Coalition's 100 days: Poor and vulnerable hit by cuts, says TUC

Given the high number of unemployed people and the record number on the housing list Brent is going to be badly hit by the coalition cuts and benefit changes. The TUC has today set out the implications of decisions made in the Coalition's first 100 days:

Some of the UK's poorest families have been hit by more than 100 unfair spending cuts during the first 100 days of the new Government, a TUC analysis of departmental spending reveals today
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The TUC research, published in advance of the 100 day anniversary of the coalition Government tomorrow (Thursday), shows that cuts which impact more on the poorest families in the UK have been made across the board in services including education, health, housing, welfare and social care.
Examples of cuts the TUC believes are unfair include:

• Free school meals - The cancelled measure would have extended entitlement to free school meals to about 500,000 families in work on low pay from September this year. Cost £125m.
• Every child a reader - This programme to provide early support to children with literacy difficulties (focussed on inner-city schools) will be cut by at least £5m and its future is not guaranteed.
• City Challenge Fund - This programme aimed to provide extra support to under-performing children in the most deprived areas, but has been cut by £8m this year.
• Building Schools for the Future - This scrapped programme was the biggest-ever school buildings investment plan. The aim was to rebuild or renew nearly every secondary school in England. Cost £7.5bn.
• Housing benefit - Nearly a million (936,960) households will lose around £624 a year as a result of changes to housing benefit. Londoners will be worst hit.
• Homes and Communities Agency - Cuts to programmes including Kickstart (for restarting stalled house building programmes), affordable housing, gypsy and traveller support and Housing Market Renewal (improvements to housing in deprived areas). Cost £450m.
• Young Person's Guarantee - £450m has been cut from the Guarantee, which will be abolished in April 2011. This Guarantee promised unemployed young people access to a job, training or work after six months of unemployment.
• Working Neighbourhood Fund - This fund, which aimed to help unemployed people in deprived areas to move into work, has been cut by £49.9m.
• Domestic Violence Protection Orders - Scheme to create two-week banning orders so that victims of domestic abuse can look for protection in the safety of their own house.

The TUC is calling on the Government to reconsider its plan of swingeing spending cuts to public services, and focus instead on other ways to reduce the deficit, such as a Robin Hood Tax on financial transactions that could raise up to £20bn a year.

The TUC is also a member of a coalition, which includes Barnardo's, Oxfam and Save the Children, who want the Government to guarantee that any future budget cuts will be put through rigorous fairness testing - or a Fairness Test - by the Treasury, to ensure that vulnerable people, low-paid workers, women and children are not left to bear the brunt of spending cuts.

Brent school students, teachers and governors turn out for rally and lobby

School students, teachers, governors and parents were out in force yesterday for the rally and parliamentary lobby over the cuts in the Building Schools for the Future programme and the Academies Bill.

School students from Copland, Alperton and Queens Park Community School were among those attending the rally and who met with Brent MPs to press the case for their schools. Barry Gardiner, MP for Brent North, said that he was going to concentrate on the BSF issue but said that he would also sign the EDM on academies consultation.

Meanwhile the Guardian has published a LIST of those schools who have applied for academy status. In Brent only two schools, both religious schools, are listed: The JFS (Jewish Free School) and the Convent of Jesus and Mary. Claremont, whose head expressed an interest some weeks ago was not included after the governors decided to take time to research the issue.

The Methodist Central Hall, where the rally was held, was packed and an overflow room had to be opened. The mood was militant and it was good to see school students out in force to fight the cuts.

Lobby and Rally on BSF Cuts and Academies

An urgent lobby of Parliament has been called on July 19th over the cuts in the Building Schools for the Future programme which will affect Alperton, Copland, Cardinal Hinsley and Queens Park schools in Brent. It may also impact on the scheduled rebuild of the Crest Academies (formerly John Kelly Boys and Girls schools).

The BSF cuts are intimately linked with the academies programme because many local authorities were forced to convert schools to academy status to secure BSF funding. A cursory glance at the Michael Gove's notoriously unreliable list shows that there is a bias towards maintaining funding for academies and stopping it for community schools. In many areas only academy projects remain.  LIST HERE (Item 2) (As a good Green I am sending Gove some used envelopes so that he can use the backs of them to work out some more policies).

