London in Tier 3 from Wednesday - Sadiq Khan's statement

 

Statement from the Mayor of London on the capital moving into Tier 3

14 December 2020

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said:

 

“The Government has decided to move London into Tier 3 from one minute past midnight on Wednesday morning. This is incredibly disappointing for our businesses who have suffered so much already this year. But it’s clear that the virus is accelerating in the wrong direction once again across London and the lives of Londoners are at risk. It would be such a tragedy to lose even more people to this disease when the vaccine is now being rolled out across our city.

 

“We know from bitter experience that when cases start to rise quickly, it’s much better to act early, rather than too late.  This is how we can avoid even tougher restrictions, for longer, further down the road.

 

“The worst thing for London’s businesses and our economy would be yet another full lockdown in the new year.  That’s why I urge Londoners to follow the Tier 3 rules that the Government is putting in place very closely so that we can drive down infection rates as much as possible.

 

“This means hospitality settings, such as bars, pubs, cafes and restaurants are required by the Government to close except for takeaway, delivery and click and collect services. You must continue not to meet other households indoors and to keep to the rule of six while outside.

 

“I don’t want London to be in Tier 3 for a day longer than necessary.  I am hugely concerned about the negative impact that the additional restrictions will have on jobs and many businesses that are already struggling to stay afloat.

 

“We now urgently need much more government support for the sectors of our economy that are being hit the hardest, including hospitality, culture, and leisure. It is crucial that Ministers urgently put in place a compensation scheme for all lost income, based on last year’s returns, for any businesses affected by the further restrictions during this crucial festive period.  The Government must also cover the full cost of Statutory Sick Pay for workers who have to self-isolate, and make wearing face coverings mandatory in busy outdoor public spaces.

 

“We have known from the outset of this pandemic that increased testing will be vital to getting the spread of the virus under control. That is why I have called on the Government to extend regular asymptomatic testing to all those unable to work from home and to London’s students and staff at secondary schools, sixth-form colleges and FE colleges.

 

“It is essential that the Government ramps up testing in schools and colleges immediately as this is where the virus is spreading most. If this does not happen, Tier 3 will not only cause huge damage to our hospitality and cultural industries, but the virus will just continue to spread over Christmas at a time when families may well be meeting up and our NHS is under pressure.

 

“Given the significant increase in infections among 10 to 19-year-olds – Government should consider asking secondary schools and colleges which don’t yet have testing facilities to close early and to reopen a bit later in January to allow time for weekly testing to be put in place. 

 

“The vaccine provides some light at the end of the tunnel, so let’s not fall at what could be the last hurdle. So I’d encourage all Londoners to adhere to the new Government rules so that we can save as many live

NEU calls for mass Covid19 testing in primary as well as secondary schools

With the number of school workers testing positive for Covid 19 rising in Brent, this statement by the Co-General Secretary of the National Education Union, Kevin Courtney is pertinent:

Commenting on the latest coronavirus survey figures from the Office for National Statistics, Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:

 

“The latest ONS Coronavirus survey figures should be very worrying to the Government - especially in the run up to Christmas. They show that cases are again rising in secondary and primary schools.

“Secondary children in years 7 to year 11 have the highest rate of any of the demographic groups - with more than 2% of children having the virus. This is significantly higher than the university student age group, now returning home with such care.

 

“Primary and early years children - from age 2 to year 6 - are the third highest of the demographic groups with around 1% of children having the virus. Many of the cases are asymptomatic - but this does not mean that they cannot transmit the virus to others, especially in the close confines of the household.

“The only other age group with rising cases is 35-49 year olds - and that is the age group with most parents of school-aged children.

 

“Government must speak about these figures and act on them.

 

“It is welcome, though overdue, that mass testing is to be rolled out in some areas. But there are many boroughs where cases are higher than in the boroughs in London, Kent and Essex where the roll-out is to happen.

 

“The Government should commit now to a roll of mass testing across the country, not just in the South East. The testing should also happen in primary schools.

 

“We predict that when this testing happens many children will have to be sent home on public health advice. This will lead in practice to a chaotic closure in the last week of term.

 

“The Government would have been much better advised to have encouraged schools to prepare for on-line learning in the last week of term. That would have resulted in lower cases before the holidays began and could have been planned. However, the Government set its face hard against this, instructing schools contemplating it to change their plans.

