Last Lib Dem on Brent Council explains why she has become an Independent

Cllr Helen Carr has issued the following statement explaining why she has opted to become an Independent councillor having been elected on a Lib Dem ticket:

Political parties are not reflecting the full range of interests – in fact, some serve to obscure them. The system is degenerating into the preservation of a status quo and a political elite. We all need to put an end to that political and social exclusivenessjavascript:;. The principles on which the parties nominally divide and were formed are increasingly blurred. A group of people, however powerful, without political principles is not a party, but a faction.

Inevitably, the public is furious – interest groups are focused too often on private ends, and we have seen this last six months how popular improvement is lost sight of in particular aggrandisement, and politics and politicians, local, regional and national, are increasingly viewed with contempt. There is a lack of interest in democracy and democratic processes. The public know exactly why they voted for Brexit and it is not because they do not like foreigners, but because they do not like smug, superior and self-regarding career politicians of all persuasion who are contemptuous of the decisions of the people they purport to serve, telling them they did not know what they were voting for.  The public do not like political parties filling the Lords with the unelected whose sole purpose seems to be to sabotage the decisions of elected MPs. They do not like political parties that exploit the ambitions of the young, the fears of the fragile and the vulnerable for votes.

The residents of Brent pay my salary. I look forward as an Independent Councillor to representing and promoting democracy in my ward, and the Borough, in particular to those groups who are an under/ unrepresented socio-economic demographic in the political process because they tend to be excluded and avoid participation. 

I look forward as an Independent Councillor to continuing my human rights work and protection of minority groups, especially important in the current toxic climate because historically, groups I work with such as Gypsies, Irish Travellers and Roma have suffered deprivation, discrimination and in the Roma case especially, persecution and genocide. Those times are upon us again.

This documentary was aired on my birthday the year I was asked to stand as a Councillor. I am involved in similar activities at the moment. It is 10 minutes of your time.

Brent disabled charity threatened as NHS increases rent to market rates

My article on plans for the 'NHS Estate' elicited a comment about the future of Brent Advocacy Concerns LINK who are faced with a possible increase in their rent at Willesden Centre for Health and Care  LINK to market rates as part of the monetisation of NHS property.

BAC is a charity run by disabled people themselves.

John Healy, a South Kilburn resident and volunteer at Brent Advocacy Concerns, has provided further detail about the situation BAC faces:

Today at 12.30pm our landlords have called another 'building users meeting' (5 previous ones so far) but we have never been invited to attend any of them, including that meeting.  I intend to attend it as we have been there since the centre opened and on the previous site in Harlesden Road since 1991 and we are tenants of sorts.  The problem is we were tenants of BADP, a limited company who were dissolved on the 1st March this year. 

We have been surviving on our reserves and without knowing if we can stay in our office, it has been impossible to plan anything.  We are still solvent but have not received any income since the 2011/12 financial year.  We have no waged staff any more and now only use volunteers including myself.  We decided a couple of years ago to have a 'new' website which we now have and we are able to give advice and information to people who email or phone us.  We can no longer provide advocacy itself so we are only a shadow of our former selves.  But if we lose the office, it is more than likely that we will close down.

Both the council and the NHS have both been saying they are finding it difficult to reach 'marginalised groups' like disabled people but they have never contacted us, even though we are in the council's own directory.  We also help people with The Care Act 2014 in providing some disabled people with information they may need to understand it. Now our work is limited by the uncertainty about our future.

Just to conclude, there are approximately 50,000 disabled and people with a long term illness in Brent (refer to borough's diversity plan 2015-19 which is in The Wellbeing & Scrutiny Committee and the 2011 census) but we are the only disabled charity left.  The council might argue that is not the case but all the other services are companies first, with a charitable part to their business.  There are other charities as well but they cater for specific ethnic groups.

Lib Dems down to zero on Brent Council and Tories play political musical chairs

Lib Dem councillor Helen Carr introduces herself to Tim Farron

Tonight's Brent Council meeting began with an announcement that the only Lib Dem councillor had decided to become an Independent - ending Lib Dem representation on a Council where they were once senior partner in a Coalition with Paul Lorber as their leader. Carr gave no explanation to the meeting but celebrated her independence by abstaining on most of the votes that took place tonight.

My prediction before the meeting

Joel Davidson after his recent attack on Tory Leader John Warren announced that he was moving to the Kenton Tory Group who now (for how long?) have 4 members to Brondesbury Park's 2. At one point the Kenton Tories were split 2-2 on a vote so three Tory groups may not be faraway.

Tories Kansagra, Davidson, Colwill and Maurice

I am not clear who is now the leader of the opposition, if wonder if the Tories are?

