Alison Smith

Lecturer @AUHE_Leeds & @NIHRLeedsMIC (views my own). Trapped leaseholder
Currently preoccupied by #EndOurCladdingScandal

[Alison Smith @alisonfc_smith]

Ok, so I feel I need to apologise now to all my HE & HTA colleagues, for my sudden barrage of tweets on the #claddingscandal.
I resisted social media for a while, on the naive assumption that the gov would do something. That's not happening, so here we are.

[Sean Gavan @sean_gavan]

Today we host the fourth Methods for the Economic Evaluation of Diagnostics (MEED) Research Forum. Here’s the schedule of excellent speakers. Full details on how to register and attend are on our website: https://t.co/5i0UzWEW2Y

See you there!

[Alison Smith @alisonfc_smith]

Excited to be presenting my work on capacity modeling at the joint Medtech and In Vitro Diagnostics Methodoligy Group Meeting today. Great to reconnect and hear about all the amazing research going on @NIHRLeedsMIC @cypmedtech @NIHR_CH_MIC @NIHR_London_IVD @NIHR_NCL_MIC @MIC

[Liam Spender @LiamSpender]

1/25 Round-up of thoughts on the #buildingsafetybill

The Bill cleared Parliament earlier this evening. It will now become an Act of Parliament.

The Bill will not come into force (be legally effective) for a period of some time, perhaps years in some cases.

[Ellie Costello @elliecostelloTV]

Hayley has come to the protest from Leeds, she was made bankrupt and was effectively made homeless after finding out her flat was covered with unsafe cladding

[Hayley Tillotson @scantilyclad_]

Obviously £10,000 is better than £100,000+

But this is still unfair!

We didn’t build the buildings, we don’t own the buildings. We certainly didn’t cut corners, use flammable materials or put people’s lives at risk.

Leaseholders should pay £0

Shame the @Conservatives disagree

[UK Cladding Action Group @ukcag]

Several reports that @michaelgove has succumbed to lobbying from the rogue construction sector as it appears developers will get away with a useless "pledge" to remediate some buildings they built, rather than be forced to pay £4bn to fix their negligence.
https://t.co/9i4Uaj7DTH

[Liam Spender @LiamSpender]

1/14 #buildingsafetybill Last night, we were told that the value of properties for the caps are to be calculated in accordance with the ONS House Price Index.

I sat down this morning and did some calculations for my own flat based on the actual sale prices achieved since 2001.

[Alison Smith @alisonfc_smith]

@LiamSpender Thank you Liam 🙏 There are thousands of us leaseholders out there supremely grateful for all your work and clear explanations on this

[Liam Spender @LiamSpender]

15/16 Ultimately, whilst there have been material improvements in the Bill, we are still in a most unsatisfactory position.

This can, and should, have been resolved years ago.

The fact that it is still not resolved is a national embarrassment.

[Liam Spender @LiamSpender]

3/16 The government can, and should, have done much better than a last minute package of amendments to protect leaseholders.

That should have been at the core of the Bill from day 1. It is a stain on this government's reputation that it was not.

[Liam Spender @LiamSpender]

1/16 #buildingsafetybill Where are we now?

The Lords completed Report stage today.

It crunched through 276 amendments in about 7 hours of debate, so only a superficial review of a Bill that will have far reaching effects on residential buildings for the next 30-40 years, plus.

[Mark Taylor-Batty @cupofassam]

The @UniversityLeeds will be paying a USS deficit recovery payment of £12,431,900 in the 2022/23 academic year, even though they now know from the USS directly that the deficit recovery cost is 0%. Why do you think they want to squander money like that?

[Mark Taylor-Batty @cupofassam]

So, students, so you know, I’m working my full contractual hours, with Covid, but @UniversityLeeds tells me they might dock my pay if I don’t find extra hours, hours that even timetabling staff can’t find, to do work I haven’t been paid for during strike days.

[sheffielducu.bsky.social @sheffielducu]

If you have resigned as an external examiner in support of our ongoing disputes, please add your name here! It’s being collected to show the scale of resignations that are happening. (And if you know a colleague who has resigned send this their way?) #USSmess #OneOfUsAllOfUs

[Alison Smith @alisonfc_smith]

Fellow colleagues @UniversityLeeds please consider signing this petition to the Vice Chancellor, to make sure the proposed Town Hall meetings are truly open and honest.
@leedsucu https://t.co/IJqdJ3kQGN

[Clive Myrie @CliveMyrieBBC]

My thoughts are with the 1million who’ve fled #Ukraine because they might be killed. The millions who fled #syria and many other millions escaping repression,poverty, war. They all pray they’ll be welcomed in other countries as human beings. That’s all they ask 2/2 #refugees

[Robyn Orfitelli @rorfitelli]

What does it mean when we talk about real terms pay in Higher Education dropping by over 20%, what impact is it having on individual members, & how does it practically interact with precarity & promotions inequality?

TLDR: It's dire, & there is no valid reason for it to be.
1/

[Vicky Blake UCU @vickyblake.bsky.social @zenscara]

Ahem.

💥APPROX 1200 PEOPLE MARCHED + RALLIED IN LEEDS TODAY!💥

Stellar organising by @SSSLeeds w special thanks to Sharifah R who sent these EPIC pics! Wish could have been 2 places at once!

#OneOfUsAllOfUs @ucu @leedsucu @UCUYorksHumber #UCUstrike #UnisonStrike #StudentStrike