Unite and LRC back anti-cuts candidate for Brent Central

Unite the Union yesterday endorsed Kingsley Abrams as their preferred Labour candidate for Brent Central. Brent Labour Representation Committee also endorsed him.

Unite member and Brent Labour Party and LRC activist Graham Durham said 

It will be a hard battle to get Kingsley endorsed as candidate. However with his  record of trade union activity and his role as a Lambeth Labour councillor opposed to cuts, Kingsley will strike a chord with Brent voters feeling the savage attacks of the Bedroom Tax, welfare cuts, privatisation of the NHS and Royal Mail. Many supporters and members will see Kingsley as the ideal candidate to replace the supporter of Tory cuts, Sarah Teather, as MP for Brent Central.

The Brixton councillor was suspended by the Lambeth  Labour Group in 2012  when he opposed cuts to youth services and job cuts. LINK

Contact Graham on 07866-616492 and Kingsley on 07932-447793

'Benefit thieves' ex-Labour MP launches his campaign for Brent Central nomination

Veteran Labour politician and former government minister Tony McNulty has launched his campaign for  nomination as Labour candidate for the Brent Central seat.

McNulty was Minister for London and Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform before having to resign over an expenses claim. He was asked to apologise to the House of Commons and repay £13,837.  The press drew attention to his perceived hypocrisy over his attack on benefit 'cheats' when he had said:

Benefit thieves have to understand that they will not get away with it. Working together with local authorities and the police we have a range of powers to investigate and with the support of the public we bring benefit thieves to justice.

 He lost his Harrow East seat to Bob Blackman at the 2010 General Election.

He is married to Christine Gilbert, Acting Chief Executive of Brent Council,  who was herself embroiled in controversy when it was revealed that her Council salary was paid to her own private company.  The Council recently extended her position until after the 2014 local election.

McNulty has been out regularly on the 'Labour doorstep' with other Brent Labour Party activists and has now sent this message to Labour Party members:

Dear Member,

Brent Central is about to embark on its selection of a parliamentary candidate and I have already written to you explaining why I am seeking the privilege of representing you in 2015. You should receive my leaflet in the next day or so. This is a hugely important selection in a seat that is crucial to the return of a Labour government. Brent Central deserves so much more than another Liberal Democrat MP propping up another disastrous Tory-led coalition.
 

My passion for the Labour Party is supported by my passion for Brent. I know Brent well with roots in the area that go back many years. Brent Central needs a candidate with the knowledge, experience and skill to be both a local champion and a national voice for our communities. I believe I have this knowledge, experience and skill. I know I have the passion, drive and commitment to build a strong and united constituency team that will defeat the Liberal Democrats. United we can win and make Brent Central the safe Labour seat it should be.
 

To find out more about me and my ideas, please visit www.tonymcnulty.com. If you want to read more about my promises to you, then go to www.tonymcnulty.com/my-pledges.
 

I will be in touch soon to find out more about the issues that matter most to you and the kind of MP needed to ensure a better future for Brent Central.
 

My leaflet should be with you by tomorrow or Wednesday and I would be delighted if you would respond by contacting me for a personal chat either by phone or in person. In the meantime, please feel free to email me at tonyjmcnulty@gmail.com or call me at any time on (number withheld for privacy by Wembley Matters).
 

I look forward to speaking to you over the next few weeks.

With thanks and best wishes

Meanwhile Lembit Öpik has just confirmed to the Kilburn Times  LINK that he intends to seek the Liberal Democrat nomination for Brent Central. Öpik versus McNulty - does this cheer or chill you?

Day of Action for appropriate Early Years education: Too Young to Fail

The Too Much Too Soon Campaign has called a Day of Action for October 30th over the Government's plans for early years education.

