Temporary accommodation for the homeless at Brent House?

Brent House in Wembley may house homeless families if the Cabinet agree the proposal on Monday.

Brent House has been vacated by the Council and Air France. It will be 12 months before Henley Homes are likely to get planning permission so the Council is proposed to outsource to a provider in the interim.

The Officer's report states:

The existing office space is to be converted into non self-contained accommodation with shared facilities across eight o f the nine floors (or as many floors as possible). The scheme is expected to accommodate between 40-60 units of non-self contained accommodation (approximately 120 persons at any one time). The scheme will require planning permission for a temporary change of use. 

The accommodation will be provided to homeless (and potentially homeless) households under Part VII of the Housing Act 1996.  At the end of the scheme the provider(s) will be required to hand-back the building to the Council with vacant possession and free of fittings and temporary installations put in for the scheme. Households in occupation will be provided with alternative suitable temporary accommodation in advance of vacant possession being required

BBC reveals Northwick Park A&E winter problems and questions over mental health patient admissions

The BBC have just published an on-line device that lets you see how your local A&E is coping this winter LINK

These are a selection of the results for Northwick Park:

As well as these issues the treatment of mental health patients is giving cause for anxiety.

Sarah Cox has posted this on Brent Fightback Facebook:

BRENT NHS KEEP YOUR PROMISES

Before the Central Middlesex A & E closed on September 10th, several people with mental health issues had raised fears about what would happen after the closure if they needed to be admitted to the mental health hospital close by in Park Royal . I asked a question about this at a packed Health Partners Forum because having to go all the way to Northwick Park A & E in order to be admitted to Park Royal, would obviously entail extra stress for patients in an already vulnerable state. The whole meeting was assured that those responsible were aware of that problem and that there would be relevant professionals on the staff of the Urgent Care Centre at Central Middlesex so that patients requiring admission to Park Royal would not need to go to A & E at Northwick Park.

I have now learned that this was not true. Mental Health patients who need to be admitted to Park Royal are being told to go to A & E at Northwick Park where they face long waits before being sent all the way back to Park Royal. This adds greatly to their stress and anxiety.

What can we do to make the relevant authorities keep their promises?

Discovering local democracy on-line, the Brent Council way

Guest blog by Philip Grant
 

Although Martin has shared his experience of Monday evening’s Brent Council meeting with you in his blog on “The death of Brent Council”, I am writing to share some personal thoughts, and images, of following part of the same meeting on-line.

At 6.50pm that evening I went onto Brent Council's website to watch the Full Council meeting, so that I could see and hear what (if anything) Cllr. Butt had to say about the Employment Appeal Tribunal's decision to reject the Council's appeal in the Rosemarie Clarke case, and hoping that he would finally make a public apology to Rosemarie, on behalf of Brent, for the harm she had suffered at the hands of Cara Davani and other senior Council officers. I was in for a disappointment, as the “Live Streaming” web page showed:

I have never followed social media before, but it seemed that #BrentLive was my only option, so I spent the next half-hour or more watching a column at the right hand side of the screen. The first tweet to appear was from Cllr. Matthew Kelcher (one of the new Labour intake in May 2014), just before the meeting began, to say that he might be making his maiden speech. Thereafter a slow succession of #BrentLive tweets, all apparently from people at the meeting, began to scroll down the column. 

The on screen details said that councillors would ‘be able to reply to tweets’, but it appeared that Cllr. Kelcher had a whole list of tweets ready to issue, each one praising a positive story announced by the successive Cabinet Lead Members who presented their reports to Council. Cllr. Roxanne Mashari even re-tweeted his comment on her positive story! 

One “tweeter” at the meeting commented that although many councillors appeared to be busy on their tablet ‘phones, very few of them seemed to be involved in posting tweets on #BrentLive. An exchange of tweets with another “tweeter” wondered whether they were sending DM’s to each other (perhaps someone will add a comment to let me know what a DM is!). The other replied that they might be playing Candy Crush, which I think is probably a reference to the actions of a Westminster MP, but again I am ignorant of such social media or on-line games terms.

 

Not all “tweeters” were convinced by the views put out on social media by Cllr. Kelcher, especially when it came to the report by the Leader, Cllr. Muhammed Butt. With all of the # and @ references in Matthew Kelcher’s tweets, I got the impression that he must have prepared them in advance, but perhaps he really is a social media whizz-kid (as opposed to my social media dinosaur), and can compose them far more quickly than I can write emails. 

 

Pukkah Punjabi showed that she is not just an anti-Labour “tweeter”, with her comments about the response from the opposition Conservatives. I seem to remember something about a cure for insomnia.

By this time I was finding #BrentLive a bit slow, without the live pictures and sound from the Council Chamber to let me hear exactly what my elected representatives were saying about important issues. Perhaps it would have been better if I had made the effort to be there in person. But then again, perhaps not, if the final tweet I read was a fair reflection of proceedings.

