'City is critically affected by the housing crisis'

During the oral questions session at the meeting, I asked about the turnaround times for void (untenanted) council properties, and what plans were in place to reduce these going forward.

We in the Labour group have raised serious concerns around the backlog of housing repairs the council is working through, and it’s important to ensure the Green administration is keeping its eye on the ball.

We are pleased to see the council continuing the work we started of providing additional council homes, but with thousands waiting on the city’s housing register, it’s essential to slash void turnaround times for existing council homes too.

Later in the meeting, Labour’s motion to ban second homes in new developments won support.

We know that Brighton and Hove is critically affected by the housing crisis, with families, workers, young and old people all being priced out of the city due to the lack of affordable housing.

Our plans to stem the rise of second home ownership are made in the knowledge that while the critical shortage of social housing and the absence of rent controls are key causes of the housing crisis, Government data shows one in 37 homes in Brighton and Hove were empty last year, and the majority of those unused properties were second homes.

We need affordable homes in our city, not empty ones, so I’m pleased our motion was successful and the council can start exploring ways to curtail developments that are aimed specifically at investors at the expense of local people.

At a time when people’s pockets are being hit worse than any time in recent memory off the back of the pandemic, the ongoing cost of living crisis and hikes to energy bills and national insurance, we must do all we can as a council to support those struggling to get by.

That’s why Labour are seeking to address the housing crisis, not just by pushing for more affordable homes, but also by pushing for landlord licensing and an ethical lettings agency to support those in the private rental sector, and we’re pleased to see funds allocated for these projects in the upcoming council budget.

We will be bringing forward our own amendments to budget council later this month that will seek to support those struggling to get by, tackle disadvantage and restore council services.

As a local councillor, my inbox is often filled with residents rightly angry about basic council services failing to deliver, from missed refuse, recycling and garden waste collections to overgrown weeds to graffiti and litter on our streets, beaches and parks to mismanagement of parking permits and the general maintenance, upkeep and cleanliness of our city.

The council’s own 2020-21 year-end Corporate Key Performance Indicator results show the council is performing below target on the delivery of some essential services, and that some of these failures are systemic and long-running.

We know our council staff are working tirelessly and diligently, and we commend them for their efforts especially at these trying times. We also know the ongoing pandemic is still presenting real challenges, and residents are suffering the consequences of over a decade of government cuts to public services.

Nonetheless, residents are right to expect improvements to the delivery of basic council services and that’s why we took a motion to full council earlier this month seeking cross-party efforts to providing solutions to these systemic issues.

As a result, councillors and members of the public will now be able to scrutinise regular reports on the council’s performance in waste and refuse collection, parking permits and street cleanliness.

We will be examining these reports closely and working with members of all parties and none to improve the delivery of basic services.

At this past full council meeting, I also spoke in support of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The treaty calls for a binding global plan to end new expansion of fossil fuel production, phase out existing fossil fuels and invest in a full transition towards 100 per cent reliance on renewable energy sources.

I supported calls for a report to come to a future meeting of the policy and resources committee to look into what options we have to ensure the council pensions divest away from fossil fuels.

I anticipate that report with interest, as while we are still dealing with a public health crisis, the climate crisis remains every bit as urgent.