 

“The Government ignored our call for a ‘circuit break’ to include schools, which has been shown to suppress the virus much more quickly. They have ignored our call for secondary schools to run on a rota basis which can keep cases lower whilst keeping children learning.

 

“As a result, many parents have seen their children sent home for multiple periods on public health advice.

 

“We need much better from the Government in the New Year, if the chaotic pattern is not to continue and even get worse.”

Greens: Extend lockdown to secondary schools and universities

The Green Party is calling for secondary schools, colleges and universities to be added to the list of closures from Thursday after a month-long lockdown in England was announced by the Government. 

Co-leader Jonathan Bartley is demanding this afternoon that common sense prevail, following the release of figures by Independent SAGE showing that a lockdown with schools remaining open will be significantly less effective than if they were closed.

“The government is fond of saying they are following the science, but this is an example of them doing the exact opposite,” says Bartley. 

“The figures are clear, a lockdown with schools open would need to be three times longer than if they were closed, to have the same impact. This lockdown is going to negatively affect huge numbers of people, so it has to be worth it. 

“Of course there are going to be exceptions - young people with special educational needs for instance should still be able to attend schools in person. But in general, this is the time to shut secondaries and universities, move to remote learning, give the support needed to curb the rates of infection where that can be done, fix the test and trace system which is still woefully underperforming. Use the time to make this lockdown worthwhile.” 

Green Party Education spokesperson Vix Lowthion said: “The government produced their own guidelines back in August which clearly stated that secondary schools must be on a remote learning rota or closed when the threat of the virus increases. Surely, that’s where we are now? 

“University teaching can move online during this heightened period and school teachers can focus on online learning plans whilst appropriate home-school rotas are put in place. Yes, it’s a huge challenge for our schools but so is working in a frankly unsafe environment where you’re not being given the back-up you need to keep yourself and your pupils out of harms’ way.

“Along with this there needs to be thought put into safeguarding for children at home, their physical and mental health and making sure they have everything they need to learn – the tech equipment and the support.

“The vast majority of children in secondary schools and young adults in higher education are able to learn from home with supervision from teachers. In the medium term this 'blended learning' will disrupt the economy less than a full shutdown including primary schools as in most cases older children have less need for intensive childcare provision.”

Schools in time of Coronavirus - Thursday October 15th

 

 

A topical event organised by Kensal to Kilburn Better 2020

Coronavirus has disrupted and interrupted our schools, creating huge challenges for pupils, teachers and parents. 

What is currently happening on the front line, and how well are people coping? 

What might the short and long term impacts be? 

How can we engage with and respond to issues such as the problem of unequal access under remote learning conditions, frequent changes of policy, and the disruption to one of the key pillars of local community life? 

 Is the reshaping of our schools by Covid-19 going to lead to any permanent changes, and if so, what might they look like? 

Might any positives come from this?

Panel: 

Judith Enright, Headteacher, Queens Park Community School

Stephen Haggard, expert in digital technology in education

Mark Nathan, Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist

Lola Jempeji, Sixth Former & Student Leader

BOOK HERE

BREAKING: NEU calls on Government to step back from the brink and stop 1 June school reopening

From the National Education Union

Four prominent members of the Government’s own scientific advisory body have broken ranks to express worries about the safety of wider primary school opening on Monday.

SAGE members Professor Peter Horby, who is chair of the Government's New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG); Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Institute; John Edmunds, professor of infectious disease modelling at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Calum Semple, professor in Child Health and Outbreak Medicine have all expressed fears about the easing of lockdown.

On the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, Professor Horby agreed with Professors Edmunds' and Farrar’s concerns, saying that SAGE has always been very clear that test, trace, isolate must be fully running BEFORE lockdown is relaxed. The system needs to be tracking most new cases, he said, following them up within 48 hours.

Professor Horby added that SAGE does not have a good handle on the role of children and schools in transmission and stated that returning to another lockdown would be much worse than delaying another two or three weeks until contact tracing is fully up and running.

Professor Edmunds said “There are still 8,000 new infections every day in England without counting those in hospitals and care homes… If you look at it internationally, it’s a very high level of incidence.

“I think many of us would prefer to see the incidence driven down to lower levels because that then means that we have fewer cases occurring before we relax the measures.”

