Cuts of £30m in Brent budget likely 2019-21

The Finance Report going before Cabinet this afternoon LINK looks towards the 2020 cliff edge when local government no longer gets a direct central government grant.

 The report looks at the cost pressures above and quotes the Audit Commission: 

“The current trajectory for local government is towards a narrow core offer increasingly centred on social care. This is the default outcome of sustained increases in demand for social care and of tightening resources”

The report notes that currently one third of the Council budget goes towards social care but that the government is publishing a green paper on social care funding and integration with the NHS in the autumn. The implications of this for the council budget are unclear and thus not included in the report.

Brent Council has made £164,000,000 'savings' since 2010 and the forecast is that another £30m will need to be cut from the budget between 2019-20 and 2020-21, £29m from general services and £1.3m from the Housing Revenue Account (HRA).

The report notes that because of uncertainties over government policy this figure only has +/-20% accuracy. More accurate figures will not be known for a year.

The officers' assume a council tax rise of 4% annually, 2% general cash funding and 2% for adult social care but note that last year a rise of 5% was allowed. CIPFA suggest that the 2018-19 council tax rise may be the biggest for 14 years.

In addition the council may also make further increases in the cost of non-statutory services provided to the public and continue to seek other  revenue raising opportunities such as selling advertising space on its buildings.

However the main source of funding in the future will be council tax and business rates.  Brent is estimated to receive £7m from the pilot 100% Business Rate Retention Pool in 2018-19 but the rate will be 75% through the Fair Funding Review and 25% in specific grants in 2020-21.

One option that Brent Council has been following is to seek to increase its council tax and business rate base - more people paying into the pot and this is particularly evident through the new housing approved in specific areas of the borough. If the new occupants are young and without children this results in increased income without much additional strain on services.

The council estimates the council tax base to increase by 2.5% a year which will be reviewed and refined as part of the financial planning process. They claim that it is harder to forecast the business rate base because of the impact of appeals (which can take a considerable time to be resolved by the VOA) and because it is more directly impacted by broader changes in the economy. They are currently working to a figure of 2% in 2019-20 but have not anything beyond that due to the forecasting difficulties.

In terms of the private student accommodation springing up around the borough, that yields little, because property is exempt if everyone living there fulls into one of several categories including full-time college or university students and 18 or 19 year-olds in full time education.

Social care in Kingsbury...200 years ago

As well as looking at how social care was provided to the poor of Kingsbury Parish in the early 19th century, using examples of real people from original hand-written records now held at Brent Archives, this illustrated talk may help listeners to consider how attitudes to the poor have (or have not) changed since then.

Greens call for 'emergency intervention' on NHS & Social Care ahead of budget

The Green Party is calling for ‘an emergency intervention’ to steer Britain away from the brink of the crisis in the NHS and social care, and to clampdown on air pollution which is estimate to end 40,000 lives prematurely every year.

The Greens are also calling for the Government to protect small firms from the business rate hike, raise tax for the richest, stop corporation tax cuts and reverse a planned tax hike on solar panels.

The five demands from the Green Party are:
1)      An emergency aid package to protect health and social care services
2)      Toughest ever action on air pollution
3)      Protection of small firms from Business Rate hikes
4)      Ensuring the richest people and biggest corporations pay more tax
5)      Reversing the solar tax hike

Jonathan Bartley said:

This budget must be an emergency intervention to steer Britain away from the brink of multiple crises.

After years of privatisation and underinvestment the future of the health service now hangs in the balance, and social care services are at risk of collapsing. If the Government is serious about working on behalf of the majority of people in this country then they will unveil an emergency aid package to protect health and social care services. We know that funding a world class healthcare service will cost more, which is why the Government should reverse their planned cuts to corporation tax and their tax giveaway to high earners. Failing to properly fund health and social care would be a dereliction of duty from this Government – and would leave any claim they had to be standing up for working people in tatters.

