The TTIP threat to public services and labour rights

The TTIP (Transatlantic Trade Investment Partnership) is slowly emerging as an issue in the Euro elections although public awareness remains low.  It is one of those extremely important issues where debate is limited by a combination of complexity and opaqueness.

This hustings should help shed light on the issue:

Take Back the Power

Global Justice and the European Elections

Monday 19 May, 7pm 

Small Hall, 
Friends Meeting House, 173-177 Euston Rd,

London, NW1 2BJ

Come and meet your MEP candidates and question them on their commitment to trade justice.

•        Jean Lambert, Green Party

•        Jonathan Fryer, Liberal Democrats

•        Seb Dance, Labour Party

•        Glyn Chambers, Conservative Party

•        Tbc, UKIP (invited)

Chair: John Hilary, Executive Director, War on Want 

On Thursday 22nd May, we will be voting for candidates to represent us in the European Parliament. Europe takes decisions on important global issues, including trade.

A major trade deal - the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) - is currently being negotiated between the USA and the EU. New corporate trade deals like this threaten to increase global inequality, undermine democracy and hand public service provision to multinational companies. 

•        What effect will this deal have on our lives here in the UK? 

•        How can we ensure that this deal prioritises human rights, environmental protection and labour standards?

•        How can we ensure transparency and accountability in the negotiation of these deals?

Meet your European Parliamentary election candidates and hear what they have to say on these issues and what they will do to address them, if elected on 22 May.

Organised by North and East London World Development Movement


Join the Facebook event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/655635101157740

Contact nandelondonwdm@gmail.com to find out more


Web: www.groups.wdm.org.uk/northandeastlondon

Keith Taylor, Green MEP for the  South East published a detailed report on the TTIP two months ago and I include it here for readers:

Cllr Mashari offers Preston Library Campaign volunteer library possibility

A crowded  public meeting of the Preston Library Campaign heard speakers from Brent Labour, Liberal Democrats, Conservatives, Greens and TUSC on the future of the closed Brent libraries. A full account of the meeting can be found HERE on my colleague Shahrar Ali's blog.

At the end of the meeting a show of hands clearly demonstrated support for a professionally staffed and publicly funded library with a slightly lower number in favour of a volunteer run library. However, afterwards some indicated if a voluntary run library was the only solution they would reluctantly support that.

Cllr Roxanne Mashari, lead member for environment, was clear that no budget existed for a re-opening of the library due to central government cuts in local authority funding. She cited her negotiations with the Friends of Kensal Rise Library as a precedent for Preston.

She said that when the ex-Preston Library building was no longer required by Preston Park Primary School in a year's time, the Council would be willing to rent it out to a voluntary group at a peppercorn rent. The Council would also be prepared to give the building ACV (Asset of Community Value) status. All this would be conditional on a robust business plan for the project.

John Hilary: Recipe for Ruin - the TTIP

Responding to one of the commenters below, here is John  Hilary of War on Want on the TTIP

Preston Library Hustings Tonight

Brent Labour councillor won't vote Labour in Euro election

Brent Labour councillor Claudia Hector has said she will not vote Labour in the European elections on May 22nd because of Labour's lack of concern over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The TTIP would open up public services to privatisation and un dermine workers' rights. In a Twitter exchange Cllr Hector expressed frustration at Labour Mep Calude Moraes' failure to engage on the issue:

1. Claudia ‏@HectorCllr Apr 24

   @ClaudeMoraesMEP Will you be supporting Andy Burnham's wish that the NHS be protected from the TTIP Treaty, as part of the euro platform?

   
   

   
   
2. Claudia ‏@HectorCllr Apr 25

   @ClaudeMoraesMEP You have not replied to my enquiry about TTIP. Is that because of ignorance or lack of interest?
3. Claudia ‏@HectorCllr May 5

   @ClaudeMoraesMEP Still no reply. I will not be voting Labour in Euro lctn, this is the greatest threat to our freedom in generations.
4. Benali Hamdache ‏@GreenBenali 9h

   @HectorCllr @ClaudeMoraesMEP @GreenJeanMEP & all @LonGreenParty MEP candidates pledged to oppose #TTIP.
5. Claudia ‏@HectorCllr 9h

   @GreenBenali @ClaudeMoraesMEP @GreenJeanMEP @LonGreenParty From the email I got from Claude Moraes it's clear he can't see the TTIP danger

    

 At the Green Party's Spring Conference, leader Natalie Bennett had this to say about the TTIP:

TTIP is a huge threat to hard-fought-standards for the quality and safety of our food, the sources of our energy and our privacy and risks undoing decades worth of EU progress on issues like worker’s rights.”

