The Green Party's 10 measures on flood resilience & tackling causes

The Green Party – Ten measures to improve the UK’s flood resilience, and to address the underlying causes of flooding

1. Reverse staff cuts at the Environment Agency (EA), increase its budget, and drop plans to impose a duty on it to consider economic growth, which could get in the way of providing independent expert advice

2. Strengthen planning rules for urban and rural areas to prevent further development on flood plains and ensure developers prioritise flood resilience and prevention – including through incorporation of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) in new developments as well as a programme of retrofitting SUDS to existing communities. Ensure better transparency of decisions so public can hold decision makers accountable

3. Get rid of any cabinet Ministers or senior governmental advisors who refuse to accept the scientific consensus on climate change or who won’t take the risks to the UK seriously

4. Increase spending on flood defences to a level in line with expert recommendations from the EA and the Climate Change Committee (CCC), change the cost benefit ratios required for projects to go ahead, and simplify the process for local authorities to apply

5. Rethink land management policies to encourage the storage of water in upland areas, and make flood prevention is a non-negotiable condition of all farm subsidies

6. Improve UK’s future resilience:  Adopt proposals[i][i] for the immediate creation of a new Cabinet-level committee on infrastructure and climate change resilience, and a Royal Commission to set out the long-term impacts of climate change on land[ii][ii], making  detailed recommendations as to the necessary institutional, funding and policy responses

7. Start paying attention to advice from the Met Office and the CCC that climate change will lead to even more such events in the future.  

8. As called for by Platform London and other campaigners[iii][iii], redirect the billions of UK fossil fuel subsidies and tax breaks into assisting the victims of flooding.  This would free up money to address the underspend and assist the victims of flooding, as well as putting a halt to public money exacerbating the problem of climate change that is making the floods so much worse.

9. Tackle the undue influence of big business in Whitehall and Westminster – end the revolving door between the fossil fuel industry and government

10. Step up the UK’s action on climate change, for example by committing to a binding EU-target on renewables.

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[i][i] http://www.tcpa.org.uk/resources.php?action=resource&id=1182

[ii][ii] http://www.tcpa.org.uk/resources.php?action=resource&id=1182

[iii][iii] https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/cut-fossil-fuel-subsidies-not-foreign-aid-for-flood-victims-relief

Ministers who won’t act on climate evidence must go, says Green Party

Source BBC

The UK’s response to the flooding crisis must centre on a long-term strategy to address climate change the Green Party says today, as it recommends a series of ten measures to improve the country’s flood resilience in future.

It says sustained political action on climate change is crucial to reducing the risk of severe flooding happening again.

The Party is calling for Environment Secretary Owen Paterson to be sacked and for the Prime Minister to remove Cabinet Ministers and senior government officials who refuse to accept the scientific consensus on climate change (1). The Met Office has said (2) all the evidence points to climate change contributing to these extraordinary floods.

“Politicians who ride roughshod over the painstaking findings of climate scientists (3), sometimes motivated by their inappropriately close links to fossil fuel big business, endanger our future and our children’s future”, said Green Party Leader Natalie Bennett. 

“It’s a crying shame more of the recommendations made by the The Pitt Review into the 2007 floods (4) haven’t been taken seriously by Labour, the Tories, and their Coalition government lackeys in the Lib Dem Party. But it is not too late for action.”

 Caroline Lucas, the Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion, said:

“Across the country, homes and businesses are being devastated by the floods, and our hearts go out to everyone whose life is being turned upside down.  Nature is giving us another wake-up call.

“In addition to making sure everything possible is done to help people affected by the immediate crisis, we need a credible long term strategy to tackle the risk of flooding and extreme weather to people's homes and liveilihoods in the future.”  

The call to government urges ministers to adopt the recommendations of a major independent cross sector coalition[1]  for  a Cabinet-level committee on infrastructure and climate change resilience and a Royal Commission on the long-term impacts of climate change on land.

The Green Party is also calling for all staff cuts at the Environment Agency to be cancelled, planning rules to be strengthened to prevent further development on flood plains, and for increased levels of spending on flood defences to a level in line with expert recommendations from the Environment Agency and the Climate Change Committee.

And it is supporting the call of campaigners for  the billions of UK fossil fuel subsidies and tax breaks to be used to help the victims of flooding[2]. 

“This redirection will address the underspend and assist the victims of flooding, as well as putting a halt to public money exacerbating the problem of climate change that is making the floods so much worse”, noted Bennett.

Notes

1)    International Panel on Climate Change Climate Change 2013 Report http://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg1/#.UvuRuf3RozU

2)    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-26084625

3)    http://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg1/#.UvuRuf3RozU

4)    Pitt Report on floods: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7472813.stm

 

Leading environmentalist denounces Brent Council in resignation letter

Francis Henry, who has voluntarily supported the Brent Sustainability Forum, latterly as chair,for 6 years has resigned in protest at the sacking of one of the key environmental officers at Brent Council.

He has called on other members of the Forum to join him in  resigning and to consider making the forum website LINK independent of the council.

His letter to acting Chief Executive Christine Gilbert says:

CONSTRUCTIVE DISMISSAL  MARION HOFMANN

I  have been the Vice Chair initially and subsequently the Chair of the Brent Sustainability Forum (BSF) since 2008.

Together with others we have worked hard to help Brent Council to deliver on important environmental issues. We always had great support from Marion who was truly dedicated to the cause.

