Council responds to complaint over Council Tax Support Scheme consultation

Brent Council has responded to the complaint by Robin Sivapalan on behalf of residents that its consultation on the Council Tax Support Scheme was not advertised widely enough and gave inadequate time for responses. The council wants to keep the controversial current scheme with some small statutory changes.

Here is the Council's reply:

Dear Mr Sivapalan,

I refer to your complaint about the way we are consulting on Brent’s Local Council Tax Scheme for 2014/15. Firstly, I would like to make you aware that we have extended the consultation period to 13 December.

The consultation that is currently under way is on the proposal not to change the Local Council Tax Scheme agreed by full council last year (except for statutory changes to the prescribed scheme for pensioners and a minor amendment to explicitly include a specific group as vulnerable and therefore protected from paying at least 20% of their council tax which had not been made clear in the original scheme for 2013/14). There
is no requirement for an Authority to consult each year on its local scheme if there are only statutory changes, but we felt that we did want to give residents an opportunity to make comments so decided that we would run a web-based consultation.

Although we had made a number of stakeholders aware of the consultation process during network and partner meetings over recent weeks, we hadn’t formally written to advice agencies before this week. As you acknowledge, this was due to a genuine oversight for which I apologise, however on that basis, we have extended the consultation period for a week as mentioned above to allow those that had been unaware on the consultation an opportunity to comment.

I regret that it is not possible to extend the consultation to the end of January, as you request, as the Council is required to determine its scheme for next year before the end of January.

As your complaint makes significant reference to those affected by the current scheme, I consider it appropriate to comment on the current scheme and how we have tried to help our residents during what we all agree has been a difficult time. Firstly, I must point out that there cannot be a reinstatement of the previous Council Tax Benefit (CTB) scheme as this was a national scheme funded by central government that has now been abolished. The scheme that we are proposing to carry forward into 2014/15 was the subject of extensive publicity and consultation last year including the following::

 · Publicity on the Council’s website and a special email account set up for queries;
· Text messages to 2694 existing Benefit claimants;
· Emails to 1770 Benefit claimants;
· A leaflet issued with 13,000 Council Tax bills;
· Meetings and presentations to over a dozen organisations including Mencap, Citizens Advice Bureau, Help Somalia Foundation, Private Tenant Rights User Group, Older Persons Partnership Board, Brent Housing Partnership, Brent Mental Health User Group, Willesden Mosque and representatives from Lynton Close Travellers Site;
· Emails to 600 Area Consultative Forum members and 640 Citizens Panel members;
· Paper copies of leaflets and documentation in all Brent libraries;
· Features on the consultation in both the May and July 2012 editions of the Brent Magazine and publicity in the local media including the Harrow Times and the Brent and Kilburn Times;
· Presentations to 267 residents at the five Area Consultative Forums;
· Letters and emails to all partner organisations in the borough;
· A wide range of posters and other publicity throughout the borough.

Following the consultation period and full council’s agreement for the scheme, we wrote to all our customers in advance of the start of the scheme, and included a special advice leaflet in all our year end bills where CTB was in payment. Officers embarked on an extensive exercise to speak to as many of the customers affected as possible especially those who were likely to have to pay something towards their council tax for the first time. Where we were unable to contact the customer by phone, we wrote to residents affected inviting them to contact us so that we could explain the scheme and how it affected them and also to discuss how best they could meet their financial obligations. We also made arrangements to allow council tax to be paid in 12 instalments rather than the normal 10 to help spread the cost.

We have continued to try and engage with residents since the introduction of the scheme and take a sympathetic view with customers who are trying to pay their council tax.

Where residents are also affected by other aspects of the government’s Welfare Reform programme – the overall benefit cap or the bedroom tax restrictions - we have often been able to offer assistance with their housing costs.

Finally, in respect of the current consultative exercise, I do not believe that the process has been unreasonable and certainly meets or exceeds our statutory obligations.

We shall treat all responses seriously but will be subject to both time and financial constraints when considering any proposals for changes.

Yours sincerely,

Andy Monkley
Subsidy & Policy Manager

 

A perfect late autumn day on the allotment

Sunset over Birchen Grove allotments (St Andrew's Church and the Stadium Arch on the horizon)

It was a perfect late autumn day down at Birchen Grove allotments today and I made the most of it.  It was pretty amazing to be entering the second week of December and still able to harvest the last aubergine and chillies as well as the more seasonal parsnips and broccoli.

Even the couch grass was cooperative, slipping easily out of the soil with just a slight jerk of the garden fork. Often the London clay is much harder to work at this time of the year and it was satisfying to get a lot done before it adopts its usual heavy, gloopy, saturated, winter state.

However, allotment holders should know that Brent Council is expecting plots to be dug over between now and March. The regulations on non-cultivation have been changed and the Council now expects 75% of each allotment to be dug over or have crops on by March 2014. In fact they will inspecting allotments before March to see if progress towards the 75% target has been made with the possibility of issuing Non-Cultivation Orders, and the potential ending of the tenancy, if progress has not been made. Anyone who cannot comply because of personal circumstances should contact the Council.

The change reflects both the large number of people on the allotment waiting list and the difficulty some people have in finding time to cultivate their allotment in these times of long working hours or several part-time jobs.

