Call for reduced dog walking limits

An ePetition to Brent Council has been organised by Carol Nicholls calling for the limit on the number of dogs walked by any one person in Brent Parks to be reduced to four, rather than the limit of 6 agreed at the Executive last week:

The petition can be signed HERE

We the undersigned petition the council to change the decision of the Executive, which sat on the 14/11/2011, which was to allow a person to walk up six dogs in the parks and open spaces of Brent.

The only people who would wish to walk such a large number of dogs at one time are professional dog walkers. Many of whom do not live in Brent, but come here because their own councils have a far lower number. These people do not pay Council Tax to Brent whilst those that do have to pick up the bill via the Parks Department budget.

Local park users of all ages are apprehensive, if not frightened, by such large numbers of excited dogs who are allowed to run free off of their leads. It is impossible for a person to have proper control of six dogs or to see when and where they have fouled. This means that the walker is unable to pick up the faeces. It just lays there until an unsuspecting child or adult comes across it. Dog faeces on a child or adult's shoes is at the very least unpleasant, but worm infested faeces has severe health implications should a child or football player get some on their skin, in a wound, or in their eyes.

All park users, whatever their age, have the right to walk, play, socialize or just sit in Brent's beautiful parks and open spaces without the fear of six excited dogs disturbing their peace, or have to look before taking a step, just in case they tread in something unpleasant.

For all these reasons we ask that the councillors rethink their decision and make the maximum number of dogs a person can walk to be four.

Most Brent schools will be closed by pensions strike on November 30th

Most schools in Brent will be closed on November 30th as staff from the teacher, headteacher and support staff unions show their anger at the Government's plans to make them pay more, work longer and get less in their pension. The National Association of Headteachers has voted overwhelmingly to strike alongside the other teachers and lecturer unions ATL, NASUWT, NUT and UCU as well as the support staff unions UNISON and GMB.

On visits to schools around the borough staff have raised concerns with union representatives s, not only about their own pensions,  but how the Government’s proposals will put off young graduates from entering teaching. Already those young teachers with large loans to pay back are thinking twice about staying in the teaching profession if their contributions rise by 50%.

But the idea that teachers will not be able to retire on a full pension until they are 68 is the one that causes the most disbelief and anger.

Jean Roberts, Joint BTA Secretary said, “Everyone knows that teaching is a stressful and demanding job, one that requires a great degree of stamina particularly with younger children. Do parents want their children educated by 68 year olds? This proposal for a start shows that the Government have no idea of the realities of teaching today.”

Shane Johnschwager, NASUWT secretary said, “Teaching is a hard job that no one ever gets rich doing. A good pension has always been part of the deal and all Brent teachers are asking for is a dignified retirement. We are sure that Brent parents recognise how hard their children's teachers work. The Government wants us to pay more, teach until 68 years of age, and receive less. Can anyone see the logic of this? Striking is a last resort. We feel we have been left with no choice.”


Hank Roberts, ATL Secretary added, “ The bankers and financiers, with the Government aiding and abetting them, nearly bankrupted the country. We, the taxpayers, were forced to bail them out and now they are trying to make us, who did not cause the crisis, pay. George Osborne had said our pensions are being made worse and we have to pay more to pay off the deficit. We are not going to. We are fighting for a fair pension for teachers and a fair pension for all.”

On 30th November the joint unions are holding a rally at 9.30 am outside The Torch pub in Wembley Park (Bridge Road, opposite the ARK Academy and close to Wembley Park station). Speakers include Mary Bousted, ATL General Secretary and Christine Blower, NUT General Secretary who have made a special effort to attend before leading the march of thousands of education workers which will be held in central London.

Comment
As a school governor, retired teacher and NUT member I am strongly in favour of this strike for all the reasons stated above. Our teachers and our children deserve much better than the treatment they are receiving from the Coalition government. Most public sector pensions are not enormous, despite what the Tories say, and of course mean that such workers do not have to have recourse to pension credit and other benefits.

