Barry Gardiner won't take part in Friday's NHS Reinstatement Bill debate despite sympathy with overall objectives

Like other constituents in Brent North I have written to Barry Gardiner MP to ask him to support the NHS Reinstatement Bill when it is debated on Friday afternoon. I think most constituents would be understanding if he were to cancel his regular surgery in order to do something as important to the people of Brent as  help ing Save the NHS from current Conservatove attacks. Has anyone had a response from Dawn Butler or Tulip Siddiq?

Dear Mr Francis,                                                                                                                                     

Thank you for your recent correspondence asking me to be in the House of Commons for the second reading of the NHS Reinstatement Bill 2015 on Friday 11 March.

I very much regret that due to existing constituency commitments, I will be unable to be present. I am holding one of my regular surgeries for constituents this Friday, but I thought it would be helpful if I set out my views on the Bill.

As you may know, this Bill was introduced as a Private Member’s Bill last summer and as such, it is subject to the constraints associated with the parliamentary timetable. Even if the Bill were to receive its second reading this week (and there is no guarantee that it will even be debated), there is little prospect of the Bill becoming law in this session due to a lack of parliamentary time.

I am supportive of the overall objectives of the Bill. In particular, I support the principles behind duties outlined in Clause 1 of the proposed Bill – namely restoring accountability to the Secretary of State for the delivery of health services and the requirement that a comprehensive health service continues to be provided free of charge at the point of use.

The encroaching privatisation of the NHS must be halted and decisions about NHS services should never be called into question by any international treaties or agreements, such as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

However, I am concerned that some of the other parts of this Bill would require another wholesale reorganisation of the health service. The recent top-down reorganisation of the NHS, brought about by the Coalition’s Health and Social Care Act 2012, threw the system into turmoil, cost over £3bn and eroded staff morale.

So whilst I support the broad objectives which lie behind this Bill, I am concerned about the scale of structural change and costs associated with any further major reorganisation of the NHS.

If the Bill were to proceed, I would want to see it amended so that it avoids the problems of a further reorganisation but implements only its key principles.

In line with our manifesto commitment at the last election, Labour is already committed to repealing the competition elements of the Health and Social Care Act 2012, and ensuring that patient care is always put before profits, and collaboration before competition.

Thank you for taking the time to contact me about this matter.

Yours sincerely,

Barry

Barry Gardiner MP
Member of Parliament for Brent North
Shadow Minister for Energy & Climate Change
Tel: 020 7219 4046 | Fax: 020 7219 2495
House of Commons - London, SW1A 0AA
www.barrygardiner.com

Residents enraged as Planning Committee approves controversial applications

Increase in schoool size to more than 1,000 pupils

Doubled in size to more than 840 pupils

Temporary  (2 year) 4 storey school

Retrospective permission for 2.4m fence aroud public space

361 dwelling tower blocks next to Civic Centre/Olympic Way

Last night's Planning Committee had a ridiculously heavy agenda with Chair Cllr Marquis, like a teacher  bravely concealing her irritation with councillors (pupils) who at times were sleepy and clearly wishing they were somewhere else, and at other times making rambling contributions way off the point,  struggled to make progress. Meanwhile the clock ticked away.

As always residents attending their first Planning Committee because of a local issue, this time the Uxendon Manor and Byron Court school expansions,  were enraged when they thought their concerns were being ignored. There were cries of 'Is this democracy?', 'Are we in North Korea?'. 'You are a disgrace.'

Byron Court  took up most time  (see posting below).  Cllr Keith Perrin made a presentation on behalf of residents. When Cllr Marquis asked if he had been approached by anyone about the application he answered 'between 1,000 and 2,000 residents'.  About 1,400 of those who had put their addresses on a joint letter about the application had not been contacted by the Council about the officer's report on the planning application. He derided the plans to use the Northwick Park car park for parents describing its impracticalities and producing the numbers to back this up. At one point the officer's response made him put his head in his hands in despair. His mood wasn't  helped when Cllr Marquis failed to give  committee members a chance to ask him questions about his presentation although this was remedied later.