And I never did find out if Cllr. Kelcher made his maiden speech.

Philip Grant

DM equals Direct Message. Tweeters who follow each other can send each other private direct messages.

Green Party's opposition to neo-liberalism and austerity marks them out from other parties

Sam Stopp, Labour Councillor for Wembley Central, caused a stir among fellow councillors, when he posted an article professing admiration for the Green Party, naming them as the true opposition on Brent Council (despite having no councillors) and calling fro Labour and the Greens to work together: I admire the Green Party-I just don't believe them

He uses the example of Brighton to say that Greens, faced with reduced Council funding, do the same as other parties. It is a fair point but ignores the fact that this is a minority adminstration which has been subject to much criticism from within the Green Party (See Red Pepper debate). Extrapolating from one minority Green council to the party in general is a step too far.

One paragraph indicates the difference between the parties quite well:

In the never-ending age of neo-liberalism, the Greens should also be praised for calling for an end to the post-Thatcherite consensus. Often I wish the Labour Party would get back to its roots, oppose this country’s addiction to capital and unashamedly advocate a radical redistribution of wealth. But that’s for another day.

The throw-away last sentence is crucial. The people suffering from the Coalition's austerity measures cannot wait for another day - they are being made homeless today, their children are going hungry today and they will be without heating today.

The Green Party has a clear position of opposition to neo-liberalism and the austerity agendaLINK. As Ed Balls made clear on the BBC Radio 4 programme today, Labour is still trapped within that agenda, and we can look forward to the continuation of austerity and public sector cuts under a future Labour adminstration.

I am a former member of the Labour Party (well it is about 50 years since I left!) who counts himself a socialist and a trade unionist, and because of my concerns about the environment and climate change, an eco-socialist. That is why I am a member of Green Left. I do not think the problem of climate change can be solved within a capitalist system based on ever rising consumption and plundering the planet's resources to extinction.

Sam Stopp calls for Labour and Greens to listen to each other. I am not interested in tribal politics and as a Green will work with anyone on  day to day basis to drive forward the environmental and social justice agenda but we cannot ignore fundamental differences.

Written in a personal capacity

Cllr Butt's alter ego takes to the Twittersphere

Let's face it Brent needs a bit of cheering up at the moment so Cllr Butt's new Twitter identity looks promising, even if it has confused a few people.

The parody account has only a few followers at present but that may change as the situation at Brent Council becomes more widely known.

Here are a few of the first tweets:

And for balance here are recent tweets from the real account:

Three Brent Central General Election candidates united in support of Stonebridge Adventure Playground

A child left this message for staff at Stonebridge Adventure Playground

 
The three candidates General Election candidates so far selected for Brent Central have all pledged support for Stonebridge Adventure Playground which is threatened with closure.

Dawn Butler,  the Labour candidate,  spoke to the local press soon after the plans were announced and has been photographed wearing the Save Stonebridge red t-shirt when she visited the site to give her support to parents and children fighting for the playground;s survival

On November 25th Green Party candidate Shahrar Ali made this statement:

The Stonebridge Adventure Playground is a shining example of what the Green Party means by the common good. For 42 years this facility has been serving three generations of residents in one of Brent's most disadvantaged areas. It is a safe place for children to play and for parents to socialise; encourages outdoor play and exercise rather than leaving children indoors hunched over a screen; and allows for creativity and risk-taking under experienced supervision. The playground is at the heart of the community and helps to keep it stable.

It appears that Brent Council is failing to acknowledge all these positives but instead is making decisions based on narrow short-termism based on accountancy rather than people.

We cannot risk the value of the Adventure Playground being recognised only when it is too late, as happened with the closure of half the borough's libraries. Brent Council must go back to the drawing board and find a way to keep the playground open and staffed, whilst also providing the extra school places and affordable housing that is needed. Any developer contributions should be earmarked for the benefit of existing Stonebridge residents and that includes the Adventure Playground.

Ibrahim Talguri wrote to the playground on December 5th:

Thank you for welcoming me to the Playground. While it was a cold, wet December night, the warmth inside the centre was immediate the moment I stepped inside.

I could instantly feel the sense of home and belonging that you have given to so many children over the last 40 years. For men and women who came here as youngsters to now bring their own children and grandchildren means that you have touched upon something truly special.

A home from home, that provides safety, kindness, and joy. I told you that I could feel the spirit of the place as being alive and vibrant with the happiness of several generations of children. 

To put it simply. Stonebridge Adventure Playground has soul. Real soul that money can’t buy or replace. That’s why I will give you my complete support in keeping this at the heart of the community for Stonebridge and for many years to come.

It is all to rare to find such treasures within London today. It is a city that change beyond recognition and at an unbelievable pace. It is so important to hold close and tight, the things that make our communities what they are.

Stonebridge Adventure Playground is a family home for a big family. Where the children play and the adults take comfort in their company together. This magic place must be protected for the generations to come.

