'The MDC is okay with me' says Pavey but others disagree

Brent's Cabinet met at Roundwood Youth Centre this afternoon, as part of a programme to move the meeting around the borough. It was followed by a walk-about in the area.  There was more discussion than usual with backbenchers and residents contributing but once again a Brent Council meeting was marred by the failure of councillors to project their voices and the lack of microphones.

Democracy must be HEARD to be done!

The Cabinet approved the action plan arising from the Brent Education Commission which includes partnership work between schools and support for the Brent Schools Partnership which has recently appointed a Strategic Director who will work a three day week.

One of the more controversial issues was  planning school places:

Objective: Ensure that the local authority is proactive in encouraging the best schools in Brent and free school providers  to set up new schools in areas where extra places are need.

Activities:

Work wuth the Education Funding Agency, DfE Free Schools team, the Regional Schools Commissioner and other partners to attract the best quality providers to Brent.

Promote the establishment of effective local chains/federations/partnerships to promote new schools and offer a local solution for schools at risk of failure.

A Labour Council supporting free schools and chains will stick  in the throats of many, particularly on the day the Michaela Free school opened in a building that remains a building site and when Gateway and Gladstone Free Schools failed to open on time.

Deputy Leader and former lead member for Children and Families, Cllr Michael Pavey, raised the possibility of the strategy changing if there is a change of government policy after the General Election.

Cabinet approved plans to make school expansion contracts more attractive to building companies by putting several into a package.

The London Mayor's plans for a Mayoral development Corporation in the Old Oak/Park Royal area provoked most discussion. As explained in an earlier blog Brent Council has not opposed the MDC in principle. Backbencher Cllr Dan Filson thought that was a mistake and said that Brent should start from the position that the MDC is undemocratic and limits the input of Brent council into the plans. He though that having the three council leaders (Brent, Hammersmith & Fulham, Ealing) sitting on the MDC would not solve the problem as they would not have time to get down to the nitty gritty. The focus of the MDC was on Old Oak rather than the important task of reinvigorating the Park Royal Industrial Estate and rescueing it from being mainly devoted to warehousing.

Resident John Cox said that in the Harlesden incinerator campaign there were 180 councillors they could lobby. With the MDC it would be just three.  He said much of the land was publicly-owned, which we purchased in 1948 when nationalising the railways. Instead of flogging off public assets for the maximum value to developers, and then being supplicants to try and get some (so-called) affordable housing, we should value some of the land as zero, in perpetuity, and the state should build social housing. We could even call it council housing if we wanted to. He said the area was more like the Docklands development rather than the Olympic site.

Cox said that there was no chance of Crossrail coming to Wembley Central station  but Cllr Butt said that the Council had not given up the battle to make Wembley Central a destination: 'We can't afford to not having trains stopping there'. It was essential for the housing planned for Wembley.

Cllr Claudia Hector, another Labour backbencher, said that housing in the new development must be 'genuinely affordable' not the London Mayor's 80% of affordable rent. Director of Regeneration and Major Projects, Andy Donald, said the council was aware of that and that there would be a mixture of housing.

Cllr Pavey said that he thought the MDC was the right structure, with the wrong Mayor.  He could not see a combination of the three local authorities (Ed: Ealing's suggestion) as working for such a large development.

Muhammed Butt said that the three councils were continuing to talk but he stressed that they must come up with a 'credible alternative': 'We will have to work with the MDC if we don't come up with anything else'.

The Cabinet approved a bid to the GLA to make Alperton and Wembley Housing Zones. 20 will be created across London at a cost of £400m to create 50,000 new homes and 100,000 associated homes over the next 10 years.

Margaret McLennan said that the Zones were essential, especially in Alperton, to provide much needed infrastructure including new schools, health centres, transport etc to kickstart the areas. Cllr Perrin, lead member for the environment was concerned that this was at the  cost of moving businesses out of the area and there were also issues over contaminated land near the canal at Alperton.

I was pleased to see that £6m has been set aside for the provision of school nurses but this is going to external procurement, rather than in-house and only one bidder has emerged. it was confirmed that the provision would be free to local authority, academies and free schools but not to private schools. There was no detail about how many hours per school would be involved.