Several members of the Committee declared that they had received phone calls about the application from Barry Gardiner MP that afternoon. The application was narrowly approved. I made it four for, 3 against and 1 abstention.  Loose ends will be tied up by officers regarding some of the conditions requested by Cllr Perrin. Members of the audience were reprimanded by Cllr Marquis when they scoffed in disbelief at Byron Court's Executive (she insisted on the title) Head Teacher's claim that the school travel plan was working well and that the revised plan, when the school had over a thousand primary pupils, would be equally effective.

The increased traffic arising from school expansion was also a major concern of residents around Uxendon Manor in an area with poor public transport links and questions were asked for each application regarding the need for additional school places in that particular area. The response was far from clear. In addition there were questions about overflowing sewers at Uxendon voiced by John Poole a long-time resident that were shrugged off by the development agent.

Cllr John Warren spoke for residents about the  Marylebone Boys School temporary building in Brondesbury Park and he also raised the issue of flawed school travel plans and estimates of impact on public transport.  He raised the issue of the height of the building (4 storeys) and its design being out of character with the neighbourhood as well as the noise with an increase from160 to 480 pupils on the site.

Marylebone Boys School application to fence in public space around its existing building in the former Kilburn branch of the College of North west London was approved without any representations.

It wasn't until about 10.30pm that the innocuous sounding 'Yellow Car Park' application was heard.  Actually a huge development next to the Civic Centre with 361 rabbit hutch style  dwellings and retail and community space the only query  from members was about the possible provision of a nursery in one of the units. There were no public representations and a short presentation from Quintain. It went through in about 10 minutes in contrast to the earlier item.

There will be  134 one bedroomd, 109 2 bedroomed and 52 3 bedroomed flats at market rents. 8 one bedroomed, 10 2 bedroomed and 21 3 bedroomed at social rent.  12 one bedroomed, 9 two bedroomed and 6 3 bedroomed at 'intermediate' which the report states will be 'affordable'.

'Park and Stride' won't mitigate congestion at expanded Byron Court Primary school

This is one of the speeches delivered at tonight's Planning Committee on the application to expand Byron Court Primary School. The Commiittee later approved the application with some issues regarding potential conditions, raised this afternoon  in an email by Cllr Perrin, and later in his speech to the Committee, to be followed up by Officers. Several members of the Committeee said they had received phone calls from Barry Gardiner MP about the application.

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My name is Suzanne D’Souza.  I am the Chair of the Sudbury Court Residents’ Association.  I am here today representing the 1500 residents who object to the expansion of Byron Court School.

We understand that the Council have an obligation to provide schools places.  However, the Council also have an obligation to protect residents from overdevelopment.  And building one of the largest primary schools in the country, in the middle of a residential estate, accessible only by narrow roads, is an overdevelopment.

There are many reasons we object to this proposal, but as I only have 2 minutes I will focus on transport.  

The school currently has 3 forms of entry and the traffic problems at school run times are significant.  Brent Council’s own Transportation Officers visited the school and confirmed this.  

The Officers’ view is that the parking and traffic flow issues on these residential streets is a major concern for pupils and pedestrian safety.  Their observations confirm current unacceptable and unsafe conditions on Spencer Road, and surrounding streets.

Over many years, the school have tried, and failed, to solve the problems.  Our local police team have tried, Council Officers have tried, and our local Councillors have tried.  All attempts at solving the traffic problems have failed.  

This is at 3 form entry.  Now imagine we almost double the size of the school and bring in children from further away so their parents are forced to travel by car.  This isn’t just a logistics problem, it’s a health and safety problem.  It is dangerous.  

Brent Council’s own Transportation Officers have acknowledged that there are serious safety problems at present, which will only be exacerbated with the conversion of the school from 3FE to 5FE, and the Travel Plan submitted was considered seriously inadequate.

The Officers go on to say the use of a Park and Stride scheme based on the Northwick Park Car Park would mitigate the negative impact of congestion.  This is described as an essential factor to support the school expansion.

However, the report states that the recent trial of this had a low take-up.  Despite senior school staff campaigning for parents to use Northwick Park car park for park and stride over recent weeks, very few parents have complied. 

This begs the question then, how this, the apparent key to the acceptability of the scheme in highway terms, is to be enforced?

There are a great many reasons why the use of Northwick Park Car park for Park and Stride will not work.  Cllr Perrin will take you through the detail of this.  All I have time to say is that if Brent Council Transportation Officers have said this is an essential factor to support the school expansion, and we know that it cannot work, then the logical conclusion is that this expansion is not feasible and, from a Planning perspective, cannot go ahead.

