Rally Against School Cuts October 24th

From the National Education Union

Join parents, heads, teachers and support staff and community leaders at a rally to call on the government to reverse school cuts and fairly fund schools. Show your support for the mass lobby of MPs which has been organised to put pressure on the chancellor to take action on funding ahead of next month's budget. The rally starts at 10.30 but if you simply want to show your support at the rally, there will be further events at 12.30.

The Emmanuel Centre, Marsham Street, Westminster, London SW1P 3DW 

At the morning rally we have the following speakers:

 
- Angela Rayner MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Education
- Layla Moran, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Education
- Vix Lowthion, Green Party Education Spokesperson
- Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary, National Education
- Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary, National Education Union
- Paul Whiteman, General Secretary, NAHT

At 1pm, the programme of speakers will include:

 
- John McDonnell, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
- Sir Vince Cable MP
- Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary, National Education
- Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary, National Education Union
- Paul Whiteman, General Secretary, NAHT
- Vix Lowthion, Green Party Education Spokesperson

 
More TBC

Because of shortfalls in funding, 88% of schools are still facing real-terms cuts despite Government announcements about more money going into the system.

That means less for our children and young people, bigger classes, fewer teachers and staff, a reduced curriculum and parents plugging the gaps.

Hundreds of parents and school staff will be lobbying their MP on the day. To find out how, see https://neu.org.uk/funding

Keep up the pressure on school funding by using School Cuts website

The School Cuts website has been updated.  You can now see which candidates have made the pledge to support proper funding for schools and the impact on particular schools of the manifesto promises of the three main parties.

The School Cuts site is embedded here so you can get information by typing directly into the search engine above.

At the time of writing this was the candidate response for Brent seats:

Headteachers' review of the education policies of the three main parties

Ahead of tonight's Education Question Time at 6.30pm tonight at Queens Park Community School it is worth reading the National Association of Headteachers review of the three main parties education policies. It is a great pity that they do not consider the Green Party's views.

New reports comparing the general election manifestos from the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Education Policy Institute are published today. 

Commenting on these reports, Russell Hobby, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT said:

Education continues to be an important issue for voters in this election. Anyone with the best interests of children and young people at heart will be glad to see that all the major parties have devoted space to education in their manifestos. 

There are clear differences in policy and priority for the parties, so there’s plenty for parents, teachers and school leaders to think about. Older pupils, who may be voting for the first time, will also have a view.

Thanks to continued pressure by parents and schools, there is now cross-party recognition that school budgets are at breaking point. This is not a moment too soon because our research shows that seven out of ten school leaders believe their budgets will be untenable by the 2019/20 academic year. However, there are elements in all of the manifestos that will leave voters wondering how proposals will be funded and whether they will achieve the benefits to pupils that the parties claim.

NAHT had been focussing on five key priorities which we believe all parties should sign up to:

• To fund education fully and fairly, reversing the £3bn real terms cuts that schools are facing and providing enough money to make the new national funding formula a success.

• To put forward a national strategy for teacher recruitment and retention that recognises teachers as high-status professionals and guarantees enough teachers for every school.

• To adopt fair methods to hold schools to account, recognising that test and exam results are only part of the picture when judging a pupil’s success or a school’s effectiveness.

• To value a broad range of subjects in the school day so that pupils’ opportunities are not limited and they are properly prepared for adult life.

• To make sure that schools are supported by health and social care services to allow schools to fulfil their role to promote pupil wellbeing rather than making up for cuts to other services.

So far over 150 parliamentary candidates have signed up including Tim Farron, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Angela Rayner, Shadow Secretary of State for Education, and Natalie Bennett, former leader of the Green Party. Ed Miliband, the former Labour leader has also signed up. To date, no Conservative candidates have signed up. The list of signatories is continually being updated, and can be found here. 

Funding

Mr Hobby said: “Funding is still the number one issue in education, without sufficient cash, schools will always struggle to implement any new or established policies. The rest of the debate about education begins and ends with that fact. It is welcome, for instance, that both Labour and the Liberal Democrats have proposed to address the current reductions in real terms funding for post-16 education, which have left the 16 to 18 phase relatively underfunded compared to secondary school education. It is time for the whole education system to be given the investment it so desperately needs.”

Recruitment

Mr Hobby said: “Disappointingly, there is not much from any of the parties on how to solve the teacher recruitment crisis. Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats have pledged to abolish the 1 per cent public sector pay cap, which would certainly help, but the Conservatives have not made any commitments to remove the cap, which is likely to cause teacher pay to continue to decline in real and relative terms, making it a less attractive career choice. Guaranteeing enough high quality teachers for every school is a sufficiently complicated and important enough requirement to demand that the government takes overall responsibility for it by implementing a national strategy.”

