Delay continues over Kensal Rise email fraud: some niggling questions

Guest post by Meg Howarth

On 13 February, Brent council confirmed that ‘we have passed the police all the information they have requested in connection with Kensal Rise Library and that we continue to co-operate fully with their enquiries’. The police had previously stated that ‘[we]have been informed that there is further evidence to support the allegation of fraud and are awaiting receipt thereof. A decision whether to progress the allegation will be made after all the evidence has been scrutinised’ (Police may look again at email fraud evidence in Kensal Rise development, Wembley Matters 6 February).

So a police investigation in to the apparent fraudulent use of local, and other, residents’ addresses in support of a change-of-use planning application for the Mark Twain library is finally underway - five months after the Friends of Kensal Rise Library and others first reported the matter to the council. The Kensington and Chelsea force is handling the affair - developer Andrew Gillick’s head-office for his Platinum Revolver/Kensal Properties firms is in the royal borough.

There is currently no indication of when the police will decide whether or not a prosecution will follow.

Mr Gillick’s original planning application for one of Brent’s few remaining historic buildings was unanimously rejected by the council’s planning committee last September but it’s understood he has a revised application in the offing. That is why a speedy resolution to this tawdry affair is required. Despite the council’s official line that it,  

has a responsibility and obligation to consider any valid planning application that is put forward from any individual(s)...consider[ing] each on its merits in accordance with its statutory obligations’ (Christine Gilbert, acting chief executive)

most people will find it incomprehensible if the planning committee is asked to determine a further application before the outcome of an active police inquiry is known. Speed does not, of course, mean cutting corners. 

Meantime, some niggling questions remain:

Why wasn’t all the information and evidence the council had amassed handed to the police in the first instance, instead of what appears to have been a summary of its findings?

Would an investigation have been launched sooner if the police had received a complete dossier earlier?

Why did it take 10 days before council leader Muhammed Butt’s late-night tweet on 31 January stating that the police weren’t pursuing the investigation - the first (and last) anyone’s heard of the City Police’s NFIB (National Fraud and Investigation Bureau) initial decision to take no further action? The head of Brent’s Audit and Investigation department was informed of this on 21 January but was taking ‘advice’ on what he was ‘able to disclose’. In the event, he never disclosed anything. Did the council want to ensure vacant possession of the site by landlord All Souls College, Oxford)? It knew the completion of the sale of the building to Andrew Gillick was conditional on vacant possession and that the final date for this was 31 January - its lawyers are the only third party to have seen the Binding Agreement to sell the building to this developer. Vacant possession was, of course, achieved by All Souls sending in its heavies at 6am to demolish the pop-up.

Back at the beginning of October, Brent’s legal boss, Fiona Ledden wrote about Brent’s own inquiry into the fraudulent emails that: The [council’s] investigation is continuing and there have been some complications in relation to the work undertaken. It would not be usual to publish findings of any investigation, there may however be some conclusions that we will be able to share’.

At that stage, it seems the council didn’t anticipate police involvement. 

So what changed, and when? Was it the information the council received early in November that a property owned by Andrew Gillick in St Mary’s Terrace, Paddington was sub-let at the time an online-comment using that address appeared in support of the council’s own planning application for the Barham Library Complex? Mr Gillick, the only supporter of that proposed development, was slated to speak at the planning hearing but failed to attend. It was this same address that was previously used twice to support his own change-of-use application for Kensal Rise Library. Any developer is entitled to support her/his own application but if the comments using the developer’s W2 address were submitted in his name when someone else was living there, that surely could give rise to allegations of fraud? 

Information about this, like the theft of Kensal Rise businesswoman Kirsty Slattery’s address which was used to support the developer’s change-of-use application for the 110-year old library building, appears to have been sent to the police only this month.

Why?

Brent Queensbury Tory council candidates support alleged 'Butcher of Gujarat'

Gardiner's support makes headlines in India

In  September 2013, Brent North Labour MP, Barry Gardiner, faced the wrath of demonstrators at Brent
Civic Centre LINK, over his controversial invitation to Narendra Modi, to address the House of Commons. Modi has been accused of collusion in the massacre of Muslims in the Gujarat in 2002 when more than 1,500 died and many were made homeless. Modi was Gujarat Chief Minister at the time and Human Rights Watch found evidence of state complicity in the violence. Modi leader, of the nationalist BJP is tipped to win the forthcoming April election with many fearing that it will herald an era of extreme Hindu nationalism and religious intolerance.

Kanta Mistry of the Queensbury Action Team

The September  invitation was issued by both Labour Friends of India and Conservative Friends of India.  An unofficial Lab-Con 'Coalition for Modi' exists in Brent North with members of  the 'Queensbury Conservative Action Team' among those campaigning for Modi. The action team are likely to be the Conservative candidates for Queensbury ward in the May local election.

Their website LINK has the strapline 'Local Issues-Local Action-Local Conservatives' which seems a long way from the politics of India on which they have been campaigning

In the Independent today LINK commentator Sunny Hundal describes their activities in an article which gives valuable background on the BJP's links:

British and American Hindus are an important source of support, canvassing and even postal votes for the BJP in India. More recently, they have helped to normalise Modi's reputation after the fallout from 2002. On Sunday afternoon, about 20 Gujaratis gathered at the back of a small restaurant in north-west London to discuss how they could help Modi spread his message. I had been told about it by a friend and decided simply to turn up and observe.

