Shelter publishes updated housing statistics for Brent

Shelter today published its detailed housing figures for the fourth quarter of 2012  LINK a selection of which are printed in the table below. The situation will become much worse as a result of benefit changes introduced from this month.

Some figures from 2011 are also relevant. Brent's working age unemployment rate in 2011 was 12.10% compared with a London average of 9.3%. In 2011 Brent had 2,370 vacant properties registered for council tax purposes. In 2011-12, 850 affordable homes were built in Brent (London 17,260)

Average weekly council rents in 2011-12 were £95.43 in Brent and £89.17 across London. In 2011 weekly housing association rents in Brent were £101.46 (London £97.46) and are set to rise towards the private level. The average price of a home in Brent in Q4 2012 was £325,000 compared with £315,000 in Q3 2011 (London average £305,000).

The home price to annual income ratio for the lower quartile of house prices and income in 2011 was Brent 11.75 and London 8.96. For all incomes and house prices  the average ratio was 10.79 Brent and 8.54 London. The annual average gross income in 2012 was £28,703 Brent and £32,509 London.

Category	Area	Q4 2011	Q4 2012
Families with children accepted as homeless	London	2398	3118
	Brent	107	120
Households accepted as homeless	London	3460	4213
	Brent	136	154
Households in temporary accommodation	London	35920	38856
	Brent	3078	3220
Households on council waiting list	London	366613	380301
	Brent	14443	16735
Households with dependent children in temporary accommodation	London	27855	28393
	Brent	2620	2704
Number of children in temporary accommodation	London	54200	5490
	Brent	5930	5934
Possession claims by landlords	London	10260	12163
	Brent	415	589
Possession claims granted to landlords	London	6580	7780
	Brent	350	477
Housing benefit claimants council and housing assn	Brent	20000	20430 (Q3 2012)
-ditto- private tenants	Brent	16820	17290 (Q3 2012)
Mean private rents	London	£1281	£1369
	Brent	£1287	£1364
Median private rents	London	£1100	£1196
	Brent	£1200	£1250

Organising to develop a strategy on the housing crisis

With the Bedroom Tax protests at the weekend and publicity over the benefit changes, the press, TV and radio have at last woken up to the issues involved.

On Tuesday April 9th there will be a meeting in Brent to discuss next steps in a  local housing campaign. A report of the inaugural meeting follows:

Around 25 people attended the initial Housing Strategy meeting called by Brent Fightback, on Tuesday 19th March at the Brent Mencap offices in Willesden.

Attendees included the lead member for Housing for Brent Council, the Somali Advice Centre, the Counihan Family Housing campaign, Mencap campaigners, a tenants representative, a housing worker, and a high school teacher concerned about the cases arising at her school. Apologies were received from the Brent Law Centre and the Brent Private Tenants Rights Group and from some who attended the Health Scrutiny Committee.

It was a constructive and serious meeting, with information and experiences shared about the current situation and the general background to housing in Brent. Potential strategies and targets for campaigning were discussed, including:

GLA powers to set Rent Caps; advice and signposting training; "Bedroom Tax" strategies; the Right to Buy discounting; helping residents speak out and organise; mutual exchanges on properties; resisting evictions; linking up with other campaigners.

Janice Long, lead member for Housing has agreed to provide current local information of how changes are expected to affect people locally.

We agreed a next meeting time: 7pm, Tuesday 9th April, Brent Mencap offices, 379-381 High Road, Willesden. We will consider the actions that were suggested at the intial meeting and any further priorities, and estabish the name and aims of a local housing campaign.

Please forward widely.

Robin Sivapalan robsivapalan@hotmail.com 07974 331 053
Ken Montague kenmontague@msn.com

Battle for Brent Central Labour nomination livens up

This morning's April Fool from website Left Future LINK which said Ken Livingstone was to stand as Labour Candidate in Brent Central revived my interest in the current selection process.

The Guardian Diary recently reported that it was to be an open (i.e. not all women) list and suggested this left the way open for Cllr Muhammed Butt to thrown his hat into the ring. This I very much doubt.

However things aren't looking so good either for locally grown talent such as Cllr Zaffar Van Kalwala and activist Sabina Khan.  Instead  there seems to be a move in favour of a high profile canadidate from beyond Brent to take on Sarah Teather in one of Labour's London target seats.

Patrick Vernon with Trevor McDonald

One name mentioned is that of  well-connected Hackney councillor. film maker and equalities campaigner Patrick Vernon. Last year he was short-listed for the Manchester Central seat but narrowly missed selection. In November 2012  Brent Central CLP invited him to show his film 'A Charmed Life' to party members LINK and mutual interest may have grown from there.