Davidson, the only person who comes close to a Brent Council version of Hugh Grant, was in his element making drawling contributions to the meeting but Cllr Warren once more provided the only real opposition.

Warren raised the fact that the Brent Development Plan hadn't been legally compliant at the time of its approval by the Council and had only been saved by suggested modifications from the Planning Inspector.   He cited the Auditor's acceptance of 5 objections to Brent Council's accounts for further investigation as extremely unusual with most local authority accounts sailing through through the process without challenge.

Perhaps his most powerful intervention was in a motion calling for the CEO to prepare a report on the possibility of Brent returning to a Committee system of governance for consideration by the Full Council. He explained that only eight people, the Cabinet, were really involved in decision making and the other 55, of all parties, excluded.

Warren suggested that the South Kilburn Granville debacle would not have happened if a cross-party committee had examined the proposal.

Rather than actually debating the merits of the proposal Cllr Butt, Labour leader, denounced it as a political ploy to 'take us back to the 80s' and his councillors duly voted it down.

Cllr Warren during the debate had said he had heard that the Labour Group held 'votes on whether to vote' but one of their number told me afterwards that they seldom had votes at all - 'everything is decided by acclamation'...

Now Brent CCG gets into NHS estate management and development to further the STP

Last week Chris Hopson, Chief Executive of NHS Providers, warned that poor consultation over the NHS  Sustainability and Transformation plans could cause mass opposition on the streets that would scupper the plans LINK while Diane Abbott has referred to the STPs, quotuing that for NW London, as a 'dagger pointed at the heart of the NHS LINK.

One area that has not received much press coverage or comment is the management of the sites and buildings belonging to various parts of the NHS (see table above).

A report LINK going before the Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee on Wednesday from the Brent Clinical Commissioing Group and NHS Propery Services, entitled the NHS Estate in Brent,  puts forward plans for various parts of the estate. They see the management of property as an 'enabler' to 'delivering' the STP and Shaping a Healthier Future. In particular they look at increasing the use of void space in the Willesden Centre and Monks Park Centre but also have far reaching plans elsewhere:

The CCG estates strategy identifies three site locations to be developed to support the local hospital and hub strategy. In order to maximise the use of the existing estate the CCG estates plans focus on creating out of hospital Hubs at Wembley Centre for Health and Care, Willesden Centre for Health and Care and Central Middlesex Hospital.

The three Hub locations were identified following an assessment of the main areas of deprivation and service demand across the borough. The CCG also took into account the forecast population growth.

The map below shows the forecast population growth in Brent to 2025.

Brent Population Growth 2015-25

This indicates the greatest population growth density to be forecast in the south west of the borough, suggesting the greatest health care demand in the areas are around the intended Hub locations at Wembley Centre for Health and Care and Central Middlesex Hospital

Wembley is the area with the second biggest capacity for new homes within North West London (11,500 new homes).

The Park Royal development on the border with Ealing has the potential for 1,500 new homes and new development proposals in Alperton will impact on south Brent and north Ealing, creating an increased need for primary care provision around Central Middlesex Hospital.

The majority of out of hospital services will be delivered from the Central Middlesex Hospital site which will become a Hub+. The Hub+ will offer specialist services commissioned for the whole borough alongside standard Hub services such as primary care, community services, one stop assessments and treatments and access to more complex diagnostics for the local population.

The Hubs at Wembley Centre for Health and Care and Willesden Centre for Health and Care will offer the standard Hub services for the local population.

The CCG is working with London North West Hospital Trust to develop a business case for the future configuration of Central Middlesex Hospital which will include the provision of a GP practice. The business case is due to be completed in summer 2017 and will then be submitted to NHS England for approval. It is anticipated that the GP practice (subject to commercial arrangements being in place) will be in occupation late 2017.

The business cases for Willesden Centre for Health and Care and Wembley Centre for Health and Care will follow after Central Middlesex Hospital. The aim is to maximise utilisation of both sites to deliver local services to the population in the area.

The CCG is working in collaboration with Brent Council to commission a property consultant to further their plans:  

  The One Public Estate (OPE) initiative is being delivered in partnership by the Cabinet Office Government Property Unit and the Local Government Association. The initiative provides practical and technical support and funding to Councils to deliver ambitious property-focused programmes in collaboration with central government and other public sector partners.

Brent Council, in partnership with the CCG, has made an application for funding towards the co-ordination of a data capture exercise and to undertake the public sector and health review. In working together to deliver a common local public sector estates vision, Brent Council officers working with the CCG have developed a project brief to be used for the purposes of commissioning a professional property consultant if the application is successful.

The projects identified are:

1.     Northwick Park Hospital Brent in partnership with the London North West Hospitals Trust, the University of Westminster and Network Homes, aims to rationalise services and resource and unlock development land to facilitate hospital redevelopment, new homes and improved services for the community. 


