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Cara Davani leaving Brent Council to take a 'career break'

A Brent Council spokesperson today, said:

'Cara Davani, Director of HR and Administration, will leave the Council at the end of June. She intends to take a career break for a while.

The Council is grateful for the significant contribution that Cara has made over the last 3 years.

Mildred Philips will become interim Director of HR while we consider a range  of options for the provision of the Council's HR services.'

Hampstead & Kilburn CLP nominate Tessa Jowell and David Lammy for London Mayor

Hampstead and Kilburn Constituency Labour Party  tonight nominated Tessa Jowell and David Lammy as their Labour candidates for London Mayor.

This completes the nominations for the three Brent constituencies:

Tessa Jowell - Brent North and Hampstead & Kilburn
Sadiq Khan - Brent Central and Brent North
Diane Abbot - Brent Central
David Lammy - Hampstead & Kilburn

Interestingly, and perhaps marking the increasing distance of Brent's H&K wards from the rest of Brent Labour, of 100 or so individual members present at the H&K meeting, none spoke in favour of Sadiq Khan, the candidate of choice for many of the Brent Council Cabinet.

Reliable source reports that Cara Davani has resigned her position on Brent Council

A reliable Brent Council source reports that Brent Human Resources staff were called into a meeting yesterday to be told that Cara Davani, head of Human Resources had resigned. I am still seeking offiicial confirmation from Brent Council that this is the case,

It was perhaps no coincidence that Carolyn Downs, the new Chief Executive Officer, whose appointment will be confirmed at the next Full Council, was in the Civic Centre yesterday.

Cara Davani has been on annual leave.

Cllr Michael Pavey, who wrote the report on Brent Human Resources is currently on holiday.

Pressure has been on the Council to take action since an Employment Tribunal found that Cara Davani and Brent Council had racially discrminated against Rosemarie Clarke, victimised her and constructively dismissed her. LINK

Fiona Ledden, also named in the case has already left Brent Council and Christine Gilbert will leave in the summer.

As recently as April 30th Cllr Muhammed Butt sat with Cara Davani at the Scrutiny Committee, in an apparent act of solidarity, when Philip Grant tried to speak to the Committee about the Employment Tribunal case. The Committee voted not to hear him. At one point Butt heckled Philip Grant. LINK

Except for Cllr Daly members of that Scrutiny Committee have now been replaced. 

A quick search of this blog will reveal Philip Grant's tireless attempt, backed by meticulous research, to persuade Brent Council of the need to take action on this issue.

If the news is confirmed Philip and Nan Tewari,  who first wrote about the case, deserve thanks as active citizens for standing up for truth and transparency in local government. 

European Parliament TTIP vote cancelled because of huge public pressure say Green MEPs

In unusual circumstances, the planned vote in the European Parliament on TTIP tomorrow (The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) – an EU-US trade deal currently being negotiated, has been cancelled.

The official line from the Parliament is that because more than 200 amendments were tabled the vote should be postponed to enable the Trade Committee to consider the amendments before tabling them for a future plenary session.

The controversial deal seeks to remove standards and protections that are currently enshrined in laws across the EU and US. Examples of these regulations include labour rights that protect people at work, environmental regulations and food safety laws.

Included in the agreement is a clause called the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) which many MEPs have warned would allow corporations to sue Governments in secret courts if a Government passed laws which limited a corporation’s profits or activity. 

More than 2 million EU citizens have signed a petition against the deal.

Keith Taylor, Green MEP for South East England, said:

The decision to cancel the vote on TTIP stinks of political parties in the European Parliament running scared of the huge public opposition to TTIP.

TTIP represents a monumental power grab by corporations and it must be stopped in its tracks.

Molly Scott Cato, Green MEP for South West England said:

This attempt to remove the right of all MEPs to vote on this very important report on TTIP is nothing short of a scandal. Thousands of constituents have emailed me today and I will not be cheated of my right to represent their will to oppose ISDS and the undermining of European protection of environments and animal welfare.

No confirmation yet that controversial senior officer is to leave Brent Council

I put in a request to Brent Council Press Office earlier today to ask them to confirm or deny rumours, from three different sources, that a controversial senior officer is to leave the Council's employment.

No response had been received by the end of the working day.

Brent North Labour nominate Sadiq Khan and Tessa Jowell for London Mayor

Brent North CLP followed Brent Central in nominating Sadiq Khan tonight for Labour's London Mayoral candidate tonight. However, they backed Tessa Jowell for the female nomination. Brent Central has nominated Diane Abbott.

A correspondent has helpfully listed the Brent Labour councillors backing Khan. They are:

Cllr Muhammad Butt
Cllr Michael Pavey
Cllr Abdifatah Aden
Cllr Aisha Eniola
Cllr James Deneslow
Cllr Aslam Choudhry,
Cllr Kana Naheerathan
Cllr Amer Agha
Cllr Krupesh Hirani
Cllr Aisha Hoda-Benn
Wilhelmina Mitchell-Murray
Cllr Sarah Marquis
Cllr Arshad Mahmood

Cllr Roxanne Mashari. Cllr Margaret McLennan and Cllr Eleanor Southwood are three members of the Cabinet not backing Khan - at least on Khan's website.

Source LINK

Interesting reactions on Twitter:

 

Discover some Brent local history this summer

Guest blog by Philip Grant

 

Some of the comments on last month’s blog about the unexploded Second World War bomb which was unearthed at Wembley Park suggest that there are “Wembley Matters” readers interested in local history. Wembley History Society has been promoting an interest in the area’s history for over sixty years, and here are some of the activities it is involved in which give you the chance to discover more.

If you live in Kingsbury, and thought that history was just something you had to learn in school, with lots of dates that you could never remember, there is an Adult Learners’ Week event on Tuesday 16 June which may change your mind. “History – it’s a walk in the park!” will take you on a guided walk around Roe Green Park, looking at features you may have passed by without knowing the stories behind them. The walk leaves Kingsbury Library at 1.30pm, and details can be found HERE

 

This event is free, and there is no need to book – just turn up by 1.25pm on the day if you want to take part.

Kingsbury Cricket Team, c.1901

If Sudbury is your local area, there is a community local history project taking place at the moment which could be “up your street”. Wembley History Society and Brent Archives are working with residents’ associations, schools and individuals to put together material for a display in the autumn. “Sudbury –Then and Now” is inviting people to “adopt” one of many old photographs and postcards of the area, find out a little about the story behind it, and take a matching colour view of the scene in 2015. If you think that this would be of interest to you, more details can be found on the Sudbury Town Residents’ Association website HERE which includes a pdf presentation about the project, and how you can get involved.

The Mall, Sudbury. c.1914

Vale Farm Swimming Pool, 1950's

 If you prefer to get your information from an illustrated talk, there is an opportunity to find out more about some of Brent’s most unusual homes from the 1920’s and 1930’s, and the man who designed them, on Friday 19 June. “Ernest Trobridge – Kingsbury’s Extraordinary Architect” is the subject of a Wembley History Society presentation at English Martyrs’ Hall, just off Blackbird Hill, Wembley Park, beginning at 7.30pm. There are details HERE and on the poster above

Philip Grant