Schools present Polling Station headache

Time was when voters took for granted that their polling station would be the local school or church hall. A report going to the General Purposes Committee shows that things are no longer as straightforward. The North West London Jewish School had declined its use as a polling station last year citing security concerns. Report to General Purposes Commitee LINK

Now the  Lycee Winston Churchill at the former Brent Town Hall has set unacceptabel conditions and the Ark Franklyn Primary School has declined. I wonder if in the latter case it could be argued that the school is thereby not support 'British Values' regarding democracy?

.        Barnhill Ward: Polling district NBA4 - Huts near the former Town Hall site 
The former Brent Town Hall was long used as a polling place for electors in polling district NBA4 in Barnhill ward. During construction of the Winston Churchill Lycée on the site, the polling place has been two portacabins situated on Greenhill Way. Officers have held discussions on site with staff at the Lycée who are willing for us to use part of the site as a polling place. However they are unwilling for people to gain access to the site without first being checked in by a member of their security staff. 
There is potential for objections to be raised by voters and for queues to build up, particularly in the early evening when the majority of voters turn up to vote. 
    

.        Queen’s Park Ward: Polling Districts HQP3 and HQP5 - Ark Franklyn School (formerly Kensal Rise Primary) 
The Head Teacher has stated that she does not wish the school to be used as a polling station on the grounds of inconvenience for the running of the school. 
While the Returning Officer has the power to use any buildings maintained at public expense, including academy schools, consideration has been given to alternative venues. The loss of the school will however be significant in that, since Moberly Sports and Education Centre in Kilburn Lane became unavailable, the Ark Franklyn school serves 2 polling districts.

.      Kensal Rise Methodist Church on Chamberlayne Road. This venue is situated in an adjacent district (HQP1) and will confuse HQP1 voters many of whom will have to walk past it to their station at Manor School. 


·      There is a similar objection to the hall at the Church of the Transfiguration at the corner of Chamberlayne Road and Wrentham Avenue 


·      Co-use of Manor School with HQP1. However this will mean that there will be five polling stations in the school serving three polling districts. 
In the circumstances, Ark Franklyn school is the only really suitable venue for electors in this area that has been identified. Further discussion will be held with the Head Teacher and the outcome reported to the meeting. 


Bullying at Brent Council - FoI response

The following response to a Freedom of Information request was released earlier this month. It is of interest in the light of the Cara Davani controversy LINK

FOI Request – 4686497

1)    How many employees of your authority  [Brent Council] have made an official complaint of harassment and bullying at work since the 1st April 2009?

15

2)    How many of these complaints were upheld in favour of the complainant?

2

3)    How many of those which were not upheld in favour of the complainant went on to Appeal?

3

4)    How many of those that went to Appeal were found to favour the complainant?

0

5)    How many complaints went on to an Employment Tribunal?

0

6)    How many of these were found to uphold the complaint?

N/A

7)    Out of how many of those allegations (the number given to question 1) did the complainant of bullying claim that the bullies were telling lies?

0

8)    How many staff does your authority have and what is the current population within your authority's area?

There are 2,109 employees as at 31/12/2015

The population of Brent, taken from the GLA short-term population projections for 2015, is an estimated 325,300.

Tell ASDA to look after their staff

The GMB union is fighting proposals by Asda to cut staff free hot drinks and remove vending machines.  Asda are said to have seen falling turnover in the face of competition from Lidl andAldi.

The GMB is the only union to have successfully gained recognition in the Walmart international  empire.   They have launched a petition against the changes. This is their statement:

On 13th January 2016 ASDA informed GMB of their proposal to change the canteen offer within stores. This could result in the closure of the breakfast offer, removal of chilled vending machines and removal of free tea, coffee and toast which is available within its smaller stores.

GMB are aware from speaking to members and colleagues that this is an emotive subject and understand how valuable these facilities are to you as hard working, dedicated colleagues within ASDA. 

