Labour councillors attack out-sourcing and call for in-house services

No, not Brent Laboiur councillors I'm afraid but there colleagues in Barnet at an Extraordinary Council Meeting last night in a lively debate on a No Confidence motion tabled by the Labour opposition regarding the Council's  One Barnet  programme that will see 70% of services out-sourced.

One after another Labour councillors made the case against out-sourcing and privatisation. They pointed to the inadequacy of private providers, the dangers of bankruptcy that had already hit some providers and therefore the uselessness of 'guarantees' provided by such companies, the use of Council Tax to fund private profit,  the concealment of financial details of deals and the lack of direct democratic accountability via councillors when services are out-sourced. They pointed to the decision to move waste management 'in-house with a stretch' as an example of the right way to go.

Tory Leader Richard Cornelius, who replaced the suspended Brian Coleman, defended the policy and pointed out the number of Labour boroughs, including Brent, who were also out-sourcing.

Despite the absence of some Tory councillors the No Confidence vote was lost, but the arguments in the motion deserve consideration elsewhere:

‘No confidence’ in Barnet’s Conservative Leader and Cabinet

Council believes that this Conservative administration has completely lost its way over the One Barnet Programme.

Council believes the process to outsource 70% of council services in two large contracts under One Barnet has been dogged by a lack of transparency. Scrutiny of One Barnet by elected councillors has been severely compromised by the administration scrapping the dedicated One Barnet Scrutiny Panel, and by preventing administration and opposition councillors outside the Cabinet from having sufficient time to scrutinise detailed financial information for the project – information which has been presented to elected members on blue exempt papers at the beginning of committee meetings, and then taken away at the end of the agenda item. 

Council notes that the One Barnet Programme has so far not made any net savings, and that we are now in the third year of the programme. In fact the One Barnet Programme has actually incurred a net cost for the Council of at least £663,000.

Council further notes that the Leader and Deputy Leader seem to disagree over the appropriateness of the preferred model for the Development and Regulatory Services contract – Joint Venture – and that therefore the project seems to be in complete disarray.

Given the level of risk involved in the procurement of these two enormous One Barnet contracts, NSCSO and DRS, and the gambling of £1 billion of council tax payers’ money that is involved, Council resolves that the Executive Leader be removed from office and that a vote be taken on electing a new Leader who can propose a new way forward for Barnet Council and appoint a new Cabinet.

It was interesting to see an Opposition group instigating a passionate and informed debate, something that is missing in Brent with the Lib Dems often caught out on not doing their homework and lying low as they delay two by-election,   waiting for more popular times. The Tories are of course invisible for months at a time. It is too often left to community groups and campaigns to provide the real opposition.

First public discussion of Brent's 2013-14 budget on November 15th

Brent Council  will be holding its first reading debate for the 2013/14 budget at its  meeting on 19th November 2012.

The Deputy Director of Finance will set out the budget and finance issues that will form the background to the debate at the Budget and Finance Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Thursday November 15th 7.30pm at Brent Town Hall. This will give residents some idea of the extent of cuts to be expected in the budget and whether a rise in Council Tax is on the cards. The impact of changes in Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit and the rise in demand for Adult Social Care are likely to be major issues.

Muhammed Butt, Brent Council leader and Ruth Moher, Lead Member for Finance and Corporate Resources will attend the meeting to answer questions from Members

The meeting is open to the public and there is space on the agenda for delegations to be heard.

Contact: Lisa Weaver, Democratic Services Officer  020 8937 1358, Email: lisa.weaver@brent.gov.uk

LINK: http://democracy.brent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?MId=1794&x=1&

Brent fight for NHS moves up a gear

The fight to preserve and enhance the NHS in Brent and prevent privatisation took a step forward on Saturday when campaigners met up on the initiative of the 38 Degrees Campaign and planned their next steps.

The 38 Degrees petition asks the Brent Clinical Commissioning Group to protect the NHS from privatisation by including a clause in their constitution affirming that they will commission services from the NHS in preference to private companies. Hackney CCG has already agreed to this

The petition will be presented at the Shadow Brent  CCG at their consultation meeting on 14th November at the Wembley Centre for Health and Care, 116 Chaplin Road, Wembley, HA0 4UZ. The meeting is from 6pm until 8pm.The services currently being commissioned can be found HERE

The meeting will be discussing the Brent Integrated Plan which is a 3 year strategy  that outlines financial planning and details health care services the CCG plans to buy,


On Friday afternoon of this week pressure will be exerted on Sarah Teather, MP for Brent Central, when campaigners present her with a petition against the proposals in 'Shaping a Healthier Future' which includes the closure of Central Middlesex A&E. This petition also opposes privatisation of the NHS. Campaigners will meet at The Nest cafe at Willesden Green Station at 2pm on Friday 9th November and present the petition at Ms Teather's office in Walm Lane at 2.30pm.