The Anti-Academies Alliance will be joining the lobby on the 19th July . There will be a Rally at Methodist Central Hall, opposite Parliament at 1pm followed by lobbying. The AAA's focus is on the Academies Bill which gets its second reading that day.  They state:

This Bill seeks to develop a 'revolution' in education policy by which academies become 'the norm'. As it stands, the Bill denies parents (or staff and the local community) the right to any consultation over the decision to seek academy status. It paves the way for an unprecedented deregulation and privatisation of schools. It will create the conditions for the undermining of Local Authority support for schools in vital areas such as SEN, admissions and behaviour. It will prevent the rational planning of school places in the future allowing dis-economies of scale to develop. The new 'free' schools it will encourage with mean other schools have to close.

On July 8th, Lord Hill of Oareford , appointed Academies Minister, wrote to schools considering becoming academies, on a number of issues including the Freedom of Information Act, Special Educational Needs, Consultation and Transfer of Land.. LETTER HERE The letter says that Academies will now be covered by the Freedom of Information Act on a par with maintained schools and that Part 4 of the Education Act 1996, covering Special Educational Needs will now apply to Academies. The section on consultation is weak requiring governing bodies of converting schools to only 'consult those person whom they think appropriate' before entering into funding arrangements with the Secretary of State. Further guidance is promised to be published on the DES website.

An Early Day Motion (EDM 135 02.06.10) has been tabled amending the Academies Bill to ensure proper consultation. You can e-mail your MP to sign it HERE. I suggest you amend the model letter on the site before sending it on.

WILL TEATHER FIGHT FOR BRENT SCHOOLS?

Meanwhile it will be interesting to see Sarah Teather's response on BSF. She told the Wembley Observer (July 8th) that 'Brent schools had been led up the garden path'...'Brent children who desperately need new classrooms have had their hopes raised and dashed, only because Labour wanted parents' votes. The lasting legacy of the previous Labour administration is a string of extravagant election promises and not enough cash to pay for them'.

Six years ago when she argued in the House of Commons for Brent to be included in the BSF programme she didn't appear to think the programme was 'extravagant':

'The executive summary of the Government's consultation document, "Building Schools for the Future", stated: "School buildings are important to pupils' education." The research showed a clear link between capital investment and school standards. In practical terms, the budgetary pressure has prevented the council from taking action to replace the portakabins in the John Kelly secondary schools.

'Brent has a poor stock of school buildings; the lack of available cash for maintenance means that many have a large backlog of minor repairs that may well be more expensive to fix now than if they had been dealt with sooner. Brent is desperate to be part of the second wave of "Building Schools for the Future", which is due to be announced in the autumn. At the moment, some schools are forgoing expenditure in the hope—indeed the expectation—that BSF funding will be made available soon.'

Sarah Teather described the Tories' 'free schools' policy as a 'shambles' during the General Election campaign. I wonder if she agrees with Simon Hughes', Liberal Democrat deputy leader, speaking about free schools on the BBC Politics Show, 'It would be nonsense to take money that could be used for improving existing schools to create new schools'.

Anti-Academies Alliance Website HERE

Fight Tooth and Nail for Decent School Buildings

Brent Council confirmed the impact of the BSF programme on Brent schools with the following release.

Head teachers and students in Brent were shocked at the announcement  by the Government to axe the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.

The timing couldn't have been more poignant for Brent's schools. As the Secretary of State for Education, the Rt Hon Michael Gove MP, addressed the House of Commons, students from Alperton Community School, Queens Park Community School, Copland Community School and Cardinal Hinsley Mathematics and Computing College were presenting to Brent Council their ideas and plans for their future buildings.

The four schools had been allocated £80m under the BSF programme.

Maggie Rafee, Head teacher at Alperton Community School, said: "There can be no denying that the news about the BSF programme being axed is absolutely devastating.

"This will mean our school will face uncertainty while we await the outcome of the review and go through whatever new hoops are set to secure the capital monies that the minister announced will still be available for schools in the greatest need. Our school will do whatever is necessary to make politicians sit up and take notice."

Students at the school have written to the Secretary of State for Education and invited him to visit the site and see why the investment is needed.

Councillor Ann John, Leader of Brent Council, said: "Yesterday's announcement will have a devastating impact on the educational opportunities of Brent's students for generations to come.

"The rising population in the borough has meant a shortage of school places and, with many of our schools in poor condition, this investment was vital.