We are therefore requesting that you sign the petition so that this can be presented both through the consultation process and Andy Clarke CEO to ensure ‘Your Voice’ is heard on this matter.

Please use the social media buttons to share this petition.

If you are not currently a member and wish to be protected join online at www.gmb.org.uk/join

The petition can be found HERE

These are two views that can be found on the GMB petition website:

Over the 9 years I have worked for Asda I have seen a decline in the company looking after the colleagues I agree times change and cost go up but you need to keep your workforce happy to keep your customers happy and removing colleague canteens is the wrong way to go this is an engine room for colleagues to reboot themselves and chat and get rid of stress eat and drink breakfast is the start of the day our store has a cafe downstairs bacon butties and more are a £1 that's great but can you imagine ten to twenty colleagues queuing up for their breakfast and wasting their break time of 15-20 mins so then making them late going back onto the shop floor and such could also lead to disciplinaries come on there must be costs you can cut elsewhere keep the troops happy mr Clark

I do not work for Asda, but do shop there but may have to start shopping elsewhere if this is the sort of company my shopping spends supports. This is so wrong on so many levels. A good company would look after their workforce and make sure they have hot drinks and food available. Its the staff that makes the company, So come on Asda treat your wonderful staff better.

It is advisable not to engage Asda staff in conversation about the issue as this could result in disciplinary action against them but if you sign the petition they will know they have public support. 

Brent Council abolishes fly-tipping

Mattresses on the corner of Chapter Road and Deacon Road earlier this week

The Brent Council Cabinet last night agreed to change the term 'fly-tipping' to 'illegal rubbish dumping' . Arguing for the change Cllr Sam Stopp, who chaired the Scrutiny Committeee Task Group on fly-tipping, said that many people did not understand the term 'fly-tipping' and in a borough with many people who were not fluent in English it was important that the terminology should be understand - he was not expecting other London boroughs to adopt the usage.

The emphasis on 'illegal' was welcomed by other Cabinet members. Other recommendations adopted included appointing 'Community Guardians' who would tackle illegal dumping in their areas and have a profile on the Council's web page, a Brent Against Rubbish Dumping Charter which businesses, landlords, estate and letting agents and schools would be encouraged to sign up to and display publicly, and the soft relaunch of the Cleaner Brent App (see side panel).

There was a particular emphasis on co-operation from landlords and Cllr Margaret McLennan said she would like to see the Landlord Licensing Scheme, presently operating in three wards, extended to the whole of Brent.

Cllr Stopp said 80% of his case work was illegal rubbish dumping but he also claimed that Brent wasn't the worse borough in London as sometimes portrayed as it came about half-way in the London Boroughs league table.

Derivation of the term fly-tipping

On the fly meant to move or do something in a hurry. so tipping on the fly, so you don't get caught.

Green MEP to join Shadow Chancellor addressing ‘alternatives to austerity’ conference

Molly Scott Cato MEP will join Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell at a conference in Manchester tomorrow exploring how to build an economy to serve people not profit. Molly and John McDonnell will be two of the keynote speakers and will be joined by Matt Wrack, General Secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, and writer Frances Coppola.

Molly, who is a member of the European Parliament’s Economics Committee and Green Party speaker on finance, said:

Greens have always advocated co-operative alternatives to austerity and rampant free market capitalism. I’m delighted that Labour now seem genuinely to be engaged in a debate on how we can build an economy that will be more jointly and justly owned. We need to see all progressives unite behind policies such as fair taxation, regulation of banking and Green Quantitative Easing.

We must also ensure that this new economy operates within environmental limits. This means phasing out fossil fuels, opposing expensive and dangerous nuclear and actively supporting the rise of community owned renewables.

Wembley French School leaves the workers out in the cold

I have been getting comments from locals, who like me live close to the French School now housed in the old Brent Town Hall.

They have seen the security guards standing at the gates in freezing temperatures with no shelter.

