Brighouse says some of Gove's powers should be taken away from him

Following the failure of my motion at Green Party Conference calling for a review if our education policy in the light of Michael Gove's reforms it is interesting to read today's report by Professor Sir Tim Brighouse for the New Visions for Education Group. The report 'Improved National Decision Making About Policy and Practice for Schools' sets 5 key  test questions for improved decision making in education.

The full report can be found HERE

This key  question is particularly pertinent to what I argued at Conference:


Assuming the context of the desirability of the principle of democratic accountability and subsidiarity, will the proposed change increase or decrease the power of the centre and the Secretary of State?’

We have referred to the fact that the Secretary of State now has many more powers than was once the case.
As we have outlined earlier however there is the need for democratic accountability and originally it was envisaged that much of that could and should be exercised locally. We agree with that starting point not least because we think that local knowledge can be powerful in securing equity for individual pupils and their parents.

Some of the powers which the Secretary of State has acquired should be taken away from him. It is astonishing that a system has been created whereby schools (in the form of Academies and Free Schools) have in effect been nationalised and are subject to private contract law to the Secretary of state who controls them in what they do. It is surprising too that parental complaints should be handled not by local government nor by an ombudsman but by the Secretary of State.

There are some powers of course which are best held centrally- for example securing an adequate supply of suitably qualified teachers and making sure that scarce capital resource is distributed fairly and to minimum acceptable standards. They are functions of planning which is necessary to secure equity. It makes no sense for the Secretary of State to abandon the duty in this respect, as has recently been done, as it will lead to shortages of teachers and schools with inadequate space and facilities. But there are other powers which are best exercised locally. A guiding principle of subsidiarity should start from the assumption that powers are best exercised and held democratically accountable locally.

Who will do a 'Margaret Hodge' over fake Kensal Rise emails tonight?

'Now Mr Gillick, what do you have to say about these fake emails?'

What a pity I have a Green Party meeting tonight. I would have liked to attend the Brent Planning Committee taking place this evening at the Civic Centre after the revelation today that a large number of emails sent in to support the Kensal Rise Library redevelopment were fake. See Kilburn Times LINK

The facts will be reported to the planning committee which is due to hear representations from campaigners against the development. I presume the developer Andrew Gillick will make a presentation to the Committee. I hope one of the councillors will 'do a Margaret Hodge'  and subject him to some some close questioning.

Meanwhile if the police are called in I suggest they also investigate similar claims over the Willesden Green Library regeneration.

This afternoon the owner of the Gracelands Cafe and Yard found she had been listed as a supporter of the development while away on holiday. The story emerged on Twitter:

1. Gracelands Yard ‏@gracelandsyard 1h

   @NW10KTRA yes we are listed online as being in support of the development. The Yard is v much in support only of the library. So underhand.

   View conversation
2. tim lott ‏@timlottwriter 2h

   Brent Council received ‘high proportion’ of fake emails supporting Kensal Rise Library development plans - News http://www.kilburntimes.co.ukent_plans_1_2675302 …

   Retweeted by Gracelands Yard

   Expand
3. Gracelands Yard ‏@gracelandsyard 1h

   @timlottwriter Yes someone's lodged 'support' response for development on behalf of the Yard & we're outraged. Have complained but no reply

   View conversation

Iron age pottery found on Blackbird Farm dig

It seems a long step from the Lidl supermarket on one side of Blackbird Hill in Kingsbury and a possible iron age settlement on the other, but that is the possibility revealed by the archaeological dig taking place on the site of the demolished Blarney Stone pub, previously the Blackbird.

This was the site of Blackbird Farm or Blackbird Hill Farm, perhaps also known as Black Pot Farm, which occupied the site on Blackburd Hill for centuries:

Just how long a farm stood there may be answered by the dig which is in its last fortnight. We know it was there in 1597 but not how long before that.  The archaeologists have got back to a packed clay floor which still has to be dated and a 16th century drain.

16th century drain

Most of the rest of the building appears to be 18th century and some post medieval red pottery has been found.

The excavation site

18th century grain store footings (corner of Old Church Lane and Blackbird Hill)

The site is beside the Saxon Eldestrete track which is thought to have run from Westminster, through Willesden and Neasden, to what is now Fryent Country Park and on to Hertfordshire. There are still remains of the track in the country park. It is conjectured that there may well have been settlements off the track. Furthermore, the finding of some Roman remains at the nearby Old St Andrew's Church has even raised hopes of some evidence of a Roman villa but that is really an outside chance. So far in London villas have only been found in the City of London itself or on the outskirts of Greater London.

More will be revealed (perhaps) when the layer so far uncovered is removed to see what lies beneath.

The remains will be recorded and stored in archives before the site is  built on to provide 34 flats, two houses and an underground car park.

I am grateful to UCL and the Wembley History Society for inviting me to visit the site.

