substandard RAs and Committee

Members by their constituents.

“Oh no! The Treasurer of my favourite society isn’t doing his/her job! What can I do to

get them removed from post, oh wise Guild person?” “Nothing, now go back to your

Chicken Kievs.”

This hypothetical role play emphasises the lack of accountability which society/Halls of

Residence members hold over their elected officials.

At the moment, the only mechanism for a removal of a committee member is via SGC

and to enforce an EGM, which means that all the committee members have to standagain for re-election, not just the individual concerned. We would like to mandate the

VPHC and VPAD to form a working system of no-confidence in a specific committee

member which would be a viable system for re-enforcing the democratic values of Student Groups.

Next Guild Council








10g. Guild Council and The Trustee Board

GC.2.12.g


Purpose:


Summary: To refine the guild council guidance document with regards the

steering committee.





Commitment)


Communicate.


2.2.12

Edit Section of the By-Laws that outlines the powers of guild council.

1.2.6 From time to time be able to make a request to or provide a steer to the trustee

board on an issue. The trustee board is under no obligation to fulfil or respond to any

request or abide by any steer. If deemed necessary the trustee board may respond to a

steer or request via the trustee board report.

Why?

To allow guild council to provide direct steers to the trustee board or directly provide

information to the trustee board on the opinion of Guild Council. While this is important

the legal responsibilities of the trustee board are maintained and they hold the ultimate

decision making power within the guild of students.








10h. Injunction – Our response

GC.2.12.h

Author Name: Edward Bauer

Purpose: Defend the right to protest


Summary:

On the 25th of November the University of Birmingham took out an injunction. This

injunction is poorly worded and needs to be withdrawn. It has been widely criticised

including by human rights groups namely Amnesty International and Liberty. The Guild

has requested it is withdrawn the university has declined. The Guild should now organise

a demonstration to defend the right to protest.







2.2.12

x

Sabbatical officer team

The officer team should write a letter to Vice Chancellor requesting a final time the

injunction is removed. By February 4th at midday if the university does not pledge to

remove the injunction the guild should call a “rally to defend the right to protest” for

2pm Wednesday Feb 15th. This rally should march from mermaid square to the clock

tower for speeches. The Guild should promote the rally heavily on social media and with

leaflets and posters around campus. All officers should use social media profiles to

promote the rally.

February 15th








10h. Injunction – Our response


An injunction banning “occupational protests” for “persons unknown” on a university

campus is against the principle of free speech expected. It has be condemned widely

even by human rights group like Amnesty International and Liberty. Its continued use iseven causing further reputational damage to the university.

There is some debate if the university intended this to be against the 58 students who took

part the in occupation or all students. A number of prominent lawyers have gone on

record as stating the injunction is worded in way that it could be used for both.

If this injunction is against all of us or just the 58 people involved it is still abhorrent and

should be removed immediately.




10i. Non - Sabbatical Officers and Other

GC.2.12.i


Purpose:


Summary: To make it so non- sabbs can‟t sit on any student group

committees in order that they can concentrate all of their extra-

curricular efforts on their remit.


Section One: Amend Existing Policy/Bye-Law1.1. Title of Belief and Commitment or Bye-Law


Commitment)



2.2.12

Edit Section of the By-Laws that outlines that refers to the chairpersons of guild council

7. Restrictions on Officers of the Guild

7.1 Any Member elected to be a Guild Officer or Chair /Deputy Chair of Guild Council

shall cease to be a Guild Councillor during his or her term of office. Any Member elected

to be a Sabbatical Officer shall cease to be a member of any Guild Committee (other

than ex officio). Elected Non-sabbatical officers must cease to be a committee member

of any student group.

What’s Changed?

The policy was altered last year to allow non-sabbs to sit on student group committees.

This amendment re-introduces this role.

Why?

Recently there has been more than one occasion where a non-sabb‟s lack of work in

their remit has been defended by their work load. Not only is this offensive to people

who sit on committees it also indicates that the non-sabbatical role can be highly

demanding if done correctly.

Non-sabbs have a duty to represent 1‟000s of students and are elected via cross

campus election. For this reason their full attention should be given to this role and they

should not be allowed to hold several positions within the guild. This will hopefully give

more importance to the role and allow for more effective representation of students.








10j. Parking Up the Wrong Tree

GC.2.12.j

Author Name: Zuki Majuqwana

Purpose: Approval


Summary: This motion holds that the Guild of Students opposes all parking schemes that

operate to detriment of students in areas where there is a high volume of

student residences. This motion mandates the Vice-President (Housing &

Community) to actively oppose all parking schemes of this type.

Title of Belief and Commitment:

Proposed Text




2.2.12

Parking Schemes

The Guild of Students actively opposes the implementation any sort of parking restriction

scheme in student areas if they (a) increase the cost of living for students in that area,

(b) will restrict the number of cars that can belong to student households, or (c) will

operate in such a way that will prejudice or disadvantage students in some way that an

ordinary household would be less likely to experience.

This is a really good idea.

Background:

In March last year a proposal was made by Birmingham City Council to introduce a

parking scheme to the Dale Road area of Selly Oak. There were two rounds of resident

consultation that followed, both of which were carried out while most students were

away from Selly Oak for the holidays. As very, very few students responded to the

consultation, the Guild of Students wished to respond on behalf of the students however

without a mandate, policy, or any evidence to suggest students would not be in

opposition to the scheme it is difficult for the Guild/VPHC to oppose it.

This policy will unfortunately not affect the Dale Road scheme as that is too far down the

line, but may influence future schemes that the council will inevitably try to introduce to

greater Bournbrook.




10k. Tweaking the President’s Role

GC.2.12.k


Purpose:


Summary: A motion to improve and add clarity to the president‟s role, as

described in the by-laws.