Rally around the Torch of solidarity on November 30th

Click on image to enlarge

 November the 30th will see a powerful show of solidarity when striking education  workers rally at the Torch pub in Wembley Park before departing for a rally in Central London. The rally is supported by  seven unions and will hear speeches from Mary Bousted (ATL), Christine Blower (NUT), Terry Hoad (UCU) and Shane Johnschwager (NASUWT). Mary Turner of the GMB has also been invited and the rally and strike is also supported by the National Association of Headteachers and UNISON. The unions cover headteachers,  support staff, lecturers; nursery, primary and secondary teachers and many others.

The rally will commence at 9.30am and is open to all who support the action to safeguard pensions. Strikers and supporters will then leave en masse about 11am to join the central London demonstration in Lincoln Inns Field before marching to the rally at Victoria Gardens.

2012-13 Budget and School Crossing Patrols to be debated on Monday

Brent Fightback's demonstration against school patrol and street sweeping cuts

 Monday's Council Meeting will debate the Council's Budget priorities for 2012-13 - Town Hall 7pm.

At the end of the Council Meeting which debates the  First Reading of the 2012-13 budget or at 8.30pm, whichever is sooner, there will be an Extraordinary Council  Meeting on a motion from the Lib Dem  Opposition about school crossing patrols:

School Crossing Service

Council notes:
• That the council’s proposal to axe 30 out of 47 school crossing patrols in Brent aroused immense public concern
• That as a result the administration brought forward revised proposals in September,which were agreed by the Executive
• That whilst the new policy has reprieved some of the most high-profile crossing patrol sites it will still result in the council reducing the number of school crossing patrols over time, initially at so-called “low-priority” sites
• That the following schools have crossing sites designated by the administration as “lowpriority”

o Malorees Infants & Junior (Brondesbury Park) – Aylesstone Avenue & Brondesbury Park
o Swaminaryan School (Stonebridge) – Brentfield Road
o St Marys RC Primary (Kilburn) – Canterbury Road
o Kensal Rise Primary (Queens Park) – Chamberlayne Road
o Fryent Primary (Fryent) – Church Lane
o Our Lady of Grace Juniors (Dollis Hill) – Dollis Hill Lane
o Our Lady of Grace Infants (Dollis Hill) – Dollis Hill Lane
o Stonebridge & Our Lady of Lourdes (Stonebridge) – Hillside
o John Keeble Primary (Kensal Green) – Manor Park Road
o NW London Jewish School (Brondesbury Park) – Mapesbury Road
o Salusbury Primary (Queens Park) – Milman Road
o Wembley Lyon Park Schools (Alperton) – Mount Pleasant
o Oakington Manor Primary (Tokyngton) – Oakington Manor Drive
o Convent of Jesus & Mary Infants (Willesden Green) – Park Avenue
o Roe Green Infant & Junior (Queensbury) – Princes Avenue
o Salusbury Primary (Queens Park) – Salusbury Road
o Sudbury Primary (Sudbury) – Harrow Road

Council believes:
• That school crossing patrols are an important road safety service
• It is wrong for the council to seek to blackmail schools into paying for crossing patrols by threatening to withdraw crossing patrols unless schools contribute, especially as schools are unable to use their delegated schools budget for this purpose and many school crossing patrols service children from more than one school.

Council resolves
• That the implementation of the policy should be suspended pended a referral to scrutiny to consider:
• That the council should provide school crossing patrols at the sites listed above at no cost to local schools
• That the council should withdraw its policy not to recruit and fund replacement crossing patrol staff at the above sites when the existing member of staff leaves
• That the council should withdraw its policy of ‘poaching’ staff from “low-priority” sites to fill vacancies at “high-priority” sites.

Stark impact of government 'social cleansing' housing policy in Brent

Post eviction scene?

Brent Council expects 512 families to lose their homes through being unable to afford their rent in private accommodation as a result of  the Housing Benefit cap in January 2012, a further 714 in February and 799 in March. 

The weekly loss of benefit will be:
1 bedroomed accommodation £7.69
2 bedroomed £34.40
3 bedroomed £98.74
4 bedroomed £200
5 bedroomed £282.24

Clearly the cuts will affect people with large families disproportionally.

Jacky Peacock, Executive Director of Brent Private Tenants Group, in quietly setting out the figures at today's meeting organised by Barry Gardiner at Brent Town Hall. did more to bring home the seriousness of the situation than any passionate politician's speech could have done.