Accountability

Mr Hobby said: “Whilst there are some areas of concern, England’s schools are overwhelmingly of a high quality. School leaders have earned the right to fair methods to hold schools to account, recognising that test and exam results are only part of the picture when judging a pupil’s success or a school’s effectiveness. Narrow, high stakes accountability causes activity damage. The Conservatives’ plans to increase accountability at Key Stage 3, demonstrate an unwillingness to build a fair system and will dismay many school leaders. Reducing the target for participation in the English Baccalaureate from 90 per cent to 75 per cent merely proves how arbitrary that target was and we will continue to campaign to see this dropped altogether. 

“Whilst all three parties are pledging to reform assessment in primary schools, Labour have made an explicit commitment to abolish any baseline assessments. As the EPI says, the development of a new baseline assessment does need to be handled with care, but it is disappointing that Labour have ruled out further examination of its possibilities, given its potential to provide a measure of pupil progress over the entire course of primary school. We would urge all three parties to build on the significant impact that our ‘Redressing the Balance’ report has had on the assessment and accountability debate.”

Mental Health

Mr Hobby said: “There is cross-party consensus of the need to make significant changes to children and young people’s mental health services, which is welcome. Although recognition must be given to the increasing contribution that schools are making to support the mental health needs of pupils, there can be no expectation on any school to provide health and social care services funded from the school budget. NAHT does not believe that it is fair for schools to be held to account for mental wellbeing when their efforts are so dependent on the quality and availability of other services that young people need.”

Students with Special Needs

Mr Hobby said: “In terms of the way the education system works for every student, regardless of who they are, both Labour and the Liberal Democrats have also outlined strategies in their manifestos specifically directed towards the needs of pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). With a significant gap in attainment scores for SEND and non-SEND pupils, they risk being left behind. These commitments are therefore welcome. In contrast, the Conservatives have made no reference to the needs of pupils with SEND in their manifesto, which is extremely disappointing.”

Narrowing the Gap

Mr Hobby concluded: “All the main parties state that they want to improve things for pupils who come from less well-off families but their chosen methods are very different. Much has been made of the two most high profile Conservative Party priorities; the end of Universal Infant Free School Meals and the return of selective education. Ending the school meals entitlement for infants after only three years and without a proper evaluation of the project takes a much too short term view of the issue. Almost a million children will be affected, so we believe the entitlement should be retained. It is likely that ending the universal entitlement will reduce economies of scale and further damage school budgets. 

“The plans to offer free breakfasts instead have not been costed properly and do not include additional funding in order to meet upfront costs, increased demand and the need for additional staffing. Labour and Liberal Democrat plans to expand free school meals to all primary students are noble but will only work if funding is sufficient and the all the practicalities of simultaneously feeding a greater number of pupils have been taken into account.

“NAHT does not support any plans to expand grammar schools. As the EPI states in its report today, pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds are seriously under-represented in grammar schools and additional selective schools have no significant net positive or negative impact on pupil attainment - instead they modestly redistribute educational attainment towards the small number who gain entry to grammar schools and away from the much larger proportion of children who do not. Pupils from black and minority ethnic families are particularly ill served by grammar schools, which cannot be a good thing for social mobility of cohesion.”

You can read our summary of the main parties’ manifestos here. 

(Note it is a pity the NAHT did not include the radical Green Party policy for education here)

Brent Education Question Time will tackle a vital election issue

I welcome the holding of Education Question Time at Queens Park Community School on May 26th. Education ought to be a central issue in this General Election with schools in Brent and elsewhere facing a substantial cut in funding which could lead to the cutting of teacher and teaching assistant posts, increases in class sizes, reduced resources and the narrowing of the curriculum.

This is not all - government policies and soaring house prices have caused a crisis in the recruitment and retention of teachers and schools are having to advertise for new headteachers several times over. The stress of high stakes testing not only hits teachers but also pupils with the mental health of our young people a particular concern.

It is significant that the Brent Central meeting has been organised by parent campaigners, teaching and support staff, all speaking with one voice about their concerns.

Beyond the immediate crisis are issues to do with nature of education itself: whether the government 'reforms' to the curriculum and examination system, are of any relevance to the rapidly changing technological world that our children are growing up in as well as the context of accelerating climate change and over-consumption. Does memorising for examinations contribute anything to the creativity, flexibility, teamwork and resilience that will be required in the 2030s and 40s?

You can find out how much each of our local schools stands to lose at this website LINK

'Foster carers are already professionals, it's time they were treated as such,' GMB union tells select committee

GMB Foster carers who are members of the GMB union met with MPs today to demand proper recognition for dedicated members who look after vulnerable children.