"We will be drawing on the support of our MPs to argue our case to Government for this much-needed investment that goes beyond new buildings. Without funding Brent will not be able to meet the demand for pupil places in the future."

The axing of this programme along with the Coalitions claim that 'free schools' can be housed in closed down factories and warehouses, empty shops and disused churches, shows that they are completely out of touch with the needs of schools. We will be returning to private affluence (from whence most of them came) and public squalor.

I started teaching in the 1970s and remember classrooms with carefully positioned buckets catching rainwater leaking through ceilings, windows held together with tape and string,  walls covered with sugar paper to hid cracked and mouldy plaster. Are we really going to put up with this Government returning us to that state - along with oversized classes and shortage of text books and resources? 

The message given to pupils in such schools is: You don't matter.

We must fight tooth and nail to ensure our children have decent, sustainable school buildings which are fit for purpose.

New Schools....shattered dreams?

Sarah Teather MP spoke about the Building Schools for the Future Pogramme in the House of Commons, July 1st 2004:

As a result of the budgetary pressures, Brent LEA spends a much higher percentage of its school budget on pay—85 to 90 per cent., compared with an average of about 70 per cent. for other LEAs. That is highly significant. High wage costs result in reduced funding for other areas; that is common sense. Brent cannot provide the teaching assistants that it feels it needs; it cannot refurbish buildings; and it has a higher proportion of schools in budget deficit than the rest of London. Some 12 Brent primary schools, about 20 per cent; of the borough's total, are in deficit, compared with 12 per cent. in Greater London. Five Brent secondary schools are in deficit, 37 per cent of the total, compared with 24 per cent in Greater London.

Refurbishment is a particular concern for such schools. The executive summary of the Government's consultation document, "Building Schools for the Future", stated: "School buildings are important to pupils' education." The research showed a clear link between capital investment and school standards. In practical terms, the budgetary pressure has prevented the council from taking action to replace the portakabins in the John Kelly secondary schools.

Brent has a poor stock of school buildings; the lack of available cash for maintenance means that many have a large backlog of minor repairs that may well be more expensive to fix now than if they had been dealt with sooner. Brent is desperate to be part of the second wave of "Building Schools for the Future", which is due to be announced in the autumn. At the moment, some schools are forgoing expenditure in the hope—indeed the expectation—that BSF funding will be made available soon.

On Monday Brent Council said:

Brent Council heard today of Government plans to cut the national Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme. Four schools will now miss out on an initial investment worth £80m.

Councillor Ann John, Leader of the Council said: "This is dreadful news for Brent. The withdrawal of funding will have a devastating impact on the educational opportunities of Brent's students for generations to come.

"The rising population in the borough has meant a shortage of school places and with many of our schools in poor condition, this investment was vital.

"We will be drawing on the support of our MPs to argue our case to Government for this much-needed investment that goes beyond new buildings.

"Without funding Brent will not be able to meet the demand for pupil places in the future."

Brent awaits further information from the Department of Education.

I await comment from Sarah Teather MP.

Council calls on government to retain school rebuilding funds

The leader of Brent Council has written to the Secretary of State for Education to urge the government to continue its investment for Brent's schools.

Whilst the Department for Education has yet to make an announcement on the future of the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, Brent's councillors are keen to ensure that their allocation of funding is protected from the current government spending review.

The £80 million investment which was allocated to the borough last November, will allow Brent to deliver much needed extra capacity to cope with growing pupil numbers and proceed with a major re-building and renovation scheme that will start to transform secondary schools throughout the borough.

Councillor Ann John, OBE, Leader of Brent Council said: "We need to improve our school buildings and increase places to accommodate an expanding population and therefore feel it's important for the Secretary of State for Education to know why the investment for Brent is so vital. If funding is withdrawn we will not be able to meet the demand for new secondary school places in the future.

"We are confident that we have a strong case and continue to develop detailed plans with phase one schools, partners and the wider community on the programme which is desperately needed in the borough."

Another area of concern that arose at the recent Brent Governors' Conference was the future of Children's Centres. Brent is now on track to have 20 such multi-agency centres but funding is safeguarded for only one year.  There is a real possibility that new buildings  will have to be moth-balled due to lack of funds.

Children's Centres are really vital for early intervention to overcome the impact of deprivation on the development of young children.