Councillors argued about begging in Brighton and tents for the homeless being pitched in parks and in city centre streets.
There were concerns that people would be encouraged to pitch tents and beg if Brighton and Hove City Council passed the “Homeless Bill of Rights”.
But others dismissed the fears – including the prospect of conflict with the duty of police to enforce the Vagrancy Act.
And the council vote to adopt the Homeless Bill of Rights with the Greens for, the Tories against and Labour split.
Independent councillor Bridget Fishleigh, who abstained from the vote, asked for the measure to be costed and for the public to be consulted.
Councillor Fishleigh said: “A consultation about the Homeless Bill of Rights would enable the council to gather the thoughts of the thousands of resident who despair at the sight of people living on our streets.
“A consultation will provide an opportunity to discuss funding. Maybe residents will be willing to support further increases in their council tax if this money was ringfenced for housing and services for the homeless. I know I would.”
Another independent councillor, Tony Janio, the former Conservative group leader, backed her call for costings.
Green councillor Siriol Hugh-Jones, who co-chairs the council’s Housing Committee, said: “Councillor Fishleigh says people despair at people living in the streets. The bill addresses that.
“What the bill wants are services supporting access to appropriate housing to be accessible to all homeless people.”
Labour councillor Gill Williams said that the results of an extensive public consultation were presented to the Housing Committee in June last year.
They included the Homeless Bill of Rights which now formed part of the council’s rough sleeping strategy, she said, adding: “What the Homeless Bill of Rights is fundamentally about is making sure that when people are driven into rough sleeping, they are not automatically treated like a nuisance or a problem or drug users or sources of anti-social behaviour or criminals.
“We have just reaffirmed our commitment to being a ‘City of Sanctuary’. Surely you want to commit to this as well?”
She said that the Homeless Bill of Rights did not endorse aggressive begging or any other form of anti-social behaviour which could be dealt with through the law.
Conservative councillor Mary Mears said that the Homeless Bill of Rights would do little to help the homeless and put the council in conflict with Sussex Police.
It would permit begging and make it harder for officials to remove tents from parks and play areas.
She cited Brighton Housing Trust chief executive Andy Winter who recently said that begging had nothing to do with homelessness and everything to do with addiction.
Councillor Mears said: “The pandemic has thrown the city’s begging problem into sharp focus over the past 12 months. And the city’s experience has largely confirmed what Mr Winter has been saying.
“While the council, through £6.4 million in government funding, has been able to offer hotel accommodation and food to all homeless people for more than a year now, residents have reported that begging on the streets has continued and residents have faced aggressive begging in some places.”
Thirty-one Green and Labour councillors voted to adopt the Homeless Bill of Rights, with the Conservatives and Councillor Janio voting against it.
Councillors Carmen Appich, Peter Atkinson, Bridget Fishleigh, Les Hamilton, Chris Henry, Clare Moonan and Jakie O’Quinn abstained.
So the council is supporting “peaceful” begging and allowing the homeless (or I assume anyone) to leave tents and bedding anywhere they like.
From a BBC Radio Sussex interview yesterday, I understand that “aggressive beggars” are being given a piece of paper!
Yet another reason for residents and visitors to avoid Brighton and Hove and go elsewhere for shopping and leisure. I feel so sorry for local businesses hoping to recover from the pandemic.
Very happy I’ve got my car.
Glad to see some resistance from more sensible Labour Councillors. This hard left red/green coalition is able to do what it wants because we don’t have an opposition.
Hard left?!?!?!?
This is an open door for hundreds more to descend on our city, hove lawns will look like sangat!
I have begging around m home 24/6/365 and I can assure you it’s not a pleasant situation to be in, the fallout is your streets and doorways will be used as toilets, a huge increase in shoplifting to feed various addictions, a big increase in crime, drug dealers will follow these people around preying in the weak.
We/you will never close the door to our city being turned into a refuge!
Because our council (and I use the word very loosely) don’t deal with the begging/vagrancy issue they make it alright but this ridiculous bill!
With ‘Rights’ come ‘Responsibilities’ ….
What will the beggars/homeless/drug addicts/alcoholic be expected to give in return?
This city is a magnet for every nonce and drug addict in the country.
Dangerous criminals and drug dealers released from prison or out on licence make a bee line for Brighton because they have been told this is the place where drugs are plentiful and cheap.
Ordinary citizens are having to put up with aggressive beggars sitting outside shops and shop keepers need security staff because they are under siege from addicts stealing to feed their habit. I feel sorry for any business trying to survive in St. James St. #Skid Row on Sea.
I see the usual bigots are up in arms. Not a thought to those who are, through no fault of their own, homeless because the property market is unattainable to them.
It is a lie that ‘Ordinary citizens are having to put up with aggressive beggars sitting outside shops’. I have never come across this once.
Yes the Starmer Tories on the Labour Group agreed with the Tories. What’s new in that?
The life expectancy of homeless people is half that of other people. That is the only fact that bothers me.
Is this “far-left Momentum activist Tony Greenstein who was expelled from the Party for anti-Semitic behaviour” according to The Argus?
I assume those Labour councillors who did support this bill were ones that were endorsed by Momentum – the group that, with Jeremy Corbyn, resulted in the worst General Election result for Labour in 80 years.
Tony, With the greatest respect, you must be going around with your eyes closed. Watch the beggars outside Morrison’s and you will see them intercepting customers on the way in or out. There’s a one legged man in a wheelchair who catches young women at the traffic lights and harasses them up St.James Street. Or just ask one of the security guards in any of Brighton’s bigger shops that have to put up with these people. There is a bloke who used to cadge money off punters having a drink in the Station pub, as well as inside the station itself. The station barred him, but he ignores that.