Core aim and objectives
 

To stop all developmentally inappropriate educational policy-making in the UK

1) re-establish the early years as a unique stage in its own right and not merely a preparation for school
2) protect young children’s natural developmental rights
3) prevent baseline testing
4) reinstate the vital role of play
5) call for an English developmentally appropriate Foundation Stage for children between the ages of 3 and 7 (until the end of Key Stage 1)

To call for

• a national debate on the purpose of education and the definition of success
• the establishment of a new National Council on the Science of Human Learning and Development
  to guide and inform all future early years educational policy-making
• the development of Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessments for all new civic policies (as per article 3 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child)

Core Messages

• They’re too young to fail 
• Grassroots voices matter

Activities

Meeting at 11.15 with a gathering at Horse Guards Parade, in Whitehall, London
March past the Houses of Parliament from 12.30
Rally at Millbank at 2pm
Formal lobbying of MPs, Houses of Parliament 4pm

Further information:  LINK

Will Veolia, as sole bidder, represent Best Value for Brent Public Realm contract?

The Officers' report on the Public Realm contract to be presented to the Brent Council Executive on Monday October 14th reveals that only Veolia submitted a final bid. Serco dropped out at Stage 3 due to internal changes within the company structure and 'issues relating to resourcing and targets' but more controversially at the final stage Enterprise, the only competitor to Veolia left, asked for extra time to finalise their bid. The report states:

Officers fully considered the merits of the request but determined that it was not appropriate to agree such an extension.

The report contains no explanation or justification for this decision in the same way as campaigners were given no explanation for the panel's decision that no grounds existed for the exclusion of Veolia on human rights grounds.

A spokesman for Amey, who now own Enterprise said unfortunately as there is an on-going procuremnt process, we cannot comment further at this time.

The officers' decision means that the comparative tables for the Invitation to Submit Final Tenders (ISFT) stage look rather ludicrous:

In an email to Brent Executive members I wrote:

It is clearly legitimate to ask if ‘Best Value’ has been obtained when such a large contract is awarded with no competitive bid to evaluate it against. It is also legitimate to ask why Enterprise was not granted more time to submit. (Enterprise has now been taken over by Amey)

The new contract is a mixed bag with some improvements envisaged for the service but other changes which impact on jobs.

The Council expects costs for the new contract to be £1.3m less in the first year 2014-15 rising to £1.7m in 2017-18. This is brought about by reduction in the crews of bin lorries and the expectation that all residents, except those not physically able to, will leave their bins at their property boundary. These changes will be implemented before the new contract with a reduction in costs this financial year of £300,000.

88 council workers are directly affected  and will be subject to TUPE, although Veolia has said it will honour their pension position. Wetton's employees who service Brent Housing Partnership estates  and SDK employees who empty the dog excrement bins will also be subject to TUPE,

More positively, Veolia has undertaken to pay those who remain the London Living Wage, although that will be little comfort to those who lose their jobs. Volia has also undrtaken to fulfill the 'Safer Lorries' pledge which protects cyclists, to offer 8 apprenticeships and to take action to offer jobs locally through various agencies.

One aspect that may concern councillors is that Veolia will be responsible for monitoring itself:

The contract will be self-monitoring, meaning that the contractor is accountable for measuring, monitoring and improving their own performance with the council carefully auditing their performance. This, along with Key Outcome Targets set for each of the different services will ensure that the Contractor is motivated to deliver the services.

Veolia will also be dealing with complaints from councillors and residents in the first instance thus 'placing responsibility on the Contractor to ‘own’ and be accountable for service complaints'.

All new or replacement residual bins will be 140litre rather than the present 240litre. Large households or multi-occupied premises will be able to request a largr bin if they can justify it. Although increased recycling should mean a smaller residual bin is adequate I do worry that some of the fly-tipping so evident on our streets is the result of residual bins being full and residents then dumping the excess on the street.

There are changes to the street sweeping regime with the expectation that streets will meet the Grade A standard after cleansing and will not fall below Grade B:

Grade A: No litter or refuse
Grade B: Predominately free of litter and refuse apart from some small items
Grade C: Widespread distribution of litter and/or refuse with minor accumulations
Grade D: Heavily affected by litter and/or refuse with significant accumulations

This is clearly a challenge given the current state of our streets.

One of the main concerns of residents has been over parks maintenance. We are rightly proud of our parks and have witnessed the sensitivity of Brent staff in maintaining them properly, rather than the 'chainsaw' gardening that we see on some estates where shrubs are reduced to three dimensional geometric shapes regardless of whether they are about to come into flower or have a different natural shape.