Commitment)



2.2.12

Edit section 8.8.1 of the by-laws

8.8 Duties of Officers

8.8.1 President

As Chair and spokesperson of both the Sabbatical Officer Group and the Guild Officer

Group the President shall be first amongst equals and act as the lead Officer of the

Guild of Students responsible for supporting each sabbatical officer in their role. Thepresident is also responsible for ensuring the effective co-operation and communication

within the officer team, mediating any disputes when they arise.

In conjunction with the officer team, liaising with and advising the Chief

Executive on matters relating to the Guild.

Be ultimately accountable for the Guild of Students complying with the provisions

of the Bye-Laws and adhering to guild council motions.








10k. Tweaking the President’s Role


Please submit motion to [email protected] by the motions deadline. Guild of

Students’ Steering Committee reserves the right to amend the text of any proposed Belief

and Commitment or Mandate to correct mistakes in spelling, grammar or procedure. This

may include removing superfluous text. Such corrections shall not be made to your

Written Statement.

Should the Steering Committee feel that substantive changes are needed for your motion

to fulfil criteria for submission to Guild Council then you will be contacted to discuss the

issue.

What’s Changed?

Removed the line that says the president is first amongst equals and clarified what

the role of a president should actually be.

Have included that the president is actually the spokesman for the team (not incharge).

Have included that the officer team should be liaising with the chief executive.

Made it so there is now accountability for guild council policy/motions being

ignored.

Why?

The phrase “first amongst equals” is a total contradiction, the president should never be

able to make a “presidential decision” but every decision should be as a result of the

whole sabbatical team. The guild itself noted that this could be an issue with student

groups and made changes appropriately. It should be noted that the role of the president

in a Sabbatical Officer sense is extremely different from Student groups or RA‟s, but the

principle is still sound.

Supporting the team and resolving conflicts is perhaps the key role of the president but this

isn‟t actually included in the role description currently.

Currently there is zero accountability for motions and policy being ignored. This is

ultimately the role of the president so this is now included in their job description.

What impact will this have?

Essentially none. Any good president will adhere to these principles already so this motion

will not significantly alter the role or the presidents day to day duties.








10l. Questions and Comments on Motions

GC.2.12.l


Purpose:


Summary: To allow Guild Council to communicate more freely with the trustee board.





Commitment)



2.2.12

Edit Section 6.2.1 of the Guild Council Guidance Document

6.2 Order of Debate

6.2.1

After speeches the chair will allow for a number questions. The total number of

questions allowed for each motion will be at the discretion of the chair.

The chair may allow an individual to comment on what has been said during

questions without this comment being in the form of a question.

What’s Changed?

Added into the guidance documents that people are actually allowed to ask

questions on motions (it is not currently allowed).

To avoid frustration and to increase debate, people are allowed to make

comment on what‟s been said, that is not necessarily a question. Various parties

can then respond to this.

Why?

We already ask questions on motions, but according to the guidance document

we can‟t, a clear oversight that needs to be rectified.

Allow comment to allow for proper debate, reduce frustration in guild council

and save time.








10m. We aren’t Cross with Fliss but the VPAD

should attend RAG conference.

GC.2.12.m


Purpose:


Summary: To make the Vice President (Activities and Development) attend RAG

conference each year to gain valuable knowledge, skills and contacts that

will help student groups and the Guild as a whole.





Commitment)




2.2.12

Amend Section 8.8.6 Vice President Activities and Develo ment

The Vice President (Activities and Development) shall:

If budgets allow, attend the national R.A.G. (raising and giving) Conference

every year with at least one member of student development staff. The Vice

President (Activities and Development) shall also invite other sabbatical officers

to attend if they wish.

Rag conference is a large scale conference held by a different RAG society, the union

their university each year. It spans roughly 3 days and provides all of the RAGs,

Volunteering projects and Unions a chance to meet in a formal organised manner. Over

the three days the attendees get a chance to meet each other, engage with many

charities and volunteering opportunities in a large fair, and also attend a large selection of

seminars and lectures given by highly respected people from the third sector.

Last year Carnival attended as the only representative of our guild, they were one of the

only Rags to attend without a staff or Sabb presence. The conference provides an

opportunity meet with other unions/rags/charities and find out what is going on in the

world of student fundraising and volunteering, it would allow the guild to find out what

some of the pioneering universities are doing at the moment (loughborough/durham) andlearn how we could improve our own efforts.

RAG (raising and giving) is carried out by many student groups in the guild and this

invaluable experience will benefit a whole range of diverse students. Many of the seminars

that are tailored to student fundraising and volunteering in general, the guild currently has

over 20 volunteering projects that stand to gain a lot having our guild staff and Sabb more

educated about what is happening in this sector currently. A lot of expertise and advice is

given out and for the guild miss this opportunity would be a crime. Our Student groups and

the Guild itself could benefit massively from having staff that are as informed and

connected as possible. Networking is also a great part of RAG conference








10n. Save the Library

GC.2.12.n

Author Name: David Franklin

Purpose:

Amend Existing Policy/Bye-Law

Summary: This is an amendment to the Guild beliefs and commitments in

recognition that the beauty and architectural quality of our

campus is one of the main attractions to prospective and current

students and as such, should be maintained at all costs.



1.1. Title of Belief and Commitment


Commitment)




2.2.12

22. Universit Services and Facilities

The Guild of Students also recognises that one of the most attractive features of the

University to Students is the beauty and atmosphere of its Campuses and Redbrick

architecture. As such, the Guild of Students is committed to lobbying the University to do

its utmost to preserve such heritage when considering the architectural development

and construction of its campuses.

