Brent Council ignorant of how many of their contractors pay below London Living Wage or use Zero Hours contracts

Brent Council's commitment to paying the London Living Wage was very welcome but as pointed out in previous postings that is problematic because the Council has very few directly employed manual and service  workers now that so many of its services are contracted out. The same caveat applies to zero hours contracts, also opposed by the Council, but when some out-sourced Civic Centre security staff are employed on a zero hours basis.

The Council has urged local schools and private businesses to pay the London Living Wage and the new Public Realm contract includes a requirement that  Veolia  pay the LWW. The Council in a November press released stated:

We have also agreed to build LLW considerations into our procurement process for contracts and, over a three-year period, will review the bulk of contracts with a positive view to applying LLW.

Again this is welcome although the continued emphasis on 'best value' (often the lowest bid) introduces a tension at a time of massive funding cuts. There is increasing recognition that by lifting local wages the Council will eventually be better off as families are lifted out of poverty and thus less reliant on benefits, including Council Tax Support.

Given all this I was surprised to receive a negative response from Brent Council to my  Freedom of Information request asking for details of how many of the staff employed by the Council via contractors and sub-contractors are on zero hours contracts and paid less than the London Living Wage. After they refused the request I asked for a review and now have a response (below) - which amounts to another refusal .

What concerns me is that if the Council is concerned about the London Living Wage and poverty among Brent residents, it is surely their responsibility to ensure that those employed on their behalf have decent wages and conditions. In terms of budget planning it is also essential to know the cost of bringing those workers up to the LWW and that can only be done through  knowing how many people are involved.

If there is to be evidence based forward planning and decision making it is essential to have high quality information. I had a similar experience regarding school places when the Council refused my request for the number of pupils on Brent school waiting lists who were duplicates - i.e.the same child on waiting lists for several schools.Again essential information on assessing unmet demand and potential school expansions.

Here is the Council's ruling on my Zero Hours/London Living Wage request:

We have reviewed the decision to refuse your request for information under The Freedom of Information Act. Your request related to information that would establish how many staff who work for or on behalf of the Council through a contractor were employed on a zero hours basis and how many were paid the London Living Wage.

That request was refused as the information requested was not held by the Council. You were dissatisfied with that request on the basis that the Council had been critical of such arrangements and would not use a zero hours scheme with its own staff and had made a policy position that the London Living Wage should be paid to all Council staff as a minimum. We have now reviewed the decision to refuse the request and I can inform you of the outcome.
  
It is correct to say that the Council does not hold this information and as such can not readily supply it to you.  It may be possible to contact all of the contractors that the Council engages with but when the number of those contractors are considered and the time involved in obtaining the information you have requested is taken into account this would be a major exercise.
  
The Council would have to identify all current contracts on which staff are employed by the contractor which would, in effect, be nearly if not all of the contractors that are used. This in itself is an enormous piece of work. Once identified contact would have to be made with all of those contractors which would be hundreds of individual contacts. This again would be an enormous piece of work to accurately undertake. Collating the information would also take a significant amount of time.
  
Our view is that the time involved in obtaining the information would be in excess of 18 hours of officer time. Under the Act a request can be refused in the event that the cost of complying with it would exceed the cost limit set out in legislation. The applicable regulations provide that in assessing whether the cost limit has been reached officer time should be assessed at £25 per hour and the overall limit of cost being £450.

Given that the cost here would require in excess of 18 hours of officer time it is clearly over the cost limit set out in the Act. The Executive has taken the decision that any request that breaches the cost limit should be refused.

If the Council is to conduct a 3 year review as their November press release stated then this is precisely the information that will be needed.  Meanwhile, as residents, we have no way of knowing how many of the workers providing our services are on zero hours contracts with little or no pension or sick pay rights, or employed on rock bottom wages.

Uncertainty dogs Gladstone Park Primary at end of term

As the Autumn term ended amidst the traditional school Christmas festivities, Gladstone Park Primary School parents were disappointed to hear that what had appeared to be a positive development for the school had fallen through.

Liz Hayward, head of the Ofsted rated 'Outstanding'  Kingsgate Primary in Camden has been appointed Executive Headteacher of Gladstone Park and had written to parents inviting them to a meeting to discuss her plans for the school on Thursday December 19th.

Gladstone parent campaigners then heard on Thursday that due to changed circumstances at Kingsgate, which is due to double in size over the next few years, neither that school's governing body, nor Camden LA, were willing for the arrangement to go ahead.

In fact the Parents Action Group had suggested a Federation with Kingsgate Primary to Brent Council at the beginning of the school's current troubles and had seen it as an alternative to the forced academisation  that they had opposed. There were precedents for cross-borough cooperation and the geographical distance between the two schools is not great. Parents were keen to remain a local authority school with democratic accountability.

