Brent needs healthy local newspapers to hold Council to account

I have written about the importance of the local press for democracy before on this site. Here in Brent we have the Brent and Kilburn Times, owned by the Archant group and the Wembley and Willesden Observer, owned by Trinity Mirror. In some parts of the north of the borough the Harrow Times also circulates.

The number of reporters on the Brent ands Kilburn Times has reduced from the paper's heyday and readers will have noticed that the number of pages has also been reduced. It is sold in newsagents but also distributed free at some supermarkets, estate agents and elsewhere. It does not always contain a letters page which is often a good indicator of a newspaper's engagement with readers.

The Wembley and Willesden Observer is rather different as it is a local edition of the Harrow Observer series and despite having a great local reporter in Hannah Bewley is usually dominated by news about Harrow. A reader has to double check on stories beginning 'The Council...' to see which Council is involved - more often than not it is Harrow.

The paper's  door-to-door distribution in Brent is very patchy and its price of 90p where sold is unpopular with readers when they discover it contains very few Brent stories.

Trinity Mirror has gone through a difficult period and earlier this month told West Londoin staff that the Fulham and Hammersmith Chronicle, Westminster Chronicle and Kensington and Chelsea Chronicle were to close.

Trinity also  announced that their titles in Uxbridge, Hounslow and Ealing are to switch from door-to-door to 'pick-up' only. The Harrow Observer will remain distributed door-to-door but as I mentioned earlier this does not cover the whole borough of Brent. The newspaper's office is being moved to Watford.

Trinity are going through the process of making staff including reporters, photographers and sales staff redundant and the outcome for the WWO is awaited with some trepidation.

Clearly this is a gloomy picture, not only for the staff concerned, but for the health of local democracy and the important role local newspapers play in holding local councils to account.

Laura Davison, national organiser of the NUJ said about Trinity's closure announcement:

This announcement has come as a terrible shock to the hardworking staff of these titles.The speed of it means there is little time to look at meaningful alternatives to closure.Trinity Mirror should not simply be able to shut down these titles and lock them away after years of starving them of resources.It will leave some communities with no local paper, depriving them of a way to access information and hold local power to account. Readers and the Trinity Mirror journalists who serve them, deserve better.

Martin Shipton, chair of the Trinity Group chapel (NUJ branch), said:

These closures would leave many communities in the outer London area without a local paper, as well as Fulham, a significant and densely populated part of the capital. There is a compelling need for journalistic scrutiny of the budget of local authorities which cover the circulation of these papers. Instead of shutting them down, Trinity Mirror should be investing in quality journalism, for which the public undoubtedly retains an appetite.

I agree.

Butt 'bitterly disappointed' over dropping of police fraud email investigation

Reporter Hannah Bewley of the Wembley and Willesden Observer has been busy following up the Kensal Rise Pop Up library demolition story. Her report LINK contains the following statements from the Council and Brent Council leader Muhammed Butt:

A spokesman for Brent Council said:

The council undertook its own detailed enquiries before referring the matter to the police and provided the police with a summary of the outcome as part of the agreed referral process through the National Fraud Reporting Centre. The council remains very concerned about the way that the planning portal was used on this occasion and has subsequently made changes to forestall future problems arising. The council wants to continue to maintain the highest level of integrity with its planning process, since the authority continues to have statutory responsibilities to consider planning applications that are submitted.

Labour leader of the council Muhammed Butt said:

It is bitterly disappointing that the police have chosen to ignore the evidence found in the council’s own inquiries and drop their investigation. When the future of the building affects hundreds of Brent residents and the entire Kensal Rise community, any issue of alleged fraud must surely be a priority in order to maintain the trust of local people. Whilst I know that this Conservative-Liberal Democrat Government has cut the police force by a fifth in the last three years, I am troubled that this investigation has not been carried out as a matter of urgency. Brent Council will be writing to demand that the police review their original decision and launch an appropriate investigation.

Pressure mounted further following an Evening Standard report  LINK on the demolition and Hannah Bewley hinted on Twitter that the police may change their stance and expects a statement tomorrow morning. Cllr James Denselow tweeted back saying that he had 'seen the emails'  (presumably those between the council and police - not the fake ones) and that he had his fingers crossed.

I understand that  Kirsty Slattery, of Gracelands Yard, whose address was falsely used to support Andrew Gillick's planning application is taking up the issue directly with the police, having had no response to her emails to Brent Council.

Jenny Jones condemns Welsh Harp development decision

Today's Wembley and WillesdenObserver

Jenny Jones, Green London Assembly Member, who made a submission opposing Barratt's West Hendon development, criticised the Barnet Planning Committee's approval of the West Hendon development:

This is a short-sighted decision that will damage the integrity of the Welsh Harp SSSI. We should be protecting this space for the enjoyment of future generations and for the sake of the other species that live there.

Local press continue to hold Brent Council to account

Following my recent posting on the importance of the local press in ensuring the accountability of councillors and the counter claim that the BKT was too close to the council, it was heartening to see the front page of the newspaper this week. LINK

Clearly the BKT is continuing to dig up stories that ensure resident know what is really  going on in the Town Hall.

The Wembley and Willesden Observer also has a story this week about the importance of the local press with post-Leveson comments from campaigners about the part local newspapers have played in enabling them to put their message across.

Primary School Temporary Classes - My full statement

The Wembley and Willesden Observer today publishes a short quote from me about the provision of temporary classes in Brent primary schools as a result of the shortage in school places. The quote was part of a longer statement which puts the issue into context. I reproduce the original full statement below. Only the last paragraph was published:

Brent Council is still running to stand still on the issue of providing additional primary school places - and even then not quite succeeding.  A long-term strategy involving a review of provision and demand across the borough seems just as far away as when I suggested it several years ago. The Council's capacity to devise such a strategy, including a consideration of the educational implications, is now limited by the staffing cuts it has had to make and the redundancies of many experienced senior personnel.