Professor Farrar tweeted: “Covid-19 spreading too fast to lift lockdown in England. TTI [test, trace and isolate] has to be in place, fully working, capable [of dealing with] any surge immediately.”

Professor Semple said: “Essentially, we’re lifting the lid on a boiling pan and it’s just going to bubble over… We need to get it down to simmer before we take the lid off, and it’s too early.”

He also said that levels of transmission and hospital admissions are still too high. "I think a political decision has been made to tie in with when school was due to start, were everything normal, but it’s not normal."

National Education Union joint general secretaries Kevin Courtney and Mary Bousted said: “This public break by four prominent of the Government’s SAGE committee changes everything.

“No-one can now confidently assert that it is safe to open schools more widely from Monday.

“All four of these members of SAGE agree that there must a lower number of cases and an efficient system of contact tracing working before there is a relaxation of lockdown measures. Both these measures are included in the NEU’s Five Tests.

“Opening schools more widely runs the risk of increasing the R rate and therefore the level of risk to staff and to parents.  

“That risk can only be mitigated if contact tracing is running successfully.

“We have made that case strongly to Government – and we have been supported by the BMA and by the Independent SAGE group in our concerns.

“Government replies that it is following the science. But this public break by senior members of SAGE, including by the chair of the NERVTAG committee, undermines that claim.

“School leaders, their staff and pupils’ families deserve better than this.

“Even at this late stage, we call on the Government to draw back from wider opening of primary schools from Monday.

“Instead we urge them to engage in talks with the profession and the unions, including the NEU, about how to open schools more widely once the contact tracing system is shown to be working.”

Brent Zoom meeting for parents and school staff on school re-openings

Brent Council will support schools, staff and parents whatever their decision on school return but make no recommendation

Cllr Butt (right) at Pakistan Independence Day celebrations

 Brent Council leader Muhammed Butt has said in an opinion piece on the Kilburn Times website that Brent Council will not force schools to re-open. Instead it will support them whatever action they decide to take. He does not make a clear recommendation not to re-open for a wider group of pupils as some councils have done.  BAME people in Brent are particularly affected by high death rates from Covid-19.

The Kilburn Times articlel LINK

For councils up and down the country this past week will have been dominated by the decision to begin opening schools up to more pupils.

And it’s not just local authorities – the schools themselves, teachers and the teaching unions, and of course parents will have all been wrestling with what is an incredibly complex set of circumstances. In my experience, in much of our work designing and delivering public services, there are choices where it’s obvious what is the right thing to do. Then there are choices where compromises are needed but it is still possible to determine which way to go. And there are those choices where all you can do is identify the least-worst option.

Of course, the vast majority of schools in Brent have remained open throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, supporting children of key workers and vulnerable children but the question is now whether schools are ready to safely take back more children in a phased basis starting with Reception, Year 1 and Year 6.

The overriding priority must be to keep everyone involved safe from harm, not least our children and young people but also, of course, school staff. But right now, because this situation is so complicated, that’s just not possible. Until a vaccine is available, sending more children back to school risks exposing them to infection. Yet, if we continue to wait until a vaccine is ready, we risk potentially lasting damage to their personal development and academic attainment – damage that disproportionately affects those from less well-off households, of which there are many in Brent. Both risks are very real. Either on its own would ordinarily be considered totally unacceptable. But we are now nearing a point where we have to pick one.

It is central government’s clear wish that schools begin to reopen from June 1. We are told that government is acting on scientific advice and that the known benefits of a return to formal education outweigh the estimated risks of coronavirus infection and transmission. Now, I do understand the imperative, especially because of how important a proper education is to a child’s life chances. Nonetheless, councils like ours, schools, teaching unions, and parent groups across the UK are pressing government to publish that advice as it is local authorities which have a clear role in supporting and advising schools locally.

In the meantime, we have to work on the assumption that the situation is as government says, and as such we have asked our schools to begin making the necessary preparations for a June 1 reopening. However, I want to stress that, until government can provide greater assurance, although we have instructed our schools to make these preparations, we do not plan on forcing them to actually reopen. We will instead support them whether or not they choose to do so at this time. Teachers can also rely on our unconditional support whether or not they are yet ready to return to the classroom. Parents too will have our full support whether or not they feel it’s safe enough to send their children back to school.

