Preston Manor High School to take the Coop route to academy status?

Preston Manor All-through Foundation School is considering applying for academy conversion, along with several other Brent secondary schools using the Cooperative Trust model.   They are approaching neighbouring primary schools to see if they are interested in joining in the process.

Matthew Lantos, following in the steps of the headteachers of Kingsbury High and Claremont, is arguing that his school community should not be deprived of the additional £600,000 that conversion would bring. During the debate surrounding Preston Manor expanding into primary provision, he denied that eventual conversion to academy status was on his agenda. I argued on this blog that competition with Ark Academy made that likely and since then Claremont and Kingsbury High have converted.

The argument is of course that schools converting to academy status may gain for themselves but at the cost of the schools remaining within the local authority because the central education fund is cut as a consequence - up to £900,000 per secondary school according to Brent's Budget Report.  Such a loss, multiplied several times over, would severely affect Brent  being able to carry out its role as an education authority.  Ironically one of the arguments put forward for this strategy is that the role of the local education authority has been weakened making conversion more attractive.Conversion will weaken the education authority even more.

If the main reason for adopting a cooperative school model was the adoption of cooperative principles this could have been done without becoming an academy and without the funding implications. By adopting the cooperative school approach of working in clusters alongside academy conversion, academies are extended into the primary sector.

The cooperative model may on the surface look attractive in terms of ethos and values but will need close scrutiny during the consultation process.  Preston Manor's plans should make for an interesting debate when headteachers and chairs of governors meet with Krutika Pau, Brent  Director of Children and Families on Thursday evening.

More on Cooperative Trust Schools HERE

Well doggone! Dog Orders Approved

Multiple dog walker in Fryent Country Park

 Brent Executive tonight approved new Dog Control Orders for Parks and Open Spaces. It restricts the total number of dogs that can be taken onto land  by any one person to six, excludes dogs from certain areas such as playgrounds and specifies areas where dogs should be kept on leads.

A local resident spoke in favour of reducing the maximum to 4 reflecting lower numbers in neighbouring boroughs and for more controls in Edward VII Park Willesden because of the number of children using the park. She also advocated restrictions on the length of leads as dogs as those on long leads were less easily controlled.

I spoke in favour of the  restriction on numbers walked by an individual and told councillors about my experience of encountering packs of up to 15 dogs in Fryent Country Park accompanied by a single 'professional' dog walker, and the danger this posed to children, and animals such as the horses at Bush Farm.  I warned about the difficulties of enforcing the Order when many of the professional dogs walkers come from outside Brent, having been displaced by similar Orders in their own boroughs.  There was also the possibility that they would bring a friend and thus increase the number of dogs they could lawfully walk.

Cll;r Powney (yep - he's in charge of this as well) said the policy would be reviewed after a year as the Council hadn't had such a policy before and needed to assess its enforcement.   Cllr Gavin Sneddon suggested that rather than a review after one year there should be one after six months and Cllr Powney (yep, he's is charge of this as well!) accepted the proposal.

The issues behind Mistry's resignation

According to some Labour Party insiders Cllr Jayesh Mistry's resignation, although ostensibly for 'personal reasons', was because of his disillusion with the lack of power and influence of Labour councillor backbenchers and disquiet about the extent of the cuts the Council are making.

If this is indeed the case, the resignation should ring alarm bells as it reflects broader concerns about attracting  committed and independently minded people into local politics, reducing the age profile of councillors, and addressing the democratic deficit in Brent Council's  current political structure.

Brent's 'Bad News' Budget Report

The first report outlining the pressures on the Council budget for 2012-13 and beyond makes for sober reading. There is a projected over-spend for this year of £1.8m which the Council  will try and eliminate without resorting to using its reserves.If it used reserves they would reduce to £8.3m which would be below the Council's target.

In her preamble to the report Labour Council Ann John notes:

The Council has over the last year been forced to take a number of difficult decisions as to which services to support and improve and which to discontinue or limit. There have been some predictable high profile instances where citizens have objected to the curtailment of a service they particularly value. This is understandable; this Administration did not seek election on a platform of massive cuts. However the front-loaded 26% target set by Government over the life of the Spending Review means that major cuts in services are inevitable and as the size of the Council organisation will shrink, the content of what it does will also inevitably be curtailed.

