Agree with her or not, Tulip Siddiq's speech was eloquent and passionate. See the speech HERE
WEMBLEY MATTERS News and views on local politics, the environment, climate change, culture and local history
Wednesday, 1 February 2017
Apprenticeship schemes under scrutiny as CNWL alleged fraud raises more questions
The Institute of Fiscal Studies Report on apprenticeships LINK raised a number of key issues: I draw particular attention to the highlighted issue of concern to us in Brent over the College of North West London alleged fraud by a subcontractor which led to 78 students missing out due to a non-existent course LINK:
Interestingly this notice was posted on the Companies House site revealing that it was dissolved in May 2016.
However the company remained on the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) Declared Subcontractors List in September 2016 with an entry of £256,000 for the College of North West London. It was removed from the list in January 2017. The entry for May 2015 had been under the name of Keyrail Training Ltd and was for £100,000 for the College of North West London.
The alleged fraud was uncovered in the summer of 2016 and the removal from the list may have followed the result of that investigation being reported to the SFA.
The extent of the alleged fraud clearly supports the IFS concerns but also raises the whole issue of governance of the FE sector, monitoring and audit arrangements, the role of the SFA and risks associated with the privatisation of the sector and the lack of democratic accountability. There is also concern that Indro Sen, the UCU representative at CNWL who assisuously pressed for a full investigation into the issue remains suspended by CNWL management.
It reminds me of the whistleblowing by Hank Roberts, ATL representative at the then Copland High School when he uncovered a fraud at the school.
It is unclear what action has been taken by the police but it is perhaps noteworthy that Mark Gallagher, Brent Borough Commander, is on the governing body (Corporation) of the College of North West London.
- Although the apprenticeship levy increases taxes on large employers, the new subsidies for employers to train apprentices mean that employers will have to pay nothing, or at most 10%, of off-the-job training costs for apprentices, up to certain price caps set by the government. This will increase the incentive to employers to hire apprentices, particularly those aged 19 and over for whom employers paid at least 50% of training costs prior to 2017.
- This zero or near zero cost of training poses considerable risks to the efficient use of public money. Employers will have little incentive to choose training providers who can provide training at a lower price. Employers will also have a big incentive to re-label existing training schemes as apprenticeships.
- The target of an average of 600,000 new apprentices a year in this parliament is a 20% increase on the level in 2014–15. This large expansion risks increasing quantity at the expense of quality. Although the government is trying to increase the quality of apprenticeships, the Institute for Apprenticeships may come under pressure to approve new apprenticeships quickly. Ofsted will take on an expanded (and welcome) role with respect to inspecting training providers and employers. However, it has already expressed serious concerns about the quality of apprenticeship schemes, particularly those created more recently.
- The apprenticeship levy will put downward pressure on wages. The Office for Budget Responsibility assesses that it will reduce wages by about 0.3% by 2020–21. While only 2% of employers will pay the levy, at least 60% of employees work for employers who will pay the levy.
- The government has set every public sector employer with at least 250 employees in England a target that 2.3% of their workforce must start an apprenticeship each year. This takes no account of big differences between organisations. Unless existing employees start apprenticeships, the targets imply around one-in-five new public sector hires must be an apprentice. Such a blanket policy cannot be an efficient way to improve skills in the public sector. It risks costly reorganisation of training and inefficient ways of working. These targets should be removed.
- The government has also failed to make a convincing case for such a large and rapid expansion in apprenticeships. In seeking to justify these changes, it quotes statistics that show a collapse in employees’ training. However, better measures of training show a much more modest decline. The government also makes wildly optimistic claims about the extra economic activity or earnings such investment in apprenticeships could generate (with quoted benefit-to-cost ratios of over 20:1). While there is a clear need for a better-trained workforce, this cavalier use of statistics risks undermining what might be a perfectly sensible case for a gradual expansion of apprenticeships in areas where quality can be assured.
Interestingly this notice was posted on the Companies House site revealing that it was dissolved in May 2016.
The alleged fraud was uncovered in the summer of 2016 and the removal from the list may have followed the result of that investigation being reported to the SFA.
The extent of the alleged fraud clearly supports the IFS concerns but also raises the whole issue of governance of the FE sector, monitoring and audit arrangements, the role of the SFA and risks associated with the privatisation of the sector and the lack of democratic accountability. There is also concern that Indro Sen, the UCU representative at CNWL who assisuously pressed for a full investigation into the issue remains suspended by CNWL management.
It reminds me of the whistleblowing by Hank Roberts, ATL representative at the then Copland High School when he uncovered a fraud at the school.
It is unclear what action has been taken by the police but it is perhaps noteworthy that Mark Gallagher, Brent Borough Commander, is on the governing body (Corporation) of the College of North West London.
Dawn Butler meeting on Article 50 vote
The livestream of Dawn Butler's meeting on the Article 50 debate did not work well but a recording is available on her Facebook site. (Note the camera falls down at one point but is restored and the recording fragments a little at the end).
Support builds for Indro Sen in CNWL dispute
The London Region of the UCU passed a motion of Indro Sen and the CNWL union branch at their meeting on Saturday. Indro Sen, UCU representative, is currently suspended by the College of North west London. A meeting to express solidarity will be held at Willesden Library at 6pm on February 24th with an open invitationto students, parents, trade unionists and community activists.
The resolution states:
Motion
to Support Sen and CNWL UCU – 28.1.17
London
Region sends it solidarity to Sen and the Branch in their campaign against
victimisation.
The
LR resolves to:
1)
Support the next strike day and join Sen and his colleagues on the picket
lines
2) Encourage
branches to support a day of action in support of Sen on the next day of strike
action. Eg taking solidarity selfies.
3)
Encourage members to attend the public meeting on 24 February in support of
Sen.
4)
Request that Sen’s campaign is publicised through UCU's national networks
including Campaign news.
Spurs planning application for Wembley Stadium now open for comments
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| Click on image to enlarge |
I was interested in the fact (see image above) that no local residents in the neighbourhood, nor residents' associations or other organisations, schools etc have been directly written to with a 'unique letter' about the plans. Consultation with them seems to be limited to a presentation at Wembley Connects, a poorly advertised and attended event at Chalkhill Community Centre on Monday, and an advertisement in the Kilburn Times.
The proposal in summary is:
Spurs set out their responses to concerns about the application in their 'Statement of Community Engagement' which addresses issues such as urinating in public, obscene and racist chants, congestion, pay back for residents. I have embedded it below for ease of reference. In particular see pages 5-9. The current 'standard' expiry date for consultation is February 23rd 2017.[Previously] the number of major sporting events held at the stadium in any one year was restricted to no more than 22 (to exclude European Cup and World Cup events where England/UK is the host nation), and the number of major non-sporting events to 15. After this, additional events over and above this were permitted subject to the number of spectators being limited to the capacity of the lower and middle tiers of the stadium.The proposal would allow for up to an additional 31 major sporting Tottenham Hotspur Football Club (THFC) events between 1 August 2017 and 31 July 2018. A major event (which may or may not include THFC) would be considered to be an event in the stadium bowl with a capacity in excess of 10,000 people.
There is an ongoing discussion about the application on the Streetlife website LINK
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
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