As has been consistently shown, a significant proportion of the 28,000 students at

Birmingham, and the many thousands more that apply each year, chose our institution

after having been impressed by its stunning architecture and unparalleled atmosphere.

The University of Birmingham is renowned nationally for the architectural heritage,

aesthetic appearance and atmosphere which constitute its campus; it stands as one of

the foremost examples of „Redbrick‟ architecture in the country. Indeed, that the

university places such an emphasis on such espousal of our heritage as a selling factor is

also indicative of its ability to attract prospective students.

Although it‟s clear that development of many parts of the campus is much needed,having seen a computer-generated image of the proposed library construction,

modernity, architectural utilitarianism and short-term fashion is overriding traditional and

long-term interests. The new Brammall Auditorium stands as testament to what

conscientious architectural planning, married with a desire for modernity and efficiency

can achieve.

It is with these concerns in mind that we urge the Projects Department to reconsider the

submitted proposal for the new library (and any future developments or construction) and

to encompass a more traditional design into the proceedings or, at least, to not obliterate

the front façade which, not only provides useful space, but stands as a monument to our

University‟s heritage.








10o. Solid Solidarity



The President with the VP Education should write a letter to VC saying the guild

objects to disciplinary against the student and call for it to be dropped. This lettershould be posted on the guild website by February 5th.

If the student receives punitive action from the university action the guild shouldorganise a large demonstration in protest.

The students protest was one Peaceful two Lawful and three Non disruptive to therunning of the university. The protest raised a lot of attention for the national

campaign against the white paper and at the time the guild said it would protect therights of the people involved.

Simon is committed member of the guild of students and works hard to ensure the

university remains accessible to all. We should all unite to protect him for this politicaldisciplinary against him.




10p. SpresExec

GC.2.12.p

Author Name: Zuki Majuqwana (on behalf of the Residents‟ Executive)

Purpose: Approval


Summary:

This motion is intended at add a new sub-committee to the Residences Executive (Bye

Law 6, Section 8) which will outline the Terms of Reference for the Residences Executive

(Sport), or SpresExec.

Add New Policy/Bye-Law2.1. Bye Law Title

2.2 Proposed Text


2.2.12

Residences‟ Executive S ort :

9. Residents’ Executive (Sport)

9.1 Purpose9.1.1 The Residents‟ Executive (Sport) shall:

Work with the Vice-President (Sport) to co-ordinate activities in relation to

sport in University owned and affiliated student accommodation as outlined

in the Residents‟ Associations Constitution

Provide a support forum and decision making body for all Residents‟Association Sports Officers

Meet at least biweekly to ensure effective communication between Officers

9.2 Membership & Composition

9.2.1 The Residents‟ Executive (Sport) shall consist of: Vice-President (Sport)

Vice-President (Housing & Community)

The Residents‟ Association Sports Officers (or nominee) from each Residents‟

Association Committee as recognised by the Residents‟ Associations

Constitutions.

9.3

Main Duties9.3.1 Co-ordinate sporting activities to the benefit of the Residents whom the

Officers represent

9.3.2 Inform Residents of sporting events and/or issues relevant to them, and to co-

ordinate this publicity.

9.3.3 Be the collective body responsible for encouraging Residents to become

involved in sporting activities

9.3.4 To be the collective body responsible for promoting a variety of sports,

activities and healthy lifestyles to the Residents they represent.




10p. SpresExec


This committee has existed for roughly 3 years but never been firmed up in the Bye-Laws. This motion seeks to finalise it.




10q. Steering Reform

GC.2.12.q


Purpose:


Summary: To refine the guild council guidance document with regards the

steering committee.





Commitment)


2.2.12

Edit Section 5 of the Guild Council Guidance Document

5 Guild Council Motions

5.1 Steering shall be responsible for agreeing the motions that may be heard by Guild

Council. Steering shall use a set of criteria to inform their decision (Section 5.5).

5.2 No member of the Senior Management Team may be permitted to view any

motion or discuss a motion with any member of the steering committee (or member of

staff) until the steering process is complete.

5.3 The Steering Committee shall consist of:

• The Chair of Guild Council

• The Deputy Chair of Guild Council

• The President

• Vice President (Democracy and Resources) (Chair)

• Vice President (Housing and Community)

• Vice President (Activities and Development)

• Vice President (Education) • Vice President (Welfare)

• Vice President (Sport)

5.4 Steering will be a closed meeting but a secretary may be present to record the

minutes.

Continued.....









Continued.....

5.5 The following criteria shall be employed by Steering when considering the exclusion

of a motion from Guild Council:

5.5.1 The motion should not call for action that is clearly illegal under the Laws of the

Country.

5.5.1.1 Whenever it is necessary for legal advice to be taken in relation to any guild

council activity, this legal advice must be provided to guild council, with both the

initial communication with external solicitors and the response. This will be

applicable to all guild council business unless:

· Steering determines that publishing legal advice is likely to prejudice the Guild

in a likely legal dispute;

· Steering determines that publishing legal advice would not be appropriate.

5.5.2 The motion should not discuss any staffing matter that is outside the powers of guild

council as outlined point 33 in the articles of association.

5.5.3 The motion should not call for action that is outside the Guild's Charity or CompanyObjects.

5.5.4 The motion should not include anything that is slanderous of libellous, or information

that cannot be substantiated if required. A motion may only be rejected on this basis if

an author can not substantiate what is written in the motion.

5.5.5 The motion should not address issues that are best addressed through other

democratic structures such as Open Forums, or the Officer Team.

5.5.6 The motion should include the required information on the form and should also

include enough information in each section so that guild council is able to debate the

motion effectively.

5.5.7 When considering whether a motion should go to GC, steering should bare

consideration to if what the motion calls for is financially feasible.

5.5.8 The motion should not discuss the allocation of rooms to student

groups/associations within the Guild of Students.

