Pressure mounts over academisation of The Village School

Brent North Labour Party has now joined Brent Central CLP LINK in opposing the academisation of The Village School in Kingsbury through the formation of a Multi-Academy Trust with Woodfield School LINK.

Brent North CLP welcomed what they called Brent Council's 'decision' to return out-sourced services in-house and said that this should also apply to academies, noting the return of Sandown Bay Academy in the Isle of Wight to local authority control. They called for Labour's National Education Service to include a policy to return all privatised academies to local authority control.

They appealed to all governors of the school, whose chair is Brent North Labour member and the Labour Group Whip,  Cllr Sandra Kabir, to pause the process and postpone the vote on academisation due on February 26th so that the school, local authority and unions could have talks to consider alternatives to academisation. In addition they asked that union representatives, who are also staff governors, be allowed to report back on what is going on at governor meetings.

Finally the motion called for the final vote on academisation to take place publicly with observers able to attend and speak.

The motion passed without opposition and, according to sources, the support of Barry Gardiner MP (Labour, Brent) who was present at the meeting.

Foodbanks in Brent: 'Behind every number is a person' - a revealing video

In an enterprising move the Scrutiny Task Group on Foodbanks has made a video about the role of foodbanks in Brent that catered for more than five and  a half thousand people last year. The roll out of Unoversal Credit this year is likely to increase the numners neeeding to use foodbanks.The Task Grpup, led by Cllr Roxanne Mashari, made 35 recommendations which can be read in the embedded document at the foot of this article.

The Task Group reports states:

Many local authorities like Brent find themselves in uncharted territory in relation to food banks . Alongside the absence of guidance for local authorities, the task group feels that there is room for improvement and external oversight with regards to safety, hygiene and safeguarding in many of the food aid providers locally.

The task group could not find any policy framework, or guidance outlining how local authorities should work with or alongside food banks.

This lack of understanding, policy and coordination presents a significant risk to public sector organisations, food banks and food bank users particularly as we approach the wider roll out of universal credit in 2018.

Time and again our task group heard of benefit delays, universal credit design problems, inaccessibility of services and sanctions driving ordinary people to extraordinary levels of desperation and destitution. We must be clear in our collective determination in Brent that our role as public and private sector bodies is to strategically tackle poverty and increase prosperity, not to create deprivation and poverty through our own policies. The fact that actions of publically funded bodies are a major driving force behind local food bank numbers is a cause for alarm and shame.

We cannot wait for the government to decide to take action when it comes to food banks , we must take matters into our own hands by demonstrating leadership and initiative to stem the tide of destitution and desperation . It is up to us to make sure that residents are not falling through the gaps of services and that there is a coordinated, preventative and interventionist approach. 

This task group has brought to light some of the most talented, hardworking and visionary individuals who help run food banks and provide a unique and vital service that would not otherwise be provided .  We have also witnessed heart - wrenching stories of neglect, desperation and abject poverty that have been both s hocking and upsetting.

What is clear is that this level of need and poverty must not be normalised or accepted.

It is time for all of us to take stock, to not shy away from the scale of the problem and to be nimble enough to respond to the shifting shape of provision for those in destitution, whether we agree with government policy in this area or not.

Our recommendations provide a blueprint for the first few steps in organising a coordinated response to this relatively new phenomenon and we will be holding local leaders to account over the next twelve months in order to translate policy and ideas into action that makes a difference on the ground.

Welsh Harp Centre Conservation Day January 20th

From Thames21

We had another very successful event at the Welsh Harp Environmental Education Centre in December, thank you to the regular Friends that attended.

The next event is Saturday 20^th January, 10am – 12.30pm

We will be starting at the new time of 10am and finishing at 12.30pm. Here is a link to the event with details: LINK

At the next event we will be working on the following tasks:

-          Cut back vegetation from pathways.

-          Prune the apple trees.