A Conservative candidate has not yet been selected.

 During his budget speech at Full Council on Monday, Brent Council leader Muhammed Butt said:

I respect those for whom the adventure playground remains a key part of their community. I admire how people have stepped forward to say ‘this matters to me, this matters to my family.’ The reality is that we cannot continue to fund projects like this in the way we once did.

Over the last few months, we have asked those who run the adventure playground to work with us to see whether supervised play can continue on that site or be relocated. And so, we hope the adventure playground will respond to our call, to work with us for the good of the people of Stonebridge and Brent.

Cuts may have greatest impact on the most vulnerable says Brent Council budget report

Brent Council spending

There was a short Twitter exchange during last night's Council Meeting on the possibility of raising Council Tax with some arguing that by freezing Council Tax for five years the Council had undermined its own revenue base.  Others said that the amount raised beneath the 2% limit was so small as to hardly compensate for the loss of government grant made to Councils who freeze the tax. In terms of the amount raised as a proportion of the £54m cuts required it was piffling.

Former Labour councillor, and Brent Executive member, James Powney discusses this on his blog today. LINK

In Green Party circles the idea of a 'progressive' Council Tax has engaged people in debate LINK

Meanwhile here in Brent full reports have been published for each  potential area for cuts or revenue raising possibilities. In some cases there are soft and hard options given. The latter being ceasing service delivery.  The report to the cabinet makes clear that no decisions are required of the Cabinet at this stage except to go out for consultation on the proposals.

These are the links to the various reports:

• Chief Finance Officer's report budget-report, item 4. PDF 214 KB
• Appendix 1 Savings budget-app1, item 4. HTM 1 KB
• Adult Social Care 1-asc, item 4. PDF 299 KB
• Children and  Young People 2-cyp, item 4. PDF 266 KB
• Environment 3-env, item 4. PDF 399 KB
• Regeneration and Growth 4-rg, item 4. PDF 462 KB
• Assistant Chief Executive 5-ace, item 4. PDF 238 KB
• Public Health 6-ph, item 4. PDF 118 KB
• Finance and IT 7-fin-it, item 4. PDF 124 KB
• Human Resources 8-hr, item 4. PDF 120 KB
• Budget Savings by theme budget-app1-pdf-format, item 4. PDF 214 KB

The main report states:

There is a risk that the collective savings will have a significant impact on those vulnerable people who are the greatest users of council services.

Overall, the groups most at risk of being impacted are older people, disabled people, children and people from black ethnic backgrounds.

There would also be a low impact on women, people who do not speak English and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. There is a risk that disabled people could be severely affected by experiencing a raft of changes from different service areas, even if each proposal may appear to have a limited impact in isolation.

Many proposals will have an impact on staff, especially in corporate services where the majority of the budgets are made up of staffing costs.

Given the scale of staffing reductions, there is potential for these proposals to have a significant impact on all levels of the workforce. The majority of the workforce is BAME and it is important that changes are not disproportionate in terms of their impact. Brent’s Managing Change Policy and Procedure provides a framework to be followed during times of organisational change to minimise the risk of a negative impact on any equality groups. The Managing Change Policy requires that staffing changes undergo equality analysis to ensure that the restructure process is conducted in a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory manner. The Equality Team will review the cumulative impact of restructures on the workforce diversity profile.

 Cllr Sam Stopp's commentary on the Full Council meeting should perhaps be read with the above comments in mind LINK

The death of Brent Council

Brent Live, the live transmission of Council meetings, failed last night, but in a broader sense Brent Council itself died.

The first reading of the 2015-17 budget included a limp defence of the 'dented shield' approach by Council Leader Muhammed Butt and his deputy, Michael Pavey, called on local people to help decide where the cuts should fall.

At times it appeared that there was a collective failure of imagination as councillors failed to grasp the enormity of what might unfold over the next few years, although Dan Filson acknowledged 'it is a nightmare, we have dreadful decisions to make'.

It is the death of a Council that serves the people.

It also died in a moral sense when Labour combined to defeat a Brondesbury Conservative motion calling for an independent inquiry into the Employment Tribunal case which found Brent Council guilty of racial discrimination, victimisation and constructive dismissal. In a cogent speech Cllr John Warren said that the same team responsible for that verdict were now undertaking the staff restructuring and would be managing the cuts in staffing resulting from budget decisions. He asked how staff could have confidence in that process and urged them to write to him with their concerns.

Labour councillors listened to him in silence and then in response Cllr Butt was reduced to making sweeping statements about valuing diversity and accused the three person Brondesbury group of not being diverse.

Cllr Wilhelmina Mitchell Murray appeared to be having difficulty in stomaching what was being said and got up and left the chamber as the vote was called. She returned after the vote.

The 'official' three person Kenton Conservative group failed to vote with their three person Brondesbury Park colleagues.

A number of councillors were absent including Cllr Zaffar Van Kalwala. He was the only one of the group for whom apologies were not read out.