Bennett stated that the proposed deal threatened to “blow apart the power of our democratic decision making.” She raised the spectre of the Edward Snowden revelations to demonstrate that the US state was “profoundly untrustworthy”.

It’s not surprising, really, when we hear Lib Dems trumpeting the proposed US-EU free trade deal as some kind of economic saviour. The Lib Dems are the lapdogs of corporate Europe, while the Tories are its war horses. In their support for the trade deal, the Lib Dems are reiterating the propaganda of multinational companies interested only in swallowing up new markets, consuming new societies whole. 

Let’s make no mistake, the proposed free trade deal is a huge threat to hard-fought-for standards for the quality and safety of our food, the sources of our energy, workers’ rights and our privacy. One of the great contributions of the EU is to set a foundation of these standards – not good enough, not high enough – but a start. The proposed free trade deal is a supertanker of dynamite that would blow those foundations apart.

And more, it would blow apart the power of our democratic decision making. The deal provides corporations with new rights to sue the Government for legislating in the public interest – that’s definitely not acting for the common good. 

The banking lobby is so happy with the financial services proposals it has said that the text could have come straight from its own brochure – that’s acting in the interests of the 1%, not the common good.

And there’s more. It’s a deal being proposed with a state that the bravery of Edward Snowden demonstrated is profoundly untrustworthy. Yet there’s no openness – no democracy – about the negotiations: the mandate that the EU Council gave to the Commission is still classified as ‘secret’.

Kensal Rise Library not on next Planning Committee Agenda

The controversial planning application for Kensal Rise Library, subject of vociferous debate on this blog, will not be heard at the last planning committee meeting before the local elections, The agenda for the meeting on May 14th has now been published LINK

The next meeting, subject to confirmation, will be on June 17th.

Campaigners argued for deferral of the item on the grounds that the application should not be heard until police investigations into fradulent emails suporting the developer's previous application had been received. Kensal Green Labour candidate, Dan Filson, revealed in a comment on this blog that the investigation had been 'slow-moving, owing to the ISP hosting the bogus email senders not cooperating with the police'.

It is unclear how Filson got this information as the police have said they report to the Council and not to individuals on  progress on their invstigation. As a candidate Filson is of course at present a private individual.,

Barham Park Library Planning Appeal – Brent Council v. Our Community.

Guest blog by Philip Grant

It is nearly six months since I wrote a blog for this site: “Planning Committee upholds community use of Barham Park Library”. http://www.wembleymatters.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/planning-committee-upholds-community.html)  Brent’s Chief Planner had recommended at the meeting on 13 November 2013 that they should agree a change to business use, based on a Community Facilities Assessment. This document (which I called ‘dishonest’ in an objection comment at the time) had been produced for the Barham Park Trust by anonymous Council Officers, but as I reported:

It was plainly obvious to committee members from evidence given to them by objectors ... that there was a need and demand for community facilities in the area which required full-time use (not a couple of hours a week) of at least parts of the building. To give all of the space to the arts charity ACAVA to let out as artists studios would deprive local people of those existing community facilities.

That should have been the end of the planning process, with the Trust and the Council (effectively one and the same, as Brent is the ‘corporate sole Trustee’ of the Barham Park Trust) working with their preferred tenant, ACAVA, and the local community groups who also wanted to rent space at the Barham Park buildings to find a compromise solution. Instead, on 3 December, the Barham Park Trust Committee (five members of Brent’s Executive) accepted a report from Richard Barrett (Brent’s Operational Director, Property and Projects, and a member of the Barham Park Management Group, a group of Senior Council Officers), and resolved: 

To pursue an appeal against the decision of the Local Planning Authority to refuse planning permission for the change of use of the premises.

Although Mr Barrett said in his report to the Trustees that ‘... there does remain a significant risk that the appeal will be refused’, when questioned about the risk at the meeting he said that, having taken informal advice, ‘... the risks were perceived as being lower than indicated in the report.’ The reason he believed the risks were less was because the Planning Committee had not followed the Planning Officer’s recommendation.