There was a rushed discussion of the Borough Plan where the Council hope to engage young people in schools in discussions about the future of the borough and no discussion at all on the Quarter 1 Performance Report where council services are given a RAG (Red, Amber, Green) rating. Support to enable families to be independent, take up of 3 year olds nursery education grant and the number of in-year applications for primary places getting a place withion four weeks of applying were all given a red rating.

Michaela opens despite safety fears over site

Michaela Free School opened to 120 Year 7 pupils this morning despite fears about the safety of Arena House which is now a building site with just as narrow roofed timber lined corridor for entrance and exit.  Concerns have been raised with both Brent Council Health and Safety and the London Fire Brigade.

It was really sad this morning to see eager young faces, excited about starting secondary school, drop when they saw the state of the building.

Worried parents were assured that it was just the outside that looked like that - it was 'lovely' inside. However, parents were disconcerted to be refused entry to the building to see for themselves. They were promised a chance to view it at the Open Evening on Wednesday.

This is a glimpse of what appears to be an assembly/canteen/classroom seen through the windows.

Outside parent and grandparent views were mixed. Some accepted the promise that the school would soon be ready at face value, while others said the state of the building was 'disgusting'.  One grandparent, who welcomed the 'strict discipline', contrasted the building with the 'beautiful' building at Oakington Manor Primary that her grand-daugher had just left.

Parents at the school entrance today (white door)

There had been grumbles about the strict school rules at a pre-meeting with parents. They were told, 'If you don't like our rules, find another school!'

Several of the parents said they had not chosen Michaela but it was the only school available when their six choices were refused.

Clearly the school has a major job to win some parents round on several counts, including the state of the building, safety and discipline.  There may well be a split in the first few weeks between those who positively chose the school because of its 'strict, private school ethos' and those who were forced to take it because nothing else was available.

Challenging times ahead.

Parents and children speak out to save Stonebridge Adventure Playground

Not for the first time Stonebridge Adventure Playground, which has sertved generations of children in one of the most disadvantaged areas of Brent  since 1976, is threatened with closure.

Children and parents speak out in this impromptu video, recorded on Friday, about what the playground means to them.

Sign the petition to save the playground HERE

Brent Council calls for modification of Mayoral Development Corporation' for Park Royal/Old Oak while Hammersmith & Fulham opposes in principle

Brent's Cabinet which meets tomorrow afternoon, will be considering its response to the proposed Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC) that would take control of the regeneration of Old Oak Common and Park Royal. It would cover parts of Brent, Hammersmith and Fulham and Ealing.

Stephen Cowan, leader of  Hammersmith and Fulham Council, came out strongly against it in July, calling it a 'land grab'.

This council objects to an MDC at Old Oak and Park Royal. We are concerned about the Mayor of London’s record on delivering truly affordable homes for Londoners and do not believe he should be entrusted with sole responsibility on a scheme of this importance.

We are committed to changing housing policies so that we build homes for residents rather than investment properties for overseas speculators and look forward to working with Ealing and Brent councils to do that. There is no good business case for the Mayor to step in.

In fact, the move in government over the years has been to devolve more powers to local communities not take them away. The Mayor’s proposed organisation is a throwback to decades long gone, it would be undemocratic and unnecessarily takes away powers from local residents and local businesses and essentially hands them over to developers and unelected bureaucrats.

There is little information on Ealing Council's  response but Brent Council LINK does not follow Hammersmith and Fulham in opposing the MDC in principle:

To support delivery on the scale required there is no doubt a delivery body  with a strong regeneration focus is required. Without such a body there is a real risk that the opportunity HS2 and the Old Oak interchange presents for Brent will be missed. Arguably an MDC gives Brent greater influence over the proposals that will come forward at Old Oak as the Council will have representation on the decision making bodies.

The report goes on to seek some changes in the MDC brief..

In fact, when the Ealing Officer's report LINK sets out their demands if the MDC goes ahead despite their opposition, there is little difference between the two Councils.  Both seek changes in the borders of the MDC zone.  Both seek greater representation on the MDC and quote the Localism Act in their support. Both also seek assurances on the availability of genuinely affordable housing. Brent is also concerned about the CIL (Community Infrastructure Levy).

