Brighton’s night time economy is tarnishing the city’s brand

On September 26^th, I am speaking in a debate being organised by the Brighton and Hove Chamber of Commerce.  The question is: “This house believes that Brighton’s night time economy is tarnishing the city’s brand”.  I will be speaking in favour of the question.  Other speakers include Justin Manning from the Queen’s Hotel, Nigel Liddell of the Brighton & Hove Business Crime Reduction Partnership, and Ian Chisnall, organiser of Brighton & Hove Street Pastors.

I would be interested in what you think so that I can properly think through the issues.

I come to this issue as someone who feels that, put quite simply, aspects of the night time economy threatens the economy of Brighton, including other parts of the night time economy which are essential for the economic well being of the City.

For example, take so called ‘party houses’. Rather than the traditional tourist infrastructure (hotels, restaurants, etc.) benefiting from weekend visitors and other tourists, these houses are a nightmare for neighbours. They facilitate the ‘front-loading’ of alcohol before these visitors descending on the town centre where their behaviour is often not conducive for others (guests staying in hotels, families out for dinner, theatre goers, etc.).

The spending power of those on alcohol-fuelled weekend breaks (hen and stag events) is limited.  They are focused on alcohol outlets that encourage/facilitate further drinking.  Having lived in the town centre for many years, and having represented Regency Ward on the old Brighton Borough Council, I now actively avoid going into the centre of Brighton after 8pm on a Friday or Saturday evening.  My spending power is thus denied those restaurants and facilities that might otherwise have benefited from it.

For a year I chaired the Licensing Committee on Brighton Borough Council.  That year, because of close co-operation between the Council, Sussex Police and licensees, we were able to regulate the night time economy in a way that incidents of violence were clamped down on.  Licensees who failed to co-operate risked having their Public Entertainment Licences revoked.  The result was that on New Year’s Eve 1986, there was not a single arrest for violence or drunken disorder in Brighton.

Unless we ensure that the night time economy is robustly managed, the image of the City will become tarnished, at great cost to businesses and residents alike.

Let me know what you think.

 

(Note: when this item was first posted I referred to no arrests in 2006. It should have been 1986.  My apologies).

A BHT service that is reducing crime, homelessness and many thousands of Pounds for the tax payer

Each week Patrick Allen, the Chair of the BHT Board of Management and I visit a different project around the organisation. It gives us a chance to deepen our understanding of the work of the organisation which is diverse and complex.

This week’s visit was rather different as we visited our HMP Lewes to Brighton project based at Lewes Prison. The Project works with prisoners with complex needs, including those with mental health and substance misuse problems, who would be homeless on release from the prison, by identifying support and accommodation needs and keying them into appropriate services.

Most of these clients are serving sentences of under 12 months, have a local connection to Brighton and Hove, and are repeat offenders.

During 2011 our worker, Sean, supported 60 individuals, ensuring that 93% were housed at the point of their release. Because most have accommodation, and Sean is able to support them, a very small minority (less than 15%) commit further offences and are returned to prison.

It costs approximately £40,000 to keep someone in prison each year, with a disproportionate share of the costs being incurred at the point of reception and induction. Given the number of repeat offenders entering a prison such as HMP Lewes, a scheme such as HMP Lewes to Brighton reduces re-offending. Because it is a significant factor in reducing repeat offending, it saves the Prison Service, and thereby the tax payer, tens and more likely hundreds of thousands of Pounds each year.

The Project works closely with a housing officer, also based in the prison, employed by Brighton and Hove City Council. Together, in their separate but mutually supportive projects, mean that prisoners from Brighton and Hove are well served. The impact of their work is a reduction in homelessness, less anti-social behaviour, and less crime. The modest investment in these services pays dividends, and it is a model that other localities in Sussex would be well advised to replicate.

The HMP Lewes to Brighton project is funded jointly by the Prison Service, Brighton & Hove City Council and the Henry Smith Charitable Trust.

Do you want a bed for the night? Get yourself arrested!

Last week I read a story that was tragic in its comedy, yet at the same time gives us all a warning about what might happen if services for homeless men and women are cut back.

A homeless man in Eastbourne, who has an anti-social behaviour order forbidding him from drinking in public, phoned the police to say that he had deliberately breached his ASBO so he would be arrested and thereby get a bed for the night.  When the police arrived he had not opened the can of beer he was holding, and was therefore told he could not be arrested.  He then opened the can and asked: “Now can you arrest me?”  It was his 12^th ASBO breach since May.  He achieved his objective as he was put in a cell overnight for this latest breach.

What a sad state of affairs that someone has to commit an offence in order to get accommodation.  And what a waste of public funds that this state of affairs exists.  The judge in the case, Deputy District Judge Nigel Dean said: “He is doing it at great cost to the public, breaching his ASBO and clearly has no regard to appearing in court.”

What we need in all seaside towns is specialist accommodation for homeless people (as we have in Brighton and Hove) where those with alcohol or drug problems can be encouraged, with some carrot and some stick, to address their addictions.  In the long term, it makes economic sense and would relieve pressure on the police, criminal justice system and health services.

Social enterprises send out strong messages about the health and ambitions of charities

Tomorrow I am speaking at a conference at the University of Warwick on the role social enterprises have in tackling homelessness, creating opportunities and promoting change.  One of my key messages will be that for charities, developing profitable social enterprises is “not an optional extra” but an essential way of surviving cuts in public spending and the reduction in charitable giving.

Successful social enterprises benefit clients, the community and charities alike. Clients benefit from learning and training opportunities, social enterprises provide meaningful routes from training, through work experience, and into employment or further training. 

The community benefits because of increased employment, reduced homelessness and rough sleeping because those in training and employment have increasing access to accommodation.  There is a reduction in social exclusion, dependency on benefits, substance misuse, anti-social behaviour and crime. And organisations, particularly charities, are able to generate additional income, compete for completely new contacts and business, and it raises profile.

We cannot underestimate the importance of social enterprises.  I believe that by delivering social enterprises we send out a strong message that says we are taking a positive stand regarding our future funding, it shows we are prepared to innovate, and it reaffirms that we are an interesting organisation and one worth doing business with.

The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill should be coupled with a steep rise in tax on alcohol

Measures to curb “binge drinking” in town centres is one of the measures contained in yesterday’s Queen’s Speech.  The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill also contains measures to ban the sale of alcohol below cost price and will give the police and local authorities the power to shut down shops that persistently sell alcohol to children.

The situation in the town centres of Brighton, Eastbourne and Hastings has worsened since the introduction of the 2003 Licensing Act that allowed 24 hour drinking and made it so much harder for local authorities to deal with problem outlets. 

Availability of alcohol is one of the main causes for the increase in alcohol related hospital admissions and anti-social behaviour.  The measures in the Bill are to be welcomed, but I hope that the Bill, when published, will go further than the measures already announced, but significantly increasing duty on alcohol.  Governments always say they don’t want to punish responsible drinkers.  A duty increase will have some impact but not as great as an increase in VAT would have.  Research has shown that a steep hike in alcohol duty has a corresponding impact on improved health and reduced anti-social behaviour. 

Nick Herbert, the MP for Arundel and the South Downs, will be leading the legislation through parliament.  I hope he will see that this is a great opportunity to do something that will make a lasting impact on communities and the well-being of individuals.