2.     Church End Growth Area Brent’s bid aims to enable the creation of a community hub that will attract public services and businesses to the local area, the key emphasis is ensuring that the public services and businesses provide positive services that will build capacity and benefit the local community. 


3.     Wembley The reduction in staff numbers and more efficient use of office space in Brent’s Civic Centre in Wembley Park, provides an opportunity to look more closely at how local public services may better work together, including a review of the area surround the Wembley Centre for Health and Care. 


Vale Farm area

4.     Vale Farm, Brent’s aim is to deliver a new multi-purpose leisure centre, new homes and possibly a new secondary school in an area that is primarily public open space and metropolitan open land, a feasibility study is proposed to identify opportunities for integration between local public sector services, particularly the Metropolitan Police, Brent CCG and the Council. 


A further bid will be brought forward for:

Brondesbury Road (including the Kilburn Square Clinic). These premises comprise 11-15 Brondesbury Road; which provides a home for community mental health teams. The site is Brent owned, but subject to shared usage with Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, (CNWL), (although current occupation circa 90% CNWL, 10% Brent). The model for the delivery of such services is under review, and is likely to result in a relocation of staff from the building.

The report states:

The CCG will build on the plans already in place to increase patient, user and carer engagement, which is essential for success as it makes the changes outlined in this paper. The CCG will do this in conjunction with the Council where this is appropriate.

Given widespread dissatisfaction with consultation on Shaping a Healthier Future and the NW London Sustainability Transformation Plan the Brent public may need quite a lot of persuading that these plans are in their interest.

Climate Jobs - Not Bombs Lucas Plan Conference Nov 26th

Leading figures from the left, trade union, environmental and peace movements are coming together at a conference on November 26th with a fresh perspective on tackling current crises, using the ideas of socially useful production pioneered in the Lucas Plan. The Plan, produced by workers at the Lucas Aerospace arms company, showed how jobs could be saved by converting to make socially useful products, rather than weapons. See www.lucasplan.org.uk, or the notes below for more information on the Lucas Plan.

The conference will focus on 5 key themes:

The Lucas Plan and socially useful production.
Arms conversion and peace.
Climate change and a socially just transition to sustainability.
The threat to skills and livelihoods from automation.
Local/community economic and industrial planning.
Linking all these issues is the need to rethink how we can produce what people and society actually need and overcome corporate domination through their control of technology.

Highlights of the conference will include:

Talks by Phil Asquith, Brian Salisbury and Mick Cooney (Lucas Aerospace Shop Stewards Combine).

Screening of a new film on the Lucas Plan by Steve Sprung.

Contributions from: Chris Baugh (PCS), Suzanne Jeffery (Million Climate Jobs Campaign), Hilary Wainwright (Red Pepper), Natalie Bennett, Molly Scott-Cato and Jonathan Essex (Green Party), Philip Pearson (Greener Jobs Alliance), Romayne Phoenix (People’s Assembly Against Austerity), Mary Pearson (Birmingham Trades Council), Tony Kearns (CWU), Mika Minio-Paluello (Platform), Philippa Hands (UNISON), Stuart Parkinson (Scientists for Global Responsibility), Dave Elliott (Open University), Liz Corbin (Institute of Making), Tony Simpson (Bertrand Russell Foundation), Dave King (Breaking the Frame), Simon Fairlie (The Land magazine), Karen Leach (Localise West Midlands), Marisol Sandoval (City University), Tom Unterrainer (Bertrand Russell Foundation), John Middleton (Medact), Gail Chester (Feminist Library), Julie Ward (Labour Party), David Cullen (Nuclear Information Service) and Richard Lee (Just Space).

The conference on the Lucas Plan 40th anniversary will be held at Birmingham Voluntary Service Council (138 Digbeth, Birmingham, B5 6DR) on November 26, 2016.

See www.lucasplan.org.uk.

The conference is being organised and sponsored by: former members of the Lucas Aerospace Shop Stewards Combine, Breaking the Frame, PCS, UCU, Million Climate Jobs Campaign, Green Party, Scientists for Global Responsibility, Campaign Against Arms Trade, CND, Left Unity, Quaker Peace and Social Witness, Red Pepper, War on Want, Conference of Socialist Economists, Fellowship of Reconciliation, Newcastle TUC, Medact, and Momentum.