One man said to me this morning, 'It is disgraceful. It is a private school with big fees. Can't they provide them with a little cabin or something. It is because they know people need work so they walk over the working man.'

That's not very good public relations Lycee International de Londres Winston Churchill. Especially when you are named after the man who advocated machine gunning the miners during the 1926 General Strike.

Brent academies propose new free school and special schools a new free special school

With the present government snot allowing local authorities to build new schools to meet growing demand for school places, Brent Council has said it will pursue options with academy and free school providers.

As all local secondary schools are academies it is unable to force them to expand on existing sites. Now local academies that are not part of a chain have claimed they have been backed by Brent Council in proposing a new secondary free school in the north of Brent.

Separately a consortium of special schools have forward a bid for a new special school to meet growing demand. This also claims to be backed by the Council.

In both cases a headteacher will be appointed from an existing school and will head up the new school in addition to their present post.

Both bids will have to be approved by the DfE.

The secondary proposal is for Brent North School in the north of Brent/Wembley area and is backed by Terry Molloy, headteacher of Claremont High School; Mike Hulme headteacher of Queens Park Community School and Gil Bal, Executive headteacher of Wembley High Technology College. Gil Bal would me headteacher of the new school in addition to her role at Wembley High.

The proposers have no site in mind at the moment and readers will know the difficulties various free schools have had in finding a site in Brent. A site in the north of Brent will add to the imbalance of schools between the north and the south of the borough.

Wembley already has Ark Elvin (previously Copland), Ark Academy, Michaela Free School,  Preston Manor and Wembley High with the new 1,000 plus private French School also in the area. Elsewhere in the north of the borough there is Claremont, Kingsbury High and St Gregory's RC - the only non-academy. The Jewish Free School, situated in Kingsbury, takes few pupils from Brent.

Despite not having a site the school intends to open in September 2018 with 180 places for Year 7 pupils. It promises to admit children of 'all faiths and none, giving priority to siblings and children at local primary schools'.

The proposers  justify the need for a new school on the basis that Claremont, Queens Park and Wembley High collectively received over 3000 applications for Year 7 in 2016, including almost 1,000 first preferences for the 670 available places.

This is their brochure:


The second proposal is for a new special school and is led by Woodfield Special School Academy, Manor School and the Village School. This may prove to be controversial as there are many who want to see special needs pupils integrated into mainstream schools rather than segregated into special provision. This is dependent on resourcing that ensure high quality provision.

The school would be sited at the junction of Christchurch Avenue and Brondesbury Park NW6 which is possibly the same site that Marylebone Boys Free School had their eye on. LINK

It would provide 100 places for children aged between 4 and 18 with complex needs including ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder). The proposers say that the school is needed because the existing special schools are full.

Ms Jardine, Head of Manor School, would be headteacher of the new school in addition to her existing post.

This is their brochure:

Good News and Bad News on Under 5s Public Health in Brent

Tomorrow's Cabinet meeting will be discussing the 2015 Public Health Report on Under 5s and their mothers. Brent has been responsible for the public health of under 5s since October 2015 and the report gives a mixed picture.  Tooth decay and obesity are high but fewer mothers smoke in pregnancy.  The number of Unders 5s in the borough that has been rising in recent years and produced a crisis in school places, is flattening out and perhaps declining.

However the general fertility rate remains higher than the Inner London, Outer London and England average. In ethnic terms the number of white births is the highest but it is not broken down into different groups as other births are. Teenage conceptions are lower than the London and England rates and in long-term decline. Worryingly, Brent infant mortality is on the increase against the London and England trend.

Obesity rates in Reception classes are rising and well above the England rate. Tooth decay in under 5s is the second highest in London and the most common reason for non-emergency hospital admission for 5-9 year olds.

A note of caution, although the charts give a summary it is also important to read the commentary. The full report is HERE.

