Lib Dems seek more effective and independent scrutiny in Brent

 The Liberal Democrat Group have tabled an a constitutional amendment for Wednesday's Council AGM aimed at improving the independence of Scrutiny in the Labour council:

Effective Scrutiny in Brent

 

The House of Commons Communities and Local Government Committee investigated the issue of “effective scrutiny” during the 2017/19 Parliamentary term.

 

Their remit of their work is in the title of the report they produced, “Effectiveness of local authors Scrutiny and Overview Committees”.

 

The Committee report: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmcomloc/369/369.pdf

 

Discussed and expressed views on a number of topics including:

 

Importance of Council culture and attitude to Scrutiny

Scrutiny independence

Appointment of Chairs

Resources for Scrutiny

Officer attitude 

Reporting of Scrutiny findings & recommendations

Public perceptions

 

One of the key conclusions was that Scrutiny should be as independent of the Executive as possible and the fact that this independence should be both real and visible.

 

Councillors can read the House Commons Report and come to their own conclusions.

 

To safeguard the effectiveness and independence of the Brent Scrutiny Committees we propose the following changes to the Brent Council Constitution:

 

1. Reports of the Scrutiny Committees and Task Groups are reported to the Full Council (and not to the Executive) and if decisions are required these are taken by a vote of all Councillors present.

 

2. To ensure that individual Scrutiny Committees are not overloaded and more able to cope with the required workload. The Council will establish a Scrutiny Committee to mirror the Departmental Structure of the organisation to cover the work and responsibilities of each of the Executive Directors including the Chief Executive. If this structure is achieved the Chairs of these Scrutiny Committees will be shared between all the Groups on the Council with every Opposition Group being allocated at least one Committee to Chair.

 

3. To emphasise the independence of Scrutiny from the Executive the Chairs of Scrutiny will come from the Opposition Groups (rather than being selected the Executive or the Majority Group) and either shared between the Opposition Groups or voted on at a Full Council meeting.

Campaign launched for a low-rise sustainable development as an alternative to Ballymore's tower based proposal at Ladbroke Grove Sainsbury's site

 

We have covered several major developments on the borders of Brent because they will affect our local residents  including Brent Cross, Old Oak and O2 Centre at Finchley Road.  Now a major development of the Ladbroke  Sainsbury's site is the subject of a campaign by Kensal Triangle Residents' Association under the banner of Keep Kensal Green.

The Association wants a low rise sustainable development as an alternative to the tower blocks proposed by Ballymore and cite the Unity Place development in South Kilburn as a potential model. The campaign say that nearby residents in Brent should have been consulted:

Climate change threatens every part of the planet. The solution at local level requires collaboration between council, planners and residents.

Our mission is to promote an alternative proposal that provides affordable housing, more trees and green spaces; a plan that our local community can get engaged with that meets environmental standards

This campaign is being organised by KTRA (Kensal Triangle Residents Association) co-ordinating with the wider community in North Kensington, Ladbroke Grove and Notting Hill Gate.

We need 30,000 signatures to stop Ballymore’s existing large scale development in favour of a smaller, low rise, sustainable alternative which has the potential to provide North Kensington with attractive affordable canal-side accommodation which could be the pride of the community. (See our website for details)

 

The proposal

 

Campaigners' illustration of a possible lower rise development

Jude Allen, petition organiser and producers of the above video said:

In 2021, Ballymore announced a strategic partnership with Sainsbury’s to build “Project Flourish”, a £1.7 billion regeneration scheme with 3,500 housing units on the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’s last remaining brownfield site.

This large scale development which stretches over 18 acres from Ladbroke Grove to North Kensington, features a bigger Sainsbury's surrounded by 20-30 storey high tower blocks, completely at odds with the low rise residential housing of the surrounding area. 

As a local resident, I made the video to provide more information about the development and raise awareness about its potential impact on our local community and the environment.

If we don't stop this development there will be increased traffic, more pollution, 10 years of noisy construction work and following the Southall Gasworks health scare reported in the Guardian on 27, April 2023, potential health risks to local residents from digging up contaminated land on the historical Kensal Gasworks site.

We only have 2 months left to object to this development before Ballymore submit their planning application to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea at the end of June.  

 PETITION SITE

Lib Dems propose new Consultative Group for Barham Park to scrutinise Trustees' decisions

The Barham Park Trust Committee has often been under scrutiny, most recently  over its role in the current proposal to build 4 3 storey houses in Barham Park.  Currently the Committee is made up of Cabinet members, chaired by Brent Council leader Muhammed Butt,

The Brent Liberal Democrat Group is proposing an amendment to the Brent Council constitution, to be heard at the AGM on Wednesday, that would make the Trustees more accounable to local people and improve transparency.