Barry, Dawn & Tulip please 'BACK THE BILL' ON Friday & Save Our NHS

Caroline Lucas  is calling on MPs to back her cross party NHS Reinstatement Bill which comes to the House of Commons on Friday.I hope to see all three of Brent's Labour MPs backing the Bill

Ask your MP to back to the bill: HERE 

The bill was supported by Jeremy Corbyn before he became leader of the Labour Party, and it is being backed in Parliament by the Scottish National Party and many individual MPs. The Labour Party has not yet made a public statement on it, but they are under pressure from health unions, grassroots NHS campaigns and tens of thousands of people who have emailed MPs asking them to back to the bill 

To guarantee that the NHS Reinstatement Bill is heard 100 MPs must be present in Parliament to bring about a vote on the Bill being debated before - that is why it is imperative that Barry Gardiner, Dawn Butler and Tulip Siddiq turn up to 'Back the Bill

Caroline Lucas, who tabled the cross-party NHS Reinstatement Bill, said:

This Friday MPs have a chance to show their commitment to our NHS. The NHS needs Labour to back this Bill. It’s the best chance we’ve got to bring people’s anger about what’s happening to our NHS into Parliament – and to then move towards reversing the failed privatisation experiment.

Across the country we’re seeing people making a stand against the ongoing marketization of our health service. The NHS is saddled with a wasteful internal market, and increasingly widespread outsourcing of services to the private sector. When you add this privatisation to the near-constant Government attacks on the NHS workforce, including forcing junior doctors to strike again today, you can see why so many people are supporting the NHS Bill.

The NHS bill would put the public back at the heart of the health service. MPs now have a chance to put their commitment to a public NHS into action by backing this bill on 11 March.

If we work together we can save our crisis ridden health service for future generations.

The NHS Reinstatement Bill would reverse the creeping marketisation of the health service and reinstate the NHS based on its founding principles – putting the public back at the heart of the health service. In practical terms that means simplifying the health service and removing the unnecessary complication introduced in 1991 (and reinforced in recent years) which fragmented the NHS by forcing services to go into competition with each other to win contracts.

The Bill would bring back health boards who would look at what services are needed in each local area and then provide them. The Bill also reinstates the Health Secretary’s duty to provide services throughout England - which was severed in the 2012 Health and Social Care Act.

Greens among supporters of 'Dine in the Dark' fundraiser for Centrepoint

On Wednesday, 9 March 2016, Dans le Noir? the celebrated dining in the dark restaurant staffed by blind people, and the youth homelessness charity Centrepoint, will be collaborating to host a gastronomic dinner.

The dinner will be held for Centrepoint’s vulnerable 16-25 year-olds to celebrate Dans le Noir?’s 10^th Anniversary and decade of successful charitable ventures.

Homeless young people will experience heightened flavours by enjoying a gastro dinner in the dark. The menu at Dans le Noir? has evolved over the past 10 years and in November 2015, Michelin star chef, Julien Machet, was hired to consult and help John Houel, the London Head Chef, create the four eclectic menus. Chef Julien will be present to assist with the creation of this spectacular dinner.

Dans le Noir? and Centrepoint support those furthest from the jobline to help them get into work. The two companies are joining forces to maximise awareness of the difficulties that blind, and homeless young people, face when trying to get into employment.

Dining in the dark challenges people’s preconceptions of other people. Mind-blowing Gov.uk statistics estimate that 16% of working age adults are disabled. Recent statistics show that only 46.3% of disabled people are in employment compared to 76.4% of non-disabled people, making it a significant social issue. Additionally, disabled people are significantly more likely to experience unfair treatment in work.

Caroline Pidgeon, Lib Dem London Mayoral Candidate 2016, says: "Given that the level of homelessness in London has - sadly - grown over the past 4 years, it’s fantastic to see initiatives like this from Dans le Noir? aimed at helping young homeless people. I would encourage other employers across London to explore if they could help develop schemes like this which offer a route to support people in furthering their skills through training and employment and a way in to permanent housing."