Five months later, there is some bad news for Mr Barrett, and for the Barham Park Trust, and some very good news for the objectors, including the Friends of Barham Library. Last Sunday was the final day of the four week period during which people interested in the planning appeal could submit comments on it to the Planning Inspector. Someone at Brent’s Planning Department must have been working overtime, because that was the day when the Council’s Appeal Statement (as Local Planning Authority) was submitted, and posted on the full details webpage for the Barham Park application 13/2179: https://forms.brent.gov.uk/servlet/ep.ext?extId=101150&reference=112613&st=PL .

Brent’s Planning Officer, who originally accepted the Community Facilities Assessment at face value, has now considered the evidence put forward by objectors, and agrees that the Planning Committee decision was the correct one! This is one of many similar extracts from the Statement to the Planning Inspector:

'...  the Local Planning Authority consider that the Community Facilities Assessment does not demonstrate that the existing community floorspace is not required to meet the needs of the local community and as such, it is considered that this proposal is contrary to Policy CP23 of the Brent LDF Core Strategy 2010.'

The planning appeal by the Barham Park Trust raises some important questions:

Why would Brent Council want to appeal against its own Planning Committee’s decision, especially when that decision was based on upholding one of Brent’s core planning policies (CP23 – Protecting Existing Community and Cultural Facilities)?

 Why would the Trustees of a Council-run charity, that claims to want to put the Barham Park buildings back into productive use, delay resolving the issue for months, losing rental income that would help to maintain the property and incurring an estimated £10,000 in fees (out of “charity funds”) to a planning consultant to present the appeal for them? 

and (does this make me a three “whys” man?):

Why did it take so long for the Barham Park Trust’s appeal to be lodged with the Planning Inspectorate?

Here are what I believe to be the answers to these questions. There is a chance that I am wrong on some of the points, and if so, I would invite anyone who feels aggrieved by what I have written to add a comment, or to ask Martin for a “right of reply”.

The Barham Park Management Group is chaired by Jenny Isaac (Operational Director, Neighbourhoods), who as well as being “in charge” of Brent’s parks has overall responsibility for Brent’s library service. She may have wished to prevent any undermining of the Council’s Libraries Transformation Project. Richard Barrett is “in charge” of Brent’s properties, and probably considered that letting the Barham Park buildings to a single tenant, with no local community involvement, was in Brent’s best business interests. They would also have realised that such a proposal would be an attractive proposition for the Labour Executive members on the Barham Park Trust Committee, as any letting to the Friends of Barham Library would suggest that the Executive’s decision to close six libraries in 2011 had been wrong, and might be seen as a “victory” for Cllr. Lorber, the leader of the main opposition party on the Brent Council.

It was the Senior Officers, not the “Trustees”, who put in the planning application in order to make their plans for a single letting to ACAVA possible. They have no interest in Brent’s planning policies, if those policies get in the way of what they want, and did not like being “shown up” by having the planning application rejected. The Officers therefore gave the “Trustees” only two options for how the Barham Park Trust should respond to the Planning Committee decision, but made these more attractive to the Executive members by saying that either would take six months. Even though the Trust Committee members knew that there were other options which should also have been considered, they went along with their Officer’s advice, accepting the delay, loss of rental income and extra costs of a planning appeal because this would put off a resolution of this embarrassing problem until after the local elections in May 2014.

The appeal appears to have been Mr Barrett’s “preferred option”. I was puzzled as to why it should take six months, as it was a relatively straightforward matter and I thought that the appeal could probably have been lodged by the end of January. However, if the Barham Park Trust did not actually appeal until after mid-March, there would not be time for it to be decided until after 22 May. As it was, the appeal was lodged at the end of March 2014, giving a four week period from 7 April to 4 May for objectors and others to submit their comments on the appeal. Was it a coincidence that this might be a period when Cllr. Lorber and his supporters would perhaps be too busy preparing for the local elections to be able to respond effectively with their written representations?

If I am only half right in the “answers” I have given to the questions I raised, I think that this calls into doubt the actions of both the Council Officers and the Brent Executive members who between them run the Barham Park Trust. The Trust is meant to be a charity whose object is ‘the provision of Barham Park and its buildings for recreational purposes’. Titus Barham, who left the property to Wembley on his death in 1937, clearly saw this as being for the benefit of the people of the district in which he had made his home. The way in which the letting of the buildings, the planning application and the planning appeal have been handled by the Trust could be seen as an abuse of power, putting the interests of Brent Council and of its current ruling politicians ahead of the interests of the local community.