At the time this was turned down as a possibility and the governing body went ahead with the selection of CfBT as academy sponsor.

The announcement of Liz Hayward's appointment was made shortly after parents were told that the current head of Gladstone Park was leaving at the end of this term. I understand that Liz Hayward was due to work for three days a week at Gladstone Park until April when CfBT would have appointed their own headteacher for the school.  Her appointment was intended to stabilise the school and give clear and effective leadership. governing body.

It is obvious that given the ups and downs of the last few months that stability and clear and effective leadership are needed more than ever, and perhaps even more importantly, open and candid communication with parents and carers.  Brent Council and lead member for Children and Families, Michael Pavey, have a vital role to play in ensuring that happens.

Controversy over Council, Police, UKBA action in Cricklewood

Combined action by the UK Border Agency, the police and Brent Council on migrant workers has created controversy in Cricklewood which has spilled over intolively debate on the Streetlife forum of the Kilburn Times LINK

The local streets have long been a traditional picking up point for casual building labour in the early morning. It used to be mainly Irish workers but is now generally more recent migrants.

Mapesbury Safer Neighbourhood Team have cuiculated this notice via email, letters and the NW2 Residents' Association:

Some see this crackdown as partly a result of media hostility towards Eastern Europeans and point out that it was not raised as an issue in the past. It appears to reinforce prejudice and increase division when Brent Council was critical of the way UKBA raids on stations and the 'racist van campaign did just that. Nevertheless the Council are cooperating with UKBA in this case seeing it merely in terms of 'anti-social behaviour'.

A further point made is that while migrants are being attacked for living off  benefits they are also attacked when trying to get work.

Asking the public to note down vehicle registration numbers and pass them on to the police is likely to cause considerable controversy. 

Lib Dem's Chief Fundraiser selected for Brent Central

The official party  press releases on Ibrahim Taguri, the Liberal Democrat's chosen parliamentary candidate for Brent Central, have mentioned his background in charity fundraising. However he ended his role at Compton Fundraising Consultancy in 2009 and since then has been the Liberal Democrat's national Chief Fundraiser, raising nearly £2m in 2013. The press releases did not reveal this.

Taguri came to the attention of Channel 4's Michael Crick LINK when he found himself not so welcome a guest at the Liberal Democrat's 2011 Annual Corporate Day. 80 business people had paid £800 each to attend meetings, seminar and break-out sessions:

Among those they’ve been meeting are the junior business minister Ed Davey. And tonight 200 business people are due to attend the party’s business dinner where premium tables cost £5,000 for 10 people.

Among those I came across this afternoon were business people from tobacco companies. We get better access here than from the Department of Health, Stephen Stotesbury of Imperial Tobacco told me.

But party officials were clearly embarrassed and upset by our presence. They kept turning their backs on our camera, and eventually asked us to leave the corridor outside the hall.

One party official, Ibrahim Taguri, kept insisting it was just an opportunity to get its message across to business. We later discovered, though, that he’s the Lib Dems’ chief fundraiser.

 Taguri lived in Willesden Green and attended Latymer Upper School and Reading University. He is an avid Spurs fan and on Twitter follows the Lib Dem line of claiming that the Lib Dems have stopped Tory excesses on issues such as  young people's housing benefit, the  Human Rights Act and employment rights. He was strongly critical of the racist van campaign

After he selection he tweeted:

Delighted & humbled to be selected as Lib Dem Candidate for Brent Central where I grew up. A special place with great people Sarah Teather has been and continues to be a true champion for our community and I hope to carry on her great work.

Sarah Teather has said she will support his campaign which should make for some awkward moments on the doorstep.

Apologies for absence

Sorry for the lack of postings over the last 3 days. I have been unwell but on the mend now.

Vital Education Question Time Meeting in New Year

Why are teachers striking? Is OFSTED a political tool? Do we need SATs? Why is there a shortage of school places? Are standards falling in our schools?

If you would like to propose questions for the panel to consider please use #edqtime @NCE2014

7pm, WEDNESDAY

22nd JANUARY 2014

CHAIR: Adrian Chiles ITV presenter and local parent

PANEL: Michael Rosen Children’s author and broadcaster 

Christine Blower National Union of Teachers General Secretary

Julian Bell Leader of Ealing Council

Government and local campaign speakers are invited

Everyone is welcome especially parents, governors and students

There is no charge for the event but please register for tickets at

 http://educationquestiontime.ticketsource.co.uk

Press contact: 07958 542872  Nickgrant2512@mac.com

Venue: St. Paul’s Church, Queen Caroline Street, Hammersmith, W6 9PJ 

Nearest tube: Hammersmith

Reflecting on the life of Mandela at Preston Community Library

Guest blog by Jacqueline Bunce-Linsell

Last Friday Preston Community Library (PrCL)  held a reflection on the life of Nelson Mandela.