At their regular "Modi Tea Club" events, they raise funds and recruit volunteers. One group member, who is planning to run as a local councillor, applauded the US decision to meet Modi and said British Gujaratis had played an instrumental part. "The pressure we put [on the government] in the UK makes a difference around the world," he says, to applause. Next month, their idol will speak to them and hundreds of other groups around the world via satellite to energise them before the elections

Last night the Monitoring Group and Awaaz organised a parliamentary briefing entitled 'Narendra Modi and the rise of "Hindu Fascism" '. Their publicity read:

 The “Parliamentary Briefing & Forum” will discuss the politics of Narendra Modi. Modi is the current Chief Minister of Gujarat and is the Prime Ministerial candidate for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance coalition for the upcoming 2014 national elections in India. He is also a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), an organisation that is described as Hindu nationalist, supremacist and fascist by scholars, journalists and human rights commentators.  The meeting will examine his role as the Head of the State Government during the Gujarat 2002 communal violence and pillage against the Muslim minority population that led to over 1500 deaths, hundreds of rapes against women and displacement of over 200,000 of people from their homes. The forum will also analyse the claim the Modi represents a model for ‘”good governance”. His supporter’s have worked hard to brand Gujarat as a state of dynamic development and economic growth and prosperity, using the slogan "Vibrant Gujarat". The facts, however, reveal that Gujarat has a relatively poor record when it comes to human development, poverty alleviation, nutrition and education.

It is not clear where the Conservative Party nationally stands on these activities by some of their local candidates, and indeed what the local party thinks about this controversial politician.

Brent Town Hall begins its transformation into French School

Brent Town Hall earlier today

 

Wembley Town Hall during the 1948 Olympics

Hoardings, closed access to the famous steps, roadworks, a shifted bus stop and tree surgery have heralded the beginning of Brent Town Hal's transformation into a French School this week.

The Town Hall never really experienced a proper farewell in contrast to the ceremony that greeted the opening of the Civic Centre, for the record is how things looked earlier today.

Shrubs cut back in King's Drive gardens next to the Town Hall Library

Some of the trees have preservation orders attached

The lawned area at the back of the Town Hall is being cleared of vegetation

Copland IEB opts for 'No Trust' status

 Guest blog from 'Deleted'

Another 25 teachers at Copland have been notified that they are on a new redundancy hit-list for sacking at the end of the summer term. This follows the dozens of staff who have already been sacked since last July when Brent Council sent in an Interim Executive Board (IEB) to run the school (down).

Why is the Copland IEB now being called the Copland  Lie EB? 

In the autumn they said there would be no forced redundancies. Just weeks later they are  ‘consulting’ (telling) 25 staff that in the (new) next stage of ‘staff reorganisation’ (sacking),  14 of their ‘posts will be deleted’ (14 people will be sacked).  You can apply for ‘voluntary’ redundancy  (ie sack yourself and get a bit of compensation) or wait for the school to sack you. Whichever way, it’s forced, it’s compulsory and it’s the sack. 

What do the Lie E.B give as their reasons for the sackings?

They say they’ve got more teachers than they need. Well, they would have really, wouldn’t they? It’s a measure of the Lie E.B’s success in practically closing down the 6^th form  and producing an Austerity Curriculum for the rest of the school. Since last July they’ve scrapped  all the 6^th form vocational subjects, loads of successful  A level and GCSE subjects, got rid of support teachers and  mentoring staff and the latest statement from them scraps Business Studies, effectively scraps Yr 7,8 and 9 Information Technology  and gets rid of Art.  They turned away good potential 6^th Form students last August when they told them at the last minute they’d have to go elsewhere as they’d scrapped their subjects. They’ve narrowed the school’s curriculum offer to make it so unattractive that only 40 parents put Copland down as first choice for Sept 2014 (even less than Michaela ‘Free’ School, and they don’t even have a viable building).

Then add to that the continuing flow of inept and embarrassing decisions (scrapping Sports Days, charity events,  prize-giving evenings, progressive student associations, etc etc) which have produced columns of print in the local and national press, campaigns on social media, and disbelief among current and former  students and staff. So, dismantle the curriculum, halve the intake and, hey presto, you’ve got too many teachers! 

This is called ‘vision’.

It’s basically the same technique as the Tories have used against the NHS. Regard the institution and its staff as the enemy. Run it down, highlight all its defects. Cut staff, provide worse services to the point where no one will want to bother to fight to save it. Then flog it off to a chain.

But isn’t Copland becoming an Academy in September? Won’t they need teachers?

Of course, and no one believes that an academy chain intends to run a school with no subjects and no decent curriculum offer. After they’ve thrown away all this experience and knowledge  in this year’s sackings they’ll start advertising for new teachers, with all the expense and waste (and risk) that entails. But the new staff will be young and cheap and obedient, advised not to talk to other staff out of their rank and not to join the union. They’ll be on short-term, hire-and-fire contracts and staff turnover will be high. In a few years’ time they’ll all be agency staff and many will probably be on zero-hours contracts. Most will give up teaching in less than 5 years. This is not a prediction; it’s already happening. This is Gove’s  ‘future’ (with the acquiescence of the Copland management, it’s imported  IEB, Brent’s Michael Pavey and Mohammed Butt). And it’s what Copland staff are resisting.