The appeal has still to be decided by the Planning Inspector, but there is now a very strong case for it to be rejected, and for Brent Planning Committee’s original decision to stand. This will ensure that the former Barham Park library must be used as “community facilities”, but it does not guarantee that all, or part, of it will be made available for the Friends of Barham Library and their volunteer-run library service. That will depend on who is elected in the Brent Council poll on 22 May, and whether whoever controls the Council after those elections is willing to stand up to Senior Council Officers who have become used to getting their own way. 

I hope that thought will motivate you to use your vote for candidates who are committed in practice to local councillors, Council Officers and local people working together for the benefit of our community, rather than to a situation that we have seen too often in recent years of Brent Council v. Our Community

Greens respond to Labour on railway nationalisation

 
A letter from 30 Labour PPCs to the Observer has been prominently featured today and has earnt top billing on the BBC news and current affairs programmes this morning. The letter calls on Ed Miliband to make public ownership of the railways a key part of Labour policy going into the general election.

Rupert Read the Green Party spokesperson for Transport issued the following response:

After many years of being in government, sitting and watching the privatised rail monopolies rake in huge profits, are Labour about to do something? Or at least "consider" doing something?

The Labour Party might finally be starting to catch up with the Green Party, on this key issue

The truth is that the British public have been down this road before with the Labour party and they have been let down time and again. You simply can't trust Labour to do what they say they are going to do."

Caroline Lucas MP has a bill in the House of Commons right now calling for exactly this. Labour had more than a decade in government to do something about this and they didn't lift a finger to help.

This is a flagship Green Party policy; Caroline Lucas has made it central to her agenda; the media really ought to report that Labour is hardly engaging in original thinking: simply stumbling falteringly toward something that voters can already plump for in unadulterated form by voting Green.

The letter from the Labour PPCs come as another poll shows the Greens overtaking the Liberal Democrats in the European Elections. The Green Party is on course to return its highest ever number of MEPs on May 22^nd.

Greens support firefighters' fight for fair pensions and retirement

Willesden Green Green Party candidates Shahrar Ali and Martin Francis join the picket line

It  was good to join the Fire Brigade Union pickets at Willesen Fire Station this afternoon to express Green Party support for their Bank Holiday strike against changes in their pensions and working conditions. Firefighters, like teachers, are facing an increase in the age at which they can retire. 

The professions are very different but in both cases the government is ignoring the effect of age on the capacity to do the job effectively. Both firefighters and teachers face the prospect of having to retire early through illhealth or competency procedures with a detrimental impact on their pensions, apart from the demoralising effect of end a career on such grounds.

The Green Party Trade Union Group issued the following statement this afternoon:

The Green Party Trade Union group sends its support to FBU members striking over the May bank holiday weekend 2014 against “totally unworkable, unaffordable, unsustainable and unfair” changes to firefighters’ pensions. GPTU recognises that FBU members perform strenuous, dangerous and, at times, heroic work on behalf of the community. Their dedication is needed by us all as they are increasingly on the frontline against the damage being caused by climate change. Instead of taking effective measures to combat climate change the government disgracefully attacks firefighters’ just rewards for their vital work.

Shame on the government and victory to the FBU!

Pete Murry, GPTU Secretary

Register by Tuesday May 6th to vote on May 22nd

There is still time to register to vote in the vital Euro and local elections on May 22nd. To be included in the Register you must be at least 17 years old and a citizen of the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, a Commonwealth country, a British Overseas Territory or any European Union state. Print out the form below and take it to Brent Civic Centre.

Green Party policies for Brent - May 22nd 2014

Your Green candidates for Brent Council elections May 22nd

Some of the candidates with Jean Lambert MEP

The Green Party will be standing a candidate in every Brent ward in the local elections on May 22nd, except for Willesden Green where there are two candidates.

