Morland Gardens – an alternative solution (open email to Brent Council Leader)

 A guest post by Philip Grant in a personal capacity

 

1 Morland Gardens and the community garden across the Hillside junction, September 2022.

 

Martin has already highlighted the £18m in cuts/savings which is the main item for next Monday’s Brent Cabinet meeting, but another report, which was added to the agenda on Tuesday afternoon, may be just as important. 

 

The “Update on the supply of New Affordable Homes” is far more than its bland title suggests. I hope to write a separate post about that, but first I would like to share with you an open email which I sent on Wednesday afternoon to the Council Leader and Lead Member for Housing. It offers an alternative solution to that proposed in the report by Council Officers for the Council’s controversial, hugely delayed and badly flawed Morland Gardens project. I have added some relevant illustrations, to break up the email’s text:-

 

Dear Councillor Butt and Councillor Knight,

 

The report to next Monday’s Cabinet meeting, Update on the supply of New Affordable Homes, shows that there are problems with a number of the Council’s schemes, including Morland Gardens at para. 4.26. The problems with that project are even worse than admitted in the report. I am writing to suggest an alternative solution, which I hope that you, and Council Officers, will seriously consider.

 

The Morland Gardens paragraph from the Update Report to Cabinet.
[ SO = Shared Ownership.  OMS = Open Market Sale.]

 

The report admits that the current scheme is not viable, and offers ‘to value engineer the scheme during the PCSA process’ as a possible solution. What it does not admit is that the scheme is likely to lose the £6.5m GLA funding, which was part of the original basis for Cabinet approving it in January 2020. It will lose that funding because it will not be possible for the project to “start on site” by 31 March 2023. 

 

At the moment, the Council does not have a “site” there. 1 Morland Gardens and its grounds are legally occupied, until at least January 2023, by Live-in Guardians. The Public Realm outside the property, including the Harlesden City Challenge Community Garden, which would form part of the site, has not been appropriated for planning purposes. It cannot be appropriated unless a section of highway crossing it can be stopped-up, and the proposed Order for that is the subject of objections which will not be resolved until after 31 March 2023.

 

Alan Lunt’s email of 2 June 2021.

 

In an email of 2 June 2021, copied to you both, and which is in the public domain, the then Strategic Director for Regeneration, Alan Lunt, wrote: ‘I confirm that the demolition of “Altamira” [the locally listed heritage Victorian villa] will not take place until all of the legal pre-requisites are in place.’ No work can commence before matters such as the stopping-up are resolved, and that will be too late for the GLA funding deadline.

 

Converting some of the proposed 65 homes to shared ownership, or trying to squeeze more homes into the building, instead of affordable workspace, would both need planning consent. This would mean further delay and expense. It would be throwing good money after bad, just as Alan Lunt’s risk of awarding a two-stage Design & Build contract, which Cabinet approved last June, for a project which did not have a legal site was a waste of at least £1.2m (the estimated cost of the PCSA process).

 

This project has been flawed from its early stages. It breached the Council’s adopted heritage assets policy, which was only justified for planning purposes by the “benefit” of 65 affordable homes at London Affordable Rent. If there is any change to that “benefit”, then that justification no longer exists.

 

Councillor Knight will remember that, at the Planning Committee meeting on 12 August 2020, her colleague Cllr. Aden, on behalf of all three Stonebridge councillors, was neutral on the Morland Gardens application. Although he welcomed the prospect of 100% LAR housing, he was against the loss of the important heritage asset, the overdevelopment of the site to the detriment of local residents and the inadequate parking and servicing provision, which would cause traffic congestion at the busy Hillside / Brentfield Road junction.

 

Councillor Aden’s submission, from the Planning Committee minutes, 12 August 2020.

 

It is time to rethink this project, as I suggested even before the planning decision in 2020, in detail to Stonebridge Ward councillors in June 2021 (with copy to the Leader and then Lead Member), and again to you as Council Leader and Alan Lunt in January 2022.

 

Extract from my email to Stonebridge Ward councillors on 19 June 2021 (which Cllr. Knight replied to).

 

The main reason for the 1 Morland Gardens scheme was to provide the Brent Start college with more modern facilities than those provided in the 1990s in the sympathetically restored heritage building. That modern college facility does not have to be on the Morland Gardens site. £15m of CIL money was been set aside for it in 2020, with a further unspecified amount agreed at last month’s Cabinet meeting. 