She reported that in 2009 there were 22,281 privately rented homes in Brent, representing about 84,000 people. There were more children in privately rented housing than in social housing.  Tenants were young and not so young professionals often having to stay in rented accommodation into their 40s or 50s, half of all  renters were on housing benefit. There were students, migrant workers and older tenants with regulated tenancies.

She said that in 2010/11 Brent Council had to find private lettings for 548 families and between April and October another 173. Anyone moving into 'temporary accommodation' as a result of losing their home could expect to be in it for 10-11 years. Many rents in the cheapest third of rental accommodation were already above the capped amounts.

Rents had already increased by 5.7% this year and landlords were expecting another 6% over the next 12 months. One third of privately rented homes fall below Decent Homes Standards and 15% have serious damp problems compared with 8% owner occupied and 10% social housing. Private tenants were four times more likely to live in a cold home with resultant health problems. May were forced to go to bed to keep room rather than  try to keep warm sitting in their room.

Jacky said we had never seen a situation like this before: families would be forced to move out of London to find affordable accommodation with the resultant dislocation of support from friends and families and disruption of children's education.

Cllr Janice Long, Brent lead member for housing, told the full hall that she had nothing but doom to convey.  She said she could see no light at the end of the tunnel. She told tenants that the worse thing they could do was to not pay the rent and get into debt - it would  be better to move, She said that if they got accepted as homeless by the Council that was not the end of the problem as there was no spare bed and breakfast accommodation - it would be provided outside of Brent. She said that making the argument that children's education would be disrupted if the family moved far away wouldn't wash - they would have to find a school elsewhere.

Looking forward to the future Janice said that 'affordable' housing wasn't the answer as the Coalition government had changed the definition of 'affordable' to 80% of the market rent - making it not affordable to Brent residents on the average Brent wage. In addition the government would cut housing benefit to those without a job whom they deemed able to work.

She said, 'The Council is not to blame. It's the government that has decided on the social cleansing of London."

Contributing from the floor Shahrar Ali admired Cllr Long's honesty but wondered if rather than merely manage the consequences of the cuts ('You sometimes sounded like a member of the Coalition') the Council should be doing more to engage in the fight against them.  We heard about landlords harassing 80 year olds to get them out of property, landlords giving tenants notice to quiet who tried to get the landlord to improve insulation through the Green deal, a 25 year teacher who could not afford to move out of her mother's home, people who had the income:price ratios to get a mortgage but not the hefty deposits now required, a woman who been forced to move six times in rapid succession losing deposits and fees with each move.

The social cost in terms of health problems, disrupted education and temporary accommodation costs would outweigh the 'savings' made by the government through their benefit cap, according to several contributors. However, as I murmured to my neighbour, most of those costs would be shifted to already hard-pressed local authorities and away from central government budgets.

In my contribution I told the meeting that my experience at Chalkhill School was that families were already being evicted as tenancies came to an end and there were already increased numbers in temporary accommodation. Families were being offered accommodation as far away as Birmingham and Milton Keynes. Sometime ago I met a Nepalese family who had moved to Milton Keynes who had to move again because of racial harassment from local youth there.Brent families, used to living in a multiracial environment, might face similar problems.

I noted that the recent consultation on the Wembley Plan stated that developers were not currently willing to build affordable housing because of low profits. Plans had been put on the back burner and they were instead investing in private student accommodation. The Council needed to negotiate with Quintain, the main developer, to ensure the housing was built. Cllr Janice Long confirmed that the Wembley Plan's definition of affordable was the old one, rather than the new 80% of affordable rent definition.

When  I asked that more be done about locating and taking over empty housing, Janice Long at first said that often such housing had a story attached to it, but later said that the present Compulsory Purchase of Empty Properties policy inherited from the last Brent administration was gummy (lacked teeth) and could do with strengthening. Jacky Peacock said that despite problems her experience was that if the local authority had a robust CPO policy on empty properties and implemented it, for every one property compulsorily purchased owners would put anothet100 on the market.  Jacky also agreed that with Sarah Cox that other empty property in Brent could be purchased and converted to housing where appropriate.

