Rydon Construction is on London Mayor's London Development Panel

Indro Sen addressing the recent UCU Congress

Open letter to the Mayor of London, in response to his open letter to the Prime Minister dated 18 June 2017 by Indro Sen, a friend and a caseworker of one of the  Grenfell Tower victims

Mayor of London

Mr. Sadiq Khan

City Hall

The Queen's Walk
London SE1 2AA

 20 June 2017

Dear Mr. Khan,

It is commendable that you have written your open letter highlighting, quite rightly, in my view, some of the concerns faced by poorer and powerless sections of our community of all colour, creed and political persuasion, who live in tower blocks up and down the country, whose voices of concern with regards to health and safety have not been heard by landlords for a long time.

My name is Indro Sen.  I taught in a college, the College of North West London in Brent for the last 11 years, and have been informed that one of our staff member who used to live in Grenfell Tower was released from hospital following the fire at her residence. She is currently staying in a hotel and awaits being rehoused permanently at a place of her choice. I hope those in power will carry out the promises given to her and other inhabitants of Grenfell Tower as well as those living in similar accommodation elsewhere. 

The reason for writing to you is because of what I have recently learnt about your plans to deliver affordable housing to Londoners in line with your election promise, which, in my view does not sit comfortably with the following passage in your open letter to the Prime Minister.  I quote the relevant section below.

You say under the sub heading:

Tower block safety

“Residents I spoke to are worried about the risk of this tragic incident happening elsewhere – particularly in tower blocks that have had similar cladding installed as part of renovations.

People are terrified that the same thing could happen to them. I raised this with Ministers on Wednesday and Thursday, and they agreed to lead coordinated efforts to ensure that all other tower blocks across the country are indeed safe.

This issue is not limited to the type of cladding fitted; the material it is attached to and how this has been achieved are also critical factors.”

What I have recently learnt is that you have set up a team of builders/constructors known as LDP (London Development Panel) LINK, which includes amongst its member Rydon Construction Limited, one of the contractors that have featured in newspaper reports as responsible for providing cladding around Grenfell Tower.

I believe it is a matter of public interest that your office discloses the process/due diligence carried out by your office in selecting this panel of constructors so that Londoners who might benefit from affordable housing will know that these constructors have been selected properly having carried out checks.

I note that you have urged the Prime Minister that the public enquiry produces an interim report. May I invite you to submit your selection procedure for this panel together with the names of 25 LDP members (or any additional members since their selection) to the panel of enquiry and further invite you to declare a moratorium on any building works or plans carried out by any of the LDP panel members until the interim public enquiry report makes clear findings of fact so that the public are assured that none of your panel members are in any way responsible for or contributed to the Grenfell tragedy. 

In addition you should investigate whether any of these LDP members have cut corners with regards to other high-rise buildings, or buildings used by Londoners as you have quite correctly, asked the Prime Minister to investigate the contractors and/or builders responsible for high rise buildings including Grenfell Tower on behalf of the residents.

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you need any clarification with the subject matter of this letter.

Indro Sen

The LDP Panel from GLA website LINK

'Delay South Kilburn Masterplan until community has reviewed it,' request Granville and Carlton users

Leslie Barson and Deirdre Woods, representing the users of South Kilburn's Granville and Carlton Centres are unable to attend tonight's Cabinet meeting which will consider the Masterplan Supplementary Planning Document. They have submitted the following comments for consideration by the Cabinet and a request that the Cabinet delay acceptance of the plan to enable the community to review what should be their plan.

The South Kilburn Masterplan Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) is over 180 pages long over 3 sections. The people from South Kilburn were given 6 weeks to comment on this document which lays out the plans for their homes, parks, health, education, small businesses, and community services in the area for the next 10 -15 years. Each site is given 2 A4 pages in the document. The first half of the page gives the details about where the property is with the second half of the same page incorporating a short paragraph about each of these three issues: ‘Description’, ‘Justification’ and ‘Design Principles’. The second page gives a vague shadow drawing of a huge block or blocks in the place of the current buildings. 

1.   Firstly this is not an adequate amount of time or information for the community to read, understand , digest  and examine the implications of such a massive plan. This can be seen by the small number of community responses to the SPD. Surely changes of this magnitude cannot be accepted on the basis of numbers of responses  in double figures when there are over 8000 people living in the area?

2.   Secondly, all the buildings in the chapter called ‘Site Specific Principles’  are to be replaced with new buildings.  Much of the plans arguments for this demolition are simplistic and debatable such as there is a lack of clarity about what is the front or the back of the property” (Crane and Zangwill) or the property “is currently in a prominent gateway position and the current development does not capitalise on this” (William Dunbar and William Saville Houses). This needs to be properly examined, each building on its own merit, before lives are disrupted for years and changed forever.