London needs a million new homes by 2021 research claims

This statement from London Councils shows the depth of London's housing crisis:

London's future prosperity is in doubt unless steps - such as lifting restrictions on councils borrowing against their assets - are taken to build nearly a million homes by 2021, a new analysis shows.

London Councils, which represents London’s 33 local authorities, has carried out a new analysis of Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and Greater London Authority (GLA) official housing statistics. The research reveals that:

• between 2011 and 2021, 526,000 new homes will need to be built in London just to keep up with new housing demand (London’s population is expected to increase by over one million in the next decade)
• only 250,000 homes will be built on current projections
• a further 283,000 homes will also need to be built to along with the 526,000 on current supply levels to meet both new demand and the backlog of housing need in London
• in total, 809,000 homes are needed by 2021 to meet new housing need as well as the backlog of housing need.

Current housing supply levels suggest that there will be a deficit of 559,000 homes by 2021 – which even when excluding factors such as overcrowding still amounts to 329,000 fewer homes than London will require. This will put London’s future status as a global city at risk while adding huge pressures to government and individuals’ budgets.

Mayor Sir Steve Bullock, London Councils’ Executive Member for Housing, said: “The news that London needs almost a million homes by 2021 is a scandal - the last time we faced such an acute housing supply crisis was after the Second World War. This is a long time coming and the capital’s future prosperity is on the line.”

“Rising housing costs are not only a problem for those struggling to rent but for any Londoner wishing to buy their own home.  If the housing crisis is not solved, costs for the London economy will continue to spiral. More working families will struggle to rent and to buy, more people could be forced out of the capital and homelessness is very likely to go up.”

London Councils’ discussion paper, which was released ahead of the party conference season, sets out a range of policy solutions to boost housing supply. This includes lifting the “Housing Borrowing Cap” which prevents councils investing in housing – a move supported by the wider housing and property sector .
Other policies include increasing investment in the rental sector, supporting smaller scale builders, and promoting sustainable development near London’s tube and rail network. 

The report estimates 134,000 homes could be built if all these measures and others were taken forward.

Mayor Sir Steve Bullock added: “With London’s population expected to top nine million by 2021, we need to use the party conference season to explore the radical strategic steps needed to build almost a million homes - such as lifting unnecessary restrictions on councils borrowing to invest in new homes and helping small businesses win construction contracts.”

More than the environment: Green voices from the West Midlands

Away from the trendy bars, skateboarders and joggers of Brighton the World at One finds out about the success of the Green Party in industrial West Midlands:

listen to ‘My report for @bbcradio4's #wato on @thegreenparty, featuring @willduckworthGP & @chrisw100:’ on Audioboo

Support the redoubtable Kensal Rise Library campaigners tomorrow

The Friends of Kensal Rise Library will be represented at the Brent Council Planning Committee on Wednesday 18th September by Co-Chair David Butcher. There will be other speakers including two from local resident’s associations and whoever has requested permission to speak and also the developer or his agent.


At this meeting the Planning Committee, which is made up of councillors, will decide whether or not to accept the recommendation of the Chief Planning Officer to refuse planning permission for the proposal for the library by Mr Andrew Gillick of Kensal Properties Ltd. The Friends would like to see as many people as possible at this meeting as it is important to show how this community feels about the proposed development.
- See more at: http://www.savekensalriselibrary.org/news/#sthash.e1suynlr.dpuf

 Planning Committee Meeting Wednesday 18^th September at 7pm at the Civic Centre, Engineers Way, Wembley.  Wembley Park tube, Olympic Way and then right just before the stadium. 206 bus.

Councils need powers to build new schools - new campaign needs your support

I was pleased to see Green Party leader Natalie Bennett tweet her support to the new School Places Crisis campaign to Kevin Courtney, Deputy General Secretary of the NUT. The campaign calls for local authorities to get back the power to plan for the increased demand for school places and build new community schools.

At present Coalition policy under Michael Gove restricts any new schools to academies or free schools outside the control of local authorities.  In a posting on this two weeks ago I said LINK

Local authorities have the local knowledge to plan new schools where they are most needed and the expertise and resources to ensure that such schools are fit for purpose, have access to school support services and are professionally staffed so that they hit the ground running.  Free schools, even if they happen to be provided in areas of shortage (and many are not), do not have these guarantees.

Local authorities have a statutory duty to provide education and parents have a legal duty to ensure that their children attend school. Gove's policy, despite all his protestations, is actually thwarting both, and in the process damaging children.

At present in Brent we lack -3.2% of school places which will become -10.3% by 2016-17.

The Campaign says:

The way school places are organised changed dramatically when the Academies Act gained Royal Assent in 2010. Up until this point local authorities played a pivotal role in planning for, commissioning and providing high quality places for pupils across the country. This is no longer the case.

