I have taken this blog down.
I was in the middle of a manic episode when I wrote it and I am being treated to overcome this illness.
I should not have written it and I am sorry.
Category: Uncategorized
Brighton and Hove City Council: Housing Related Budget Cuts 2017
I am just going through the housing related proposed budget cuts and savings for 2017, imposed by the Tory government, implemented by a minority Labour council in Brighton and Hove.
Headline Cuts:
Pages 172 –
General Housing Fund: A total of £1.6million in cuts some of which are outlined below.
Temporary Accommodation & Allocations: £715,000 cuts for 2017, up from £40,000 in 2016. The savings from the changes to the allocation policy are calculated on the basis of current costs and an estimate of 35% of social housing being allocated to homeless households.
Please note in the November Housing and New Homes Committee, the new allocations policy stated that a minimum of 40% of new Homemove Allocations will be for those in homeless households, so I am unsure why they have written 35%.
Deposit Guarantee Scheme: There is a £100,000 cut to this service, this service is vital in helping people who cannot afford a deposit for private sector housing, clearly homelessness is rising, we have a net loss on council homes due to the right to buy, therefore this service being cut could mean a failure to house people. I will be keeping an eye on this!
Travellers: £21,000 in Cuts anticipated through the use of the new site for travellers, however the unauthorised encampments pose a further risk to cuts, most likely enforced by the new public protection order, which is currently not being enforced.
Neighbourhood, Communities & Housing: Total Cuts and Savings = £2.7million
Community Safety: £122k in Cuts for 2017, affecting; LGBT Community Services and the removal of the LGBT Housing Liaison Worker. Communities Against Drugs – Part Time Staff Member post gone. Get ready to see more drug parafunalia such as infected needles like the image below taken today St Peters Church Ward.
Environmental Health: £115,000 Cut to service in 2017, risk of not following statutory duty to investigate issues. Such as conditions and safety concerns in Temporary, Emergency and private sector housing.
Finally Food banks
Brighton and Hove have 15 operational food banks in the city.
We have much more to learn but I would like to see the above reversed to ensure some of the most vulnerable people in our city are not left even further behind.
Source: Agenda Report Pack
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Growing Concerns For A Victim of crime after trail of blood is found leading from emergency accommodation building in Brighton and Hove
As you know I like to set the record straight, I was contacted at 6am this morning from a resident and member of ETHRAG, saying “Someone has been stabbed at the baytree” The Baytree is an Emergency Accommodation Building in Brighton and Hove, recently sold by the Brighton Housing Trust to Lincar Investments Limited.
The Initial Pictures Received From A Distressed Resident
As you can imagine the accounts and the initial evidence concerned me, there was an incident a few months back where I witnessed somebody jacking up outside this same building and false promises from Angelique Shareholder of Lincar Investments have not helped to prevent this. We were promised CCTV after reports of burglaries and violence to protect the residents.
The Vulnerable residents some 25 or so really have had enough, there is currently no 24 hour staff coverage of this property, which just like percival terrace has no full time manned staff. There is a ban on visitors, which I believe is helping to cause these issues, the company will say the people are vulnerable as do the council and that visitors risk harm to residents, however if they really cared then why has it taken them over one year to fit CCTV?
Yes folks following this incident they have finally fitted CCTV! – tell that to the victims of crime over the last 12 months. The no visitor rule and no 24 hour staff is a result of cut backs, this company receive over £850 a month in payments from Brighton and Hove City Council, plus bonuses so they are quids in, why are they putting profit before people?
Walking up St James’s Street in Kemptown I discovered Blood Trail
Just on the corner of Camelford Street I found a puddle of blood which had dried, I followed the trail some 350 yards to the entrance of the Baytree Emergency Hostel(images below)
There was a police car on site and a forensic vehicle, I saw a policeman come out and said I was the founder of ETHRAG and received a report of a stabbing, the policeman reported to me it was a burglary, my initial thought was why the blood?
Nonetheless we will find out what happened, residents were concerned for a young female who lived in the room, who has not been seen. The trail of blood ended on Camelford Street in the middle of the road almost as if the person got into a vehicle.
Here is a video I made walking back down St James Street in Brighton and Hove this morning.
Sussex Police have asked anyone who may have witnessed anything or seen anything out of the ordinary to contact 101 quoting reference 118 of the 25/11.
Meeting Tonight
I’ve also been informed that at 6pm tonight residents were invited to percival terrace for a meeting, as of yet I have no details of what the meeting was about, this is because just two weeks ago I was banned from entering any Helgor Trading Limited and Lincar Investments Properties, hopefully I can update later on what has come to light.
Do you Live in Emergency or Temporary Accommodation in Brighton and Hove?
If so ETHRAG is the first residents association in the UK which is specifically for residents living in emergency and temporary accommodation. We started to help provide you with a voice, you can join us by going to our Facebook page or by emailing daniel@survivorblog.co.uk.
Remember together we can change things forever!
I really hope the city council work to come up with a safeguarding policy standard to protect the vulnerably housed in the city and fast, before we have more deaths and victims of crime, in places which are safe and secure.