Chris Williamson, Labour MP a member of the shadow housing team, said that the previous Labour government hadn't got everything right on housing but would learn from its mistakes. The Labour Party wanted to bring the private rented sector up to standard but accepted its role in society. He stressed that the Labour Party was in 'listening mode'. He said that the supply of affordable housing needed government intervention and investment in it would provide a stimulus to the economy.

The meeting ended with a call for a big campaign on the issue and requests for people to join the Brent Private Tenants' Rights Group. LINK Navin Shah, Labour AM for Brent and Harrow, reminded the audience that they would have a chance to express their views electorally in next year's Mayoral and London Assembly election.

Find out more from  Brent Private Tenants' Rights Group 36-38 Willesden Lane, Kilburn, London NW6 7ST Tel: 020 7624 4327 info@bptrg.org   Website: www.bptrg.org

Climate change havoc must be addressed urgently

With the economic crisis wreaking havoc on people's lives  it is hard to maintain a focus on an even greater threat:  climate change.  I think the economic crisis is like the aftermath of an earthquake with everyone concentrating on getting people out of the wreckage and saving lives. Meanwhile on the horizon a huge tsunami, representing climate change, is inexorably heading towards us, and will sweep away our feeble efforts...

On Friday the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published a report stating that heavier rainfall, fiercer storms and intensifying droughts will have a devastating effect in coming decades.  The Guardian reported Connie Hedegaard, Europe's climate chief, as saying, 'Last week, the serious warning from the International Energy Agency. Today this IPCC report...With all the the knowledge and rational argument in favour of urgent climate action, it is frustrating to see that some governments do not show the political will to act. In light of the even more compelling facts, the question has to be put to those governments in favour of postponing decisions: for how long can you defend your inaction?'

Bob Ward of the Grantham Research Institute at the LSE said, 'The report shows that if we do not stop the current steep rise atmospheric levels of greenhouse gases, we will see much more warming and dramatic changes in extreme weather that are likely to overwhelm any attempt human populations might make to adapt to their impacts.'

A recent meeting Food, Floods and Climate Change held at Willesden Green Library was very timely in dealing wiuth these questions.  It was addressed by Cllr. Jonathan Essex (Green Party) and Barry Gardiner MP, Ed Miliband's Special Envoy on Climate Change.  Full videos of the meeting can be seen HERE

Extracts are below:

Introduction and Cllr Jonathan Essex (Green Party)

Barry Gardiner MP (Ed Miliband's special envoy on Climate Change)

Chalkhill demonstrates its 'Get Up and Go' at community event

Willow plans - will Chalkhill residents lose out?

Chalkhill residents displayed a 'get up and get things done' attitude yesterday when they met for their AGM and Community Information fair.   The regeneration of the estate and the recent positive publicity around Chalkhill Primary School's excellent 'good with outstanding features' Ofsted report fed a mood of optimism, although the impact of cuts cast a shadow over the future.

On the optimistic front we were told that there was a meeting in a few days to consider the bids for the work on constructing the new Chalkhill Park and work should begin within 4 weeks. It is hoped to open the park by June 2012 but things could be delayed in the event of severe winter weather.

Winston Small, the new manager of the Poplar Grove Youth Centre told the meeting he had already taken action to restore the MUGA (Multi Use Games Area) at Poplar Grove.  Along with a possible restoration of the BMX track at St David's Close and installation of a skateboarding area, the shared community/school play area at Chalkhill School, and the new park with its two children's playgrounds, adult exercise equipment and 'kickabout area' much needed facilities for children and youth seem to be taking shape.

Barry Gardiner spoke about his work with youth and particular concerns about disproportionate use of stop and search of black youth. Gardiner and Chalkhill youth had raised the issue of lack of respect and transparency in the way stops were carried out with the Borough Commander. A new App had been adopted as a pilot in Brent. This will allow youth to record the reference number of the stop, the officer's number and whether they had been treated respectfully.  The information would be publicly available making the process more transparent and accountable.

We applauded Elmi. who had worked on this issue with Barry Gardiner,  a member of the CRA and the Chalkhill Wanderers football team, who has just been awarded a Masters degree. He said that he would not have been able to achieve what he had without the support of the Residents' Association. Louisa, another young member who works with local youth spoke about the success of the Chalkhill Sports Academy, which is funded by Ward Working. She said, "We're all neighbours but we don't know each other. Working together lets you know that we have issues in common and we can do something about them".  She paid tribute to the support they received from Barry Gardiner and Shafique Choudhary, one of the local ward councillors.