In summary, we believe the responsible course of action to be preparing the ground for a return to school in the near future. But we are not yet certain that the many benefits of returning outweigh the risks of doing so. We will keep our position under daily review, are committed to consulting widely, and will make clear any changes as and when they are made.

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Cllr Ketan Sheth calls for councils to work closely with community on school re-openings

Cllr Ketan Sheth, the Chair of Brent's Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee, has become the first senior councillor to speak out on the wider re-opening of schools. LINK

Extract from the interview:

In Brent, according to the 2011 Census, the BAME population is as high as 63.73%, with 18.64% Indians and 34.06% Asians.

Cllr Ketan Sheth, Brent Council’s Chair of Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee highlighted that effective management mechanisms between national and local government are critical, “The role of education in daily life as well as society is very important and leaves a great impact on our progress as a community,” he said.

“Now, we have started discussions to ease our coronavirus lockdown, by re-opening schools in a bid to restart our economy. However concerns this might become a breeding ground for a second wave of Covid-19 cases may convince parents to keep their children at home.

“The role of local government is the key to unlocking, as it knows its people, communities and children. Daily local government delivers services to their local residents. Therefore, it only stands to reason that local government are a vital ingredient to a community solution.

“As Covid-19 shows, pandemics are complex social and behavioural challenges and not just technocratic issues. Parents, teachers, children are grappling with the threat of contracting the infection or dealing with personal loss. Effective management mechanisms between national and local government are critical.

“Anxiety will linger over infection rates, but if we work together, at a local level, in the communities where we live, we can be agile, and creative, in our services: together we can do it locally.”

Cllr Judith Blake, Chair of the Local Government Assoications s Children and Young People Board, told Asian Times:

 “We know parents are anxious about sending their children back to school or nursery.

“Plans to re-open schools and early years settings must focus on reassuring parents that it will be safe for children to return to school. Publication of the scientific advice is vital to help provide that reassurance.The safety of staff, parents and families is absolutely paramount.

“Councils need to be able to close provision where testing indicates clusters of new Covid-19 cases and it is vital that schools have the resources to provide staff with necessary protective equipment, as well as soap and hand sanitiser for cleaning.”

10 Brent councillors support professional associations over school re-opening

Ten Brent councillors have signed a letter support the call by  education professional associations calling for schools not to re-open for Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 pupils (they are open at present for vulnerable and key worker children) until it is safe to do so.

They also call for meal vouchers for children entield to free school meals over the summer and measures to protect children who may be affected by domestic violence.

The councillors are Cllrs Thakker, Georgiou, Hector,  Kennelly, Lloyd, Afzal, Chan, Ketan Sheth, Nerva and Tatler.

The full letter is below:

Unprecedented unity as education unions call on Government to step back fron June 1st starting date to enable talks on safe return

In a significant development over the conflict on whether schools should re-open at present the TUC issued the following statement this afternoon.  In Brent concerns were expressed at an on-line meeting of Chairs of Governors with Brent's Strategic Director for Children and Young People. yesterday afternoon.  Next week there will be a meeting between education unions the Chief Education Officer and the Director.

Education unions’ statement on the safe reopening of schools

Unions with members in the education sector are today (Wednesday) publishing a joint statement on the safe reopening of schools.

Today’s statement follows a longer statement to the Secretary of State on Friday (8 May), which set out in full detail the principles and tests necessary for the safe reopening of schools. It is signed by AEP, GMB, NAHT, NASUWT, NEU, NSEAD, Prospect, UNISON and Unite.

Full text of today’s statement:

“We all want schools to re-open, but that should only happen when it is safe to do so. The government is showing a lack of understanding about the dangers of the spread of coronavirus within schools, and outwards from schools to parents, sibling and relatives, and to the wider community.

“Uniquely, it appears, school staff will not be protected by social distancing rules. 15 children in a class, combined with their very young age, means that classrooms of 4 and 5-year olds could become sources of Covid-19 transmission and spread. While we know that children generally have mild symptoms, we do not know enough about whether they can transmit the disease to adults. We do not think that the government should be posing this level of risk to our society.

“We call on the government to step back from the 1st June and work with us to create the conditions for a safe return to schools based on the principles and tests we have set out.”

