2012-13 Budget and School Crossing Patrols to be debated on Monday

Brent Fightback's demonstration against school patrol and street sweeping cuts

 Monday's Council Meeting will debate the Council's Budget priorities for 2012-13 - Town Hall 7pm.

At the end of the Council Meeting which debates the  First Reading of the 2012-13 budget or at 8.30pm, whichever is sooner, there will be an Extraordinary Council  Meeting on a motion from the Lib Dem  Opposition about school crossing patrols:

School Crossing Service

Council notes:
• That the council’s proposal to axe 30 out of 47 school crossing patrols in Brent aroused immense public concern
• That as a result the administration brought forward revised proposals in September,which were agreed by the Executive
• That whilst the new policy has reprieved some of the most high-profile crossing patrol sites it will still result in the council reducing the number of school crossing patrols over time, initially at so-called “low-priority” sites
• That the following schools have crossing sites designated by the administration as “lowpriority”

o Malorees Infants & Junior (Brondesbury Park) – Aylesstone Avenue & Brondesbury Park
o Swaminaryan School (Stonebridge) – Brentfield Road
o St Marys RC Primary (Kilburn) – Canterbury Road
o Kensal Rise Primary (Queens Park) – Chamberlayne Road
o Fryent Primary (Fryent) – Church Lane
o Our Lady of Grace Juniors (Dollis Hill) – Dollis Hill Lane
o Our Lady of Grace Infants (Dollis Hill) – Dollis Hill Lane
o Stonebridge & Our Lady of Lourdes (Stonebridge) – Hillside
o John Keeble Primary (Kensal Green) – Manor Park Road
o NW London Jewish School (Brondesbury Park) – Mapesbury Road
o Salusbury Primary (Queens Park) – Milman Road
o Wembley Lyon Park Schools (Alperton) – Mount Pleasant
o Oakington Manor Primary (Tokyngton) – Oakington Manor Drive
o Convent of Jesus & Mary Infants (Willesden Green) – Park Avenue
o Roe Green Infant & Junior (Queensbury) – Princes Avenue
o Salusbury Primary (Queens Park) – Salusbury Road
o Sudbury Primary (Sudbury) – Harrow Road

Council believes:
• That school crossing patrols are an important road safety service
• It is wrong for the council to seek to blackmail schools into paying for crossing patrols by threatening to withdraw crossing patrols unless schools contribute, especially as schools are unable to use their delegated schools budget for this purpose and many school crossing patrols service children from more than one school.

Council resolves
• That the implementation of the policy should be suspended pended a referral to scrutiny to consider:
• That the council should provide school crossing patrols at the sites listed above at no cost to local schools
• That the council should withdraw its policy not to recruit and fund replacement crossing patrol staff at the above sites when the existing member of staff leaves
• That the council should withdraw its policy of ‘poaching’ staff from “low-priority” sites to fill vacancies at “high-priority” sites.