Are Brent residents adequately represented on STP proposals?

From 'Shaping a Healthier Future' to the 'North West London Sustainability and Transformation Plan' it is often hard to cut through the public relations and jargon to see precisely what is in store for the future of NHS services in our borough.

It is also hard to see who is representing our interests and how they are doing so.

Tomorrow morning the North West London Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee LINK will be meeting at Ealing Town Hall. Our representatives are Cllr Ketan Sheth and Cllr Barbara Pitruzzella. Later tomorrow at 3pm Cllr Sheth is scheduled to have a scrutiny discussion with the the public at Costa in Central Square Wembley.  The Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) is not on the agenda of topics (see posting below).

Tomorrow's NW London Joint Health and Overview and Scrutiny Committee will be finalising the draft for the STP submission to NHS England a week later on October 21st.

Cllr Matt Kelcher, then our representative as Chair of the single Brent Scrutiny Committee,  sent his apologies to the last meeting in May, despite it being held at Brent Civic Centre.

The leaders of Ealing and Hammersmith and Fulham Councils have refused to  endorse the STP due to concerns over the future of Ealing and Charing Cross Hospitals. No reservations are recorded from Brent Council LINK


 
There are no elected Brent representatives on the Joint Health and Care Transformation Group. Dr Ethie Kong from the Brent Clinical Commissioning Group and Carolyn Downs, Brent Council CEO are members:

To its credit Brent Patient Voice  has raised issues about the STP and their concerns are clear in this August 2016 letter to the Guardian which unfortunately was not published:

We in Brent Patient Voice are pleased that the Guardian, 38 Degrees and the BBC have at last caught up with the huge threat to the NHS represented by the Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) process. In fact the NW London STP of 30 June has been in the public domain since 5 August and signposted on our website www.bpv.org.uk . We have been posting stories about this semi-secret initiative since the end of May, including an earlier version of the Plan submitted in April. Despite what spokespersons for the NHS are saying today, the NW London STP has not been prepared by clinicians or councillors, but by NHS and local government officials without any public debate. There are no clear proposals for consultation or public meetings arranged.
 
While today’s reports focus on the potential for hospital closures, these are essentially the highly controversial proposals issued in 2012 and misnamed Shaping a Healthier Future. So far these have been implemented by the closure of A&E Departments at Hammersmith and Central Middlesex Hospitals and the Ealing Maternity Department. As a result A&E waits at both St Mary’s Paddington and Northwick Park Hospitals are among the worst in the country and acute beds are under enormous pressure. This is the context for STP proposals to remove 592 acute beds which was mentioned in an early summary but has now been expurgated for fear of frightening the horses.

However what is new and barely understood at all by the public or even the GPs who will be at the heart of it is the “transformation” aspect of the STP. GPs are being paid to form themselves into legal companies called “federations” in order to be awarded (with other providers) single contracts to provide all primary services in, say, a borough. The jargon title for this concept, Accountable Care Providers, comes straight out of the American healthcare system textbook but it is completely untested at the scale envisaged in the STP. Ordinary GPs who can barely cope with patient demand for routine care have no idea what it is all about. Is not NHS chief Simon Stevens intelligent enough to see that such a major upheaval, even if justified (which we doubt), cannot be implemented safely and produce savings in the space of two years?

Robin Sharp CB, Chair Brent Patient Voice

Talk to Brent Chairs of Scrutiny today and tomorrow

As part of Brent's Local Democracy Week the chairs of the two Brent Scrutiny Committees are available to speak to residents:

Thursday 13 and Friday 14 October

  Cllr Kelcher, and Cllr Sheth are the Chairs of the two scrutiny committees, which scrutinises the work done by the council and its partners to make sure it is effective and efficient.

Meet Cllr Kelcher and discuss:

• customer care and customer access to services
• the councils’ budget
• crime
• unemployment
• business rates
• high streets
• complaints to the council

On Thursday 13 October from 10.30am to 12.30pm at Rubio, 43 Park Parade NW10 4JD.


Meet Cllr Sheth and discuss:

• housing
• air quality
• schools
• libraries
• children’s oral health

On Friday 14 October from 3pm to 5pm at Costa Coffee, 4 Central Square, Wembley, HA9 7FA.
The conversation continues on twitter for an hour, follow the conversation @Brent_Council and take part using #scrutinybrent

To book your personal time slot at either café please contact Anne Kittappa or 020 8937 6060.

Does Councillor Butt have too much power?

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Guest blog by Philip Grant

The article below was submitted as a comment on the blog about the possible delay in filling the Stronger Communities Lead Member role on Brent’s Cabinet LINK t
I am repeating it here, for comment and discussion, as part of Local Democracy Week.

In my earlier comment, I explained why I believe that Cllr. Butt is within his rights, under Brent’s Constitution, not to appoint a new Lead Member for Stronger Communities straight away, but to take on the responsibilities of that role in addition to his role as Leader. This does not mean that I believe it is the right (i.e. correct) thing for him to do. Overall, I believe that Cllr. Butt has too much power, and some of it is a result of an abuse of Brent Council’s Constitution.

