St Raph's residents move to 'take back control of our community' April 8th

Big screen live broadcast opera at Wembley Park this summer

The Big Screens are back in 2019 with some of the world’s most popular operas and ballets broadcast live from the Royal Opera House. Make sure you put the dates in your diary and come along to one of our many free screening venues including Arena Square, Wembley Park. Bring your friends and a picnic and soak up free culture on your doorstep – and get there early for the exclusive pre-performance content 30 minutes before curtain-up.

Matthew Ball and Yasmine Naghdi as Romeo and Juliet ©ROH, 2015. Photographed by Alice Pennefather

The Royal Ballet | Romeo and Juliet | 11 June at 7.30pm | pre-screening starts at 7pm
Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers encounter passion and tragedy in Kenneth MacMillan's 20th-century ballet masterpiece. Soak up free culture on your doorstep: watch The Royal Ballet on stage at the Royal Opera House in this free live screening at the BP Big Screen at Arena Square.

Anna Goryachova as Carmen in Carmen, The Royal Opera Season 2017/18 © ROH 2017. Photograph by Bill Cooper.

The Royal Opera | Carmen | 2 July at 7pm| pre-screening starts at 6.30pm


Bizet's greatest opera tells the story of the enigmatic and seductive Carmen and the dangerous passion she arouses in Don José. Watch The Royal Opera’s fresh take on this much-loved opera, complete with flamenco dancers, bull fighters – and a gorilla – all in a free live screening from the Royal Opera House.

The Marriage of Figaro ©ROH, 2015. Photographed by Mark Douet

The Royal Opera | The Marriage of Figaro | Tuesday 9 July at 7pm | pre-screening starts at 6.30pm


Revolution is in the air in The Royal Opera’s beautiful production of Mozart's great comic opera. Colourful characters mix with intrigue, misunderstanding and forgiveness in a multitude of dramatic twists. Watch a live screening of this famous opera direct from the Royal Opera House stage.

Please note, the Royal Opera House always seeks guidance regarding content from the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). While a 12A rating is the minimum classification level issued for all live screenings in the UK, our content can still be suitable for children of all ages. Click this link for further information regarding the classification of filmed content.

Wembley bids farewell to Spurs

Spurs temporary occupation of Wembley Stadium came to an end last night when they played the first match at their new stadium.

Feelings will be mixed in Wembley with some businesses missing the extra custom they gave to pubs, takeways and restaurants while others will be relieved that they will have more weekends of problem free travel and regain freedom of movement in their own area. Spurs involvement in community activities via schools and hundreds of free tickets for matches were particularly positive for some.

It will be interesting to see how quickly work now begins on pedway replacement.

Cllr Tom Miller reacts to Tuesday's Wembley stabbings

Brent Council Press Release

Two men were stabbed in Wembley on Tuesday night. Our thoughts are with the victims, who are recovering in hospital, and we are assisting the police to understand what happened.

Like most of us, I am appalled by the violent crime epidemic sweeping the country.

Since the beginning of the year, more than 100 people have been murdered on the streets of the UK - with nearly half of those being stabbings.

Each death is a huge waste of a life. It's a brother or sister who won't come home, a parent who won't be able to raise their kids, a bright future taken away. Each life taken leaves huge gaps, ripples of grief that spread as the family and loved ones try to pick up the pieces.

Two of the murders this year, the death of Jodie Chesney in east London and Yousef Makki in Greater Manchester, sparked a national debate on knife crime. While some say the reduction in police numbers has no bearing on the level of knife crime on the streets, I'm not convinced.

As the money central Government gives councils continues to be cut, the safety net gets even more stretched. Young people are more vulnerable to getting caught up in the 'county lines' drug trade. Every time a recreational drug user smokes a spliff or does a line of coke they should seriously consider that their pleasure could be threatening the life of a young person from a much less privileged background.

In Brent, we are not immune to this national situation. On Tuesday night, passers-by witnessed a double stabbing on Empire Way, while two men were recently charged with the murder of Florin Pitic's who was attacked at Queensbury Tube Station in early March. But I'd like to reassure everyone that we are working extremely hard to minimise incidents like this.

We are working in partnership with the Police to divert criminals from re-offending. We are out and about on the streets coordinating interventions and activities to support not just known offenders, but also those at risk of being exploited or drawn into a life of crime.

We recently compared monthly knife crime offences in Brent between August and December 2018 with the same months in 2017. The drop is around 29%. Brent has also seen a large fall in knife injuries in young people - the second biggest in London. This is down to some great preventative work and shows good progress, but we must continue on this trajectory.

That is why we work closely with families like the Serunkuma-Barnes' and the Hansons' - who both tragically lost their sons in unprovoked violent attacks - to explore more ways we can tackle violent crime together as a community.