The principles and tests include :

· Safety and welfare of pupils and staff as the paramount principle

· No increase in pupil numbers until full rollout of a national test and trace scheme

· A national Covid-19 education taskforce with government, unions and education stakeholders to agree statutory guidance for safe reopening of schools

· Consideration of the specific needs of vulnerable students and families facing economic disadvantage

· Additional resources for enhanced school cleaning, PPE and risk assessments

· Local autonomy to close schools where testing indicates clusters of new covid-19 cases

Parents and teachers speak truth to power on premature school reopening

'Military Style' operation brings Personal Protection Equipment to Brent carers

From Brent Council

Brent Council’s critical carers will be hitting the front-line fully protected with personal protection equipment (PPE) to help stop the spread of Covid-19.

Around 1.6 million gloves and aprons were dropped off at the Council’s headquarters in what was a military-style operation over the weekend. A further two hundred and eighty thousand masks will be delivered this week.

This will help shield approximately 2,250 vulnerable over-70s across 180 nursing and residential homes, and those who receive care at home in Brent.

This critical supply will help ‘shield’ vulnerable residents for the next 3 to 6 months.

It will also protect around 23,000 care staff across the London Borough of Brent.

Note: I have asked Brent Press Office if this is also going to be distributed to agency carers and staff looking after the children of keyworkers (including NHS staff) and vulnerable children in schools and nurseries.

I have not had a response yet but Brent Council tweeted this last night:

Meanwhile the Council has posted this video from Brent's Director of Children's Services:

AT LAST! The government's key worker list for allocation of places in schools from next week

The government has made it extremely difficult for schools  to plan provision for the new era of 'in  school but not school' which begins on Monday. In Brent headteachers will be meeting early this morning with the Director of Child and Young People to plan provision in Brent which will probably be via clusters of schools.

This is the government guidelines for schools:

As a country, we all need to do what we can to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
That is why the government has given clear guidance on self-isolation, household isolation and social distancing.

And the most recent scientific advice on how to further limit the spread of COVID-19 is clear. If children can stay safely at home, they should, to limit the chance of the virus spreading.

That is why the government has asked parents to keep their children at home, wherever possible, and asked schools to remain open only for those children who absolutely need to attend.

It is important to underline that schools, colleges and other educational establishments remain safe places for children. But the fewer children making the journey to school, and the fewer children in educational settings, the lower the risk that the virus can spread and infect vulnerable individuals in wider society.

Schools are, therefore, being asked to continue to provide care for a limited number of children - children who are vulnerable and children whose parents are critical to the Covid-19 response and cannot be safely cared for at home.

Vulnerable children include children who are supported by social care, those with safeguarding and welfare needs, including child in need plans, on child protection plans, ‘looked after’ children, young carers, disabled children and those with education, health and care (EHC) plans.

We know that schools will also want to support other children facing social difficulties and we will support head teachers to do so.

Parents whose work is critical to the COVID-19 response include those who work in health and social care and in other key sectors outlined below. Many parents working in these sectors may be able to ensure their child is kept at home. And every child who can be safely cared for at home should be.

Please, therefore, follow these key principles:

1. If it is at all possible for children to be at home, then they should be.
2. If a child needs specialist support, is vulnerable or has a parent who is a critical worker, then educational provision will be available for them.
3. Parents should not rely for childcare upon those who are advised to be in the stringent social distancing category such as grandparents, friends, or family members with underlying conditions.
4. Parents should also do everything they can to ensure children are not mixing socially in a way which can continue to spread the virus. They should observe the same social distancing principles as adults.
5. Residential special schools, boarding schools and special settings continue to care for children wherever possible.

If your work is critical to the COVID-19 response, or you work in one of the critical sectors listed below, and you cannot keep your child safe at home then your children will be prioritised for education provision:

Health and social care

This includes but is not limited to doctors, nurses, midwives, paramedics, social workers, care workers, and other frontline health and social care staff including volunteers; the support and specialist staff required to maintain the UK’s health and social care sector; those working as part of the health and social care supply chain, including producers and distributers of medicines and medical and personal protective equipment.

Education and childcare

This includes nursery and teaching staff, social workers and those specialist education professionals who must remain active during the COVID-19 response to deliver this approach.

Key public services

This includes those essential to the running of the justice system, religious staff, charities and workers delivering key frontline services, those responsible for the management of the deceased, and journalists and broadcasters who are providing public service broadcasting.

