It was the full council meeting last week, which is when all councillors meet to discuss issues relevant to the city and to hear questions and petitions from our communities. Your Labour group brought a notice of motion forward to commit the council to achieving Level 3 Disability Confident Leader accreditation. To do this would require among other things, a strengthened co-production forum with disabled residents and partners as well as a Disability Inclusion Charter outlining clear commitments for the council and encouraging wider adoption across the city. The notice of motion was put forward by Cllr Sam Parrott our newest councillor and our lead councillor for Disability and Violence Against Women and Girls. Locally we have a strong record on disability rights – passing the Councils Accessible City strategy, taking action to reverse a previous Green administration decision which left a disabled woman effectively trapped in her home in Gardner Street and ensuring that children outside of mainstream school who may be eligible for free school meals are given the equivalent alternative. Our new Connect to Work programme is also aimed at supporting people facing barriers to employment, including those with disabilities, into steady and fulfilling work. I’m proud we are now seeking to go further on disability leadership and for me this must include further reducing the disability pay gap, ensuring that the city is an inclusive and welcoming place to live for those with disabilities and greater engagement and coproduction with those with lived experience of different types of disability.
The Conservatives by contrast brought a notice of motion that once again talked our city down. They attacked the Business Improvement District’s Christmas lights, attacked the Christmas decorations in Churchill Square and lamented Brighton’s winter and night time economy. Now I’m the first to say that we will always have more to do to promote our city’s economy all year round and round the clock but I also know that this is not achieved by painting a negative picture of Brighton. Our visitor numbers are rising year on year and almost back to pre-pandemic levels. We have a beautiful ice rink sited outside the Pavilion and - while it may need to relocate to a different part of the city next year while we invest money in the Royal Pavilion Gardens - we are already speaking with the operator about where we could re-site. Burning the Clocks is planning to return next year and our new economic plan commits us to developing even more events throughout the year to boost our local economy year-round. Our Small Business Ambassador Cllr Mohammed Asaduzzaman has recently launched a ‘shop local’ campaign to promote the independent businesses that make Brighton unique and hosts regular surgeries at the Jubilee Library.
The Greens brought a notice of motion on housing - referencing Awaabs Law. Awaab Ishak died aged two after prolonged exposure to mould in his social housing flat in Rochdale. This tragic case demands action. But what the Greens failed to grasp is that our Labour Government has already legislated for Awaab’s law and here at the Council we have been preparing for its coming into force by proactively engaging with tenants on mould issues and establishing an internal mould team. In arguing that we should go further the Greens also apparently missed the fact that our Labour Government’s Renters Rights Act already contains the power to expand Awaab’s law to the private sector. Taken together with the work we are doing on housing here in the city, from landlords licensing to making significant progress in response to the social housing regulator and slashing council home repairs we are taking major steps to improve the quality of city for our residents- in sharp contrast to the Greens record, which say the backlog of repairs balloon. Like so much of what the Greens do now this was sloganeering without a clear idea of what they are asking for and confusion about how to achieve it.
Thursday also saw a really special addition to proceedings – our Freedom of the City award. This award is the highest honour that our city council can convey. Since 1997 several eminent people have received the award for outstanding service or contribution to the City or wider world. This year we developed a new governance framework, democratising the award and inviting nominations from members of the public of which we received several worthy candidates. We chose to bestow Freewoman of the City on Emily Kenward, the founder and CEO of Time to Talk Befriending, a special charity that supports elderly people who may be feeling isolated with regular visits by volunteers. And we bestowed Freeman of the City on Abraham Ghebre-Ghiorgis. Abraham’s remarkable journey from seeking asylum to becoming the beating heart of our civic life represents everything our city stands for – equality, justice and sanctuary. He has done so much to deliver justice and enhance democracy in Brighton and Hove and leaves a profound mark on the city council. In difficult times it is even more important that we stop to celebrate outstanding public service and I’m grateful we got to do so last week.
Bella Sankey is the Labour Leader of Brighton and Hove City Council
Share