Here are the candidates in ward order:

Alperton - Yusuf Akram,

Barnhill - Giovanna Dunmall,

Brondesbury Park- Rai Shamon,

Dollis Hill - Pete Murry, 

Dudden Hill - Simone Aspis,

Fryent - Claire McCarthy,  

Harlesden - Simon Erskine,

Kensal Green - Sally Ibbotson,

Kenton - Graham Allen,

Kilburn - Nas Belazka,

Mapesbury - Scott Bartle,

Northwick Park - Mimi Kaltman,

Preston - May Erskine,

Queensbury - Adlen Biloum, 

Queens Park - Alex Freed,

Stonebridge - Brian Orr,  

Sudbury - Manish Patel,

Tokyngton - Khalid Akram,

Welsh Harp - Jafar Hassan,

Wembley Central - Kolos Csontos,

Willesden Green - Shahrar Ali,

Willesden Green - Martin Francis

Brent Council prepared to act to ensure safety at Michaela Academy Free School

Responding to the story below about Brent Teachers' Panel's fears for the safety of childrren and staff over asbestos  at the Wembley Park Michaela Academy Free School, lead member for Childrren and Families, Cllr Michael Pavey has made the following statement:

Children must be absolutely safe in school. I look forward to the Michaela School clarifying these concerning points raised by local teachers. 

The Council has already supplied the Trade Unions with a full briefing on this important matter and we are very prepared to take further action if necessary.

Michaela Free School asbestos fears demand answers from Birbalsingh and Gove

The scene at Arena House earlier today

Brent Teachers' Panel has written to Katharine Birbalsingh, headteacher designate of Michaela Academy Free School and Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education, seeking information on the asbestos removal programme at Arena House, the ex-College of North West London's Wembley Park building, which was built at a time when asbestos was widely used.

Their concern has been heightened by the fact that Michaela's website says that the contractor Willmott Dixon is working to tight timelines:

Willmott Dixon is our appointed contractor and a lot of work has been going on behind the scenes such as site surveys, detailing of designs and securing planning permission. With all of this now in place, the team is currently preparing to start work on site in just a few weeks’ time.Our contractors have a great deal of experience in preparing free schools to open (often on shorter timelines than ours) [My emphasis] and the Education Funding Agency is involved every step of the way to ensure that everything required will be in place for us to welcome our first intake in September.

Over the next few months in the lead-up to the opening of the school, Willmott Dixon will be stripping out the existing building,  [My emphasis] creating new spaces that meet our specific requirements and installing new IT systems and furniture in preparation for our new school. The work on site will then be the end product of months of planning and we will keep you updated as Arena House undergoes its exciting transformation.

The Teachers' Panel's concern was heightened when they discovered that Willmott Dixon was one of three firms, along with Marks and Spencer, fined for unsafe removal of asbestos during refurbishment works at the M&S store in Reading: LINK

The principal contractor at the Bournemouth store, Wilmott Dixon, failed to plan, manage and monitor removal of asbestos-containing materials.

It did not prevent the possibility of asbestos being disturbed by its workers in areas that had not been surveyed extensively.

 The court heard that the client, Marks and Spencer plc, did not allocate sufficient time and space for the removal of asbestos-containing materials at the Reading store.

There was a considerable amount of debris evident  in the stripped Arena House classrooms today

 The Brent Teachers' Panel letter reads:

Dear Ms Birbalsingh and Mr Michael Gove,

I am writing on behalf of Brent Teachers’ Panel, representing teacher unions in all types of Brent schools (community, grant maintained, independent, academy and free schools) to request information regarding the management and/or removal of asbestos at the site which is being refurbished for use as Michaela Academy Free School.

Our reason for requesting this information relates to my rights as appointed safety rep and elected health and safety adviser for the NUT representing some 1700 member teachers in Brent, some of whom may work at this school. As you will know, under the Safety Reps and Safety Committee Regulations 1977, an appointed safety rep has the right to see documentation and reports associated with works in a building which may affect the safety of his or her members. In addition to this, and as Brent teachers, we are also genuinely concerned for the safety of children and others in our community.

Please could you therefore provide me with the following:

·        A copy or sight of the asbestos refurbishment/demolition (Type 3) survey carried out for Arena House with associated material and priority risk assessments

·        A local asbestos management plan for the school which will be used when it opens in Arena House in September

·        An explanation as to the choice/selection/tendering process of the contractor Willmott Dixon, bearing in mind that they were found guilty in court of contravening sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 between 5 February 2007 and 28 February 2007, and bearing in mind also that when they took this to appeal on the grounds of small risk to health, the appeal was lost in May 2012.

