Stand up for Central Middlesex A&E tomorrow

As public concern and anger mounts about the closure of Central Middlesex Accident and Emergency, North West London NHS is holding an open day on its proposals called 'Shaping a Healthier Future', renamed by some as 'Dictating a Dangerous Future'  as it includes no option of keeping Central Middlesex A&E open. It is likely that the closure will lead to the eventual down-grading of the hospital.

This is their blurb:

On Tuesday 31 July, the ‘Shaping a healthier future’ team will be hosting a public event at Patidar House, 22 London Road, Wembley, Middlesex HA9 7EX from 2pm – 8pm

•              Local clinicians will host a dedicated question and answer session from 3pm - 4pm and 7pm - 8pm

The event is part of major public consultation programme taking place across North West London this summer Views are being sought on clinically-led proposals to improve healthcare for nearly 2m people in North West London in response to changing health needs, medical advances and rising standards.

Everyone will have the chance to learn more, put questions to the programme’s clinical leaders and fill in the consultation response form when the ‘Shaping a healthier future’ consultation roadshow comes to Brent.

It will be held at Patidar House, 22 London Road, Wembley, Middlesex HA9 7EX from 2pm to 8pm and will be attended by local clinicians and members of the programme team who will be on hand to talk local residents through the proposals. 

A further roadshow will be held in Brent on Saturday 29 September from 10am - 4pm at Harlesden Methodist Church.

How Council Tax Support proposals will hit the poor

 The proactive Chalkhill Residents Association has put up posters around the estate urging residents('THIS IS IMPORTANT')  to respond to the consultation on Local Council Tax Support. The consultation ends on 10th August.  Unfortunately, despite paper copies of the consultation form being available in libraries and One Stop Shops, you really need to view the on-line documentation to get a full idea of the repercussions of the change from Council Tax Benefit to Local Council Tax Support. Unfortunately the complexity of these documents will put many off.  LINK   There was a public meeting about the changes at Brent Town Hall on Friday which unfortunately was not very well advertised with no details on the consultation site or on the leaflets. It didn't help that it was on the Olympics Opening Ceremony day.

In an article in the Guardian last week LINK Polly Toynbee put the changes into context stating that this was another example of the Coalition devolving the axe to councils: 

Here's the background: on average, households pay £1,000 a year in council tax. Until now, households on low incomes were exempt or paid only according to their means, so 5.9m households received council tax benefit. From next April, the benefit is cut by 10%, which is bad enough; but then insanity takes over. Each local authority will be given the sum that was handed out in benefit in their area (less 10%) to disperse as they please. They must keep paying the full benefit to pensioners and "the vulnerable". Each council must choose who is "vulnerable", as the government refuses to provide its own definition. Half of the recipients are pensioners, so protecting them means all other low-income households bear the whole cut, averaging 20%. People who live in areas with a lot of pensioners or a lot of the "vulnerable" will suffer the biggest cuts, as much as 30% or more.

Brent Council says that this represents a cut of at least £5.2m in 2013/14 taking account of the increasing number of people claiming benefit.  They say that if they were to retain the current Council Tax Benefit scheme it would have to reduce current services: 'Instead Brent is proposing a new scheme that is as fair as possible and in line with the needs of the community'. They are clearly caught between a rock and a hard place but end up carrying out the Coalition's cuts.

They set out these 'Key Principles':

Principle 1: Everyone should pay something

At present, claimants in receipt of income support, job seekers allowance (income based) and employment support allowance (income related) and other claimants not receiving these but with an income below the required level for their basic living needs, generally receive 100 per cent council tax benefit and therefore pay no council tax.

The council proposes that all working age claimants (unless protected) should pay at least 20 per cent of their council tax under the CTS scheme.

Principle 2: The most vulnerable claimants should be protected (from the minimum contribution)

Claimants will be protected from the 20 per cent minimum contribution if they or their partner or dependants are entitled to a disability premium or enhanced disability premium (normally given where disability living allowance has been awarded) or disabled earnings disregard, or the claimant is in receipt of disabled persons reduction for council tax purposes, war disablement pension or war widow’s pension.