When she left her government post Sarah Teather said that she wanted to devote more time to serving her constituents and this meeting will give her the chance to do just that.

On Wednesaday 28th November NHS NWL will be providing feedback on their 'Shaping  Healthier Future' consultation at the Hilton Metrropole in Edgware Road (opposite the tube station) from 5.30-7pm followed by a workshop for the public, patient representatives, clinicians and voluntary sector organisation working in groups on issues raised in the consultation. To attend register HERE

Galliford Try submit revised planning application to Council for Willesden Green Cultural Centre

Brent Council has issued the following press release:

A revised planning application to redevelop Willesden Library and replace it with a state of the art cultural centre was submitted last Wednesday (31 October).

The application, which was submitted by developer Galliford Try, details proposals to deliver a brand new library and cultural centre that will act as the main service delivery hub for the south of the borough.

The proposed revised design is a result of extended consultation with the local community which took place over August and September and includes the old Victorian library as part of the plans.

Brent has secured a self-financing scheme which involves working with developer partner, Galliford Try, to deliver the new cultural centre in return for developing homes on the remainder of the current site for market sale.

For the past few month residents have met with council officers and Galliford Try to revisit the original design and discuss alternative proposals for the new centre and its design.

In response to the recent extended period of consultation Brent has made several changes to the design, including;

• completely redesigning the scheme to include the old library
• increasing the size of the new library within the centre
• creating room for more study spaces and computers
• changing the brief for the building so that it could, potentially, include a bookshop.

The proposals for the centre also include a children's library,  IT provision, museum, community gallery, archive, archive store, three community spaces (which will provide an array of programmed creative events), café/ bookshop, multi faith contemplation room and high quality public spaces designed for markets and events.

Cllr George Crane Lead Member for Regeneration and Major Projects said: "Thank you to the many residents who got involved in consultation and gave up their time to help us develop plans for this new centre."

If the project gets the green light the council hopes to build on its close working with stakeholders to develop the building proposals including how it is may be used and managed.

 Link to Brent  Planning site: 12./2924 LINK   12/2925  LINK

London Living Wage increased but 1 in 5 Londoners on poverty wages

Thanks to Brent BASIS for this:

New analysis funded by Trust for London shows that there has been a 100,000 increase in the number of London jobs paying below the London Living Wage (LLW) - taking the total to 580,000. This means that 1 in 5 Londoners working in the capital are now paid poverty wages.

This is despite a new piece of research by Queen Mary, University of London (commissioned by Trust for London) showing that paying the Living Wage has big benefits for business, workers and the Treasury.

The research is the first to provide data showing the Living Wage increases the happiness of workers; it shows:

• Over half of employees (54%) felt more positive about their workplace once the LW was introduced and 52% felt more loyal.
• Staff leaving rates fell by 25%.
• Almost a third (32%) of workers felt it benefitted their family life by allowing them to do things like spend more time with family.

·         Almost 4 in 10 (38%) workers reported financial benefits such as being able to buy more goods and save more.

In addition companies interviewed said the reputational benefits of paying the LW helped them attract new business and customers. Employers also reported HR benefits at all levels with high calibre graduates at one employer citing paying the living wage as one of the top 3 reasons for applying as it demonstrates corporate social responsibility.

The Living Wage rate for workers in London is to increase by 25p an hour to £8.55, the capital's mayor has announced. Boris Johnson said the new rate will be worth £4.5 million a year for lower-paid workers. The Living Wage rate outside London will also rise by 25p to £7.45, benefiting thousands of workers.

What's happening with Brent's 2013-14 budget?

Brent Expenditure and Income 2012-13

The Council Budget for 2013-14 should be on the agenda for the Full Council Meeting on November 19th according to the Council's budgetary process:

There is a Full Council meeting (usually in November) where the budget is raised as an issue. All Councillors of all political groups are invited to submit ideas, plans and suggestions for inclusion in the next year's budget. These suggestions are then taken away and discussed by the Executive (usually in December).

The Executive will then issue their proposals for the budget.

At the same time Scrutiny's Budget Panel is sitting and they also come up with their proposals by February. The report is considered by the Executive and, if required, changes are made to the proposals.

Finally, the proposals go to another Full Council meeting where they are voted on, and, whatever is agreed, is implemented as the council's budget for the next year.

However, there are reports that the Council is behind with the process this year perhaps as a result of changes in the officer and councillors involved in Finance.  By the second week in November last year Cllr Ann John had issued a 'Bad News' budget report LINK.

Is is likely that we will receive an 'Even More Bad News' report from Muhammed Butt soon. There has been no word from Cllr Ruth Moher, now Lead Member for Finance and Resources who took over the post from Butt following the 'coup'.

