A GMSP Review of the Mayor’s Question Time

Posted on: Wednesday, September 25th, 2024

Last Wednesday, the University of Manchester’s Students’ Union hosted the Mayor’s Question Time. The main areas which were covered include transport, safety, and housing. Coincidentally, all of these are issues which the GMSP are working on, so make sure to get in touch with us if any of these points resonate with you. 

Affordable and Accessible Student Transport Under Scrutiny 

Transport is an important starting point. While more central areas, for example Fallowfield to Oxford Road, are well connected, students commuting from further away often struggle with inefficient transport links. Night-time public transport is also far from reliable, affecting not just the more outgoing students heading to and from clubs but also those with night shifts, from hospitality workers to NHS employees. 

A more specific issue for students is affordability. A poll carried out by the University of Manchester’s Students’ Union revealed that 60.3% of students do not think that public transport is good value for money. While students do get a discounted yearly pass, this is only for those aged 18 to 21. Sophie, representing the RNCM, made the point that many courses are longer than three years and those aged 22 are not necessarily going to be in a better financial position than their peers a year younger than them. Mature students have the same issue, it does not seem fair to punish those who have just happened to come to university later on in their life. When challenged on this issue, Andy Burnham essentially said that while he would love to address this, he just does not have the money or power. However, you do wonder why you do not just need to be an undergraduate student to be eligible, surely this would restrict enough people to keep the policy affordable. He did have an interesting suggestion for those who might struggle with the cost. He explained that students could go to credit unions and get the same bus pass deal, with the difference being that they could pay weekly at no additional cost. This would make the price much more manageable. 

A Safer Manchester for Students?

Safety on transport was also addressed by Andy. Shatha Asiri, who brought up the issue, felt like, while he was sympathetic, he did not have a tangible solution. The GMSP would suggest that you make sure all bus drivers receive training to deal with specific types of crime, for example, gender-based violence. The University of Manchester’s Students’ Union poll highlighted the disparity between the experiences of women and men, with only 57.2% of women feeling safe in Manchester compared to 74.3% of men. In addition, we would suggest more TravelSafe Support and Enforcement Officers (TSEOs) to be on buses all over the city, but especially on routes with higher numbers of students. 

Additionally, the data shows that 72.7% of the people who felt that Manchester was unsafe thought the public transport was expensive. This number drops to 53% when looking at people who felt safe and thought public transport was expensive. This shows that there is a possible link between feelings of safety for the public and public transport accessibility.   

The mayor also addressed safety more generally. He stressed how he wanted to work with student unions to look at problems that students are having specifically. He covered anti-spiking measures, reclaim the night, and the sexual violence support service. A development that many students would welcome though was his suggestion to use the same strategy that Operation Vulcan used to tackle crime in Fallowfield. Moving to university is daunting enough without the fear of robbery in the back of your mind, with the most vulnerable students being disproportionately affected. 

Housing Frustrations

Housing is one of the things which students feel most frustrated by. After actual university fees, it is one of the biggest costs and the quality rarely matches the price. Luckily, this area was one which Andy Burnham seemed enthusiastic to work on. He talked through the Greater Manchester Good Landlord Charter. The GMSP played their role in this too, participating in the Good Landlord Charter working group. We also wrote a robust consultation of one of the drafts of the Good Landlord Charter. He stressed that there was ‘no way [the situation] is acceptable’ in its current condition. A member of the University of Manchester’s Students’ Union made him aware of the rising prices of University of Manchester accommodation in Fallowfield. Owens Park is being demolished and there have been no commitments to ensure that the new build will meet affordability criteria. 

In terms of private rentals, he wanted to work on something where you would have the right to come to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and ask for a check on your property. He essentially wants to be much more interventionist with the aim of improving the basic standard of living for everyone. He promised ‘big change coming to housing in Greater Manchester’, with the GMSP being part of this. He was keen to work with us to identify which private landlords are repeat offenders for students. This was a very exciting development for us as well as students all over Greater Manchester and should ideally be one of the steps towards better housing. This should also help contribute to retaining graduates in the city. With the growing number of professional opportunities, it is important that we make Manchester a city people want to live in and stay in. 

Conclusion 

Overall, the Question Time was incredibly productive. Issues surrounding transport, safety, and housing were comprehensively covered, with a promise to work together in identifying dodgy landlords. The GMSP hopes to continue to work closely with the mayor and his team at the combined authority to make Greater Manchester the best place for students to live in the UK. 

How the GMSP rates Andy Burnham’s approach to each topic:

Transport – 7/10

Pros: the bee network, connectivity within the city, credit union idea.

Cons: student bus pass not available to all, connectivity not as good for students who commute, safety at nighttime. 

Safety – 6/10

Pros: anti-spiking measures, reclaim the night, and the sexual violence support service.

Cons: high crime rate, especially in regard to students. Manchester still leaves much to be desired regarding gender-based crime too. 

Housing – 8/10

Pros: Lots of work is being done with the Good Landlord Charter and a promise to work with the GMSP in the future regarding dodgy landlords.

Cons: Students actively struggling with disproportionately high prices and unacceptable living situations.

Written by Penny Hampden-Turner