Caroline Lucas MP said:

There is an air pollution emergency happening in Britain – and the Government has to act now to tackle it. The Chancellor should immediately raise vehicle excise duty on new diesel cars, to send a signal to the market that this fuel must be phased out. The freeze on the fuel duty escalator should also end – thus freeing up billions of pounds which the Government should plough into public transport, walking and cycling. In recent years the cost of motoring has dropped considerably while the price of catching the bus or train has skyrocketed – if we’re serious about reducing the amount of toxic fumes in our air we’ve got to shift people out of cars and onto affordable public alternatives.

The Chancellor must also use this budget to get a proper grip on Britain’s climate policy. At a very bare minimum that must mean reversing the solar tax hike that’s set to hit community groups and schools – and it must mean more support for onshore wind too.

Brent Big Health Debate Meetings in October

From Brent NHS Clinical Commissioning Group

Local Commissioing Intentions Followup Meetings

As places are limited please can you contact Sandra Sam-Yorke at brentccg.engagement@nhs.net  8900 5376 to register as soon as possible. Also you can review and comment on our draft commissioning intentions using our online survey HERE

Topic	Locality	Date	Venue	Lead
Integration of health and social care	Wembley	16-Oct, 3-5pm	WCHC Boardroom,   116 Chaplin Road, Wembley, HA0 4UZ	Sean Girty
Community services	Willesden	22-Oct 2-4pm	Willesden Centre for Health & Care Robson Avenue, Willesden Green, NW10 3RY	Isha Coombes
Mental Health Community Action on Dementia	Kilburn	23 Oct, 12-5pm	Clayton Crown Hotel   142-152 Cricklewood Broadway, NW2 3ED	Brent Council & CCG
Planned care	Kilburn	23-Oct, 1-3pm	St Anne’s Church - 125 Salusbury Road, West Kilburn, NW6 6RG	Huw Wilson
Mental Health Post-traumatic stress disorder	Harness	27-Oct, 11:30-1pm	Brent Mind The Design Works Park Parade, Harlesden,NW10 4HT	Brent Mind
Mental Health Brent User Group	Wembley	29-Oct,  3-5.30pm or 5-7.30pm	Patidar Centre 22 London Rd, Wembley, Middlesex HA9 7EX	Brent User Group

Brent Fights Back Against the Cuts - Join us on Tuesday

Scott Bartle launches positive campaign to win Brent North for the Greens

Scott Bartle

Brent Green Party today announced that Scott Barttle has been selected to fight the Brent North seat for the Green Party in the 2015 General Election.
 

Scott holds registration as a positive behaviour psychologist and works within the NHS. He lives in Mapesbury Ward Brent, where he stood as Green candidate in the 2014 local elections and gained 8% - one of the highest results for an individual Green Party candidate in the constituency.

Explaining his decision to stand Scott said:

As a Cornishman raised in one of the most deprived areas of the UK and Europe I am acutely aware of the human impact that poverty can have as detailed in the ‘horror’ statistics. It was no surprise that the regional areas of Britain were increasingly turning away from the three main parties as they have experienced neglect since Thatcher, perpetuated by Blair, and continued by the coalition.

It was also no surprise that in Brent, one of the most deprived areas of London, we have people turning away from the UK government and mistakenly thinking that their values are represented by elements in Syria. When people are alienated from the society they live in, there is only so far that they can be pushed. It’s been said that the apocalypse won’t come like lightning, but gradually like a fog. Mostly, successive governments have managed to avoid the ire of the public in perpetuating the agenda of their corporate donors but the fog is starting to become visible around us.

Whilst this fog may be pollution, as our government is being taken to court by the EU for London’s  poor air quality - we know only the Greens will protect our environment.

When Labour started the erosion of civil liberties and now the Tories pledge to repeal Human Rights legislation – we need the Greens to lead the resistance. 

When Labour sought to channel public money out of the NHS through Private Finance Initiatives that we are still paying now – we need a Green to look at the long term.

As studies reveal 50% of people receiving social care in Brent feel unsafe, we need to stop allowing private equity companies to funnel profits off-shore when they’re failing in their primary duty – Greens care.

When our foreign policy, rendered inconsistent by our colonial past is still causing conflict across the world and giving cause to recruit people from our own communities – we need a Green to challenge that. 