Pertussis better known as Whooping Cough

A further item on the Cabinet agenda is the commissioning of Health Visitor and Family Nurse Partnership and a promise to review current arrangemtns and consider future models. Clearly the School Nurse service should also be included in any review.

Cllr Moher at a loss over Oakington Manor/Furness academisation

At last night's Council Meeting Cllr Kelcher,  speaking on behalf of  Furness Primary School parents, asked Cllr Moher, Lead Member for Children and Families, what the Council had offered parents as they battled the headteacher's plans to turn Furness into an academy. Furness is in a federation with Oakington Manor Primary School with one headteacher and one governing body.

Kelcher said he had been approached by Furness parents  who could see no compelling reason for it to become an academy and could not see why the great progress the school has made should be put at risk.

They wanted to know if the Council would stand by them in their fight.

Ruth Moher said that it was difficult to know what the Council could do other than what they had done already. They had indicated to the governors that they would prefer the schools to remain community schools within the family of Brent schools.

Moher said she was happy to talk to parents to give them information about what was happening and how it had come about. However, the difficulty was that there had been consultation meetings which had not been particularly well attended and no alternative views were given.

Cllr Moher said that she understood the academy application from the governors had gone to the  government. Once that was done the school would become an academy unless the governors could be persuaded to withdraw the application.

She finished:

I don't actually know if there is anything that could be done unless there is a real groundswell of opinion from parents to make the governors think and change their mind but I've had no sense of that happening.

She offered to talk to Cllr Kelcher about the issue.

I would suggest that if the consultation meetings were small and alternative views were not given that the ward councillors, or the Council itself,  should hold a well publicised community meeting for parents and prospective parents to give information and debate the case for and against academisation. This would be followed by an independently administered ballot of parents.

Scrutiny Chair objected to fly-tipping edit in strongest terms

Cllr Matt Kelcher in his first report a Chair of Brent Scrutiny Committee at Full Council tonight  referred to the editing of the fly-tipping report LINK which had been raised in the blogosphere and subsequently mentioned to him by colleagues.

He said that he had objected in the strongest terms to the editing of the report in the CEO's paper for Cabinet, whilst also recognising that the full version of the report was also on the agenda.

He said that he hoped such a thing would not happen again without consultation.

The editing of the report had removed a statement critical of the previous Labour administration, a fact that did not escape Cllr John Warren's notice.  He launched a barbed side-swipe about 2013 at Cllr Muhammed Butt later in the meeting.

The webcast of the meeting is HERE

Marylebone Boys' Free School to continue wandering around North West London

The itinerant Marylebone Boys' Free School is moving again and further away from Marylebone. It is currently sharing a site in the former College of North West London building in Kilburn with Kilburn Grange Primary Free School and will now move to a second site in Brondesbury Park. It will eventually (possibly?) go on to its final site in 2018. Not that the planning application has been submitted and has not yet been approved.

We are delighted to announce that a planning application has been submitted for our second site which will be a brand new, purpose-built modular school building in Brondesbury Park. It’s on the site of the former Swiss Cottage Special School located on Brondesbury Park between The Avenue and Christchurch Avenue.



Although the location is not as close to our final site as we might have wished, we are delighted that it is on a plot which allows for modular construction (which is quick) and that there is good outside space on site and nearby.



There are good transport links via buses 98 (bus stop Christchurch) and 206 (bus stops N and S, Brondesbury Park/The Avenue), Queens Park station on the Bakerloo Line, and Brondesbury Park station on the London Overground.



This site has been planned so that if there are delays to our permanent site – which now looks certain not to be ready in time for September 2017 but will be completed during the school year 2017-18 – four year groups can be accommodated at Brondesbury Park.

Good turnout for show of solidarity with Heathrow 13 in Willesden today

There was a great spirit of comradeship, vitality and determination at the Plane Stupid solidarity demonstration this morning at Willesden Magistrates Court where the Heathrow 13 are currently appearing.