-          Cut back shrubby vegetation growing in the meadow.

-          Other tasks as they come up.

The next event date will be combined with the Great British Spring Clean on Saturday 3^rd March, details to be confirmed so stay tuned!

We have achieved a lot since these events have started and we will continue to address many other aspects of the WHEEC Habitat Management Plan that need attending to. If you would like a copy of the management plan, please email me.

Hope to see as many of you as possible at the next event!

welshharpcentre@thames21.org.uk

Brent's 'toothless' Air Quality Action Plan condemned by Clean Air for Brent

 

From yesterday's Twitter

From Clear Air for Brent

Air pollution is now said to be the number one killer in the world, followed by HIV(1). According to Brent Council, 200 premature deaths occur each year which are directly attributable to air pollution as well as further unquantified premature deaths where air quality is a factor, so Clean Air for Brent (CAfB) expected to see bold actions backed by robust measures in Brent’s new Air Quality Action Plan (3,4).

However the plan, which was signed off by Council leaders late last year, contains no specific measures to protect public health or even to comply fully with legal standards (5). The action plan correctly identifies road transport as the major source of harmful emissions, but does not contain adequate solutions, and fails to effectively tackle the worst pollution hotspots and routes.

It is a plan that shies away from real action and accountability on this life-threatening issue. Fiona Mulaisho, Chair of CAfB said:

“In agreeing this toothless plan, Brent Council has missed another opportunity to step up its game, and promise much needed bold actions to its residents.  We appreciate they are under severe financial constraints, but residents' health must be pushed far higher up their priority list.”

The Air Quality Action Plan, which covers the period from 2017-2022, contains four proposed Air Quality Focus Areas; but Brent’s own monitoring data show that these are not the worst affected areas.  If, as stated, the Council's '...ultimate aim is to secure clean air for all especially for those at greatest risk or in the worst affected areas in the borough'; this plan will sadly not deliver it.  CAfB urges the Council go beyond its current confines to:

·      Create a borough-wide Clean Air Zone allowing for targeted action to improve air quality, reducing public exposure to all forms of pollution, delivering health benefits and economic growth.

·      Undertake much more ambitious commitments to increase the proportion of journeys by walking and cycling in the borough (6).

·      As a matter of priority introduce a Low Emission Neighbourhood which focuses action on a genuine priority area with a combination of controls, incentives, dis-incentives and awareness raising, to provide a measurable improvement (compared with a similar non-intervention area) over 5 years.

1.    http://www.thelancet.com/commissions/pollution-and-health

2.     Clean Air for Brent (CAfB) is a coalition of residents' associations, community groups and individuals focused on raising awareness about air quality, changing behaviours to improve air quality, and improving public health outcomes in the Brent Borough through the provision of better air quality. It is also committed to contributing to local and national clean air policy debates.

3.     Brent Council's Air Quality Action Plan can be viewed here:  http://democracy.brent.gov.uk/documents/s47267/Air%20Quality%20Action%20Plan%202017-2022%20-%20Full%20Report.pdf

4.     Air pollution contributes to poor health and is responsible for the premature death of 9,500 Londoners a year, with 112 early deaths in Brent in 2010. It is linked with cancer, strokes, heart disease and respiratory problems. The main pollutants are nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter, particularly from diesel vehicles.  Of all outer London local authorities, Brent has the highest number of people - 69,283 - living in the Capital’s worst polluted areas. 

5.     The EU legal mean for NO2 is 40µg/metre3; the World Health Organisation sets it at 20µg/metre3. Similarly, EU legal requirements on particulate matter are 25m/m3, double the World Health Organisation guideline amounts of 12.5m/m3.

6.     The current relevant Brent Cycling Strategy target is to increase the mode share to 3% in 2021 from 1% in 2013.  The equivalent Brent Walking Strategy target is to increase pedestrian mode share to 30% in 2022 from 27% in 2016.