You can find our more about Patrick on his blog HERE

Amina Ali

Another outsider cited is Amina Ali, this time from Tower Hamlets. Amina is a Somali activist who would create quite a stir. She is founder of Muslim Women for Labour and Somali Friends of Labour and has signed up to distribute Labour leaflets in Brent LINK.

This is rather out-dated but Amina talks about herself HERE

Meanwhile Dawn Butler continues to pop up all over the place as she continues to campaign for her 'Come Back' but it is hard to find many who back her wholeheartedly. 

Palace of Industry reduced to dust to make way for a car park

Palace of Industry 2013

Palace of Industry 1924

Inside the Palace of Industry

The remains of the last building left from the 1924 British Empire Exhibition will be a mountain of dust and cement blocks by the end of this week. Work began last week by developers Quintain Estates to demolish the Palace of Industry to make room for a car park despite pleas by local historian Phil Grant that the building should be reprieved for the 90th anniversary of the BEE that takes place next year. LINK

The lion gargoyles have been chiselled out and will be all that remains of the building. The memory of the BEE will live on only  in the names of Empire Way and nearby Empire Court.

Ann John's cultural leadership to be immortalised (2nd edition)

Please note this was posted on April Fools' Day - apologies to anyone who suffered a heart attack or high blood pressure on first reading (that includes the fictitious Cllr Jimmy Ponderous!)

Artists's impression of the new cultural centre

In a surprise joint press release over the weekend Brent Council and Galliford Try have announced that the £10m cultural centre that will replace the Willesden Green Library, Willesden Bookshop, Library Centre Cinema, Cafe,  the Brent Museum, Brent Archives, Willesden Green Open Space and the Library Centre car park,  will be named after Cllr Ann John, OBE.

Cllr Jimmy Ponderous, (Newish Labour, Kensal Cemetery) who more modestly will have the suite of council offices named after him, said

Ann John, OBE came into office in 2010 with a vision to transform the cultural landscape of Brent. The closure of half the borough's library was the first step in a radical plan that will culminate this year in the rebuilding of the Willesden Green Library and the opening of the Wembley Library at the Civic Centre.

The Ann John Cultural Centre will be a fantastic addition to the cultural offer in Willesden and will include a Costas Coffee outlet and a Tesco Metro. Customers will be able to pick up their groceries along with their DVDs. The new Wembley Library will be a major attraction for football fans  and concert goers attending matches at Wembley Stadium or performances at the Arena.

These  twin beacons of hope and enterprise were only made possible by Ann's determination to fight the enemies of regeneration and promise who litter the cultural landscape of Brent with their special pleading, whining and outmoded attachment to old-fashioned 'cardboard and paper' books.

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.

Caroline Lucas: Time to nail Coalition's biggest lie-TINA

The Counihan Campaign: Housing and Social Justice

London Councils calls for London to be treated as a'special case' on benefit reform

London Councils released a report yesterday  that tracks the impact of benefit reforms and suggests Londoners will be hardest hit by the changes.

The report indicates that up to half-a-million working age people could be touched in some way when the changes take effect this year. It estimates that 27,000 households in London will be affected by the benefit cap alone, due to be piloted in four boroughs from April.

An additional 456,000 Londoners will pay more council tax as a result of council tax benefit payments moving to council control, with reduced funding. And up to 80,000 homes could be adversely affected by the so-called ‘bedroom tax’ designed to deal with under occupancy in social housing.

Mayor Sir Steve Bullock, London Councils’ Executive Member for Housing, said:

While we recognise the need for reform, councils across London have concerns about the speed this is being implemented and the effect on families of so many changes taking place at once. I want to see London treated as a special case as the process moves forward.

For some ordinary families with two children looking for work their benefit could drop £183.00 per week, while an identical family unit in Manchester would be unaffected.

London Councils supports a fairer, more accountable system of welfare that encourages work. But since changes to housing benefits in April 2011 the number of households claiming housing benefit for private rented housing in London rose by over 32,000. Rents went up by nine per cent for the most basic housing in that period and this is increasingly a London issue.

The report, Tracking Welfare Reform, is available on the London Councils website LINK  along with a wide range of research and background materials.

Michaela Free School: not needed, not wanted, not interested...

I was only the sixth (and the last) person to attend the Michaela Free School Consultation this afternoon. The first on the attendance list was another opponent of the school so Michaela didn't do very well. There were more people from Michaela itself present than there were members of the public who attended throughout the 2 hours consultation period.

