Gilbert and Davani now being paid through Brent Council payroll

Cara Davani with Cllr Butt, leader of Brent Council

Late yesterday I received an answer to my request to Brent Council asking if Christine Gilbert (Interim Chief Executive) and Cara Davani (Head of Human Resources) were being paid through Brent Council payroll.

There had been controversey because both had originally had their earnings paid into their private companies.

Fiona Alderman (Principal Lawyer), deputising for Fiona Ledden  (Directior of Legal and Procurement) said that both were on the Brent Council payroll.

Why Caroline Lucas is voting to recognise Palestine

13 October 2014
Today I will be voting in Parliament for the UK to officially recognise Palestine.

The vote is on a motion that I am proud to sponsor and which simply calls on the Government to extend the same recognition to Palestine as it already extends to Israel.

So far 134 out of 193 UN member states have formally recognised Palestine and Sweden recently announced it intended to grant recognition too.

Britain needs to show some leadership and be amongst the first Western European countries to recognise Palestine and its right to self-determination.

This vote will have no immediate bearing on Palestine’s bid to be granted statehood via the UN - something I also support. But it will send a powerful signal that Britain backs a political solution to the conflict and potentially reinvigorate the peace process.

The UK Government already recognises the principle that the Palestinian people have an inalienable right to self-determination but has not granted this officially because it wants to reserve the right to do so at a moment of its choosing to best help bring about peace.

That time is now. Recognition is a good starting-point for negotiations and would help guarantee that the focus of talks is about how Palestine becomes a viable and secure sovereign state - not whether it becomes one. Denying recognition as the current UK government is doing is entirely at odds with the principle of self-determination.

I oppose an amendment that seeks to make British recognition of Palestine dependent on the conclusion of successful peace negotiations between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority.

Neither Israel nor Palestine’s right to exist should be subject to veto or any kind of conditions and we must actively challenge any refusal by either side to deny the other’s right to exist.

I have visited occupied Palestine on several occasions and, like so many, was horrified at the latest assault on Gaza at the hands of the Israeli military.

It can be difficult to comprehend the scale of the human tragedy that is occurring on this narrow strip of land, day in day out. Not just when the camera crews and reporters are there, but every single day.
It’s essential that human rights violations and violence on all sides cease and that the international community take strong action to hold the perpetrators to account. We also need a clear acknowledgement that building on the recent peace agreement between Israel and Hamas requires, first, an end to the siege of Gaza and then to Israel’s occupation of Palestine.

As UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said last month: "Any peace effort that does not tackle the root causes of the crisis will do little more than set the stage for the next cycle of violence."
One of those root causes is the eternal question mark that hangs over Palestine’s right to exist. Recognition would help the process of removing that question mark and allow Israelis and Palestinians to look forward to a future defined by equality, justice, freedom and peace.
Hundreds of constituents have written and asked me to stand up for the Palestinian right to self-determination. I am proud to have the opportunity to do just that.

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Tristram Hunt's 'Oath' ridiculed as teachers turn to the Greens for education policy solidarity

All we are saying is 'Give Us Fair Pay' - NHS strikers at Northwick Park Hospital this morning

Nurses and other health workers were in fine spirits despite the rain when I visited this morning and Shahrar Ali, deputy leader of the Green Party also joined them to express Green party solidarity.

This is why they are striking:

The Green Party Trade Union Group sent the following message of solidarity to the strikers:

The Green Party Trade Union group sends solidarity to all those NHS workers who are striking today. It is a disgrace that in one of thericher nations of the world, we are so misgoverned that workers in our health services are not properly paid for their skilled and dedicated work,whilst the government continually seeks to make the provision of healthavailable as a source of profit to the private sector. GPTU and the Green Party stand for a properly resourced health service staffed by properlypaid workers providing health free at the point of need. Victory to the NHS strikers!

The funding crisis facing Brent Council

The current round of Brent Connects forums (this week there is one for Wembley on Tuesday (see side bar for details) will hear a presentation about the Borough plan.  That plan will incorporate a worsening financial situation for the borough over the next 4 years which seems unlikely to be mitigated by any change of government.

This is the budget cycle for the 2015-16 budget:

The Council Tax Base shows a slight increase due to increased population and more properties being built in the borough. Additionally more people are paying Council Tax after the Council Tax Support changes. However Central Government funding of local authorities continues to reduce. New Social Care legislation which caps the amount people pay and a reduction in parking charges revenue also affect the picture.