When the economic policy of ‘austerity’ advocated by Conservatives and Lib-Dems is an irreconcilable failure and Labour pledge to continue it  - the fog envelopes us. 

Nobody actually wants all of this – it’s why it is vital we look for an alternative. 

As Parliamentary Candidate for Brent North I will seek to highlight that Greens can provide something for people to vote FOR, rather than against – a real choice.

Through saying YES to Human Rights, YES to a consistent foreign policy, YES to Economic Change, YES to Public Services, YES to Environmental Action, YES to Green Jobs we are saying YES to a sustainable future for people, nature and wildlife worldwide

The funding crisis facing Brent Council

The current round of Brent Connects forums (this week there is one for Wembley on Tuesday (see side bar for details) will hear a presentation about the Borough plan.  That plan will incorporate a worsening financial situation for the borough over the next 4 years which seems unlikely to be mitigated by any change of government.

This is the budget cycle for the 2015-16 budget:

The Council Tax Base shows a slight increase due to increased population and more properties being built in the borough. Additionally more people are paying Council Tax after the Council Tax Support changes. However Central Government funding of local authorities continues to reduce. New Social Care legislation which caps the amount people pay and a reduction in parking charges revenue also affect the picture.

The overall impact is a reduction in funding of £50 by 2018-19:

It is also likely that changes in education funding nationally will see a decrease in London, and of course Brent, after 2015 with some envisaging school budget cuts of 12%.

The report LINK going to the Cabinet tomorrow contains the usual structures on legality:

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A local authority must budget so as to give a reasonable degree of certainty as to the maintenance of its services. In particular, local authorities are required by the Local Government Finance Act 1992 to calculate as part of their overall budget what amounts are appropriate for contingencies and reserves. The Council must ensure sufficient flexibility to avoid going into deficit at any point during the financial year. The Chief Financial Officer is required to report on the robustness of the proposed financial reserves.

Under the Brent Member Code of Conduct members are required when reaching decisions to have regard to relevant advice from the Chief Finance Officer and the Monitoring Officer. If the Council should fail to set a budget at all or fail to set a lawful budget, contrary to the advice of these two officers there may be a breach of the Code by individual members if it can be demonstrated that they have not had proper regard to the advice given.

This is the source of the claim, likely to be heard at Brent Connects, that the Council has no alternative but to administer Coalition cuts.

Have your say on health provision in Brent on September 3rd

To book a place or ask a question email brentccg.engagement@nhs.net

Young people have been missing in many of the  recent consultations on health as have parents of young children. It is really important that you have your say.

Brent Clinical Commissioning Group sent this message with the poster:

We would be grateful if could please share this information with your family, friends and community associates as we would like as many of those Brent service users and local residents who have not yet attended one of our Health Partner Forums to come along and enjoy an evening of debate and discussion about health and social care in Brent.

You will be able to share your views on health and care services directly with the clinical, social care commissioners and service providers who attend the event.   There will also be opportunities to work with us on transforming healthcare across some of the priority areas for people in Brent for the forthcoming year.

We need to know numbers attending in order to confirm numbers with our caterer for the hot buffet supper.  Please therefore either call us on 020 8795 6107 or 6122 or send us an e-mail to either of the following:  

Brentccg.engagement@brent-harrowpcts.nhs.uk or brentccg.engagement@nhs.net   

Harmoni and the perils of out of hours services privatisation

Guest post by Patrick Vernon - first published on Cooperative Party website LINK


The Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt MP recently called on GPs to take on more responsibility for home visits and out of hours care. However, Clare Gerada, Chair of Royal College of General Practitioners, in response reminded the Minister of the current crisis in A&E services is linked deprivation of areas where primary care services are under invested and the recent NHS reforms. 

Dr Mark Reynolds, Chair of Urgent Health UK which represents 15 urgent care and out of hours co-operatives in the UK defended the important role of his members where they deal with over 90% of callers which are managed within the community than people going to hospitals. The debate on the future of Out of Hours (OOH) and it relationship with A&E services highlight some of the challenges facing the cooperative movement in running health services under the aegis of any qualified provider and the use of EU procurement rules.