Among issues that residents felt needed to be addressed were confusion over the new recycling arrangements and the 'cyber inequality' experienced by residents who could not afford land telephone lines.  I told residents that we had 20 free (15 hour) nursery vacancies at Chalkhill available for any children who have their 4th birthday before August 31st and some residents said that full-time places would be really appreciated by the community.

The current consultation on the future of the Willow Children's Centre was a concern. There was some confusion over what the proposals might actually mean for local families.  It was strongly felt that the Willow was a resource that formed an integral part of the regeneration of the estate and a route to tackling deprivation. If the number of places was reduced because it was switching the priority to providing for disabled and special needs children this would impact on the community.

The information note to parents and carers states (LINK):

Nursery services will continue at Willow but the focus from 2012 onwards will be towards providing places for children with disabilities or children in need. Although there will no loss in terms of the number of places at Willow, the allocated places for children with disabilities and children in need will increase. The current children will not be affected in terms of places but in the future this will lead to a reduction in the number of general fee paying and NEG (15 hour free entitlement) places. In addition to this as a result of the proposed restructure your child’s key worker may change

It is not clear what proportion of the available spaces will be taken up by children with SEN or disabilities and how many ordinary places will be left for local children. The proportions will also dictate whether the Willow is mainly a 'special nursery' or an integrated provision.

Full consultation details are HERE. The consultation ends on December 14th and decisions on the reorganisation of the Willow Children's Centre and closure of Treetops and Hamony nurseries will be made in January 2012.

Veolia under scrutiny on human rights

Brent councillors will shortly be receiving a letter (LINK) signed by 302 borough residents setting out the case for Veolia, the French multi-national, to be removed from the list of potential  contractors for the new 25 year, multi-million contract for the West London Waste Authority. A similar letter has been signed by residents in the other five boroughs that constitute the WLWA.

The case is based on the premise that in its activities in the illegally occupied territories:

a) Veolia has demonstrated racist practices in its recruitment policies; and

b) Veolia has been guilty of grave misconduct through its active participation in violations of international and humanitarian laws and norms

Veolia is one of the company's on the current 'long-list' from which the WLWA will be making a short-list soon.

Brent and Harrow Palestine Solidarity Campaign is holding a meeting on Tuesday November 22nd at 7pm at Willesden Green Library to discuss the issues concerned (see notice below):

Kingsbury stabbing an 'isolated incident in a safe area'

After the stabbing of four policemen this morning in Kingsbury, the community police liaison officer for Queensbury Ward  has issued the following statement to the community: BBC Report HERE

This morning at approximately 8 o'clock there was a incident in Kingsbury High Road. Police officers were dealing with an individual who became violent.  Three police officers were hurt during this.

The individual has been arrested.

The officers who were involved are from Harrow Borough, the officers are receiving medical attention and the injuries are not life threatening.

I would like to reassure you that this was an isolated incident, Kingsbury is a safe area and I would encourage you to pass this message into our community.

Officers will be carrying out further patrols to reassure the shop keepers and local business in the area as well as the community of Queensbury and Kingsbury.

'Secret' woodland opened up by Parks Department

After the Dog Control Orders another piece of good news from Brent Parks Department.  A small but precious piece of woodland is being opened up on Barn Hill. The wood is between the large expensive houses of Barn Hill and the Pilgrims Way council estate and includes the disused tennis courts that have now been colonised by small trees, shrubs and brambles (circled below)

Birds' eye view with woodland area circled

It was surrounded by an 8 foot fence which protected wildlife but also prevented public access. The fence was broken down and dangerous in places and is currently being removed.

The woodland this morning, alive with small birds

 The Parks Department said in a letter to nearby residents:

The Council recognises the importance of the wildlife in this area and aims to enhance the wildlife. The aim will be to have a mosaic of woodland, a few footpaths through the woodland, some open areas with herbaceous vegetation and nearby grassland areas.