The overall impact is a reduction in funding of £50 by 2018-19:

It is also likely that changes in education funding nationally will see a decrease in London, and of course Brent, after 2015 with some envisaging school budget cuts of 12%.

The report LINK going to the Cabinet tomorrow contains the usual structures on legality:

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A local authority must budget so as to give a reasonable degree of certainty as to the maintenance of its services. In particular, local authorities are required by the Local Government Finance Act 1992 to calculate as part of their overall budget what amounts are appropriate for contingencies and reserves. The Council must ensure sufficient flexibility to avoid going into deficit at any point during the financial year. The Chief Financial Officer is required to report on the robustness of the proposed financial reserves.

Under the Brent Member Code of Conduct members are required when reaching decisions to have regard to relevant advice from the Chief Finance Officer and the Monitoring Officer. If the Council should fail to set a budget at all or fail to set a lawful budget, contrary to the advice of these two officers there may be a breach of the Code by individual members if it can be demonstrated that they have not had proper regard to the advice given.

This is the source of the claim, likely to be heard at Brent Connects, that the Council has no alternative but to administer Coalition cuts.

Willesden Green Cultural Centre space to be let for 'income generation' rather than One Stop service for residents

When residents opposed the redevelopment of Willesden Green Library and the consequent loss of the Willesden Bookshop, cinema, cafe, museum, art gallery and meeting rooms they were assured that the community would gain not only a Cultural Centre but a Brent Council customer service that would mirror that on offer at the new Civic Centre in Wembley. LINK

The Future Customer Service Project aims to improve efficiency and clarity of the services offered to citizens. The strategy is dependent on developing a new customer contact centre at WGLC providing a service for the south of the borough, an area where many of the Council‟s high need customers reside.

Now a report from Andy Donald to be considered by the Cabinet tomorrow will recommend as part of a new  'Customer Access Strategy' that this be ditched.  The new strategy will rely mainly on Internet access where library staff might help residents get on to the system and a replacement for the telephone system that was installed at the Civic Centre just two years ago.

The report LINK states:

There are other implications for this approach in respect of the new Library at Willesden, including the opportunity to make use of the surplus space in the new building for alternative uses that are of public benefit and in keeping with the ethos of the building. It is proposed that the Council enter into a local dialogue about options for alternative uses in the space. Any use of the space will need to be income generating and as a minimum will need to cover the proportionate running costs such as Business Rates, heating, lighting, cleaning and maintenance.

This news comes on top of the controversy over the  development's luxury apartments, which have already been onward sold twice by property companies before completion, and which have been marketed abroad as investment opportunities with the 'benefit' of  no affordable or key worker housing on site.

Latest prices included £450,000 for a one bedroom flat.

The new strategy will also include changes at the Civic Centre:

The Civic Centre Service Centre includes dedicated self service space on the ground floor which has proved to be very popular with visitors. Members of staff are available within this area to assist visitors to use the self service facilities and also to encourage use of on line services where these are available. The current configuration of the Service Centre will need to be adapted to meet the increasing demand for self service with a concurrent reduction to the numbers of visitors requiring a more traditional face to face interview. Proposals are therefore being drawn up to change the layout of the service centre at the Civic Centre to reflect the need for greater self service provision in the future and to relocate the reception from the mezzanine floor to the ground floor to ensure that visitors’ needs can be quickly assessed when they approach the ground floor area.

It sounds like one of those supermarkets where you find all the tills are self-service.

The report states (original English in the report retained):

Face to face interview will continue to be available for residents who need a more help and assistance in resolving their enquiry.

But it appears that these are likely to be only available on a weekly basis and by appointment:

.        An equality impact assessment for the new community access strategy is attached as Appendix C. The overall impact assessment indicates that the extension of on line access to services could benefit many protected groups providing easy and convenient access on a 24/7 basis. As all channels of contact will remain available, the strategy offers all residents, including those in protected groups enhanced and improved access arrangements. The reconfiguration of the Services centre at Willesden will reduce the availability of face to face interviews with officers, however these will still be available at the Civic Centre and at Willesden by way of a weekly surgery. Residents using self service computers located in the library at Willesden will also be able to speak to an officer using free phones to assist them with any enquiries or to support them through the self service process. During the early stages of the opening of the new Willesden library, staff will be available to provide details about the options available for face to face enquiries from both the Civic Centre and Willesden.