Brent governors out in the cold on radical education proposals

School governors are the largest group of unpaid volunteers in the country and their role has become increasingly onerous with successive governments. They remain a vital chain in terms of the democratic accountability of schools with elected representatives from staff and parents, representatives from the local authority according to the political make up of the local council, and co-opted members of the local community. They oversee the strategic management of the school and provision on special needs,equality,  child protection, health and safety and safe recruitment. They have a specific role in terms of financial management and the setting of the school priorities.

You would think that given all the above that the local authority would be working closely with Brent governors in the current state of educational flux where all sorts of proposals for future education provision are being mooted. Unfortunately this is not the case,

Last year, following rumours that some schools were looking at joining together in a Cooperative Trust or conversion to Cooperative Academy status I wrote to Cllr Mary Arnold, Brent Council's lead member for children and families to suggest a one day conference open to headteachers, governors and professional associations to discuss the issues. I followed this up with a letter to the Willesden and Brent Times calling for an open debate about the future of schools provision in Brent.

Unfortunately events have overtaken such a conference. Last night there was a meeting of the Wembley cluster of schools where headteachers invited their Chairs of Governors to head a speaker from the Cooperative College make a presentation on options open to schools. These were a Cooperative Education Improvement Partnership, becoming a Cooperative Trust School, joining a Cooperative Trust Cluster of Schools, becoming a Cooperative Academy, or becoming a Cooperative Trust Cluster Academy.  Just that sentence tells you how complicated the issue is. The Teachers Panels asked for a speaker to address the meeting for three minutes at the beginning but their request was refused. It was emphasised that this was an information giving meeting and not a decision making one. The meeting followed a similar presentation which was made just to Wembley headteachers. The Cooperative College has had separate discussion with the local authority.

Although there was some governor representation at that meeting there is none at a meeting which is happening about now. The School Improvement Service is presenting a possible model for future service provision in Brent where the Council will retain only core services and others will be handed over to a Social Enterprise or external providers. LINK This is quite similar to the Cooperative Education Improvement Partnership above. The local authority appears to be agreeing with those who say that the service cannot continue as it is, which makes it extremely hard for someone like me to argue that we should retain the local authority and not cooperate in its dissolution.

If the local authority is not offering services to schools or those that remain are inadequate, why stay with it? My main concern is that the alternatives remove or reduce local democratic accountability - the Cooperative College argue that their alternatives, including their Academy model, offer more accountability than other provision. I argue that it contributes to the break up of the post-war local authority school system and introduces privatisation and centralised control of schools at the same time.

Complicating the picture even more is that Brent Labour is holding a meeting about academies, free schools and other issues to which only Labour appointed governors have been invited along with teacher organisations. The full range of governors listed in my introduction are not being involved. I understand that the meeting is at the Stonebridge Hub on Wednesday January 18th.

So we end up with a picture where one group of Brent headteachers (Wembley) is discussing possible Cooperative arrangements but other headteachers are not involved. Chairs of governors in the cluster have had an initial briefing but other other governors and teacher associations have not been involved.

Governors and teacher associations have not been included in discussions of a new model for school improvement services and non-Labour governors have been excluded from a discussion organised by the Labour Party about academies and other issues.

I believe in the provision of full information to encourage transparency and open debate amongst all concerned. What is happening at the moment doe not provide that and instead feeds suspicion and feelings of exclusion. Not the way to reorganise vital provision such as schools and educational support services.

One person remarked after yesterday's meeting, "Did you notice that no one once mentioned the children?"

Something to think about.

Rousing seven minutes on all that's wrong with academies

Brilliant rousing stuff from  Christine Blower, General Secretary of the NUT, on the fight against acadsemies and free schools. She was speaking at Downshill Primary School in Haringey where a community campaign is resisting Michael Gove's attempt to force it to become an academy.

Beware - he may try similar things in Brent soon.

Only a few days left to have your say on future of Brent Town Hall

Brent Council is consulting on a Supplementary Planning Document for the future use of the Brent Town Hall once the new Civic Centre is open.  The consultation closes on Monday January 16th. CONSULTATION LINK

The Town Hall is a Grade 2 listed building.

The Council state:

In 2013, Brent Council is moving to a new state of the art New Civic Centre which means that our grade II listed Town Hall on Forty Lane, will be retired from civic duties.  The Town Hall has been at the centre of local governance in Brent since 1940; but is now unable to provide the facilities that our residents and clients expect of an efficient up to date public service.  However, the Council is very keen to ensure that the Town Hall has a dignified, productive and useful new life and to ensure this happens has produced a development guide for prospective new owners of the building.

A draft Development and Planning Brief for Brent Town Hall has been produced to help with the marketing and sales campaign and will help guide the expectations and aspirations of potential buyers. It gives helpful planning and listed building advice on appropriate new uses, alteration of the existing building and the potential for extensions and new development within the site.

It is intended that the Brief will be adopted as a “Supplementary Planning Document”, which will help confirm it as a standard by which future applications for alterations and additions to the building and the site will be judged.  Before the guide is adopted, the Council is keen to hear your opinions on its contents and has set up this consultation exercise to ensure that all views are considered and reported to the Councils’ Executive at the adoption meeting in March.  The consultation will close at 12:00noon on the 16th January 2012.

HS2: FOE lays down the line

Responding to reports that Transport Secretary Justine Greening will announce the first phase of work on the High Speed 2 rail link today (Tuesday 10 January 2012), Friends of the Earth Director of Policy and Campaigns Craig Bennett said:
 
"We need to revolutionise travel away from roads and planes - but pumping £32 billion into high speed travel for the wealthy few while ordinary commuters suffer is not the answer.
 