The lower tennis court backing on to the estate, where the surface remains relatively intact, will be retained as an informal 'kick about' football area for local children and youth.

Good news on a lovely autumn day, although the pear tree next door, in full blossom, seems confused by the unusually mild weather!

Brent's Housing Crisis under the spotlight on Sunday

Victoria Hall in Wembley Park under construction - now occupied

Martin Cheesman, former Brent Director of Housing, warned more than a year ago that housing benefit cut would hit local families hard, with many families unable to afford the rents of housing in the area.

The cap comes into effect early next year but families are already being given notice to quit by private landlords and are having to be move into temporary accommodation, including bed and breakfast placements in hotels. The Brent Budget report to be discussed by the Council on Monday predicts this will make a significant impact on Brent's already depleted budget. Some families are having to move to Milton Keynes or even Birmingham to find affordable housing with a disruptive impact on the children's education.

Single people, and especially the vulnerable, will be badly hit by the Cap and will be required to share accommodation as Housing Benefit will not be enough to pat the rent on a one bedroomed property in the area.

The problem is compounded by developers reluctance to build affordable housing in the current economic and they have switched investment to other areas included the building of student accommodation in the Wembley Stadium area. In all there will be about 2,600 students in the Stadium area, about 10% of the population.

This could, with careful planning, have benefits for the area if amenities are provided locally that students will use and thus benefit the local economy. It could bring some much-needed creative political thinking into the borough, However if their needs are not addressed students will use amenities close to their colleges and Wembley will lose out ,with the blocks becoming little more than dormitories.

This is the accommodation, built, under way or planned: Victoria Hall, Opened September 2011 - 436 places; Quintin iQ, to be completed by Summer 2012 - 660 places; Dexion House - consent granted 14.06.11 - 661 places; Quintain NW Lands Planning Committee approved 12.05.11 subject to Section 106 agreement and GLA approval, 880 place

Clearly though if the building of affordable housing is put on the back-burner by Quintain and other developers, local families already on the waiting list will suffer as well as those made newly homeless. In the Spring council rents in Brent are likely to rise by 7%.

On Sunday Barry Gardiner MP is holding a public meeting on the housing crisis at 3pm on Sunday at Brent Town Hall.  The meeting with examine standards, costs and availability in private rented housing.

The debate on Sunday will discuss the likely impact on vulnerable private tenants in light of the coalition government’s Housing Benefit caps. It will also focus on the impact of current rent rates and housing conditions on low-waged people in work, particularly young people and students, who are finding it increasingly difficult to save for a property of their own as a result of ever increasing rent rates.

Speakers at the event will include Chris Williamson MP, shadow minister for Communities and Local Government, Jacky Peacock, director of the Brent Private Tenants Rights Group, and Navin Shah, London Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow.

The meeting will start at 3pm in Committee Rooms 1-3.

December 22nd - Wembley Central by-election

The Returning Officer for Brent has decided that the by-election to fill the vacancy in the Wembley Central ward will be held on Thursday 22 December.

Anyone wishing to stand for election may submit a completed nomination form between Friday 18 November and 12noon on Friday 25 November.

The nomination forms are available from the Electoral Services office at Brent Town Hall.

  

The by-election follows the resignation of Labour councillor Jayesh Mistry.

Brent Fights Back at the People's Assembly - Video

Thanks to BNCTV for this footage of last week's People's Assembly

High Court ruling on libraries may have ramifications for Brent decision

A ruling in the High Court reported by the Independent today may have some relevance to the upcoming High Court decision on Brent libraries:

Judge McKenna, sitting as a deputy High Court judge, ruled Somerset and Gloucestershire had failed to comply with "public sector equality duties" owed to vulnerable social groups, including single mothers, children, elderly and the disabled.

The judge declared the decisions were "not merely unlawful decisions, but in substance 'bad government', and it is important to the rule of law to give due respect to these issues of equality".

The ruling means that Gloucestershire council must reconsider its plans to withdraw funding from 10 of its 38 libraries and the withdrawal of its mobile library service.

Somerset must reconsider its plans to end funding for 11 of its 34 static libraries and four of the six mobile libraries already off the road.

James Goudie QC, appearing for the councils, warned the library campaigners that the victory could turn out to be an "own goal" - and even more "draconian" reductions in library services could be introduced.