Since the creation of the NHS in 1948 we have witnessed increased life expectancy especially over the last 30 years along with changing life styles and consumption. This has put extra pressure on the demand for healthcare and social services particularly in areas of long term conditions such Diabetes, Cancer, and Stroke. We also have an ageing population with increasing health issues around Dementia and Alzheimer.

These pressures along with lobbying by private providers and big national charities have seduced successive governments to remove the mantra of the NHS being a preferred to provider to the growing privatisation of health care. The best example of the marketisation has been in the whole area of Out of Hours services. Since 2004 with GPs opting out of this responsibility which was subsequently transferred PCTs and now CCGs. 

This has led to the stampede by range of private providers and the growing demise of GP co-operatives. 

This sector is often the Cinderella area of the NHS which has been historically under invested and not valued (the only exception was the creation of NHS Direct) with junior and inexperienced commissioners employed to deal with basically our 4th emergency service which deals with over 8 million calls a year. Yes, you can ask any parent when their baby has a high fever 3 am in the morning to see the importance of this service!

I  have witnessed this myself when I was a  lay committee member between 2007 to 2010 of Camidoc a GP led social enterprise meeting the needs of 1 million Londoners covering  City and Hackney, Camden, Islington and Haringey.  I lead on patient and community engagement and helped to organise listening events involving local MPs such as Jeremy Corbyn, Meg Hiller, Frank Dobson, and Lynne Featherstone along with patients groups and clinicians to make the case that a GP led social enterprise run by local doctors with local knowledge was better than a private provider with no roots in the community. Any profits made by Camidoc went either back in the local health economy or reinvested back in to services. However, Camidoc services were put out to tender in 2009 by a cluster of PCTs leading to a protracted period of procurement creating uncertainty to staff, GPs, patient groups and our cash flow.

However after about 14 months we won the contact but were forced by the North London PCTs for the contract to reprovided by the private health care provider Harmoni as we ran out of money and lost confidence with our commissioners despite the fact that four of us were appointed as non-clinicians to the committee with a range of skills and experiences around corporate governance, human resources, finance, working with local government and patient /public engagement

Although nearly all staff was TUPE over to Harmoni and within 12 months the majority were made redundant.  A number of local GPs stopping working for Harmoni due to their working practice and ethics. Sadly for patients this has resulted in unfilled shifts and Harmoni not keeping to their contractual obligations. The company also similar problems where it operated in Brent, Harrow and Ealing etc. of North West London

In December 2012 Harmoni was taken over by Care UK for £48m which makes them the largest private provider of out of hour’s services in the country covering a population of 15 million people

That is why my local CCG in Hackney are fighting and taking a stand against Harmoni in  running our local GP Out of Hours Services by getting local people to sign a petition to stop the imposition by NHS England.

The sad story of Camidoc is similar to other failed social enterprises over the last 10 years in the out of hours sector. The irony of this tale is that Harmoni first started off in the Brent and Harrow as a GP social enterprise and lost its way as a private provider.

I guess this is a warning for the potential future route of CCGs and NHS England (would a future Tory government make NHS England or CCGs become private commissioning entities  similar to the sell offs of our utility providers and railways?). Also, a number of Foundation Trusts have lost their original value base and at times pay lip service to the Board of Governors whilst becoming semi led private providers and competing aggressively with full support of commissioners to become market player/leaders in the UK or now in the Middle East. 

All the research evidence points out that competition prevent and inhibit full integration of health and social care services. Also information about NHS services now becomes market sensitive leading to a defensive approach around information sharing and complaints. The Francis Report identified this culture and its impact on how patient’s complaints are not being taken seriously by hospital trusts as they fight for Premier League status or avoid being relegated to the Vauxhall Conference League.

Although there has been a number of initiatives around training and soft loans that has been developed by the Department of Health over the last several years these have not looked at the structural issues on how cooperatives can be developed and survived in an evolving predatory NHS market system. 

I believe that we need to make the NHS the preferred provider in the first instance and then consider how to established clear principles and solutions as a Party to develop cooperative approach to improve health and social care and tackle health inequalities. Without any intervention in the market place the future will look bleak for the future of the Co-operative movement and social enterprise in health as as the private sector will undercut, drive down standards and working conditions for staff which will have an impact on patient care.

