Policy and Resources 28th September 2006

For those of you who follow the agenda of the Policy and Resources Committee, amongst a number of other decisions taken by the Committee, it was agreed that the Council should be moving towards an Integrated Public Health Directorate working jointly with the Brighton and Hove City Primary Care Trust.. It was also agreed that the Housing Responsive Repairs and Empty Homes Partnering Contract Award, 4th December 2006 - 3rd December 2011and the King Alfred Development - Evaluation of Revised Stage C+/D Design will be dealt with as Items 109 and 110 respectively at a Special Policy and Resources Committee Meeting to be held in the Council Chamber at Hove Town Hall on Thursday 5th October 2006, meeting commencing at 4pm.

Spade to Spoon Launch

Last night saw the launch of the Spade to Spoon initiative, a food strategy and action plan for Brighton and Hove and is promoted by the Brighton and Hove Food Partnership. How we produce and consume our food and its relationship to our health and environment are increasingly under the spotlight. Obesity, a big concern now in children, and diet related diseases such as diabetes and heart disease are proven to be on the increase. Those attending the launch heard presentations by Catherine Thompson - Hertford Infant and Nursery School, Alan Lugton from the hugely successful Care Co-ops and finally Peter Brooks who operates the Queen Adelaide Tea Room at the Royal Pavilion, each provided a 15 minute presentation about how they had each accepted the challenge to provided locally sourced, attractive and healthy food in each of their establishments. The Meeting was expertly chaired by BBC broadcaster, Barbara Myers.There is a great deal of additional information which I will add about health eating from time to time.If you would like to know more about healthy locally sourced food follow the link www.bhfood.org.uk

News from Keep the Ridge Green

I have written several times this year about the activities of members of the Keep the Ridge Green group of environmentalists and thought it is now a good time to provide an update. You may remember the saga of the thousands of goldfish that had been living in our small dewpond and the enormously successful efforts that provided board and lodgings when the dewpond was found to be quickly drying out during the summer. All the fish have been found new and hopefully happy homes and the dewpond has now returned to its intended condition. However it is worth a reminder that however attractive fish may look swimming around in such pleasant surroundings, a dew pond is intended to promote endemic species and is neither a home for fish or a swimming pool for hot and thirsty dogs. Members of the group will be having one of their normal work days on November 4th 2006 with maintenance planned to take place on 25th February, 10th June, 16th September and 25th November 2007. If you would like more information about the Keep The Ridge Green environmental activities please follow this link

Missing Road Signs in Withdean - Continued

Further to my previous blog concerning missing road signs in Withdean, I have just noticed that the sign at the junction of Eldred Avenue and Windmill Drive has been vandalised and I will also report this as needing to be replaced. Whilst it is important that roads are clearly signed, it is unfortunate that money has to be spent on replacing signs that are clearly being systematically destroyed by vandals.

Missing Road Signs in Withdean

Replacement road signs for Valley Drive (junction of Valley Drive with Dyke Road Avenue), Windmill Drive (junction with Mill Rise) and Wayside (junction with Windmill Drive) have been ordered today. It normally takes about 3 weeks for the replacements to be made and installed. Please let me know if you have noticed any other seriously damaged or missing road signs in Withdean Ward so that I can arrange for replacements as soon as possible..

Visits to Adult Social Care Establishments

Residents might like to know that members of the Adult Social Care Committee undertake visits to various health provision establishments throughout the city and this includes Day Centre facilities. Appointments to visit are prearranged and we are given guidance on how we should handle the visit because in many cases we are actually going into someone's home and clearly we would all want to behave in the same sort of manner that we would expect visitors to our own homes to behave. The visits last for approximately one hour and over the years, I have made many friends that I meet from time to time in many other circumstances and places whilst carrying out my work as a Councillor or just out shopping. The visits are doubly important because we can get to know what each service has to offer and we can also establish the quality of that particular service. I have always been warmly welcomed wherever I have gone and get lots of invitations to coffee mornings and other social events and try to go along as often as other commitments permit.

