Update on Welsh Harp Environmental Education Centre leasing

Over the weekend I heard from Brent Council that they were preparing a statement on the leasing of the Welsh Harp Environmental Education Centre.

These were the questions that I had sent to the Council LINK :

I refer to the advertisement in the Brent and Kilburn Times Ref: JXH/609/121.

1. How long is it envisaged that the lease to land and premises, including the office in Planet House will last?
2. Is it envisaged that the use of the land and premises will remain for educational purposes?
3. Is the land in question consecrated land subject to any change of use being agreed by the Diocesan of London? (see http://wembleymatters.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/could-this-let-welsh-harp-rest-in-peace.html)
4. Is it intended that the building and land be leased to one of the following (or a combination): Careys' charity arm, Oakington Manor Primary School, Roe Green Junior School?


With a closing date for comments of Friday June 5th it is important that answers are seen as possible. Commenting without such information is of little value.

Demonstrate against austerity & in defence of unions this week

The General Election result demonstrated that the anti-austerity message failed to get through to the English electorate with the Green Party and TUSC getting nowhere near the kind of breakthrough achieved by the SNP in Scotland and Plaid Cymru in Wales.

There is some comfort in the Spanish election result with Podemos doing well and the win by Ada Colau in Barcelona who was a leading activist in the anti-eviction Platform for Mortgage Victims but the grim truth for us is that we face 5 years of pro-austerity Tory government with no sign of an anti-austerity leftist standing for leadership of the Labour Party.

Ada Colau celebrates in Barcelona

Podemos celebrates in Madrid

In this context, as in Greece and Spain, people are turning to the task of building an anti-austerity coalition and a strategy involving direct action, civil disobedience and new non-sectarian ways of organising that arise from local struggles.

The big People's Assembly Against Austerity demonstration in Manchester's Piccadilly Gardens at the weekend (see below) which was supported by the Green Party demonstrated that there is an appetite in this country to build such a movement.

The Radical Assembly organised by Brick Lane Debates brought together more than 1,000 activists the previous week and it will important that they and the People's Assembly work together.

Here is the Brick Lane Debates statement and proposal for the General Assembly:

Why we have called this meeting:

The general election result has created a crisis. A hard-right austerity regime has taken power with the support of barely one in three voters and one in four of the adult population. The rich are celebrating: the stocks of banks, multinational companies and property developers are soaring. The rest of us will be made to pay.

The reaction has been massive. Thousands of people have joined angry anti-Tory protests, and thousands say they are coming to meetings to discuss what to do. A space has opened up for something that is truly democratic, bottom-up, radical, and based on mass action from below.

Our hope and aim is the creation of a new joined-up radical left movement or network. The movement will be shaped by all of us in the days ahead. But our initial proposals are:

• A movement made up of groups which keep their independence but come together to support each other’s campaigns and plan action.

• A movement rooted in real, localised campaigns and wider struggles, especially those in which the people themselves organise to fight back against injustice and oppression.

• A movement united on every issue – on unemployment and unaffordable rents, on fracking and climate change, on tuition fees and student debt, on the gentrification of our communities, on the privatisation of the NHS, on the violence and racism of the police, on the criminalisation of the homeless and the poor, and so many more.

• A movement controlled democratically, from below, with a loose federal structure which can accommodate an expanding number of independent radical groups and assemblies within it.

• A movement united around broad anti-capitalist aims, these to be formulated by the constituent groups, but agreed by general assemblies.

• A movement which aims to grow and unite people in active struggle against the system.

The People's Assembly is planning further action leading up to the big June 20th demonstration and beyond but it will be important that we are not limited to national demonstrations that like the Grand Old Duke of York lead us up to the top of the hill and down again with little to show for the effort. Action will need to be taken at local level.

Speak Out Against Austerity, Harelsden, Saturday

Progress and success will need to be measured in concrete gains: government measures thwarted, evictions prevented, developers forced to build truly affordable housing,  privatisation defeated, rather than just how many people take part in a march.