Krutika Pau to take early retirement following Brent Council's restructuring

Photo: The Globe

 Krutika Pau, Brent's Director Children and Families, has announced that she will be taking early retirement and will leave the Council at the end of this month.

This follows the restructuring of the Council's corporate management whcih will see a new post of Strategic Director (Education, Health and Social Care) who will manage education, adult and children's social care, and public health.

An interim Director of Children and Families will be appointed through an internal process to bridge the gap before the new structure comes into effect. Sara Williams is currently assistant director.

Under Krutika Pau's directorship standards of achievement in Brent schools have risen often to above the national average, but  almost all Brent's non-faith secondary schools have become academies and a crisis at Copland High School is currently hitting the headlines. Pau has faced criticism for not taking a stronger line on forced academies and being too accommodating on free schools.

Dr Pau's resignation also follows the change in councillor leadership leadership on Chiodlren and Families with Michael Pavey replacing Mary Arnold.

Some clues about Krutika's views can be found on this April 2013 post on The Globe LINK

Krutika Pau is the Director of Children and Families at Brent Council. She previously worked for the then Department for Education and Skills, where she led on the development of city academies across London. She was appointed director of children and families at the council in September 2010.

Q: What are your proudest achievements?
A: An outstanding education enables young people to follow their passions and can be an exit strategy out of poverty.  There is an overall trajectory of improving educational standards in Brent and our young people are more likely to continue into higher education and are succeeding in securing places at the very best universities. However, we cannot afford to be complacent and need to ensure that all children in Brent are receiving a top quality education of which we can be proud.
Q: Please tell us about your current position?
A: I am the statutory director of children’s services in the London Borough of Brent.  There are over 70,000 children in Brent and currently the Council is the corporate parent for 344 children.  My department works directly with children, parents and carers, schools and a wide range of partners, including health, police and the voluntary sector. I work closely with elected councillors to ensure we continue to improve outcomes for all our children and families, particularly the
most vulnerable.
Q: What has been the biggest obstacle in your career?
A: Of course you get some lucky breaks, but I have always tried to take responsibility for developing my own career. You need to be self aware and continue to cultivate your strengths whilst working on those skills which require further improvement. You have to be courageous and seek opportunities to step out of your comfort zone.
Q: Who has been the biggest influence on your career to date?
A: I have been very fortunate to have had a handful of key people who have actively supported me along my journey.  However, the strong public service ethos demonstrated by my father throughout my childhood, has been like a golden thread running through my career. This provided me with a firm value base including the key characteristics of perseverance, resilience and reflection which act as a moral compass in turbulent times.
Q: What is the best thing about your current role?
A: The ability to lead across a whole system to build alliances and translate strategic vision into local improvement plans.  My role gives me a vantage point – a helicopter view of needs, resources, solutions and connections.  This is essential in order to navigate through a complex set of challenges as we move forward with an ambitious agenda to deliver sustained improvements for Brent residents.
Q: And the worst?
A: Seeing the impact of neglect and abuse on children by adults who should be keeping them safe and supporting them to grow into happy and confident young people. We need more people to come forward as potential foster carers and adopters – ordinary people have the ability to make an extraordinary difference in the lives of our most vulnerable children.
Q: What are your long term goals?
A: I am passionate about improving the life chances and choices of all children and young people and I want for them, what I want for my own children….the very best opportunities so they can fulfil their potential in life. Sadly many children have the odds stacked against them at a very early stage and some never recover from this poor start. I will continue to improve the system which supports the most vulnerable children and families, wherever they are, to overcome the barriers which prevent them from leading fulfilling lives.
Q: If you were marooned on a desert island, which historical figure would you like to spend your time with and why?
A:Not quite a historical figure, but I think it would be interesting to spend some time with Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese opposition leader.  She comes across as a woman of great conviction, dignity and inner strength.

