Give more power to Londoners, demands new chair of London Councils

From London Councils, an organisaton covering all the London boroughs and the City of London

"London local government must have more power and resources devolved from Whitehall to be able to protect Londoners’ public services and their quality of life," says Cllr Claire Kober, who was elected as the new Chair of London Councils today.

London Councils is the cross-party organisation which represents London’s 32 boroughs and the City of London Corporation. At the meeting of the Leaders' Committee – comprising the Leaders of all London’s boroughs – it elected Cllr Kober, Leader of Haringey Council since 2008, as its new Chair.

Her election follows the move of Mayor Jules Pipe to be Deputy Mayor of Planning, Regeneration and Skills at City Hall. Prior to her election, Cllr Kober had served as Deputy Chair of London Councils and executive member for infrastructure and regeneration.

"Building on our work with the London Finance Commission, we have been working with the Mayor to develop plans that sustain growth and improve public services through devolution to City Hall and the boroughs," says Cllr Kober.

"We have worked closely with the Core Cities, which includes Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol, to develop devolution ambitions and to establish a platform that gives communities across England more power over the things that impact on their lives.

"In the aftermath of the European Referendum 2016, it’s vital that central Government gives more power to London boroughs to work with the Mayor to get on with the job. From finance to the integration of health and care, from housing to skills and employment, London’s boroughs have a vital role in sustaining the position of this great city.

"Bringing London together at this time is essential and London Councils – a cross party organisation which represents the boroughs and the City of London - is well placed to meet this challenge. It is an honour to be elected to serve London local government and our capital in this critical role", concludes Cllr Kober.

Warren seeks details on source & content of Brent's legal advice on Cara Davani

Following the debate at Brent Council yesterday evening LINK when Cllr McLennan said the Council's decision not to discipline Cara Davani and to give her a pay-off was based on legal advice, Cllr John Warren has made the folowing request:

You are aware of my concerns over the pay- off to Ms Davani. I make a formal request for details of the firm that gave advice to Brent to settle on  a £157,610 pay -off.

I also seek details of this advice.

If you are unable to give me this information would you please take this as a freedom of information request.

 I just find it extraordinary that the evidence against Ms Davani at the Employment Tribunal was not deemed sufficient to pursue disciplinary action against her.

 I have also received the following comment from a reader.

How could Cara Davani (CD) claim constructive dismissal as she had already been found guilty at a tribunal of bullying and harassment?

How could she be entitled to statutory redundancy payments as she was not directly employed by the Council / paid through payroll as an employee for more than two years?

Had she been employed by the Council for more than two years and not been found guilty at a tribunal for matters potentially deemed to be gross misconduct, whereby she could have been dismissed, she would only be entitled to statutory redundancy pay,  which I understand to be one week's pay per year of service.

It beggars belief that Brent should pay CD this extortionate amount of money. Perhaps Brent should consider sacking, or suing their lawyers. 

No Brent Council ban on glyphosate but use to be kept under review

The commonest brand containing glyphosate

Cllr Southwood responded to a question on the use of the the herbicide glyphosate from Cllr Colacicco with the following written answer (as printed on order paper with no closure of quotation mark).  Wembley Matters raised concerns about the issue HERE

The Council uses Amenity Glyphosate for weed control across its sites, and has no current plans to ban its use. However, I appreciate that there are public concerns about this and will continue to keep this policy under review. Whilst studies have concluded that “under present and expected conditions of new use, there is no potential for it to pose a health risk to humans, I’m aware of more recent work that links contact with humans to a type of cancer. Clearly, this is to b taken very seriously.

Proper application techniques are vital for keeping people working with it free from harm. Our contract with Veolia includes an ongoing commitment from them to review herbicide application in accordance with EU recommendations and our own environmental policies. This will be achieved by constantly seeking new and improved herbicides and more efficient methods of application whenever these might become available. We work closely with them to ensure that all latest guidance in terms of safe working practices is being followed and have reiterated the importance of this to them in light of public concerns.