The People's Assembly is organising a protest on Wednesday May 27th 'Protest the Queen's Speech - End Austerity Now' assembly in Downing Street at 5.30pm.

The PAAA say:

The Queen's Speech May 27th will set out the the government's legislative plans for the parliamentary session ahead. What can we expect? Massive cuts to welfare, more attacks on immigrants, attempts to limit the right for unions to take strike action, more free schools and academies, abolishing the Human Rights Act and an extension of 'right to buy' ending social housing as we know it. Please do all you can to come down to this important protest.

Then on Saturday  May 30th the PCS union are holding a demonstration in Trafalgar Square, 'Hands Off Our Unions' at 1pm:

This government is attempting to extend the anti-union laws. They want to make it impossible for unions to take strike action. New proposals include imposing a ban on strike action unless at least 40% of union members vote in favour of strike action - hypocritical for a government who gained less than 25% of the populations vote.

This rally is also in support of PCS members in dispute at the National Gallery, striking over attempts to privatise sections of the service.

All this builds up to what is hoped to be a huge demonstation against austerity on June 20th LINK:

Jobs for Chalkhill and Metropolitan Housing residents

Chalkhill Jobs is run by Olmec's Solid Foundations project in Brent and funded by Well London and Metropolitan Housing. Our aim is to find sustainable employment for Metropolitan Housing residents living in North West London and for residents of the Chalkhill Estate in Wembley Park.

We provide employment support via appointment and through the Job Seeking Support Service which runs from the Chalkhill Community Centre (near Asda) computer room during the following times:

Mon: 10 – 12
Thu: 10 – 12

If you are a Chalkhill or Metropolitan resident drop in for expert assistance with CV Writing, interview advice, application forms, and job search, or simply to ask for the most up to date list of jobs we're currently recruiting for.

The computer room is also open on a Tuesday between 10am and 4pm for residents to use the facilities for job, education, or house swap purposes.

If you would like us to consider your CV for our live vacancies or want to make an appointment for specific advice please email katie.gerrard@olmec-ec.org.uk

LINK to current vacancies

Brent Healthwatch to be farmed out to Barnet organisation

The June 1st Cabinet will be asked to approve the award of the Brent Healthwatch contract to CommUNITY Barnet LINK

The contract worth £149,110 pa will commence on July 1st 2015.

Healthwatch Brent is currently being delivered by a local consortium of organisations, which include Brent Mencap, Elders Voice, Brent Citizens Advice Bureau and Age UK Brent. Healthwatch Brent is an independent community interest company established by the consortium.

The aim of local Healthwatch is to act as the consumer voice for health and social care. It aims to benefit patients, users of services, carers and the public by helping to get the best out of services, improving outcomes, and helping services to be more responsive to what people want and need.

The May 2015 Healthwatch Brent bulletin can be found HERE 
 

At the Healthwatch Brent  public board meeting on 17th March HWB reported that the current  Community Interest Company   had decided not bid for the new Healthwatch tender:

 The Healthwatch Brent contract was re-tendered by Brent council – the closing date was 16th March.  This current Community Interest Company decided not to submit a bid.

In response to a questioner asking why they had not bid for the contract the board said:

Healthwatch was new when we created a consortium of local organisations and community Directors to run HWB. The experience and reach of the partners was a real strength. However, the structure was complicated and it was harder to deliver than we expected. We have laid a foundation for a new organisation to make further progress.  

Healthwatch Brent worked with Healthwatch Barnet in the development of HWBs enter and view training. Some of the current HWB staff will transfer to Healthwatch Barnet/Community Barnet.  Healthwatch Brent will continue its work and we hope that Brent people will get an even better Healthwatch with the support of Community Barnet.