New Term at Westdene Primary School

The new term is now underway and I would like to issue a plea to both parents and drivers to approach the vicinity of the school with caution at times when children are arriving and leaving the premises. Mill Rise is a busy road at anytime and with the increased number of cars parked on the road, visibility is restricted which could mean that motorists cannot see small children that might just be going to run into the road. Problems are also caused by parents who continue to unload children from cars on the road rather than onto the safety of the pavement.It could only takes a moment for a terrible accident to occur, please do think about the vulnerability of small children on what is now a fairly busy road.

Finance Meetings

Having spent my "working life" in Science, then moving to be an Education spokesperson and then spokesperson on Adult Social Care at Brighton and Hove City Council, I hope that I am now really getting to grips with being the Opposition Spokesperson with the Finance Portfolio. I have welcomed the help of the many finance and business personnel that I have already met and have a number of other visits planned before Christmas. The work is truly absorbing and I now find that I tend to bore my friends with chat about Business Rate and Council Tax instead of reforms in the NHS, but so far everyone has been very kind and seems to humour me. As I write this Blog at home, I am surrounded by the delicious perfume from lilies that formed part of a wonderful and very unexpected bouquet of flowers sent to me last week and if the sender reads this she should know how much these flowers have meant to me. Some of you will know that I have recently suffered a very traumatic experience followed by the loss of our wonderful dog, Poppy and this has all knocked me to say the least but the wonderful support received from friends and colleagues is gradually getting me through although I am still experiencing difficult times. Work IS a great healer and there is much to do around the Ward with problems yet to be solved in Surrenden Road and Withdean Crescent. I have the very highest regard for officers at Brighton and Hove City Council who do work to resolve problems and outcomes to the very best of their abilities. Sometime it isn't possible to resolve everything but I can guarantee that Councillors and Officers do their very best and that sometimes, is all we can do.

Welcome to Brighton and Hove - Gateway Protection Programme

Earlier this year, members of the Policy and Resources Committee agreed that the city should become a resettlement area for refugees under the Gateway Protection Programme by accepting one group of refugees in this current year. The Gateway Protection Programme is the official name for the UK's resettlement programme and provides an entry route to the UK for vulnerable refugees who arrive in the UK with immediate and full rights to settle and integrate into the community here. The process is planned, managed and fully funded by the Home Office for the first year. The plight of refugees is mainly only known to us through harrowing reports from the media and we can only imagine the terrible circumstances that these people have witnessed and survived, frequently occurring to their own family members and in their own homes and villages.I would like to welcome those new residents who have recently come to live and work alongside us and hope that they will all soon settle into our very different environment and enjoy and flourish and grow to love the city like us who were either born here or who have moved here and chosen to remain. I am sure that the wonderful community of Brighton and Hove will welcome and offer friendship and support to people who have experiences that we cannot possibly even contemplate. I believe that the recommendation was agreed by Policy and Resources unanimously which is confirmation of the strength of support felt and represented by all political parties.  

Sussex Cancer Fund

The Sussex Cancer Fund for Treatment and Research is the only local Cancer Charity  and is based at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton. The Charity works hand in hand with the NHS to create new and improved facilities in the Sussex Cancer Centre. The aim is to achieve the best possible cancer care for the people of Sussex. Improvements such as new equipment and major building projects make the Cancer Centre more effective and attractive. If you would like to find out more about the Charity, follow this link One in three people across Sussex develop cancer.

aMAZE

aMaze is an independent voluntary organisation and charity working to empower parents of children and young people with special needs. It is managed by a Board of Trustees made up of parents and professionals who employ a dedicated team of part time staff. Staff manage and support two teams of trained volunteers.

aMAZE is a one stop shop providing integrated advice and support for parents and is funded by Brighton and Hove City Council to provide a Parent Partnership Service offering parents independent information, advice and support on educational issues. If you are concerned about your child's development at playgroup, nursery, school or college and want to talk it over either telephone 01273 772289 or email: info@amazebrighton.org.uk

Would you like to be a Travel Buddy ?

Interested ? Buddies volunteer to support an adult with a learning disability to use public transport - you could really make a difference. Could you support someone to catch a bus, support someone to get a ticket, give someone confidence to make a journey, spare one or two hours a week or fortnight ? If so contact the Grace Eyre Foundation at : hgue@grace-eyre.org or telephone 01273 201911and ask for Hayley. I am also adding this as a web page so that the information is always easily available.