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Tories slam lack of action to ban single use plastic by Labour administration

Council's single use plastic poster
Council’s single use plastic poster

Conservative Group on Brighton & Hove City Council calls out Labour Administration for lip-service regarding banning single use plastic.

It is a year since Conservative Cllr Steve Bell raised a Notice of Motion calling for a ban on the purchase of single use plastics in all Brighton and Hove City Council buildings and council funded agencies.

The Notice of Motion also called for businesses with which the council engage, via procurement, to support the banning of these consumables. However the use of plastics are still rife in and around the city.

Cllr Steve Bell
Cllr Steve Bell

Criticising the Council today, Cllr Steve Bell said: “Twelve months since the Council unanimously agreed to lead by example and stop the use of single use plastics all we have to show is a few polite signs. We have had report after report; but now is the time to stop talking and start acting.”

The country produces roughly 300 million tons of plastic each year, half of which is disposable. Although plastic will not biodegrade, it will break down into tiny particles after many years, the process of which releases toxic chemicals which make their way into our food and water supply. Single use plastics are also a major source of marine litter.

Cllr Bell added: “Events such a Pride and the Brighton Marathon left the city littered with these environmentally damaging plastics. By compelling organisers wanting to hold events in our city to ban these consumables we could go a long way towards changing the culture of usage of plastic products for the wider public and truly lead by example.”

Cllr Gill Mitchell
Cllr Gill Mitchell

Responding for the administration, Cllr Mitchell, Chair of Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee, said: “Brighton and Hove City Council is committed to taking responsibility of its own to tackle the impact of single use plastics on the environment and society.  We are doing this in a number of ways and bring action plans and updates to council committees of which Cllr Bell will be aware.

“We are reducing the councils own use of SUPs across departments, including contract procurement, led by a senior officer Board, as well as working with Biosphere partners, event organisers, local environmental groups and campaigns.

Conservative Councillors are well aware of this work and would do well to lobby their own government to take action on the amount of plastic being produced, particularly plastics that cannot be reprocessed.  It is shameful that 63% of UK plastic collected for recycling is being exported and ending up in landfill in the exporting countries and the government should be taking the lead to stop this practice.”

‘Daring to be Different’ – City hosts cultural Summit

Writers, residents, health professionals, artists and entrepreneurs were among 150 delegates who met in Brighton on Monday, November 12, 2018 – for a Cultural Summit to discuss art in public spaces.

THE Cultural Summit, hosted by the Arts & Creative Industries Commission, is one of a series of events for the cultural communities and stakeholders to meet and take forward ideas aligned with Brighton & Hove’s new cultural framework, ‘Daring to be Different’. 

The framework, ratified by the city council in September 2018, aims to build on the city’s cultural reputation, strengthen its creative economy, break down barriers, provoke debate and enable collaboration.

The Cultural Summit programme explored a range of topics including, graffiti and street art, the role of art in the community and how art and urban design can contribute to the wellbeing of a place and its residents.

Speakers on the day included all the Framework strand leads.  There was an opportunity to listen to a range of local, national and international case studies about art in public spaces including local projects presented by Same Sky and B.Fest (Brighton’s Youth Festival), national projects presented by Metal, Emergency Exit Arts & Morag Myerscough and international projects from Nantes and Lisbon.

Andrew Comben
Andrew Comben

Andrew Comben, chair of the Commission, said: “Our aim is to create conversations and debate about how the arts and culture can contribute to all our lives and for arts organisations to work in new ways with other sectors, combining our efforts and resources in common cause for the benefit of our whole community.”

Brighton & Hove is renowned for its culture and creativity.  Its assets include the Brighton Festival and Brighton Fringe, two of the largest arts festivals in the country, the world-famous Royal Pavilion, internationally significant museum collections, a large number of regionally and locally significant artists, producing companies and presenting venues, and a nationally recognised creative industries sector.

Cllr Alan Robins
Cllr Alan Robins

Tourism, Development & Culture Committee chair Cllr Alan Robins added: “Culture is a big part of what makes Brighton & Hove an attractive and special place. The city is justly proud of its festivals, museums and venues, public art and wealth of creative talent.

“The Cultural Framework is important because it provides a direction and blueprint for partners to continue to work together to maintain and build on the city’s cultural offer.”

Daring to be Different sets out how the council, the cultural and creative sector and other partners will work together to improve cultural planning and ensure inclusion with the widest possible opportunity for all to benefit and participate in arts and cultural activities.

The framework has five themes, with inclusion weaving across all 5 work strands:

♦    Living well (linking health and wellbeing to art and culture);

♦    Rethinking our place (opening up opportunities for people with limited or no access to culture);

♦    Creative coast (working with the Greater Brighton Economic Board to tap into the region’s economic, cultural and creative potential);

♦    Brighton experience (developing events, public art, pop-ups and celebrating heritage and public spaces);

♦    Bursting the bubbles (connecting artists, learning opportunities and creative people in the city, and encouraging networking across different disciplines);

New strategies for events, heritage and public art will be developed to support the Cultural Framework.

Deb Mullins, speaker from Emergency Exit Arts
Deb Mullins, speaker from Emergency Exit Arts

For more information, click here:

Club promoter supports National HIV Testing Week

Korar Daver shows his finger to HIV
Korar Daver shows his finger to HIV

Gay fetish club promoter Jamie HP Events, the name behind brands including SBN, H-Partyboys, Horse Fair and The Hoist, is supporting National HIV Testing Week.

THEY are using their advertising creative to appeal to a wider scene audience, including some who are considered by the experts to be most at risk and many of who do not relate to traditional health campaigns appearing in the national or regional gay press, or online.

Jamie HP said: “Research and shown that men who know their status are less likely to transmit the HIV virus.  We believe that it is important for all sexually active gay and bisexual men to get tested regularly”.

