Thompson, N. Clarke, J.A. Craig, T. Dunning, D.J. Kolosov, O.V. Moss, A.J. Saveliev, Y.M. Siggel-King, M.R.F. Surman, M. Tovee, P.D. Weightman, P. TUP015 FEL laser cavity radiation operation 2015 2015-12 The ALICE (Accelerators and Lasers In Combined Experiments) accelerator at STFC Daresbury Laboratory in the UK was conceived in 2003 and constructed as a short-term Energy Recovery Linac demonstrator to develop the underpinning technology and expertise required for a proposed 600MeV ERL-based FEL facility. In this paper we present an update on the performance and status of ALICE which now operates as a funded IR-FEL user facility. We discuss the challenges of evolving a short-term demonstrator into a stable, reliable user facility and present a summary of the current scientific programme.