Independent local environmental campaigners

Green Party leader Natalie Bennett, deputy leader Shahrar Ali and other Green Party activists

After Paris Climate Rising meets to discuss individual, community and workplace action on Climate Change

From Friends of the Earth, PCS and This Changes Everything UK
 

Please join us on  January  30^th at Friends House, London for Climate Rising,  a day of workshops, inspirational speakers and updates from the Paris talks.

Find out how to take action individually, together in our communities and workplaces; and link up with others across the globe who are on the frontline facing the threat of climate change.

In the morning we’ll hear stories from the Paris talks, including insights from:

Jagoda Munic, Chairperson, Friends of the Earth International 

Daniel Macmillen Voskoboynik, Coordinator, This Changes Everything UK 

Shehroze Khan, Campaigns Manager, MADE

Chris Baugh, Assistant General Secretary, PCS 

Sheila Menon, Activist, Reclaim the Power

Caroline Lucas MP will then chair a panel discussion on the next steps for the climate movement. She’ll be joined by the likes of:

Alice Bows-Larkin, Professor of Climate Science & Energy Policy, Tyndall Centre 

Mark Serwotka, General Secretary, PCS 

Yeb Sano, Climate Change Activist

With more speakers to be announced.

Naomi Klein, renowned journalist and author of This Changes Everything, will join us by video link from Canada in the afternoon.

And a host of exciting worshops including:

Deregulating the planet: trade, big business and the climate

Art, Fossil Fuels & Colonialism

Working for a low carbon economy: One million climate jobs S

topping fracking – frontline battles

Climate, migration and refugees

And many many more...

Rounding off the day we will hear from:

Alana Dave, Education Officer, International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) 

Asad Rehman, International Climate Coordinator,

Friends of the Earth  Francesca Martinez, Activist and Comedian

Everyone is welcome. Whether you’re new to the climate movement or a seasoned campaigner you’ll leave feeling inspired, motivated and connected with the climate community.

Timings:

Registration: 09:15 - 10:00 Ends 18.00

Friends House - 173-177 Euston Road London NW1 2AX GB - View Map

Tickets on Eventbrite £7.27 and £4.13 (concessions) LINK

Powney is not alone as questions raised over Flytipping Report

'Am I alone in finding this change of wording interesting?' asks James Powney LINK , drawing attention to a discrepancy between a report  on the Scrutiny Task group on Flytipping from the Chief Executive going to Brent Cabinet on January 20th and the actual body of the Task Group's Report (which is also included in the Cabinet papers).

Spot the difference:

Chief Executive's Report LINK

The Task Group Report LINK

So 'Why the mysterious change in Scrutiny wording?' as James Powney asks. Could it be that someone (who?) has decided the critical second sentence in 22 should be deleted? Why and on what authority?

I quoted the whole section so that readers could see that the other points are identical so this is no simple editing of the entire report.

It could be argued that it makes no difference because the original report is also included in the Agenda but then the Cabinet is actually voting on, and adopting, the version in the Chief Executive's Report.

James Powney was  Lead Member for the Environment at the beginning of 2013 and was succeeded by Cllr Roxanne Mashari at the AGM. In 2014 Cllr Keith Perrin was elected to the position but resigned in September 2014. Cllr George Crane was appointed in his place after an interval in which there was no one in the post.  LINK  Cllr Eleanor Southwood is the current Lead Member.

It is not quite Stalin removing Trotsky from the photographic record but intriguing all the same. Is there someone at Brent Council who cannot tolerate criticism or is it just a harmless tidying up exercise?

Will Brent Labour Group bite back over last year's Council Tax decision?

I confess I am guilty of neglecting fellow blogger and ex-councillor James Powney's writings and I missed a posting last week  LINK on the likely Council Tax rise.