Nevertheless I had an interesting chat with Suella Fernandes, vice chair of the Michaela governing body. When I asked about the appointment of Katharine Birbalsingh as headteacher of the school and the process involved I was told that Katharine was the proposer of the free school so she was the headteacher - 'That's the way it goes with a free school'. When I asked, therefore, what quality control there was of the appointment, given the rigorous procedures involved in the appointment of headteachers in the maintained sector, I was told that the free school application had been 'vetted'  by the DfE.

Turning to the governing body I asked how they had been appointed, Apparently they are supporters of the bid and all 'passionate' about education. She did not demur when I said, 'So you are all self-appointed', that's how it is with free schools, apparently. I was told that apart from herself, a planning barrister, other governors included Chidi Amadi, an ex-pupil of Birbalsingh's and Dr Tony Sewell, CEO of Generating Genius. LINK

When I asked whether parent governors would be elected or appointed I was told they would be 'recruited'. As many free schools and academies have only one or two parent governors I asked how many Michaela would have. That was probably unfair as the governing body is still incomplete and hoping to recruit 'professionals' locally, and the vice chair could only hazard a guess off the record.

 Recruitment of teachers is clearly an issue with Michaela offering English, Maths, Science, History. Geography, Religious  Education, French, Spanish, Music, Art and extended day competitive sport, help with university applications, Latin, Mandarin, business and personal financial skills and social and cultural education.  It was clear from my conversation that staff recruitment had not got very far and I warned that some of these were shortage subjects where it would be hard to recruit.

With the school intending to open in September 2014 with four classes of 30 (presumably Year Sevens) I asked how the range of subjects could be covered by 'about eight teachers' and was told that this would be 'no problem at all'.

Pursuing the thought that parents were being sold a pig in a poke I pointed out that with local secondary schools parents could judge them from their examination results (except for Ark that doesn't have any yet) and Ofsted Reports, but all we had for Michaela were assertions in a glossy brochure: 'That's the way it is with free schools starting out'. But they wanted to offer parents a choice based on tradition and discipline.

With Michaela having been rejected in two areas of South London I asked how they had ended up in Brent. Initially I was told that this was because there was a need here and because of the challenges Brent faced with its multicultural population and people not having English as their first language. When I pointed out that Brent secondary schools were achieving well and amongst the top 10% of schools in the country with a proven track record, the grounds switched to the shortage of secondary places. I pointed out that the Council had published plans to deal with this but was told that Michaela was one of the ways Brent was tackling the shortage. When I pressed further the fact that there was a site available in Wembley at Arena House became the dominant factor.When I suggested that the real need was for a secondary school, open to all, in the south of the borough, Suella suggested that I find them a site.

When I asked about planning permission for a secondary school in Arena House I was confidently told by the planning barrister that it wasn't required. When I pointed out that this meant local people had no say in something that would affect them, yes, you've guessed: 'That's the way it is' but people could come along and tell them about their concerns at the next consultation. In the future there will be school students from Ark, Preston Manor, Michaela and the French School at the Town Hall concentrated in this small area of Wembley. When I said that residents were likely to raise a hue and cry the short response was 'Let them'.

I asked about play space in the new school and Michaela agreed there would be very little and they would look elsewhere in the borough for sports facilities. Apparently no agreement has been reached with the Ark about the use of their facilities. At first they did not seem to know about the Town Hall French School but them confirmed that they had been in negotiations for the building but had dropped out because it would not have been ready in time for September 2014. Instead Arena House will be refurbished - at what cost to taxpayers I do not know - but at a time when the poor state of Copland High School has made national headlines...

Suella Fernandes involvement strengthens Michaela's links with the Conservative Party. (Katharine Birbalsingh's career as a Govite was launched when she addressed a meeting at the Tory Conference). Suella is a daughter of former Brent Conservative councillor Uma Fernandes and herself stood as a Conservative candidate in Fryent ward. She attended a local Brent primary school, Uxendon Manor, but her secondary education was at Heathfield School in Pinner - a Girls Public Day School Trust establishment.

The next consultation is on April 4th, 6-8pm Powell Suite, Chalkhill Community Centre

Bin Veolia in Brent boosted by Labour motion calling for Veolia's exclusion

The Bin Veolia in Brent Campaign received a boost last week when a motion critical of Veolia was passed at the Brent Central  General Committee of the Labour Party.  The Campaign calls for Veolia to be excluded from the current multi-million Brent Public Real Contract because of its complicity in the breaking of international law in the occupied territories of Palestine.