We opened by singing the South African National anthem made famous by the ANC Choir - Nkosi Sikelele Iafrika -God Bless Africa- in Xhosa, Africaans and English. 

We listened to Mr Mandela’s own words from his autobiography’ Long Walk to Freedom’ read stunningly as BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week by the great South African actor John Kani.  

Local singer, songwriter Jill Goldman sang and accompanied herself on the guitar to a ‘Freedom’ a  song she composed for the occasion.  (You will see her in the front of the photographs with her guitar.  Geraldine Cooke, a local  literary agent,  of Barn Hill is standing next to her in one photograph and is at the back in the other photograph.)

Geraldine Cooke,  during many Apartheid years,  was the South African editor at Penguin Books.  

She gave a fascinating  talk, on her part in working towards the release of Mr Mandela, which led to the rush publication of the book ‘Mission to South Africa’ the Report of the   so-called Eminent Persons, several of them former heads of state from seven Commonwealth countries, including Lord Barber who had been Margaret Thatcher’s Chancellor of the Exchequer.     This Group visited Mr Mandela three times in jail and travelled widely in the country ignoring ‘Whites Only’ signs on beaches and lavatories sending shock waves through the country.   Their Report ended with the words:’ if Nelson Mandela is not released there will be the biggest bloodbath the world has ever known’.

The  publication of this book proved the final push which persuaded Mrs Thatcher,  who alone in the Commonwealth had held  out against sanctions, to lean on President Botha to begin negotiations with the man in Pollsmoor Prison.

Geraldine Cooke  explained how she had steered the printing and publication of the Penguin Special, as it was called, in just two days around the world where it was a best-seller running to 100,000 copies including South Africa which of course banned anything critical, the fastest mass-market book ever published, worthy of inclusion in the Guinness Book of Records.

To achieve this in such a brief time would be impressive today with virtually instant printing-in 1986 when publishing schedules were counted in months, and more often years, it was a miracle.

This talk was something of a coup for PrCL as this was the first time Ms Cooke has revealed her part in this process, in public or private. 

Sir Shridath Ramphal, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth at the time speaking in London this July said that ‘Mission to South Africa’ “Changed History”.

As a result, Ms Cooke was one of the first people to meet Mr Mandela and Winnie Mandela privately when they came to London following the release.

Sir Shridath gave permission for his statement from Barbados on the eve of Nelson Mandela’s death to be read out at 235 Preston Road.

Two poems were sent to PCL: one, composed on the eve of the first free and democratic elections in 1994 by Mick Delap,then Deputy Head of the BBC World African  Service,  and one in which the poet Delap breaking stones on his own land on Valentia island off the South West  coast of Ireland in 2010 imagines the imprisoned Nelson Mandela breaking rocks on Robben Island- a truly great poem and the listeners were deeply moved.

To honour the Methodist tradition in which Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and other of the ANC leaders were brought up, as his funeral did two days later last Sunday, there was a  reading of  the 100^th Psalm which urges the People to sing Praises as indeed millions have been doing in South Africa for the last 10 days.

There was a specially composed Eulogy for the event in praise of Mr Mandela and his life which was read to us by the South African, Kevin Johnstone, from Pinner: written by his wife Jan in English and translated by her into Africaans. Kevin read the tribute in both languages.

The event closed with a reprise of the Freedom song and Nkosi Sikekilele Iafrica.

Preston Community Library was honoured to host this event given added significance in this community  by Nelson Mandela’s visit to Wembley.

It was surely the equal to any held in any library or council chamber in the country. 

It is hard to imagine Mr Mandela being anything other than dismayed at the difficulties people of the borough now have in access to books. Books were the one thing which were not subject to sanctions.

Access to information was crucial in Struggle.

Students in South Africa rioted and were killed in their demonstrations for access to education: sixty-nine in Soweto alone in one day.

This Thursday PrCL will be holding its annual marathon reading of Charles Dickens’ novel ‘ A Christmas Carol’ in the original edition for adults and in the children’s edition to be followed by its traditional carol singing.

Anybody who would like to attend is more than welcome.  The event will commence at 2pm on Friday 20^th December at PrCL’s temporary base at 235 Preston Road, Wembley, HA9 8PE

Protest against Hunt's attempt to curb legal challenges to hospital closures

There was a protest today by campaigners fighting Jeremy Hunt's attempt to add a clause to the Social Care bill which would prevent communities taking legal action, such as that of the Lewisham Hospitals Campaign,  against hospital closure plans.