In his piece James Powney draws attention to the situation last year when the Executive over-ruled the vote of the Labour Group for an increase just below the referendum trigger.  He hints that this may affect Cllr Butt's leadership position at the AGM in May :

I hear that Brent Council is likely to go for a Council Tax rise this year.  This has seemed to me to be the only sensible course for some time.  The rise will still only make a modest contribution to protecting Council services but it is better than nothing.

It also helps to protect the longer term finances of the Council.  Each year the Council Tax has been frozen, the base revenue of the Council has been reduced not just in this year but for future years.  With the government talking about abolishing central government grant altogether, a continued freeze would simply run the Council into the ground.

One might ask why Cllr Butt has been so bitterly opposed to a rise for so long.  Even to the extent of ignoring the vote of the Labour Group altogether, which was such an undemocratic measure that I am sure no previous Labour Group would have stood it.  I wonder whether it will come back to bite him in May.

Certainly, his reasons can not have been to protect vulnerable residents, since he was fully behind the Council Tax Support Scheme which inevitably hits those least able to pay.  Indeed the rise for those residents in the first year was so large it would have been impossible to raise the Council Tax by that much across the tax base as a whole. 

See the powerful 'India's Daughter' at Preston Library on Sunday and discuss it with producer

India's Daughter from Leslee Udwin on Vimeo.

India's daughter will be shown at the Preston Community Hub (the old Preston Library) on Sunday evening. Doors open 7pm and the film starts at 7.30pm. Riddhi Jha associate producer  of this powerful and influential film will be present to talk about the film and answer questions.

INDIA’s DAUGHTER is the story of the short life, brutal gang rape and murder in Delhi in December 2012 of an exceptional and inspiring young woman. The rape of the 23 year old medical student by 6 men on a moving bus, and her death, sparked unprecedented protests and riot throughout India and led to the first glimmers of a change of mindset.

Interwoven into the story line are the lives, values and mindsets of the rapists whom the film makers have had exclusive and unprecedented access to interview before they hang. 

The film examines the culture of rape and violence against women that exists in India and throughout the world and makes an optimistic and impassioned plea for change.

Public support for Junior Doctors outside Northwick Park Hospital

Junior doctors strike in the UK from Husain Akhtar on Vimeo.

Quintain gobbles up another chunk of Wembley as Fountain Studios sold off

Fountain Studios, Wembley Park Road

Local landmark Fountain Studios has been sold to Quintain for £16m. The studios have been used for Britain's Got Talent and the X Factor and excited queues of fans, some on step ladders to see over the fence, are a familiar sight in Wembley.

In the year to the end of September,  Fountain made a loss of £300k on sales of £5.3m, around 4% of the parent company, Avesco's, turnover.

It is likely that the Studios will eventually close with the loss of local jobs, although it is reported that a leaseback agreement has been agreed for a unspecified period. Presumably that will enable the Studios to fulfill any contracts already signed.  Local businesses, including restaurants and pubs, will also lose out with the loss of custom from the production audiences.

Quintain is likely to build housing on the site with some retail on the lines of the ALTO development further down the road.  Given the location and Quintain's aims to maximise profits these are highly unlkely to be social housing.

Quintain itself was taken over the Texan Lone Star Real Estate last year for £745m.

The Green Party will support Plane Stupid activists at Willesden Magistrates' Court on Monday

 Image from Zed Books LINK

The 13 members of activist group Plane Stupid accused of "aggravated trespass" during a protest at Heathrow Airport in July last year have the full support of the Green Party of England and Wales.

The trial of the activists, who occupied the northern runway of Heathrow, begins at Willesden Magistrates’ Court on Monday January 18th. Natalie Bennett, Leader of the Green Party, Dr Shahrar Ali, Deputy Leader of the Green Party, and Sian Berry, Green Party candidate for Mayor of London, will all attend a demonstration outside the court to underline the Party’s solidarity with the non-violent climate activists.

Speaking ahead of the trial, Natalie Bennett said:

Our party applauds the determination of the Heathrow 13. We stand up for the activists just as they are standing up for our planet.