Countering the MDC proposal Hammermsith and Fulham call for a Joint Area Action Plan:

The Council has also discussed the potential for a joint Area Action Plan that would include land from LBs of Ealing and Brent as well as LBHF. Officers from the three Boroughs have been working well together on this project for a considerable period of time meeting weekly with the GLA and TfL as a JointProject Team and reporting up to a Project Strategy Board. LBHF has resourced the project with key staff who have led on and significantly progressed the project. This process could continue (subject to discussion and agreement with LBs of Ealing and Brent) and a cross borough Area Action Plan could be progressed by the three boroughs without the considerable expense and administration involved insetting up an MDC.

This is not mentioned as far as I can see in the Brent report - Brent offers no alternative, just a modification of the MDC. It is surprising that in dealing with a Tory mayor that three Labour boroughs have not cooperated more on their response.

Brent Officers call for the following local benefits:

Brent 'Local offer' service for parents of children with special needs and disabilities goes live

From Brent Council

 

Information and advice for parents and carers of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is now easier to access thanks to the launch of Brent's Local Offer.

Developed with the help of a parent support group and pupils from Brent special schools, the Local Offer is a single point of contact for families who want to find out about services and support for children and young people with SEND from 0 to 25.

Statutory services like education, social care and health are included, as well as information about leisure, transport, money advice and independent living, all of which can be searched for by area or age range.

Further work to review and enhance the information available on our Local Offer will take place with parents over the coming months so that we can ensure it is responsive to what you want and need.

Find a service in the Local Offer

Brent's Shahrar Ali pushes the diversity agenda in first speech as Green Party deputy leader

Shahrar Ali, the Green's Brent Central candidate at the 2010 General Election and a candidate for the GLA and European Parliament, was elected Male Deputy Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales earlier this month.

This is his first speech as Deputy Leader recorded at our Birmingham conference last weekend:

Amelia Womack, elected Female Deputy Leader, and an experienced member of the Young Greens also made her first speech at the Conference. Together with Natalie Bennett they are the team that will take the Greens into the General Election in May 2015 where Greens hope to retain Caroline Lucas' Brighton seat.

Update on Ashley Gardens Primary PRU closure

I understand that the closure of the Primary Referral Unit (PRU) at Ashley Gardens, near Preston Road, Wembley is to go ahead at the end of the month and the current staff will lose their jobs.

The Council has had discussions with the parents of the children who have been excluded from mainstream school. Some will be bussed daily to the Anna Freud Free School in Islington.  Anna Freud has a therapeutic approach to education.The total cost, including transport, is £18,500 annually  per child which the Council claim is cheaper than other placements.  Others will be integrated back into mainstream school.

Although this settles things for the moment, there is still no long-term solution to the problem of primary age children excluded from school. More children are likely to be excluded in the future, particularly with the 'too much, too soon' curriclum changes that come into effect this academic year.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that Year 1 boys in particular find the demands of a 'sit down, sit still, and learn' approach difficult and react against it - sometimes getting labelled as a behaviour problem or ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder) in the process.

Brent Council has a statutory responsibility for the education of excluded children.

Dave Wetzel of Fares Fair fame leaves Labour for the Green Party

Ex public transport lead for the Labour Greater London Council (GLC), Dave Wetzel, has announced on Facebook that he has joined the Green Party.

Wetzel said: 

As a new Green Party Member I consider all Government cuts are unnecessary and left the Labour Party this year because the Labour Front Bench intend to continue with cuts. This is totally unnecessary as instead we could adopt the Green policy and introduce an annual Land Value Tax so that rich landowners like the Duke of Westminster repay the land wealth we all create.

Wetzel alongside Ken Livingstone introduced the Fares Fair policy of low
transport charges which contributed to Labour's 1981 GLC election victory.

The popular policy went all the way to the Law Lords and was eventually over-ruled leading to a massive increase in fares.

Following the introduction of the new fares structure and the travel card car usage in London dropped by 10%, tube travel went up by 44% and bus by 14%.

In retrospect many saw the policy as ahead of its time and it certainly puts the current high fares into  perspective. LINK

A battle with the Tory government led eventually to the abolition of the GLC and the Inner London Education Authority.

Dave Wetzel is the President of the Labour Land Campaign and CEO of the consultancy Transforming Communites.

It will be interesting to see how his thinking influences the Green Party.