All parties in Brent: We will not tolerate hate crime or any kind of attack based on ethnic origin

Brent Council tonight unanimously passed an all-party motion (from London Councils) in the names of Cllrs Butt, Warren, A, Choudhary, Maurice, Tatler, Kelcher, Shahzad, Carr, Mahmood, and Hoda-Ben:

We will not tolerate hate crime or any kind of attack against people because of their ethnic origin. We are proud to be a diverse city and we will stay that way. We will continue to work together for the security and prosperity of all Londoners.

The movers made heart-felt speeches often based on their own and their family's experience. Cllr Mashari struck a practical note when she said it was clear that in Brent the majority of the victims of hate crime were Eastern Europeans. She said that the Council and councillors had to reach out beyond their comfort zone to make contact with the Eastern European community and should ensure that it did not take as long to provide services for them as it had for the Somalian community.

Cllr Carr, Lib Dem, supported the motion but warned that at the saem time we should protect free speech and  'the right to offend.'

Cllr Butt said that he wanted to send a positive message to those who were worried about their status after Brexit: 'Everyone is welcome in Brent, we value your contribution and will stand side by side with you.'

A rare and welcome show of unity.

Labour abstentions on Tory Davani motion

Cllrs Duffy, Long, Crane, Eniola and Dixon abstained tonight on the Brent Conservative Motion (see posting below) on the Davani racial discrimination, victimisation and constructive dismissal case.

Moving the motion Cllr Warren said that Cara Davani should have been subject to disciplinary action rather than walk off with £157,610.   Residents would have backed the Council if, after the Employment Tribunal judgment, they had told her to 'go whistle' and taken on any resuting action.

Deputy Council leader Cllr Margaret McLennan, stating that this was part of her Cabinet brief, said that the Council had taken legal advice on the matter.  Legal advice had been that if the Council took discplinary action Davani could have claimed constructive dismissal and was likely to have been successful.  The settlement was in line with other redundancy payments and her contractual entitlement as a salaried employee of the Council.

McLennan went on to claim that  Cllr Pavey had undertaken a thorough review of HR and the result was that the Council had received an award for its Human Resources achievements.

The Council had made numerous press statements stating that the Council would not tolerate such behaviour and its position was clear and well known.

Brent Council tonight debates Oladapo Report, Davani pay-off, Chancellor's local government cuts and (of course) parking

As well as an expected  Mayoral statement on Hate Crime, Brent Council will tonight (7pm Civic Centre) be considering the Independent Investigator's report on the Tayo Oladapo case.

Cllr John Duffy is due to ask a question about removal of tree stumps LINK and there are three group motions down for debate.

What a waste  of money.

This Council regrets  making the exit payment of £157,610 to the former director of human resources,Cara Davani.We agree that this payment is  a reward for failure.

We also agree that Cllr.Butt should apologise to the residents of Brent ,and explain  to them why the Council has spent in excess of £1m. in connection with the entire " Rosemarie Clarke Employment Tribunal case."

We further agree that Cllr.Butt should explain to residents how he reconciles the payment of these monies to M/ s Davani with his persistent claim that Brent has no money.

Councillors Warren, Shaw and Davidson

Parking charges

That the Cabinet reconsiders and revokes the change to the parking permit charges agreed in which, in 2018, owners of diesel vehicles will have to pay more for their permits.

Councillors Colwill, Kansagra and Maurice

Government budget

Brent Council welcomes the decision by the Chancellor to abandon his budget surplus target for 2020.

However, Brent Council regrets the suffering that has had to be endured by citizens of this country for six wasted years, including the residents of Brent, in pursuit of this goal by the inappropriate means of squeezing some of the most vulnerable, and passing responsibility for cuts onto local government.

Brent council regrets all those who cannot access affordable accommodation because the government refuses to let councils invest in housing, for the sake of this abandoned goal. Brent Council regrets the extra strain out on the NHS, due to the squeeze on adult social care budgets that was caused for the sake of this abandoned goal. Brent Council regrets the stress pushed onto some of the most vulnerable residents as the social security budget was cut for the sake of this abandoned goal.