7.     For further information contact: fionamulaisho@yahoo.com

8.     CAfB website: https://cleanairforbrent.wordpress.com Twitter: @CleanAir4Brent  Facebook: Clean Air for Brent

'Severe winter weather' hits Brent Civic Centre

Damaged by 'severe winter weather'?

Brent Civic Centre seems to have its own micro-climate, perhaps caused by all those tall buildings hustling around it, according to a response from Brent Council that blamed ‘severe winter weather’ for the further cracking up of the ‘vanity’ block paving road outside the Civic Centre which cost thousands of pounds.

The rest of us may have experienced a couple of frosty nights and a dusting of snow but clearly something much harsher must have hit the Brent Civic Centre - it makes you crack up!
The Council explanation was made to Paul Lorber who was pressing home the case for action over Engineers Way LINK which runs in front of the building. The Council said:

In May 2017 it was decided that there were patches that needed repairs, which were initially done in asphalt and then replaced more permanently with blocks. Those repairs have held up, but it has become apparent that there is ongoing deterioration generally in other parts of the two areas either side of the central granite-surfaced area.

Currently, as sometimes happens after severe winter weather, there has been further deterioration which will require interim repairs and these will be programme shortly.

Lorber responded:

I am sorry but I find the approach to this very odd. Pavements are being replaced with asphalt to save money - even when residents object.

This section of expensive road has been a problem right from the outset. I do not believe that it is just the weather - the materials used are clearly wrong for an area subject to so much traffic by heavy builders lorries. As the use by lorries will continue for some time the type of patching up repairs you mention are in my view just not going to work and waste more money.

From my recent observations it is more than just two areas/sections that are crumbling and in cases pose a trip hazard for pedestrians.

If not yet obtained I think an independent assessment should be obtained of the best solution and if already obtained I would appreciate a copy under FOI if necessary.

Quintain confirm Carillion 'not active' in Wembley Park

Quintain said today that it was decided in September 2017 not to award the contract for South West Lands to Carillion, the company that went into liquidation earlier today.  Quintain appear to have been more canny than the government following company profit warnings in July 2017.

Quintain said that Carillion are not active in Wembley Park.

Greens call for cancellation of HS2 in the wake of the Carillion collapse

The Green Party has called on the Government to cancel HS2 after the collapse of Carillion, the company building the high speed rail link.

Jonathan Bartley, Green Party co-leader, also urged the Government to reverse privatisation, bring contracts back in house and launch a full-scale inquiry into the decisions made about the company, and the wider “privatisation experiment”.

Bartley said:

The collapse of Carillion should be the final nail in HS2’s coffin. Cancelling this vanity project would save tens of billions of pounds, and stop the environmental vandalism which would see miles of countryside and ancient woodland covered in concrete. Instead, Britain's rail network has the opportunity to rise like a phoenix from Carillion’s flames. Thousands of jobs could be created by investing instead in the upgrades local rail networks desperately need.

Carillion's demise should be seen as an opportunity to reverse privatisation, and protect jobs and pensions by bringing contracts back in house. It should also be the trigger for a full-scale inquiry, not just into the reckless decisions this Government has made over Carillion but also the whole privatisation experiment, which has been tried and found consistently wanting.

'Pop-up Theatre' for Wembley's Fountain Studios?

Fountain Studios

The Stage LINK reports that Quintain are applying to Brent Council for change of use for Fountain Studios, former venue for the X Factor and Britain's Got Talent.  The studios have been vacant for some time since Quintain's acquisition, although the retail park next door, which they also acquired, is still in operation. LINK   LINK

Quintain want to use the studios as a pop-up theatre for up to 7 years so it looks as if development of the site will be delayed. There is still uncertainty over the fate of the College of North West London building which is situated next to the retail park on Olympic Way.

The Stage reports that Quintain want to erect external seating at ground level and are in talks with a high-profile producer with  'pop-up venue' experience.