 

By working with the developer, using Section 106 if necessary, that new college could be provided as part of the Unisys House redevelopment, still in Stonebridge and alongside the new Bridge Park community facilities. That would leave the question of what to do with Brent Start until the new college was available.

 

The college is currently in a temporary home in the Stonebridge Primary School annexe. It could stay there, but the better solution would be to move it back to the existing facilities at 1 Morland Gardens. Once the new college was ready, the Morland Gardens site could be developed for housing and/or community facilities, retaining the beautiful heritage building as part of the scheme (details of which could be worked out and agreed ahead of the college’s permanent move).

 

Moving Brent Start out of the Stonebridge Primary School annexe would allow the much-delayed Twybridge Way housing scheme to go ahead. That project, which is being blocked by the Council’s mistakes over Morland Gardens, will provide 14 family-sized houses, 13 smaller flats for rent and 40 new supported 1-bedroom homes for independent living. Sensible allocation of those “NAIL” homes could allow forty existing family-sized homes in the Stonebridge area to become available for families on Brent’s waiting list.

 

Brent’s current plans for 1 Morland Gardens have been ill-conceived since the time of poor advice from Council Officers in late 2018 / early 2019. Rather than trying to press on with a project which is badly flawed, please take this opportunity to make a sensible choice, and accept the alternative solution I have put forward. 

 

Thank you. Best wishes,

 

Philip Grant

New Boundary Commission proposals cast Harlesden adrift from Willesden. Comment by December 5th

The Boundary Commission for England has published new revised proposals for parliamentary constituencies across the country and opens a final month-long consultation, giving the public a last opportunity to send in their views.

The Commission has taken into consideration over 45,000 comments sent in by the public during the previous two stages of public consultation, and has changed nearly half of its initial proposals based on this feedback. A third and final consultation on the new map of revised constituency proposals is open now until 5 December. The public are invited to view and comment on the new map at bcereviews.org.uk.

The Commission is undertaking an independent review of all constituencies in England as requested by Parliament. The number of electors within each constituency currently varies widely due to population changes since the last boundary review. The 2023 Boundary Review will rebalance the number of electors each MP represents, resulting in significant change to the existing constituency map. As part of the review, the number of constituencies in England will increase from 533 to 543.

After this final consultation has closed on 5 December, the Commission will analyse the responses and form its final recommendations. These will be submitted to Parliament by 1 July 2023.

Submit a comment HERE

For Brent the change means there will be three constituencies: Wembley, Willesden  and Queens Park and Little Venice. Harlesden will be in the latter constituency, separated from Willesden.

You can zoom in to your area on an interactive map  that includes the wards by inserting your postcode HERE

Proposed Wembley Constituency

 

 

Proposed Willesden Constituency 

 

Proposed Queens Park and Little Venice Constituency

Adult Social Care in the firing line as Brent Council seeks £18m cuts/savings and increases Council Tax by 2.99%

With its budget under pressure Brent Council is proposing £18m in 'savings' (which are often actually cuts) and raising Council Tax by 2.99%:

  The key features of the 2023/24 budget are:

· A Council Tax increase of 2.99% (consisting of a 1.99% general increase plus 1% for the Adult Social Care Precept), making a Band D Council Tax of £1,461.96 (for the Brent element). The GLA precept is unknown at this stage and is subject to their own decision making and consultation processes.
· New budget savings proposals of £18m to be delivered in 2023/24

Summary

Adult and Social Care -£4.3m

Children & Young People -£2.4m

Communities and Regeneration -£0.6m

Residents' Services -£4.2m

Finance & Resources  -£1.8m

Governance -£0.4m

Corporate -£4.1m

I have embedded fuller details below and as you read it you will see that it is likely that extensive job losses are likely to be involved, and many of those low paid workers. ethnic minority and women.

Adult Social Care

Adult social care  costs are rising across all councils but it is likely that some of the justifications made for the cuts by Brent Council, under a general argument that they will increase the independence of recipients, will be challenged.  There will be no general public consultation on the changes because of the 'personalised aspects; of the proposal. This limits the opportunity to campaign and narrows implentation to individual negotiations with recipients, family and advocate. The final paragraph on key risks is important.

 Extract from Report

There is some evidence that Brent provides more homecare hours in community care packages than other London boroughs –potentially around 1 hour per week extra per client over the age of 75 than expected.

There are a number of interventions that need to be delivered both in response to the pandemic and because they are good practice, which should reduce the overall levels of homecare. These include:

Double handed care reviews – partly as a result of the pandemic, and the reduced access to care homes for discharge we have seen a significant increase in double handed care packages (where 2 carers are needed to carry out care). Reducingdouble handed care packages, means fewer people entering someone’s home, better use of community equipment and, therefore, more independence and less intrusive care.