The motion was proposed Sabina Khan of the Dudden Hill branch of the Labour Party.  Those present were generally aware of the issues involved and there were several other speeches in favour.

There was a further suggestion that the issue be raised with Cllr James Powney (Kensal Green) who is the lead member for environment and neighbourhoods.

The full text of the motion and a downloadable petition can be found HERE

Risks in council's reduced role and restructuring

Long term out-sourcing reduces democratic accountability

 It was rather disconcerting during yesterday's Barnet Spring march to find a rather touching faith in the ability of the Labour Party to deliver something quite different to the Tory's Easy Council option. A speech from a libraries campaigning from Newcastle and chats with those of us from Brent, introduced a touch of realism into their expectations.

Of course Labour Brent and Tory Barnet are not identical but they do share some of the basic assumptions and I am under no illusions that the Greens in Brighton have fundamentally different views as to the future. They are all in different ways 'managing' the decline in financial and political power of local councils.

One way of doing this is to reduce the 'need' for local services through lowering expectations and reducing costs via out-sourcing to the lowest bidder. Out-sourcing is privatisation and  removes democratic accountability and further reduces the role of the council. What is required instead of accommodation to the Coalition agenda is out-right concerted defence of local government and local democracy.

This is how the Brent Council restructuring document puts it:

The changing role of the Council

The scale of the challenge to public services through the reductions outlined above is considerable. It cannot be managed by the traditional local government responses of streamlining staffing and restricting access or eligibility to services which may be of poorer quality than they are now. This can only lead to conflict and declining trust among local people. We must:

• find more innovative ways of preventing demand for public services arising in the first place

• do more to ensure that if a need arises, ways are found to meet it without relying on public services

• help people themselves self-manage a long term need, rather than relying on a service

• minimise duplication by integrating all services-not just those provided by the

council-around individuals, thereby facilitating a more personalised and coherent approach

• explore ways of enabling service users to improve services by commissioning services directly.

Barnet wants to do away with the local authority's day to day management role altogether with massive long-term contracts to then likes of Capita. However Brent isn't really that far behind if you consider the huge contract currently being procured for the Public Realm (street cleaning, waste collection, recycling, Parks and BHP grounds maintenance) as well as adult social care and parts of the education service.

Brent Council's restructuring of senior management is a response to the declining role of the local authority in service management but also reflects the growing role of major projects and regeneration as the Council seeks to sell the family silver (public assets) to remain afloat.

Under the proposals:

• The Corporate Management Team will be reduced from 9 posts to 5
• CMT Directors will be reduced from 8 posts to 4
• Assistant Directors will be reduced from 19 to 14
• A new post of Assistant Chief Executive will be created

A common theme is the creation of 'Strategic' and 'Operational Directors' in the new departments. As an example we can look at the newly created Education, Health and Social Care Department. As the name suggests this includes education, children and adult social care and the newly acquired public health functions. It is a huge remit and contains some of the riskiest areas of the Council's operations. BACES is transferred from education to the Major Projects and Regeneration Department.

There will be a Strategic Director of Education, Health and Social Care and s/he will manage the Operational Directors for 1) Education 2) Children's Social Care 3) Adult Social Care and a Director of Public Health (a statutory position) who will report to the Chief Executive.

This set-up may provoke some anxiety in terms of the complexity and associated risk factors in these departments, particularly regarding safeguarding of vulnerable children and adults. Both child and adult social care have huge budget pressures and as a new service it is unclear what the eventual financial position will be regarding public health.  Christine Gilbert's report claims that the reorganisation takes account of the Munro Review's recommendation that the role of Director of Children's Services should not have additional functions in order that the focus on vulnerable children should not be diluted. This proposal should be given careful scrutiny by councillors mindful of Brent's unfortunate history in this area, and the difficulty of recruitment to such posts.

The Department of Environment and Neighbourhoods will have a Straetgic Director and two Operational Directors for 1) Neighbourhoods and 2) Environment and Protection. It will now be responsible for Community Safety.

The already huge Regeneration and Major Projects department now takes on Brent Customer Services,  a new Employment and Enterprise function, and associated with the latter BACES is transferred from Children and Families. There will be a Strategic Director and four Operational Directors 1) Property and Projects 2) Planning and Regeneration 3) Housing and Employment and 4) Customer Services.

I have previously expressed concern that this department, currently head by Andy Donald, has a great deal of power and possible conflicts of interest, and my concern is not lessened by the reorganisation. As with Education, Health and Social Care, here are a great many eggs in one basket.

