Green Party LGBT News

Greens slam "irresponsible & negligent" Council over Community Safety	14 March 2008
Summary Green councillors today blasted Brighton & Hove City Council's plans for Community Safety under the new governance arrangements which are being proposed for the city.

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Green councillors today blasted Brighton & Hove City Council's plans for Community Safety under the new governance arrangements which are being proposed for the city.

The local authority has a legal responsibility under the Crime & Disorder Act (1998) to work with the police and other statutory bodies to reduce crime and improve community safety in the city.

Currently, a Community Safety Forum composed of councillors, officers, the police, community groups and other stakeholders meets in public to discuss issues and formulate policy.

However the future of the Forum is in doubt, and the proposals for Scrutiny of Community Safety are inadequate, according to Greens.

Cllr Amy Kennedy, Green Group Spokesperson for Community Safety, said, "I am deeply concerned that this important area of policy which affects all residents in Brighton & Hove, particularly women, LGBT people and people from black and minority ethnic communities, is being randomly 'lumped in' with the Environment Directorate when it comes to Scrutiny.

"The Environment Directorate already covers a huge remit, and I am very worried that Community Safety will become the neglected Cinderella of Scrutiny."

Under the new arrangements, it's thought the Community Safety Forum will continue in its current format until the provisions of the Local Government Act and the Police & Justice Act are implemented in the summer, but its future is unclear.

Cllr Kennedy said, "I have sought reassurances from the Leader of the Council, Cllr Brian Oxley [current Chair of the CSF], that this important area of local authority responsibility will not only continue to have its own dedicated policy forum, but also its own dedicated Scrutiny committee. Anything less, to my mind, would be verging on the irresponsible and negligent, and will severely impact on vulnerable people in the city."

The new governance arrangements are expected to come into effect in May
this year.


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