Based on savings being achieved mainly through the 'One Council programme, the containment of 'inescapable growth' through a £5m annual contingency, savings already in the pipeline from previous decisions, and no rise in council tax this would leave a budget gap of:

2012-13 £4.4m
2013-14 £6.4m
2014-15 £22.5m
1015-16 £16.1m

A rise in Council Tax of 2.5% would reduce the gap in subsequent years:

2012-14 £4.4m
2013-14 £1.1m
2014-15 £19.7m
2015-16 £13.1m

The Council receives an annual grant of £2.6m if they do not increase Council Tax and this year only will receive an additional one-off grant of another £2.6m. Given the figures for 2012-13 this raises the possibility of raising Council Tax, even with the loss of £2.6m to protect services. The report warns that a failure to raise Council Tax over a number of years will erode the Council's underlying revenue position i the long term.

The Council expects a reduction in the formula grant received from central government of £13.1m in 2012-13 and a further £13,4m by 2014-15.

The report outlines the pressures on Council finances for 2012-13 these include:

• Grant reductions for housing benefit administration, social care training and unaccompanied asylum seekers
• The number of young people transitioning into Adult Social Care
• Contract prices rises in Environment and Neighbourhood Services
• Increase in cost of providing temporary accommodation when the housing benefit cap is implemented.

The report notes a further pressure arising from the increased cost of borrowing for capital projects when revenue funding sources are reducing. This means that interest costs are taking up an increasing share of total revenue resources. If the Council decides to reduce borrowing to close the budget gap there would have to be a reduction in the capital programme or the Council would need to find alternative sources of funding, presumably a difficult job in the current economic situation.

There are two further ring-fenced budgets. The report notes that there is potential for the ring-fenced Central Education Budget to lose significant amounts of money as a result of schools converting to academy status. They estimate this as up to £900,000 per secondary school.

The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) grant which provides government subsidy for rents will be phased out in 2012-13 and the HRA will be expected to be self-funding henceforth. There will be a one-off settlement in lieu of an ongoing subsidy of around £185m (to be confirmed) against an annual subsidy of £8.5m. Implementing government policy of convergence of council rents and those of social landlords 'implies a 7% rise' in council rents for 2012-13.

With room for manoeuvre  tight if the Council decides to implement Coalition cuts there is likely to be a rise in the costs of  Council services as well as further cuts in provision.

Cllr John sets out these proposals in her preamble to the report:

• That by the time of budget in February we bring forward a package of measures, with other public, private and voluntary sector partners to address the acute issues of employment and employability which face so many of our fellow citizens;
• That we take another look at the services and quality of life that people can expect in their neighbourhoods. It was our 2002-6 Administration that brought in the successful and popular policy of Ward Working; and it is now time to look again at neighbourhoods in a practical and meaningful way and to set out a coherent set of actions which is a Brent rather than Central Government approach to localism;
• That we concentrate on producing proposals that offers a comprehensive and targeted approach to working with young people and youth;
• That we pursue vigorously the integration of social care and NHS health services to provide a better, seamless and more focused set of services provided to local people and use the transfer of Public Health to Local Government control to make a reality of a concentration on prevention;
• That we work even harder to bring forward the regeneration of our Borough and adopt a strategy for our property which makes it integral to the economic renewal of Brent.

There is little space for this on the budget timetable set by the Council but it does include for late December: 'Consultation with residents, businesses, voluntary sector, partner agencies and trade unions on budget proposals'. This could be widened to include the whole community.  In January 2012 members are due to agree the proposals to go to the February Executive so timing is very tight.

What should the council do about Coalition instigated cuts? The debate begins.

Today's Any Questions? with Labour Councillors and representatatives of Brent Fightback  was a lively affair.  Janice Long and Jim Moher (with Lesley Jone as a later substitute for Moher) appeared for Brent Labour Councillors and Pete Firmin and Sarah Cox for Fightback. Pete Firmin is chair of Brent TUC.

Janice Long said she was unwilling to refuse to implement cuts as someone else making them would be worse. Cllr Moher said that he was the only member of the Executive to make changes in proposals as the results of representations and had not implemented the proposed cuts to school crossing patrols. He said the Council had protected front-line services but had to exercise the 'judgement of Solomon' in deciding what to cut. In response to ex-Labour councillor Graham Durham, who called on the council to unite with other London Labour councils and refuse to implement the cuts, he said that the situation now was far more difficult than the 1980s when Durham had been a councillor.