5.6 In the event that Steering feel a motion calls for action that may have a reputational

risk to the Guild, or the public hearing of the motion may create a reputational risk for

the Guild, they can refer the motion to the Trustee Board for guidance.

5.7 Motions that are rejected by steering will be published in steering‟s report to Guild

Council unless a motion is rejected based on criteria 5.5.4. The reasons for rejection will

be clearly outlined in this report.

5.8 Motions will appear on the agenda from earliest to latest submitted.

6 The Guild Council Meeting6.1 Order of Business

Motions – Items for discussion which require a formal decision from Guild Council

to allow Guild Policy to be set. These must be pre-submitted (by the advertised

date for each meeting), and have been seen by Steering prior to any

amendments to be discussed. A motion may be amended in guild council but

this amendment should be not breech any of the criteria laid out in section 5.5.






A summary of what has changed:

The guidelines for steering have been tightened up and clarified, allowing for less

confusion of the powers of steering. The changes allow steering to be more independent,

more accountable and transparent. While still recognising the important role steering plays

in the Guild Council Process.

Major Changes:

1. The Senior Management Team have been withdrawn from the process of steering.

This has been done to increase the independence of steering and ensure that

steering decisions are purely based on the criteria laid out in the by-laws. Staff

should never (and never do) be giving legal advice to steering and given that

there are four trustees on the steering committee the disadvantage of losing staff

input should be minimised. The Senior Management Team will no longer be able to

view and discuss motions before steering but will be allowed access to these

motions when the steering process is complete, increasing the democraticindependence of the steering committee.

2. Outlined who actually sits on the committee and removed staff input into the

process.

3. Steering will be a closed meeting to allow for legal discussions but a secretary will

be present so that the committee can concentrate on discussion.

4. Steering will now be transparent with legal advice and publish this to guild council

(apart from in two instances).

5. Motions will no longer be able to allocate rooms to student groups through Guild

Council. This has been done to prevent a free for all on bookable rooms within the

guild, preventing chaos and to ensure that every group has a chance to book

rooms within the guild. Making a judgement on room bookings should be done by

student groups through Student Group Committee or Better student group forum.

6. Clarifies that people should be asked to substantiate slander before the motion is

rejected (this is essentially already written in the guidance document).

7. Included a section about how much information the motion contains. Currently

steering would not be able to reject a blank motion on the current criteria.

8. All rejected motions are now published to steering to help with transparency (apart

from motions that are rejected on criteria 5.6.4).

I feel that these changes are really important to increase student confidence in the

steering process and ensure that the process is transparent as it possible can be. I have

personally not had any problems with steering and I am not criticising the current steering

committee however, I feel there is definitely room for improvement on how steering runs.




10r. Support Campaign for a General Meeting

GC.2.12.r

Author Name: Sean Farmelo

Purpose: Supporting General Meeting Campaign


Summary:

This motion mandates officers to help the campaign for a student

democracy in certain concrete ways.







2.2.12

VPDR supported by the rest of the sabbatical and non sabbatical officer team.

The Guild Officer Group should support the „Reclaim the Guild‟ campaign for student

democracy. Guild council mandates that all officers actively work towards achieving

the goal of 10% of the membership signing the Petition for a General Meeting. To this

end these actions should be taken;

-The GOG should be involved in door knocking across campus. Guild Officers should

utilize their media channels to publicize the campaign.

-The petition and the related campaign materials should be placed in key locations in

the Guild so that members can learn about it and sign it easily.

-An email should be sent to all members informing them of the campaign. This email will

include links to reference materials for students including Robert Bradshaw‟s report

entitled „Better Governance‟. Links should also be included to the Facebook group, web

page and video.-Members of GOG should (timetables permitting) attend the weekly „Reclaim the Guild‟

meetings to feed back the progress they are making and help build the campaign.

-Provisions should be made so that students studying on satellite sites can also easily sign

the petition.

Until enough signatures are gathered to trigger a general meeting or May 20th 2012.








10r. Support Campaign for a General Meeting


„Reclaim the Guild‟ is a campaign for a General Meeting of the Guild of Students. This

meeting would be the highest legislative body of the Guild and would be able tomake decisions on pieces of legislation Guild Councillors currently cannot, namely the

Memorandum and Articles of Association. All full members attending the General

Meeting will be able to vote and participate, the collective decisions will become

Guild Company Law, and will therefore be placed above decisions of the Trustee

Board. The General Meeting presents an opportunity for all 27500 odd students to be

directly involved in creating and editing the legislature of their own Student Union. This

is an opportunity which presents all students with a chance to have participate in the

democratic process and should be wholly supported by the Officer Group, many of

whom ran calling for greater student involvement and democracy in the Guild. A

General Meeting is automatically triggered when 10% of the membership of the Guild

sign a petition calling for one. It should be noted that the collection of these signatures

won‟t impact directly and policy changes, the specific points in the petition are merely

those that will have to be debated in the General Meeting. The Officer team has agreat deal of media power and hold positions of authority and respectability that

would help give the campaign some weight. This motion outlines some specific ways in

which the Officer team, spearheaded by VPDR could help collect the signatures.




10s. The Term Ahead White Paper, UCU & NUS

GC.2.12.s

Author Name: Edward Bauer

Purpose:


Summary:

This motion is designed to set clear policy for the likely events in the coming months in

terms of higher education campaigning. I set out the events in the motion and what I

believe the most appropriate response by the guild would be. However these are not

fixed please feel free to amend and to contact me prior to GC so we can make these

amendments beforehand to save time.