I would like to assure you of our best intentions and that we only have our members’ and pupils’ safety and wellbeing in mind with this request. The Brent Teachers’ Panel has had to deal with the death of a school pupil and enforcement notices for poor asbestos management in the past, in Brent schools, so we always have safety foremost in our minds.

I look forward to hearing from you on this matter.

Jenny Cooper,

Brent NUT Health & Safety Adviser,

Health & Safety Adviser to Brent Teachers’ Panel

Elected London Representative on the National NUT Health & Safety Working Group

Brent Appointed School Health & Safety Representative

Although free schools are independent of the council, Brent Council does have overall responsibility for the health and well-being of Brent pupils and so should intervene to make sure that this will be a safe environment for pupils and staff.

Brent needs healthy local newspapers to hold Council to account

I have written about the importance of the local press for democracy before on this site. Here in Brent we have the Brent and Kilburn Times, owned by the Archant group and the Wembley and Willesden Observer, owned by Trinity Mirror. In some parts of the north of the borough the Harrow Times also circulates.

The number of reporters on the Brent ands Kilburn Times has reduced from the paper's heyday and readers will have noticed that the number of pages has also been reduced. It is sold in newsagents but also distributed free at some supermarkets, estate agents and elsewhere. It does not always contain a letters page which is often a good indicator of a newspaper's engagement with readers.

The Wembley and Willesden Observer is rather different as it is a local edition of the Harrow Observer series and despite having a great local reporter in Hannah Bewley is usually dominated by news about Harrow. A reader has to double check on stories beginning 'The Council...' to see which Council is involved - more often than not it is Harrow.

The paper's  door-to-door distribution in Brent is very patchy and its price of 90p where sold is unpopular with readers when they discover it contains very few Brent stories.

Trinity Mirror has gone through a difficult period and earlier this month told West Londoin staff that the Fulham and Hammersmith Chronicle, Westminster Chronicle and Kensington and Chelsea Chronicle were to close.

Trinity also  announced that their titles in Uxbridge, Hounslow and Ealing are to switch from door-to-door to 'pick-up' only. The Harrow Observer will remain distributed door-to-door but as I mentioned earlier this does not cover the whole borough of Brent. The newspaper's office is being moved to Watford.

Trinity are going through the process of making staff including reporters, photographers and sales staff redundant and the outcome for the WWO is awaited with some trepidation.

Clearly this is a gloomy picture, not only for the staff concerned, but for the health of local democracy and the important role local newspapers play in holding local councils to account.

Laura Davison, national organiser of the NUJ said about Trinity's closure announcement:

This announcement has come as a terrible shock to the hardworking staff of these titles.The speed of it means there is little time to look at meaningful alternatives to closure.Trinity Mirror should not simply be able to shut down these titles and lock them away after years of starving them of resources.It will leave some communities with no local paper, depriving them of a way to access information and hold local power to account. Readers and the Trinity Mirror journalists who serve them, deserve better.

Martin Shipton, chair of the Trinity Group chapel (NUJ branch), said:

These closures would leave many communities in the outer London area without a local paper, as well as Fulham, a significant and densely populated part of the capital. There is a compelling need for journalistic scrutiny of the budget of local authorities which cover the circulation of these papers. Instead of shutting them down, Trinity Mirror should be investing in quality journalism, for which the public undoubtedly retains an appetite.

I agree.

Brent Council leader reiterates opposition to fracking

In a letter to Ian Saville and Pam Laurance, Joint Coordinators of Brent Friends of the Earth, Brent Council leader, Muhuimmad Butt, has reiterated his oppositon to fracking. He was responding to letters and postcards sent from residents.

Thank you for your letter of 15 March 2014 and the postcards that you enclosed. It’s heartening to know that so many Brent residents passionately oppose hydraulic fracturing as much as the Council does; as you say, “Fracking is a dirty word”.

I’m sure you’ve been as dismayed to read that the ConDem Government now intend to overhaul trespass legislation to make it easier for fracking firms to gain access without permission of landowners. We are currently exploring what new legislation regarding planning law gives us the opportunity to prevent contractors by law.

As you know, Brent has no intention whatsoever to grant contractors with licences to carry out shale gas extraction in our borough. I agree that a council motion would make a statement to communicate our opposition to all, inside and outside of Brent. Thank you for your draft wording, which will be considered by Executive Members.

