PARLIAMENT is back after the summer recess, and I’ve hit the ground running, picking up where we left off before the break.
In my final speech in Parliament before recess, I called on the Roads Minister to meet with the family of Oakley Meer and me to discuss the urgent need for action to improve road safety in Eastbourne. Last month, I was pleased to welcome Oakley’s family to Parliament for this meeting.
Oakley was just 17 when he tragically lost his life in a collision on Beachy Head Road in June. His family have shown enormous courage in turning their grief into a national campaign to make our roads safer and ultimately prevent another family from experiencing the same loss.
During our meeting, we called on the Government to support efforts to improve safety on Beachy Head Road, including urging East Sussex County Council to accelerate its review of high-risk roads and to join our proposed Beachy Head Road Safety Taskforce. We also made the case for funding through the Safer Roads Fund or other available funding streams (as previous proposals for improvements which were rejected because of ‘insufficient funding’).
The Minister has agreed to consider the requests we put forward, with the Department for Transport expected to respond in the coming weeks. In the meantime, I am continuing to work with Sussex Police and other key organisations to get the Beachy Head Road Safety Taskforce up and running.
However, keeping Eastbourne moving safely is not just about our roads. It also means having a railway that residents can rely on.
Following the train derailment at Lewes in August, passengers across Eastbourne have faced significant disruption to journeys for work, education, and other essential travel.
Until at least mid-October, weekday off-peak services are being affected by temporary timetable changes, meaning there is no direct service between Eastbourne and London after the morning peak. Passengers have instead had to change at Haywards Heath or at Brighton.
I fully recognise that essential safety and repair works need to be carried out, but residents should not be left facing uncertainty about where and when they can travel. I have written to and met with the relevant rail authorities to press for these works to be completed as quickly as possible and to explore what can be done to maintain or expand direct services during this period.
Out of Area Placements Meeting Secured
In a separate Parliamentary intervention, I raised the urgent need for the Government to review its guidance on out-of-area placements by local authorities, highlighting the case of a man I recently met at homelessness charity Matthew 25. He told me that Brighton & Hove City Council had simply “dumped him” in Eastbourne, without the support he needed.
I’m pleased that the Minister has now agreed to meet with me to discuss this issue further.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, Brighton & Hove City Council has been placing individuals in temporary accommodation in Eastbourne, miles away from their support networks, including family and friends, as well as their GPs and vital mental health and addiction services.
While this is sometimes necessary (e.g. in domestic violence cases), this practice can have devastating consequences for some of the most vulnerable people in our communities. In January 2023, a 25-year-old man placed in Eastbourne by Brighton & Hove City Council was found dead, with an inquiry later finding that no welfare checks had been carried out in the month before his death. Tragically, this was not an isolated case. Last year, two further people who had been placed in Eastbourne by Brighton & Hove City Council died in Wilmington Square within days of each other.
Our efforts to hold Brighton & Hove City Council to account over this practice have paid off. Over the last year, there has been a 52.5% reduction in out-of-area placements, falling from a high of 198 this time last year to 94 today. While this reduction is welcome, I have been clear that it is still unacceptable for 94 people to be placed away from their homes and support networks.
The Government must now take urgent action to tackle the wider homelessness crisis and ensure everyone has a safe and lasting route into longer-term, suitable housing, whether in the private or social sector, or specialist supported accommodation.
They need to be learning from and working with the amazing organisations and charities across the country that are on the frontline of this crisis and understand what works. I recently joined Southdown’s Outreach Team in Eastbourne to see this work firsthand, engaging directly with people sleeping rough. Their outreach workers take the time to understand each individual’s circumstances, assess their needs and connect them with the services and support they require. Where possible, they refer people directly into emergency accommodation as the first step away from the streets, before supporting them towards longer-term, suitable housing.