Rachel Harrison, GMB lead officer on Foster Care, gave evidence to the Fostering Inquiry at a Select Committee.

The delegation of carers also met Labour MPs following the hearing, including Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell.

Disturbing new figures show just 42% of foster carers felt their allowance met the full cost of looking after fostered children.

This compares to 80% in 2014, showing huge cuts in local government funding are badly hurting our foster carers.

GMB foster carers made the following demands:

· Nationwide standards and funding

Foster carers have vastly different experiences across the country - there needs to be a more consistent approach to foster care

· Professional recognition and respect

A lot is expected of foster carers, with increasing demand and fewer local government resources. Only a third (32%) felt that children's social workers treated them as equal.

· A national register of foster carers

This would allow for foster carers to look after children from other areas, cut red tape, remove local barriers, provide greater stability and save on costs of private care.

Figures from the Fostering Network show 49% of foster carers did not have an agreed training plan for the next year and 75% of those who had taken a child from outside their approval range received no additional training or support.

Rachel Harrison, GMB Lead Officer for Foster Carers said:

We're proud to be the union to represent foster carers. 

These people give their all to look after the most vulnerable children in society and it was vital we got across to MPs today the challenges faced by our members and how we can work with others to push for improvements in the foster care system, for the benefit of both the children and carers.

Colleen Callaghan, Foster Carer and GMB member, said:

It was fantastic to see MPs listening to our trade union really represent foster carers and give us the opportunity to tell it like it is - explaining to politicians what's needed to improve foster care in this country, for us and the children we care for. 

It was a welcome opportunity to see how politics can actually relate to us and hopefully change things for the better.

NHS Crisis Tracker informs you about health crisis in your area

38 Degrees has launched the NHS Crisis Tracker which shows by postcode the extent of the crisis in a particular area.  It includes the percentage of people waiting for more than 4 hors for treatment at A&E, the local funding gap and personal experiences of the NHS in the area.

It is simple to use - just put in your postcode HERE

Driive to total academisation will do nothing for the crisis engulfing schools

Kevin Courtney, Deputy General Secretary of the NUT, has made the following statement on government plans to force all schools to become academies

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Finally the Government has come clean on its education priorities and admitted that its real agenda all along has been that every school must become an academy. The fig leaf of ‘parental choice’, ‘school autonomy’ and ‘raising standards’ has finally been dropped and the Government’s real agenda has been laid bare – all schools to be removed from the support of their LA and schools instead to be run by remote academy trusts, unaccountable to parents, staff or local communities.

Parents will be as outraged as teachers that the Government can undo over 50 years of comprehensive public education at a stroke. Only last week HMCI Sir Michael Wilshaw pointed out to Government the serious consequences for children’s education of schools being run by multi-academy trusts. But this arrogant Government is choosing to ignore the evidence from the HMCI, the Education Select Committee and the Sutton Trust’s own Chain Effects report, which clearly demonstrates that academy status not only does not result in higher attainment but that many chains are badly failing their pupils, particularly their disadvantaged pupils.

The Government’s ultimate agenda is the privatisation of education with schools run for profit. The NUT will continue to resist the Government’s attempts to privatise our education system and will campaign alongside parents and other allies to Stand Up for Education.

The most urgent problems in schools are to do with the chronic teacher shortage, real terms funding cuts, the school places crisis, chaotic implementation of the curriculum, and workload going through the roof. The drive towards total academisation will do absolutely nothing to fix those problems.

LGA set out proposals on local government budgets and powers ahead of the Budget

The Local Government Association have issued the statement below which makes interesting reading in the light of discussion about how communities should resist local government cuts..

 

Councils could boost housebuilding, increase the number of school places and reduce unemployment if they are handed extra powers to run local services in this week’s Budget, town hall leaders say today.

The Local Government Association has set out a range of proposals for the Chancellor to consider as part of the Budget which would not only improve people’s lives and protect the local services valued by residents but would also deliver sustainable savings to the public purse.

The Chancellor has recently suggested further public sector spending cuts might be needed towards the end of the decade to combat slower than expected economic growth and to meet the Government’s manifesto pledge to achieve a surplus by 2020.

More than half of all day-to-day departmental spending by government – health, schools, defence and overseas aid – is currently protected. If this continues, other unprotected areas – including local government – could be hit once again as a result, the LGA said.

Councils face significant reductions to government grants over the next four years. Local government leaders are also warning George Osborne not to exacerbate these funding challenges by deepening planned cuts as part of his Budget this week.

Council funding cuts in recent years have had a knock-on effect on other parts of the public sector, such as the NHS, which are being left to pick up the pieces leading to a number of false economies. As a result, the LGA insists that ring-fencing certain budgets no longer makes any sense and could put the very services being protected at risk.