Reablement – the new and redesigned dedicated reablement service goes live inFebruary 2023. The new service has been designed after a full review and brings a range of new features, which have been successful in other Local Authorities,therefore, we expect to see a significant increase in the number of people supported to maximise independence and so require lower or no care packages.

High and Low costing care Packages – the purpose of social care is to assist people to live as independent a life as is possible outside the formal care system. For these cohort of service users focused reviews will be undertaken with a stronger attention on Personalisation and promoting Personal Budgets/ Personal Assistants as a means of receiving their services. For very low costing support packagers the aim will be to Promoting Independence. Looking at housing adjustment / equipment’s, telecare and digital solutions to support individual’s so that they will no longer require funded support.

How would this affect users of this service?

We carry out reviews at the end of the reablement process and on an annual basis. We will ensure that these reviews are strength bases reviews and with a focus on independence. This will also be true of double handed calls because although the person will not be full independent with activities of daily living, they may only require a single carer, which should be seen as a positive as it will reduce the number of carers and should improve the relationships.

Key milestones

The nature of this proposal means it will be part of all reviews on an ongoing basis. Individual reviews will be done with the person who receives the care, their family or advocates and the care agency. The only specific milestone is the implementation of the new reablement service in February 2023.

Key consultations

Service users and families will be consulted on a case by case basis – there will not be a wider consultation given the personalised aspect of this proposal.

Key risks and mitigations 

Reducing packages becomes harder to achieve in practice than in principle, because of a reliance on the care provided – social workers use their experience and understanding of the Care Act to promote a strength based approached to care, to mitigate these issues.

Outline of the proposals are below and fuller details are available in a 200 page document available HERE.  

Click bottom right for full page.

 

 

 

 

Last chance to attend a public consultation meeting on Islamia Primary's controversial proposed move from Queens Park to Preston ward. Wednesday November 9th, 7pm Preston Park Primary School

 

What appears to be the last public consultation meetong on the future of Islamia Primary School takes place tomorrow, Wednesday 9th November at Preston Park Primary School, College Road, Wembley. HA9 8RJ. (Nearest tube Preston Road on the Metropolitan Line).

So far the only option offered has been move to Strathcona Road site in Preston ward or close. The consultation closes on November 16th. You can comment on the Brent Council Have Your Say site HERE.

Here are a selection of the comments so far. Publication here does not represent approval of the content but it is important for everyone to know what is being said.

Strongly Oppose the relocation to this site

 

The site is most definitely not suitable for the school (any type of school for that matter).

The road itself is very narrow and Carlton avenue is already a very busy road. As many have mentioned the students of this school are not located in the local area and therefore probably won’t use public transportation. That means their parents will drive them in. Adding to traffic and local pollution. Wasn’t this the reason those ridiculous LTNs were installed.

Many of the students parents don’t even want the school relocated to this site and even started a petition. 

 

Brent council don’t seem to have the local residents in mind when proposing such ideas. It is already an over populated area where resources are being maxed out. 

 

Again I’d like to express how strongly I oppose this school moving to this site.

 

HA9 doesn't not need or want this school

 

Reasons relocating the school to HA9 / Strathcona is a totally unsuitable:

• Already excellent and undersubscribed primary schools in very close proximity
• Strathcona Road is extremely narrow and too small to accommodate the influx of extra traffic, leading to my next point..
• Original site of the school is the other side of the borough, 6 miles and 30 mins drive away.
• It's sheer hypocrisy for Brent Council to have inflicted the disastrous LTN system upon HA9 - apparently because we have so much local traffic - but then to also want to site a new, unnecessary unwanted school right in the same area.
• Unfeasible that many young children will be able to use public transport assuming they live near the Queens Park site: it is 30-45 minutes away by train or over 1 hour by bus.
• Many of the school's own parents / pupils don't want to be relocated to such a distant site, see petition at: https://democracy.brent.gov.uk/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?ID=236&RPID=0&HPID=0
• Lastly but importantly, I don't believe it's right for any school to segregate itself by any religion. Why in a modern society should we want our children to not be taught equality and multiculturalism?

School at Strathcona site

We do not need another school at this site. There are already 3 schools in an around the area and it gets extremely busy in the school peak hours. Residents of the area are extremely unhappy with this proposal because this will create additional traffic, congestion and noise and air pollution.