Although the report says that Veolia has agreed to maintain the parks to Green Flag standard, without any further explanation it also says that the council will no longer submit  applications for Green Flag Awards. Given how the council has always proudly publicised these awards, and the tremendous effort parks staff put into achieving them, I can only ask why not submit applications? Surely the Award is a prestigious external audit of the success or otherwise of the contract?

The full report can be found HERE

Time for concerted preemptive advice on primary forced academies

An initiative I fully support from the Education Reform website: LINK

It is time to create a concerted stand against the bulldozing DfE conversion of Primary schools to Academies.

Each school so far has had to fight its own cause with only minor support from other schools or unions.

The situation calls for forewarning advice to be sent to each school before they have a chance of a weak Ofsted inspection outcome, with DfE brokers swiftly moving in to undemocratically convert the school to an Academy.

This measure is needed - overdue in fact - for the very simple reason that democracy is being subverted or simply ignored, with the DfE selecting 'preferred' sponsors opaquely, and blatantly failing to listen to parental needs or concerns. The occasional parental consultation that they tolerate is operated mechanically, and the results effectively ignored.

I might be deemed 'an enemy of promise' by trying to stop these forced conversions, but the DfE are indeed bulldozing the educational landscape, with the title deeds of the doomed schools and their land give away for free to private businesses who often have no original background in education. There is rumour that they will be given the right to make a profit on the back of this free offering in the future.

But the real enemy is the DfE as they are the 'enemies of reason' - they literally care not one jot about the public opinion, nor the hard facts that Academies do not guarantee success. The DfE know what they want - to serve private enterprise. Why else pass the title deeds to charity-status sponsors that never need to own them in the first place?

Many Primary schools are quivering at the impending arrival of Ofsted inspectors - a stressful enough event in normal circumstance. With the threat of massive upheaval against their wishes via the long forced conversion process, the spirit of a school can be killed.

Are there any volunteers who are happy to accumulate the advice that should be sent to the primary schools? I am happy to help coordinate this effort.

Brent Civic Centre opening hit by line closures

The Brent Civic Centre was planned as a 'public transport destination'. Unfortunately the nearest tube station, Wembley Park, will be closed on Sunday when the grand opening ceremony takes place between noon and 7.30pm.

No Metropolitan trains are running between Aldgate and Northwood/Uxbridge and no Jubilee trains between Waterloo and Stanmore. The Overground will not run between Richmond and Camden Road via West Hampstead.

The Bakerloo should be running, albeit at its slow Sunday pace and there will be replacement bus services for the Met and Jubilee. South Brent people in Kilburn Park and Harlesden have the possibility of the 206 bus although it is not very frequent on Sundays. It stops close to the Civic Centre. Otherwise there is the 18 bus (alight at Wembley triangle and walk) and the 297, 83 and 182 stop at Wembley Park Station (walk along Olympic Way and turn right). There is a longer walk from  the 245 stop at Wembley ASDA via Bridge Park.

Brent's own Welsh village school is determined to survive redevelopment plans

Nestled between Stonebridge Primary School and Our Lady of Lourdes RC Primary School on Hillside, Stonebridge, and easy to miss,  lies one of Brent's hidden gems.

Ysgol Gymraeg Llundain (London Welsh School) has occupied the site since 2000 after its move from a Welsh Chapel in Willesden.

Now there are concerns about its future following the Brent Council Executive's approval of plans to expand Stonebridge Primary School, sell off its current Annex for housing and reconfigure Stonebridge Adventure Playground and the adjacent open space.

The school is a Welsh village school in the heart of London. Although the Executive report said that the number of pupils  was 'well below the maximum of 30' there are in fact 36 full-time statutory age children  attending and 41 if you include the nursery.

The school receives a grant from the Welsh Government and charges fees of £800 a term. However parents' ability to pay is means tested and the Chair of the Board of directors, Eleri Brady said they 'pay what they can afford to pay and we never refuse a place to a child'. The school has to find the difference and is involved in lots of fund raising. An earlier application to become a free school in  order to secure the school's future was not approved.

At present the premises are leased from Stonebridge Primary and the arrangement goes back to a period when Stonebridge was a one form entry in a cavernous building. The council report says that the arrangement needs to be 'regularised', and the lease 'put on a commercial footing or terminated'.