Lord Porter, LGA Chairman, said:

“Councils have more than played their part in trying to balance the nation’s books in recent years and all councils will have to continue to find substantial savings from local services to plug funding gaps over the next four years. Extra council tax powers and transitional funding will help some but won’t be enough to completely offset the full impact of funding pressures.

“Giving councils the option to fix longer-term funding settlements has been an important step and rightly recognised by government as being essential to give councils the financial certainty they need to protect local services. It would be perverse to then undermine this with further cuts handed down just one month later.

“Cutting local government to prop up other departments is a false economy. The Government should carefully consider the effect council funding cuts have on other parts of the public sector and whether to tear down the ring-fence around health and education spending.

“Pumping money into the NHS while councils receive less social care and public health funding is a false economy. A properly funded social care system is essential to alleviate the pressure on the NHS while schools and councils also need to be able to pool resources to ensure children are school ready, reduce drop-out rates and improve children’s physical and mental health.

“The Government should use our submission as the blueprint for empowering local government to play a leading role in balancing the nation’s books while improving public services and local economies.”

Jean Lambert: Ongoing EU-funded search & rescue programme needed in the Mediterranean

A ten-point action plan has been revealed by the European Union in the wake of large-scale loss of life in The Mediterranean, promising to both increase control as well as rescue operations. The European Commission said the plan, approved by EU Foreign and Interior ministers at an emergency meeting in Luxembourg, will be presented at a summit today, Thursday the 23rd. Commenting, Jean Lambert, Green MEP for London said:

It could not be clearer that immediate action is needed to prevent further loss of life. We need an ongoing EU-funded programme for search and rescue of refugees because individual governments can no longer cry crocodile tears while at the same time refusing to support rescue missions. We must of course work to combat despicable smugglers, but acknowledge that desperate people take desperate measures. What worries me about this plan is the focus on smugglers and on return programmes. It looks as if we are just pandering to fears instead of really getting to the root of the problem.

No-one should be fooled, FRONTEX is border control, not a rescue operation. Unless Libya and Syria can experience prolonged stability people will continue to do what they have always done throughout history: try and reach safety. While the EU is not above criticism, it is our own Government that decides the level of support for the Italian Government.

The European Parliament will have a co-decision role on any proposal to adapt the EU budget, and Greens call on all political groups to consider this in the ongoing negotiations on the 2016 EU budget and put pressure on the European Commission and EU governments.

Next week the plenary agenda of Parliament in Strasbourg will include a formal  Oral Question ( for which Jean was a co-signatory) with Council and Commission statements on the situation, Jean concluded:

We need a common European approach based on solidarity and humanity. The overwhelming majority of refugees are not in the EU: if Germany had the same proportion of refugees as Lebanon, there would be more than 20 million to support. The real crisis here is for those seeking sanctuary, not for the EU.

Brent Labour Council should hang its head in shame as Stonebridge Adventure Playground closes

I visited Stonebridge Adventure Playground  yesterday for their last major children's event - an Easter Egg Hunt. Caught up in the excitement of the hunt children soon forgot about the imminent closure - indeed many children had thought that the playground was already closed on this the first day of the school Easter holiday.

The adults present were all too aware that this was the end of an era.  Salvageable equipment had been transported  from the playground building into safe storage. The outdoor play equipmentcannot be moved as the legs, embedded in concrete, would have to be cut off at ground level.

Brent Council served the playground a double whammy:  1) closure to allow Stonebridge Primary School to be expanded and housing built on the school's present annexe. The land sale will pay for the school expansion. 2) stop funding of the playground so even if the application to expand the school failed the playground would still not survive.

To add insult to injury the Coucil asked the playground workers to carry on working for nothing during the Easter and Summer holidays.

The consultation on the school expansion ends on Thursday March 2nd, two days after the playground funding stops. To comment go to LINK

The playground serves the children of Stonebridge and Harlesden, some of the most disadvantaged in Brent. The children in the new developments being built in the area will not only need school places but a safe, supervised place to play. The Council has deprived them and the present population of that.

Median income of Brent wards 2014

 Stonebridge ethnicity compared with Brent (2011 census)

Age and gender compared wit Brent (2011 census)

The 2011 census results showed that 32.1% of the Stonebridge population were under 18 compared with 22.6% of the whole borough.

The Stonebridge School Annexe. This will be demolished and the children moved into the expanded main school. The net increase in capacity of Stonebridge School as a whole will be incraesed by only 30 pupils. Houses will be built on the Annexe site.  Substantial investment has been made to make the Annexe suitable for educating children.

New housing is going up opposite Stonebridge School and the adventure playground, eventually making a continuous run of housing on both sides of the road.  The green space below and the trees are threatened by the new development. They originally provided screening from the busy main road for the school.