"High Speed rail has a role to play in developing a greener, faster transport system, but current plans won't do enough to cut emissions overall - Ministers should prioritise spending on improving local train and bus services instead.

"Just a fraction of the massive budget for High Speed 2 would rescue the 30,000 solar jobs under threat from Government cuts - investment of this kind would take us a lot further, faster to a safe and prosperous future."

Jenny Jones makes the case for a Green London Mayor

Leader of Brent Council under investigation

The Brent and Kilburn Times LINK is reporting that a allegation against Cllr Ann John, leader of Brent Council is being investigated by council officers. The allegation is that she told  Labour councillors on the Planning Committee, which is supposed to be independent and where councillors should make up their own minds, to vote against a 2010 application to turn the old Union Hall,  Union Road, Wembley into a Hindu place of worship.

The BKT saysthe complaint is said to have been made by one of her own party colleagues.Ann John told the paper that the allegations were a load of rubbish and she had nothing to hide.

Are we hearing the true voice of Brent Youth?

Protest against threatened youth centre closures last year

 In January 2010 Barry Gardiner MP accused the the Brent Council (Lib-Dem and Conservative Coalition) of trying to intimidate members of the Brent Youth Parliament and raised the issue in the House of Commons. My report on it HERE attracted  40 comments so it was clearly an issue people felt strongly about.

Two years on I have received a message from a local youth activist who wants to publicise what s/he sees as new problems. I believe in giving youth a voice so reprint what s/he wrote below and invite youth and those involved with the Youth Service and Youth Parliament to respond. I make no personal judgment about the veracity of the comments but it is important that the issue is aired.

Dear Blogger,

I see you are writing a blog about Wembley as this came up during my searches for Wembley news. It is very good indeed. I have recently been getting wind of anger from teenagers in Brent about the youth service.. people are complaining about officers taking control of youth activities and "children and young people" are being left out in the cold. I draw your attention to one Facebook status:

"I cannot believe that a Brent Council officer in the Youth Service can get away with refusing to allow Brent youth radio members to have a Lead Councillor present in a meeting with them and him.

 X is correct when he says that this is serious and suspicious stuff and exactly what the prime minister has been talking about.

Council officers need to be more accountable and transparent in their dealings.
More young people should be educated about the need to Vote."

Extremely worrying I'm sure you will agree. I am also hearing that the BYP or Brent Youth Parliament has had members arguing  the same thing.. One person contacted me saying:

"BYP has become rigged. We have elections next month and the officers are showcasing who they want to be elected. Nobody else stands a chance."

If something is written on the matter by yourself something could be done! Please consider it.

 Please use the Comment facility or send me an e-mail with your views.

BMYVOICE - YOUTH PARLIAMENT
BRENT YOUTH RADIO

Work less, consume less, LIVE more

This morning's Start the Week on Radio 4 had an interesting discussion on austerity and future economic models with an airing of New Economics Foundation ideas on a sustainable economy as well as reflections on the situation in Ireland. Well worth listening toAnthony Gormley, David Kynaston, Anna Coote and Fintan O'Toole get down to basics. Listen here:  LINK

'Oh Lucky Jim, I don't envy him' - more cuts ahead

In the old days of the Soviet Union there were a select group of journalists called  Kremlinologists whose job it was to analyse Soviet journals, party statements and even the order in which the Kremlin leadership stood at military parades in order to understand the subtle power shifts and policy differences within the apparently monolithic leadership.

I feel sometimes that I am performing a similar role regarding the Brent Council Labour leadership. Ann John, although not a Stalin, does rule extremely firmly, can be fierce to colleagues as well as enemies and takes few prisoners: a cross between the Iron Lady herself and Ann Robinson in her Weakest Link role. Cllr James Powney plays the part of a humourless and insensitive apparatchik convincingly. Neither can be said to have been a great PR success.

On this blog and in the press I have argued that Labour does itself no favours by claiming that the cuts are terrible but they are managing to make them without hurting anyone. That line appears to be shifting and the 'revisionist' Executive member who is leading on this is Cllr Jim Moher. Representing 'Brent Council with a human face' he has been prepared to engage, appearing on the platform at the Brent People's Assembly to debate the Council's cuts and being ready to admit in the Council chamber that there are some streets that are suffering as the result of the street sweeping cuts. His letter on libraries and Sarah Teather in the Brent and Kilburn Times this week is in sharp contrast to the comments about library campaigners that James Powney makes on his blog LINK (can you imagine him being called Jim or even Jimmy?).

Moher says: '... I accept that a lot of people have been upset by this particular cut' but qualifies this by going on to say, '(less so it seems, about the other £41m [cuts] to our services imposed  by Mrs Teather's government)'. Later he states, 'If however, the campaigners get leave to appeal and the Supreme Court overturn those other judgements, the council will have to change the decisions. That is our system of democracy. ' He says he understands why campaigners would want to appeal to the government 'to overturn an unpopular local council decision' but asks the legitimate question whether 'a cabal of ministers can interfere in decisions lawfully and democratically taken, when they are mainly responsible for the expenditure cuts which required the decision?'

My answer to his question would be 'Yes, if the cuts mean that the council is not meeting the requirement of national legislation to provide an adequate library service.'

Moher's change of tone, if it represents internal shifts of emphasis, or even power, within the Labour administration, does lead on to other questions. If the cuts in Brent's budget are so large (and they are enormous) does it mean that the Council is faced with an impossible task to maintain services at an adequate level? One example is that the number of park wardens has been cut from 17 to 5, with only 3 on duty at weekends. The number of park vehicles has been cut in line with staff reductions. Is it possible to lock and unlock parks and cemeteries, provide security, enforce the new Dog Orders, and deal with emergencies with that number of staff. What will be the impact on parks in terms of fly-tipping, anti-social behaviour, rough sleeping and public use if people no longer feel safe? Across the council fewer staff are doing more work and morale is often poor.

