Launch of new guide on renting your home

As more people are choosing to rent their homes, Housing Rights Service, has launched a unique new website renting.housingadviceNI.org containing information on all aspects of renting private accommodation.

Developed by Housing Rights Service, with funding from the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, the aim of the new site is to improve the experience of people who rent privately by providing free independent advice and information for both tenants and landlords.

Peter O’Neill, Policy & Participation Officer with Housing Rights Service said: “For many people the private rented sector is their preferred housing choice and this guide for both landlords and tenants will assist in improving standards. Following the financial downturn, this growing sector is likely to play a key role in meeting the housing needs of many more people, including low income and vulnerable families. It is therefore vital that landlords and tenants understand their rights and responsibilities in order to sustain tenancies and prevent homelessness.”

A steering group with representatives from The Chief Environmental Health Officers Group, Department for Social Development, Smartmove, private landlords and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive helped inform the development of the new site.

Speaking about the launch Dr John McPeake, Northern Ireland Housing Executive Chief Executive said: “With the continuing importance of the private rented sector in Northern Ireland in meeting housing need, there is a real need for information on the rights and responsibilities of both landlords and tenants. This dedicated website will provide an up-to-date and accessible housing advice resource for this sector of the housing market. The Housing Executive has a close working relationship with Housing Rights Service funding their website for the provision of independent information and advice on housing and homelessness issues. The addition of a section on the private rented housing is very welcome and I commend Housing Rights on this excellent service.”

Sonia Millar from CSM Estate Agents also sat on the site steering group: “I was delighted to be asked to take part and help Housing Right Service develop their new web site. A landlord’s relationship with their tenant can potentially have a huge effect on the wellbeing of that tenant and their family. This relationship can offer huge rewards both personally and commercially. The new web site will help to explain the landlords’ obligations and legal governance which will only help to better this unique relationship.
 

Dissolution of DEL must not marginalise students

On the day that a debate is taking place at the Assembly on the dissolution of the Department for Employment and Learning, President of NUS-USI Adrianne Peltz has said that government here must provide assurances that students related matters will remain a key priority when DEL goes.

Adrianne Peltz said: “The Department for Employment and Learning appears to have been made a scapegoat during political negotiations. What about the students, colleges and universities that rely on the department for funding, policy and legislation? Are they merely the forgotten collateral damage of a major political decision?

“The saying goes that Rome wasn’t built in a day, but if January’s Justice Ministry negotiations at Stormont Castle were anything to go by, a government department can certainly be destroyed in half a day’s talks. How can a decision of such magnitude with so many ramifications for people in Northern Ireland be made in this time period?

“Student affairs must not be allowed become the forgotten subject of Northern Ireland politics. Students are Northern Ireland’s future. It is troubling that the dissolution of DEL will see its powers being divided between two big departments, in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment and the Department of Education, which are both already looking after many large competing interests.

“For student-related matters like university tuition fees, Education Maintenance Allowance, skills, widening participation and teacher training to be spilt across a number of departments, and to have to compete with other very important subjects which the Ministers in those departments are already focused on is worrying.

“It would be very unfortunate were student issues to slip down the government’s agenda with the culling of DEL, and we will not let the voice of students be drowned out.

“There are a number of other big questions in relation to the dissolution of DEL, like why DEL is the only department up for abolition? Would a holistic approach to rationalisation not help to deliver better government?

“NUS-USI is not interested in the politics of the removal of DEL, we simply want students to have their needs met, and their voice heard at the highest level of government. It is now incumbent on the Stormont Executive to provide concrete assurances that the dissolution of DEL will not result in student welfare issues being sidelined by government. Further and higher education are the lynchpins of our economy and were these matters to be marginalised through this shakeup, the people of Northern Ireland would suffer greatly.”

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Peltz says plans to cut nursing bursaries could damage health service

NUS-USI President Adrianne Peltz has hit out at proposals to cuts to bursaries for nursing and midwifery students in Northern Ireland. The newly-published Consultation on the Review of HSC Student Bursaries has proposed that the annual bursary for nursing and midwifery students be reduced by £890. The consultation also proposed that the one-off book and uniform allowances totalling £190 be totally removed.

Adrianne Peltz said: “I am extremely worried that this proposed £890 cuts in bursaries could deter many people from lower income backgrounds from studying nursing and midwifery courses. We all know how vitally important it is that our health system attracts the highest calibre of professionals and if these bursaries were reduced this could lead to many excellent future students choosing to go down another path and being lost to the health profession.

“It is absolutely ludicrous that government are planning to cut the bursaries for students starting in September given that they have applied already. Government cannot and must not be allowed to move the goalposts. To rip the carpet from under people who have already applied for study this year would be nothing short of disgraceful.

“We have seen the temporary closure of City Hospital’s Accident and Emergency due to a shortage of staff – does reducing the bursary of people studying any frontline health-related disciplines seem like a good idea in light of this?

“These bursaries are an investment in our future and in the future of the health service. For government to take a short-term mentality of cuts on this important funding would be deeply flawed.

“I am also deeply annoyed about the planned removal of the one-off book and uniform allowances for nursing and midwifery students. NUS-USI has been highlighting the burden that hidden course costs have on students and how they have a massively negative impact upon course completion rates. The removal of these allowances is yet another kick in the teeth for nursing students.

“We are very worried that these proposed cuts will disproportionately affect women given that a large proportion of nursing students are women. Also, given that a big proportion of students in nursing are adult/mature learners with familial commitments, this plan will hit many hard pressed families that are already struggling during an economic downturn. These measures could push many mature students even further into debt and financial crisis.

“It is crucial that government works to widen participation in higher education and such a decrease in health bursaries would have the opposite effect. We need to attract the best possible people to the health service and if we cannot attract the best people to study health-related subjects our health service could suffer greatly. We will strongly oppose these proposals and we are very worried that this could be the start of a series of deeply troubling cuts to the bursaries of all healthcare professionals.”

As part of their fundraising campaign
this year’s team is hosting a Gala Ball on
Saturday 2nd June 2012 in The Diamond
Hall, University of Ulster, Coleraine
Campus. Tickets £40/£400 per table.
Special UU Staff & Student Offer: Tickets
£30 each if you book soon.

Please note extended
deadline. This promotion aims to ensure
that as many members of our University
community are given the opportunity
to attend and celebrate the existing
partnership between the University and
HFHNI as well as establishing positive
links for the future.

For more information please contact
Fr Raymond McCullagh on:
02870124652 or 07739223293
Email: r.mccullagh@ulster.ac.uk
Please help us build houses, community
and hope for the people of Ethiopia.

Student Magazine Ufouria - April 2012 Issue

The final issue for the current academic year of the Student Magazine Ufouria is now available to download
at http://uusu.org/files/ufouriaapril2012.pdf
 

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