Principle 3: The scheme should incentivise work

At present, the first £5 of a single claimant’s earnings, £10 of a couple’s earnings and £25 of a single parent’s earnings are not counted when calculating their weekly income for the purposes of determining their entitlement to council tax benefit.

The council proposes to increase this level by an additional £10 a week under its proposed scheme for single claimants, couples and single parents. This would mean that the first £15 of a single claimant’s earnings, £20 of a couple’s earnings and £35 of a single parent’s earnings would not be counted when calculating their entitlement to council tax support

Principle 4: Everyone in the household should contribute

At present, a deduction is generally made from potential weekly council tax benefit entitlement in respect of other adults aged 18 or over living in the claimant’s home. These are referred to as non-dependants. A non-dependant is a person who is living with the claimant but who is not dependent upon them, and not living in their home on a commercial basis, (i.e. as a joint tenant or sub tenant). Non-dependants include an adult son or daughter, a mother or father, friend etc of the claimant.

These people are assumed to be giving the claimant some money towards their council tax regardless of whether or not they are actually doing so. This assumed contribution is based upon the non-dependant's circumstances.

The draft scheme proposes doubling existing levels of these contributions. Additionally for other adults in receipt of job seekers allowance (income based), a charge of £6.60 is proposed instead of no charge as at present.

The current deduction rates applied to council tax benefit in 2012/13 and the proposed rates for the council’s local CTS scheme are shown in Appendix C.

Principle 5: Better off claimants should pay relatively more so that the least well off receive greater protection

The draft scheme proposes to continue to reduce entitlement to help with Council Tax as income / earnings increase. However, it is proposed that the calculation of this is adjusted so that the rate at which Council Tax Support reduces where weekly income exceeds basic living needs is 30p in every pound rather than the 20p currently applied. This is referred to as the taper and it is often expressed in proportionate terms. It is currently 20% per week for the existing Council Tax Benefit scheme and will become 30% per week under the proposed Council Tax Support scheme.

Principle 6: Benefit should not be paid to those with relatively large capital or savings

At present, working age claimants with savings and investments above £16,000 are generally not entitled to council tax benefit.

Our proposal is that working age claimants with capital such as savings and investments amounting to over £6,000 shall not be entitled to council tax support

Feature 1: Removal of second adult rebate scheme for working age claimants

The current second adult rebate scheme (whereby claimants whose own income is too high to receive CTB, but have other adult(s) in the household whose income is low, can receive a council tax discount of up to 25 per cent) is to be abolished for working age claimants.

Feature 2: Rate of allowances and premiums to be frozen at 2012/2013

levels

Premiums and personal allowances used to determine basic living needs for a claimant and their family when calculating entitlement to CTS shall be held at the rates applied for 2012/13.

 For practical purposes the most valuable document is probably worked calculations for particular circumstances and so I have made that available below:

The document sets out what the claimant will have to pay each week  from 1st April 2013 when Local Council Tax Support comes in, compared to current Council Tax Benefit. In the examples below the extra money the claimant will have to find (the difference between Council Tax liability and Council Tax Support) is in blue.

• A Single Person in receipt of Job Seekers Allowance (Income Based) living in a Band A property. Claimant will need to pay extra £2.62 weekly 
• A Couple with 3 children, in receipt of Job Seekers Allowance (Income Based) and Child Tax Credits, living in a Band D property. £5.24 weekly 
•  A Single Parent with 2 children, in receipt of Income Support and Child Tax Credits, living in a Band C property. £3.49 weekly 
• A Couple with 2 children, in receipt of Job Seekers Allowance (Income Based) and Child Tax Credits, living with another adult (i.e. a non-dependant) in a Band F property. The non-dependant is also in receipt of Job Seekers Allowance (Income Based). £14.17 weekly 
• A Single Person earning £90.00 per week and living in a Band A property. £3.82 weekly 
• A Couple with 3 children, with a total income of £400 per week (made up of Self-Employed Earnings and Tax Credits), living in a band D property £16.96 weekly. 
• A Single Parent with 2 children, with a total income of £270 per week (made up of Salary and Tax Credits), living in a Band C property £3.49 weekly. 