That Constitution (in its own words) ‘…sets out how the Council operates, how decisions are made and the procedures which are followed to ensure that decision making is efficient, transparent and accountable to local people. Some of the procedures are required by law, while others are a matter for the Council. The Constitution is divided into 8 Parts. …. In particular, Parts 3 and 4 set out the rules governing the conduct of the Council’s business and which part of the Council is responsible for various functions.’

“Responsibility for Functions” is an important area, which should mean that there are “checks and balances” to ensure that power is shared across the Council, so that no single person or group within it has too much (to guard against that power being abused). The Constitution gives the Leader, or the Leader together with the Cabinet, considerable powers, but there are also ‘functions which cannot be exercised by the Cabinet’, ‘functions not to be the sole responsibility of the Cabinet’ and ‘functions that may only be exercised by Full Council’.

One area of particular concern is the General Purposes Committee, which ‘carries out a number of functions on which the Cabinet cannot take decisions, including public rights of way, setting the Council Tax base and approving staffing matters’.  The committee has eight members, and the Constitution used to say that at least one of these must be a member of the Executive (the previous title for the Cabinet). That proviso, which gave a very strong hint that most of the committee should be made up of back-bench councillors, has been removed, and for the past few years seven of the eight members have been Cabinet members, with the official Opposition Leader as the eighth.

Cllr. Butt is Chair of the General Purposes Committee, and of its Senior Staff Appointments Sub-Committee. This has given him considerable influence over the Council’s senior staffing structure, who is appointed to the Senior Officer posts, and the terms on which they are appointed. There are suspicions that, during the time that Christine Gilbert was interim Chief Executive and Cara Davani was HR Director, the Leader of the Council may have been complicit in some of their alleged misconduct over staffing matters.

The appointment of the Council’s Head of Paid Service (Chief Executive) is one of the functions which can only be exercised by Full Council, and not by the Cabinet or the Leader. Despite this, Cllr. Butt was able to appoint Christine Gilbert in September 2012 as ‘interim Chief Executive’, supposedly for a few months while the Council advertised for and appointed a permanent Chief Executive. In June 2013, Full Council was asked to extend Christine Gilbert’s role as interim Chief Executive – it agreed to do so, but only for a FIXED TERM which should have ended in June 2014.

The permanent post was still not advertised, and at the meeting in September 2014, Cllr. Butt extended Christine Gilbert’s tenure (eventually until September 2015) without seeking the consent of Full Council. The minutes recorded:

‘The Leader referred to the decision taken in June 2013 regarding the appointment of a new Chief Executive.  He stated that the external auditors were reporting back on how the Council was operating and whilst there was progress being made, stability within the Council would enable further progress to be made.  The current arrangements would therefore remain in place until a recruitment process began in the new year which would tie in with the launch of the new Borough Plan.’

Does Cllr. Butt have too much power? I would suggest that he does, and that the Council’s Constitutional Working Group, chaired by its properly appointed Chief Executive, Carolyn Downs, should consider ways to ensure that the functions of the General Purposes Committee and its sub-committees are carried out independently of the Council Leader and the Cabinet.

Philip Grant.

LET THEM IN! Bring suitcases and travel bags to Liverpool Street station 6pm Friday

From Brent Stop the War

Shamim Rahman from Amnesty International LINK  nd Lucy Cox, a local teacher LINK,   spoke to our meeting last night about War and Refugees.

More information HERE:   https://www.amnesty.org.uk/issues/Refugees%2C-migrants-and-asylum

We agreed to support this initiative on Friday: 

Support Lord Alf Dubbs' campaign call to support his amendment to demand refugee children in Calais be allowed into the UK! They are about to bulldoze the camp!

Bring suitcases and travel bags for protest / photo event this Friday, 14 October, 6pm, at the Kindertransport statue, Broad Street exit, outside Liverpool Station.

Alf Dubbs' was one of 10,000 Jewish Kindertransport children who came to UK in 1938-9 as a result of pressure campaigners put on the government. Lives saved then. Let's do it now.

LET THE CHILDREN IN!

#standuptoracism #stopracism2016 #letthechildrenin

AMNESTY

Join the pressure to admit Calais child refugees to the UK - time is running out

The safe haven for unaccompanied children in Calais - soon to go

Pressure on Home Secretary Amanda Rudd MP to enable child refugees in the Calais Jungle to come to the UK ahead of the planned demolition of the camp are beginning to work.  Yesterday she said agreement was close with the French authorities but the action appears to be limited to children under 12.  Campaigners want it to be extended to under 18 year olds as stipulated in the Dubs amendment LINK.

There will be a demonstration on Friday evening  from 6pm at the statue to Kindertransport outside Liverpool Street station and another on Saturday 2pm at Parliamment Square.

This is an earlier message from the organisers:

Stand Up To Racism, Help4Refugee Children, Care4Calais, Human Rights4Refugees, Calais Action & Fuze Beyond Borders.

