Agenda item - Chair's Communications

31.1      The Chair provided the following Communications:

We have a busy agenda today from local government reorganisation, King Alfred redevelopment, our Business Improvement District, a corporate health well-being safety and well-being policy and the vital recommissioning of our homelessness services. But before we get into this agenda, I want to say something about the events of the past few weeks. Tommy Robinson and his ilk have nothing to offer residents in our city and our wider country. His brand of hate and division has no place here. He knows nothing about building up communities, investing in people, creating opportunities. He peddles hate and division and often violence. I know that some of our residents are feeling fearful as a result of his actions and the demonstration that he led in London. I want to reassure everyone in this city that we will always be a place of welcome.

I am proud that people have come from all over the world to make Brighton & Hove their home. They are our neighbours, they are our friends, they are our colleagues here at the Council. They work in our hospitals, they run our businesses, they build up our communities, create opportunities and build people together. Your Labour Council and your Labour Government are on your side, investing in this place and our people. And today I'm really pleased to say that our government has announced that part of Brighton will be included in its Pride in Place initiative, meaning millions of pounds of funding is coming to Whitehawk in Brighton to invest in our people and our place.

Today's agenda includes this Councils proposal for Local Government Reorganisation here in Sussex. I am proud and confident in our proposal for a 5 unitary option for Sussex, which we'll discuss in detail today.

In our proposal, each authority would serve between 300,000 and 400,000 residents. We believe our option aligns strongly with the government's criteria and, crucially, balances protecting and respecting local identity and combining with the ability for each potential new authority to deliver high quality and sustainable services.

Our proposal would allow our region to enjoy the full benefits of devolution and ensure all of our communities can be celebrated, empowered and given equal access to the services, investment and funding that they deserve. It also has the potential to unlock £52.4 million worth in annual net benefits for the region. Money, which can be reinvested in local infrastructure and services at a time when local authorities are under pressure. We believe it's a sensible and considered response to a request from central government and one which we believe is the best option for our whole region.

Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation are coming, and they will provide huge benefits to the people of Brighton and Hove and our neighbours throughout Sussex.

Elsewhere on the agenda, I'm delighted to see a proposal to support the renewal of our Business Improvement District. Our bid, which is known as Brilliant Brighton, is a fantastic example of what can be achieved when the local authority, local business and other stakeholders work together. Brilliant Brighton encompasses 517 retail and hospitality businesses stretching from Western Road to the North Laine. It was formed to create a thriving, safe clean and vibrant city centre, and together, we've achieved so much, but there is still more to do. Growing our economy, improving the look and feel of our city and ensuring that Brighton and Hove remains a welcoming, bustling and attractive destination is vital and a renewed bid has a key part to play in this.  

This Council is committed to continuing to invest, and so I'm really pleased to see further developments for the King Alfred Leisure Centre regeneration come before us today, and while we're incredibly excited about developments like King Alfred, this agenda today also reminds us of the very serious responsibility that we have to support people experiencing challenges, such as financial hardship, housing insecurity and other barriers. Today we’re discussing the recommissioning of our street outreach service, and I cannot overstate how important this is, how vital this work is, and how committed we are to providing the service as a Council.

Each November, a snapshot of the number of people sleeping rough on a single night is collected throughout the UK. It isn't a perfect method for estimating the number of people who are part of our street homeless community, but it does provide a sobering estimate and here in Brighton and Hove our figure was 76. We know our rough sleeping rate is significantly higher than the average for the southeast. Indeed, we recently ranked 19th highest for our sleeping rates across England. Our street outreach service is our primary frontline response and support service. It's responsible for identifying new people who are who are experiencing rough sleeping and supporting existing ones.

The team engages with residents rapidly assessing the needs of those living on the streets and provides appropriate to support to help individuals access accommodation support or to relocate. It's not a service that we take for granted, and while we're doing all we can to increase the supply of quality, security and affordable local housing.

As part of our homes for everyone strategy that we must be aware that there can be, unfortunately, always those who find themselves in acute need for urgent help- the street outreach service provides this. While much of the work will go unseen by many in this city. We'd like to thank everyone involved in our street outreach service for their tireless efforts and reassure those residents at risk of homelessness or experiencing homelessness or insecure housing that this Council will always be there to support those who need it most.