In November, we decided to go beyond the standard motion. Hitting the headlines wasn’t just a stunt though – we are obligated to protect our residents from harm. When so many charities and organisations, including yourselves and Public Health England, were voicing loud concerns, the Council had no choice but to speak out. We will use what legal power we can to defend local residents, their homes and neighbourhoods against the dangers of fracking.

‘Letter to Brent Council? That’ll be £6.40, please.’

(And a reply? Priceless)

Guest blog by 'Elvin Impersonator' 

On Wednesday this week letters were sent to Brent Council nominating, under the provisions of the Localism Act 2011, the extensive green space of Copland’s playing fields as an ‘asset of community value’. The Act requires local authorities to maintain a list of sites and amenities which are used by the public and are part of local life. The letters were signed by representatives of local residents and Copland staff and students.

When it came to posting the letters, however, the bill came to £25.60, or £6.40 per letter, extortionate even by privatisation standards. Why so much? Well it’s the price of experience really. Last year Brent claimed to have no knowledge of a petition posted to them by first class post and signed by hundreds of Copland students opposing the forced academisation of their school. As a result, another petition opposing the Ark takeover was signed by over 400 students and copies posted to all 63 Brent councillors. Again it appears that up to 60 of these must have been lost in the post as replies were received from only three of our elected representatives. Dozens of additional letters written on the subject and sent to those looking for our votes on May 22nd have similarly met with no response whatsoever. As a result it was decided this time to utilise the Post Office service which registers the sending of the letter and effectively tracks it to its recipient. But at a cost.

Whether it was a price worth paying will soon become clear. But if Brent Labour, Lib Dems and Conservatives had sat down and tried to plan how to alienate this group of ordinary voters and drive them into the arms of Farage and the Fruitcakes, they couldn’t have done a better job than they’re doing already. Interesting to see whether the strategy changes over the next few weeks.

Meanwhile at Copland a ‘special meeting’ for staff has been called next week to introduce the new school uniform. Whether this will be the students’ uniform or the one the teachers will have to wear (shiny estate agents suits, gel, blusher etc) has not been made clear. Early booking recommended.
 

Another Brent free school will now not open in September

Another free school due to open to Year 7 pupils in Brent will now not open in September. Gateway Academy, which promised a very different educational philosophy to that of  Michaela Academy, was to due to take about 100 Year 7 pupils. The DfE has not been able to secure a site for the school.

Parents of these children, if they have not already protectively accepted a place at another Brent school, will need to apply to the Secondary School Admissions Department of Brent Council. Sara Williams, Acting Director of  Children and Families, has said that there are enough vacancies in other Brent secondary schools for the unplaced pupils. These are likely to be at Copland Community School, due to academise is September, the Crest Academies and perhaps Capital City Academy.  Other Brent secondary schools have been oversubscribed LINK

This is the lettter Johnny Kyriacou, Principal Designate of Gateway, send to parents earlier today:

Dear Parents/Guardians

It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that we have to announce that the opening of Gateway Academy has been deferred and will now open in September 2015. The Department for Education took the decision because they were not able to secure us a building in time for September 2014.

We have been assured that the department will continue to search for a suitable site and remain committed to the opening of the academy in 2015, however this will be of little consolation for those Parents who have applied, seeing as your children are starting secondary school this year.

I am truly sorry we were not able to make it happen for this year but it was matters outside our control, namely in finding a site, which the Department for Education sets out to do for all free schools.

Your support for Gateway Academy has been overwhelming and humbling. We know the local community in Brent are very passionate and care very much about their children and their education.

You will need to make your choice of schools available through the local authority and their admissions team. We advised you to keep your place with the LA and that applications to us were in addition to the LA.

If there is any way that we can support then please do not hesitate to contact us. If you would like to come and meet me to express any further thoughts then please contact me at info@gatewayacademy.org.uk

Once again we are very sorry we will not be able to serve our local community this year and we wish you all the best.

Yours Faithfully

Johnny Kyriacou

Principal Designate

Gladstone Free School pupils advised to find places elsewhere for September

The Brent and Kilburn Times LINK is reporting that Paul Phillips, Principal designate,  is advising parents whose children were due to attend Gladstone Free School in September 2014 to find a place elsewhere. The school has not yet secured a site or a building. 120 Year 6 children currently in primary school are affected. Sara Williams, Director of Children and Families assured the BKT that places were available elsewhere. These are likely to be at Copland or Crest Academy. Brent Council has not control over free schools or their site arrangements but they do have overall responsibility for the well-being of Brent's children.