I and others are appalled how Brent Council and your senior officers have treated one of our colleagues who has contributed so much to public engagement and the promotion of environmental issues.

It would seem that as an organisation Brent Council and some of your officers in Environmental Services will do everything possible to get rid of good and trusted officers who understand how to work with local people and who are truly committed to the cause.

I am so disgusted by the conduct of Brent Council and the conduct of your senior officers that I am resigning as Chair of Brent Sustainability Forum and ceasing my involvement with anything involving your Council.

You and the whole Council should be ashamed in the way you treat your valued members of staff who have the trust and respect of the local community.

Greens back STEM 6 free school strike

 

Pic: Jenny Leow

 Statement from Islington Green Party

Teachers are on strike this week at the STEM 6 Academy, a newly opened free school on City Road, for students aged 16 -18 wanting to specialise in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.

Teachers were individually coerced into signing harsh contracts before Christmas and now wish to obtain union recognition in order to re-negotiate these contracts. The contracts allow teachers to be laid off without notice - effectively a zero hours system - pay increases at management discretion only, and many more oppressive conditions.

Islington Green Party has no hesitation in supporting these teachers. The privatisation of our schooling system is having disastrous results in both losing local democratic involvement and harming the rights of those who work in these private schools. Even academic results are not expected to be an improvement on community-state run schools as demonstrated from a similar politically-driven experiment in Sweden.

Zero hours contracts are a pernicious ploy to help employers avoid paying a reliable living wage, and leave employees uncertain how much they will earn even from week to week. Such contracts are unattractive in any sector but seem particularly inappropriate for education where outcomes for the students depend on committed and confident teachers.

Teachers are professionals and deserve to be treated as such. This would not only benefit the teachers themselves but also the students, their future employers, and the wider community.

Moberly Sports Centre proposals available for comment

The future of the Jubilee and Moberly Sports Centre on the borders of Brent and Westminster have been the subject of much debate.Kensal Triangle Residents have said because so many different views have been expressed they will remain neutral.

Follow this link to see the Kilburn Times  report on the proposals:  LINK

However the KTRA have issued this guide:

Go to the Planning Application by clicking on this LINK

When you comment on the application remember to State 'Object', 'Support' or 'Comment'. At the time of writing of the on-line returns there were 22 Objecting, 9 Supporting and the rest were Comments.

Because of a delay due to an independent financial assessment of the scheme comments can by made up until the end of March,

Pavey misses a chance to learn how to stand up for education

Guest blog by 'Localist'
 

Several hundred people attended the London Education Conference at the Institute of Education on Saturday which discussed how to build on the success of the London Challenge and to further raise standards of education in London. 

Those present included authors, educational psychologists, headteachers, journalists, lecturers, members of the London Assembly, school governors and teachers. Also present were councillors including Leaders of London councils and Leaders of Children’s Services in London councils. 

Not present were either Muhammad Butt (Leader of Brent Council) or Michael Pavey (Lead Member for Children's Services in Brent). One possible reason for their absence was the presence at the Conference of someone whose recent principled and bold actions would have put their own feebleness to shame. For also in attendance was John White, Leader of Children's Services in Barking and Dagenham, who 3 weeks ago helped to challenge Michael Gove’s forced academisation policy in the High Court and was granted an injunction by Mr Justice Collins. 

An opportunity missed for Mr Pavey and Mr Butt as  John White could have given them all sorts of helpful tips on how to keep local education local rather than follow the Brent Council way which seems to be, ask people to vote for you in local elections and then, when elected, helpfully implement the policies of the party those same voters clearly rejected in the national election. Meanwhile at Copland, the IEB won’t allow a secret ballot on academisation, A level students have slipped behind because courses weren’t adequately staffed and their retired ex-teacher is not allowed on the premises to voluntarily help them catch up.

Preston Campaign celebrates National Libraries Day in style

My next and last stop was the old Preston Library closed by Brent Council and currently used as an annex for Preston Park Primary School. Once surrounded by similar hoardings to those erected at Kensal Rise the building was in use again to celebrate National Libraries Day. The Save Preston Library Campaign has been particularly imaginative in its campaigning and the range of events it organises from pub quizzes to literary celebrations. As well as using the Old Library building as a Community Hub they operate a Community Library on Preston Road,

New building is to take place on the school's main site to enable the school to expand and the school will vacate the annex.. As it still belongs to the Brent Council there are hopes that it could revert to its previous use.

Musician and writer Leon Rosselson took children on a 'Bear Hunt' before reading from his own books

 

Reading aloud to the audience

Book making

Finishing with a song

My visits to all three library campaigns, Kensal Rise, Barham and Preston, was a humbling experience. One cannot but be impressed by the resilience of Brent residents and their resistance to losing their cherished services.

I wish them all success in their campaigns as we approach the local elections.

Battling Friends of Barham Library impress on National Libraries Day

After my visit to Kensal Rise Library for National Libraries Day I took the 18 bus up the Harrow Road to Sudbury Town Station. Campaigners for the closed down Barham Library have a 3 month letting on a vacant room there which has a month or so to run. They also have a shop on Wembley High Road.

The Sudbury Town library looks very professional and hosts a variety of clubs as well as the book lending/sale activities.

 

I popped into Barham's other 'branch' on Wembley High Road, opposite Copland School and again was impressed by all the work and commitment that has gone into providing books and a social space for local people. The sheer staying power of campaigners is amazing.