I was pleased to see officers' acknowledge that in the case of a possible expansion of the Capital City Academy into primary provision the impact on nearby Donnington Primary School would need to be considered. This was a principle  they failed to acknowledge in the proposals for primary provision at Preston Manor.

However I am concerned at possible future actions outlined in the Executive document which include: 

more all-through schools providing for children from 4-19 years, we need an informed public debate about the advantages and disadvantages of such schools; 

the possible expansion of primary schools into 5 forms of entry giving a primary school of more than 1,000 5-11 year olds. I think these are far too large and that young children need a smaller, 'family' style environment in which to feel safe and happy;

and an increase in class sizes above 30 in the junior phase (7-11). The maximum class size of 30 has been hard fought for and still compares poorly with the much smaller class sizes in the private sector. 

There is a real danger that in the absence of a 'champion' for the values of primary education within the Council,  that expansion will be just a matter of cramming increasing numbers into any available space, ignoring the impact on the quality of teaching and learning and children's vital first experience of school.

Martin Francis
Brent Green Party spokesperson on children and families

Willesden and Brent Times Stands Up for Our Rights

At a time when much of the local press is in decline, doing little more than copying and pasting council press releases, the Willesden and Brent Times is going through a strong period. In its previous incarnation as the Brent Chronicle, the paper was known locally, half affectionately, and half in exasperation,  as 'The Chronic'. That description no longer applies.

The WBT has managed to keep a team of reporters covering Brent while the Wembley and Willesden Observer has to make do with one extremely hard-working reporter, and as a result it is usually dominated by Harrow news from its parent paper. The WWO to its credit launched a campaign to save Brent libraries but the WBT's coverage of the cuts has been exemplary, going well beyond the Council's sanitised version of events.

This week the WBT had coverage of the cuts on page 1, page 2, page 4, page 6 and the letters page. It had a long editorial on the cuts, the conclusion of which is worth quoting:
 While the budget is bleak the community should be proud.

Proud that they have launched such vociferous and sophisticated campaigns to save their libraries, sports and youth centres, which have forced council chiefs to rethink their plans.
Proud to be part of a society which questions its councils and Government and challenges them when they think they have got it wrong.
And proud of their capacity to rally round and support each other to find a way through this crisis in public services. 

We are fortunate to have the WBT with us as this crucial time.

CUT AFTER CUT

I compile a weekly press review for Brent Green Party members. Last week's was so full of cuts stories that I thought I would publish it to help readers keep up with Brent Council's assault on non-statutory provision. WBT is Willesden and Brent Times and WWO is the  Wembley and Willesden Observer.


CUTS - LIBRARIES
COMMUNITY GROUPS WELCOMED TO RUN LIBRARIES DUE TO CLOSE WWOp5 Cllr James Powney calls for campaign groups to come up with practical plans to run libraries with volunteers.  He said he had three 'vague expressions of interest' from Kensal Rise, Cricklewood and Preston supporters. ex Lib Dem Councillor Peter Corcoran, campaigning for Tokyngton says 'I don't want to see a situation where it will run for a year, then it closes because people lose interest. The libraries are run by the council and should continue to be run by them. It is their responsibility -that is why we pay our council tax.'
CUTS -JOBS
COUNCIL TO SHED 400 MORE JOBS WWOp9, JOB LOSSES 'HORRIFIC' WBTp1  Following on 350 redundancies last year Brent Council tend to shed 400 more jobs. Letters were delivered to those affected  last Friday and the consultation period will end on April 17th.
CUTS - PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
DON'T HIT THE VULNERABLE WWOp14 Letter drawing attention to the impact of cuts on people with disabilities, mental health issues and autism. The writer says they should not bear the brunt of a crisis caused by bankers.
CUTS-PARKS
PROTESTS AT PLANS TO CHOP PARK WARDENS WBTp2, PARKS WILL BE 'NO-GO' AREAS, SAY RESIDENTS WWOp7 Protests against the axing of 9-1/2 park warden full-time posts affecting Roundwood, Barham,  Gladstone, King Edward VII, Roe Green, Preston and Gibbons Recreation ground. Cllr Powney said he was confident park security would be maintained - 'We will have a lower number of park wardens but they will still be covering the same number of parks, and be performing the same number of patrols. The key difference is that we will be moving away from a static service to a roaming one.'
CUTS - MENTORING
AXE LOOMS OVER GROUP HELPING YOUNG QUIT GANGS WBTp3 Despite referrals from social workers, pupil referral units and youth offender teams this centre run by a former probation officer and social worker is running out of money after government cuts.
CUTS - SPORTS CENTRE
GAME ON: RESIDENTS FIGHT CHARTERIS CENTRE CLOSURE WBTp5 Campaigners and Brent Eleven Streets Residents' Association met to help save the Charteris Sports Centre. Cllr Powney (him again!) said it was losing £100,000 a year. A committee has been set up to meet with the council and to work out a business plan to keep the Centre open. Powney said the plan would have to be convincing in order for the Council to grant a period of grace.
CUTS - EDUCATION MAINTENANCE GRANTS
EMA AXE 'SLAP IN THE FACE FOR STUDENTS'  WBTp13 Brent has the second highest take up of EMA in London with 3,684 claiming. It also has the 6th highest unemployment rate in London. research by the University and College Union shows 70% of students bin poorest areas would drop out of college if the EMA was stopped. Students, Vicki Fagg (CNWL principal) and Cllr Zaffar Van Kalwala all protest at its abolition.