Increasing number of allotment holders are sowing over-wintering 'green manure' which is dug in just before the plant flowers and I assume council officers will count that as cultivation - digging in may well take place after March depending on which green manure is used.

Brent Greens: Butler is a 'New Labour blast from the past'

Dawn Butler and Shahrar Ali at the Friends of the Earth Hustings, General Election 2010

Reacting to today's news that Brent Labour Party had selected Dawn Butler to fight Brent Central in 2015, Shahrar Ali, The Green's candidate in  2010, said:

Labour's selection of Dawn Butler to fight the Brent Central seat is as if they are proposing a blast from Blair's New Labour past. Let voters be reminded where Butler stood on a whole raft of hugely consequential issues.

In 2007, Butler voted against a motion calling for a new sense of urgency on climate change, and, in 2009, against our becoming a signatory to the 10:10 climate change campaign. On Nuclear deterrence, Butler voted ambiguously on the renewal of a Trident system (2007). On anti-terror legislation, Butler voted reliably with her Government throughout, and, in 2009, voted to keep the maximum period of detention without charge for terrorist suspects at 28 days (instead of a lower period).

On such fundamental political issues of the day, Butler's priorities were wrong or muddled. Labour Party members may be prepared to forgive her past mistakes but I doubt if the electorate will be quite as tolerant. Greens stand for a radical break from the barely distinguishable politics of the three main parties and we shall fight the General Election on that basis.

Labour selects Dawn Butler for Brent Central

Uniting behind Dawn?

Former Brent South MP Dawn Butler has been selected by Labour for the Brent Central seat, winning in the third round of voting. Butler lost to Sarah Teather in 2010.

Clearly more people like Marmite in Brent that I thought!

According to reliable sources Butler won narrowly from Sundar Thava, tipped by me as a possible outsider winner yesterday. There was only a handful of votes in it at the end of the day in which Sundar performed impressively but Dawn Butler was ahead on postal votes. Parmijit Dhanda and Sabina Khan were knocked out in the early stages.

With such a narrow margin the question is whether activists will line up behind Dawn Butler and get out on the streets for her. The prospect of another Tory or Coalition government may be enough to do the trick.

Lib Dem's shortlist for Brent Central

As Labour votes for its Brent Central parliamentary candidate I understand that the Lib Dem shortlist for Sarah Teather's seat is:

Lauren Keith, a member of Mapesbury Lib Dems who works in Public Relations
Ibrahim Taguri who is the Lib Dem's chief fundraiser
Anuja Prashar, a lecturer in economics
Ajmal Masroor, a broadcaster and London based Imam

Runners, form and a tip for Labour's Brent Central race as it nears finishing line

So very soon Brent Central Labour Party members will be free of the emails, circulars, texts, and knocks on the door from the five hopefuls for the Brent Central parliamentary candidate nomination.

It's quite hard to tip a winner because my sources are all over the place and more keen to say why a particular candidate is unacceptable rather than who will make a great MP.

Even the LRC appears to have decided that none deserved a collective vote of support so individuals are going their own way. In the Green Party RON appears on all ballot forms. RON stands for re-open nominations and is chosen  if you feel none of the candidates are suitable or a wider field is needed. If Ron was standing in the Brent Central Labour ballot I think he may do quite well

Dawn Butler seems to be the Marmite candidate but some have been won over by her skills as a speaker and in debate. Sabina Khan has been working extremely hard, personally lobbying many individual members, but has also attracted quite a lot of background criticism. Parmijit Dhanda although plausible on the surface has a substantial number of detractors based on his record. Zaffar van Kalwala has his fans but apparently did not come over well in the interviews.  Sundar Thava was somewhat undermined by his own decision to put a photograph of himself wielding a machine gun  on his campaign website.

I can claim no inside knowledge but if I was to tip an outsider who may come through the field it would probably be Sundar Thavapalasundaram. He impressed at the Labour Party public meeting on Syria which seemed to allay some of the concerns over his military background and that photograph. His job as an NHS doctor has gained him respect as well as his position on the Fabian Society National Executive.  He appears to be a 'slow burner' who has gained ground over the last few week.

The Fabians are quite influential in Brent and amongst some of the Council Executive. Thava's Operation Black Vote mentor, Sadiq Khan, has also been a presence in Brent since Muhammed Butt's former political adviser, Jack Stenner, a Young Fabian, went to work for him.

Council Tax Consultation extended after complaints

The Brent Council consultation on Council Tax Support due to end today,  has been extended for a week after a posting on this blog, Twitter campaign and an official complaint that it had not been widely enough advertised.

Threatened Queensbury pub wins Community Asset status

Brent Council has issued the following statement. Well done to the Queensbury Campaigners and all, including some councillors, who supported them and the Council for listing it:

We are pleased to announce that the Queensbury Pub has been added to our list of assets of comuunity value.

Leader of Brent Council, Cllr Muhammed Butt, said:

I am very pleased that the Queensbury Pub has been listed as an asset of community value.

As well as providing a home away from home for Brent residents to meet their neighbours and gather as a community, pubs such as the Queensbury generate jobs for local people and inject hundreds of thousands of pounds into our economy every year.

Community assets are locally nominated public or privately owned buildings that have furthered the social wellbeing or social interests of the community and can continue to do so.
Assets stay on our list for a period of five years.