Ok. But the ‘no compulsory redundancies’ promise was only a small untruth and maybe was meant only to refer to the last sacking round, no reason to call the IEB the Lie EB is it?

Yes, because the last sacking round was supposed to be the final sacking round (apart from a Leadership cull which now seems to have been  postponed until next year).  The proposed review of TLRs has not appeared and these new sackings have come out of the blue.

But there’s something else. The sacking letters Copland staff now regularly receive have always  referred  to financial reasons for the sackings and regularly trot out the excuse of  ‘the accumulated budget deficit which is currently in excess of £1.5 million’.         

                                                                                                                                              

2 points about this:

The ‘budget deficit’ dates from the time when the recently-convicted –in-the- courts (and earlier-knighted-by- the-Queen) ex-Head Davies ran the show. Brent Council only acted to stop his activities after being embarrassed into intervening  by union action,  have never made any attempt to retrieve the alleged £2.7 million taken from the school and did not even seek costs at his trial. (Why not?  The judge didn’t know either. Choose your own conspiracy theory).

More importantly, this is what Ark Schools, in a written answer,  told Copland staff would happen  to  this deficit when the school becomes an academy in September 2014:

It is normal practice for the deficit to be set to zero by the local authority when a school becomes an academy.

Copland staff should not have to rely on outsiders like Ark Schools  for information affecting their futures  which their own governing body should supply them with.  It would appear that, at the date the current sackings take effect (end of academic year 2013/2014), the deficit will be ‘set to zero by the local authority’.  So in August, yet more  Copland staff will lose their livelihoods in order to  reduce a budget deficit which will not any longer exist. The IEB’s reference to the ‘accumulated budget deficit’ as a justification for  dismantling the school and sacking the majority of its staff  is therefore disingenuous, an obfuscation. 

Or, in plainer English, a lie.

         I  EB?          Or Lie  EB?      Or does it just amount to the same truth-twisting  thing?

 

A thriving and well organised library lives on in NW2

At a time when many Brent residents are still mourning the loss of their local libraries it was heartening to visit Braintcroft Primary School in Warren Road, NW2, this afternoon and see the well organised and beautifully cared for library being used by the children.

These pictures were taken after school:

In another contribution to literacy in the borough, the school last year became a training centre for Reading Recovery after the closure of the Brent School Improvement Service's facility.

A special room has been set up where Reading Recovery teachers can observe colleague's teaching behind a 'mirror' screen to learn, share and discuss the strategies pioneered by Marie Clay. Reading Recovery is carried out on an intensive 1:1 basis with proven success but is under threat in some areas because it is seen as expensive.

The Governing Body at Braintcroft decided that Reading Recovery was too precious a resource to be lost to the borough and employed the key Reading Recovery trainer and financed the building of the training room. Local schools now buy into the service..

More information on Reading Recovery HERE

Are the Crest Academies on the EACT transfer list?

I haven't been able to establish yet whether the Crest Boys' and Girls' Academies are included in the 10 E-Act schools that the DfE yesterday ordered to be transferred to other academy chains. Ofsted put the boys' school into special measures last year and judged the girls' school as inadequate as reported here LINK  Under current legislation academies cannot be transferred back to local authority status.

If they are on the list it is possible that they could be added to Ark's Brent empire.

The Anti Academies Alliance reacted to the news with the following statement:

The removal of 10 schools from the EACT academy chain is the most spectacular failure in British post war education history. No Local Authority ever failed so dismally. Even when Islington Council’s education service was deemed beyond repair in the mid 1990’s it only had 3 ‘failing’ secondary schools!

EACT’s catastrophe is a personal humiliation for Sir Bruce Liddington, former Permanent Secretary at the DfE and head of the Academies Division. He was one of the chief architects of the Academies Programme before sliding seamlessly into the private sector to pocket £300,000 pa. salary plus benefits as CEO of EACT. It earned him the dubious title of the ‘fattest, fat cat in education’.

But the catastrophe is much more than this. First and foremost it is a betrayal of the children and families who go these schools. They were sold a lie that the private sector would be better. Blair, Adonis, and Gove have all claimed that there was something in the ‘DNA of private education’ that would improve state schools. Of course some academies have done well, although increasingly the evidence suggests that this is more the result of changing intakes rather than a ‘magic dust’ sprinkled by sponsors.

The EACT catastrophe therefore signals the death of the credibility of the Academies programme. David Cameron’s shoddy claims to localism are also in tatters as the all-powerful Secretary of State, Chairman Gove steps in to micro-manage our schools. After just over a decade of controversy, the Academies Programme experiment has failed. Any governing body currently considering conversion should halt it immediately whilst a full and public enquiry is conducted. And if governors won’t stop conversion, then staff and parents should take matters into their own hands and stop this madness by any means necessary.

But here’s the rub! Due to the reckless behaviour of those who have legislated on education policy over the last decade, the Academies Programme will continue like a zombie. There is no mechanism to halt it, to restore schools to Local Authorities and to ensure that they are properly functioning. Only Gove has the power to decide the future of these schools. The whole system of checks and balances, of accountability and credibility has been smashed up in pursuit of a ‘supply side revolution’.