Sarah Cox said the Coalition had no mandate for the cuts in the NHS and it was time to resist bad laws. She said the Council should have put together a 'needs budget' and taken it out to the people of Brent as a basis for a united campaign by the council, its workers, and the Brent public against the Coalition's policies. Pete Firmin said that Labour councillors hadn't taken up opportunities when they could have worked with local activists, such as attending the Fightback lobby of Sarah Teather, MP for Brent Central. He said other London Labour councils were backing the public sector strike on November 30th but no such backing had come from Brent Labour council. Labour's  deputy leader, Cllr Butt, had referred a caller who wanted to oppose the overnight closure of Central Middlesex A and E Department, to Brent Fightback. The council itself needed to get organised against such cuts.

Janice Long said with the council having to choose between closing libraries and enabling people to carry on living in their houses she had to say that having a house was more important.  Her statement was challenged as conflating local government cuts and the government's cap on housing benefit.

Questioned by Shahrar Ali, Brent and Harrow  Green Party candidate for the London Assembly, about the cost of the new Civic Centre, Janice Long said the cost to Brent residents was neutral and it would reduce the council's carbon footprint and provide more space. It would  pay for itself over 25 years.  Cllr Moher said that the cost of the interest on the £102m project would be a further £25m but the Civic Centre would save the council £4m a year compared with the current buildings. He admitted that it was a difficult project to justify in the current situation of cuts and recession.

Pete Firmin said the we needed transparency and honesty about the Civic Centre and that another connected issue was the concentration of services in Wembley rather than in the various localities of Brent.

Cllr  Moher said that he was right behind the November 30th strike as an individual but that the council itself wanted to see lower public sector pensions because of their cost.  He supported a pension based on 'career average' earnings rather than a 'final salary' scheme. He justified this on the basis of the immense burden on council tax papers of the pensions of high salaried senior officers but a member of the audience pointed out that this would also affect the low paid - the average salary based on 40 years service was much lower than one base don final salary.

In response to join the NUT and other unions at the Torch, Bridge Road, Wembley at 9.30am on November 30th, Janice said that she hadn't known about that, but the Brent Central Labour Party would be on the march.

There was a brief discussion about whether campaigners should stand an 'anti cuts' candidate in the forthcoming Wembley Central by-election. There were a variety of views on this and it will be discussed at a later Fightback meeting.

Earlier in the day there had been speeches from Chris Coates about the Brent SOS Libraries Campaign and its success in mobilising people, raising money and getting  high profile support form famous authors. Jeremy Taylor, President of Brent Teachers Association and NUT representative at Preston Manor High School, spoke about the impact of cuts on students at his school and how the changes in pensions would affect teachers. He expressed concern both for teachers and students if teachers were forced to go on teaching well into their 60s when the job required so much energy. He demonstrated that the changes in pension contribution represented a wage cut in real terms.

In a wide-ranging speech Kishan Parshotam, Chair of Brent Youth Parliament and a Brent UK Youth Parliament member said that the BYP was campaigning against negative stereotyping of youth and for their voice to heard. He said that they supported the reduction of the voting age to 16 so that politicians would have to listen to their concerns. The cuts in libraries would mean over-crowded study areas and poor ICT access for the most needy students, particularly in the south of Brent, who lacked those facilities at home.

He told the audience that in discussions 8 and 9 year old children were well able to talk about how cuts would affect them and should not be under-estimated.

As well as councillors, campaigners and residents, the meeting was attended by Dawn Butler, ex-Labour MP for South Brent, but she made no contribution during the open sessions. Cllr James Powney trotted past the venue just before the Assembly started but kept his head down and did not come in.

I think a valuable debate and perhaps even a dialogue was opened up during the day. Brent Fightback wants to involve a broader spectrum of people and this was a modest start. We now need to consider how to involve more people at a time when everyone is feeling hard-pressed and those most affected by the cuts are concentrating on day to day survival.

Shahrar Ali's take on the day is HERE

After the court verdict on libraries, will we have a political verdict at the by-election?