He said that, when the local authorities came to reconsider their decisions, it was at least "highly likely" they would make the same decisions again.

He said: "They might actually be more draconian from the point of view of those challenging libraries' closures than the decisions made months ago."

Preston Manor High School to take the Coop route to academy status?

Preston Manor All-through Foundation School is considering applying for academy conversion, along with several other Brent secondary schools using the Cooperative Trust model.   They are approaching neighbouring primary schools to see if they are interested in joining in the process.

Matthew Lantos, following in the steps of the headteachers of Kingsbury High and Claremont, is arguing that his school community should not be deprived of the additional £600,000 that conversion would bring. During the debate surrounding Preston Manor expanding into primary provision, he denied that eventual conversion to academy status was on his agenda. I argued on this blog that competition with Ark Academy made that likely and since then Claremont and Kingsbury High have converted.

The argument is of course that schools converting to academy status may gain for themselves but at the cost of the schools remaining within the local authority because the central education fund is cut as a consequence - up to £900,000 per secondary school according to Brent's Budget Report.  Such a loss, multiplied several times over, would severely affect Brent  being able to carry out its role as an education authority.  Ironically one of the arguments put forward for this strategy is that the role of the local education authority has been weakened making conversion more attractive.Conversion will weaken the education authority even more.

If the main reason for adopting a cooperative school model was the adoption of cooperative principles this could have been done without becoming an academy and without the funding implications. By adopting the cooperative school approach of working in clusters alongside academy conversion, academies are extended into the primary sector.

The cooperative model may on the surface look attractive in terms of ethos and values but will need close scrutiny during the consultation process.  Preston Manor's plans should make for an interesting debate when headteachers and chairs of governors meet with Krutika Pau, Brent  Director of Children and Families on Thursday evening.

More on Cooperative Trust Schools HERE

Well doggone! Dog Orders Approved

Multiple dog walker in Fryent Country Park

 Brent Executive tonight approved new Dog Control Orders for Parks and Open Spaces. It restricts the total number of dogs that can be taken onto land  by any one person to six, excludes dogs from certain areas such as playgrounds and specifies areas where dogs should be kept on leads.

A local resident spoke in favour of reducing the maximum to 4 reflecting lower numbers in neighbouring boroughs and for more controls in Edward VII Park Willesden because of the number of children using the park. She also advocated restrictions on the length of leads as dogs as those on long leads were less easily controlled.

I spoke in favour of the  restriction on numbers walked by an individual and told councillors about my experience of encountering packs of up to 15 dogs in Fryent Country Park accompanied by a single 'professional' dog walker, and the danger this posed to children, and animals such as the horses at Bush Farm.  I warned about the difficulties of enforcing the Order when many of the professional dogs walkers come from outside Brent, having been displaced by similar Orders in their own boroughs.  There was also the possibility that they would bring a friend and thus increase the number of dogs they could lawfully walk.

Cll;r Powney (yep - he's in charge of this as well) said the policy would be reviewed after a year as the Council hadn't had such a policy before and needed to assess its enforcement.   Cllr Gavin Sneddon suggested that rather than a review after one year there should be one after six months and Cllr Powney (yep, he's is charge of this as well!) accepted the proposal.

The issues behind Mistry's resignation

According to some Labour Party insiders Cllr Jayesh Mistry's resignation, although ostensibly for 'personal reasons', was because of his disillusion with the lack of power and influence of Labour councillor backbenchers and disquiet about the extent of the cuts the Council are making.

If this is indeed the case, the resignation should ring alarm bells as it reflects broader concerns about attracting  committed and independently minded people into local politics, reducing the age profile of councillors, and addressing the democratic deficit in Brent Council's  current political structure.

Brent's 'Bad News' Budget Report

The first report outlining the pressures on the Council budget for 2012-13 and beyond makes for sober reading. There is a projected over-spend for this year of £1.8m which the Council  will try and eliminate without resorting to using its reserves.If it used reserves they would reduce to £8.3m which would be below the Council's target.