And, worst still, there is not a single cabinet minister or front bench spokesperson from the Coalition or the Opposition who will stand up and admit ‘we got it wrong’. The unregulated education market was a train wreck waiting to happen. Estelle Morris warned of this ‘direction of travel’ a decade ago. But the zombie politicians still stagger around Westminster singing its praises.

As Sweden picks over the bones of its rotten marketised system, who will have the courage to call a halt to this reckless policy

Sabina Khan selected to fight Stonebridge ward

Sabina Khan at the Defend London's NHS demonstration

Sabina Khan, who made a good showing for the Brent Central parliamentary nomination, has been selected by Labour to stand for Stonebridge ward in the forthcoming local elections.

A vacancy arose when one of the women candidates dropped out earlier this year.

South Kilburn regeneration threatened by HS2

An officers' report going before the Full Council Meeting on March 3rd asks members 'if considered expedient' to resolve to oppose the HS2 Bill  and consider 'the passing of further resolutions..to authorise the deposit of a petition against the Bill in either or both Houses of Parliament'.

The report suggests that location of the proposed ventilation shaft and transformer (see CGI above), next to Queen's Park Station, would have an adverse affect 'not only on that site but also on the Council's regeneration plans for the wider South Kilburn area'.

The report states that there are a number of good reasons to offer broad strategic support for HS2 in terms of improved connectivity and job opportunities in areas such as Old Oak Common, but  identifies three negative impacts on the borough.

1, The Bill seeks powers for the compulsory acquisition of  'all interests' in land in South Kilburn 'which does not appear to be required to implement the proposed new high speed railway line.  The land includes parts of the South Kilburn Estate including St Mary's School, parts of site 11b, Alpha and Gorefield Houses and the new development on Cambridge Road and Chichester Road. It is also proposed that some land will be possessed on a temporary basis and the Council states that it sees no reason why the sites above should be permanently acquired by HS2 and should petition on this basis if discussions with HS2 fail.

2.  The Council has approved plans for the Queens Park Car Park site (Site 18 in the South Kilburn Regeneration Programme)  which involves demolition of Cullen House, Keniston House, Premier House and the Falcon Pub and the erection of 137 flats (39 of which are affordable), public space, office and commercial shop space.  The HS2 plans for a ventilation shaft and transformer would disrupt these plans with a loss to the Council and also affect the decanting of residents on the South Kilburn Estate during regeneration.

The Council has put forward an alternatiuve plan for the ventilation shaft  to go on the east side of Queen's Park Station but HS2 said although that was technically possible  their preferred site was still the original proposals because of  'changes that would otherwise be required to the alignment of the proposed HS2 tunnel, access issues and a likely increase in temporary impacts during construction on nearby residents and a local school'.

A subsequent  report from Lambert Smith Hampton, commissioned by the Council, concluded that there was a 'clear economic and financial benefit associated with relocating the ventilation shaft and auto transformer from Site 18 to the alternative Canterbury Works site. The Council will challenge the adequacy of the project's  Environment Statement on the basis of:

• Inadequate consideration of alternative sites for the proposed ventilation shaft and transform
• No proper justification for the current design and scale of proposals
• Incorrect baseline assumptions
• Inaccurate assessment of effects; and
• Lack of/inadequate mitigations proposed

3. Brent Council  supports the proposals for a new interchange between HS2 and Crossrail at Old Oak Common, including links between the interchange and the West London Line and North London Line. However they also think that additional value could be achieved for a new rail link between Cross Rail an the West Coast Mainline.

The report argues that such a link would enable users of  London Midland Services to transfer onto Crossrail, 'providing improved services straight into central London. It would ease congestion at Euston and  save passenger time. Officers suggest, 'By accommodating the future delivery of this link as part of the HS2 construction plans at Oak Old Common, there would be an opportunity for trains to run to Wembley with a direct link on to Heathrow and services to the West of England.'.

Officers recommend  that the Council considers supporting any petition by TfL for the delivery of enabling works at Old Oak Common to allow for this link.

The report discusses the uncertainties over the amount of compensation the Council might receive from compulsory purchase but goes on to state,  'It is clear that several millions of value are at risk from the HS2 proposals as they currently stand.'

The report sets out the estimated costs of Petitioning the HS2 Bill:

Ventilation Shaft: £150,000
Compulsory Purchase Order £40,000
West Coast Mainline Route £380,000

The report recommends the first two only.

Brent Council's spending cut by £18m in proposed 2014-15 budget

Full Council on March 3rd will vote on the 2014-15 Budget which incorporates £17.8m reduction in service areas as set out below:

The situation is likely to be even worse in 2015-16 with a budget gap expected to be more than £33m.  The report going to the meeting states that the Council since 2010 has made £80m 'savings' at an average impact of £702 per household.'  The Council Tax proposed is £1,357.94 for a benchmark Band D property.

Further details on the impact of the savings/cuts are set out in the document below:

Rise up against the Coalition on Climate Change and Fuel Poverty

Left to Right: Sophie Neuborg, Suzanne Jeffery, Martin Francis (Chair) Ruth London, Murad Qureshi

There were stirring calls for action on climate change and energy when Brent residents met together at an urgent meeting on 'Energy Crisis, Climate Crisis - What is the solution?' at Chalkhill Primary School, Wembley.