While I welcome the recent police funding announcement, I know that enforcement alone isn't going to solve this problem. We need to look at the whole package and that means more prevention - not less. We need the resources to enable us to work more closely with teachers, social workers, parents and young people themselves to prevent the bloodshed on our streets before it happens rather than just locking people up afterwards.

Violent crime affects us all, be it directly or indirectly. The sooner we realise this and see it as a problem that we all need to try and prevent together - rather than just an enforcement issue - the better it will be for the people who are dying on our streets.

Cllr Tom Miller

Lead Member for Community Safety, Brent Council

Windrush Compensation Scheme: Who is Eligible? How to apply

From Brent Council  Partnerships and Engagement Team

The Home Secretary has opened a scheme to compensate members of the Windrush generation who have suffered losses due to their inability to prove their right to live in the UK.

The Scheme, which was designed in consultation with those affected and with independent advice from Martin Forde QC, is the latest step in the Home Secretary’s commitment to right the wrongs experienced by the Windrush generation.

More details are in the document below 

Who is eligible?

The compensation scheme will provide payments to individuals who suffered losses as a result of not being able to evidence their lawful status in the UK. These could range from a loss of employment or access to housing, benefits, education or NHS healthcare to emotional distress or a deterioration in mental and physical health.

The Scheme is open to those who settled in the UK from a Commonwealth country before 1973, and in certain circumstances their children and grandchildren. Additionally, it is open to all nationalities who arrived to live in the UK before 31 December 1988 and are settled here. Read more on all the categories of eligibility.

The Home Office will also refund fees paid for certain, unsuccessful immigration applications, and reimburse legal fees that were incurred in relation to these.

How to apply?

It is quick and easy to make an application, and help is available to those who require additional support to make a claim. Claim forms can be downloaded and guidance on completing the application can be found at www.gov.uk/windrush-compensation

Claimants can also request a form to be sent by post by calling our helpline on 0800 678 1925 or via email WindrushCompensationScheme@homeoffice.gov.uk where they can also  request a call back if they are overseas.

Click bottom right for full size version

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Scrutiny refer Carlton-Granville plans back to Cabinet for action on key points

There were a record 15 speakers at tonight's call-in of the redevelopment proposals for the Carlton-Granville site in South Kilburn.

Kilburn councillors Faduma Hassan and Rita Conneely presented the reasons why they and fellow councillors had called-in the Cabinet decision. 13 of the 15 public speakers said why they opposed the Cabinet's plans.

After very thorough questioning the Committee agreed to refer the decision back to the Cabinet with a number of issues to be addressed before the project goes ahead. These included:

•  a firm commitment to the 23 housing units proposed for the site to be social housing ('council' was actually stipulated by some councillors)
•  a larger proportion of the units to be for family hosing (this would reduce the total number of units) 
• potential conflict over noise between the new residents and late opening community facilities to be addressed and mitigated 
• the enterprise space to be for projects of social value
• going forward a widened and more representative management structure for the community facilities to be explored.

Most of the speakers favoured the option that would have built no housing on the site with community space, which has already been cut back by structural changes, to be increased instead. They refuted suggestions that this meant they were against providing housing for needy groups - they felt that there was sufficient space elsewhere on council owned land in the massive development to build council homes. One speaker claimed that the council was giving land to developers without ensuring social/council housing was built as part of the deal. They pressed the need for community space on an estate where the population was rapidly increasing through development and where many local projects provided essential services to needy residents to the benefit of the Council.

The referral back to Cabinet will not win abandonment of  the plan for housing on the site. Only two members of the Committee voted against the reference back. Cllr Saqib Butt backed the Cabinet and the Tory, Cllr Kansagra, made a rather confused contribution which I interpreted as being for the Cabinet but judge for yourself by viewing towards the end of the video.

Although Cllr Neal Nerva said there was no hurry to reach a decision Carolyn Downs pointed out that Brent Council needed to safeguard the £65m they had been promised by the GLA. Cllr Tatler (Lead Member for Regeneration) argued that the new nursery build and other aspects of the project including the community hub needed to be built by the end of the year.


When Cllr Tatler stated that the new centre would have more community space than currently, campaigners pointed out that Carlton Granville had already had community space taken away through the 'big hole' made in the Grand Hall for enterprise space. Dee Woods made a passionate plea for the architectural  and social heritage of the site.


Cllr Mashari said that councillors had to take the issue seriously when so many long-established and much respected local organisations were protesting. She pointed to the earlier issue when Granville Carlton proposals had been mismanaged by Brent's property team's 'bad decision' alienating local people and how she had tried to set up a stakeholders' group to win back confidence. She was perturbed that the Council still did not appear to be  ensuring that 'property and community must go hand in hand.'