Petition launched against Birbalsingh's Michaela Free School

The petition from parents, teachers and local residents launched today is available as a PDF on the panel opposite. Please run off copies and circulate to friends, work colleagues and neighbours. The petition will be sent to the Michaela Academy as a response to their current consultation (the first consultation meetng is on Tuesday March 26th in the Powell Suite,Chalkhill Community Centre 3-5pm and the second on April 4th 6-8pm. The Community Centre is at 113 Chalkhill Rd  Wembley, Greater London HA9 9FX. Directions: Cross the road from Wembley Park Station - turn left and then take first right.

The wording is self-explanatory:

We are a group of local parents, teachers and members of the local community opposed to the setting up of the Michaela ‘free’ school in Brent.

We think that the planning for school places has to be done in collaboration with the local community. Putting this school in the north of the borough of Brent will directly compete with our existing local schools and is not where the school place shortages are.

We believe that the evidence from ‘free’ schools has shown that they lead to increased social segregation, lower attainment and have been run for profit. Brent schools are in the top 10% of schools in the country so have a proven track record improving attainment for all children ensuring equal opportunities for pupils from all backgrounds.  

We believe that all children need decent school buildings, investment in their schools and smaller class sizes. Free schools have been funded by cutting two desperately needed grants, including the BSF (Building Schools for the Future) money promised to our existing local schools. We know that the cuts to education and public services and the raising of tuition fees will harm our communities. The free school movement is Michael Gove's experimental pet project and is part of the plan to privatise our services and will worsen education for all.

We, the undersigned, oppose the setting up of the Michaela Community School. This could destroy other local schools. We believe that school places need to be planned and the setting up of a school to ‘compete’ with others is damaging to our communities.

Dear Mr Gove (This is War)

As teachers prepare for their Easter conferences and their fire is trained on Michael Gove and Michael Wilshaw LINK I thought I would share this wonderful video with you. It deserves many more viewings so please share.

Barnet springs to the defence of local services despite rain, sleet and snow

Despite battling with wind, rain, sleet and snow,the indefatigable campaigners of Barnet marched to tell their Tory Council and the Coalition government  that they must go.

Barnet Council, as Cameron's flagship borough, is attempting the out-sourcing of most of its services on long-term contracts. Campaigners see this as the death of local democracy and the handing over of local assets to private profiteers.
march, recognising that if the Tories succeed in Barnet the 'Barnet strategy' will be implemented in other towns and cities. Brent Fightback were there as were the Whittington and Lewisham hospital campaigns. A speaker from the Anti Academies Alliance drew attention to the privatisation of local authority schools.
Fittingly the march finished at the occupied Friern Barnet library where one of the library campaigners made it clear that volunteer run libraries are not the answer. She told the people crowding into the library that the demand should be no closures and no cuts and for properly resourced local services.

Challenge privatisation - join the Barnet Spring March

Barnet is in the vanguard of privatisation of services and the destruction of democratically accountable local government. Join the protest.

Gilbert wields the axe as senior posts go on Brent Council

The proposed structure - click to enlarge

There was a flurry of consternation at the Health Partnerships Overview and Scrutiny Committee the other evening when members were shocked to discover the Director of Adult Social Care had seemed to suddenly disappear. A muttered explanation was not audible to the public gallery.

Christine Gilbert

An explanation seems to lie in the Brent Council Management Restructuring paper that is going to the General Purposes Committee on March 28th. The paper from Christine Gilbert, Interim Chief Executive proposes the amalgamation of a number of departments which include a new Education, Health and Social Care Department.

The proposals aim to take advantage of the move to the Civic Centre to defragment services, restructure in line with the shrinking Council and save about £900,000. A new post of Assistant Chief Executive is created.

There will be consultation on the changes before the first take effect in May 2013.

To save readers from navigating around the Brent website I have made the paper available below.

12 year old student gets national coverage on poor state of Copland's building

In a piece recorded the day before the recent Ofsted, Copland High School 12 year old student Khadija was on the World at One today. She had raised the issue of the school's crumbling build with David Cameron a year ago in a face to face meeting and he had promised to investigate. Little has happened since.

The DfE were unable to supply a spokesman to answer her criticisms.

There are pictures on the World at One Facebook HERE You do not have to have a Facebook account to see them,

Natalie Bennett on Question Time with Michael Gove tonight

Natalie Bennett, Green Party leader, will be taking part in Question Time tonight on BBC1 at 10.40pm. You can watch here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01rgszs/Question_Time_21_03_2013/

Other panelists include:

Michael Gove MP
Emily Thornberry MP

Mark Littlewood, Director General of IEA

Anthony Horowitz, Author