Suzanne Jeffery, from One Million Climate Jobs, said that the Coalition Government had been exposed by the recent floods. The recognition of the connection between extreme weather events and climate change revealed Cameron's dismissal of 'green crap' as particularly ill-timed. In fact the government had locked the country into rising emissions that accelerated climate change through the 'dash for gas' and fracking, and Osborn's collusion with the oil and energy industries in his budget statement. Deregulation of planning regulations and cuts to the Environment Agency had worsened the impact of the highest ever rainfall last month.

With scientists predicting devastating consequences of a failure to act, campaigners had to use this period of heightened awareness to press home the message that there is still, just, time to act. There needed to be investment in renewable energy and a massive programme of insulation and other green measures through the creation of one million climate change jobs. As well as contributing to reducing energy usage and thus carbon emissions, they would also boost the economy.

Ruth London, from Fuel Poverty Action, said that 'climate change is poverty' as people unable to heat their homes or cook their food because of the high costs of energy were impacted by cold and damp and resulting ill-health and strain on relationships. Education was affected when children did not have a comfortable place to do their homework.  Fossil energy is subsidised and renewables are actually cheaper. The London Pensioners' Association had recognised this when they had passed a resolution calling for safe, clean energy.

Government policy meant that Housing Associations were scrapping insulation schemes and that some attempts at market solutions to the problem had been abandoned.  She said that the probloems was built into the nature of the market where the primary purpose was acculumation. The market was the opposite of caring:: 'what's good for thje market has nothing to do with what's good for people'.

Sophie Neuborg of Friends of the Earth said that there was a major crisis with 7 million people paying over 10% of their income to keep their houses warm and this would be 9m by 2016. FoE believed that energy saving measures should be supported from general taxation rather than levies on fuel bills. More incentives were needed to persuade landlords to make their properties energy efficient and hypothecated carbon taxes needed. She called for a revolution in the way energy was produced through community production of renewable energy.

Link to FoE actions including petition on fracking HERE

Murad Qureshi, London Assembly Member and chair of its Environment Committee, spoke about the highest rainfall levelo for 250 years, record river flows and rising ground water levels. The Thames Barrier, which had saved London from major flooding, and built by the GLC, would not have been built in current times.

He called for work envisaged for the future on flood defences to be brought forward. The Thames should be seen as an extension of the sea into London to bring home the issue. River restoration was needed in terms of London's hidden culverted rivers to protect the 24,000 London homes at high risk of flooding and there needed to be a stop to the concreting over of gardens that had removed the equivalent of 18 Hyde Parks from the capital.* We have to learn with live with water through adaptation and mitigations. Surveys had shown that 80% of the population were concerned not with housing or transport but with the high costs of gas, electricity and water. 68% had reduced their energy consumption because of the cost and half a million were depednent on food backs.

Boris Johnson had failed to take on the energy companies with EDF failing to deliver on their Olympic promises. The Mayor's retrofitting scheme had failed to meet its target with only 99,000 properties tackled amongst the millions in London.

In the discussion that followed there were calls for mass demonstrations on climate change, re-nationalisation of the energy and water companies on a more participative and response model that previously, action against British Gas in particular, campaigns against pre-payment meters and how they make the poor pay more - including Can't Pay-Won't Pay, pickets of the BBC over their insistence on 'balancing' discussion over climate change giving equal time to the sceptics, demand new housing incorporates solar ppwer roof tiles, and the need to reach out to faith groups about the issue.

Videos of the event can be found here:

Introduction and Suzanne Jefferies http://youtu.be/MbzDUNHynxQ

Ruth London http://youtu.be/7gSPwiWXHvw

Sophie Neuberg http://youtu.be/RbyATRY5NFY

Murad Qureshi http://youtu.be/VLb45JLTBRY

Questions and discussion 1  http://youtu.be/qWBtR2xGn0Y

Questions and discussion 2  http://youtu.be/JlzAru-abnc

* I am disappointed that so much of the Quintain development around the Civic Centre and Wembley Stadium is hard landscaping with potted shrubs. We were promised new parks which I imagined would include grassed areas and flower beds - as well as children's play faciltities.. A question of maintenance costs?

Where does Barry Gardiner stand on fracking?

I was approached recently by some neighbours, concerned about the environment and the future of their young children, and therefore interested in  their MP's position on fracking.  They knew that the Green Party  POLICY LINK was opposed to fracking anywhere in the UK but were not sure about Labour's position. Labour Brent Council had opposed fracking in Brent but not elsewhere.

I said that Labour appeared to be ambivalent but undertook to write to our Brent North MP, Barry Gardiner, a shadow minister for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for an authoritative statement:

This is what he said:

I know there has been real concern about the potential environmental dangers of fracking and I agree that this process should only go ahead if it is safe and environmentally sound. Indeed, it is only by fully addressing legitimate environmental and safety concerns about fracking through robust regulation and comprehensive monitoring, that people will have confidence that the extraction of shale gas is a safe and reliable source that can contribute to the UK's energy mix.

Shale gas does potentially offer an opportunity for the UK to improve our security of energy supply, to replace depleted North Sea gas reserves and to displace some of the gas we currently import. Shale has should not, therefore, be dismissed and I believe it is right that any communities that do host nationally significant energy infrastructure are able to share its rewards.