Brent Council hopes that the government now realises that you cannot cut your way to growth, and will invest in services, infrastructure and people properly through local councils such as Brent, who understand what the real needs are and how to respond to them.

Councillor Miller

Shahrar Ali calls for Green Party internal referendum on party's Progressive Alliance positions

Shahrar Ali, a contender for deputy leadership of the Green Party, a post he currently holds, has called for a possible internal referendum on the negotiating position the party should hold in an discussion on a Progressive Alliance with other parties.

In a Facebook posting over the weekend Ali wrote:

I've been on two leadership hustings this weekend and I must say one of the most controversial topics of engagement was on Progressive Alliances. I believe there's been a mismatch between our public pronouncements on the matter and member expectation. It's imperative we don't get the cart before the horse.

He followed up this somewhat opaque statement stating:

It does frustrate me sometimes when we [the Green Party] appear to cut corners. Engagement and consultation were never meant to be easy, but it's a mistake to think of due process as an encumbrance. To the contrary, those of us in position of responsibility have obligation to engage and not circumvent. Better decisions will result.

Other posters express concern that the party is moving towards a top-down model where leaders make policy rather than members, The Progressive Alliance idea was strongly backed by Green MP Caroline Lucas LINK who is a candidate for the leadership position on a job share basis with Jonathan Bartley.

Green Left, the eco-socialist grouping within the Green Party of England and Wales,  adopted the following position on the Progressive Alliance at its last General Meeting:

 Green Left welcomes the move to discuss campaigning and electoral alliances leading up to the next General Election.

Green Left has always promoted the idea of working together with the left, where we share values, and that, as much as possible, the Green Party should be included in this, lending support to and endorsing Eco-socialists who are members of other parties. We did this by supporting Salma Yaqoob in parliamentary elections.

This needs further discussion with members and we welcome consultations, about it, taking place.

Green Left members with our positive standing amongst others on the Left are able to positively engage people outside the GPEW who share our values and therefore should take the initiative locally in promoting discussions with individuals, progressive groups and other left parties, such as the Jeremy Corbyn led Labour Party.

Any left alliance must be committed to introducing PR for all future elections and the 'Best Placed Left Candidate’ should be a consideration in marginal seats.

Grunwick & Lucas Aerospace 40 years on: what can they teach us?

 1976 was quite a year for Brent with the ground-breaking Grunwick dispute and a Willesden outpost of Lucas Aerospace when workers were developing their own plans for socially useful production under workers control.  This upcoming event will enable us to reflect on both events and what we can learn from them.


 Useful background on this video - this is not the film that will be screened on July 22nd

Screening of The Year of the Beaver and The Lucas Plan LINK, with discussion and brief talks by Kerria Box (Grunwick 40) and Solfed.

22^nd July 7pm at LARC, 62 Fieldgate Street, E1 (nearest tubes Whitechapel, Aldgate East.)

Organised by Breaking the Frame, Grunwick 40 and North London Solidarity Federation. FREE/donation.

1976 was a high tide of workers’ struggle and the year it all began to change. Giving the lie to racist and sexist myths that Asian women were submissive and would work for a pittance, workers at the Grunwick plant in Willesden rallied the left behind their struggle for the right to join the union. At the Lucas Aerospace arms company, the Shops Stewards’ Combine Committee took the fight to the bosses, with their workers’ Alternative Plan for socially useful production.

In 2016 we are still facing the fiction of  ‘foreigners taking our jobs.’ In the face of climate change and militarism, we again need industrial conversion, from fossil fuels and Trident to renewables, and to stop the bosses replacing our jobs with robots. Join us for 2 films and discussion, showing how workers’ rights and ideas are crucial to facing those challenges.

Refreshments will be available for a donation. Contact info@breakingtheframe.org.uk for more information. Venue is wheelchair accessible.