The empty interior of the playground building, soon to be bulldozed

Children left their signatures and messages on the piano as a farewell to the playground

On a personal note I'd like to pay tribute to Doug and Glynis Lee, the amazing playworkers and all those who fought so hard to keep Stonebridge Adventure Playground open. You are an example to all who care about their community.

 

The future of local government should be an election issue

Readers may be interested In this editorial from the Local Government Chronicle LINK :

“Britain is walking tall again,” declared George Osborne in his Budget statement last week. For much of the past five years local government has felt a long way from walking tall after being targeted in a series of cuts that have diminished councils’ ability to provide for their local populations. “Local government is walking small and lean,” is a fair representation of its fate.

The chancellor made much in his speech of the projection that in 2019-20 public spending, as a share of gross domestic product, will be at the same level as it was in 2000, three years into the Blair administration. However, this line from his speech – a response to the critics accusing him of taking public spending back to 1930s levels – hardly tells the whole story.

Further swingeing cuts take place in the next few years before, according to the Treasury, spending perks up in what is set to be the year before the next general election. Any respite from austerity seems a long way away.

Councils will contrast their current position with that of 15 years’ ago. Their spending power is far lower, at a time the ageing population and growing awareness of the scale of need in children’s safeguarding leads to a far greater demand for services.

The Local Government Association this week revealed a projection stating that adult and children’s care would take up over 60% of councils’ tax revenue in 2019-20, leaving far less available for other services. Environmental services, libraries, roads, regulatory services and culture, in particular, face a very rough ride.

Little wonder then that the sector has been making its case for a sea change in both the government and the public’s attitude to the sector. Shortly before the pre-election purdah begins, this week saw the LGA launch its Future Funding campaign to raise awareness of the 40% budget cuts councils have experienced in the past five years and warn that we face “difficult decisions about which services continue”. Both it and the Special Interest Group of Metropolitan Authorities have produced slick but powerful videos explaining councils’ financial predicament.

Some may note the irony of a sector spending money on publicising the fact that it has little money. However, this expenditure really is a drop in the ocean. It is vital that everything possible is done to make the public – the voters – aware of the impact of councils’ financial hardship. This is not to make a party political point; it is equally entirely right that the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats point out the impact of the state running a massive deficit.

As Rob Whiteman points out, election debate too often takes the form of a lightweight and unbelievable soap opera. Discussion has focused on Ed Miliband’s two kitchens, with too little debate on the housing crisis which means that far too many people have no kitchen of their own at all. Sector leaders need to make their case loudly and clearly in an election crucial to local government’s destiny.

Moses makes passionate plea for Stonebridge Adventure Playground to be saved from closure

Speaking at the Brent Fights Back meeting on Tuesday, Moses, Chair of the Brent Play Association, made a passionate speech on why the playground should not be closed. The closure is due to be discussed at the Cabinet Meeting on Moday where the Brent Play Association will present a petition signed by hundred of Brent residents.

Meanwhile the spirit is strong as this sequence from Stonebridge Adventure Playground Facebook shows:

 

After the Tricycle: Can Arts Organisations say 'No' to Embassy Funding?

TUESDAY OCTOBER 7TH - 7PM 17-25 NEW INN YARD EC2A 3EA

Amnesty has sent the following invitation which will be of interest to readers involved in the debate over the Tricycle Theatre's refusal of Israeli Government funding (via the Embassy) and the subsequent events.

Do artists and arts organisations have the right to say ‘no’ when governments with negative human rights records try to co-opt culture in the service of their public relations strategies? 

Please join the discussion – After the Tricycle: Can arts organisations say ‘no’ to embassy funding?

In August 2014, during the Israeli bombardment of Gaza, the Tricycle Theatre asked the UK Jewish Film Festival to forego Israeli embassy funding. The festival refused, walked away from the Tricycle, and briefed the press that the theatre was boycotting a Jewish festival. The theatre came under sustained attack: campaigns to de-fund the theatre, denunciations by liberal newspaper columnists, even intervention by the Secretary of State for Culture himself.

Do we have to accept that the kind of backlash the Tricycle experienced is inevitable as far as funding by a powerful state is concerned, and make sure we never follow where this theatre led?
Panel chair: Kamila Shamsie, novelist.

Speakers: April De Angelis and Tanika Gupta playwrights, Antony Lerman writer & commentator, and Ofer Neiman of the Israeli group Boycott from Within.

Panel discussion. Free entry, but reservation is recommended.
There will be a drinks reception afterwards.
When: Tuesday 7th October, 19:00 – 21:00. Doors open 18:30
Where: Amnesty International UK Human Rights Action Centre, 17-25 New Inn Yard, London. EC2A 3EA.

