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Conservatives support voluntary sector involvement in Youth Service

Conservatives table constructive proposals to boost the involvement of community and voluntary sector organisations in delivering the Council’s Youth Service.

Cllr Geoffrey Theobald
Cllr Geoffrey Theobald

AT NEXT week’s Policy & Resources Committee meeting, Group Leader, Cllr. Geoffrey Theobald, will move a Notice of Motion which, if agreed, would call a halt to City Council Budget proposals to terminate its Youth Collective contract in March – 6 months earlier than planned.

Under the Council’s plans, all Youth Services would be delivered by the Council’s ‘in-house’ team, without any assessment being made of its relative effectiveness and value for money compared to the rejected voluntary sector providers.

Cllr Andrew Wealls
Cllr Andrew Wealls

Conservative Group Spokesman for Children & Young People, Andrew Wealls, said: “We accept that savings need to be made in the Youth Service but that makes it all the more ridiculous that the Council continues to bury its head in the sand over who provides them. All we are asking is that a proper commissioning exercise be undertaken by the Council, with a genuinely level playing field for all organisations who want to provide youth services in the city. This issue has become totemic for us and is symptomatic of a wider unwillingness by the Green Party – invariably backed by the Labour Party – to accept that Council funded services can be provided more effectively and more cheaply by other organisations in the community, voluntary and independent sectors. Sadly, this unwillingness is based on nothing more than political dogma.”

Cllr Dee Simpson
Cllr Dee Simpson

Fellow Children & Young People Committee member and Deputy Group Leader, Dee Simson, added: “Many councils have stopped funding youth services altogether in recent years but we think that they continue to make a vital contribution to the well-being of young people here in Brighton & Hove. It is, therefore, very sad that the excellent voluntary groups who make up the Youth Collective are being jettisoned by the Council without any assessment of the value of the work they do for the city’s young people.”

Cllr Warren Morgan, Leader of Labour and Co-operative, said: “As a trustee at the Crew Club in Whitehawk for many years, and having only this week visited the youth project in Hangleton and Knoll, I value tremendously the work done with young people both by staff in the council and people working in the voluntary sector. It is appalling that the Conservative-led governments cuts to council funding put these services at risk, and that the Greens have refused to review the in-house service.

“We want to see a full review of youth services in the city, to see how front-line services can be protected and best use made of the expertise in the voluntary and community sector. We don’t back a Tory rush job that risks privatisation, but one that properly secures the future for our young people.”

City Council re-enters Stonewall 2015 list of gay-friendly employers

Following a poor performance in 2014, Brighton and Hove City Council re-enters the 2015 Stonewall top 100 gay-friendly employers list as the most gay-friendly local authority in the country.

WEB.600.Stonewall

THE TOP 100 Employers list is based on the results of Stonewall’s Workplace Equality Index 2015, which is based on a range of key indicators including a confidential questionnaire of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) staff, with over 9,700 participants.

The list consistently show that employees from organisations ranked in Stonewall’s Top 100 exhibit higher levels of staff satisfaction and loyalty.

Cllr Phélim Mac Cafferty
Cllr Phélim Mac Cafferty

Cllr Phélim Mac Cafferty, the council’s lead member for LGBT issues, said: “As LGBT champion I’ve been adamant about our council’s commitment to equality and our role in the country to provide strong leadership on equality.

“We are the top council and the twelfth most LGB-friendly employer in the country and I’m thrilled that our work has once again been recognised by Stonewall.

“I want to thank all of our staff who have helped us to get here. As top council we want to send out a clear and important message to our staff and to our residents that we take equality very seriously.

“We are working hard to make the council a caring and supportive place to work and we must never underestimate that we can make a real difference to people’s lives. Harvey Milk once said: ‘Hope will never be silent’, and today we provide hope to the LGBT community.

“Today’s announcement sits alongside our excellent work on equality for the trans community. We are the top council in the country combating homophobia in the classroom, so along with our cutting edge work, we are adamant that equality for our LGBT citizens is of the utmost importance. There is still much work to do.”

Stonewall took into account a wide variety of examples of the council’s work around LGB issues including:

· a Dignity and Respect at Work Policy that clearly sets out how employees can raise any concerns they may have about bullying or harassment in the workplace

· a 365-day confidential staff help and advice service to provide employees with access to trained counsellors

· e-learning in equality and diversity issues that all managers have to take

· coordinating massive national and international media coverage showing our support for the introduction of same sex weddings

· support for activities around LGBT History Month and the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia.

Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust tops the 2015 list, with Tower Hamlets Homes second and Lloyds Banking Group third.

All three Armed Forces rank on this year list which coincides with the 15 year anniversary of lifting the ban on gays in the military. The Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force secure positions at 46, 56 and 91 respectively.

Pride UK at American Express wins the award for Network Group of the Year. Alison Lowe, Touchstone’s Chief Executive is named Senior Champion of the Year. Tamoor Ali, Senior Commercial Analyst at BP is Role Model of the Year. Ally of the Year is awarded to EDF Energy’s Chief Nuclear Officer Mark Gorry.

Accenture, Barclays, BP, Citi, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Herbert Smith Freehills, HSBC, IBM, RBS and the Royal Air Force are named as Top Global Employers, based on their support for their lesbian, gay and bisexual staff worldwide.