If it is an impossible task, what should the Council do about it? Well before the ACF budget presentations they have already ruled out an increase in Council Tax, so that option which would be unpopular but might save some services has gone. They have rejected not setting a budget on the grounds that cuts made by the Chief Executive Gareth Daniel and his team would be worse - although senior officers and the Labour leadership are so much in cahoots there probably wouldn't be any difference. That leaves the option of working with local people on a 'needs led' budget, working out exactly what would need to be spent to ensure quality local services, and campaigning with local residents and organisations for that budget - uniting with other Councils to take on the Coalition government.

Putting to one side the issue of whether the Council could have made different cuts and the particular issue of the new Civic Centre, which now looks rather redundant if the Council shrinks as much as forecast, Labour is faced with the problem that they are getting kicked in the teeth by the public because they are doing the Coalition's dirty work for them.

Cuts get passed down the line and this Spring we are going to see them arrive in the laps of school governing bodies. The Lib Dem PR machine has been busy suggesting that Sarah Teather is giving extra money to Brent schools via the Pupil Premium. It is true that the amount across the country has been increased and that entitlement has been widened, but the problem is that other parts of the education budget have been cut and ring-fencing removed. Brent will be particularly affected because two more secondary schools became academies last year, and there is a possibility that more will go before the financial year end. This will top-slice the education budget. Cuts will hit special educational needs funding, the music service, arts projects and other projects which add the real 'buzz' and creativity to pupils' learning,

Governors will be in a similar position to councillors: under pressure to make cuts to balance the budget but recognising that the cuts will damage the quality of children's education. In addition the staffing cuts will fall on teaching assistants and other support staff, the number of which expanded under the Labour government. They have been trained in special 'intervention projects' for group and 1 to 1 teaching of children who have fallen behind and have done much to raise standards in Brent schools, which are now above the national average in many areas despite the disadvantaged nature of much of the population.

These staff are paid low wages on a term-time only basis, often on short-term or agency contracts,and are mainly women, working class and members of an ethnic minority. They contribute enormously to schools as positive role models from the local community.

Tough times and decisions are ahead.

The range of education services provided by the Brent School Improvement Service and an account of their impact on raising standards can be seen HERE

Taking action on the housing crisis

Following the November housing crisis meeting at the Town Hall which was organised by Barry Gardiner MP for North Brent, Jacky Peacock has circulated the following notes on behalf of the Tenants Steering Group:
Comments and additional ideas on how to take things forward for private tenants are welcomed:

email jacky.peacock@bptrg.org

WEBSITE: www.bptrg.org

 

HOUSING CONDITIONS IN THE PRIVATE RENTED SECTOR

FOLLOW UP ON MEETING AT BRENT TOWN HALL ON 20 NOVEMBER

What is wrong	What should we do about it?
RENTS Rents are increasing by 5.7% annually -> due to increasing demand in renting properties (fewer people can afford to buy their own) Excessive rents are pushing poorer individuals out from the capital On average, the rent for a two-bedroom apartment in London costs 1,600 pounds -> 2.5 times more than in the rest of the UK As a result, poorer people will be squeezed out from the private market People spend so much money on rent that they will not be able to afford to buy their own property in many years in the future Average salary in Brent is 22,000 pounds/year which means that due to the Housing Benefit Cuts, many people will not be able to afford housing in Brent anymore Young people can’t afford to leave the parental home	It is legally possible to challenge unreasonable rent increases If people could not afford to live in Brent, they should move out Rent control - we should not focus on controlling the initial rent, but rather on controlling rent increases
HOUSING BENEFIT CUTS As a consequence, thousands of people will not be able to afford to pay for the rent Tenants receiving housing benefit comprise about a half of all the tenants living in Brent
PHYSICAL CONDITIONS Over a third of private rented homes fall below the Decent Homes Standard Many homes are very energy inefficient There is a positive relationship between health and adequate living standards  Tenants suffer from “fuel poverty” -> individuals would rather go to bed to keep themselves warm than pay for the gas because they cannot afford it	Energy poverty needs to be eradicated Energy bill will stop landlord letting the most energy inefficient homes but not until 2018. We could be campaigning for Government to highlight need for landlords to start improving properties now.
MANAGEMENT Many private tenants face harassment by their landlord and illegal evictions are common Letting agents rip off private tenants	Implement the Landlord Accreditation Scheme Campaign to expose bad practises.
GENERAL This is the worst housing crisis during the last 80 years There is no more social housing available in Brent 350,000 individuals have been placed on the Council’s waiting list for social housing Brent Council found private lets for 548 families last year The landlord/tenant relationship is weighted heavily in favour of landlords Why does the private rented sector remain unregulated? The local authority should have more power over the housing situation Councillors do not have answers to all the questions Housing crisis has a negative impact on the education of young people Brent is focusing its cuts on middle management and will be merging Housing Resource Centre (dealing with homelessness) and Housing Solutions (advice and rehousing into private renting)  Private Housing Services  (deals with enforcement of physical standards) hasn’t been reviewed yet.	The issue of empty houses in Brent -> they could be converted into usable houses Brent is committed to developing a CPO policy with teeth Why does not the Council have hostels in Brent?  Good quality hostels for young people used to be appreciated.  They were affordable and provided social life for those who had recently left parental home. Landlords would listen to the tenants if many people organized themselves into a larger group Housing & economic growth -  create more jobs in the construction sector How do we build a consensus on the need for better standards?  Access to a decent home is a basic human right. Petitions may help to get heard Letters from bishops get published – can’t we get them on side? If we all used the social media effectively on this issue we could build a groundswell of opinion – should we organize a workshop to learn how this is done? How can we influence decision on the Council’s services?  How could enforcement be made more effective?  Selective Licensing? We need more events like this one Can we use the Mayoral election next year to be raising profile of conditions in private renting? Politicians don’t give enough priority to private rented sector because most private tenants aren’t registered.  Should we mount campaign to increase registration? Labour Party is in listening mode as it develops its housing policies – how can we take advantage of that? We need to coalesce with other campaign groups like the National Private Tenants Organisation, Housing Voice, Pro-Housing Alliance, anti-cuts campaigns.