As for their low life expectancy? Could it be something to do with excessive alcohol consumption and hard drug abuse? Just a theory.
What evidence do you have these are homeless people? A lot have homes and are housed.
This is an addiction issue and comes under the Remit of the Health and Wellbeing Board, of which labour have as lead Clare Moonan. She abstained and went on a rant, even though this issue actually comes under her own remit.
Sad and disappointing to label and judge, precisely why we have the bill. As former lead for rough sleeping Clare has shown her true colours.
I reconsidered people watch the actual debate rather than make assumptions.
In terms of aggressive begging, its not nice no one denies that and where someone is breaking the law then those laws still exist.
But if they are a verified genuine rough sleeper then they should not be criminalised, they should housed and assisted.
Police need to deal with the dealers, stop the drug network locally and protect the vulnerable who are being exploited for a health / addiction issue.
We know Crack, Heroin and Crystal Meth is all over the city and when you go into town you can see this issue visually. Groups of addicts meeting up, drug dealing in places like the pavilion gardens. Ive witnessed this.
The private sector unsupported emergency accommodations in the city which have no support workers, well they are full of dealers.
My own building was being used for county lines, the police took ages to take action, finally we have CCTV and other security in place now to prevent it!
Tory cuts in policing and other services has highlighted and enabled this culture.
Finally there is a homelessness reduction board which the police will attend, and other services to better integrate and get the issue under control.
Agreed on all You said I live on St James for 15 years last 3-4 is getting bad they allways drunk and now they start to be more aggressive whit the numbers.
Hello Tony! How’s the court case(s) going?
“A consultation will provide an opportunity to discuss funding. Maybe residents will be willing to support further increases in their council tax if this money was ringfenced for housing and services for the homeless.”
You are joking, right! A possible increase in council tax! If the council are that concerned about the well-being of the homeless, get the funding from elsewhere. This town is turning into a bloody refugee camp.
If you read the Bill of Rights it doesn’t allow begging or mention tents but as begging and tents are already an issue the Greens and their Bill of Rights will now be blamed continually by the Tories
When the homeless are evicted from the hotels in the Summer a bill of rights won’t solve the housing shortage
From the Bill Of Rights….
12. The Right to Respect for Personal Property
People who are homeless should have their belongings, including tents and sleeping bags, respected by everyone including public servants. They should never be damaged or thrown away or be removed without compelling need, and if they are removed they should be made available for collection without charge.
I assume “compelling need” means that all camping gear can be removed according to the law? But will it be enforced?
This decision should have gone to the public!!! More council tax sod off we pay enough as it is and where does it go?? Paying the wages of council officials that think they god!! wake up people. There is so much support out there for homeless people BUT THEY CHOOSE NOT to take it. Drugs and drink that is a personal choice when you choose not to take the help offered. The council has just rolled out the red carpet for everyone to come to Brighton……. fools. Not a thought for our police force already under pressure and struggling!!! Everyone seems to be anti police until you need them and you’re being attacked or robbed!!! This new bill will give people the ability to do what they want and behave as they please!!! Anyone with half a brain cell can see that!!!!
Skidrow-on-sea renewing its Sanctuary City pledge.
Watch even more drunks and drug scum descend here now.
The Greens and Momentum should hang their heads in shame, if they had spines.
The homeless situation was brought about by the 1988 housing act that Thatcher brought in. Which took all the rights away from the tenants and put them in the hands of her friends the landlords. Let the landlords take responsibility for this and the government rescind this law and bring in rent controls. I would not be surprised if some of these bigoted views expressed here are written by the very landlords who have benefited from this law
Residents (i.e. normal and proper residents) would not be prepared to support any of this rubbish through council tax, which is already far too high. We normal and proper residents, especially single people, get nothing much at all for the council tax anyway and I, for one, resent paying through the nose for leftie ‘initiatives’. My rubbish and recycling doesn’t get collected from the house any more, so I have to struggle up to communal bins in whatever the weather and I am drowning in the stuff.
This is truly Skidrow-on-Sea and rapidly getting worse because of the bozos who control the council, courtesy of the ideological leftie voters in some wards. McCafferty, the alleged council leader, who frankly could not even organise a dog on a lead, as I have often said, is totally invisible and says nothing at all, Platts gets her views on B&H News all the time (but says nothing much except her own ideological platitudes, although we assume she must be actually still be in charge, as McCafferty says nothing).
I have no confidence whatsoever that Green and Momentum Labour B&H voters generally might wake up to the total mess that their votes have caused in the City and would fondly hope that they vote differently next time round, but don’t hold your breath.
Wake up, people!! You chucked out Kitcat & Co some years back, because they were utter incompetent idiots; Kitcat ran away, and yet we still have the totally incompetent Greens, aided by incompetent Momentum Labour, ‘running’ the city.
This is not currently a city to be proud of, and that is down to the incompetents that have been in charge in recent years How very sad!!
11 years of Tory austerity cuts have stripped millions from our council’s budgets. Money that used to provide essential services to the homeless and addicted.
Is homeless drinking any worse than West Street on a weekend pre lockdown or visible drug addiction worse than the cocaine addiction behind our city’s drawn curtains?
When you have no money to feed a drug addiction you beg. It’s not a choice. You have no control. If you have no food you beg. If you have no home it’s visible. If you have money it’s hidden. A wealthier better kind of addict?
This needs debating sensibly minus the usual political point-scoring and class snobbery.
If you are an addict and are desperate then come to Brighton.
It is a sanctuary city, they will give you everything and bring your friends too. Why not, there are loads coming all the time.
Oh and then blame someone else like Katy.
Don’t deal with it, don’t take responsibility, just demand your rights.
Yep that is the loony left Green/Momentum response to everything.