Questions were raised about the South Kilburn Trust who it was claimed was not representative of the community, had no democratic structure, excluded local councillors and in some cases, including the HS2 vent, had acted against the interests of residents. Cllr Tatler argued that governance was not part of the call-in but Mashari, her predecessor in the post, argued that the Cabinet paper had argued the proposals were being 'community led' so it was a valid consideration.

There was confusion over the 23 proposed housing  units and whether they would be social or council housing (different rents) and  the Committee established that this was an 'aspiration' and subject to viability studies and might even involve private housing.

There was concern that the project co-siting a community centre and housing would have inbuilt conflict between the full use of the community centre with late opening for events and the needs of young families with babies needing to sleep. Adequate soundproofing would be essential and may be so expensive as to affect viability.

'Rouse, Ye Women' at the Baptist Church Hall, Harrow - April 16th 2019

APR 16 - 7.30PM - BAPTIST CHURCH HALL, COLLEGE ROAD HARROW HA1 3BA  

BOX OFFICE: will@geecorp.com/ https://lineupnow.com/event/rouse-ye-women-6

 'Rouse Ye Women' tells the remarkable story of Mary Macarthur and the women chainmakers of Cradley Heath. Who led by the charismatic union campaigner Mary Macarthur managed to more than double their earnings and establish the principle of a national minimum wage.

 

A new folk ballad by Neil Gore and John Kirkpatrick telling the true story of Mary Macarthur and the women chainmakers

Townsend Theatre Productions is delighted to announce its cast for the world premiere of Rouse, Ye Women!, a new folk ballad telling the true story of Mary Macarthur and the women chainmakers.

The role of trade unionist and strike leader Mary Macarthur will be performed by Scottish folk singer Bryony Purdue. Purdue is an outstandingly versatile and charismatic performer and has sung with UK Opera companies Opera GlassWorks, Longborough Festival Opera and touring ensembles VoxCollective and Transatlantic Ensemble.

Folk singer Rowan Godel will play chainmaker Bird. Godel is a rising star in the music world and has worked extensively with some of the biggest names in folk, including Oysterband (duetting with John Jones on Street of Dreams, Spirit of Dust and more ), The Levellers and Ray Cooper.

The company has collaborated with folk legend John Kirkpatrick to write original music which will take audiences through the true story of Macarthur and the chainmakers’ fight for justice.

Women chainmakers in the Black Country in the 1900s started work at the forge as children and spent their entire lives making chains. These women had no vote, were largely illiterate, worked a 54-hour week for ‘starvation wages’, and had to take their children to work.

But in the Autumn of 1910 hundreds of women chainmakers of Cradley Heath held a ten-week strike against their employers. Led by the remarkable trade union organiser and campaigner Mary Macarthur, they won a minimum wage which doubled their incomes.

More importantly, they returned to work confident in the knowledge that by sticking together in a union they could stand up to the chain masters and companies.

The strike was a prelude to the ‘Great Unrest’ of industrial action that swept Britain in 1911, and led to a landmark victory for a fair wage, changing the lives of thousands of workers, whilst proving their economic power.

‘Rouse, Ye Women!’ is a folk-song opera that tells the story of Mary Macarthur and the chainmakers, and shares the story of the lives of the workers and campaigners through rousing, heartfelt traditional song and music.

Bryony Purdue said: “I am delighted to be playing Mary Macarthur. She’s a strong woman, a Scot and an incredible person to read about - even more so with the approach being that of someone trying to glean what she was like in order to do her true character justice. This combined with singing in this original production and especially alongside Rowan will just be a real adventure. I couldn’t be more pleased and cannot wait to share a rehearsal room and stage with this wonderful story and group of such talented creative people.”

Rowan Godel said: “Mary MacArthur and the Chainmakers Strike of 1910 is one of many barely remembered stories about the working conditions and pay of women in the early 20^th century. Along with the generally poor pay and conditions of all workers, women chainmakers often earned less than half the amount of men doing the same work.

“I will be playing the part of “Bird” - one such chainmaker working in these appalling conditions. Through her story, I hope to convey something of the struggle faced by these women and their strength and courage in standing up to their exploitative employers, using the power of organised union strike action. The relationship between bosses and workers was changed forever by the collective action of these brave, strong women and their story provides us with a powerful socio-historical context for understanding issues of poverty, gender, discrimination and slavery today. Their voices need to be heard again and am hugely excited to be a part of this production.”