This site is on the narrow road with parking on both sides of the road. The bus route 223 also operates through this narrow road. If you have to pass through in the school pick up and drop off times, travelling through this road is a nightmare. People are parking everywhere, hooting and not following the traffic rules and no common sense prevails whatsoever.

I strongly object to the school at this site due to all the above issues.

Disgraceful and islamaphobic

You have 1 faith based Islamic school and at a time where far right anti-Islamic sentiment is rife instead of continuing to be the “most diverse and inclusive” borough in London you choose to spit in the face of the Muslim population of Brent this is outrageous.

Not suitable to site a new school in Strathcona road

The area has three schools adjacent to this site already. Traffic is already gridlocked by these schools, residents will be blocked in as there is only one way in and out of this site.

Proposed change of location of Islamic primary school

I strongly oppose this change. I live very close to the area . Firstly no local residents have been informed of this , I got a leaflet drop today (04/11) telling me the consultation period is 28/09/22 to 19/11/22 & a consultation meeting will be held on 09/11/22. This is an event day area, Brent council ignored the residents on this issue so parking is an absolute nightmare in the area. This is a residential area with one bus route that is always delayed as you can only get one car on the roads due to heavy traffic and full capacity cars constantly parked . Most of the primary schools in the area old & new have been extended and are now undersubscribed . The proposed area is on an industrial estate not suitable for young children but we just cannot cope with the volume of current traffic or non availability of parking in this area. It’s madness that parents with young children have to travel from NW6 to South Kenton . Is there another agenda to close that school for developers to build flats to make lots of money . Not one local resident was aware of this proposal until recently . I object to this and hope Brent planners don’t approve it. I’ve also heard it’s a done deal . If this is the case it’s illegal without proper consultation.

Another school is not needed here – will undoubtedly cause more severe traffic.

This school has no link to this area and does not belong here. It will only serve to exacerbate the existing terrible traffic issues that residents like myself currently have to suffer during school drop-off and pick-up times on Carlton Avenue East and surrounding roads.

I have witnessed and taken photos of illegal parking, blocking of drives, driving on pavements etc. which were shared with the council. We have only just recovered from the ill-considered LTN schemes and now Brent Council is looking to foist this new silly proposal on long suffering local residents, which will actually increase traffic further! This will only lead to increased risks for residents, road users and pedestrians, including school children. Residents' considerations need to be first and foremost, as we will have to live with the consequences of yet another scheme serving outside interests.

There is already enough school provision in the area, and any further requirement should be met through existing schools and serve the entire community, rather than any specific group. Moreover, Strathcona Road is certainly not an appropriate location, and option 1 should be firmly rejected. Of the available options, I support option 2 – if this school continues, it should be somewhere closer to its current location, where the above issues do not exist and local links are already present.

Too many schools in close proximity

I do not agree with the proposal, there are already 2 other schools in close proximity to the location proposed. These are Byron court primary and Preston park primary. There are extreme challenges at present with parking and traffic and the introduction of another school, will add to what is already a huge problem. The increase in cars will add to traffic, pollution, noise in our area.

I would suggest an alternative location be found for the school.

I do hope this proposal is shared with the neighbourhood and proper consultation and feedback gathered before proceeding. I urge you to write to each household in the area and seek proper feedback before proceeding with what I would refer is a poor proposal with sub standard options.

Remove this school and other faith based schools

Ever since Brexit secular schools have less students than they have the capacity for. Faith based schools should be reduced as much as possible and those students integrated into the secular schools that now have space. It is important for children to experience as much diversity as possible from a young age.

We don't need another school

This area cannot cope with another school. Strathcona Road is very narrow and cannot cope with the traffic. The traffic during school times on Carlton Avenue East is terrible with people illegally parking, blocking drives, driving on pavements, numerous accidents have happened etc. It is dangerous.

When Roe Green Strathcona was closed, extra school places were allocated to surrounding schools. Most schools in the local area are not fully subscribed so we do not need yet another school in the area especially one where most kids will be needed to be dropped off by car.

Brent Council was intent on low traffic neighbourhoods and this proposal is any thing but low traffic.

Why was Roe Green Strathcona forced to close? why are all those reasons not valid anymore? Stop being so two faced Brent Council

I vote for Option 2. The options presented are terrible by the way. How can it be either close the school or relocate to where no one wants it! has brent council seriously considered alternatives???

Will Brent Council reopen the road that leads to East Lane instead of a private gate for a privileged few?