Willesden Green redevelopment - what do you think?

Willesden Old Library - scheduled for demolition

 Following my posting on the proposed Willesden Green redevelopment several people have asked me what the new building will look like and what type of housing is proposed.  The answer is that we don't know as Brent Council has 'cascaded' these matters to the developer Galliford Try. The very tight timetable that envisages work starting in September has the planning application down for April 2012 and consultation obviously has to take place before then.

People have also asked what the Cultural Centre will contain. Again there is little detail but the Equality Impact Assessment LINK states:

At a minimum the new cultural centre will incorporate a library, extensive study space, IT provision, customer contact centre, museum, archive, archive store, entrance foyer, three creative cluster spaces (which will facilitate an array of programmed creative events), café, conference room, office space, staff toilet & shower, public toilets, data centre, hygiene areas, multi faith contemplation room, delivery and distribution area, public realm and a maximum of 8 designated car parking spaces.

Following the recent High Court action there is a long section of the report devoted to the Equalities duties of councillors. The initial Impact Assessment Completion Form is brief LINK but there is documentation in the Appendices LINK

There is a useful but not very legible mapping of  Willesden Green library users HERE

Talking to local residents at the Library yesterday another issue that came up several times was 'Why are we doing away with a comparatively new building?'

Several arguments are contained in the report going before the Executive.

• The building has failed to realise its potential as a truly local cultural destination and is 'essentially not fit for purpose'.
• Areas within the existing buiulding feel unsafe an this intesifies at night when small, dark areas attrract vandalism and anti social behaviour. This discourages 'people from Brent's diverse communities to explore or congregate wihin the WGLC especially after dark'.
• The site is a second tier building (in the jargon 'major customer facing offering') in the south which would complement the new Civic Centre in the north. This recognises that 'a large proportion of our high need customers reside in the south'.
• The physical condition of the WGLC is extremely poor and repairs would require an initial investment of £657,000.
• The redevelopment hs the potential to act as a catalyst for wider regeneration of the area

The report makes it clear that the project can only go ahead if it is self-financing, delivered at zero net capital costs to the Council and that the Council retains the freehold of the new Cultural Centre.

Some residents argued yesterday that the building had been deliberately run down and that there had been a failure of leadership in running it with enthusiasm, imagination and flair. They pointed to the recent success of an arts project in the old cafe area. Theye were against developemnt and instead wanted new management and marketing strategy.

Opinions were also expressed that the project handed too much power over to the developer and questions over whether the Council could be both a de facto partner of the developer and also make an independent decision on the developer's planning application.

A major issue that arose was the loss of study space with students scoffing at the inadequacy of the alternative provision offered in the report. Brent SOS Libraries are expected to continue to push for the reopening of the Cricklewood and Kensal Rise libraries at least during the rebuilding phase to provide study and lending facilities, although that option is rejected in the report.

Some passers-by and long-term residents were aghast when they realised that the locally listed old library building would be demolished in the new development and there was anger when it was realised that the Willesden Bookshop would go.Locally listed building don't have legal protection but existing Brent Council policy (LINK) states:

BE24 LOCALLY LISTED BUILDINGS

The special character of buildings on the local list will be protected and enhanced. Proposals for the demolition or unsympathetic alteration of locally listed buildings (including parts of buildings) will be discouraged unless alternative use of the building is unviable or the planning benefits for the community substantially outweigh the loss resulting from demolition.

Presumably the Council will be arguing the latter case although how that stands against the preservation of the facade of the nearby Spotted Dog is a matter for conjecture. There's some interesting historical background on the area, including the library and the Spotted Dog, HERE

I would welcome comments on the issues raised by the redevelopment proposals.

And this guy has the audacity to tell teachers how to teach!

Michael Gove bores the pants off Haberdasher pupils. I would have run out screaming...

Emergency meeting on forced academy conversion

Click to enlarge

 Michael Gove is trying to steamroller primary schools into applying to become academies but is encountering opposition from teachers, parents and governors. At the same time he is considering proposals to make it easier for the Church of England to take control of state-funded schools.

Haringey primary schools have been first in line but I suspect there will be moves over at least one Brent school soon.

There will be an emergency public meeting on Monday 9th January at 7pm at Downhills Primary School, Philip Lane, N.17, to discuss Michael Gove's proposal to enforce academy status on several of
Haringey's primary schools. Downhills is one of several Haringey Schools under threat of mandatory conversion to academy status, even though it has been judged an improving school in September 2011 by the last OFSTED inspectors. Normally schools have between 12 and 18 months to show carry out the expected improvement.

Not only is there no evidence that conversion to academy status ensuressuccess,  but the parents and teachers at Downhills are completely against Gove's attempt to impose his will.

Gove can do this because of the new powers which he took on through the the new education act which passed into law in November last year. Only collective public action is likely to sway him, since neither the individual schools nor the Local Authority has any power to resist.