Meanwhile the Budget Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Thursday 15th November may give us some clues. What is beyond doubt is that with government grants reduced and pressures on council spending from homelessness and social care of the elderly the situation will be dire. Apart from the potential revenue from a rise in Council Tax (a tiny proportion of the overall budget which is mainly made up of government grants) there are few options open to the Council apart from making more cuts which will impact on the vulnerable, or taking a stand against the Coalition and devising a campaigning needs led budget and a consequent deficit budget.  

This would involve a real dialogue with trades unions, voluntary organisations, community groups, campaigning groups and residents. Time is limited and such  process should begin as soon as possible.

Background is provided by the mid-year Brent Treasury Report by Mick Bowden, Deputy Director of Finance. The Director of Finance, Clive Heaphy remains suspended and there is no word on the financial settlement for Gareth Daniel, the former Chief Executive.

The Report outlines theCapital Finance Requirement (CFR) requirements for the years ahead with a significant  increase next year:
 

	31/03/12 Actual	31/03/2013 Estimate	31/03/2014 Estimate	31/03/2015 Estimate
CFR	£537m	£598m	£594m	£591m

 At the same time there is a significant  forecast reduction in 'usable' reserves:

	31/03/2012 Actual	31/03/2013 Estimate	31/03/2014 Estimate	31/03/2015 Estimate
Usable Reserves	£58m	£37m	£30m	£24m

There has been a shift from short-term to long-term borrowing which remains under the limits set out by the Department for Communities and Local Government. An additional £20m has been borrowed since April 2012 and a rise in the rate of interest:

Borrowing	Balance on 01/04/2012	Debt Repaid	New Borrowing	Balance on 30/09/2012
Short-term	£26.3m	£44.3m	£18m	0
Long-Term	£405.5m	£1.2m	£20m	£424.3
Total	£431.8m	£45.5m	£38m	£424.3
Average Rate %	4.45%			4.71%

The Report states that the Council expects to recover £4m of the £5m inested in Icelandic domiciled banks and £9m of the £10m invested in non-Iceland domiciled banks. The Council's investment income this year is estimated at only £0.1m .

The full Mid Year Report is available HERE



 

Join the Trust and help enhance Chalkhill's future

A notification from the Chalklhill Community Trust:

During the regeneration of Chalkhill Estate  over £1.4 Million was raised through land sales intended to ensure the continued development of Chalkhill. This fund has since been managed by a board of trustees, including community representatives. We are now seeking to bring 3 new trustees on board, 2 representing the local community and 1 representing local business. In this role you will be able to influence where and how this money is being invested, as well as steer the Trust’s policy on the management of the fund.

The successful applicants will receive formal trustee training, but will need some of the following attributes:

- Be committed to the Chalkhill Community Trust Fund and its objectives.
- Have the ability to remain impartial when making decisions, not allowing your personal views or prejudice to affect your conduct as a trustee.
- Have an open mind when seeking solutions.
- Be able to attend at least 4 meetings per year during office hours, as well as any additional meetings as required by the Trust.
- Either live within, or run a business local to, the area of benefit of the Chalkhill Community Trust Fund.
- Be committed and dedicated to further the aims of the charity.
- Have a strategic vision and be able to contribute to the continuance of the Chalkhill Community Trust Fund and its future success.
- Have good, independent judgement so as not to compromise the proper management of the organisation and/or adversely affect the reputation of the Chalkhill Community Trust Fund.
- Have an understanding and acceptance of the legal duties, responsibilities and liabilities of a trustee.
- Be able to demonstrate an ability to act with integrity, objectivity, openness and honesty.
- Have the ability to keep certain matters confidential.

Closing date November 20th. Application pack HERE

THE ECONOMY FOR THE 99% - SHARE IDEAS & TOOLS TO MAKE IT HAPPEN

The Million Climate Jobs is an international campaign (South Africa campaign)

The Alliance for Jobs and Climate have been working closely with Camden Green Party and the Transition Movement in Camden and are organising a great all-day event on Saturday the 24^th of November at Camden Town Hall. “THE ECONOMY FOR THE 99% - SHARE IDEAS & TOOLS TO MAKE IT HAPPEN”. Ticket sales for the event can now be booked online. The web address is http://economy-99-percent-camden.eventbrite.co.uk and you can see further details there.

Speakers include the environmentalist and green economist Charles Secrett, the new leader of the Green Party  Natalie Bennett, George Barda from the Occupy and the Shift campaign and Chris Baugh (tbc) from PCS and the Million Climate Jobs campaign. We have organised this meeting at really short notice but as it was possible, and similar meetings in other parts of the country have shown that there is a real hunger, we have decided to go for it.

PLEASE PUBLICISE  AS WIDELY AS POSSIBLE USING EVERY NETWORK THAT YOU CAN THINK OF.

If you can make it buy a ticket. We are also planning  to organise similar events elsewhere and if you are interested let us know; best to email alliance@jobsandclimate.org    


More on the South African Campaign and downloadable booklets HERE

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