3.   Thirdly, you are deciding on Monday 19 June 2017 that this SPD replaces the one was developed over some years WITH the South Kilburn Community and then voted on. How can a plan created by the Council and its consultants replace a plan voted on by residents? The 2005 SPD may need updating with changes to law occurring since the first was voted on but the scale and magnitude of the changes make this SPD beyond all recognition of the SK residents plan

                                                                                                             

Therefore I ask the Cabinet to please delay the acceptance of this plan and help support the community  to review THEIR 2005 Masterplan in a long term in-depth manner as befits a document of this size and importance and with such huge ramification for the residents of South Kilburn.

Leslie Barson and Deirdre Woods representing the Users of Granville and Carlton

Greens: 'Let's hear May calling this latest terrorist atrocity for what it is'

The Green Party has responded to the suspected terrorist incident in north London
Jonathan Bartley, Green Party co-leader, said:

My thoughts and prayers go to every person directly affected by this attack and to Muslim communities right across the country. Once again our amazing emergency services appear to have responded with diligence and deserve our gratitude for their life saving action.

This was an attack directed at Muslims but it was also an attack on all of us. In the past month, the people of this country have shown enormous resilience and unity in response to some truly horrific events and it is that unity and togetherness that will make us stronger as we face down these threats.

This attack plays into the hands of terrorists and threatens to exacerbate a downward spiral of even greater violence. The prime minister must avoid knee-jerk responses that might appear tough on paper but end up handing terrorists a victory they crave: a curtailment of our freedoms.

Dr Shahrar Ali, Green Party home affairs spokesperson, said:

We are appalled and shocked by the heinous and barbaric terrorist attack on unwitting Muslims in the early hours of today outside Finsbury Park mosque. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected and their families, no less in the month of Ramadan.

Now as ever a strong, zero tolerance approach must be adopted towards rising hate crime directed at Muslims and all faith communities. The Islamophobic intent of the striker of terror today needs to brought out into the open not minimised or covered up.

I shall continue to call out double standards amongst our media reports and politicians' half-baked statements when I see them. These biases only risk to exacerbate the problem and add to injury by fuelling resentment amongst minorities affected that they aren't being treated equally. Let's hear from Theresa May calling this latest terrorist atrocity for what it is.

Barry Gardiner invites Brent tower block residents to fire safety meeting on Monday

Barry Gardiner, MP for Brent North has invited residents of tower blocks in Brent to a meeting on Monday 19th June 7.30pm at St James Church Alperton, 34 Stanley Avenue, HA0

4JB.

In the letter he tells the residents that the primary purpose of the meeting will be to listen to existing concerns about fire safety matters and how suggestions and complaints are handled.

The Borough Fire Commander and Brent Council Chief Executive have been invited or to send substitutes along with the Chief executives of local Housing Associations.

Gardiner states:

Such tragedies (Grenfell Tower) are less likely to happen when there is transparency and good communications between residents and manager of the property. It is my hope that the meeting can help ensure that this is the case.

Gardiner's initiative is welcome, particularly as Brent Council response in the Guardian/Observer today LINK seems to cast doubt on the earlier comment it made to the Kilburn Times LINK.

The Guardian:

 Councils in Coventry, Sandwell, and the London boroughs of Newham and Brent were unable to say if they had carried out any inspections or even how many tower blocks they had.

The Kilburn Times:

In a report shown to the Brent&Kilburn Times, housing chiefs have set up a six-point action plan which includes checks that claddings applied to the outside of buildings are fire rated.

They are also liaising with the London Fire Brigade (LFB) to seek clarity and guidance around the “self evacuation” vs “stay put” briefing as many block residents are told to stay in their properties in the event of a fire.

The inclusion of Housing Associations in Monday's meeting is important because several of our local ones are now in the business of 'building to rent' or acting as managers for sites built by others. LINK

Join in with #GreenforGrenfell school action June 23rd

 

 

Schools are coming together in support of the victims of Grenfell Tower, with a 'Green for Grenfell' dresscode on 23 June 

 

Schools across west London are set to unite to raise money for people affected by Wednesday's tragic fire at Grenfell Tower.

The Fulham College Academy Trust is urging pupils and staff to show their support and solidarity by donating money and wearing #GreenforGrenfell on 23 June.