However, the Government also need to get their priorities right and I do not believe that fracking is the silver bullet for all our energy needs that the Government seem to suggest. Indeed, it is unlikely that it will be possible to extract shale gas in large volumes in the immediate future in the UK or that it will make a significant difference to consumer bills.

Given this and the legitimate safety and environmental concerns that have been expressed, I believe there should be a cautious and proportionate approach to shale gas exploration.

It is also unhelpful for the Government to have established a false opposition between shale gas extraction and investment in renewable energy. Gas will, of course, continue to play a part in our short and medium term energy mix but here is not reason why this should preclude heavy investment in renewable generation, which represents the long-term future of our energy sector.

I know that some environmental groups have also expressed concern about the Government's approach to encouraging shale gas production and I hope the Government will now listen to these concerns and adopt a more cautious and proportionate approach that address key safety and environmental concerns.

Protests continue against fracking in Barton Moss, Salford. Report HERE

How to opt out of the NHS care data scheme

At a meeting last night I couldn't find anyone who had received their letter about the sharing of individual's medical data so it is good news that implementation has been delayed for six months.

There are concerns about the security of the system and its possible misuse. This was discussed in the Guardian 18 months ago: LINK

If you decide you want to opt out of the system, which is your right, Fax Your GP Com LINK have set uo an easy facility. This is what they say:

We’re a very small group of volunteers who think it should be very easy for people to opt out of the new NHS care.data centralised database of medical records.

Unless you opt out now, care.data will soon store the medical records of everyone in England, yours included, in one giant database.

Our confidential health information will then be shared with companies and other public bodies.

Some people we respect think care.data is, on balance, a good thing.
Some people we respect think care.data is, on balance, a bad thing.

What we know for certain is that the NHS hasn’t made it easy for you to exercise your right to opt out. We think this really isn’t wise.

The NHS leaflet explaining care.data says you should ‘let your GP know’ if you want to opt out.
But GP surgeries are busy. If you ring up wanting to opt out they’ll ask you to write to them instead. That’s fair enough – their priority is treating the sick.

It’s 2014. The NHS really should have made it easy to opt out via the web.
So we thought we’d help out.

First, we found the fax numbers for every GP practice (sadly, very few let you email them). After you’ve entered your details, our clever computers automatically fax your letter asking to opt-out of the care.data database straight to your GP practice.

It’s free. It’s secure. And we don’t store any of your personal data once your opt-out fax has been received by your GP. So we won’t email trying to sign you up for other campaigns.

Sadly we can’t make any 100% watertight promises that this site will always work. Your GP’s fax number might be listed incorrectly on the NHS website, for example.

So if you want total reassurance, it might be best to print out an opt out letter and pop it round to your GP yourself.

However, we have done this sort of thing before, and so know it works well. Back in 1999/2000 some of us built FaxYourMP.com, to make it easy for people to contact their MP, since in those days most MPs didn’t publish their email addresses. A bit like GPs, today, in fact.

We didn’t expect to have to resurrect a similar service nearly 15 years later. Frankly, we shouldn’t have had to, but needs must.

— Stef Magdalinski and friends.

The Keep Our NHS Public leaflet downloadable below contains an opt-out letter you can take to your GP:

Brent activists join nationwide demonstrations against ATOS

 

In the 8am chill this morning activists from Brent demonstrated outside the offices of ATOS in Neasden Lane as part of a nationwide protest against the impact of ATOS assessments on disabled and unwell claimants. Individuals came from Kilburn Boycott Workfare, Kilburn Unemployed Workers, Unite the Community, Brent Green Party and Brent Fightback.

Motorists and pedestrians passing by were generally sympathetic and warmed our hearts if not our fingers.

This is from the organisers' website:

Statement of Intent – We oppose the reported ill-treatment by ATOS of those receiving sickness benefits. We are calling for the abolition of the Work Capability Assessment which is not fit for purpose. We believe that a qualified medical doctor, ideally the GP who regularly sees and treats the sick or disabled individual in question, is the only person able to decide if an individual is fit for work. These peaceful demonstrations will include a minutes silence at 1pm to honour the victims of Iain Duncan Smiths callous reforms.

On February 19th protesters will gather peacefully at the locations used by ATOS to carry out the discredited Work Capability Assessments. Many will provide a live stream which can be viewed on the campaigns webpage http://ukrebellion.com/atosdemo/. The event has attracted a wide range of high profile speakers from politicians to celebrities. The largest demonstration is taking place in the ATOS Head Office, 4 Triton Square, Regent’s Place, London, NW1 3HG London, United Kingdom from 10:00 to 16:00and included the following speakers

Ian Jones – WOW Petition
Paula Peters – DPAC (Disabled People Against Cuts)
Theresa Coles – Atos Miracles
Natalie Bennett – Leader – Green Party
Sonia Poulton – Journalist
 
Natalie Bennett said:

ATOS activities in the UK are a further, dreadful, example of the government’s failed outsourcing experiment. They have inflicted misery and fear on millions of people, and this must end. The medical professionals who treat them are the people who should decide on individuals’ capacity to work. We shouldn’t be pumping public money into the private profits of this health multinational. And we should remember: behind ATOS is the callous government policy of cutting social security payments to vulnerable people. We must ensure everybody who needs social security payments receives enough for a decent quality of life.