Risks involved in Brent Youth Service changes include £5m loss on Roundwood Youth Centre

The Cabinet on June 1st will consider a paper on the future of Brent Youth Service. LINK The Council has committed to cuts of 71%: £100k in 2016-17 and a massive £900k in 2016-17. This will result in a cut of  £1m compared to 2015 on net expenditure (£414,394 in 2016-17 compared with £1,414,34 in 2014-15).

They propose a 'third sector;' solution through the setting up of an independent organisation - 'The Young Brent Foundation' which would have charitable status. The Foundation would work with a range of voluntary organisations, social enterprises and charities and attempt to draw in support from grants and sponsorship.

The John Lyon Trust has told the Council it will welcome an application for a three grant of  £100k per annum to support core funding costs while the paper suggests running costs will be £177k per annum.

Although replete with vision and priorities based on the needs of the most vulnerable the paper does not disguise the risks inherent in the strategy.

The paper states that the running costs of the four youth centres (Granville, Poplar Grove, Roundwood and Wembley) cannot be met. They suggest a community asset transfer for Roundwood and activities by different providers under licenses or short-term occupation at the other centres.

They state: 'If no opportunities are identified for the Granville and Wembley youth centres, the Youth Service will have to consider vacating the premises as there will be no funding available within the budget envelope to pay for the running costs.'

Following discussion of the 'risks and delivery issues' associated with community asset transfers the report states:

In the case of the Roundwood Centre current restrictions on the hours and type of use will also limit commercial opportunities for any new provider. An obvious implication is that there is a risk that youth centre provision at Roundwood would cease from April 2016 if a transfer was not achieved.

...If the Council is not able to fund or secure an alternative provider to run youth provision at Roundwood, the Council could also be required to repay, in full or in part, the National Lottery grant of £4.997m which was used to support the development of the centre.

Readers will remember that the closure of Stonebridge Adventure Playground also involves a payback to the National Lottery.

The paper proposes the continuation of the Brent Youth Parliament at a cost of £60k per annum  because of its 'valuable role in within the Council's decision making process'  with its transfer to the corporate team in the Chief Operating Officer's department.

This is an interesting move as one would expect the Youth Parliament to be at the forefront of a campaign to save the youth service and thus assert its independence, while at the same time the proposals ensure the YP's own survival.

The Youth Parliament, if the Cabinet accepts the proposals, will be part of a consultation on the proposals that start this month and will culminate in the strategy for the future of the service to go to Cabinet in October 2015.  The paper notes that a Full Council decision may be required.

In the budget discussions earlier this year the Council managed to deflect concerns about the future of the youth service, which initially seemed to entail the total closure of the service, through this review. Although they will argue that this does not amount to total closure it clearly may eventually result in something very close to that.

Wembley bomb - current road diversions

Brent Council has issued the map below this morning. There is due to be a controlled explosion of the bomb today.

First pictures of the Wembley bomb

British Army Phootographer Rupert Frere has circulated these pictures of the Wembley bomb via Twitter (@Rupert_Frere #WembleyBomb).  Work is going on to defusethe bomb which was found on a building site close to the Civic Centre yesterday.

The Civic Centre will be closed on Friday with skeleton services run from the Bridge Park Leisure Centre.

This is a map of where bombs fell in the area during the London Blitz 7th October 1940 to 6th June 1941. There was additional bombing outside this period of course.

Source LINK

Kilburn councillors 'disenfranchised' claims Cllr John Duffy

Amid the Tory Party infighting last night at the Brent Council Annual General Meeting there was a protest from Cllr John Duffy (Labour, Kilburn) that Kilburn ward councillors had not been given one committee place on the Council.

He claimed that this meant Kilburn residents had been disenfranchised.

Muhammed Butt, Labour leader of Brent Council replied that 'previous conduct' of councillors had been taken into account when selecting committee members.

Duffy attempted to persuade the Council to raise Council Tax earlier this year in an effort to save Stonebridge Adventure Playground,  the Welsh Harp Environment Education Centre and Energy Solutions from closure.