After the Tricycle: Can arts organisations say ‘no’ to embassy funding?

Amnesty has sent the following invitation which will be of interest to readers involved in the debate over the Tricycle Theatre's refusal of Israeli Government funding (via the Embassy) and the subsequent events.

Do artists and arts organisations have the right to say ‘no’ when governments with negative human rights records try to co-opt culture in the service of their public relations strategies? 

Please join the discussion – After the Tricycle: Can arts organisations say ‘no’ to embassy funding?
In August 2014, during the Israeli bombardment of Gaza, the Tricycle Theatre asked the UK Jewish Film Festival to forego Israeli embassy funding. The festival refused, walked away from the Tricycle, and briefed the press that the theatre was boycotting a Jewish festival. The theatre came under sustained attack: campaigns to de-fund the theatre, denunciations by liberal newspaper columnists, even intervention by the Secretary of State for Culture himself.

Do we have to accept that the kind of backlash the Tricycle experienced is inevitable as far as funding by a powerful state is concerned, and make sure we never follow where this theatre led?
Panel chair: Kamila Shamsie, novelist.

Speakers: April De Angelis and Tanika Gupta playwrights, Antony Lerman writer & commentator, and Ofer Neiman of the Israeli group Boycott from Within.

Panel discussion. Free entry, but reservation is recommended.
There will be a drinks reception afterwards.
When: Tuesday 7th October, 19:00 – 21:00. Doors open 18:30
Where: Amnesty International UK Human Rights Action Centre, 17-25 New Inn Yard, London. EC2A 3EA.

London Councils warns funding cuts will hit rising school standards in the capital

Government changes to education funding will undermine rising school standards in the capital, according to new analysis. 

The Department for Education is consulting on changes to the Education Services Grant (ESG), which funds a raft of critical services such as school improvement, education welfare services and supporting pupils with special educational needs. The consultation includes an intention to cut the ESG by at least 20 per cent in the next year.

London Councils, which represents London’s 33 local authorities, in its consultation response expressed concern that the proposed changes risk undoing the fabric that has delivered unrivalled and continued success in London to raise school standards and improve children’s outcomes. 

Through the London Challenge scheme, involving councils and schools working in partnership, London’s schools have been transformed from amongst the worst in England and Wales in 2003, to the best-performing today, even when taking deprivation into account. 

The proposed reduction of funding, amounting to £24 million in 2015/16, will limit the ability of local authorities to deliver school improvement services.

London Councils’ analysis notes the proposed changes outline a government vision that seeks to limit the local authority role in school improvement to support all schools. This is inconsistent with how parents see the council role, how Ofsted see the council role, and even how the government itself has said it sees the council role.

London Councils’ analysis also outlines a number of changes that could impact support available to pupils and to improve the quality of education in the capital:

• The proposed funding does not recognise the higher costs in London to deliver services. Ignoring the higher staff and delivery costs in London means ESG funding will not go as far to support schools and children in the capital as it would for other regions in England.  London Councils is calling on the Department for Education to include an “Area Cost Adjustment” for the capital that will reflect its higher costs.
• London has experienced the largest growth in the number of pupils with special education need (SEN) statements in England. Demand increased by seven per cent between 2009 and 2013 in London, compared to two per cent nationally. A reduction in funding for support services delivered through ESG for these children would go against rising demand. London Councils is urging Government to ensure that adequate funding is provided to reflect the growing numbers of pupils with SEN.
• Academies will continue to enjoy extra funding, amounting to £54 million nationally, in comparison to local authority maintained schools for the foreseeable future. The DfE has set out an intention to move towards equal levels of funding; London Councils calls on the government to speed up this process and set out a transparent timetable to put into effect. 

Mayor Jules Pipe, London Councils, said: 

London local government is determined that efficient and high quality education is delivered across London and has led the way in ensuring school and pupil outcomes continue to improve – the capital’s schools are now the best performing in England and Wales.

Parents, Ofsted and the law all see a local government role in supporting rising education standards.

The changes in the government’s consultation sit awkwardly with this and will result in confusion for parents about who is responsible for tackling performance issues in all local schools.

The Department for Education must ensure any changes are consistent and do not unfairly affect London parents, who are already worried about the looming school places crisis. 

Further funding cuts unsustainable London Councils tell Government

As Brent Council puts the finishing touches to its budget and Brighton moves towards a referendum on increasing Council Tax to preserve Adult Social Care, London Councils issued the following press release which highlights the unsustainability of further funding cuts.

London Councils has issued a stark warning in its submission to the government’s consultation on the Local Government Finance Settlement 2014/15 that year-on-year cuts to funding are unsustainable.