Bigger airports make no climate sense. The UK cannot make its contribution to cutting carbon emissions whilst expanding its airports and increasing emissions from aviation.

If this government is in any way serious about delivering climate-sensitive policies then airport expansion plans must be immediately shelved and other measures - including encouraging short-haul flight passengers on to existing rail services and introducing a frequent flyer tax - must be explored.

Shahrar Ali, a long-time supporter of the activists and a Green Party candidiate on the GLA List said:

We stand in solidarity with the activists who, like the Green Party, recognise that urgent action is needed to protect us all from the threat of climate change. Endless growth of our aviation capacity is incompatible with the UK meeting its climate change commitments. 

If airport expansion gets the go-ahead at Heathrow, local residents will suffer enormously from increasing noise and air pollution, the ‘silent killer’ of thousands of Londoners each year.”
London has already breached annual pollution limits for 2016 LINK. A report commissioned by Mayor Boris Johnson last year found that nearly 9,500 people die prematurely each year because of the capital’s dirty air LINK.


The demonstration starts at 9am.

UPDATE: Muhammed Butt confirms 4% rise in Brent Council Tax

At a very poorly attended Budget Consultation meeting at Brent Civic Centre this evening Brent Council leader Muhammed Butt confirmed that he would be seeking an annual 4% Council Tax rise over the next 3 years  This would have raised an additional £20m by the end of the period.

In the first year this would be an increase of £42 a year (81pence a week) for Band D householders.

Questioned on the Council Tax Benefit scheme and whether it would be reviewed to protect vulnerable people from the impact of the increase he said that a review would take place but it would not be completed in time for this year's increase.

Cllr Pavey asked about using the reserves to preserve services said that he was undertaking a considered review looking at what could be done with the reserves via an investment strategy that would deliver useful financial benefit.

Questioned about maximising revenue from the Civic Centre and Willesden Green Library Cllr Michael Pavey conceded that the council historically had not been very good at raising revenue. The new 'Civic Enterprise' approach marked a genuine change that along with procurement savings could, if successful, contribute 25% towards closing the gap in the council budget.

Brent CEO Carolyn Downs responding to a question about the restricted opening hours of the Willesden Green Library and the danger that it would fail as a cultural centre,  admitted that Brent Council at present did not have the expertise to market it. The council were seeking to recruit someone with an arts and cultural background and  social enterprise experience to be a commercial director to raise revenue. She said that she was familiar with the argument that the restricted opening hours limited use of the Library/Cultural Centre.

Conrad Hall commenting on raising revenue through the Civic Centre said that the council was looking at the possibility of renting out a third floor of the Centre on a commercial basis.

He said that the projected savings were not yet enough to balance the budget by 2018-19 but successful revenue could help reach that target.

Cllr Butt said that the council workforce had been reduced from 2,900 to under 2,300 and that the propsoed cuts had redundancy implications. Answering a question about the number of highly paid managers in the council Carolyn Downs said that there had been a substantial reduction in managers. Those that remained had been allocated extra roles and responsibilities. The council was now operating efficiently with a smaller worker force and slimmer management.

Asked to report on his meeting with a junior minister at the Department of Communities and Local Government, Muhammed Butt outlined the areas that they had covered in the 30 minute meeting. These included the disproportionate extent of the cuts imposed on  Brent, the steps the borough was taking to deliver additional housing, the loss of the Revenue Support Grant by 2020, the loss of two year's worth of the New Homes Bonus, and the fact that funding for new schools was just for buildings and not for furniture, equipment and IT.

The minister said that the government did not intend to change anything: 'That's how much they care about the people of Brent."

Commenting on the meeting Cllr Pavey said. 'It was the biggest waste of half an hour I have ever spent!"

They had spoken to a subservient junior minister who was subservient to a senior minister who was subservient to the Treasury.