Further details can be found HERE

Have your say on Brent council budget starting next week

Brent Area Consultative Forums start again next week. Council leaders will be presenting their budget proposals which will inevitably involve more cuts. It will be a chance to ask questions or make suggestions and you can also do a Soap Box presentation at the beginning of the session - get there early to fill in a form or do so on line. You will have a maximum of 3 minutes to present your case. Soapbox details and forms HERE .

The first Forum is in Harlesden on Tuesday 10th January.

Full details HERE

Does Navin Shah support the campaign to keep all the libraries open?

Shahrar Ali, Green Party Assembly  candidate for Brent and Harrow, has a letter in the Brent and Kilburn Times this week criticising Navin Shah, currently the Labour AM, of trying to distance himself from the Labour Council's decision to close libraries and defending them at the same time.

The Kensal Rise Library Campaign website has now published a letter from Navin Shah expressing support for the campaign. However on examination it appears to be open to interpretation: is he supporting the campaign to keep all the libraries open or just the search for alternative provision?

Dear all,
Happy New Year to you all.
I am sorry to hear of the latest judgement from the Court of Appeal regarding the closure of libraries in Brent.

Following my meeting with representatives of the Brent SOS campaign last year I wanted to reiterate my support and offer of help in pursuing alternative library projects.

Kind regards,
Navin

Winners and Losers in Willesden Green Library Redevelopment

The report (LINK) on the Willesden Green Library Redevelopment to go before the Brent Executive on Monday January 16th recommends that the contract for a new cultural centre be awarded to Galliford Try PLC. The contract includes the acquisition of additional land in the adjacent area  In return for the design and build of the cultural centre on land where the council will retain the freehold (Council Works Land) , the developer will be granted the right to develop residential units for market sale, associated public realm and car parking on the remainder of the land (Developer Works Land)  with the freehold transferred to them on a 'drip feed' basis. This will make the project 'cost neutral' the Council claim.

The report makes it clear that  neither of the existing tenants of the Willesden Green Centre, Willesden Bookshop and Brent Irish Advisory Service will be offered financial assistance following termination and states that neither will be offered space within the new cultural centre. The Council will offer 'assistance to both organisations to try and secure alternative premises within the borough'. They make the same offer to Brent Artist Resource which occupy spaces at the Willesden Green Library Centre on a service level agreement.

The report rejects what they call 'a suggestion by a very small number of members of the public supporting the continued use of the Kensal Rise and Cricklewood (library) sites' as alternate library or study sites during the redevelopment period. They say the sites are not suitable because the need would not occur until July 2012 by which time if the Council continues to be successful against legal challenges they will be administered by All Souls College and not the Council -'as owners, trustees or otherwise' ; they would be expensive to maintain and heat;  additional staff would be needed; and because the locations do not meet the needs of of the borough's residents.

During the rebuilding a temporary library will be provided in the Grange Road offices, this would have a reduced stock but 'further premises are being investigated in the Willesden area'. In terms of study facilities 10 PCs and ten spaces will be provided at Grange Road, 20 extra spaces at Kilburn librray, and 5 extra each at the Town Hall and Ealing Road. They propose to reach at agreement with Job Centre Plus in Harlesden for the provision of a replacement Customer Contact Centre.

Phase Plan

The Appendix above shows the extent of the redevelopment and acquisition of land. 1. Cultural Centre Phase 1, 2. Residential Phase 1, 3 Residential Phase 2, 4 Chambers Lane site. PDF HERE

Galliford Try PLC will undertake a consultation LINK which will start within the Council immediately after the January Executive.  In their Community Engagement Strategy Galliford state that working with communities comes as 'second nature' to them but go on:

That said it would be wrong to assume that simply by virtue of our approach, the development will be well received. Once built, it is likely that the new cultural centre will be welcomed and appreciated, but along the way existing buildings are to be redeveloped. one locally listed and another having been built only relatively recently; a high profile community group, the Brent Irish Advisory Service, is to be displaced; and new homes are to be built on scarce parking spaces - all potentially sensitive issues.

Not to mention the loss of the Willesden Bookshop....

I am now off to join campaigners who are at this moment publicising these issues outside Willesden Green Library.

Library Homework Club Teachers Wanted

I don't take advertising on this blog but I am posting this as I think this job is important and socially useful.

Library Homework Clubs’ Teacher

Salary £35p/hr

Brent Libraries are looking for a qualified teacher to plan, organise and lead homework club sessions.

The clubs run during term-time, after school from 3:30-5:30pm and on Saturdays 10.30am – 12.30pm, at 6 Libraries and will target children 8-14 years old from the local Primary and Secondary Schools. This is a Fixed Term contract ending 31 July 2012 in the first instance but could be extended.

For more information about the homework clubs contact Sarah Smith (Libraries Development Manager) on:

Tel 020 8937 3419
Email sarah.smith@brent.gov.uk

To apply, go to www.brent.gov.uk/counciljobs.nsf to download an application pack. Applications should be completed online.

Closing Date: Monday, January 16, 12noon

Interviews: Friday, January 27

*Libraries with Homework clubs

Hours: 3.30 – 5.30pm except Ealing Road Library

Monday: Town Hall Library

Tuesday: Kilburn Library

Wednesday: Kingsbury Library Plus

Thursday: Willesden Green Library

Friday: Harlesden Library Plus

Saturday: Ealing Road Library, 10.30am – 12.30pm

Council tax rise ruled out before budget consultation

The leader and deputy leader of Brent Council are due to tour Area Consultative Forums later this month to discuss the forthcoming 2012-13 budget which will be voted on at a later Council meeting.

However according to the current Brent and Kilburn Times the Council has already pledged to freeze council tax. The possibility of raising the council tax was included in the November Budget Report as I reported at the time HERE

The Council gets a £2.5m government grant for freezing the tax and Cllr Ann John told the BKT it would be put into emergency balances. The budget report had warned that the long-term impact of not raising the council tax would erode the council's revenue position.

