Purna Sen, Labour
parliamentary candidate for Brighton Pavilion

ANOTHER national report has highlighted the rising expense of living in our city.

The latest survey by the Centre for Cities think tank ranked Brighton and Hove fourth on a list of the ten most unaffordable areas in the UK.

Around the time this report appeared, I visited the local charity Chomp, run by One Church Brighton.

During school holidays Chomp provides a free healthy lunch for children and their families, who might otherwise struggle during the school holiday when there are no school meals available.

It is part of the national scheme Make Lunch, which encourages community groups to provide meals in the school holidays.

I enjoyed chatting to families there who clearly really appreciated not only the midday meal but the fun activities. Any food left over after the meal is divided up for people to take home.

According to Chomp, there are more than 11,000 children in Brighton and Hove who could take advantage of their services.

This view is backed up by national statistics published last month that show that the proportion of children in poverty in the Pavilion constituency alone is nearly 14% before housing costs are taken into account and 22% when these costs are included.

Affordable new housing is also key to helping those families who currently struggle.

A higher percentage of people rent privately in our city than in most other places. For those who rent privately, I have given my support to Home Sweet Home’s campaign to improve conditions for all private sector tenants in the city. I would like to see the end of upfront letting fees, the introduction of standard three-year tenancies and legislation that allows for the prevention of excessive rent rises.

The work of Chomp and similar charities is inspiring and I felt truly privileged to visit them and hear about their work.

In the longer term we need to address the growing problem of inequality in Brighton and Hove – and in our country as a whole.

Meanwhile, I know that Donna at Chomp would welcome hearing from people interested in volunteering to help over the Christmas holiday period. She can be contacted at chomp@onechurch brighton.org 01273 694746.