Agenda item - Chairs Communications

The Chair gave the following communications:

Dear colleagues,

I believe this will be my final Chairs Communications as this will be the final meeting of the Equalities, Community Safety and Human Rights Committee if the governance changes are approved at full Council this week.

I would like to start with a round of thanks: Thanks to my deputy Cllr Winder, who has been a great supporter, friend and a wonderful champion for more equality and less silo working.

Thanks, Cllr Alexander, for your work on combatting food insecurity and your passion.

Thanks to Cllr Cattell who is not only the best ward colleague but also a fountain of knowledge. Thanks for helping us driving change.

Thanks, Cllr Czolak, for your important commitment to community safety and mental health and thanks Cllrs McGregor and Grimshaw for being pillars of our equality agenda and driving your projects forward against all odds.

Also, thanks to the Opposition for being fair and constructive  and thanks to officers for their hard work.

Looking back on my year as Chair, I can truly say that it was a turbulent year with all the ups and downs you can possibly imagine. What a challenging but wonderful portfolio.

And I can proudly say that the city is a bit fairer than it was when we took over the Administration. We introduced care leavers as a protected characteristic, signed up to the Diverse Councils Declaration, implemented the Accessible City Strategy.

Children eligible for free school meals will now be prioritised for admission to secondary schools and we have introduced the Fairness Fund with the aim of supporting community groups and residents alike.

We will welcome Stonewall Housing to the city. Stonewall’s team will provide much needed safe spaces for the LGBTQ+ community and together, we are going to explore the introduction of the HouseProud Scheme. Last week, the CEO of Stonewall Housing and I spoke about their progress, and I am excited to announce that the first site will open their doors in Hove in May and we are working closely with Stonewall Housing to expand capacity as soon as possible.

My colleague Cllr McGregor worked extensively on Labour’s manifesto pledge, the Nighttime Safety Charter which will be taken forward later this year and one of my core projects was the development of another manifesto pledge, the LGBT+ Community Protection Plan, which is soon ready to be discussed and agreed at and by Cabinet.

Cllr Grimshaw has done excellent work to promote equality and wellbeing for veterans in the city, we are working on breakfast clubs and for the Council to achieve gold status. Veterans deserve not only our thanks, but also the commitment to ensure their safety and to treat them with respect and dignity.

Equality and community safety do not stop at the boundaries of this committee. My policy chair colleagues and I have worked tirelessly to promote, improve and spread equality throughout the Council and our city. It must be lived, practised and valued by every single department, and we are on the way to getting there.

I have introduced the bimonthly TNBI Roundtable to further strengthen the relationship between the trans and non-binary community and the Council. We marked TransPride’s anniversary at the Mayor’s Parlour last year.

The work on the new Thriving Communities Investment Fund prospectus is progressing and a big consultation event is planned for next month. Domestic abuse and violence against women and girls have been high up on our agenda as the new VAWG strategy will be presented to Cabinet this year.

I care, we care about the survivors and their children and pets. Ending violence is everybody’s business and the new strategy will make this clear. We continue to explore ways to expand our refuge capacity and the support network that surrounds this vulnerable group.

We have committed to a new and holistic way of commissioning services and work is well underway to explore options how to achieve that. One part of it will be the Social Value Framework we agreed at Full Council.

I've had several dozen meetings with communities across the city and have been blessed to meet inspiring people who are doing incredible work.

With faith leaders, I have discussed the challenges ahead and will continue to do so to maintain community cohesion. Co-operation between religious groups is working well in the city and I do not want it to diminish under my watch.

We are not only facing turbulent times for community cohesion but also struggling with diverse employment opportunities. The BIPC based at Jubilee Library is empowering people from all backgrounds, BIPOC, LGBT and women founders, to start their business and access funding opportunities. Again, helping people to embark on their journey is practised equality.

Brighton & Hove is the place for ambitious startups, bold venture capitalists and flourishing local businesses. Let’s attract bigger names to the city and create spaces for them to grow. Here at home.

A new economic strategy, which was agreed by the Economic Development Committee in September ‘23 will address these points and identify ways to further improve equality in the job and founding market.

This is what I call “Levelling up”.

The times we live in couldn't be more difficult, but I believe that this city can become a better place even in the most terrible of times, and we as an Administration are working passionately to make this happen.