The report said that a rise of 2.5% in council tax would close the budget gap as follows:

2012-13 £4.4m
2013-14 £1.1m
2014-15 £19.7m
2015-16 £13.1m


In other words a rise of 2.5% in council tax this year would result in a net gain when the loss of the £2.5m grant is taken into consideration. Some councils are considering this option and some Labour councillors in Brent thought it worthy of debate. However that option appears to have been ruled out in advance of both consultation and decision making.

Brent and Detroit in solidarity over library closures

Detroit Library Branch Closure Protested Again: MyFoxDETROIT.com

Brent SOS Library campaigners have sent a solidarity message to fellow campaigners in Detroit who are trying to stop the closure of their libraries. As the video shows there are many parallels with the Brent campaign, not least that one of their libraries is named after Mark Twain.

Brent allotment rents to rise again

Big rises in allotment rents caused a furore last year LINK and allottees have just received notice that they will rise again in April 2012.

The council says that rents will rise by 6% 'in line with inflation' although it is hard to see how the council's costs have risen by that amount with council officers' wages frozen and extensive staffing cuts in the Sports and Parks Unit last year.

The 6% figures is likely to be the norm increase for other council services in the new year, while wages, pensions and savings show a decrease in real  terms.

Brent Council lambasted in New York Times

Kamila Shamsie is the author of five novels, most recently “Burnt Shadows,” which was short-listed for the Orange Prize for Fiction. She grew up in Karachi and now lives in London. She wrote this piece for the International Herald Tribune, the global edition of the New York Times.

LONDON — A couple of years ago, after a reading in Karachi, I told off a young man who was asking me to sign a pirated copy of one of my books. Piracy is destroying publishing in Pakistan, I told him. He said he understood but added that because pirated books are cheaper he could buy more of them. It’s not as if Karachi is filled with public libraries, he said.

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A few weeks later, back in London, I walked into my local library and felt immensely grateful for how easily available books were — crime-free. I had no idea then of the crisis facing British libraries (pdf). Over the last year or two, you’d have had to be living under several rocks not to notice.

The part of North London I live in borders the council of Brent, now the site of an intense legal battle to save local libraries that has become the vanguard for similar efforts around the country. On Dec. 29, police officers held back protestors outside Preston Library while local government officials removed all its books, impervious to the nearby poster of Santa, a speech bubble over his head saying “Don’t rely on me; give kids their books back.” Since April 2011, 423 libraries have either closed down or been slated for closure — that’s almost 10 percent of all libraries in Britain.

In Brent, the move is being sold to the public as the “Libraries Transformation Project.” Six of Brent’s 12 libraries will be closed, and the more than $1.5 million that will (allegedly) be saved will then be used to improve the remaining libraries, create a Virtual Library and open a “super library.” That new building will cost more than $4.6 million, an expense that should give pause to anyone who says that tough decisions have to be made in this Age of Austerity — pause that might turn into speechlessness once you realize that Brent Council paid out $460,000 to consultants in March 2011, the same month officials recommended closing down all the libraries. Goodbye Austerity, Hello Transformation.

Losing half the council’s libraries will be transformative, of course. But the word usually implies a change for the better, and however wonderful it is, the super library will do little for those who live miles away. Ninety percent of users who were surveyed during the consultation process at the start of 2011 said they walk to their libraries; moving those libraries out of walking range will obviously limit their accessibility.

This simple fact appears to have been lost on the Brent Council leader, Ann Johns, who justified closing the area’s libraries on the grounds that books don’t cost much and that everyone already has computers and is getting e-readers anyway. Soon, she claimed, all Brent council residents will have access to the Virtual Library.

Putting aside the fact that this ignores how many people go to libraries precisely in order to use the public computers, one wonders whether Johns really thinks it is desirable to read War and Peace or even Tintin on a screen. As for e-book readers: Brent is among the most deprived councils in Britain. The idea that people who are deterred from visiting a library by the cost of bus fare will soon be awash in Kindles and iPads is more fanciful than thinking that Santa Claus can save a library.

Protestors are now mounting a vigil outside Kensal Rise Library, the only one of the closed libraries in Brent that hasn’t yet been emptied. It was opened in 1900 by Mark Twain. He once wrote, “A public library is the most enduring of memorials, the trustiest monument for the preservation of an event or a name or an affection; for it, and it only, is respected by wars and revolutions, and survives them.” Apparently it isn’t much respected by local councils and may not survive them.

Carry on campaigning for our libraries

Preston Library campaigners are continuing the struggle for Brent's Six Libraries to remain open and have issued the following bulletin:

The House of Commons Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sports is holding an inquiry into library closures. You can see the terms of reference HERE  

 

Both the Preston Library Campaign and the Brent Save Our Six Libraries group will be sending evidence on what has been happening in Brent, but we would also like our supporters to write and tell them what impact the closure of the library has had on your family and your community. There is guidance on how to send in your evidence HERE 

 

You should email your contribution to  cmsev@parliament.uk and have 'Library closures' in the subject line. Submissions should be received by Thursday 12th January 2012.

 

As many of you will have seen, contractors pulled down the Brent 'Wall of Shame' hiding Preston Library on Tuesday. See the report  HERE  The Wall, with its popular support from local artists and schoolchildren, has become a major embarrassment to the Council over the last few weeks and they have finally decided that perhaps it was not such a good idea after all. It would be interesting to learn exactly how much this futile exercise of paying contractors to erect the Wall - and then take it down again - has actually cost Council Tax payers.