Local and national government

This only includes those administrative occupations essential to the effective delivery of the COVID-19 response or delivering essential public services such as the payment of benefits, including in government agencies and arms length bodies.

Food and other necessary goods

This includes those involved in food production, processing, distribution, sale and delivery as well as those essential to the provision of other key goods (for example hygienic and veterinary medicines).

Public safety and national security

This includes police and support staff, Ministry of Defence civilians, contractor and armed forces personnel (those critical to the delivery of key defence and national security outputs and essential to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic), fire and rescue service employees (including support staff), National Crime Agency staff, those maintaining border security, prison and probation staff and other national security roles, including those overseas.

Transport

This includes those who will keep the air, water, road and rail passenger and freight transport modes operating during the COVID-19 response, including those working on transport systems through which supply chains pass.

Utilities, communication and financial services

This includes staff needed for essential financial services provision (including but not limited to workers in banks, building societies and financial market infrastructure), the oil, gas, electricity and water sectors (including sewerage), information technology and data infrastructure sector and primary industry supplies to continue during the COVID-19 response, as well as key staff working in the civil nuclear, chemicals, telecommunications (including but not limited to network operations, field engineering, call centre staff, IT and data infrastructure, 999 and 111 critical services), postal services and delivery, payments providers and waste disposal sectors.

If workers think they fall within the critical categories above they should confirm with their employer that, based on their business continuity arrangements, their specific role is necessary for the continuation of this essential public service.

If your school is closed then please contact your local authority, who will seek to redirect you to a local school in your area that your child, or children, can attend.

We are grateful for the work of teachers and workers in educational settings for continuing to provide for the children of the other critical workers of our country. It is an essential part of our national effort to combat this disease.

SHOCKING: Brent schools' share of £4.5bn budget cuts made since 2015

The School Cuts coalition analysis LINK  of the latest Government school funding figures shows a shortfall in funding £5.4 billion over the past 3 years with 91% number of schools in England affected.

This is the most comprehensive examination of school funding figures, bringing together:

·      Schools Block allocations (which for 2018/19 also includes the new Teacher Pay Grant)

·      the Pupil Premium

·      sixth form funding

See the table below to see how Brent schools are affected.

Lesley Gouldbourne, Brent NEU Secretary, said:

This is an intolerable situation. Children and young people are being short changed by a Government that believes their education can be run on a shoe string budget.

As a result of Governments absolute refusal to accept the fact that a school funding crisis exists school class sizes are increasing, teachers and support staff are being reduced, building repairs are being left undone, subjects are being dropped from the curriculum and teachers are having to pay out of their own pocket for items such as text books and glues sticks.

This situation cannot go on. There needs to be a reversal of cuts to school budgets since 2010, and for the funding of schools and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision to be of a level that ensures all children and young people get the education they deserve, regardless of where they live.

Click bottom right for full page. Editor's note: some schools will be carrying forward a surplus from the previous year but most, given the cuts, are likely to carry forward a deficit.

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Clean Air Day report calls for urgent action by Brent Council

From Clean Air for Brent (CAfB)

Clean Air for Brent (CAfB)’s aim is to see air quality significantly improved in the London borough of Brent. As a tool towards helping Brent Council and residents achieve this goal, CAfB ispleased to launch ‘A Study on Air Quality in Brent’ on 21 June 2018 – national Clean Air Day. Following a proposal from CAfB, Imperial College MSc Environmental Technology students carried out this study between January and March 2018.

Chamberlayne Road in Kensal Rise and Harlesden High Street were chosen as case studies to analyse Brent’s air pollution problem and establish causes. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in both areas critically exceed the legal limit deemed fit for humans. 

Children are one of the most vulnerable groups harmed by  air pollution – including asthma, lung stunting and cognitive impairment.  John Keble C of E Primary is next to Harlesden High Street and Ark Franklin Primary is on Chamberlayne Road. Both are among the 50 most polluted primary schools in the capital that were included in the Mayor of London’s recent Air Quality School Audit. 

This report, the first deep-dive air pollution study of its kind for the two areas, not only identifies the causes but also recommends sources of funding to tackle the issue.

Unsurprisingly, the primary cause of the air pollution problems in the two areas is road traffic.

