Keith Perrin had 'no problem' with £40 garden waste charge

Gaynor Lloyd has sent me this comment on suggestions that the Garden Tax was a contributing factor to Cllr Keith Perrin's resignation.  (It is published here as it was too long to go in as a normal comment on the original story)

As Keith Perrin's wife, could I just make a comment? I  was around when - after the election and  as new Lead Member - Keith  was looking at the whole "package" of changes to the waste arrangements: considering  the overall  contract,  and the variations including those for food and green waste. I know what  research he did , and how much time he spent  raising  questions with officers, etc. I   watched him deliver information about the changes in various forums, and answer numerous residents' and councillors' questions, including at Scrutiny - and follow up those questions which he was unable to answer. I can  say that Keith had -  and has  - no problem with the "garden tax"  (though he may not be keen on calling it that!) or with the overall changes .   What follows is the article he did for the Sudbury Court Courier in our Ward, while he was Lead Member, and which sets out Keith's genuinely held views. 

" Changes to Waste Services in Brent by Northwick Park Councillor Keith Perrin

After being elected to the Council in May, for which I thank you all, I became Lead Member for the Environment in June.   Almost immediately, the  Council announced proposed changes to its Waste Services.  Since then, I have been questioned daily and often at great length on the subject.  I have had to understand the issues, the waste contract with Veolia (the Council's contractor) and the position in the Borough as a whole. Most contentious is the new 'opt in' £40 charge for a garden waste bin   - but the changes are about much more.  

These changes are being introduced for two reasons.  Put simply, the Council has no choice. It has to save money and it has to reduce waste. The changes should achieve both.  More than that, they will be  fair and overall improve the waste collection service  to all the residents in the Borough.  

The basic principles behind the changes:

·         We have to improve recycling rates

·         We have to reduce overall collected waste (2011 Waste Regulations). Waste sent to landfill costs us £108 a tonne.

·         We have to reduce the overall cost of waste disposal.  Mixed garden and food waste  costs £88 a tonne to process;  food waste on its own costs less than £30 a tonne and garden waste £34.

·         We have to save money or increase income. We have a £53 million budget deficit.  The Government won't let us raise Council Tax; the Council is bound by law to provide services - which cost money. We have to do what we can. These changes will  reduce the cost of the waste contract by a projected £378,000 per annum (and potentially more).

So - back to the Green Bins.

I should explain that, unlike most waste,  the Council has no statutory obligation to collect garden waste for free; many councils have never done so; since 2005, some of us in Brent have been lucky and received this service. Living in the greener parts of the Borough, I have had a free green bin for mixed food and garden waste. (In fact, I have two.) But not every household  in Brent even has one.  

Their food waste has to go into the ordinary landfill bin, collected fortnightly  - so potentially smelling awful, and attracting vermin, maggots and flies. You could say that our green bins have been subsidised by other people in the Borough who have not even had a food waste collection service. This does not make sense. 

Going forward, all 110,000 Brent households will be supplied with a robust sealable 23 litre food waste container  - collected every week - by new compartmentalised recycling lorries, which will also  collect dry recycling (the blue bin stuff). In one step reducing landfill by taking food waste,  and the overflow recycling which has previously found its way into the grey bins,  because blue bins are only collected  fortnightly. This removal of recyclable waste from the landfill bins will save us over £70 a tonne. Since 50,000 households don't have a green bin, you can easily work out how much we might save.

I have looked at the evidence from other parts of the country. I know that people believe that garden waste will increase fly tipping.  I believe It hasn't happened anywhere, except Birmingham, where there were "demonstrations" prior to the local election in May.  I hope it won't happen in Brent;  I don't believe that those who love their gardens would be the sort of people who would fly tip their garden waste. 

