Concrete 321

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Countdown to the 2016 US election >P8

The stories that made me travel >P20 9th February 2016 Issue 321

concrete-online.co.uk @Concrete_UEA ConcreteNewspaper

UEA plans year-onyear rise in profit from halls rent £7m to £10m gross surplus expected by 2017, says students’ union EXCLUSIVE Peter Sheehan and Dan Falvey Deputy editor and Editor-in-Chief The university is set to increase rent for oncampus accommodation by an above-inflation 3.4% each year in a bid to increase the profit it makes by renting rooms to students. The news comes as union research, seen by Concrete, indicates that a third of UEA students think the university should prioritise bringing down the cost of living, and just months after Concrete exclusively reported that UEA was already making millions in profit from accommodation. According to the Union of UEA Students (UUEAS), the university made a gross surplus of £5.8m on its accommodation portfolio in the last academic year. The union estimates that this gross surplus will rise to between £7m and £10m by 2017, and that it will have doubled within five years. Following the results of a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, Concrete reported in September that the university’s total net profit from accommodation over the last two academic

years was £4.35m. Profits made from rent are not earmarked specifically for investment in improving and maintaining halls, but instead contribute to the university’s general budget, provoking outrage from the union. Responding to the revelations of the FOI, the union’s Campaigns and Democracy Officer, Chris Jarvis, said that the fees were “A way of universities getting round the [£9,000 tuition fee] cap by propping up their finances through secondary costs on students”. Following a recent accommodation meeting between the university and UUEAS, Jo Swo, Welfare, Community and Diversity Officer, criticised the way the university determines rent increases: “[UEA] has decided on a massive rent increase behind closed doors, and can’t answer basic questions on the role of rent costs in relation to student affordability”. She called for the university to “open meaningful dialogue over rent setting” and to make affordability a “top priority”. However, a university spokesperson said that UEA’s present rent policy was part of a Continued on page 5

Norwich voted “happiest city” to work in the country Sam Mckinty News reporter Norwich workers are among the most satisfied in the country, according to a national survey. Business psychologists, OPP, surveyed 2500 people up and down the country in order to establish levels of job satisfaction. The survey asked respondents to rate their satisfaction in a variety of areas related to their employment, including workload, salary and management. The findings, released last month,

indicated that on average 71% workers across the UK were satisfied with their job. In Norwich, that figure was notably higher, with 77% claiming to be satisfied in their employment, a 6% rise on the national average. Norwich beat a series of major cities, including Manchester and London and, perhaps most significantly, anywhere in Essex. At the bottom of the table, Newcastle and Cardiff floundered with just 64% of people surveyed currently working in these cities expressing job satisfaction. Speaking to the Eastern Daily Press, Nova Fairbank, chair of the Norfolk Chamber

of Commerce, said “With Norfolk being a great place to live and work, it is not hard to understand why of employees in Norwich are happy. Our region boasts not only business excellence, but also a lifestyle that helps attract and retain many employees in this area.” The survey wasn’t all good news for students, with workers within the retail, catering and leisure industries, popular industries for student employment, ranking among the least satisfied. Fairbank added, however, that she hoped “this latest poll will encourage more of the talented young people in Norfolk to take up local employment

opportunities and remain in Norfolk”. Norwich provides a wide range of opportunities for employment for graduates from the University of East Anglia: from BBC Norfolk and Anglia Television to Norwich University Hospital and insurance company Aviva. This employment satisfaction report comes in the wake of findings released at the end of 2015 that Norwich residents are among some of the least lonely in the UK. Research done by the Co-op Group found that 57% of Norwich residents never felt lonely, a increase on the national average of 44%.


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