2.2.12

Guild officer team

For the officer team and guild on occasion of the outlined to events to do as required in

this motion : -

1. In the event of the white paper being presented to parliament in for either a bill

or reading to as follows.

a. Join in calls for the NUS to organise a national demonstration against

privatisation.

b. To organise and participate in mass of lobby of MP‟s at local surgeries,

with lettering writing and at parliament.

c. Organise a demonstration on campus calling on the vice chancellor to

condemn the white paper. For this demonstration to be done in

conjunction with trade unions on campus. If a national of local actions

are called then this demonstration should take place on this day so as to

better coordinate with the student movement.2. In the event of UCU or Unison another one day of strike action over the current

pensions dispute.

a. For the guild to back the strike and continue our position for the last two

one day strikes.

3. There will be a wide ranging debate within the student movement about a

autumn term 2011 national demonstration in response to the first UK student

paying £9000 pounds in fees.

a. In this debate the guild should back a national demonstration and

release statements to encourage others to back it.

June 2011




10s. The Term Ahead White Paper, UCU & NUS


1. White paper bill to parliament why we should take the outlined action.

The guild has taken like most student union a strong stance against the white paper and in

favour of public education, accessible to all. If we believe that Education has public as

well as private benefits and that public universities have a social mission to help to

ameliorate social inequality by widening access. If we believe that public higher

education is part of a generational contract in which an older generation invests in the

wellbeing of future generations and that as such education cannot be treated as a simple

consumer good then we must take action against the white paper.

2. UCU pensions dispute

The attack on academic pension is a disaster of UK higher education that will continue the

loss of our brightest and best to better paying institutes overseas. If as students we want to

be taught by the best then we must demand fair pay for them. The academic pension

fund is perfectly sustainable and these changes are a unnecessary money grab.

These pension changes are hitting Women hardest. It is male dominated uniformed

services police, armed forces and firefighters who have been exempted from these

pensions. While we should applaud decent pensions for police, armed forces and

firefighters, we should be concerned that on average these pensions‟ reforms will leave

men better off in their retirements. These attacks on pensions affect mainly female

dominated professions teachers, cleaners, social workers, cooks and nurse are amongst

the hardest hit. Already the average pension for women is £25 pounds lowers than means

these changes will widen this gap. This not to mention that this reform will give an

estimated 300,000 women just seven years notice that they will have to delay their

retirement by two years.

The guild has clear policys on both these issues as such we should back any continued

strike action on pensions.

3. Debate on national demo

We Pay the NUS £49,000 per year to campaign for us and we expect them to use it.




10t. Virgin Media

GC.2.12.t

Author Name: Zuki Majuqwana

Purpose: Approval



Summary:

This motion calls for the Guild of Students to actively avoid engaging in business with

Virgin Media, Glide Utilities and other companies that are deemed by students to

provide a service that is poor quality/value until such time that they improve the service

that they provide to University of Birmingham students. This motion mandates the Vice-

President (Housing & Community) to raise awareness of the complaints the Guild has

received about Virgin Media and Glide Utilities to further inform students‟ decisions about

whether they should choose to use these companies.

2.1. Belief and Commitment Title

2.2 Proposed Text

Mandate A Guild Officer



2.2.12

External Student Services

Vice-President (Housing & Community)

The Guild of Students has a duty to protect its students from external service providers

who offer a service that is poor value or poor quality. Therefore, the Guild will not

engage in business with companies that are deemed by students to offer a service that

is poor value or poor quality. Moreover, the Guild will make an asserted effort to raise

awareness of any complaints that have been made about these companies or

problems that they have caused students.

The companies currently falling under this list are:

- Glide Utilities (3rd party bills & utilities manager)

- Virgin Media (broadband internet provider)




10t. Virgin Media




The Vice-President (Housing & Community) shall investigate a mechanism for raising

awareness around the issues that students have experienced with Virgin Media and

Glide Utilities in order to better inform their decision about which Broadband service

provider to use and how they choose to manage their bills.

There has been a phenomenal volume of complaints made to the Guild about Virgin

Media and Glide Utilities in recent years and it is time the Guild takes assertive action, with

a strong mandate from Guild Council to prevent these issues from continuing while

students continue to provide a solid source of income to these companies.

June 2012




10t. Virgin Media – Appendix 1

‘Virgin’ on Incompetent: Appendix 1

Below are listed the complaints received about Virgin Media by the VPHC so far since

July 2011, all received from separate households. All complaints have been made

anonymous.

Complaint A:

Hello,

So basically we have a contract for 50mb broadband. On a good day this means in my room (2nd floor, not that far from the router), I get around 1-5mb. At peak times I can justforget about using it, it is so unbelievably slow, well under 1mb.

So initially it was even slower, we rang them, they came to fix it, it then sped up a little bit,but not much improvement. They also decided to remove our password to 'speed it up'. Ithought this was a bit ridiculous because then anyone on the street or nearby houses

could use it...making it much much slower.

After a month or so of quite slow internet it stopped working altogether. Our deal wasfree installation and the 1st month free, so they decided to charge us £100 when our nextbill should have been £30. We had no internet for 2 days because of THEIR mistake. Theyeventually turned it back on, but it was even worse than before and continued to cutout. So we rang them again. They had once again overcharged us. After we had beenon the phone to them for a very long time we sorted out the bill and they sent someoneto fix it. They put on a password and managed to improve it.

So currently our internet is as I described above (1st paragraph). Which is a whole lotbetter than before but it's still very irritating, and streaming any shows on iplayer or 4od is

very very difficult at any time of day.

Good luck with sorting Virgin out!

Complaint B:

Hi,I am a second year student living at the bottom of Selly Oak, in a house of 7 people. Wehave had endless problems with Virgin internet since we first signed a contract mid september.

Despite numerous, futile, time-consuming and very expensive phone conversations,whereby we were handed from call rep to call rep, we are still struggling to gain speeds

higher than 2mb out of a promised 30 (which we are paying for!).