Caroline Lucas Green MP for Brighton was speaking at the demonstration planned in her constituency. She said:

Outsourcing the assessment of sick, disabled and vulnerable people to a private corporation, and especially one with such a disgraceful track record as Atos is disgusting…. Ministers have so far refused to take action to get rid of ATOS and their thoroughly discredited Work Capability Assessments. The day of action on February 19th is a chance to stand strong together against companies like ATOS until they are a thing of the past. I’ll be there and will do what I can to keep the issue alive in Parliament.

In Hull Labour MP Karl Turner MP and Green party Chair Martin Deane will attend and speak.

ATOS are clearly worried about the impact the demonstrations will have on their already tarnished reputation. One central claim they make is that

“We have no targets in relation to the outcome of benefit claims either at an individual or overall level.”
http://blog.atoshealthcare.com/2014/02/protests-targeted-at-atos-healthcare-assessment-centres-on-19th-february/

This clearly flies in the face of the revelations made by whistle-blower Greg Wood who lifted the lid on the toxic culture in the organisation and the recent report published by the centre for welfare reform “How Norms Become Targets: Investigating the real reason for the misery of ‘fit for work’ assessments” by Kaliya Franklin which demonstrates how targets to find people fit for work regardless of their individual circumstances have taken root in the organisation.

Tell them what future you want for Central Middlesex Hospital tomorrow

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

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

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

Green Party Education Policy offers a real alternative

I will be moving a motion revising the Green Party's Education Policy at our forthcoming Spring Conference. The revisions take account of recent developments in what has been termed GERM (the Global Education Reform Movement) and the various campaigns that have sprung up as a result of privatisation, forced academisation, test led curriculum and pedagogy and the attack on teachers; conditions of service.

The full briefing paper on the motion can be read HERE. This extract sets out the background:

Since the current Education Policy was written there has been much change in the direction of education both nationally and globally. What has become known as GERM (the Global Education Reform Movement) emphasises competition between schools and between countries, education’s contribution to global economic growth and competition, the provision of a ‘market’ in education with increasing involvement of private companies, a narrowing of the curriculum through a concentration on basic subjects that can be measured through standardised testing, and a convergence between the world of work and education. 

In England the three main parties, to varying degrees, support this movement, which has resulted in the promotion of free schools and academies, the increasing role of private companies not just in sponsoring such schools but also in the provision of curriculum and learning materials. Companies such as Pearson and Murdoch are poised to exploit this situation. Testing at the age of four is now being mooted as well as the existing Phonics Screening Test at six, Key Stage 1 SATs at 7 and Key Stage 2 SATS at 11. In the secondary sector there is a huge emphasis on examination results. Test results are used by Ofsted as the first measure for judging school performance and schools spend an enormous amount of time analysing and ‘interrogating’ the data. A blip in these results can lead to a local authority school being forced to convert to academy status.

The paradox is that increased centralisation and the granting of unprecedented powers to the Secretary of State for Education, in this government and any successor, have accompanied the rhetoric about setting schools free from local authority ‘control’ through academies and free schools. Currently the micro-management of schools by Michael Gove has extended to advocating particular policies on behaviour management. Peter Wilby has described the situation thus:

Michael Gove is on course to complete what Kenneth Baker began… the creation of a fully centralised school system in which the secretary of state for education has the powers of an elected dictator.

The agreement between the three main parties on this gives the Green Party the space to offer a completely different approach based on our underlying principles:

• Our rejection of the economic growth agenda and the accompanying international economic competition enables us to have a broader interpretation of the aims and content of education.
• This in turn enables us to reject the narrow curriculum, testing regimes and league tables associated with the GERM model and to put forward a child-centred approach taking account of child development, especially in the early years.
• Our belief that decisions are best made at local level rather than by centralised diktat means that decisions about curriculum (apart from a broad entitlement) and pedagogy are made by teachers and the school community rather than the Secretary of State.
• This enables diversity and creativity to take place within the state funded local authority school system, which will have the effect of empowering teachers and developing their professionalism rather than deskilling them.
• Our belief in cooperation rather than competition means that we put forward collaborative models of school improvement including school to school support and a partnership role for an independent inspection service informed by educational research/
•  Our support for increased democratic accountability at a local level involves improving the representation of parents and pupils within schools and democratic accountability through local authorities and removing the excessive powers of the Secretary of State.
• Our commitment to social justice means that we put forward policies that support fair admissions and fair funding of schools and inclusion of children with special needs.

Brent Executive to discuss £18m budget cut tonight

The Brent Executive will tonight discuss a budget reduction for 2014-15 of £18m that will go before Full Council for final approval. This is achieved through a mixture of reduction in services, out-sourcing, adminstrative savings and increased fees.

The 'savings' are in the following service areas:

Adult Social Care £4,450,000
Children and Young People £3,157,000
Environment and Neighbourhoods £3,412,000
Regeneration and Growth £2,729,000
Corporate Service £4,081,000

Full details are here:

The Executive will also discuss proposals on council rent increases which average 3.7% or £4.53 per week per dwelling with higher increases for larger properties. Full details HERE

Feisty parents fight off forced academy conversion

In a victory that may have wider repercussions for schools facing forced academisation, St James' Church of England School in Gloucester have been told that it will not face academy conversion for the foreseeable future.

Parents at St James' have been campaigning vociferously over the issue. Recently Michael Gove has not be very pleased with Ofsted Inspection reports that have noted forced academisation takes schools' attention away from getting out of special measures. The problem is referred to here.