I hope we gardeners will think of composting, mulching, leaving wildlife areas less cultivated,  and being community minded in, e.g., helping each other on shared runs to the free recycling centre in Park Royal. But, if there is fly tipping, Veolia collect it. And pay the excess landfill tax.  Veolia clearly believe it will work! And I believe it will. It has to. We must reduce waste,  not just to save money but for the sake of the planet and our children. And a bit more leaving of green wildness might help in that aim too. ".

Harlesden Connects Tuesday: Help kids & parents save Stonebridge Adventure Playground

Brent Council want to expand a school and build houses in Stonebridge and in the process demolish the much loved and valued Stonebridge Adventure Playground which has been there since the 1970s.

The playground is staffed by playworkers who have worked with generations of children in this disadvantaged part of Brent. They are a respected part of the community and contribute to its stability.

In the plans the Adventure Playground would be replaced by an unstaffed kickabout area next to the main road.

Brent Council is currently consulting on their plans. Get involved and help the children and parents save the playground and force the Council to come up with alternative plans.

CONSULTATION DATES

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21 October 7pm Brent Connects Harlesden at the Bridge Park Community Leisure Centre, Brentfield, Harrow Road NW10 0RG. The consultation will be on the agenda at Brent Connects Harlesden.

29 October 9.30-11.30am and 5 November 5.30-7.30pm at the Main Hall, The Hub, 6 Hillside, Stonebridge, NW10 8BN.

12 November 5.00-7.00pm at Stonebridge Primary School, Shakespeare Avenue, Stonebridge, NW10 8NG

Fungi galore in Fryent Country Park today

The warm humid autumn weather created a surge of fungi growth overnight. These are samples found in Fryent Country Park today.

WARNING: Do not eat raw or cooked fungi unless you are absolutely certain that it is edible and have experience in such matters.

Another reason why a politicised Ofsted is not fit for purpose: the Green's alternative

The Guardian has revealed that so-called 'super head' Rachel de Souza of the Inspiration Trust, who has Michael Gove as a groupy, received advance notice of Ofsted inspections LINK

This is just one more example of the politicisation of Ofsted and its harnessing to serve the aims of the Global Education Reform Movement (GERM) for the privatisation of education.

The Green Party recognised this as its Spring Conference this year and approved a policy to replace Ofsted with a body based on school improvement through collaboration.

Here are extracts from the policy:
 

--> ED056 The Green Party will instate a system of local accountability using continuous, collaborative assessment of schools. We would replace OFSTED with an independent National Council of Educational Excellence which would have regional officers tasked to work closely with Local Authorities. The National Council would be closely affiliated with the National Federation for Educational Research (NFER).

ED057 Where pupils’ attainment and progress is reported as part of a school’s holistic report to parents and the wider community it will include assessments, including value-added, moderated by the National Council of Education Excellence and the Local Authority’s School Improvement Service as well as the school’s own self evaluation.

ED076 Secondary and college students will have a right to attend meetings of the Governing Body and members of the elected School Council will have voting rights. Governing Bodies in primary schools will have the duty to regularly consult with the elected pupil School Council.

ED077 In accordance with Green Party philosophy the running of the school will be devolved as much as possible to the school within the above guidelines.

ED078 The Local Authority and National Council of Educational Excellence will be involved in monitoring the structures to ensure there is consistency of standards and level of involvement and to help to share best practice.

Butt finds democracy a bit bothersome

I guess Brent's contribution to Democracy Week of an Question Time session with the panel consisting solely of Brent Labour Council's Cabinet members (the token Tory dropped out) is par for the course.

But the democratic deficit actually reaches into the Labour Group itself.

Cllr Keith Perrin, Cabinet member for the Environment resigned some weeks ago. One of his first jobs as lead was to defend the £40 Garden Tax against criticism from fellow Labour councillors. Some suggest this was a contributing factor in his resignation.

Rather than being replaced his role has been taken on by Council Leader Muhammed Butt - or has it?

Word has it that Butt does not want another election to choose Perrin's successor as the last election was too acrimonious with many councillors jostling for a Cabinet post.