There have been times where our laptops, some of which are state of the art applemacs, have not even been receiving any kind of wireless. The router has not been recognised on some occasions, and even when it is, there is often a faint signal not reaching to the far rooms.

We have been sent three separate routers as Virgin have claimed that the faults were todo with our router and not their connection. None of these have fixed or even improved

the problem, in fact, one router destroyed the connection entirely, to which Virgin's





response was that it was not their concern and that we had to speak to technical specialists, which we then had to pay an extra £60 for. Whilst this temporarily fixed anissue, it is still extremely slow and at times, unusable.

Four of us have had no choice but to use ethernet cables, which is less convienient andexpensive to purchase, especially as some needed to reach onto the next level, and

more importantly, we are still paying for a wireless connection. Virgin have also promisedthat the internet will be fixed by 20th Nov, a claim they have apparently also made tomany others in Selly Oak.

Understandbly, Selly Oak is a busy area and there are 7 people in our house, so theconnection will be weaker, but we have found web ct and library resources oftenimpossible to use, and frustrating to attempt. After paying a very large installment feefrom the beginning, plus additional charges to try and fix problems and also large phonebills, we don't seemed to have gained anything.

Thank you for your time,

Complaint C:

Dear Zuki,

I am writing to you to bring up some issues I have faced as a resident of Bournbrook Roadand customer of Virgin Media, and would like to ask you to lobby the organisation onbehalf of the student body.

The first issue is to do with the quality of the internet Virgin have provided us. Our internetis currently running at one tenth of the speed it should be doing, which causes all eight residents issues within our academic endeavours. In addition to this, as a committeemember of 2 societies and a Guild Councillor, it has severely affected my ability to work

for my members/constituents. With the current internet speed, it is impossible to accessthe Guild Webmail, which has obvious issues and I have been unable to download theGuild Council bundle for the forthcoming meeting.

The second issue is to do with the conduct of their employees. In Fresher's week myhousemate answered the door to a Virgin sales representative, who proceeded to tryand sell her a Virgin package. My housemate explained that we already had internet (atthis time we thought this was from the previous tenants, but it emerged that our Landladywas paying for it as part of our tenancy agreement), but might consider changing. Later that afternoon, the same employee came to the door to talk to another housemate,and told her that the previous housemate had agreed to buy off him. When thishousemate told him that she wasn't aware of this, he forcefully tried to get her to sign up. After he left (without success) he proceeded to cut off our internet illegally (our Landlady

was still paying for it) until we agreed to buy with him or left Virgin. Our Landlady dealtwith Virgin directly from then on, and our internet was restored. I lodged a complaint withOfcom about his conduct, but haven't followed that up.

Thanks for reading,

Cheers,





Complaint D:

Dear Zuki,

After joining the Facebook page The Virgin Media Broadband in Selly Oak needs

improving, it's terrible I saw that you were going to look into the issue.

My house mates and I have found that the internet connection can be very good earlyin the morning to around 5pm, merely because this is when students are at university andtherefore not using their home internet connections. However, from 5pm until around1am, the internet is so poor that watching a two minute video on Youtube is a fruitlesstask.

Our contract with them says that we should be getting fast broadband, which for themost part, we really aren't.

Hopefully you can help us with this issue.

Many Thanks,

Complaint E:

Hello,

I am told from Facebook that you may do something about the Virgin Media situation.So I thought I would email youthe issues I have had.

Basically we have the 50 mb package but we are lucky to get 1mb! We have rung up so

many timesbut to be honest they just wasted out time first sending a new hub but this made nodifference.The next time they said there was a problem with the area and that they would pay us 25poundsand it would be fixed by 14 October- but no change. I need to ring them again but Iknownothing is going to change!

It would be great if you could do something about this issue. I know loads of other Birmingham students in the area have the sameproblem.

Complaint F:

Just purchased a 100Mb broadband and am paying lots for the privilege. The internet is so poor the broadband speed test crashed when I tried to analyse my patheticconnection. It has literally got worse since the upgrade, I can only get signal in the front room and even then this email is a challenge.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Virgin-Media-Broadband-in-Selly-Oak-needs-improving-its-terrible/153372131425816










Complaint G:

Hi,

I saw a message on facebook saying that you are looking into the issues in the selly oak

area with virgin media.

I am on Hubert road and have been having poor service since the start of term, we arepaying for up to 30mb and not getting anything close! It takes over an hour to load a 4min YouTube video at peak times.

The date for sorting this out keeps getting pushed back, from the end of october to the30th november. It really isn't good enough.

Thanks for looking into this issue, I really appreciate it.

Complaint H:

Hey Zuki,

Just about broadband.

We are currently on the 30MB broadband and 9 month contract. We are not receivingthis internet speed in the slightest and it is struggling to buffer even the smallest videos.I live in a house of 5 people at 207 Dawlish. We have had the Virgin Media peoplearound 3 times to find the problem and they have replaced some wiring and installedthe internet with little improvement.

Cheers

Complaint I:

We we're with Virgin Media for the first semester of year 2. Between 2pm-2am it was like

not having internet, simple things like opening an email just wasn't possible. We rang to

complain on a regular basis and they promised us it would be fixed 'in the next month'

We got so annoyed one night we went round to ask any neighbours if they were with

Virgin - one said they had been with them for a year and they kept promising it would be

fixed but it never was so they had recently swapped. We rang up and got let out of our

contract and spent £80 getting a BT line installed - best money I spent in all of 2nd year!!!

Anyone who is having problems with Virgin Media I would encourage to ask to be let out

of your contract. If you are getting no service then as long as you are insistent and ask to

speak to a manager they will easily give you money back and release you from the

contract.