I raised the issue of Year 7 places in proposed free schools in my letter to the Brent and Kilburn Times on September 10th. There is no further news about a building for Gateway Academy which was also due to open to 100 or so Year 7 pupils in September.

We want OUR library back!

From the Friends of Preston Library
 

Elections to Brent Council are less than a month away. We are holding a public meeting at 7.30 on Wednesday May 7 in St Erconwald's Church Hall, Carlton Avenue East HA9 8NB (flyer attached).  We have invited all the local candidates. In three of the four wards served by Preston Library, seats changed hands at the last election. They need your votes, and this is your chance to tell them what you think.

It's over two years since Brent closed six of the borough's libraries, and much of what we said would happen has happened. Brent's libraries are now, on almost every measure in the official statistics, amongst the poorest performers in London. We know that many people in the Preston area have been deprived of their library service - only yesterday someone who lives a few hundred yards from Preston Library was telling me that her daughter now struggles to find study space in the new Civic Centre Library.

The Preston Library building is still in public hands, and will be vactated by Preston Park School next year. Please come to St Erconwald's next week, and tell the politicians that we want our library back!

Will breathing be allowed in Birbalsingh's primary school?

The editor cut my reference to"almost 'no breathing'  allowed"  in the letter published on April 10th  in the Kilburn Times (see below) about Katharine Birbalsingh's Michaela Free School. Maybe she was not familiar with Michael Rosen's wonderful poem.

I was trying to make a point about Birbalsingh's strictures on 'installing (sic) impeccable behaviour', children sitting in rows, traditional education and her rejection of any idea that teachers facilitated learning. She has a model of 'private education' which is very old fashioned and out of touch with the real private schools that I come across.

The comments were about her secondary school, which is yet to open, but this week she was on the front page of the Kilburn Times trying to gather support for her bid to open a primary school to feed into Michaela and again, getting the word right this time, of her determination to 'instil impeccable behaviour in pupils while offering a non nonsense approach to learning which will deliver a private standard of education'.

Birbalsingh was quoted as saying, 'We need to show the Department for Education that our primary school will be as popular as our secondary school'. In fact Michaela has been struggling to fill its Year 7 and resorted to advertising in local chicken shops. Its public meetings for potential parents were very poorly attended. As reported here some parents allocated the school by the Council have turned down the offer. Nationally 70% of free school have unfilled places after being open for two years.

As a former primary teacher I shiver at the thought of her 'strict' educational philosophy being imposed on primary aged children.

Birbalsingh says she is seeking parents 'with a professional background' to get involved in her bid. I hope that before doing so they thoroughly research Katharine Birbalsingh's controversial professional background. This includes losing her deputy headteacher job when she used photographs of children at her then school to castigate the comprehensive school system at a Tory Party fringe meetiing and her free school bid being opposed by two other London boroughs.

In the Wembley Ploan space has been earmarked for a new primary school  close to Arena House and North End Road in the Wembley Regeneration area on land which is currently occupied by small industrial and commercial units. Originally this would have been a local authority primary school funded by Section 106 funds as a result of Quintain's redevelopment of the area and the new housing planned.

Meanwhile plans have been approved for a new four form entry primary unit in the grounds of Wembley High School, a new primary unit has opened at Preston Manor High School and additional classes provided  at Preston Park Primary and Park Lane Primary. Ark Academy across the road from Arena House includes a primary department.

Cameron abandons Tories to stand for UKIP in election

Barry Cameron, the recently announced UKIP candidate for Queensbury ward is a former Tory and member of the Tory's Barnhill Action Team.

His choice of ward is interesting because several Brent Conservatives are unhappy with the current Conservative Action Team in Queensbury who have been actively trying to build up support in the local elections by actvely backing Narendra Modi in the current Indian election.

Details HERE

Housing inequality bus tour in Brent today

Every Brent voter will have a chance to vote Green on May 22nd

The full list of candidates for the May 22nd local elections has now been published. There is a Green candidate standing in every ward in Brent with two in Willesden Green.

Brent Green Party firmly believe that every voter should be given the chance to vote Green.  This is particularly important now that the public are disenchanted with the three main parties and when there is, in reality, little difference in their policies.

The full list of candidates for each Brent ward is available HERE