The Fairness Commission announces their recommendations to the city

Press release on behalf of the Brighton & Hove Fairness Commission

Brighton & Hove Fairness Commission announces their recommendations to the city

The Brighton & Hove Fairness Commission launched it’s final report on Monday 27 June at the Friends Meeting House in the heart of the city.

This report is the culmination of nine months’ work by the Commission to find out how Brighton & Hove can be a fairer and more equal place to live and work. The strength of engagement with the Commission’s work was impressive - nearly 1,500 residents, 70 groups and 25 experts submitted their views to the Commission on what they thought was fair and unfair about living in the city together with suggestions for making it fairer for everyone. 

Vic Rayner, Chair of the Commission, said:

“We would really like to thank the residents and communities who came forward and spoke to us and shared their passion, energy and vision of fairness for Brighton & Hove.  After our engagement with the city we came away with much to think about and many possible ways to tackle unfairness”.

The University of Brighton supported the work of the commission by analysing the evidence that was presented to the Commission. Debra Humphris, Vice Chancellor at the University of Brighton said

“Tackling poverty in Brighton & Hove must be a priority for us all. We are one of the largest employers in the city and we are also educating the next generation of teachers, nurses, social workers and doctors, so we understand that we do make a big impact on the city. I’m keen to explore how we can work closely with partners to achieve the aims laid out in the report and make early progress in some specific areas."

The report makes a number of recommendations on ways the city’s organisations and communities can work together to make the city a fairer and more accessible place.

These cover:

  • Working differently
  • Housing
  • Travel
  • Early years and achieving at school
  • Living and ageing in the city

The report stresses that the whole city needs to take the recommendations forward, and the changes needed are not in the gift of one partner.

Brighton & Hove City Council Leader, Warren Morgan, has welcomed the launch of the Commission’s report.  He said:

“On behalf of Brighton & Hove City Council, I would like to thank Vic Rayner for her dedication as chair of the Fairness Commission, and the other commissioners for all their hard work over the past year.  The report is a powerful reminder to the city that more must be done to tackle poverty and inequality and I am committed to making Brighton & Hove a fairer place, and doing whatever we can to ensure that everyone shares in our economic success.”

The Commission has urged all partners in the city, as well as the UK Government to consider the recommendations. They will continue to meet in 6 and 12 months’ time to review progress.

The full report will be available from Monday 27 June.

ENDS

Notes to editor:

The independent commission was formed in September 2015 and has been listening to and reading a wealth of evidence and personal testimony from local residents, communities, businesses and national organisations and experts.

  • The launch of the report takes place at Friends Meeting House on Monday 27 June from 3.30-5.00pm
  • The Commissioners will be present along with community groups, members of Brighton Hove Connected, and Brighton & Hove City Council.
  • The launch can be followed on the official twitter account at @FairnessBH