#DUBSNOW

@AMANDARUDDMP 

It is important we keep the pressure on our government to enact the Dubs Amendment. Their inaction is happening at a time when French authorities are intent on demolishing the “Jungle” refugee camp in Calais. The last demolition of the southern section of the camp in February resulted in a number of child refugees going missing.

It is unacceptable that children in the camp are being put at risk of exploitation as a result of the government’s lack of action around the Dubs Amendment.

French Interior Minister, Bernard Cazeneuve today accused the UK of ignoring its 'moral duty' on child refugees. While these comments are welcome we believe the French authorities are putting children at risk by demolishing the “Jungle” refugee camp without a clear plan for 950 children. Sign the Care4Calais petition to stop the demolition here https://www.change.org/p/unite-with-refugees-sign-the-petition.

Sixty years ago, the Refugee Convention defined rights for refugees, and most countries signed up to it. The first principle was that refugees should be treated decently. Today their rights are everywhere disregarded, eroded, and trampled on; governments think they can gain popularity by treating refugees in an inhuman way. We say that this is unacceptable. No one is illegal; no one is inhuman.

TREAT REFUGEES AS HUMAN BEINGS WITH FULL RIGHTS, ON EVERY STEP OF THEIR ROAD!

Stronger Communities post won't be filled: the repercussions

Information is sparse but I understand that there will be no immediate appointment made to Brent Cabinet to the lead member for Stronger Communities post made vacant by the resignation of Cllr Michael Pavey LINK.  Instead there will be a review of the post/Cabinet.

I had heard that there was a dispute within the Labour Group about whether the appointment should be made by Council Leader Muhammed Butt or voted on by the whole group.

The review sidesteps this issue in the wake of what was described as a group meeting that gave Butt 'a hard time' last week.

It is unclear whether Butt will manage the post in the interim as he did when the Environmentl lead was vacated by Cllr Keith Perrin, before later making his own appointment.

The failure to appoint puts power into the hands of a smaller loyalist Cabinet cabal and avoids Butt having to cope with an independently minded lead member elected by the group. 

The post is quite sensitive at the moment with ongoing negotiations over the volunteer Preston Library Hub LINK and the development of a Community Library Strategy and controversy over Brent Council's implementation of the Prevent Strategy LINK.

The development may affect Preston Library where there was a tension between Brent Council wanting to dispose of its assets at maximum profit and its stated commitment to enabling community groups to have a secure base from which to carry out their activities.

Upcoming Grunwick40 events - exhibition, film, conference

From Grunwick40

Hi everyone We’re really excited. There's just over a week to go until the opening of ‘We are the lions: an exhibition commemorating the Grunwick strike 1976-78’ – and it’s going to be amazing. This exhibition wouldn’t have happened without your support. So we hope you’ll come and visit it at Brent Museum & Archives in Willesden, where it will run from October 19th 2016 to March 26th 2017. Opening times and details are here. You’ll get a chance to explore archive images and records of the strike, immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the 70s and have some fun creating your own responses to Grunwick in the creative area (kids welcome too!). We also have the original Grunwick Strike Committee banner on display with its highly unusual design – see if you can spot its influence throughout the look of the exhibition. And don’t forget, if you like what you see, we’re also offering a free travelling exhibition to schools and community groups. Drop us an email at grunwick40@gmail.com to book it for a venue near you. As if all this isn’t enough, November will also see us run two huge Grunwick events: 2nd Nov: Race, Class and Solidarity -  A screening of the ‘Great Grunwick Strike’ film at SOAS university with a panel discussion afterwards. No need to register - just turn up! 26th Nov: From Grunwick to Deliveroo – getting organised, getting unionised – a one-day conference at Willesden Library, exploring struggles for rights at work from Grunwick to the present day. Sign up here to register. They’re both free and open to all, which means they’ll fill up fast – so make sure you don’t miss out. Now we’re working to get the formal permissions sorted so that we can get our amazing community murals out into the streets of Brent – it’s taking a little longer than planned but don’t worry, you’ll be the first to hear about the great unveiling.  See you at a Grunwick-themed event soon! The team at Grunwick 40. Grunwick 40 partner organisations are Brent Trades Council, Willesden Green Town Team and Brent Museum and Archive

Amrit Wilson to speak on Grunwick 40 at Ealing Town Hall - October 22nd

Saturday October 22nd 12 noon to 4pm at Ealing Town Hall, New Broadway, London W5

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Black History month brings together a series of events that celebrate the culture, history and achievements of black and ethnic minority communities. We hope to see you at at what promises to be a very special event.

Grunwick - 40 years on: Join Leroy Logan, MBE Former Chief Inspector & Chair of Black Police Association and Amrit Wilson Writer and Activist.

Race invites you to join us in remembering and celebrating Black women who were at the forefront of the Grunwick dispute 40 years ago.The day will consist of an exhibition dedicated to Grunwick, various performing artists with cultural food available, plus much more. Further details will follow but please keep this date free, it’s an event not to be missed.

Organised by GMB Race