·      Traffic surveys show that a large proportion of the vehicles travelling through the study areas are diesel powered - 63% in Chamberlayne and 42% in Harlesden High Street.

·      Interviews conducted with drivers also reveal the significant role of non-local journeys – through traffic making up 50-60% of rush hour vehicles. 

·      Both routes carry traffic volumes double the national average for the time of day in question.

At a Celebration of Clean Air event held jointly with Brent Council and Brent Friends of the Earth at Civic Centre on Thursday evening, Chair of CAfB Fiona Mulaisho commented:

Today we are all signing up to a Brent Clean Air Pledge, and in keeping with that CAfB hopes Brent Councillors and officers will draw and act on this report.   As well as working with the worst affected schools to limit their exposure to filthy air in the playground and the classroom, we urge them to use all their powers to tackle the root causes and clean up the air our children and we breathe.

The full report is available on CAfB’s website: cleanairforbrent.wordpress.com.

Cllr Duffy launches consultation on improving Brent Council's environmental services

Previously published on Wembley Matters 0 Springtime flytip Chalkhill

Cllr John Duffy (Labour, Kilburn) has returned to the fray over Brent Council's policy on the environment and particularly fly-tipping and littering enforcement.

He is starting a consultation with residents which he says will try and improve environmental services and hopefully stop or change the £35 bulky waste charge and start a schools initiative. All parties are welcome to comment.

He has publicised his initiative on his blog Kilburn Calling LINK and this is an edited version.

In an email to all Brent councillors he says:

Dear All,

I am asking for your input into improving the environmental services available in Brent. I wonder have you a moment  to comment on the issues below.

From my observations Brent Environmental services are often very good, but are very inconsistent and have lacked direction.

It is also clear that the Cabinet continues to waste precious resources and I believe they have no enforcement strategy or are aware of the tactics needed to ensure implementation of an enforcement strategy. The Brent cabinet believe it’s easier to pick the ratepayer’s pocket, than look for solutions. The cabinet have struggled to make environmental enforcement against fly-tipping a priority and relied on unnecessary price increases to cover -up their lack of direction. I find it astonishing that the cabinet continue to Laud over their Zero -tolerance(ZT) policy which waste £100k of precious resources boosting they have issued 6000 FPN ( 99% on fag butts). They do this while concealing  the fact  Fly -Tipping went up by a staggering 32% at the same time.

I am sure I can speak for many resident in Brent when saying if the local police started a ZT policy against burglaries in Brent and arrest 6000 burglars, and at the sometime burglaries when up by 32%. No one would think that was a success most people would call it a failure, however the Cabinet seem to think the opposite.

I believe we need to re-prioritise Brent’s enforcement policy from the sound bite Zero-Tolerance (ZT) into what used to be called Smart Enforcement  which means the policy will be judged by improvements in cleansing out comes (less fly-tipping) not by how many FPNs have been issue.

Enforcement needs co-ordinating of all resources available from the council, the contractor and residents. It is important we seek Value for money to protect and improve the Environment and the cabinet should not treat the residents as a Cash Cow.

The cabinet have continually raised environmental taxes, if you have a Green Bin you pay an extra £20 and an extra £35 for bulky waste collections (allowing for only one collection PA) is £55.That is the equivalent of a 4% rise in council tax this year alone. Some costs are reasonable but other are needless and wasted on paying private contractors to sit outside tube station fining people who drop dog -ends before they get on a train. Instead the cabinet should be investing in a intergrated Environmental Enforcement strategy.

One of the biggest mistake the cabinet made was having no consultation with residents or councillors

What I am suggesting is listed below.I am putting forward these suggestions for consultation with residents. Once  the consultation is complete I hope to gain enough support to call a special meeting of the council in November/December to discuss and implement some of the suggestion and hopefully reconsider the £35 cost for Bulky Waste collections.

ENFORCEMENT AND ANTI  FLY-TIPPING STRATEGY 

(1)      MAPPING    

Firstly we have to analyse the 17000 fly-tips we had last year and remove any duplication, we then have to map the hot spots in each ward (or Village) where the there is consistent fly-tipping dumping.

