Established 2005 Registered Charity No. 1110656

Scottish Charity Register No. SC043760

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Brighton authorities back out of LGBT funding

May 25 2009
Albert Kennedy Trust pulls out after council u-turn and refusal to fund their work Brighton and Hove leaders have backed out of proposals to sign up to the specialist work of the Albert Kennedy Trust (AKT), a charity dealing with young people aged 16-25 from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community who are homeless or living in a hostile environment. The city's cabinet meeting, controlled by the Conservative Party, voted against a Green Party motion calling for the allocation of £3,000 to fund the Trust's work in Brighton and Hove, despite an earlier unanimous vote by the full council in favour of getting the help of the charity. LGBT Green spokesperson Phelim Mac Cafferty described the decision as a "kick in the teeth" for all young LGBTs, blaming the Tories for either "homophobia" or "pure heartlessness". He told The Pavement: "The Conservatives have basically signed a charter to continue destroying the needs of that socially fragile group. "We know from the statistics that the young LGBTs who live on the streets or in temporary accommodation are far more likely to harm themselves or try to commit suicide. "The council will spend more than £700 million on services this year. The money needed to bring in the AKT is barely a drop in the ocean, and the return that would come back to Brighton would be far more beneficial". Brighton and Hove's cabinet, which turned down the proposal for the third time in the past few months, said it did not feel that the ATK's services "added sufficient value to the city council's priorities, commitments and directorate development plans." Councillor Maria Caulfield, cabinet member for housing, added: "Over the past two years all our housing staff have been trained in LGBT housing awareness and over the past year have received training in transgender issues. Brighton & Hove is also in the process of appointing an LGBT Housing Options Officer in consultation with the LGBT community and they are helping us define the post." Following the cabinet's decision, the AKT said on May 11 that it had been "regretfully forced" to pull out of Brighton and Hove.
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