Local authorities have lost the power to open new schools and their budgets have been slashed. A Free School can now be set up anywhere at the whim of the Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove. The problem with this is that it doesn't take into account local need or demand, or even the potential surplus of school places in any given area.

And that's why the UK is now facing a shortfall in quality school places. In London, this could be up to 23% by 2016.

Sounds scary? It is. But the solution is beautifully simple:

GIVE   THE   POWER   TO   COMMISSION   AND   BUILD   SCHOOLS   BACK   TO   LOCAL   AUTHORITIES

The Government must ensure that any extra places provided are quality places. All children deserve to be taught by a qualified teacher. They also deserve to be taught in an appropriate environment – it would be wrong to cram more children into already crowded classrooms.
The local authority still has a responsibility for education for all local children, but they cannot guarantee high quality school places without the ability to plan for the future, build schools or reduce school size where needed. Can you contact your MP to let them know your concerns?

The site has a link for you to  write to your MP and  to sign a petition. If we want to secure quality, planned and democratically controlled education for our children we should support this campaign.

Twitter link @placescrisis  Website: http://www.theschoolplacescrisis.com/

Brent Council to rely on volunteers for Meals on Wheels provision

Brent Executive approved the handing over of the provision of Meals on Wheels and meals at Day Care Centres to the voluntary sector this evening. There were passionate speeches by Brent Fightback and Labour Party members Michael Calderbank and Graham Durham expressing concern over the proposals and posing some incisive questions. Their speeches caused Cllr Pavey to hesitate saying they had raised legitimate concerns and Cllr Denselow said that he could see the concern, in an era of cuts, over a Big Society style solution, but he preferred to see it as a cooperative solution offering vulnerable people choice and control.

Calderbank expressed concern over redundancies at the current provider, payments to be made to new providers, whether the voluntary organisations would be paid the London Living Wage that the Council had committed itself to, the report's 'high risk' with  'medium' probability assessment that vulnerable people may go without a meal with a number of different voluntary sector providers.

Stressing he was not opposed to voluntary organisations providing services, but that this should not be  a cover for cuts, or at the cost of a reduction in quality, he asked about monitoring of quality and hygiene standards, and wanted confirmation that the new service would not longer provide puddings.
 
Calderbank said he couldn't believe that the Council was going ahead on the basis of such a small pilot project with one provider. This was not a strong basis for a major change. He asked what sanctions would be applied to providers who dropped out.

Durham said that he has spoken to the minister at Harlesden Methodist Church which had operated the pilot and found that the only person to be employed was a 0.7 cook, all the rest delivering the service would be volunteers. This was not a partnership with the voluntary sector but reliance on unpaid volunteers. The Council was creating no jobs and guilty of creating unemployment when it was already at 8.4%

Through the NHS Patients group he had heard complaints about food being undercooked, the lack of puddings and food put into one container like baby food.

He said with disparate providers there was a need for strong contract compliance to ensure  continuity of quality of food and reliability of delivery. The real motive seemed to be the £300,000 of 'savings' - where was the Council's much vaunted London Living Wage?

Phil Porter, Acting Director of Adult Social Services, responded rather than Cllr Krupesh Hirani, lead member for Adult Social Care, who was absent from the Executive Meeting. Porter said the changes had been drivem by better service and increasing cost and control, not by cuts. The previous provider had provided only one option from their base in Leicester. The new range of suppliers would give more choice. The Council had been honest in publishing negative comments from service users but the 8 in the pilot had been 'very happy. (In fact the pilot numbers were reduced to six with one dissatisfied and seeking alternatives and 'very happy' doesn't really describe some of the other users' comments),

He said there would be no change of service for vulnerable individuals without a review of their needs carried out by social workers to understand their capacity and support network- managing risk was part of the review.

There was no contract compliance because the Council had a new role facilitating the market rather than establishing a contractual relationship. This was part of a broader move which the Council was undertaking. It created a challenge and removed the comfort blanket of a single provider.

Porter said the Council couldn't make the providers commit to the London Living Wage  - they could only encourage them t pay it. It was fundamental to give power to the provider and all the support required to make sure the provision is also safe, The scheme would deliver savings and a better service.

He said 5 or 6* people employed by Apetito in Brent would be affected by redundancy. He could make no undertaking that jobs would be created because some providers would be able to provide within their existing infrastructure and others may not. 

Cllr Roxanne Mashari intervened to say that she had been concerned about nutritional standards being maintained in the new arrangements and had visited Cricklewood Homeless Concern to see their provision. As a result she thought it was a fantastic move and should have been made earlier. The food was fresh meat and fish, fruits such as avocado, not baby food, and was served in ceramic type containers. Cricklewood Homeless Concern were able to build on their existing relationships with their clients.

To protests from the audience that their questions had not all been answered, the Executive went on to approve the new arrangements.

* Please note earlier version because of a typographical error rendered this figure as 506. My apologies.