Shahrar Ali, No 3 on the Green Party London Assembly, says: "One of the remarkable things about Dans le Noir? is that it turns the tables on the sighted, who are rendered virtually helpless by the blackout conditions and are entirely dependent on blind people to guide them. It’s a great experience for diners but by creating these rare conditions where blind people are better off, it also brings home just how hard it can be to find work if you have any kind of disadvantage. That’s something that young homeless people also know all about, and this is a fantastic joint initiative by Dans le Noir? and Centrepoint to draw attention to those difficulties. It’s my privilege to be a part of it and to find out what practical things I can do to help if I’m elected to City Hall in May."

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb, Green Party, says: “I commend the work of Dans le Noir? and the way they have helped blind people to gain employment; and with so many homeless people on the streets it would be wonderful if more companies could support those who are furthest from the job-line to help them to get back into employment.”

Edouard de Broglie, who founded Dans le Noir? in Paris in 2004, says “50% of our staff have a high disability, yet we still operate an efficient and profitable company. We have an incredibly low staff turnover which shows the dedication of our long standing team. We want to show big companies that those with disabilities shouldn’t be limited to performing only menial jobs. Our guides are incredibly skilled and challenge the perception that blind or visually impaired can serve in a restaurant. Who could have said that 10 years ago?”.

Sadie Odeogberin, Head of Skills and Employment, at Centrepoint, says: “The number of young people rough sleeping in London has more than doubled in the last four years, but providing a safe place to stay isn’t enough to solve the youth homelessness crisis. That’s why Centrepoint supports each young person staying with us to find a job or a route into education or training. Like Dans Le Noir?, we’re committed to helping those furthest from the world of work achieve their ambitions. It’s not an easy journey for a homeless young person to make and thanks to the generosity of Dans Le Noir?, we can reward them an experience they will never have had before. Homeless young people are every bit as talented as their peers and with the right support and hard work they can fulfil their potential.”

Caroline Lucas: Trident is a reckless vanity project that makes us less safe

Caroline Lucas: Trident is a cold war relic that makes us less...

Just one Trident nuclear submarine has enough firepower to kill 10 million civilians. That's what's at stake here. Do you agree that Britain should be a nuclear weapons free state? If so please do share.

Posted by Caroline Lucas on Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Further reports on Marylebone Boys School applications for tonight's Planning Committee

A Supplementary Report LINK  has been published for tonight's meeting which provides additional information on the two applications from Marylebone Boys Free School.

Further objections have been received regarding the temporary 4 storey modular building the school wants to build in Brondesbury Park LINK :

One additional objection has been received since the publication of the committee report resulting in a total of three objections from residents and an objection from Cllr Shaw.

This most recent objection raises the following concerns:

· Impact of another school on noise, parking and the peaceful enjoyment of the area.

· The proposal does not benefit residents of Brent.

· The distance of the school from Westminster will lead to many more parents dropping their children off and picking them up by car.

· There are existing traffic problems around Mallorees and on Salusbury Road and Brondesbury Park.

·The site offers visual amenity for the local community and sanctuary for urban wildlife.

·Object to any tree being removed or harmed for a temporary development.

· A four floor building will change the character of the site and is too high and dense.

· Cheap modular construction does nothing to ameliorate the aesthetics of our built environment, nor is it environmentally sustainable

· It’s not clear what will happen to the site once the school no longer need the facility which is important as this application could set a precedent for future development.

Officers respond to these objections in the rport. They also confirm that the other application, to fence off space outside the school's current building  LINK at the former College of North West London College building in Kilburn, includes space owned by Brent Housing Partnership.  This is between the school and Ryde House. BHP confirme that haing originally objected to the proposal they have withdrawn their objection following 'negotiations with the applicant.'

The report also lists further objections by resdients'associations to the proposal for the Moberly Sports Centre in Kilburn Lane

The Planning Committee is at 7pm this evening at Brent Civic Centre.  The public may attend and there are likely to be several delegations from local residents and organisations on various agenda items. A major item will be the proposed expansion of Byron Court Primary School. LINK

Brent Uncut: Fighting austerity for a better borough - Saturday

Readers may be surprised to see  Cllrs Butt and Pavey on a flyer about fighting austerity when they have been giving into it and implementing cuts, but I am assured by an organiser that this meeting is  not about giving Butt and Pavey a 'free pass' but  '..about a critical dialogue with them, taking the Corbyn letter at its word when it asked them to work with community groups and unions to build up a campaign against Tory austerity and its impact locally.'

We shall see.