 

Barham Park used to be the home of a number of local benefactors - from 1801 until 1872 by the Copland family and from mid 1890s until 1937 by the Barham family.

 

The Copland sisters built a local cottage hospital, a local church school, a training institute and library and paid for the building of St John’s Church on the Sudbury end of Wembley High Road.

 

The Barham family, who created Express Dairies, owned farms and businesses in the local area and throughout London. Titus Barham contributed land and money to the Sylvester Road Tennis & Squash Club, a Snooker Club in Harrow Road (both are still active 100 years later), raised money and provided the land for Wembley Hospital. Barham Primary school sits on former Barham farmland.

 

Titus Barham was to be the first Charter Mayor of newly formed Wembley Borough Council but sadly died on the very day the Charter was due to be awarded in July 1937.

 

His greatest bequest to our area was however the gift of his substantial Home and Gardens for the “enjoyment of local people”. That gift became Barham Park, and it is where the Barham Veterans Club was created in 1946 and Barham Park Library opened in 1952.

 

The Veterans Club still exists but the public library was closed in 2011.

 

Most of the rest of the buildings have been leased to ACAVA for 29 artist studios. Barham Community Library run by volunteers moved into part of the building in 2016 and Nepalese ex Gurkha organisation now occupy another part.

 

The Council holds the Charitable endowment through the Barham Park Charity. The 5 Trustees of this charity are members of the Council Executive.

 

The Park and its buildings are part of the Council’s Parks portfolio. Because of the bequest the Council holds the Park on Trust for the benefit of local people.

 

The Park and its buildings are in need of investment. In recent years there have been long running deliberations on what needs doing with very little progress.

 

The Barham Park Trust Committee meets infrequently, and decisions made by officers under delegated authority are in effect dealt in secret without any effective scrutiny.

 

Despite the Park being gifted for the enjoyment of local people - local people are not involved and feel neglected.

 

To address this we resolve to:

 

Create a Barham Park Consultative Group with the role of oversight and scrutiny of the management of the Park and its buildings.

The Group will be supported by officers of the Council and meet 4 times per year.

 

The membership will be chosen from representatives of local residents and current tenants of the building. Local Councillors will be able to attend but not have any voting rights. The chair of the Group will be elected from the resident members.

 

The main purpose of the Group will be to scrutinise the running and management of the Park and its buildings, review decisions proposed by the Trustees and Officers and to make suggestions and raise any issues.

 

The full terms of reference for the Group to be drafted by legal officers and agreed at an early meeting of the Constitutional Working Group.

 

Proposed by the Brent Liberal Democrat Group

The Left and the Labour Party After Jeremy Corbyn - Kensal Rise Library, Saturday May 20th 2pm-3.30pm

 

 

Dr Mike Phipps will be in conversation with Professor Alex Colas about Mike’s book Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow: The Labour Party after Jeremy Corbyn (OR Books, 2022).

With time for Q and A and contributions from the floor.

 

 

 

Much has been written about the four and a half years of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party, but far less analysis has appeared on the tumultuous events since. This discussion will consider the reasons behind Labour’s 2019 defeat, from longer term factors like the international decline of social democracy and the loss of long-held Labour seats in the post-industrial ‘red wall’, to more immediate issues such as the leadership of Corbyn, the role played by Brexit, and Labour’s policies and campaign. We  will also look at how the left stands since then and what it needs to do to regain its sense of purpose.

 

Time; 2pm – 3.30pm

 

Date: Saturday May 20th

 

Venue: The Dave Williams Room, Kensal Rise Library, Bathurst Gardens, London NW10.

Nearest stations: Kensal Green; Kensal Rise. Buses: 187, 6, 52, 302, 18.

 

Refreshments provided.

 

Mike Phipps is a member of Brent Central Labour Party and of the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy Executive Committee. He is co-editor of the Labour Hub website.

 

Alex Colas teaches international politics at Birkbeck, University of London and is political education officer for Brent Central Labour Party.

 

Signed copies of the book, which can also be ordered at https://www.orbooks.com/catalog/dont-stop-thinking-about-tomorrow/, will be available on the day.

Brent Tory Councillor puts a brake on ULEZ protest

 

A senior Conservative councillor, well known as the 'motorist's champion', has slapped down a proposal by Brent North Conservative members to stage a protest about the ULEZ extension, at Brent Council's Annual General Meeting, on Wednesday.

They were told in no uncertain terms that the AGM, dominated by the formal induction of a new Mayor and Deputy, was an occasion where a demonstration was not the 'done thing'.