Good luck ever trying to sort out the issue! You're gonna need it!!!





- Major 'shaping' of the download speeds at peak times to a point which has gotto be illegal.

- Randomly just cuts out.- We were promised credit from our local rep but he seems to be avoiding the

issue. (not ideal customer service)

Complaint M:

Hi,

Just emailing you to let you know how bad virgin media is in the selly oak area. Webought a 50mb package which ran perfectly for the first week before uni started andmost the student hadn't moved in yet. After that though, the speeds we were gettingduring the evening were ridiculous. Our 50mb package got like less than 5MB majority of the time (sometimes less than 1MB and can't even stream/buffer anything) and when wecalled up, they said they would fix it on the 30th of September. So we waited and after that date noticed it was still terrible so called them up again only for them to say theydelayed it till the 2nd of Novemeber. After reading what other people experienced in

previous years, we realised its best to just cancel our contract because virgin simply don'tcare and keep delaying (I hear now they delayed it until the 30th of November). The onlygood thing is that we were able to cancel our contract without a fee and now going toget o2 broadband for cheaper.

I just hope future students are aware of how bad virgin media are so hope you guys warnpeople off from buying from them or get something done about it.

Complaint N:

Dear Mr Majuqwana ,

My name is XXX XXX, I am currently living on Rookery Road and amexperiencing appalling internet, which has not improved all year. We are with virginmedia on their 50mb package, paying £45.40 a month, but I have been taking speedtest over the last few weeks and we have had a minimum of 0.26mbps, not includingwhen it is so bad I can't load the webpage. This is not acceptable, I have rung Virgin several times and yesterday, after promising it would be fixed on the 2nd November, saidit is in the hands of the planning authority and there is no fixed repair date. At this point Imade a formal complaint, and inquired about reimbursement. They have a standardwhich I believe is not appropriate considering the level of internet I am receiving.

I understand that this is not a problem isolated to myself, and there is a facebook groupalready set up with over 400 members :


As our housing and communities officer I would be grateful if you could look into thismatter as soon as possible.

Many Thanks









10u. VolExec

GC.2.12.u

Author Name: Zuki Majuqwana (on behalf of the Residents‟ Executive)

Purpose: Approval


Summary:

This motion is intended at add a new sub-committee to the Residences Executive (Bye

Law 6, Section 8) which will outline the Terms of Reference for the Residences Executive

(Volunteering), or VolExec

Add New Policy/Bye-Law2.1. Bye Law Title

2.2 Proposed Text


2.2.12

Residents’ Executive Volunteerin

9. Residents’ Executive (Volunteering)

9.2 Purpose10.1.1 The Residents‟ Executive (Volunteering) shall:

Work with the relevant members of the Guild Officer Group to co-ordinate

volunteering activities in University owned and affiliated student

accommodation as outlined in the Residents‟ Associations Constitution.

Provide a support forum and decision making body for all Residents‟Association Volunteering Officers

Meet at least biweekly to ensure effective communication between Officers

10.2 Membership & Composition

10.2.1 The Residents‟ Executive (Volunteering) shall consist of: Vice-President (Housing & Community) [Chair]

Vice-President (Activities & Development) [Deputy Chair]

The Residents‟ Association Volunteering Officers (or nominee) from each

Residents‟ Association Committee as recognised by the Residents‟

Associations Constitutions.

Student Led Volunteering Projects, external volunteering organisations and

members of the Guild Officer Group will be able to attend meetings to presentideas that the Residents‟ Executive (Volunteering) may wish to support.

9.4 Main Duties9.3.5 Co-ordinate volunteering activities to the benefit of the Residents whom the

Officers represent

9.3.6 Inform Residents of volunteering events and/or issues relevant to them, and to

co-ordinate this publicity.

9.3.7 Be the collective body responsible for encouraging Residents to become

involved in volunteering activities

9.3.8 To be the collective body responsible for promoting a variety of volunteering

and community initiatives to the Residents they represent.




10u. VolExec


Volunteering is a huge part of the Guild of Students and is an important part of what RAs

do. This forum will provide greater support for volunteering officers and enhance the

experience of Residents.




10v. Provision of WIFI in Accommodation

GC.2.12.v

Author Name: James Bowker

Purpose:


Summary:

To mandate the President (Mark Harrop) and VPHC (Zuki Majuqwana) to work with and

support RAs or any other students in campaigning for the provision of WIFI in all student

accommodation.







2.2.12

President Mark Harrop and VPHC Zuki Majuqwana

This motion mandates the President and VPHC to officially help, work with and support

any students campaigning for the provision of free WIFI in all student accommodation. In

particular we mandate them to help the various RA committees to formulate a workable

campaign and scheme to provide such a service, and to lend the Guild‟s support for

such a campaign. This would apply to all university owned halls current and future, but

also off campus, 3rd party halls that are recurrently used by the University of Birmingham,

including but not limited to Hunter Court, Victoria Halls, Queens Hospital Close and The

Beeches.

This mandate would include but is not limited to helping those involved in discussions

with site management and the University and a formal statement from the Guild that

backs any campaigns on this issue, as well as their belief that this is an important issue

and a service that we should, as a university, provide.

31/12/2012








10v. Provision of WIFI in Accommodation


This motion is necessary because the failure of the university accommodation to provide

free WIFI access for all students in their halls puts us behind the vast majority of universities

both locally and nationally and further still behind competing universities of a similar reputation.

The ability to use WIFI in student halls would improve the student experience massively, as

at current most students are forced to work only at their desk in their bedrooms, rather

than being able to work whilst sitting on their sofas or in other communal areas within halls.

Not only would the provision of WIFI allow students to be more sociable, but it would

increase their accessibility and their ability to work in more situations.

