Veolia concerns should be taken seriously - Lib Dem councillor

Cllr Ann Hunter (Lib Dem) brought up the issue of the West London Waste contract at the Council meeting on July 11th with a question to Cllr James Powney. The minutes of the meeting have just been published and the exchange is set out below:

Councillor Hunter stated that she understood lead members had received representations from residents asking that Veolia be excluded from the current procurement exercise for waste disposal because they felt the company had demonstrated racist recruitment practices with reference to its activities in the West Bank and Israel. Councillor Powney replied that West London Waste was embarking on a waste procurement exercise and it could not jeopardise this by not following the proper processes. Councillor Hunter responded by saying that she would like to see West London Waste take the concerns of local residents seriously and that she had been shocked to see the advertisement for jobs on the Jerusalem Light Railway which effectively prevented the majority of local Palestinian citizens from applying. She asked how it could be allowed that Veolia was treated as a suitable contractor and felt that the matter needed to be given serious consideration.

 Residents who share the concerns should see the letter Human Right campaigners are sending to the Council HERE and if they wish to sign it send their name. e-mail and postcode to:nernier@gmail.com

Stanmore Park By-Election Result

Marilyn Ashton has been elected as the ward councillor for Stanmore Park. The Conservative candidate received 1,395 votes, 58% of the votes cast. Turnout was 28%.

Labour candidate Niraj Dattani received 509 votes; independent candidate Eric Silver received 299 votes; Liberal Democrat Sylvia Warshaw, 98 votes; Green Party Linda Robinson, 53 votes; and UK Independence Party Herbert Crossman, 48 votes.

Human Rights Activists Call for Veolia Exclusion from Major Waste Contract

Human Rights campaigners in six London boroughs, including Brent and Harrow, are seeking support for their efforts to get Veolia excluded from the current bidding process for the multi-million West London Waste Management Contract. The contract covers Brent, Ealing, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow and Richmond.

The campaign is based on allegations that Veolia, a French multi-national, has demonstrated racist practices in its recruitment policies and has been guilty of grave misconduct through its active participation in violations of international and humanitarian laws and norms.

Campaigners are asking residents of the six boroughs to sign a letter to the West London Waste Authority which sets out the case LINK

If you would like to sign the letter please send your name, borough and postcode to:
nernier@gmail.com

Chalkhill is on the way up

Anyone involved with schools knows that it takes years to build up a good reputation in a community but that this can be destroyed by a single event. Unhappily a bad reputation can hang around for years becoming an unquestioned assumption locally despite any evidence to the contrary. Unfortunately a single event cannot change this overnight. Things are worse if the community around the school has a historically determined 'bad' reputation even though that community may have been transformed.  Restoring a school's reputation is a long hard slog that requires dedication from staff and governors and a group of parents who believe in the school - and a local authority that will back it.

That enormous effort  is paying off at Chalkhill Primary where I am one of the governors. Ofsted visited at the end of the summer term and deemed it a good and improving school with some outstanding features. A few years ago it had been a  'failing school'  and in special measures.

The extract from the Ofsted Report below indicates the substantial gains that have been made:

Chalkhill Primary is a good and improving school. Pupils achieve well and thoroughly enjoy learning. It is very popular with pupils, parents and carers. There is a strong commitment from all staff to provide each pupil with the best possible education. Parents, carers and pupils appreciate the excellent quality care provided by the school and good quality learning opportunities. One parental comment summed up the views of the majority saying, ‘Chalkhill has improved a lot in recent years. The school is welcoming and children are supported in their learning very effectively. There is good after-school provision. Teachers are very committed and my child really enjoys his learning.’ Pupils confirmed an equally positive view: ‘We like the way the school takes care of us and makes learning fun.’

The headteacher, governors and senior management team provide strong leadership and clear educational direction which is ensuring good outcomes.

These are the key strengths of the school.
Pupils achieve well and make good progress throughout the school in all aspects of their learning because teaching and learning are good.
Care, guidance and support are outstanding; pupils and their families feel extremely well supported by the school.
Relationships are strong and the school ethos is warm and welcoming and consequently pupils make good gains in their personal development.
Pupils gain excellent knowledge and awareness of how to stay fit and healthy and lead an active lifestyle. ‘Wake up-shake up’ is enjoyed by pupils, staff, parents and carers.
Children get off to a confident start in the Early Years Foundation Stage because provision is good.
The quality of singing is good throughout the school. The school has gained the Gold Sing Up award.
Good links with parents, carers and the local community contribute effectively to the provision.
Community cohesion is good at school, local, national and international levels.
Good partnership links with other external agencies enrich the provision and enable pupils to benefit from additional academic and cultural activities.

The Report illustrates the fact that a school is much more than its SAT results and shows that Chalkhill is providing a well-rounded education for its children. Furthermore it is becoming a positive focus for the local community and helping to raise its aspirations. Chalkhill is on the way up!

Congratulations to staff, pupils and parents.

Work on Chalkhill Park to start in October

School Councillors at Chalkhill Primary have received a response from the ward councillors to their letter asking when work on the new park on the site of the old  Chalkhill Health Centre will start and be completed:

Thank you for taking the trouble to write to us about the proposed park in Chalkhill. It was a pleasure to meet you on our walkabout and it is clear to us that you feel very strongly about this issue.

We share your concern that it seems to have taken a very long time to get things started. However, the good news is that we now expect work to start on the site in October. If everything goes to schedule, this should mean that the park will be completed by April next year to open in May 2012. This will mean that, by this time next year you should be able to look forward to your summer holidays with a lovely park to play in and enjoy.