Eleri Brady at the school entrance

A commercial rent or termination would see the school looking for new premises or ending its existence although there is a ray of hope in the report where it states the council should 'carefully consider any impact on the Welsh language community' going forward. Certainly there is a determination on the part of the Chair of the Board of Directors to keep the school open: 'We want to keep it special'.

The bilingual school follows the Welsh curriculum and the children do not take SATs tests, although the school does follow theEarly Years and Foundation Stage curriculum.

When I visited today the atmosphere was relaxed but purposeful with very positive relationships between children and between children and teachers. The headteacher Julie Sullivan described how the children developed confidence quickly in the school with everyone from Nursery to Year 6 able to participate in presentations and productions because of the low numbers involved.  The school is regularly visited by the Welsh media and children participate in the annual St David's Day Service Chapel of St Mary Undercroft in the Palace of Westminster.

Parents choose the school because they wanted to preserve their children's Welsh language and cultural identity and often because are were only working in London for a few years and want to ensure the continuity of the child's education. About half the children go on to an English secondary school and the others return to Wales for a Welsh secondary education as there is no equivalent Welsh secondary school in London. The children are drawn from across London by some families move closer i9n order to attend the school.

Clearly there are pressures on school places that have to be addressed but it would be a pity if the London Welsh School became a casualty of regeneration in a similar way to the fate of the much missed Willesden Bookshop. Cllr Pavey, lead member for children and families, referred at the Executive meeting to Cllr Crane's description of him supporting the Welsh School as an eccentricity. Crane is the lead member for regeneration and major projects. It would be a terrible pity if a place so unique were to disappear when the bulldozers move in and I hope a means will be found to help it survive.

Celebrating victory in an earlier threat to the Adventure Playground

Alongside the proposal for the Welsh School are plans for the Stonebridge Adventure Playground.  Presently run by the Brent Play Association, a charity of which I am one of the trustees, the report points to the possibility of reorganisation and resiting. At the Executive meeting Cllr George Crane spoke of the ' need to consult further and review the management and operation of the playground'. The Adventure Playground was funded by the Big Lottery and recently campaigned to maintain its council funding.

The report mentions the possibility of the Adventure Playground being used by Stonebridge Primary School during the day and the community after school and at weekends.

Neither the Welsh School nor the Adventure Playground seem to know much about what is planned for them so it is important that there is a full and transparent consultation about their future.

London Welsh School Contacts:

headlondonwelsh@hotmail.com
www.ysgolgymraegllundain.ik.org
Tel: 0208 965 3585

Sir Alan Davies gets 18 month suspended sentence for false accounting

Former headteacher Sir Alan Davies of Copland Community School, Wembley received 12 month sentence suspended for two years today on 6 charges of false accounting.

Full story on Kilburn Times website HERE

The ATL and NUT in Brent have issued the following statement:

Today in Southwark Crown Court Sir Alan Davies, who yesterday pleaded guilty, although at
the very last minute, to six counts of false accounting, was sentenced to one year's
imprisonment suspended for two years. In passing sentence the Judge said that he showed
‘dishonesty with criminal intent’ and that his conduct was ‘disgraceful’. She made it clear that,
had he not pleaded guilty, his conduct would have resulted in an immediate custodial sentence.

The judge was also minded to make a compensation order against Davies regarding the costs
of Brent's investigation. However, she was informed that Brent Council is considering
pursuing their costs through the civil court.

Before the trial commenced a deal was struck, involving Keir Starmer, Head of the Crown
Prosecution Service.

Hank Roberts said, “It appears that a school can set up a company, and legally pay the
headteacher hundreds of thousands of pounds out of the pupils education budget for project
management. At the moment technically legal it may be, but shouldn't a headteacher of a
secondary school paid over £100, 000 a year expend their energies on the children's education?

And shouldn't this legal loophole be closed? Sir Alan has been found guilty and sentenced and
now has a criminal record. That at least is some justice.”

Lesley Gouldbourne said, “What action is going to be taken to get back the money lost from
the kid's education? What action is going to be taken to remove his knighthood? ”