Ruth HuntRuth Hunt, Stonewall CEO said: “Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust and every employer featured in the 2015 Top 100 have performed remarkably. Not only was this the most competitive year to date, we’re delighted to see that in just fifteen years our armed forces are making real progress in supporting and developing their lesbian, gay and bisexual staff.”

Ruth Hawkins, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, CEO added: “I am absolutely delighted to lead Stonewall’s Employer of the Year for 2015. The Trust has an outstanding reputation for its proactive approach to all strands of equality and diversity. Having appeared in the Top 100 list for a number of years it is especially rewarding to see that our continued efforts to tackle discrimination and create an inclusive workplace have been recognised.”

Simon Kirby MP for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven, said: “Everyone has a right to work in an environment free from discrimination, this report is helpful in highlighting the organisations in the UK that are the best at promoting LGBT rights and equality.

“I am proud to represent a constituency with a large LGBT community and I was pleased to see Brighton and Hove City Council bouncing back, being rated the top Council and number 12 on the list, and also to see American Express ranked 51st.

“I hope that more employers will join with the near 400 organisations already involved by taking part next year, and that this report will encourage even more organisations to actively promote LGBT equality in the work place.”

Sussex Police were placed in 102nd position.

Chief Super Nev Kemp
Chief Super Nev Kemp

LGBT Equality Champion Chief Superintendent Nev Kemp said: “Although we have not been placed in the top 100 for 2015, this has been a really positive year for us where we have maintained and increased our equality work. One of our successes this year has been the launch of our Proud Allies network to support and promote equality in the workplace.”

Chief Constable Giles York
Chief Constable Giles York

The Sussex Police lead for Equality and Diversity, Chief Constable Giles York, added: “Each year, the challenge of making the top 100 has become increasingly more competitive, which we welcome as it shows the real appetite for organisations to better themselves and become more inclusive in the workplace. Sussex Police strives to continue to improve our own working environment alongside service provision. I look forward to our entry in the 2016 Index and moving back into the top 100.”

To view the complete Stonewall Top Employers 2015 list, click here:

 

 

 

GP Surgery to remain at Eaton Place, Kemptown

NHS England have announced that an NHS GP Surgery will continue at Easton Place in Kemptown.

Simon Kirby MP

THE SURGERY which has more than 5,600 patients on its books was due to close at the end of  February, 2015.

Simon Kirby, the Conservative MP for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven has along with others been campaigning for continued provision of a surgery at Eaton Place to benefit local patients in his constituency and had written to NHS England on January 5 calling for a decision to be made as soon as possible.

Simon said: “I have been working closely with Dr Marshall-Andrews and have lobbied NHS England repeatedly on this issue, including meeting with the Director for Sussex and her senior team to make the case in person.

“I was therefore delighted at the recent announcement that NHS England have awarded the contract to Dr Marshall-Andrews and that an NHS GP surgery will continue from the Eaton Place premises.

“This is great news for local patients, particularly the elderly and disabled who I know were very concerned about the potential upheaval.”

Dr Marshall-Andrews, who already runs a progressive, NHS practice in the city said: “I would like to thank Simon for all his help in making this a reality, he has been incredibly supportive and offered practical assistance without which we may very well not have got this great result.”

“My team and I can now look forward to providing the best possible care for local patients in surroundings that will be familiar to them. I would encourage anyone who wishes to remain a patient at Eaton Place to enrol with us.”

Nancy Platts, Labour parliamentary candidate for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven also led a community campaign to replace the surgery which included holding a public meeting, doing a local survey, asking a question to the Health and Wellbeing Board and running a petition.

Nancy PlattsNancy said: “This is a huge win for members of the community that have taken part in the campaign. I have had hundreds of people fill in surveys, attend the public meeting I held and sign our petition.”

“It was only in December that patients were told the surgery was not going to be replaced. It is inspiring to see what members of the community can do when they take stand”​

Ray Norman, a patient at the surgery, added: “I was terribly worried about the closure. I’ve been a patient there for many years and value having a surgery in our neighbourhood. Nancy is fantastic. She organised a meeting to update residents and has been running a petition to keep the surgery. This is a great result. It is a credit to her and the whole community campaign which has done so much to raise the issue with the Council and NHS England.”

A spokesperson from NHS England (South East) said:  “NHS England (South East) has approved a proposal from  the Brighton Health and Wellbeing Centre practice to open a branch surgery at Eaton Place. Setting up branch surgeries is, however, a challenging process involving complex financial and contractual negotiations between practices and premises owners regarding buying or leasing the premises. NHS England is not party to these negotiations.

“Due to ongoing negotiations, NHS England cannot yet guarantee that the branch surgery will be able to open or by what date.

“Our number one concern is to ensure that all patients registered at Eaton Place surgery have ongoing access to GP services once the practice closes on February 28, following the retirement of the two partners.

“It is vitally important that all patients currently registered at Eaton Place continue to re-register with an alternative practice until NHS England confirms whether a branch surgery is opening at Eaton place.  Even if a new branch surgery opens in Eaton Place in due course, patients would still need to re-register with another practice until the new surgery opens and is able to accept registrations.”

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