(2)      SIGNAGE / WARNING LETTERS / ENFORCEMENT NOTICES 

Our no Dumping Signs,Warning/Information letter and Enforcement Notices need overhauling and updated. All information needs to be A (Accurate) B (Brief) C (Clear) with a Direct Enforcement contact email and telephone number should be showing. All correspondence   should seek to be ABC.

(3)      ZONAL IMPROVEMENT PATROL (ZIP)

The government legislation allows us to keep all income we receive from fines, with that income we should fund at least two ZIP team this team will deal with consistent areas of dumping. These teams will be on top of existing officers  and should be self funding via the income from the FPNs. 

All zone one (High streets or roads with a transport hub) with a time -banding collections service should be visited at least twice a week  for inspection and where possible at least one of those should be the week-end where the foot-fall is higher 

(4)      OFFICERS TRAINING

All officers should be generically trained to deal with enforcement. The service over the last year has had the wrong priorities and has been side-tracked away from Fly-tipping have concentrated on Section 87/88 of the EPA (Littering FPN)

Officers should also be trained and use

Section 33 (Depositing waste)

Section 34 (Duty Of Care)

Section 59 (Private Land )

Section 46 (Domestic Bins)

Section 47 (Commercial Bins)

Section 90 (Litter Controls Areas)

or any legislation which has replaced them

This will give Officers the knowledge to deal with a wider range of problems of areas behind shops Neasden, Edgware Road, Hassop Rd and Waterloo passage as some examples.

(5)      Follow -up enforcement

Many of the problems are reoccurring problems. Brent’s officer’s do a good job on their initial visit and clear -up the fly-tips and many issue FPNs to perpetrators. However where they often fail is the follow-up monitoring, it is important we have re- inspections on persistent hot spots and they should be carried out once a week for the first 6 months and once a month for the following 6 months, before the job is signed off. Its is important we do not just temporarily remove the problem, its important we solve the problem.

(6)      Schools and Education 

One of the great failures of the Cabinet and the Labour group is the neglect of environmental education of our young people. Whether it be on issues from graffiti, litter, air - quality or recycling , they have been neglected . This is clearly a wasted opportunity. What I am proposing is a yearly environmental award. This award will paid for by a community chest of say approx £25k PA and will be funded by contractors who have environmental contracts with us. The Brent Environmental Award (BEA)  involve all schools all schools would be sent a Environmental bundle ( litter pickers, tabards, environmental books etc) the older students would become “Brent Environmental Champions” and offered (Environmental) work experience with our contractors or the council along with other rewards and opportunities .The Younger ones would become “Litter Detectives” and learn about their local environment  and how they can improve it. I attach  a poem that was sung by some London schools (including one from Brent) which I produced some time ago.

We need to work with our Head teachers to draw out how the (BEA) can be used in the classroom , schools are also major resource to spread information, to get out anti-littering and fly-tipping and general environmental information out to parents.

(7)      Bulky Waste 

The decision of the cabinet to introduce a cost for a bulky waste collection needs to be reviewed. I believe this decision is bad economics and bad for the environment. It would appear that the decision is purely to raise money and to cover up the inefficient service and the cabinet failure to monitor it. The fact is the residents had already paid for a free service in the street cleansing contract . At a time when fly-tipping is going up by 32% PA, residents need to understand the logic of how this policy will help control fly-tipping or increase income.

(8)      Recycling 

Again this is one of the areas the cabinet have neglected. It was once the holly grail of environment but has been ignored .The council moved from a once a fortnight collection to a once a week collection and the recycling tonnage has hardly increased and overall our tonnage is down. This again is about the cabinet making the environment a priority. Tonnage can be improved by a number of ways, but mostly i believe it by information and reward. We need to analyse the wards that are failing to recycled and target them.

(9)      Street Cleansing.

Street cleansing performance is in my opinion of a good standard, however we need to be more open and have independent surveys  carried out. At the moment we are self-monitoring. The council and the contractor carry out monitoring. Monitoring of our high streets is not done out of hours or at the weekend when the service often fails. I believe we need to employ an independent company like the Tidy Britain Group or another Council to monitor our services and provide us with independent surveys.

As I have said before many of Brent’s services are street cleansing are often good but can be improved. The issue above are some of the areas we can improve in. I would appreciate any input you can put into this If you can reply to CLLR.JOHN.DUFFY@BRENT.GOV.UK. and call the email IMPROVING SERVICES.