These extra payments will of course come on top of the housing benefit cap and other changes which will make the poor worse off.

I would welcome a report of guest blog from anyone who was at Friday's meeting. Send to mafran@globalnet.co.uk

Universal free school meals improve attainment and diet

The Green Party has campaigned for universal provision of free school meals in the past and research published last week provides evidence for the efficacy of this policy.  Apart from the benefits to children outlined below the policy would end costly, cumbersome and bureaucratic administration of Free School Meals applications by local authorities, the collection of 'dinner money'  in schools and enable planning of a school meals service based on overall pupil numbers.

The findings should make the Our Lady of Grace Primary school, Dollis Hill, think again about its plans to do away with hot meals and provide sandwiches only to children entitled to free school meals.

From School Food Trust LINK

Research measuring the impact of offering free school meals to more children in specific areas of England found significant improvements in their attainment, as well as benefits for diet and take up of healthy school meals.

The National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) and Bryson Purdon Social Research looked at pilot schemes in Durham and Newham which offered free school meals to all children at primary school, and at a scheme in Wolverhampton to extend eligibility for free school meals to include families receiving working tax credits. Their findings include:

• The universal pilot had a significant positive impact on attainment for primary school pupils at Key Stages 1 and 2, with pupils in the pilot areas making between four and eight weeks’ more progress than similar pupils in comparison areas. These effects could have arisen either through the provision of free school meals directly or through the wider activities that accompanied the pilot (such as the promotion of school meals and healthy eating to pupils and parents) or both.
• The improvements in attainment tended to be strongest amongst pupils from less affluent families and amongst those with lower prior attainment, though It should be noted that the effects for different types of pupils are not always significantly different from one another.
• The impact of the universal entitlement pilot on the take-up of school meals amongst primary school pupils was generally large, positive and significant. Most pupils in the universal pilot areas took up the offer of free school meals. Around nine in ten primary school pupils were taking at least one school meal per week by the end of the pilot compared with around six in ten similar pupils in a set of similar comparison areas.
• Take-up of school meals increased for pupils who were not eligible (that is, entitled and registered) for free school meals before the pilot was introduced, but it also increased among pupils who were already eligible for free school meals.
• In the universal pilot areas, the increased take-up of school meals led to a shift in the types of food that pupils ate at lunchtime, away from foods typically associated with packed lunches towards those associated with hot meals.
• Children in the universal pilot areas were less likely to report eating crisps at least once a day than children in comparison areas. This suggests that the reduction in crisp consumption at lunchtime did not lead children to eat crisps in the afternoon.
• The universal pilot also had a positive impact on parents’ perceptions of children’s willingness to try new food. Two-thirds of parents in these areas agreed that their child was willing to try new food, compared with 57 per cent in comparison areas. This finding supports evidence from case studies that parents felt that taking school meals in the pilot had encouraged their child to try a wider range of foods.

Our Chief Executive, Judy Hargadon, said: “These findings are serious food for thought. Offering free school meals to every child in Newham and Durham helped to make them more likely to eat a better diet at school, do significantly better in class – with an average of two months more progress by pupils at key stages 1 and 2 – and less fussy about what they ate at home.

“The investment in the pilots is dwarfed by the spiralling costs of poor diet to the NHS and our national spend on efforts to close the attainment gap between children from poorer backgrounds and their peers. What’s particularly interesting is that researchers say the impact on attainment seemed be strongest among those from lower income backgrounds, and those who weren’t doing so well at school before.

“Feedback from parents taking part in the Wolverhampton pilot has also been very positive. That both Wolverhampton and Newham councils decided to continue their schemes beyond the pilot stage and that Durham is now offering school meals at a reduced price – at a time when demand for limited funding is so fierce – is testament to the value they see in good school food to support children, families and schools.

