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Peter Hope addressed the Council pursuant to the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 7(5) to express his concern about the future of the Go4 café in Holy Trinity Church. Go4 had worked in partnership with the Council since 2013 and had recently opened a further café at the Old Heath Recreation Ground. The cafes provided employment and volunteering opportunities for ex-offenders and the long term unemployed. They had also recently begun providing paid for breakfasts for the homeless. Their work provided valuable social benefit at no cost to the taxpayer. He understood that the Council was considering ending its partnership with Go4 and asked that Council clarify its intentions and pledge that the partnership would continue.
Councillor Cory, Portfolio Holder for Resources, explained that Go4 had given notice of its intention to terminate the lease agreement on Holy Trinity Church as they believed it was not a suitable location. Council officers were helping them to find a suitable alternative venue and were in dialogue with Go4. He hoped that the Council’s partnership with Go4 would continue.
Karen Taylor addressed the Council pursuant to the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 7(5). She noted the local media coverage of aggressive begging in Colchester. Go4 provided a service which enabled resident to pay for breakfasts for the homeless, which allowed residents to support the homeless without providing cash to them directly, which should reduce levels of aggressive begging. Go4 was an excellent example of an asset based community project. It had turned a redundant building into a community asset and more importantly had developed people into valued members of the community. Go4’s work was in line with the principles set out in the Council’s Strategic Plan. The Council had helped Go4 establish itself and it needed to ensure that it was retained.
Councillor Lilley, Portfolio Holder for Safer Communities and Licensing, explained that the Council had received a number of complaints about begging and street drinking, which he had asked Community Support Officers to look into. The aim was to identify those who were sleeping rough and to help them secure the help they needed. It was necessary to distinguish between the genuinely homeless and aggressive beggars. Aggressive begging was a matter for the police to deal with. Whilst it was noted that Ipswich and Chelmsford had sought to tackle the issue through a Public Space Order in the town centre, the Council did not believe that this was an appropriate solution.
Lee Parker addressed the Council pursuant to the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 7(5). His family had been in emergency accommodation for two years and temporary accommodation for eight years before that. His family were now threatened with eviction. Colchester Borough Homes were not working with him to help resolve the situation and it was difficult to secure appropriate housing for his family in the private rented sector.
Councillor Bourne, Portfolio Holder for Housing and Public Protection, explained that she could not comment on individual cases. The Council did its best to support to support the most vulnerable and took its duties in respect of housing and homelessness very seriously. The Council always sought to get involved before eviction was necessary and to help families stay in their accommodation. In addition it had a Welfare Rights team who helped ensure that residents were able to access the benefits to which they were entitled. The Council had built 34 new Council houses and had developed a programme to build more, but changes introduced by central government meant that this was no longer possible.
Holly Parker addressed the Council pursuant to the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 7(5) to explain the impact of homelessness on her as a teenager. Living in temporary accommodation meant a lack of space and privacy and made it hard to study. She had also been subject to bullying as a consequence. The Housing Act would only exacerbate the difficulties. She did not consider that sufficient consideration was given to the impact of these issues on families and young people.
Councillor Smith, Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Strategy, thanked Holly for speaking and congratulated her on giving a voice to young people on this issue. The administration wanted to build more Council housing but had been thwarted by changes in government policies. He noted with concern that 56% of residents working in Colchester would not be able to obtain a mortgage on a 1 bedroom flat at current prices and so were forced into the private rented sector. The solution was more social rented housing and pressure needed to be put on central Government to address this.
Diane Stevens of Colchester People’s Assembly addressed the Council pursuant to the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 7(5) to express her concern that the new Housing Act would require local authorities to gather data on the income of those living in rented Council accommodation. There were implications for civil liberties in how this information was gathered and used. The government’s solution to the housing crisis was to build new starter homes which were unaffordable. The solution was to build Council housing at affordable prices and this should be the responsibility of the state rather than the private sector.
Councillor Bourne, Portfolio Holder for Housing and Public Protection, responded and stressed that starter homes were not a replacement for affordable housing. A firm commitment from government for more social housing at affordable rents was needed.
Autumn Parker addressed the Council pursuant to the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 7(5) about the Teenspeak Campaign. They had expanded their campaign to cover 10 points, as follows:-
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Compulsory unbiased political education in secondary schools;
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Lowering of the voting age to 16;
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Views of under 18 to be taken in consideration when important issues are considered or in any referendum;
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Essential life skills to be taught within schools, such as financial management and personal finance;
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Compulsory first aid training in schools;
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Better understanding of teenage mental health problems and access to mental heath support for teenagers;
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Recognise British sign language as a third language;
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Bullying to be recognised as a serious issue and all schools to be required to have a behaviour policy;
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Schools to comply with the Equality Act 2010;
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Recognitions of disabilities that require additional support such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, aspergers and autism.
Councillor Smith, Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Strategy, thanked Autumn for addressing the Council and wished the campaign every success.
Sue Blair-Jordan addressed the Council pursuant to the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 7(5) about homelessness issues. There was a lack of provision to help the homeless, particularly those who were under 25. For instance there was only one refuge in Colchester. The figures for homelessness in Colchester underestimated the scale of the problem. Most homelessness resulted from the lose of homes that were tied to employment. There was not a problem of aggressive begging by homeless people in Colchester. The changes to the benefit cap would only exacerbate these problems.
Councillor Bourne Portfolio Holder for Housing and Public Protection, responded. Local councils were the safety net for the most vulnerable as a consequence often received the blame for issues such as homelessness. Councils sought to deliver support along with local partners but with cuts in government funding this was becoming increasingly difficult. The Council was taking part in a Rough Sleeper count with an independent organisation. Many of the homeless in Colchester already engaged with the services available such as Beacon House.
Christopher Lee addressed the Council pursuant to the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 7(50 to seek clarification from Greenstead ward councillors on the location of the suggested Salary Brook Country Park.
The Mayor, Councillor Julie Young, indicated that a response would be provided in due course.