Jamie HP Events produces gay cruise and fetish nights in London and the South east at venues including the Brighton Sauna and the Fire and Lightbox complex in Brighton and has recently announced their intentions to promote nationally as well as overseas, including a tour of the famous Hoist brand in 2019.

National HIV Testing Week is organised by HIV Prevention England, and runs from November 17-25.

National HIV Testing Week starts today, November 17 – get tested!

If you’re having sex, get tested for HIV during National HIV Testing Week from November 17-23!

When was your last HIV test?

IT’S National HIV Testing Week this month which means there’s no better time to get tested and know your status.

It’s recommended that gay and bi men test at least once a year and more if you’ve had unprotected sex or slept with more than one partner. Because you can live a long healthy life with HIV – but first you’ve got to get tested and know your status.

Head to startswithme.org.uk to find out where to test locally or to order your free self-sampling test, where you test at home and get a result within a few days.

With around 1 in 8 people living with HIV still unaware they have the virus, Gscene spoke to Paul and James about why they test regularly and decided to get involved in National HIV Testing Week this year.

Paul
Paul

Meet Paul: “We all have sex, we should all get tested”:
“The first time I had sex was when I was 18 and I immediately went and got tested for HIV in a panic,’ says Paul who’s now 33.

“I was scared, even though we used a condom. As a gay man, I’ve always been aware of HIV and it’s why I was keen to be part of this campaign.

“It took over a week to get your result back then, which seems crazy. Now you get peace of mind quickly and easily – which is amazing.

“People seem to see testing as something to be ashamed of, but it shouldn’t be. We all have sex. There are some great sexual health clinics and now you can test at home and get a quick result. Testing is something to be proud of!”

Testing for HIV can be nerve-wracking experience, but if you’re living with HIV you need to know about it so you can access support and treatment to live well.

“I’ve got three friends who have HIV and I’ve always tried to be very supportive of them,” says Paul.

“They’re absolutely fine and living well, but it seems other people who are really scared. Which is ridiculous because it’s 2018 and it’s not the same as it was 30 years ago – there’s no need to panic, you can live with it for the rest of your life.

“I think it’s important that more people know that those on effective HIV treatment can’t pass it on – with or without a condom – because it shows that the best thing to do is get tested and know your status.”

Paul’s a model, actor and now a personal trainer too. He knows first hand that many gay men now take a big interest in their physical health but doesn’t understand why everyone’s not prioritising their sexual health too.

“A lot of my friends who have HIV go to the gym all the time and work out and take amazing care of themselves. They see it as ‘a scare’ and then make a change to be as healthy as possible.

“I’m a personal trainer, I spend time in the gym and I eat well. We need to all see sexual health as being as important as physical health.

“My advice? Just go and get tested.”

Isaiah
Isaiah

Meet Isaiah: “I first tested for HIV at 17”
“I was having unprotected sex with my partner at the time,’ says Isaiah. ‘He tested regularly and was my first sexual partner, but I still decided I should start going to the clinic.

“The first time I tested, I was 17 and I’d gone after researching about HIV. As a gay man, I thought I should be more aware of HIV. Both for my own health and so I can educate friends. It wasn’t that I thought I had HIV, I just thought I should go and do it and get into the habit of it.

“We didn’t have a discussion about condoms, it was very heat of the moment. It was dangerous in this day and age when there’s lots available to you to protect yourself. I look back on it as something bad in terms of HIV and STIs. But luckily that’s not what happened.

“I’m very different now to then and learned a lot about sexual health. It’s something that is always in my mind and I make sure my partner and I get check-ups. Before we did anything, we went for a check-up. Three months in, we went for a check-up.”

James
James

James: I understand dealing with stigma:
“I’m trans and it’s very different to having HIV, but there’s a lot of stigma about being trans due to people not educating themselves about that and I think it’s probably quite similar for people living with HIV,” says James who’s 26.

“You read those dating profiles and it’s like “I don’t want this, this and this” and if we can just be a little bit kinder to each other and start a dialogue that’s really important.”

James wanted to be a part of National HIV Testing Week to promote testing within trans communities.

“I’ve done home tests before and it’s useful,” says James. “Sometimes at clinics you end up waiting around a lot, and so it’s the convenience of testing at home that I like. I think it’s always better to know and have peace of mind.

“Sexual health is a little bit more difficult for trans people, although London and Brighton both have trans specific clinics. But at standard places, it’s fine but there’s always that element of being confident enough to be open about being trans. I’ve had medical appoints where people haven’t reacted well to me being trans and used the wrong pronouns.

“But going to the clinic is never as bad as you think it’s going to be. I’ve had good interactions and even people who aren’t very clued up have been respectful. People see testing as embarrassing or shameful but it’s something to be proud of.”

National HIV Testing Week (November 17-23)
National HIV Testing week starts on Saturday, November 17 with loads of opportunities to get tested and know your status. Testing for HIV is quick, easy and confidential. For more information about where, when and why to test visit startswithme.org.uk.

National HIV Testing Week is part of It Starts With Me, the HIV prevention campaign run by Terrence Higgins Trust on behalf of Public Health England.

How to stop HIV

We’ve got all the tools we need to prevent HIV, it’s just about using them:

♦     Condoms

♦      HIV testing

♦     PrEP

♦      HIV treatment

HIV is more prevalent among gay and bi men so it’s important to know about HIV and the different ways to prevent it. Testing regularly is a big part of that because you can live a long, healthy life with HIV – you just need to know you have it.

HIV treatment is also playing a significant role in bringing down new HIV transmissions as we now know that someone living with HIV who’s on effective treatment can’t pass it on – with or without a condom.

For more information about HIV and where to test visit startswithme.org.uk.

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