“These results show how important it is to ensure every child living in poverty gets a free school meal and – at the very least – that we keep good school meals affordable for everyone else. It’s a reminder for policymakers, head teachers, local authorities and parents that investing in good food for children at school pays back a big return for their diet and education.”

The full report can be viewed at https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/DFE-RR227#downloadableparts

Wembley Central station patched up in the nick of time

Wembley Central station in June

Signs of possible work last week

Wembley Central station on Wednesday

I have been recording how the condition of Wembley Central station has deteriorated over the last few years of regeneration and speculated about whether any  improvements to the station exterior would be ready by the time of the Olympics. Well I can report that a quick patch up job hiding the exposed joints was done by Wednesday but it is far from the smart station that we were promised in the regeneration publicity. See below:

Do your bit for the NHS this afternooon in Harlesden and Willesden

Campaigners will be giving out postcards about the threat to our local NHS and the closure of the Central Middlesex A&E and collecting signatures on petitions this afternoon at Harlesden Methodist Church and outside Sainsbury's on Willesden High Road. (3pm-5pm)

Please come and help publicise the campaign and the march due to take place on September 15th from Harlesden to Central Middlesex Hospital.

The Guardian publicises Willesden Bookshop's plight - still time for Council to act

The plight of the Willesden Bookshop, facing closure this month as its notice expires, is reported in today's Guardian LINK

Helen Sensi, who has worked at the shop since it opened, said:

We've been inundated with people saying 'Why are you closing down?' I think people will feel a tremendous sense of loss. Independent shops have had a hard time, but Steve (Adams) has kept the shop going where others have fallen. He's managed to be a community service, even if the council doesn't recognise it.

Sensi said that the end of the Willesden store was:

... disaster for children in terms of literacy. To see children engrossed on the floor, from tiny tots reading cloth books to older children running towards a cover they recognise, is a delight. For me, that's where it begins.

Surely it is not too late for Brent Council  leader  Muhammed Butt to meet with campaigners and the bookshop to sort something out.  The bookshop is something of tremendous value that Brent Council is in danger of needlessly throwing on the scrap heap.

Kids bored already - will this help?

A little  girl stopped me on the Chalkhill Estate yesterday and rather forlornly asked me when school started again. She was bored and missed her teachers and friends and wanted to go back to school This was only day 4 of the 6 week summer holiday!

Ten years or more again, many Brent primary schools hosted summer play schemes, usually lasting for 4 weeks with activities, outings, and inter-playscheme competitions. Since then funds have dried up and the subsequent costs are too much for many families. The schemes were also affected by the amount of building work going on in the summer holiday in many schools which made them unavailable for hire.

Events for older children are available but have to be booked on-line and again entail charges. Details on: http://www.bmyvoice.org.uk/brentinsummer

Luckily Chalkhill Community Action have secured funding for 12 days activities connected with the Olympic Games for Chalkhill children aged 8-18: The Chalkhill Games. Tonight there will be a viewing of the Opening Ceremony at the Chalkhill Community Centre (Welford Centre, 113 Chalkhill Road)  from 8.30pm and Chalkhill's Own Show tomorrow from 3-6pm in the Large Hall.

Subsequently, from Monday there will be activities from 2-5pm including quizzes, traditional games, making French skipping ropes and paper gliders, athletics and team games. Saturday 11th August will be for Under 5s only.

The activities are FREE but parents are asked to be responsible for their children outside the stated times and make arrangements to bring them and pick them up.

Further information from Kath-Fraser Jackson Phone 020 8904 0976  07931 842 158

Willesden woodland cut down - not quite in its prime

The carved  'woodland' installation of trees, animals and birds outside the Willesden Green Library and Willesden Bookshop was torn down today and disappeared on the back of a lorry.

Locals, already bemused by the installation which appeared as if by magic overnight some time ago, are perplexed about its removal and concerned about its fate.

Was it robbery, vandalism, an art 'happening' - will it be sold as firewood, donated to a nursery, put in storage for a return to the proposed Cultural Centre, or be the centre piece of the Civic Centre atrium?

Who knows.....

How much did it cost....?

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