 

We have not yet heard whether our application to take our complaint to the Supreme Court has been agreed - but we will be continuing our fund-raising activities in the meantime. The next event: - return of the truly amazing Preston Pub Quiz with Quiz Mistress Extraordinaire, Frances, is on Monday 16 January, 7.30 for 8pm start. Poster will follow

  

We will keep you informed of any new developments - but stay in touch through our website http://brentlibraries.wordpress.com and the Facebook pages [see below]

 

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ACTION TO DEFEND LIBRARIES - SATURDAY 7 JANUARY 2012 11am-1pm - Willesden Green Library -PLEASE COME ALONG 

Plans to close Willesden Green Library for two years ( for an as yet undeclared development) are due to be reported to Brent Council Cabinet early this year. The council initially proposed  to open a small room next to the library - but have now been forced to seek additional study spaces.

Brent SOS Libraries are petitioning and meeting outside the library from 11am on Saturday to draw attention to the closure and demand that Cricklewood and Kensal Rise libraries be re-opened during the two year period. Several Cricklewood supporters have already confirmed they will be present.

Housing issues that will hit the fan in 2012

This is an edited version of an article in the Winter 2011 issue of  Partnership News from Brent Housing Partnership:

Brent Council is to consult on a new Brent Tenancy Strategy following new powers introduced by the Localism Bill which was passed in November 2011.  Any resulting changes will be introduced in 2012-13. Existing social housing tenants will not be affected but some new tenants will be.

New papers regarding the 15,000 households on Brent's housing waiting list will give council's more freedom to decide who qualifies to go on the list. This includes additional priority for households who are in work (but see Janice Long briefing below).

Other changes in social housing mean that homeless households in priority need can choose to wait for a council home to become available or, if they agree, be offered a suitable private rented sector home. New rules mean that the council can place some homeless families in private accommodation without giving them the option of waiting for a council home.

Under the new rules councils and housing associations will be able to grant a fixed tenancy of 2 years, 5 years or longer as well as retaining the option to grant a lifetime tenancy.

In future tenancy holders will only be able to pass their social housing tenancy on to one person, either a spouse or a partner, ending the possibility of other family members suc ceeding to the tenancy. This will do away with the discretionary (otherwise called second succession right), unless Brent Council decides to adopt its own rules.

Housing associations will be able to set an affordable rent up to 80% of local market rents on new homes and some existing homes when they are re-let. (This suggests we will have to redefine what 'affordable' means! MF). This is to cover the costs of changes in the way new social housing is funded.

Cllr Janice Long, lead member for housing, issued the following briefing note for the well attended Brent Town Hall meeting on housing organised by Barry Gardiner MP, REPORT,

Temporary Accommodation and Housing Benefit.

In January the 9 month transition for Housing Benefit comes to an end.  Many households will have a rent higher than their Housing Benefit.

The housing benefit caps are

1 bed = £250, 2 bed = £290, 3 bed = £340, 4 bed and above = £400

There are 3000 families in Temporary Accommodation.  This figure is fairly stable

BUT

As at 13/11/11 there were 268 households in hotel accommodation. This is a 70% increase in comparison to 2010/11, when there was an average of 157 households in hotels at any one time.  This figure is likely to rise.

B&B accommodation is more cramped, often not in Brent, is unsettling for the family and is much more expensive for the Council.

 All the households have been written to.  Landlords have also been contacted to see if a lower rent can be negotiated. 

One badly affected group are single people under 35 renting one room.  They are now only allowed a Single room rate, ie they must live in shared accommodation with a communal kitchen and bathroom (HMO). There are 124 people affected.

There is huge difference between their rent and the new HB rate.  All these people will be called or written to and be given advice.

A special team in Housing Solutions has been set up to deal with the extra cases.  Brent has also won a grant from DWP to have a team in the Revenue and Benefits teams to deal with extra queries and workload.

The effect on housing applications is:

As at the end of October 2011, 807 households had made a homeless application, this is an increase of 29% when compared to the figure as at the end of October 2010 (625 applications). Homeless applications which were accepted as at the end of October 2011 totaled 275. This is an increase of 33% against the October 2010 figure (207 acceptances).

Refer any casework to the complaints team: martin.beasley@brent.gov.uk or Tania.phillips@brent.gov.uk or customer.relation@brent.gov.uk

If residents live in private rented accommodation and the rent is above the Housing Benefit cap they will probably have to move or they will go into rent arrears.  But they must be given a legal notice to quit by the landlord.

BHP Casework should go to BHP.Complaints@brent.gov.uk

Universal Credit

Universal Credit begins to be introduced in 2013.  I will get some worked examples of the impact. One example to mull over:

The maximum a family can get under Universal Credit is £26000

If the rent for a four bedroom flat is at the cap of £400, the annual rent will be £19,200. That will leave 6,800pa to pay gas, electric, water rates, TV licence, phone, clothes, travel costs.  Food is optional. There is a fear that people will go into debt or take out loans they cannot pay.

Tenancy Strategy

Following the passing of the Localism Bill Brent is reviewing its housing policies including the tenancy strategy.  There will be full consultation but areas be covered include:

Homelessness Duties

Allocation policies

Fixed Term Tenancies

Affordable Rent

Cllr Ali referred to Councils that have prioritised working people.  Brent is not planning to do this but will aim to target help on households who are actively looking for work.  Given the job shortage it is a step to far to take away your home if you can’t get a job.  

Affordable rent is at 80% of Market Rent.  Due to high demand private sector rents are already high in Brent.  It will prove very difficult for many social housing tenants to be able to pay these rent levels. In 2010 the average (median) income in Brent was £22,064.  Half of social tenants are in employment. A three bed property at £300 a week will be £14,400 a year. This will mean many families will be in financial difficulties.

