Geoffrey Theobald: Tackling homelessness and mental health issues

In the spirit of the Conservative mission to build a country that works for everyone, not just the privileged few, I was delighted to hear that Brighton and Hove will be benefitting from £1.25 million in funding to tackle homelessness after a £40 million fund was made available to local councils to tackle the issue by Prime Minister Theresa May earlier this year.

The money will be used to fund targeted support for those at imminent risk of sleeping rough or those new to the streets as well as providing support for rough sleepers with substance misuse and mental health needs. The Labour administration’s election promise to “end homelessness by 2020” is currently ringing rather hollow with recent figures showing that the number of rough sleepers on the city’s streets has doubled in the last 12 months.

With this significant injection of funding from the government they now have no excuse and we hope to see the numbers drop.

I was also very pleased to hear the Prime Minister, in her first major speech on health services, highlight the widespread and growing issue of poor mental health, particularly amongst the younger generation.

One in four of us will experience a mental health problem at some point during our lives and treatment has been for far too long a ‘Cinderella’ service when compared to physical health services.

The measures announced will begin to address this disparity and have been warmly welcomed by clinicians and campaigners alike. Meanwhile the local Labour Party’s inner turmoil continues as one of the largest Jeremy Corbyn-supporting areas in the country, despite a lack of support for his leadership from local Labour MP Peter Kyle and Leader of the Council Warren Morgan. So whilst the Labour Group continues with its internal squabbling and attempts to get its house in order, my colleagues and I will be remaining focussed on ensuring the best outcomes for residents and preventing Labour from ploughing ahead with further potentially disastrous decisions.

Cllr Geoffrey Theobald - Leader of the Conservative Group on Brighton and Hove Council