This week I:

• Attended Constitutional Committee. Sadly, the only issues on the agenda were nominations for honours. While this is part of the committee’s role, I think we should also be making time to discuss governance issues.
• Submitted two questions for January Council: “How do the leader and cabinet prioritize the allocation of council resources? (i.e. How do they decided the priorities and what process do they follow to ensure this happens” and “What progress has been made on the actions agreed when the biodiversity emergency was agreed by council in July 2022?”
• Asked about the impact of the weekly far right demonstrations at the Blue Carpet on the mental health of the asylum seekers housed in the former hotel. (There is much talk about the impact on ‘communities’ of these so-called hotels albeit not from the actual community – I have never had any concerns raised by local residents – but very little about what it must be like to be subjected to repeated abuse.)
• Objected to an application for a new takeaway that would be open later than 1am, which is the agreed closing time in the city centre.