Relocate Islamia Primary School to Wembley

I think relocating the Islamia Primary School to Wembley is a great idea! Wembley is already a very multicultural area and the addition of this school will further encourage that multicultural tradition. We proudly have other faith schools such as Catholic and Jewish schools in our local areas and I think the addition of an Islamic school will reflect even more so the diversity we are so proud of.

Where there’s a will, there’s a way!

It’s really saddening that the Council, the Governing Body and the Foundation have all agreed on either moving 6 miles away or ceast to exist. No other options are given. How is this acceptable? The Council must and can do better!

 

 

UNICEF: Over 27 million children at risk as devastating floods set records across the world

From UNICEF

 

SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt/GENEVA/NEW YORK, 8 November 2022 - As COP27 gets underway in Egypt, UNICEF warns this year has brought overwhelming flooding to at least 27.7 million children in 27 countries worldwide. 

A large majority of the 27.7 million children* affected by flooding in 2022 are among the most vulnerable and are at high risk of a multitude of threats including death by drowning, disease outbreaks, lack of safe drinking water, malnutrition, disruption in learning, and violence.  

“We are seeing unprecedented levels of flooding all around the world this year, and with it, an explosion in threats to children,” said Paloma Escudero, head of the UNICEF delegation for COP27. “The climate crisis is here. In many places, the flooding is the worst it has been in a generation, or several. Our children are already suffering at a scale their parents never did.”  

The aftermath of floods is often more deadly for children than the extreme weather events that caused the flooding. In 2022, floods have contributed to the increased spread of major killers of children, such as malnutrition, malaria, cholera and diarrhea:  

• In Pakistan, more than 1 in 9 children under five admitted to health facilities in flood-affected areas of Sindh and Balochistan were found to be suffering from severe acute malnutrition. 
• In Chad, 465,030 hectares of farmland were destroyed, worsening the already dire food insecurity situation. 
• In Malawi, torrential rains and flooding by tropical storm Ana in January 2022 caused extensive damage to water and sanitation systems, which created the perfect conditions for a cholera outbreak. The outbreak has claimed the lives of 203 people, out of which 28 are children. To date, 1,631 children have been infected with cholera. 
• Together with other climate shocks and conflict, floods have caused the projected number of children in South Sudan facing high levels of food insecurity to surpass the rates seen during the conflict in 2013 and 2016. Additionally, the United Nations recently warned that some communities are likely to face starvation if humanitarian assistance is not sustained and climate adaptation measures are not scaled-up.  

In addition to threatening the lives of millions of children, the flood waters have disrupted essential services and displaced countless families:  

• The recent floods in Pakistan damaged or destroyed nearly 27,000 school buildings, forcing 2 million children to miss school. 
• In South Sudan, 95 UNICEF supported nutrition sites have been affected by floods, hampering the delivery of life-saving and preventative malnutrition services for 92,000 children. 
• An estimated 840,000 children were displaced by floods in Nigeria in recent months.  
• Heavy rains and flooding in Yemen triggered floods causing extensive damage to shelters in displacement sites. Up to 73,854 households were affected, and 24,000 households were displaced.  

“COP27 provides an opportunity to chart a credible roadmap with clear milestones for finance for climate adaptation and solutions for loss and damage,” said Paloma Escudero. “Young people from the most affected places on Earth are drowning in climate inaction. Enough is enough. Lives are on the line – children need action now.” 

As well as pressing governments and big business to rapidly reduce emissions, UNICEF urges leaders to take immediate action to protect children from climate devastation by adapting the critical social services they rely on.Adaptation measures, like creating water, health and education systems that stand up to flooding and drought, will save lives. 

Last year, developed countries agreed to double support for adaptation to $40 billion a year by 2025. At COP27, they must present a credible roadmap with clear milestones on how this will be delivered, as a step to delivering at least $300bn per year for adaptation by 2030. At least half of all climate finance should flow towards adaptation. 

UNICEF also urges parties to find solutions to support those who will face climate losses and damages beyond the limits of what communities can adapt to. UNICEF is calling on governments to close the finance gap for addressing these irreversible changes for children. 