Asked about 'Red Lines'  LINK Cllr Pavey said it was an unashamed Labour Party attempt to unify Labour Councils in order to put pressure on the government to change its economic policy. Brent had been a founding member.

Their initial focus had been about the impact of the cuts on young people who had been first hit when they were at primary school and were now being hit as youth.  In February the campaign would centre around Adult Social Care and the injustice people were suffering under the capitalist system.

He finished by saying that other parties were welcome to join amidst jokes about the 'Green Line'.

A member of the audience, supported by friends, made several contributions detailing the impact of cuts and declining services on him as a deaf and almost blind person. He also called for more training of council staff in British Sign Language and catering for residents with those needs.  As the signer relayed his concerns the silent Conference Hall found itself facing the profound reality of the cuts. Both officers and councillors offered to communicate with him about the issues he had raised.

There were only 3 members of the public present at the beginning of the meeting, compared with 6 Brent officers in the audience. By the end of the meeting, which finished an hour early, there were 6 members of the public, 6 officers in the audience and Conrad Hall, Michael Pavey, Carolyn Dows and Muhammed Butt on the platform.

UPDATE

In a report going to the General Purposes Committee Conrad Hall updates the 'Council Tax Base' - the basis on which the Tax itself will be calculated:

The proposed council tax base for 2016/17 of 89,254 represents an increase of 6,455 over the figure for 2015/16. This will form part of the overall calculation of the Council’s budget. The increase is due to a combination of factors: a significant reduction in the total claimed for Council Tax Support (which pushes up the taxbase figure) new properties coming in to rating (including the allowance for 2,000 additional properties in the next year), and the increase in the collection level assumption of 1.0%. It is unlikely that there will be a similarly large increase in subsequent years. The increase in the assumed collection percentage will be a one-off, and it is unlikely that CTS will fall much further.

DON'T FORGET YOU CAN VOTE ON THE PROPOSED RISE (SEE SIDE PANEL) OR COMMENT BELOW.

VOTE ON WHETHER BRENT COUNCIL SHOULD INCREASE COUNCIL TAX

Please see the side panel to take part in this poll.

You can add a reason for your vote as a comment below this posting.

'Straight Outta Syria' young rappers tell it how it is

From 'A World At School'
 

Samir, Abdulrahman and Mohamed are brothers who share a passion for music.  We can help share their story, their talent, and their potential.

But without education, the potential of hundreds of thousands of talented young Syrian children, refugees of the conflict, risks being lost.

Their potential needs your support: back our petition LINK  to secure the funding necessary to get 1 million Syrian refugee children into school - and back their futures.

Sign today and we’ll take your message to world leaders at the the Syrian Donors Conference in London in February.

Every child has potential - and every child deserves the chance to realise it. 

To world leaders: 

Please do what’s needed to ensure that Syrian refugee children can go to school, fulfil their potential, and build a peaceful future for themselves and their country. Give Syrian children hope. 

How can we get the most out of the Library At Willesden Green?

I would start by changing the present restricted hours opening hours so that the 'Cultural Centre' (as it was marketed initially)  is open beyond 8pm on weekdays and 5pm at weekends. - without the present surcharge to pay for extra security. This would enable more people to attend after the working day, attract more events and greater community use. It could also raise more revenue to pay for the longer hours.

There is a real danger that restricted opening hours and poor marketing could undermine the potential of the centre. This is of course what happened to its predecessor.

Wembley Lycee swimming pool planning application turned down again

Brent Planning Committee refused planning permission for a swimming pool at the Wembley French School last night.  It had returned to the agenda with a report from officers that continued to recommend the granting of planning permission but gave the committee grounds on which they could refuse the application. LINK

The officer's report also contained warnings about the possibility of an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.

The Lycee is housed in the former Brent Town Hall building.

The planning application for a mixed redevelopment of the Red House site near Wembley Stadium station also returned to the agenda after the refusal of the planning application. This item was deferred.