The response, submitted on Wednesday, raises significant concerns about the long-term sustainability of the local government finance system in London as well as the lack of transparency and coherence in the government’s proposals.

Chair of London Councils, Mayor Jules Pipe, said:

There is nothing to reassure Londoners in this settlement. London is facing the double whammy of disproportionately high cuts along with dramatic increases in demand and costs on multiple levels. By the end of 2015/16 we will have seen a reduction of 44 per cent in central government funding and we have worked flat out to protect and, where possible, improve local services.

London boroughs are now being required to shoulder a disproportionately large share of the overall reduction to local government compared to elsewhere in the country and the government must explain to Londoners why this is the case.

Without significant changes to the way cuts are applied many boroughs will quickly reach an unsustainable position, and that will affect local services.

The response highlights a number of specific concerns. Using the government’s concept of Spending Power per dwelling, it shows that London local government is shouldering a significant part of the government’s deficit reduction programme.

Between 2010/11 and 2015/16 the average reduction in spending power per dwelling in England is £300. In London, the reduction per dwelling was £544.00. This is 81 per cent higher than the national average. In 2014/15 and 2015/16 alone, London will face an overall reduction in spending power per dwelling of £294 compared to the England average of £117. (1)

In addition, unlike councils across the rest of England, London boroughs will lose a proportion of the New Homes Bonus, worth £70 million, which funds the additional costs that fall on local services when new homes are built in a borough.

Mayor Pipe added:

For the past two years the settlement has been announced extremely late. While there may be a number of reasons for this, and it may be helpful for central government, it does little to provide hard-pressed boroughs with the certainty and assurance needed to set budgets and council tax for the following financial year.

View the consultation response submission

Coalition of Resistance backs Councillors Against the Cuts

Some positive steps are being taken in the battle against local authority cuts.  In Harrow, the Council and Harrow Observer are combining in a campaign for increased funding which I support, but I am concerned that the campaign may be interpreted as suggesting that Brent is over-funded LINK.

Local authorities ALL need to be adequately funded in order to provide vital services.

The campaign Councillors Against the Cuts LINK has been set up to urge councils  to refuse to implement cuts and organise resistance against the Coalition;s austerity agenda. Recently there has been in increase in the number of councillors signing up to the campaign.

Their founding statement includes the following paragraphs:

We stand in solidarity with anti-cuts campaigns, with people defending their local services and with the broader community, tenants and residents, our children, disabled people, pensioners etc – in defence of the living standards and rights of the most vulnerable people in society as the Coalition government attacks them.

Most of us are Labour councillors and our campaign is sponsored by the Labour Representation Committee, but we are open to all left and labour movement councillors willing to pledge to vote against/refuse to implement cuts.

Whether you are a councillor, local government worker, other trade unionist, anti-cuts campaigner, community activist or Labour Party activist – get involved!

I understand that some Green councillors are signing up to the campaign nd a Green Councillors Against the Cuts Facebook page has been set up LINK

The Coalition of Resistance, chaired by leading Green Party member Romayne Phoenix, has issued this statement of support:

The Coalition of Resistance congratulates all the councillors who have launched “Councillors Against the Cuts”. This new front in the resistance against austerity is to be welcomed by all those committed to defending public services and jobs and the welfare state.

The Coalition of Resistance supports you in your pledge to “vote against all cuts to services and jobs, increases in rents and charges, and increases in council tax”. This determined stand will encourage trade unions and their members, community organisations and anti-cuts groups to campaign and take the actions necessary to roll back the attacks from the ConDem Coalition Government.

We hope that many more councillors will join you in your stand in the run-up to the formalities of setting a budget. Local authority finance is now so tightly controlled by central government, there is little credibility in the idea that it is possible to set a budget which protects local people from the worst effects of the cuts.

Your declaration to vote against all cuts is therefore important to demonstrate that there is an alternative to administering austerity. The Coalition of Resistance pledges its support to all of you, and to work together to defend the welfare state and fight for an alternative based on meeting the needs of ordinary people, not those of the banks and big business. We invite you to join us in making the People’s Assembly against Austerity in June the springboard for a broad movement that will inflict defeats on this government.

In solidarity,

Romayne Phoenix, Chair CoR
Sam Fairbairn, Secretary CoR
Fred Leplat

It would be wonderful if some of our councillors in Brent threw away their dented shields, recognise that they cannot carry on making the cuts demanded by the Coalition, and make a stand with the resistance.

Greens urge Government rethink on poorly funded Green Deal

The Green Party has criticised the government’s failure to implement the Green Deal with the required funding.

Nearly 1,800 jobs have been lost and another 1,100 are in danger as a result of the government’s inability to put energy efficiency policies into practise. The current insulation scheme ended a fortnight ago, and the replacement, which is funded by the Green Deal and the Energy Company Obligation, will not be properly funded for several months.