Brent restructuring steams ahead but will have to be done again in 2-3 years

The proposed structure

I went to yesterday's Brent General Purposes Committee on a high - not in anticipation of an exciting meeting but because I was buzzing with optimism from an event I had just attended at Chalkhill Primary School. The Sports Hall had been full of families, not just parents but grandparents, aunts and uncles and children ranging from babes in arms to secondary school students.  The occasion was the graduation ceremony for the 8 week FAST (Families and Schools Together) course that had taken place at the school. Among those working with families alongside school staff was the chair of the Chalkhill  Residents Association. A real community effort. The hall was buzzing with chatter and lively with children dressed up for the occasion playing amongst the tables or tucking into food and drink while some adults were in dazzling national costume.. Real pride was on display when each family went up on the stage to get their certificate to cheers from the audience.

FAST aims to provide a fun and relaxed space for families to experience a mixture of play and learning activities, hands on coaching and support for parents and carers. Each week families can win a resource hamper to help support children's learning in the home. The programme has high success rates in improving family relationships and links between home, school and the local community. The project is run by Save the Children and funded by Morrison's.

So it was with renewed faith in our local authority community schools that I went to speak to the General Purposes Committee about the restructuring of the senior management at the council and the children and families department.

I had three main concerns. The first was by combining adults' and children's social care with education and public health that the Council was creating a 'high risk' department. One risk was that these were areas where things could go badly wrong as we know from previous child protection cases as well as concerns over the treatment of vulnerable adults. The second risk was that these are areas under huge budgetary pressures and the eventual cost of public health is not yet known.

The second concern was that that education and children's social care were being separated. They had not worked well together when they had been separate departments and as a headteacher I had seen improvements in processes when they came under one director. I said it was essential that there were clear lines of responsibility in terms of child protection and safeguarding. The operational director would be dealing with complex cases on the ground but the strategic director would have overall responsibility.

The third concern was much broader and about the current fragmentation of the local school system with academisation and free schools. I said that Gladstone Park Primary's experience had given other heads the jitters and it was essential that there was strong leadership in education that championed the role of the local authority and demonstrated that the LA had the capacity to help schools improve. In that regard the reduction in the role of the School Improvement Service and the creation of the Brent Schools' Partnership introduced a note of uncertainty underlining the need for strong leadership.

I noted that when the post of Director of Children and Families last became vacant that it was ring-fenced to existing council staff. At the time this was criticised  LINK on the grounds that schools by statute have to advertise vacant head and deputy head posts nationally so as to have the widest possible field to select the best quality candidate. I argued, recognising that there might be HR issues involved, that this should also apply to these vital posts - Brent children and adults deserve the best.

Christine Gilbert, responded to some of these points in her presentation. She recognised that this would be a 'high risk' department but said that the safeguarding aspects should carry on much as they are now. She said that the strategic directors would have to have a good grasp of the operational issues. Gilbert told councillors that there would need to be another restructuring in two or three years as further cuts were made in funding. Muhammed Butt, chairing the meeting, said that the only constant was change.

Cllr Mary Arnold challenged my suggestion that there was a risk in the Brent Schools Partnership lacking an independent critical voice and said that the partnership was with the local authority which would retain core services and offer services that schools could buy into: it was a schools partnership with the local authority.

Cllr Jim Moher expressed support for my call for strong leader for education in the face of fragmentation. Cllr Pavey spoke enthusiastically about the excitement he felt about the opportunities offered by restructuring. It's probably fair to say that his enthusiasm didn't set the rest of the room on fire.

Paul Lorber for the Lib Dems wanted more information about the role of the Assistant Chief Executive and suggested that perhaps it would be better to employ a director for one of the other service units instead. He was told that the delayed appointment of the permanent Chief Executive would go ahead in May and that the new structure, after consultation, would  help the appointment. Lorber also asked if the new structure at office level with fewer departments would mean a reduction in the size of the Executive with their parallel responsibilities. That has happened in Hounslow but not elsewhere.

Christine Gilbert asked for suggestions on alternative names for the new departments which would sum up their functions concisely.  Mary Arnold suggested that Economic Growth and Employment might better reflect the developing role of Regeneration and Major Projects.

The recommendations in Christine Gilbert's report were accepted subject to consultation on some aspects.