The idea has struck a chord across the tri-borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith and Fulham and Westminster, with 50 schools pledging to take part in just 12 hours.

All money donated will go to the Kensington and Chelsea Foundation’s Grenfell Tower Appeal, which has been set up with the support of the London Emergency Trust Fund. You can donate here. Use the hashtag #GreenforGrenfell on Twitter.

I hope some Brent schools will join in. This is how one school is taking part:

 

How schools can take part in clear air action week June 23rd-July 2nd

The NUT nationally has just agreed to endorse the clean air schools pack produced by Friends of the Earth and Muslim Aid  LINK  (or read embedded version below)  that provides lessons plans, assemblies and much more.

Just about every school in London is near enough to a main road to be in breach of EU clean air regulations. This has a significant impact on health. 

The government was taken to court to force it to publish its plans to cut air pollution during the election. Their response was so weak (devolving the responsibility to local authorities with no significant national initiatives) that they are being taken to court again.

Information on the GLA plan to clean up London's air can be see HERE.

Brent Council champions the London Livng Wage by advertising jobs at £7.50 per hour while Political Assistant will earn £34,338 - £37,293

Brent Council has done a great deal of public relations work championing the London Living Wage so I was surprised last week to see the council tweeting a link to the above vacancy at 'up to' £7.50 per hour.

The Council's own Pay Policy statement LINK states:

 The council has implemented the London living wage. This rate has been applied to all staff who receive less than £9.75 per hour. Those whose substantive salary is below the London Living Wage are placed on the nearest spinal column point to ensure an equivalent rate to the London Living Wage. The London Living Wage will not apply to apprentices as they are paid in accordance with nationally defined training rates. The Council is an accredited London Living Wage Employer and asks its contractors supplying services to the Council to pay their staff the London Living Wage. As contractors are employers in their own right, the council cannot legally force contractors to pay the London Living Wage but has built into its procurement procedures a requirement to do so. The Council also encourages schools to pay the London Living Wage. This begs the question on why the Council is using its website and social media to advertise jobs at exploitative poverty wage rates when elsewhere it makes the case for the difference the London Living Wage makes to employees:

 Rather better paid is the post of Political Assistant to the Brent Labour Group currently advertised on the Jobs Go Public website  LINK although the job is only open to internal candidates currently employed by Brent Council or temporary agency workers currently working in the council. See the stern warning I have highlighted in red at the end of the advertisement.

The temporary post will cover the period leading up to the 2018 Council elections:

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Salary range: £34,338 - £37,293 p.a. inc.

Contract: Fixed term (Until 31/05/2018)

Hours of work: 36 hours per week

Location: Civic Centre and other locations from time to time

This is an exciting, high profile opportunity to work at the cutting edge of local government for an innovative local authority.

Brent is a tremendously vibrant London borough where the iconic arch of Wembley Stadium dominates the skyline. Spanning both inner and outer London, it is a borough of huge contrasts in terms of its economic, environmental, ethnic and social make up. Brent’s diversity is evident to all who visit our borough and our long history of ethnic and cultural diversity has created a place that is truly unique and valued by those who live and work here.

The council is pursuing a far-reaching transformation agenda that better meets the needs of our community so it is an exciting time to join us.

The Post

The Labour Group is looking for experience in working – paid or unpaid – in a political environment, a professional approach with the organisational skills to deal with shifting priorities. You will need to demonstrate your awareness of new legislation and political developments (local, regional and national) with particular reference to the Labour Party.

This post is politically restricted and will be offered in line with current legislation governing Political Assistant Posts. This is a temporary role to 31 May 2018.

As the Group’s Political Assistant you will be carrying out a range of interesting duties including:

·      undertaking political research in Council matters

·      assisting with the composition and issuing of press releases

·      attending Labour Group meetings to provide information and advice to Council Members

·      liaising with Members of Parliament and Officers of the Council

The Person

Ideally, you will be a member of the Labour Party and have:

·      research/administrative experience

·      experience of dealing with public bodies or political organisations

·      a good knowledge of Council political structure and public affairs

·      good interpersonal skills and organisational skills

·      good computer skills including word processing, spreadsheets, database and desk top publishing, and

·     the ability to work under pressure as part of a team as well as use your own initiative

We would like to hear from you.

Closing Date: 30 June 2017 (23:59)

Assessment & Interview Date: 12 July 2017

Additional Information

This position is only open to current employees of Brent Council or Temporary Agency Workers currently working in Brent Council. External candidates are not permitted to apply for internal only roles. Forwarding ‘internal only’ roles to external candidates may lead to disciplinary action being taken.