Zone of Non-Being:Guantanamo - Screening & Q&A Thursday

Save Our Stations Public Rally Tonight

NHS Crisis Tracker informs you about health crisis in your area

38 Degrees has launched the NHS Crisis Tracker which shows by postcode the extent of the crisis in a particular area.  It includes the percentage of people waiting for more than 4 hors for treatment at A&E, the local funding gap and personal experiences of the NHS in the area.

It is simple to use - just put in your postcode HERE

Duffy back on the attack over Kingdom contracts procurement

In a circular to fellow councillors Cllr John Duffy has raised further concerns over the  awarding to Kingdom of Brent Council's fixed penalty notice littering contract and additional ones after the company was awarded a BHP security contract LINK.

He wrote:

Following on from the council meeting and my new role as a member of the Scrutiny committee.I have further reviewed the Kingdom Securities (KS) figures from 16 June 2016- 26 Jan 2007.The figures (see bottom of the page) show that  the council have received £227k in Fixed Penalty notices (FPN). We have paid Kingdom Securities £201K leaving us with £26k to paid all the on costs. It's likely after all on costs we will have less that 10k to invest in much needed environmental improvements, while KS have walked away with over £100k profit.

Within that £201k we have already written off 388 FPNs at a cost £18K .These 388 FPNs were written-off by the council because they were not either legally issued or the person who dropped the fag-but gave a wrong (Mickey Mouse ) name. However under the scheme introduced by Cllr Southwood and the cabinet the council still  has to pay £46 for every Mickey Mouse ticket.

The figures will change the more people who will pay and we have some awaiting court and no doubt we write off more tickets given to Mr Mickey Mouse,but that is the position today. The issue is how was this scheme allowed without either allowing a VFM assessment or an in-house bid.

This to me is a typical way that some companies have in the past hoovered up local government contracts. When I was a senior officer, companies would approach me all the time with schemes they wanted to by-pass any legislation or Value For Money (VFM) comparisons. They did not want to prove VFM or get involved in any competitive process. They would try and persuade naive politicians that they should be given the contract without looking at the service needs. In Brent there was never a great service need for fag-butts fines , what we needed was a well trained mobile enforcement team, dealing with dumped bags, fly-tips, paan spitting and other environmental problems.

What really worries me is not the hundreds of thousands of pounds of environmental investment the lead member and the cabinet gave away.

What worries me is the fact that KS have just won a service contract for BHP, if this contract was awarded on the piggy back of the FPN contract which itself was awarded to them without any proper VFM assessment or competition that is a concern. If that contract has officers from the environment supporting their bid as a VFM bid and if there is a link I would also be very concerned. However the main issue is that the Scrutiny Committee call this report in  to see if it's value for money and I understand from the chair of scrutiny that meeting will take place in March, if environment officers have given the green light to KS before the Scrutiny Committee, we as Councillors are all wasting our time.

I believe there needs to be an investigation into how the original contract was developed and if there has there been any link between both the FPN and BHP contracts and ensure the council followed all the proper guidelines to achieved VFM for the residents of Brent.

Below are the present figs for the FPN contract.

Keep up the pressure on Trump's Muslim Ban - Saturday US Embassy 11am

Dawn Butler's Article 50 residents' meeting tonight in Wembley Park - will she follow Tulip?

Dawn Butler, MP for Brent Central, is holding a meeting this evening on Article 50 at a restaurant and bar venue in a retail park near Wembley Stadium. The event is now fully booked.

On her Facebook she states:

I will be hosting a residents meeting on the Article 50 vote this evening. We are now at full capacity.

However to ensure I engage with as many residents as possible I will be livestreaming the meeting on this page from 8pm tonight. Do tune in, I will also be answering questions taken from the stream.

Her Facebook address is https://www.facebook.com/DawnButlerBrent

Butler's colleague, Tulip Siddiq (Hampstead and Kilburn) has resigned from the Labour front bench over the Labour three line whip on the issue.

What will Dawn do?

In a message Butler blamed the high cost of hiring meeting rooms at Brent Civic Centre for not holding this 'incredibly important' meeting at a larger venue.

If this is the case where does that leave any resident who wants to hire space?

DEMO AGAINST THE MUSLIM BAN OUTSIDE DOWNING STREET AND ACROSS THE UK, MONDAY JANUARY 30TH

Donald Trump has imposed a ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US.

That includes people who helped the US army. That includes people on holiday trying to get home via the United States. That includes people trying to be reunited with their dying parents.

it also includes Britons with dual nationality. Like our national hero Mo Farah. Even the Iraq-born Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi.

Theresa May has decided to ally herself with Donald Trump's bigoted, misogynistic government.  It is not only weak, it is a matter of national shame - disgracing our country across the world.

There are moments of terrible injustice throughout history where we look back and rightly ask - what did people do? Future generations will look back at the targeting of Muslims - as we look back at the targeting of Jews - with disgust, horror and shame. If we do not speak out, we are complicit.

Theresa May has betrayed her own people. That doesn't mean we have to. Let's stand in solidarity with those targeted by Donald Trump's hateful government, including the people of this country, outside Downing Street and all over Britain.

Other governments - like Canada, like France, like Germany - have spoken out. Our weak, cowardly government has refused to. Let's not have the same cowardice and betrayal as our own government.

A demonstration was held opposite Downing Street from 6pm-9pm on Monday.

Wembley residents need to get down to Chalkhill on Monday re Spurs proposals on stadium events increase

Councillors have received little notice of this meeting and the public even less.



The proposals will make a big impact on Wembley as Jaine Lunn outlines below.

Wembley resident Jaine Lunn has not been impressed by the proposals.  This is the comment she made on my earlier blog about the meeting:

Meanwhile back in the real world. Local residents will be treated to more disruption to there daily routines as once or maybe even twice a week, 75,000 people visit Wembley Stadium (an international destination renowned the world over).

To the soundtrack of Spurs fans chanting the attributes of Harry Kane, whilst traipsing along the high road, swigging cans of beer, decorating every road within a 1,000 metres of the stadium with litter, overflowing waste bins, using every conceivable nook and cranny as a public urinal. Bumping along the pot holed roads, rattling sinking drains and the mangled manhole covers. Jostling for space amongst the HGV's and Skip Lorries removing rubbish and delivering plant works and materials to all the new developments in process of being demolished or built, of which Brent House, Chesterfield House, and Curtis Lane just to mention a few. Adding to the already daily occurence of gridlocked Wembley, where is takes more than half an hour to drive several hundred metres at peak times.

All the while ensuring the already overcrowded Public Transport system is bursting at the seams, TFL and the Mayor failing miserably in delivering their promises of more buses, less pollution, better air quality. Oh the anticpation of what's to come, I can't wait, but I won't be the only one standing in the queue for the soap box telling you "I told you so". However there will be some winners to this scenario, look at all the overtime Veolia and the Police will be entitled to. Not to mention all the people who work in the Fast Food outlets along the high road, pubs, and security personnel required to keep the peace!

Roll on 2017 a very happy New Year to one and all.