A letter from the school on February 12th stated:

Since receiving the Academy Order which was referred to in my last letter, the governing body, Local Authority and Diocese have collectively sought approval from the Department for Education (DfE) to defer the academy conversion process for the foreseeable future. I'm please to be able to tell you that yesterday we received formal notification that the request has been approved.

The specific reasons for the agreement is that the DfE have acknowledged that the school needs to prioritise coming out of special measures and would have been distracted from this by the amount of administration involved in academy conversion. In addition, the Local Authority has yet to complete its audit which determines whether additional school places may be needed in the city for 2016 and beyond.

Governors acknowledge that some parents have expressed their concerns about academy consultation. Please be assured that all parents, as well as other local stakeholders, will be fully consulted about future plans for thye school once the Local Authority have undertaken this work. 

The letter goes on to invite  parents to hear about the latest HMI monitoring report at the meeting which was to be held about academy consultation.

The letter concludes:

We do hope that as a community we can now all collectively focus on the immediate priority - to ensure that St James' moves out of 'special measures' and appoint a sunstantive headteacher with the energy and ambition to ensure that St James' is the school of choice for parents in this locality. 

The St James' Campaign  Facebook was jubilant with this heartfelt message posted about one of the leading campaigners:

You are a true inspiration to others your drive passion and fight for a cause you believe in have done you proud you are a woman to aspire too who has gone to extraordinary lengths to fight for Save St James....since September you took this on as a full time job as well as being a full time mum and all the voluntary work you do to help others...even when you were at your lowest point kicked in the teeth by the very people that are in charge of our children you never gave up hope...may your children also see you for the remarkable strong and dedicated woman that you are...a true fighter to the end!!!! so proud of you and may many children benefit from this x x

Congratulations. I hope Brent and other local authorities and governing bodies will note the importance of standing together against forced academisation and getting behind parent campaigns..

Temporary classrooms at Mahatma Gandhi House?

According to a report going before Brent Executive on Monday, Mahatma Gandhi House, vacated by Brent Housing Service, could be used to house primary school pupils.

The report outlines a number of options to provide temporary extra places in schools and at the vacated Pupil Referral Unit in Church Lane, Kingsbury. The council will prioritise provision on school sites first but state:

Mahatma Gandhi House is considered as meeting the criteria providing a managing school could be identified. It is in an area of high demand but as the priority is to provide school places on school sites; officers propose to undertake a feasibility study and to discuss matters with the landlord, but to prioritise school based options first.

The nearest primary schools are Elsley, St Joseph's and Park Lane. A  managing school would also be required for the Church Lane PRU and the nearest school, with building work for permanant expansion just completed, is Fryent Primary.

The report is only about the provision of additional temporary  'bulge classes' or satellite classrooms but a full report on the permanent  expansion of schools to add forms of entry will be presented to the March Executive.

Table 3: Summary of Pupil Projection Increases by Planning Area 2013-2019

Planning Area,  Number,  Percentage Increase

1 Kingsbury 1172 34
2 Preston 751 17
3 Wembley Central 1534 27
4 Harlesden 901 22
5 Kilburn – Dollis Hill 525 6

Total 4883

London Green Party calls for action to end London’s housing crisis

 Green Party leader Natalie Bennett will tomorrow highlight the desperate shortage of affordable housing in London in a protest outside Mount Pleasant development in Islington

 

The party says this new development of 700 private flats is symbolic of Mayor Boris Johnson’s strategy of prioritising homes for the super-rich whilst ordinary Londoners are priced out of their homes.

 

Natalie Bennett commented:

Boris Johnson is once again riding roughshod over the people of London by privileging the profit of a developer over the need to provide ordinary Londoners with affordable homes. By providing only 12 per cent affordable housing in the new development, he's failing to allow for the development of a balanced community. He's not providing homes for the teachers, police officers, cleaners, and many other people who serve our communities, but setting up big profits for property speculators and private landlords. This public land should be put to community use with genuinely affordable council housing. That is why I ask all those who feel that it is time for change to join us Islington on Saturday 15th February from 10am.

Research from the Mayor’s office shows that, despite the rise in homelessness and overcrowded housing in London, two-thirds of all newly built properties are being sold to investors – pushing up prices even further. The party argues that the Mayor’s strategy of marketing new properties to rich investors is completely inappropriate for a city where the median house price is now three times the affordable limit for the average household.

EMERGENCY PUBLIC MEETING: MORE FLOODS, MORE FUEL POVERTY?

ENERGY CRISIS, CLIMATE CRISIS – WHAT IS THE SOLUTION?

Emergency public meeting organised by Brent Campaign Against Climate Change and Brent Friends of the Earth. Supported by Brent Housing Action, Brent Trades Union Council and Brent Fightback. Speakers: Sophie Neuburg (Friends of the Earth), Ewa Jasiewicz (Fuel Poverty Action), Pilgrim Tucker (Unite Community), Suzanne Jeffery (One Million Climate Jobs Campaign)

Thursday 20 February, 7.30 pm, Chalkhill Primary School Sports Hall, Anton Place,  Bowater Road (off Chalkhill Road), Wembley Park. Free admission – all welcome.

Wembley Park Tube or buses: 83, 182, 245, 297