We will let you know if there are any changes to these plans. Do get in touch again if there is anything else you would like us to look into for you.

Keeping Up with Brent Cuts

I reproduce below an extract from the weekly digest of the local press I circulate to Brent Green Party members. It provides an over-view of the latest news on cuts. The Willesden and Brent Times (WBT) e-edition can be accessed HERE  and the Harrow Times HERE

The contrast between Ann John's comments and the WBT editorial is interesting. The financial reasoning behind the Kingsbury High School academy decision is also significant.

HOW CAN WE AFFORD NEW CIVIC CENTRE WWOp14 (lead letter),  PLAN WILL COST US FOR NEXT 25 YEARS WBTp16, HOW WILL THIS BE PAID FOR? HTp24 Letter from Shahrar Ali as Green Party GLA candidate for Brent and Harrow questioning the financial and environmental claims made for the new Civic Centre currently under construction.
ROAD SWEEPING REDUCTIONS 'WILL MAKE US THE DIRTIEST OLYMPIC BOROUGH' WBTp2 Martin Francis criticises Brent Council's proposed cuts in street cleaning and the abandonment of the seasonal leaf service.
LIBRARY PLANS ARE 'UNLAWFUL' WWOp1 Coverage of the first day in court of library campaigners' application for a judicial review of the Council's decision to close 6 of the 12 Brent libraries. The claim is that the decision failed  to take into account local needs, could lead to indirect discrimination and that the decision was 'predetermined'.
LIBRARY SELL-OFFS ON HOLD WBTp4 Council plans to sell-off two library sites were deferred until August at Monday's Executive due to the judicial review.
JOBS FEAR AS HOSPITALS TRUST FACES £92M FUNDING CUT WBTp2 The NW London Trust (Central Middlesex, Northwick Park, St Marks) is to lose 24% of its budget. Doctors say that it cannot achieve these savings and will fall short by £25-40m.  Health Emergency say that 'it is the people whose care can be put off who will suffer. It is people waiting for operations, older people who need long term treatment and front line staff who will lose out. If staff do not lose their jobs, their their workload will increase....The government has asked for a cut too far'.
CALL FOR ACTION OVER HOSPITAL WAITING LISTS WBTp5 Hospital waiting lists have soared by 10% in Brent with 3,000 people on the lists.  Cllr Zaffar Kalwala (Labour, Stonebridge) says expected cuts will make it worse. The Trust confirmed the rise but said they are on track to better their 18 week target for referrals within the Trust.
NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICE REVAMP IS 'NOT TO MUCH TO WORRY ABOUT WBTp5 21 sergeants in the Safer Neighbourhood Teams will have to reapply for the 16 jobs that will remain after cuts. Chief Supt Gardner said that the wards to be reduced are still being considered but that the issue had been anticipated and that Brent invested in three detective sergeants and four detective constables to investigate neighbourhood crime ;so in fact this will not impact on Brent'.
HOMELESSNESS TO 'SOAR' AS CUTS BITE SAYS CHARITY WBTp9 Cricklewood Homeless Concern say that reductions to public sector provision and caps on housing benefit have led to a 'sharp increase' in homelessness. CHC after 20% cuts is struggling to deal with the average 150 people a week who seek their help. More than 10,000 people in Brent are affected by the benefit cap and are already in force for new claimants and will affect existing claimants early next year.
GOVERNORS VOTE FOR ACADEMY PLAN HTp8 The Chair of Governors of Kingsbury High says that one of the reasons for applying for academy status was their need for increased funding  because the equalisation of funding between 6th forms and further education colleges means they would lose £1,016 per student in their 400 pupil 6th form by 2013. FUNDING OF FESTIVALS WILL STOP WBTp2 Brent Executive cut the money for religious festivals in the borough on Monday saying it was unfair to give the money to certain religious festivals. Cllr Paul Lorber said the religious celebration had been open to all and were designed to improve relations between communities. In answer to his question about th Council's retention of fireworks night Cllr Ann John said this had been retained for health and safety and not religious reasons.
MANY SERVICES ARE STILL BEING IMPROVED DESPITE CUTS WBTp15 Column by Ann John, Labour leader of Brent Council who says that despite the cuts 'it is not all doom and gloom' because regeneration is continuing and they've resisted government attempts to force up council rents to unaffordable levels.  She says the Council is making Brent a greener borough through schemes to increase recycling, tackle fly-tipping and getting rid of old inefficient buildings.
COUNCIL MUST LISTEN TO VOICE OF THE PEOPLE WBTp16 Editorial which says that campaigners on various issues could 'hardly have failed to have noticed that the town hall is ignoring your views'. They cite the libraries issue, parking permits and day care centres. On the Stonebridge Day Centre they say, 'Brent council will say they had no choice; but "following orders" is no excuse, the council should have fought to keep the centre, they could have found an alternative to closing it. They could have listened to the people who pay their salaries and expenses, whose votes they canvass for at elections - the very people they are supposed to represent.'

Kingsbury High NOT Academy Campaign on Facebook

Support the students' campaign HERE

Kingsbury pupil: 'Academy status will not benefit us'

A report on the pupils' strike is now on the Willesden and Brent Times website HERE

Extract: One of the pupils, who asked not to be named, who took part in the demonstration said:

We all went into school but when the bell went everyone stayed in the playground. We stayed there for about an hour and students handed out leaflets. A meeting was called by the headteacher at 11.30am which we attended but we don’t feel our questions were answered properly. We don’t think academy status will benefit us. It can affect teachers pay and conditions and we don’t want our good teachers to leave. Funding isn’t guaranteed. Letters have been going to parents which are very one-sided.