In the past, various RA committees have attempted to push their individual halls to provide

WIFI, but these attempts have in nearly all cases come to naught. It seems clear that this is

an issue that can no longer be ignored, but rather should be approached by the RA

committees, Guild and student body as a collective. However, as part of this it is vital that

those students campaigning for WIFI have the full support of the Guild Officers, particularly

the VPHC and President, because it is an issue that will likely require significant amounts ofwork and effort that alone the RA committees will not be able to manage. Therefore, the

support of those we are mandating to help us will enable any current and future

campaigns to be far more successful.

In short, WIFI is no longer a luxury: it has become a norm. Thus, by failing at current to

provide this service, we are damaging student accessibility and the general student

experience, we are limiting the abilities of students both work-related and socially and we

are falling behind our competitors on both a local and national level. Therefore we need

to change this, but to do so the President, the VPHC and the Guild itself must support any

campaigns to provide this service.




10w. Gender Neutral Toilets

GC.2.12.w

Author Name: Rachel Foreman

Purpose:


Summary: To ensure gender-neutral toilets are available in the Guild building.





Section Four: Written Statement in Support of Motion (please do not go outside the box


2.2.12

Gender-Neutral Toilets

The Guild believes that all students have the right to live without fear of discrimination

or judgement, and as such shall ensure the Guild is an inclusive, safe space, by

ensuring gender-neutral toilets are available in the Guild building.

I believe that everybody should have the right to the basic rights of life, without fear of

discrimination or judgement. I believe that not having gender neutral toilets causes a

great deal of discomfort to those who do not wish to use gender specific toilets,

particularly trans-gender students.

This is a perfectly sustainable idea, calling for the availability of gender-neutral toilets in

the Guild, alongside gender-specific toilets.

In conclusion, this is mainly about supporting every member of the Guild, and making

sure that the mental health of the trans community feel supported, rather than pushed








10x. Liberation Officers as Trustees

GC.2.12.x

Author Name: Kelly Rogers

Purpose:


Summary: To mandate the President to write a letter to the Trustee Board, requesting

them to change the role of the Liberation Officers to include a position on the

Trustee Board






Guild President

Two weeks from Guild Council (16th February).

The President is mandated to write a letter to the Trustee Board, requesting them to

change the role of the four Liberation Officers (LGBTQ Student's Officer, Ethnic Minority

Student's Officer, Women's Officer and Disabled Student's Officer) to include a

position on the Trustee Board. This letter must be written by the end of the working day

on the 16th February 2012. This should be done by calling a general meeting under

company law by which the topic can be debated and voted upon by full members

of the Guild.

Over the past few years the power that lies with the Liberation Officers has been

significantly reduced, undermining their ability to pursue the interests of their

Associations and to effectively 'liberate' their student groups.

Being mere Guild Officers, leaves them unable to have a vote in any of thedecision-making bodies. Recently, this has involved a whole range of decisions

being made, resulting in the removal of the Women's Room and the LGBTQ room,

without reference to the Associations or the Officers except for inviting negligible

involvement in creating an alternative 'safe space'.

Moreover, this is also addresses the fact that currently our highest decision-making

body doesn't have a majority students, nor equal weighting between elected and

appointed Trustees. Our Guild of Students is the only Union in the country where this

is the case. By giving Liberation Officers positions on the Trustee Board, it ensures

they have a voice in matters that affect the freedom and potential of their

respective groups, whilst also preserving the Guild of Students as a mouth-piece of

the student body in its entirety – including those students who have historically

lacked 'voice' and empowerment.


2.2.12




10y. Return of Liberation Rooms

GC.2.12.y

Author Name: Kelly Rogers, Claire Lister, Rachel Foreman.

Purpose:


Summary: Providing all Liberation Associations with respective rooms, a Women‟s room

until they express permission to remove them and belief in a wider existence of „safe

space‟ in the Guild and on campus more generally.





Commitment)

Bye Law 9

Add 4.4 Liberation Rooms

4.4.1 The Liberation Associations will be provided with Association rooms (Women's Room,

Disabled Students Room, LGBTQ Student's Room and Ethnic Minority Student's Room) with

disabled-access, to act as 'safe space' and to facilitate the objectives of the

Associations.

4.4.2. These rooms may only be reallocated for alternative use with the express, written

permission of all of the Liberation Association Chairs and the Liberation Officers, with the

understanding that a wider 'safe space' in the Guild and on campus has been

effectively established. In addition, in the case of the rooms being reallocated, the

Student Equality and Diversity Committee must convene, with invitations sent to

Liberation Association Committees, to draw up an action plan regarding the

improvement and preservation of a campus-wide safe space and the facilitation of

continued functioning of all Associations.


2.2.12

Bye Law 9







10y. Return of Liberation Rooms


This year has seen the two Liberation rooms that did exist taken away, without asking the

Liberation Associations or Liberation Officers. This contravenes any ideas of Liberation

autonomy and their right to designate safe space.

The Associations that previously did not have rooms have suggested that it would be in

their interest, enabling them to work together and empower their Association members.

Safe space is a right for all students. It is highly questionable whether the Guild or campus

are safe spaces for the Liberation groups, so until it has been accepted by all

Associations and Officers that safe space exists, and that they can function effectively

without their rooms, the Liberation groups request that their rooms be returned and rooms

are provided for the Birmingham Ethnic Minority Association and the Disabled and

Mental Health Associaton.

Unions countrywide hold the right of their Liberation groups as a necessity and have

provided rooms for all their Associations despite having a much more limited space intheir Union buildings. The Guild of Students should respect Liberation autonomy and their

right to decide how and where space space is created, and ensure their involvement

from the beginning and throughout all decision-making processes affecting Liberation

groups.

guild council motions - february 2, 2012

Documents