Brent Housing Partnership Issues

HRA

The Housing Revenue Account is ring-fenced.  Currently all rents are paid into Central Government and we receive an annual subsidy. From April 2012 we will keep all rents.  Brent is one if the gainers as our current debt is £338.3  This will be reduced by 184.9m leaving Brent with a debt of £153.4 (Figures are subject to final confirmation but should not change much.)  Brent has 9, 225 dwellings.  There will need to be a 30 year business plan to pay off the debt and to plan for investment in the stock.  Eg external decorations, energy work.

Some Council’s currently have no debt and are being given our debt.  There is mumbling but most Council’s are accepting the proposals as it means that they can plan for the future.  At the moment most Council’s cannot plan as they do not know what they will be getting from the current subsidy system.  So business planning and Treasury management will be introduced into management of the HRA.

This does not mean that the backlog of external decorations work will be done in 2012 but there will be a proper timetable of when the work will be done. 

A major difference from the scheme proposed by the Labour Government is that RTB receipts will be kept by the Treasury.  They will be pooled and handed back to Councils for new build. In London this will be done by the Mayor’s office.  So a RTB sale in Brent may not generate a replacement housing unit in Brent.  Also any of the new units will be at Affordable rent levels.

Right to Buy

The Government has announced increased discounts for RTB, the percentage is yet to be confirmed.  The aim is that the receipts will be used to build a “replacement unit”.  However this will be at the Affordable rent level – 80% of markets rates.

Since 1981 the following number of units have been sold in Brent under the RTB 

There are currently 9225 council housing units. Over 800 of the RTBs are now sublet.

In April  2011 there were 3181 families on the waiting list for 3 bedrooms. This was the most popular category of sale.  So RTB has had an impact on the waiting list.

Cllr Janice Long, Lead Member for Housing

November 2011

70,000 page views and counting

Wembley Matters, launched in May 2009,  had its 70,000th page view this morning. I would like to thank you all for your support and encouragement. 

Brent Council staff magazine on 'Team of the Year'

From Insight - Brent Council staff magazine

With the future of Willesden Green Library in the spotlight and questions remaining over the rest of the service, readers may be interested in revisiting the responses to the Willesden Green Library Open Day which was held at this time last year. You can find the document HERE.

AntiAcademiesAlliance AGM Jan 14th

Click to enlarge

With Brent schools exploring options for various forms of academies, including the Cooperative Trust model; and following Claremont and Kingsbury High converting last year, the forthcoming Anti Academies Alliance AGM should be a good source of information and campaigning ideas.

Register at: office@antiacademies.org.uk

Shell of Shame replaces Wall of Shame

The library foyer

Brent Council this morning removed the hoarding, known locally as the Wall of Shame, from around Preston Library. Although the Wall has now physically gone, the messages emblazoned by the local community, remain on various websites include this one.

The removal has revealed the empty shell of a once vibrant and welcoming building which was at the heart of the local community.  The haste of the removal of books is evident from the mess left behind and furniture remains. My pictures were taken in the wind and rain this morning but are a poignant reminder of Brent Council's vandalism.

Cash Flow Men

'Animated' cultural cente for Willesden Green?

The Agenda for the January 16th meeting of the Brent Executive should be available next weekend and should include the report on the proposed Willesden Green Library redevelopment.

Meanwhile you may be entertained by the Council's Vision Statement for the Willesden Green Cultural Centre HERE.

Note that the word 'Library' is missing from the title and indeed the statement, written in June 2011, makes it clear that the new building is NOT just about 'warehousing books'.

This extract sounds like something from Pseuds Corner in Private Eye:

The new cultural centre will be an animated building that celebrates and expresses local culture and community – a space of congregation and creativity. In its design and services it will reflect and support a diverse and transient population, prioritising what local people value, and facilitating a variety of activity, both serious and fun, traditional and exploratory.

It's enough to make library campaigners pretty animated!

What happens when academies fail?

A spirited anti-academy campaign. More in 2012?

A repeated theme of my postings on academies on this blog has been the lack of democratic accountability. Although he leaves out the 'democratic' bit Sir Michael Wilshaw the incoming Ofsted  Chief Inspector  recognised the problem of accountability over the holiday, acknowledging that some of the increasing number of academies are likely to fail. LINK

His solution however seemed to indicate a new layer of supervision which would expand Ofsted's role and run in parallel with the existing local authority system. This duplication (and expense at a time of retrenchment) would be unnecessary if all schools remained within the local authority system - and of course we don't vote for Ofsted but we do vote for local Councils. Wilshaw however proposes that his 'Commissioners' would report directly to the Secretary of State - centralising power further,

There is an interesting piece on this on Brian Lightman's blog LINK   Lightman is General Secretary of the ACSL (Association of School and College Leaders). He describes Wilshaw's proposal as:

....effectively an devastating critique  of government policy, based on the premise that the move  an autonomous system of academies without local accountability has massively increased the risk of school failure?

He describes how much education policy is made up on the hoof and based on policy makers' personal experience. He suggest that the Crown should appoint a Chief Education Officer, along the same lines as the Chief Medical officer whose role:

...as a leading expert with the highest levels of specialist knowledge and experience would be to evaluate proposed and existing government policies with complete independence. In such a context  a proposal of this kind be would substantiated by a robust, credible and above all independent evaluation of its merits before a Chief Inspector announced it on the front page of a national newspaper.

After 36 years in primary schools I am certainly truly fed up with the way education policy seems to change on a whim with little research to back up proposals, but am not sure that a CEO is the answer.

Meanwhile there have been some responses to my question about Coop academies on the Anti Academies Alliance website HERE