Councillor Andrew Cooper, Green Party energy spokesperson and chair of the Association of Green Party Councillors, said: “It is bizarre that the government's Green Deal is seeing a fall in the number of homes insulated and people employed in the insulation industry.” 

"Getting schemes wrong in this way is bad for the economy, doesn't tackle fuel poverty and shows a lack of urgency around the need to reduce carbon emissions.

“A positive, large-scale energy efficiency programme would generate huge energy savings which would see more money invested in the local economy, reducing peoples’ outgoings and seeing thousands in work, not to mention all the health benefits.

“The Green Party has been at the forefront of the most successful energy efficiency schemes in the country with thousands of homes insulated in schemes initiated and promoted by Green Party Councillors.

“In Kirklees the free insulation scheme that was carried out between 2007 and 2010 saw over 50,000 homes insulated and over £3million saved off peoples’ fuel bills. DECC’s own figures shows that this Green Party Initiative is the most successful in the country.

“Government should listen to the energy efficiency industry and have a major rethink about the Green Deal before it inevitably fails.”

Penny Kemp, Environment Spokesperson, said: "Failure by this Government to act on energy efficiency means that fuel poverty will increase, jobs will be lost, and the cost to the NHS will be greater.”

“The Green Party scheme is a win-win scheme. Jobs are created, fuel poverty is reduced and most importantly of all, lives are saved due to better home insulation, which also saves the NHS the £850m it spends each year on treating illnesses related to cold homes.

“Today, the Met Office tells us that we are entering a very cold spell, and each year up to 20,000 people die needlessly because of hard to heat homes."

Brent voluntary organisations invited to apply for grants

Voluntary organisations in Brent have until 3st October this year to apply for the second round of funding from Brent Council's Voluntary Sector Initiative Fund.

Organisations can apply for cash to finance projects that meet one of the council's five priorities. They are:

• community safety
• regeneration
• supporting children and families and enabling young people to thrive
• improving health and wellbeing
• improving the environment and enhancing Brent's cultural offer.

Voluntary organisations can download an application pack with further information about the grants at www.brent.gov.uk/grantap plication.

In addition, they attend a special workshops which Brent Council is organising to give advice and guidance about the grants.

Call 020 8937 3674 or email SPI@brent.gov.uk to book a workshop place or for more information about the grants. The final close date for applications is 12noon on 31st October 2012.

Have your say on Brent Council's budget 2012/13

Having called for the Council to have a public debate about its budget I thought it only right to reproduce the following item from the Council website.  Rather than tell them where to make cuts and the divide and rule this entails, I think we should call on them them to work with residents to devise a 'needs led budget' which would set out what services local residents need to maintain their quality of life. They can then use this budget as a campaigning tool to call on the government to reverse their cuts to local authority funding and work with other councils on directly challenging the Coalition's approach.


Have your say on the proposed budget for the 2012/13 financial year by joining the discussions at our Area Consultative Forums.

Residents and businesses are invited to take part in the Area Consultative Forums that are being held early 2012 as we want to hear all the views about our budget priorities.

Each of the five area forums will be discussing the budget proposals and will include a presentation by either Brent Council Leader Councillor Ann John OBE or Deputy Council Leader Councillor Muhammed Butt. There will also be a question and answer session to share views and to get answers first hand.

As well as setting the council's expenditure priorities, the budget process also sets the council tax rate which households must pay and the local authority's spending and provision of services.

The proposals for the 2012/13 budget recognise the difficult financial position faced by Brent Council because of the loss of central government grants and other funding, which will be equivalent to a 26 per cent loss in funding between April 2011 and March 2015 and which will continue through to 2017.

The Executive's proposals for the 2012/13 budget will be scrutinised by the Budget and Finance Overview and Scrutiny Committee before going to the Executive on 13 February 2012. The final decision about the budget and council tax for 2012/13 will be made at the Full Council meeting on 27 February next year.

The dates for the next Area Consultative Forums are:

• Harlesden Area Consultative Forum, 7pm, on 10 January 2012 at All Souls Church, Station Road, Harlesden
• Kilburn and Kensal Area Consultative Forum, 7pm on 11 January 2012 at Granville Plus Community Centre, Granville Road, Kilburn
• Wembley Area Consultative Forum, 7pm on 17 January 2012 at Patidar House, 22 London Road, Wembley
• Willesden Area Consultative Forum, 7pm on 18 January 2012 at College of North West London Denzil Road NW10
• Kingsbury and Kenton Area Consultative Forum, 7pm on 8 February 2012 at Kingsbury High School, Princes Avenue, NW9.