Stonebridge Adventure Playground is NOT SAVED yet - fight goes on

Rumours are apparently going around Stonebridge Estate saying that the Adventure Playground has been saved. This is not true. The Council's granting of Asset of Community Value status helps but on its own will not stop the redevelopment.

What will stop it is a determined campaign by the whole community united in protecting this asset and using every peaceful means necessary to bring the message home to councillors:  THIS PLAYGROUND MUST STAY!

Last night amid the fireworks I seemed to be the only person who turned up for the consultation meeting at the Hub. Unsurprisingly for a day when children and their families are busy having fun.

Either the timing was deliberate to discourage attendance or the Communications Team at Brent Council are extremely poor at their job.

We will need a huge turnout of the generations of Stonebridge and Harlesden people who want to keep the playground at the next consultation meeting which is on November 12th 5-7pm at Stonebridge School.

If you are unable to attend fill in the consultation form here: www.brent.gov.uk/stonebridgeconsultation

or email your response to stonebridge.consult@brent.gov.uk
 

The consultation closes on November 17th

I told the consultation team:

• Stonebridge and Harlesden children need a playground in a high density area to provide space to play, experience challenge and develop physical and teamwork skills
• They need a staffed playground so they and their parents know they are safe
• The playground is a place where parents and carers mix and get to know each other
• Children from many different primary and secondary schools mix happily at the Centre
• The staff are known and trusted by the community and have their respect
• In turn the staff know several generations of local people and have seen them grow from children into youth and adulthood
• This makes a unique contribution to the stability of the area
• The Council is in danger of concentrating on the 'accountancy' in housing and school place provision and missing the social value of what Stonebridge Adventure Playground provides
• Increased density of housing with no 'safety valve' such as the Playground provides will build up potential trouble for the future (more flats are to be built on the site of Bridge Park and Wembley Point across the North Circular Road may be turned into flats)
• The kickabout area (see illustration below) is next to the main road posing a danger both from traffic accidents and traffic pollution
• The Playground's holiday and weekend provision for children with special needs and disabilities is unique and its record of integration very positive
• The Playground also contributes to the mental health and well-being of children and young people through the care and support it offers
• Any Equalities Impact Assessment would have to recognise that in closing the Adventure Playground the Council would be depriving an already disadvantaged community further as well as removing support from children with special needs, disabilities and mental health problems

Stonebridge School and Our Lady of Lourdes next door - kickabout area next to main road and NO Adventure Playground

It is worth noting that the Brent Council website  consultation page introduction does not mention the plans involve the closing of the Sdventure Plkayground ad it merits just two sentences on page five of the consultation booklet.

From the Council website:

We are consulting on the redevelopment of Stonebridge Primary School between 6 October and 17 November 2014.

The current proposals are for the redevelopment of the Stonebridge Primary School site and the area around it.  This site is located off Hillside and is bordered by the canal off Johnson Road, Milton Avenue and Our Lady of Lourdes RC School.

The redevelopment includes the site currently being used as the Stonebridge Primary School annexe on Twybridge Way.

Stonebridge is your community, so it’s important that you tell us what you think of these plans.

These are proposals and no decision has as yet been taken.

Not very transparent is it?

Giving a voice to child casualties of the callous Coalition on Saturday

I heard recently about a child who faced exclusion from a local academy school because of recent lateness. He is late because the family were evicted from their home and moved to temporary accommodation in a bed and breakfast hotel a long way from the school. Dad says they get up at 6.30am. I have seen the sad sight of the  family's belongings, including the children's toys, piled high in their ex-home's front garden because there was no room for their belongings in the two hotel rooms they are allocated.

I have heard about a mother having to improvise cooking facilities in the bathroom of their bed and breakfast hotel so as to be able to feed their children.

There is absolutely no doubt that children are the most vulnerable casualties of the Coalition's war on the poor.  This is something that many teachers acknowledged when they spoke to me during the strike day. They see the children every day, they see the stress in the children's parents and hear from distressed children the possibility that they may be moved to Luton, Milton Keynes, Birmingham away from their friends and family - away from their support systems. In time these families will cost the state far more in treating the consequences of this ill treatment than it will have saved in cutting benefit.

The long term impact on the stability of the family and their mental and physical health is incalculable. The impact on children's life chances hardly bears thinking about.

Saturday's demonstration aims to give a voice to these children.  They will be encouraged to wear their school uniforms to highlight how the benefit cuts, council tax charges, bedroom tax etc are affecting school age children.

I have to attend another local event on that day but hope that this demonstration gets the support it deserves.