Muhammed Butt is already on record as finding annual leadership elections irksome and now it appears even elections that don't involve him personally are too bothersome.

He has out-sourced the donkey work  for now to a former member of the Executive, who knows rather more about regeneration than waste.

Meanwhile, lurking in the wings is Cllr John Duffy (Kilburn)  who as former adviser on waste to Ken Livingstone when he was London Mayor, really is an expert on the subject.

However, he is not one of the Young Turks (or should it be Young Tiggers?) who form Butt's buttress against challenge.  He is too independent and experienced to fit in with the group.

Meanwhile people are contacting me who have only just found out about the Garden Tax. This one won't go away.

To cap it all there are now rumours that an excuse will be found to not go ahead with the Council meeting due on November 17th.

Greens on the TUC March - Britain Needs A Pay Rise

The Green Party is experiencing a surge in membership following the Referendum in Scotland and UKIP's by-election result.

No More Austerity:Britain needs a Pay Rise-Join the TUC March Tomorrow

Many Brent residents and trade unionists will be joining the TUC March tomorrow. Green Party actvists will be there.

More details about the march and testimonies fro mvarious workers are available HERE

Brent's closure of Stonebridge Adventure Playground would renege on HAT regeneration agreement

The Trustees of Brent Play Association (of which I am one) have sent the following letter to Brent councillors as the fight to save the Stonebridge Adventure Playground continues:

Following our previous correspondence regarding the Stonebridge Adventure Playground I am responding to the consultation document in which the Adventure Playground is replaced by a small ‘kick about’ play area situated adjacent to the Hillside / Harrow Road.

I cannot believe that everyone concerned with this proposal has completely lost touch with the current situation regarding the day-to-day lives of our children outside of school hours.

Whatever school representatives may say, even primary schools now employ classroom assistants who are directed to supervise play times, with particular regard to curtail fighting and bullying. This is an area of concern that has increased in recent years. Can you imagine parents, or Ofsted’s response to a school, which allowed the children out at playtime with no adult supervision whatsoever? Recently we have heard many serious concerns from parents about the large unsupervised play area in Lawrence Road, which included a deputation of parents asking us how to go about closing it down. Why?

·      it is dark after school for more than 3 months of the year,

·      rain, with no indoor facilities

·      the area is often used as a meeting / hanging out place for older teenagers

·      there have been shootings and other gun-related issues in and around this playground

·      used syringes can be found there

·      dogs are exercised there

·      no supervision leads to anti-social behavior  including bullying, swearing, smoking, drinking alcohol, and  vandalism .

·      no access to toilets or drinking water

Due to all of the above parents tell their children that if they are allowed to play out they must avoid this playground. The days of parents letting their children go out to play unsupervised are over. 

Where unsupervised playgrounds of this kind are used it is always with a parent being present. We therefore believe that the new children’s play space within the proposal to expand Stonebridge school will be a danger to children and young people.

When the redevelopment of Stonebridge began the Housing Action Trust (HAT), Brent Council officers, and selected residents agreed that due to the huge amount of 4-19 year olds in this ward there would need to be two separate facilities offering supervised indoor and outdoor opportunities. The Pavilion was built for older teenagers and upwards, and it was agreed by all that the Adventure Playground was already providing the appropriate facility for the younger age group, so a new premises was not needed. The proposed closure of the Adventure Playground is reneging on this agreement, and leaves the children with nothing.

Save the playground for him and other children growing up in Stonebridge & the surrounding area

We have been the custodians of this very special place for over 40 years.

It is the only one of its kind, dedicated exclusively to children and young people, in Brent, involving them directly in the decision-making, and day-to-day management of the Centre. It is therefore highly valued by its users past and present, and has contributed to their development in all areas of life.

Stonebridge Adventure Playground should therefore be, as promised, kept and improved for future generations of children and young people.

On behalf of the BPA Trustees

Doug Lee