Director Louise Townsend said: “The focus of the production is not just the massive achievement of the women chainmakers in their fight for better wages, but also how Mary Macarthur and the National Federation of Women Workers, of which she was a founding member, sought to challenge the prevailing view that women made poor trade unionists, were a threat to male employment and wages, and were generally un-organisable.

“Mary Macarthur herself wanted trade unions to educate women workers to be better citizens, empower them to demand more from life and gain fair treatment as workers; to ensure that women can be an effective force within the trade union movement to strengthen the position of the entire industrial working class.

“Through this production we will aim to draw parallels with the inequalities in the lives of women just over a hundred years ago with modern issues of family life, low pay, the minimum wage, the gender pay gap and equality of opportunity.”

Over 1,000 councillors urge Government to increase school funding

Brent's Cllr Jumbo Chan (extreme right) delivering the letter to the Damina Hinds at the DfE  along
 with NEU Joint General Secretary Kevin Courtney (far left)

Locally-elected council members from across the country have backed the campaign by the NEU’s Councillors Network, which is supported by education fair funding campaign group f40, in expressing concern about the desperate state of school funding in England and Wales.

They are urging Government to invest more money in schools in the Spending Review this year to help meet the huge funding crisis across education, which is resulting in growing budget deficits, cuts in teaching staff, a reduction in some subject areas, and a poorer education for children.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies states that schools have suffered a cut of 8 per cent per pupil since 2010. The Education Policy Institute has said almost a third of all council-run secondary schools are now in deficit and, according to last year's Kreston UK report, eight in ten academies are in deficit.

The NEU believes the situation cannot go on and there needs to be a reversal of cuts to school budgets since 2010, and for the funding of schools and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision to be of a level that ensures all children and young people get the education they deserve, regardless of where they live.

Campaign group f40, which started more than 20 years ago with the aim of influencing significant change in the way government allocated funding to local authorities and schools, threw its weight behind the NEU’s letter to Damian Hinds.

Cllr Jumbo Chan, Brent, NEU Councillors Network Convenor, said:

“This letter represents the next step in trying to lobby the government to urgently stop the hugely damaging cuts to school funding.

“Last autumn, the NEU Councillors Network persuaded a majority of councils in London to pass motions opposing the school cuts. It is now clear that many individual councillors from all over the country also feel strongly about this very important issue. The government must heed the calls of locally-elected representatives who can see first-hand the havoc school cuts – compounded by biting cuts to precious local government funding – are wreaking on many young people.”

Cllr James McInnes, f40 Chairman and cabinet member for children and schools in Devon, said:

“The f40 campaign for fair funding has given its full support to the NEU’s letter to Damian Hinds and is pleased it’s been so well supported by councillors from across the country.  It’s clear that elected representatives are unhappy with the government’s handling of school funding and are demanding an increase in budgets, as well as adjustments to the way funding is allocated.”

Cllr Maggie Browning, Southwark, NEU Councillors Network Convenor, said:

“The cuts to school budgets have reached epidemic levels in England and Wales. Increasingly, tighter funds mean schools across the country are narrowing their curriculum and cutting subjects like drama and art, which is a travesty.

“Schools are also struggling to provide adequate support for students with Special Educational Needs and some are even closing early or starting late to save money. Teachers’ workloads have become unsustainable as they are asked to do more and more with less, including larger class sizes and fuller timetables with less support.

“This is fuelling the recruitment and retention crisis across the country, with one in three teachers leaving in the first five years of joining the profession. This is a complete waste of talent and is deeply disruptive to the learning of students. The Spending Review is a vital opportunity for Damian Hinds to commit to a full reversal of the cuts to school budgets and a significant increase in per pupil funding, particularly for SEND.”

Letter from NEU Councillors Network reads:

Dear Damian Hinds MP,

As councillors, we are writing to express our grave concerns over the Government's ongoing cuts to school funding.

Our excellent state-funded schools have lost out in billions of pounds in funding since 2015. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has equated this to an 8 per cent real cut per pupil in real terms, since 2010. The funding crisis has become so overwhelming that according to the Education Policy Institute, almost a third of all council-run secondary schools are now in deficit, and eight in ten academies are in deficit according to last year's Kreston UK report.

Many schools are now desperately overwhelmed, as more and more students are competing for fewer and fewer resources. Compounded by biting cuts to local council services, in addition to the teacher recruitment and retention crisis, the current settlement is not tenable.

We demand that the Government address this funding crisis in its Spending Review by:

•        Reversing the cuts to school funding since 2010.
•        Giving our schools the funding they need.
•        Funding Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision properly.

Our children only have one chance to go through the school system. By cutting funding to schools, the Government is failing them. It must change course urgently, and give our schools, education professionals and students the proper funding they need.

Your sincerely,

The Undersigned