Vital Brent health issues to be discussed tomorrow

Brent Council's Health Partnerships Overview and Scrutiny Committee meets tomorrow, Tuesday 18th March 7.00 pm in the Boardroom at the Civic Centre. The agenda can be found HERE:

Among the items on the agenda are: Mental Health Services in Brent; a report from the working group on Violence Against Women and Girls especially FGM, domestic violence and forced marriage; the Future of Central Middlesex Hospital and Willesden Centre for Health and Care and Diabetes Services.

Tell them what future you want for Central Middlesex Hospital tomorrow

Following the decision to close the A&E at Central Middlesex Hospital a question mark still hangs over its future and the future of Willesden Centre for Health and Care. Millions have been spent on the PFI scheme for Central Middlesex and Willesden has only fairly recently been revamped.

At the extreme of possible decisions either site could close but there are other options in between including shifting some facilities from Willesden to Central Middlesex, and the mental health facility at Park Royal into the main hospital, as well as the GP/Dental surgery on Willesden High Road, moving to the Willesden Hospital site.

There is a possibility that some of the Willesden site will be sold off for housing. Come to the meeting at the Brent Civic Centre to find out much more about what may happen and have your say.

Have your say on healthcare spending in Brent

Can Brent provide for vulnerable young people amidst the cuts?

Local councils, faced with savage Coalition cuts to their funding, have often promised to make sure that the most vulnerable residents are protected. This is becoming more and more difficult, whatever the political complexion of the council. Alongside this councils are reducing the range of services to the core services required by statute. I have argued before on Wembley Matters that this may mean that services which are very beneficial to residents, and based on the council's recognition of a local need, may end up being cut: non-statutory doesn't mean not valuable or not needed. In addition, out-sourcing of some statutory services, muddies the water in terms of direct democratic accountability.

The December 9th Executive will be making decisions on a number of items that will have repercussion for services to the vulnerable.

They will be making a decision on procuring an Advocacy service for the following safeguarding 'clients'  to ensure they are safe from abuse:

• older people with physical disabilities
• young people (14-25 years old) with physical disabilities
• adults with mental health needs
• adults with learning disabilities

I am concerned that  'price' makes up 60% of the evaluation strategy for this procurement.

Another item is a change of provider for the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service.  They propose to decommission services currently provided by Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust.  In a key passage they state:

Information has been sought from other boroughs to determine what they commission. This work makes it very clear that while some boroughs do commission elements of training and systemic or early help provision, they do not fund direct therapeutic interventions. The proposed new provision,detailed in section 5 below, is therefore in line with that provided by other Local Authorities.

I hope the Executive will investigate that a little more. Rather than reduce services to match those of other boroughs, shouldn't Brent assess the value of direct therapeutic interventions?  I certainly found those useful for pupils and their families when I wa a headteacher and such interventions may save money in the long run. Officers argue that it is not possible to continue expenditure at current levels without jeopardising other services.

The proposals would reduce expenditure on children with disabilities by £50,000 to £146,000 and Looked After Children by £230,000 to £107,000.

Officers state:

The proposed change in the service could lead to an increase in support required through Care at Home and Direct Payments, and there is also the potential for some of these children/young people to become LAC. However, such pressures will be contained as the current service is supplementing a service already commissioned by the CCG and existing users will be able to access support from the CCG.

Clearly the first statement needs some discussion in terms of its implications for the individuals concerned. There is a possibility that too much responsibility is being shifted to the relatively untested CCG (Clinical Commissioning Group).

The report admits that there may be longer waiting time for Looked After Children requiring appointments but suggests that this will be dealt with by a requirement for the service to prioritise this group of young people. When I was familiar with this service several years ago waiting time was already a problem so I am sceptical that a notional prioritisation will address the problem.

More worrying also is a statement in the Equalities Impact Assessment that consideration had been given to consulting with users but that this was felt 'not to be in their interests to do so as it it would cause unnecessary anxiety'. The Assessment says it is intended to get views on the new service through the Care in Action forum for adolescents but it is not clear whether this will be before or after the changes are implemented.

A report on Higher Needs Student Eligibility is also tabled for November 9th.  This refers to educational provision for young people between 16 and 25 with a learning difficulty and/or disability. Arrangements have changed through new legislation and the local authority has to allocate appropriate provision:

The report states:

Council therefore needs to have processes in place to support this change and ensure that the allocated budget is not exceeded.

Funds allocated are about £18,000 per head for an estimated 140 people  next year.

The council will need to carry out a Learning Disability Assessment on young people who:

 Will be leaving school aged 16-19 and

• Is going on to further education, higher education or training and
• Is likely to need additional learning support to access education or training opportunities
• New children arriving from abroad who do not have a statement and have a learning difficulty or disability
• Children in mainstream schools that are supported by school action and school action plus support

Talks will be take place with further education colleges and other providers about provision whcih will enable 'young people with disabilities to live active, independent and fulfilling lives in the community.'