Tickets are £10/£5 concessions: To book for the conference, visit www.lucasplan.org.uk/tickets. For more information, email info@breakingtheframe.org.uk

BACKGROUND INFO: The Lucas Aerospace Shop Stewards Combine’s Alternative Corporate Plan (‘The Lucas Plan’) was launched in 1976 and became famous worldwide, sparking an international movement for socially useful production and workers’ plans. Facing the threat of redundancies, the Combine collected 150 ideas from shop floor workers about alternative socially useful products that could be produced by the company, instead of relying on military orders. Many of the innovations in the plan, such as hybrid car engines, heat pumps and wind turbines were commercially viable and are now in widespread use. Although the Alternative Plan was rejected by Lucas Aerospace managers, it was instrumental in protecting jobs at Lucas in the 1970s. The Combine was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and Mike Cooley received the Right Livelihood Award in 1982. More information about the Plan, including the 53-page summary of the five 200 page volumes, can be found on the conference website, www.lucasplan.org.uk.

Getting to the Conference

The conference venue, Birmingham Voluntary Service Council at 138 Digbeth B5 6DR, is very close to central Birmingham stations, click here for map. We'll be starting at 10am sharp and we have a packed programme, so please be on time.

How NOT to be scammed - 'The Little Book of Big Scams'

Years ago the Pupil Council at Park Lane Primary School asked if there could be lessons about 'scams'. They reported that their parents, particularly those not yet fluent in English, had been tricked. They went on to discuss 'legal' scams such as those where computer printers were sold cheap only for the customer to discover that replacement ink was extremely expensive and cartridges machine specific.  Now of course some printers have software that prevents cheaper compatible cartridges being used.

The variety of scams has increased since then so the publication of 'The Little Book of Big Scams' published by the Metropolitan Police and the Mayor's Office is very welcome.

My only criticism would be that it is very wordy and so may not be accessible to the parents children spoke.  I am not sure if it is available in languages other than English - a video version would also be useful.

The 'Little Book of Big Scams' can be viewed and downloaded HERE

CORRECTION: Brent Council to debate the West London Alliance on MONDAY

Brent Council is to debate the West London Alliance at its meeting on November 21st. The WLA brinngs the above boroughs together, in various combination, to deliver services.The combined population is nearly twice the size of Birmingham.

Introducing the debate Cllr Butt, Leader of Brent Council states:

The West London Alliance plays a central role in improving the collaborative approach of seven London councils, facilitating a communal approach to the challenges facing the residents and businesses of West London.

In housing, children’s services, in health and wellbeing, in employment and skills – the WLA has been at the forefront of offering innovative, forward-thinking approaches to the issues that matter to us all.

With ongoing central government cuts to local council funding and further reductions expected in the coming years, it is more important than ever that we work in partnership with our neighbouring boroughs. To share best practice and improve our ways of working, to find solutions the challenges that face us all.

Brent Council pledges to continue to work closely with the WLA and our neighbouring boroughs to deliver the best outcomes for the residents and businesses of West London.

Below you can find the presentation to be made at Council by the WLA which is unlikely to be visible to  people watching on Livestream or from the public gallery.


Click bottom right to enlarge the docuement.

Brent Council opens consultation on 2017-18 budget: including cuts and council tax rise

Brent Council has issued the following press release on its budget consultation - printed here unedited.

 Six years of cuts by central government to local authority budgets across the UK has meant Brent Council has needed to find new ways to maintain services, with some difficult decisions made along the way.

Despite growing demand for local services from an increasing and ageing population, the funding that Brent Council receives from the Government is set to fall even further.

Rather than cut vital services, which residents rely on, the council is conducting a ten-week consultation on its budget proposals which includes a rise in council tax by 3.99 percent to help plug the gap left by the government's cuts.

"Imagine your household bills went up every year, but your salary kept being cut. You would have to make some tough choices and find new ways to make your money go further," says Cllr Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council.

As well as showing how the council plans to raise income to balance the books the budget details spending plans for 2017/18.

Key areas include everything from investment in making Brent cleaner and safer, rubbish and recycling collection, boosting jobs and skills to protecting the vulnerable, increasing council housing, maintaining parks and open spaces and giving every child the best start in life.

"In recent years, we've taken steps to make sure that Brent Council is as efficient and cost-effective as possible. At the same time, we've worked hard to ensure the services that our residents rely on are protected.

"It is vital that the work we do as a Council reflects the priorities of our residents. That's we are asking the people of Brent to tell us what matters to them. I would encourage as many people as possible to visit the website, or join us at their local Brent Connects meetings taking place at the start of next year."

Have your say online by 1 February 2017 or come along to one of the Brent Connects public meetings in January or February 2017.

Views taken at the Willesden and the Kingsbury and Kenton Brent Connects meetings, after the consultation portal has closed, will be added as an appendix to the Cabinet report and considered on Monday 13 February 2017 at the Cabinet meeting.

Full Council will then make a decision on the final budget for 2017/18 on Monday 27 February 2017.