The appeal case concluded at the High Court yesterday with the verdict expected in 3 - 4 weeks time, which is comparatively fast in legal terms.  It appears that the decision will be mainly based on the issue of indirect racial discrimination as outlined in my previous blog.

Although a victory would be excellent news it would not 'save the libraries' as such but would force the council to carry out a proper Equalities Impact Assessment which may change decisions about which of the libraries should be closed.

The letter writing campaign to the Culture Secretary is about the much broader issue of whether the Council is providing an adequate library service after the cuts. The letters call for him to set up a Public Inquiry and post closure evidence on over-crowding of the remaining libraries; loss of study facilities, and children, disabled an the elderly being unable to access a library will be important.

The by-election in Wembley Central opens up the possibility of library closures becoming an election issue. Ealing Road library is in the ward and has suffered over-crowding since the closure of the other libraries. It also has a high Asian population, the group that the Appellants claimed had suffered indirect discrimination as a result of the library closures.

There is an entertaining and informative commentary on the hearing on I Spy Queen's Park HERE

Cllr Jayesh Mistry Resigns - By-election soon in Wembley Central

Cllr Jayesh Mistry

 The personable young Labour councillor, Jayesh Mistry, resigned from Brent Council this morning. Jayesh is a trade unionist and bus driver with strong roots in the local community. When I stood against him in a by-election in 2009 I found him a principled and friendly opponent.

No reason has yet been given for his resignation but the by-election will come at a time when the Labour administration is unpopular as a result of the cuts they have made in local libraries, street cleansing, adult day care and other provision. Their latest proposals are the closure of two nurseries.

Cllr Mistry represented Wembley Central Ward.

The resignation comes on the eve of the Brent People's Assembly where Labour councillors are due to join Brent Fightback supporters and answer questions from the public.

Borough Election Result May 6th 2010

Jayesh Mistry	Labour	2649	16%	Elected
Emad Al-Ebadi	Labour	2352	14%	Elected
Wilhelmina Mitchell Murry	Labour	2277	13%	Elected
Valerie Brown	Liberal Democrats	2122	12%	Not elected
Daniel Bessong	Liberal Democrats	1977	12%	Not elected
Afifa Pervez	Liberal Democrats	1917	11%	Not elected
Shaheen Butt	Conservative	1119	7%	Not elected
Ratna Kamdar	Conservative	1092	6%	Not elected
Miranda Colwill	Conservative	963	6%	Not elected
Rodney Freed	Green Party	210	1%	Not elected
Solomon Agbonifo-Ezomo	Green Party	174	1%	Not elected
Maya Sendall	Green Party	144	1%	Not elected

IT'S TIME FOR BRENT PEOPLE TO MAKE THEIR VOICES HEARD

This week I have been giving out publicity for the Brent People's Assembly along with other activists.  Shoppers in Harlesden High Street and  parents at school gates expressed their concern about the cuts and how they are impacting directly, and indirectly, on children.

With both the Coalition Government and Brent Council appearing to ignore the views of local people,  the People's Assembly has been organised as a forum where people can make their voices heard and talk about what the cuts are doing to them and their families.

We will hear about these experience and about the campaigns that are going on locally. This is a chance for the Brent community to get together and organise to make sure their children have a future.

BRENT PEOPLE'S ASSEMBLY

GIVE OUR KIDS A CHANCE 

Saturday November 12th 12.30 - 4.30 pm

Harlesden Methodist Church, 25 High St, NW10 4NE

(Just around the corner from Jubilee Clock)

 

The timetable for the day is:

 

12.45-1.30 Opening speeches:

 

Lee Jasper (Black Activists Rising Against Cuts),

Jeremy Taylor (National Union of teachers)

Kishan Parshotam (Chair, Brent Youth Parliament),

Speaker from Brent SOS Libraries Campaign

1.30-2.30 Workshops (all same subject):

Experience of cuts, successful campaign strategies, next steps

2.30-3.00 Refreshments plus video One Million Climate Jobs

3.00-4.00 Any Questions? 

Two Brent Labour Councillors and Sarah Cox and Pete Firmin from Brent Fightback answer questions from the audience

4.00-4.30 Reports from workshops and the way ahead

Kids are welcome and there will be some provision for them