The Ultra Low Emission Zone expansion is due to come into effect on August 29th,

Brent Labour Group's campaign 'war chest'

It was interesting to see the Brent Labour Group accounts for 2022, local election year, that were presented at the recent AGM.  The accounts are straight-forward and there is nothing 'dodgy' in them as far as I can see but they do have implications for local democracy.

Most elected councillors, from whatever political party, pay a contribution from their allowance (not 'pay') to their party. In 2022 that contribution by Brent Labour councillors totalled c£95,000 while campaigning costs in election year were slightly higher at c£98,000.

The basic councillor allowance is not huge but can be built up with additional allowances for chairing committes, Brent Connects etc as well as special allowances for the leader and cabinet membership.

There is an unfortunate side effect of this in that there is an incentive to maximise the Labour Group income by awarding as many such positions to Labour councillors as possible.  Hence the failure of opposition moves early in the new administration to appoint Scrutiny Committee chairs from the opposition benches. Such appointment may be good for local democracy but not good for the coffers...

There is also an incentive, within the limited overall budget of more than £1m annually, to create additional positions that carry an allowance. 

Over the 4 year period of the current administration the total accrued to Labour Group funds will be c£380,000.  This is a significant fund and gives Labour a distinct advantage over other local parties for campaigning at the next election although there are statutory limits to such expenditure.  As long as Labour gains election success an in-year loss in election year can be more than recovered.

A further issue suggested by Labour insiders is that because most additional appointments are made by the Leader rather than elected by the group, it gives him/her considerable control over the current and potential financial well-being of members. Displeasing the leader may mean little chance of achieving a position in the adminstration that carries an additional allowance.

NOTE - the 2023-24 appointments are on the Agenda for the Brent Council AGM on Wednesday 17th May but details have not yet been published in the Appendices. The General Purpose Committee consists of Cabinet members plus one opposition councillor.

WhatsApp TikTok: #TheEnvironment Monday June 5th 6.30pm on zoom

 

WhatsApp TikTok: #TheEnvironment2

Monday June 5 2023, 6.30-8.30pm BST

Zoom
Click here to book
Environment-focused WhatsApp & Tik Tok videos curated by Kwaku. Nana Asante moderates discussion on what we can or should learn from them.

BTWSC/AHR, BBM/BMC, TAOBQ in association with Eco-Conscious Citizens mark World Environment Day on Monday June 5 2023 - theme: “Invest in Our Planet.”

No long thing - just some nice vibes for you, family and friends to sit through one session, watch and discuss some of the videos that came to us over the last year or so via WhatsApp or Tik Tok, which speak to various global and Ghanaian environmental issues.

Curated and led by Kwaku BBM and moderated by community & environment activist Sis Nana Asante.

A family-friendly event organised by BTWSC/African Histories Revisited, BBM/BMC (BritishBlackMusicMusic.com/Black Music Congress) and TAOBQ (The African Or Black Question) in association with Eco-Conscious Citizens.

Double Success for Social Enterprise Lexi Cinema at Brent Council Design Awards 2023

 

The Lexi thanks the community for its support for the funding of a second screen

 

The winners of the Brent Council Design Awards 2023 were announced on Thursday and the Lexi Cinema in Kensal Rise came out with two awards The People's Choice, voted on my local residents, and Culture and Heritage decided by the panel chaired by Cllr Shama Tatler,  Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Planning and Growth that included 'a mix of industry experts and local community representatives.'

Brent Council said:

The awards were created to celebrate high-quality design in the borough, rewarding the most inspiring buildings and spaces that have a positive impact in the community and enrich the lives of residents.

The Lexi Cinema, the only social enterprise cinema in London, had expanded its premises to include a second screen with accessible space for wheelchair users.

Almost 30 projects were shortlisted and the winners were announced at a special ceremony in Brent Civic Centre on Thursday 11 May.

The winners were:

Mixed-Use Development, Grand Union. Alperton

New Residential - Unity Place, South Kilburn

 

 

New Small Project - Lonsdale Road, Queens Park

 

 

 

Culture and Heritage - Lexi Cinema, Kensal Rise

 

 

 

Public Realm and Landscape - Wembley, Ealing Road & Neasden Town Centres Public Art Programme

 

 

Highly commended

• Mixed-use Development - Moberly Sports Centre, Kensal Rise and Ferrum, Wembley Park
• New Small Project - Periscope House, Queens Park
• Culture and Heritage - Harrow Road, Kensal Green and The Granville, South Kilburn
• Public Realm and Landscape - Samovar Space, Wembley Park