audio by title 'paul fairweather at lgbtsym'

The North West Regional Assembly organised an LGBT Health Symposium in Manchester on 29th March, 2007 entitled “Promoting Health for the Region’s Wealth: Meeting the Health Needs of the LGBT Community”. The event was organised and funded by the North West Equality and Diversity Group - a body set up by the regional assembly to help promote the region’s goal to become a totally inclusive and equal community - and was part of a series of symposia taking place around the region to discuss inclusivity issues related to ALL ’strands’ or communities of need within our society. The audience of more than fifty health and social care managers and diversity leads included representatives from fifteen of the region’s Primary Care Trusts (PCTs), the public bodies responsible for every aspect of first line health care in Britain.

Councillor Paul Fairweather represents the Harpurhey Ward on Manchester City Council and is also the lead councillor on gay men’s issues. In his presentation he begins by stressing the value of engagement with Local Authority health scrutiny committees and strategic partnerships as ways to promote greater attention towards LGBT health issues in an area. Although he says that he now spends his days in the council chamber and on committees debating issues such as LGBT concerns, and thinks it important for more people to be actively engaged at the centre of such policy making and political debate, Paul also concedes that there is still a need for old-fashioned direct action too - urging that the two are both important and complementary approaches.

For more details of Cllr Fairweather see

http://www.manchester.gov.uk/site/scripts/councillors_info.php?councillorID=76&viewBy=name