AT COP27, UNICEF CALLS ON ALL PARTIES TO:  

1. PREVENT. Revisit their national climate plans to cut emissions drastically and urgently to prevent a climate catastrophe. 
2. PROTECT. Secure clear action on adaptation that protects every child from the accelerating impacts of climate change through the Global Stocktake and Global Goal on Adaptation 
3. PREPARE. Advance climate change education and meaningful participation to prepare children and youth through the Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) Action Plan 
4. PRIORITIZE. children and youth by accelerating climate finance investment in climate-resilient social services that reach the most at-risk children, and unlock progress on loss and damage 
5. Commit to child-sensitive climate action by aligning with and operationalizing the Declaration on Children, Youth and Climate Action  

UNICEF’s immediate humanitarian response to flood affected countries is wide-ranging across all sectors: health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), child protection, and education. A lack of funding, however, has hampered the response in many countries. For instance, the funding gap for the humanitarian response in Pakistan currently stands at 85 per cent.  

UNICEF is working to strengthen resilience of communities and health infrastructure to withstand disaster-related hazards, and increasingly linking our work on humanitarian response and longer-term climate adaptation.

Barry Gardiner intervenes in Newland Court planning application issues

 

Barry Gardiner has written to Brent Council CEO regarding concerns over the Council's planning application for Newland Court in Wembley Park:

Dear Ms Downs,

 

Our Ref: WL / ZA36316

Newland Court Garages, Forty Avenue, Wembley – Planning Application Reference: 22/3124
Alternative Reference: PP-11328951

 

I write on behalf of a number of constituents regarding their concerns for the planning proposals at Newland Court. I would ask that this correspondence be considered as part of the formal consultation.

 

As you are aware, I do not normally intervene in planning matters unless they have major infrastructure implications or where there is a suggestion that there may have been a failure of process.

 

In the case of Newland Court I refer to Brent’s Responsible Growth Strategy and Borough Plan. They set out a number of themes primarily: affordability, equity, sustainability and inclusivity. I am concerned that these themes may not have been sufficiently considered during the consultation process.

 

The proposed reduction of parking spaces from 40 to 12, will certainly affect the existing residents of the 60 flats at Newland Court.

 

I understand there are at least 5 disabled blue badge users living in Newland Court. It is my understanding that there are no plans to provide disabled parking bays. One of the primary benefits of disabled parking is that it ensures disabled residents have ease of access to their property. I am concerned that the accessibility of Newland Court for disabled residents will be severely restricted. This relates to the principle of inclusivity.

 

Many residents in Newland Court are reliant on vehicles for their work, and their salary does not typically permit a sudden increase in monthly outgoings. I am concerned that there may be significant financial implications for these groups should they be forced to seek parking elsewhere, aside from the inconvenience and impact it will have on their employment. This relates to the principle of affordability.

 

Security has been a long-standing issue at Newland Court and Grendon Gardens, particularly in relation to non-residents using communal areas and engaging in anti-social behaviour. I am concerned that the proposals will encourage greater use of the area and lead to increased problems of unauthorised access impacting on the security of vulnerable residents.

 

I am also informed that there have been long-standing issues at Newland Court and Grendon Gardens regarding refuse collection and that the proposal would reduce the number of refuse bins from 14 to 6. Given that the current bins already regularly overflow residents are unhappy with this aspect of the proposal. This relates to the principle of sustainability.

 

Please advise what weight was given to residents’ concerns in this regard when considering this application and how it conforms to the principles set out in the Borough Plan and Brent’s Responsible Growth Strategy.

 

Thank you for your attention to this matter and I look forward to your response.

 

Yours sincerely,

Barry Gardiner

Member of Parliament for Brent North

 

Only limited response by Labour Group members to Whip's survey aimed at listening to them

Brent Labour Whip, Steve Crabb, is trying hard to improve 2-way communication with his Labour Group colleagues, with limited success.

A recent survey of the 49 strong group achieved only 27 responses. 

Of the 27 most felt the length of Labour Group meetings and content  was about right but wanted more financial debate and data that would help them measure the Council's performance standards.

Ahead of the Labour Group Away Day, that will include a personality assessment, ('how our character, our outlook and our lived experience, shape the way we work individually and as part of a team;) the survey found only 8 members had not undertaken any personality questionnaire  and 11 had completed the Myers Brigg test LINK.

Brent MP to speak at West London Enough is Enough! Rally at Willesden Green Mosque, Friday November 11th 7pm

 

Brent Central Labour MP, Dawn Butler is to speak at the West London Enough is Enough! Rally on Friday, alongside Mick Lynch of the RMT and Jo Grady of the UCU.

Reserve FREE tickets HERE. 

The Rally begins at 7pm. The Mosque (Central Mosque of Brent)  is at the end of Station Parade.  Turn left when you leave Willesden Green station and walk along Station Parade,  parallel with the tube line.