It will be important  to monitor the progress of young people and the quality of provision to see if fulfils these aims.

Have your say on Brent health services

Vernon says mental health is now 'core business' for the Met

Patrick Vernon, who is campaigning for Labour's Brent Central nomination has posted an article on his blog  LINK about the Independent Commission on Mental Health and Policing in which he took part.

He said:

The inquiry report makes mental health core business for Metropolitan Police Service. At times it was real hard and emotionally challenging to examine and review the 55 cases along with listening to the families’ experiences of the systematic failure leading to the death of their love ones. Respect to all the families who are still fighting for justice and peace

Some of the key findings in the report include:

• In most cases, there were failures in systems, mis-judgments or errors by individuals, resource limitations, poor co-ordination with other services or discriminatory attitudes towards people with mental illness that led eventually to these deaths.
• People with mental health issues complained they were treated like criminals by the police. They also felt individuals with mental health issues were handled with too much force, that the police should engage more with the families, and that police and NHS staff should have more mental health training.
• Many families said they could not understand why there was not better liaison between agencies. Some professionals made similar points in evidence.
• The Commission did have access to MPS files. However paper files and records were incomplete. This is clearly unacceptable for a 21st Century, customer-focused police service.
• Care pathways must be recognised and developed and there needs to be greater operational working together, such as inter-agency working within the NHS, clinical commissioning groups and local government.
• The Commission’s report was based on evidence direct from families over five years, MPS files as well as wide consultation with the public, service users and professionals. The Commission panel was independent and made up of experts who gave detailed consideration to the evidence.

Meanwhile Vernon, along with Muhammed Butt and former Brent South MP Lord Boateng, are involved in a project aimed at mentoring individuals who have been through the mental or criminal justice systemsL

PLIAS Resettlement is stepping up to the mark to fill a gap with the development of a mentoring programme geared towards supporting the over representation of BME individuals who have been through the criminal justice or mental health systems. PLIAS is offering a solution based mentoring and support programme for BME members of the community which aims to reduce re-offending.  This project supports alternatives to custody and diversionary activities by delivering supported care in the community.

The mentoring programme is the cornerstone of PLIAS Resettlement Court Liaison and Diversion Project. By equipping and empowering BME individuals with mental health issues to improve their lives and achieve their vision through personal mentoring relationships, PLIAS Resettlement is positioning the organisation to be a major advocate for BME individuals to guide them into making good choices for themselves

Green Party Deputy's personal experience informs his statement on mental health discrimination

I thought this item was worth sharing as it represents another step forward in fighting the stigma associated with mental health issues:

Will Duckworth, Green Party Deputy Leader, has spoken openly about his mental health experiences.
Mr Duckworth addressed a small meeting at the Green Party Spring Conference, which had been called to discuss the Party's plans to challenge mental health discrimination and stigma.

He said:

I have bipolar condition. It is normally called bipolar disorder but in my case it is more of a blessing than a curse. I have been a teacher for thirty years including twenty as head of maths in a comprehensive school and am now a Councillor and Deputy Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales.

I was diagnosed as having manic depression more than thirty years ago.  Since then I have had just two manic episodes. I do not take any pills for the condition and am in control of the situation and I can schedule my depressions, so they do not interfere with my work.

I recognise that many people suffer greatly from the condition but for me it is simply that most of the time I am happy and very friendly but every six weeks or so I have to go through a few hours of deep depression and I can even control when that happens.

Many of you may have seen the ‘It’s Time To Talk’ campaign currently in the national media, aiming to encourage people to speak about their mental health, to help other people understand the issues and help destigmatise mental health conditions.

I have chosen to speak out about this because I want to help to dispel the myths and fear that surround any type of mental health issues.

As one in four of the population suffer from mental health issues at some time then it means that a quarter of us are personally affected.

That means that there are probably more than 150 of our MPs and 200 members of the House of Lords who have mental health issues but are restrained from telling people about it.

Many of us have spent years hiding the fact, but now is time for this oppressed minority to ‘come out’. 

'Mental health issues can affect anyone and it certainly does not prevent people from performing well in all sorts of careers but the knowledge that someone has suffered can often prevent them from getting a job. 

After the meeting he added:

I'm speaking out now because it's time to change. It's time to be open. If you had a broken leg you wouldn't try to hide it, and this is no different. It's time to be open and honest. And I would like to thank everyone here, and the Green Party as a whole for creating an atmosphere which is comfortable enough for me to say what I have said.

 The Time to Change organisational pledge is HERE