In her preamble to the report Labour Council Ann John notes:

The Council has over the last year been forced to take a number of difficult decisions as to which services to support and improve and which to discontinue or limit. There have been some predictable high profile instances where citizens have objected to the curtailment of a service they particularly value. This is understandable; this Administration did not seek election on a platform of massive cuts. However the front-loaded 26% target set by Government over the life of the Spending Review means that major cuts in services are inevitable and as the size of the Council organisation will shrink, the content of what it does will also inevitably be curtailed.

Based on savings being achieved mainly through the 'One Council programme, the containment of 'inescapable growth' through a £5m annual contingency, savings already in the pipeline from previous decisions, and no rise in council tax this would leave a budget gap of:

2012-13 £4.4m
2013-14 £6.4m
2014-15 £22.5m
1015-16 £16.1m

A rise in Council Tax of 2.5% would reduce the gap in subsequent years:

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

The Council receives an annual grant of £2.6m if they do not increase Council Tax and this year only will receive an additional one-off grant of another £2.6m. Given the figures for 2012-13 this raises the possibility of raising Council Tax, even with the loss of £2.6m to protect services. The report warns that a failure to raise Council Tax over a number of years will erode the Council's underlying revenue position i the long term.

The Council expects a reduction in the formula grant received from central government of £13.1m in 2012-13 and a further £13,4m by 2014-15.

The report outlines the pressures on Council finances for 2012-13 these include:

• Grant reductions for housing benefit administration, social care training and unaccompanied asylum seekers
• The number of young people transitioning into Adult Social Care
• Contract prices rises in Environment and Neighbourhood Services
• Increase in cost of providing temporary accommodation when the housing benefit cap is implemented.

The report notes a further pressure arising from the increased cost of borrowing for capital projects when revenue funding sources are reducing. This means that interest costs are taking up an increasing share of total revenue resources. If the Council decides to reduce borrowing to close the budget gap there would have to be a reduction in the capital programme or the Council would need to find alternative sources of funding, presumably a difficult job in the current economic situation.

There are two further ring-fenced budgets. The report notes that there is potential for the ring-fenced Central Education Budget to lose significant amounts of money as a result of schools converting to academy status. They estimate this as up to £900,000 per secondary school.

The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) grant which provides government subsidy for rents will be phased out in 2012-13 and the HRA will be expected to be self-funding henceforth. There will be a one-off settlement in lieu of an ongoing subsidy of around £185m (to be confirmed) against an annual subsidy of £8.5m. Implementing government policy of convergence of council rents and those of social landlords 'implies a 7% rise' in council rents for 2012-13.

With room for manoeuvre  tight if the Council decides to implement Coalition cuts there is likely to be a rise in the costs of  Council services as well as further cuts in provision.

Cllr John sets out these proposals in her preamble to the report:

• That by the time of budget in February we bring forward a package of measures, with other public, private and voluntary sector partners to address the acute issues of employment and employability which face so many of our fellow citizens;
• That we take another look at the services and quality of life that people can expect in their neighbourhoods. It was our 2002-6 Administration that brought in the successful and popular policy of Ward Working; and it is now time to look again at neighbourhoods in a practical and meaningful way and to set out a coherent set of actions which is a Brent rather than Central Government approach to localism;
• That we concentrate on producing proposals that offers a comprehensive and targeted approach to working with young people and youth;
• That we pursue vigorously the integration of social care and NHS health services to provide a better, seamless and more focused set of services provided to local people and use the transfer of Public Health to Local Government control to make a reality of a concentration on prevention;
• That we work even harder to bring forward the regeneration of our Borough and adopt a strategy for our property which makes it integral to the economic renewal of Brent.

There is little space for this on the budget timetable set by the Council but it does include for late December: 'Consultation with residents, businesses, voluntary sector, partner agencies and trade unions on budget proposals'. This could be widened to include the whole community.  In January 2012 members are due to agree the proposals to go to the February Executive so timing is very tight.

What should the council do about Coalition instigated cuts? The debate begins.

Today's Any Questions? with Labour Councillors and representatatives of Brent Fightback  was a lively affair.  Janice Long and Jim Moher (with Lesley Jone as a later substitute for Moher) appeared for Brent Labour Councillors and Pete Firmin and Sarah Cox for Fightback. Pete Firmin is chair of Brent TUC.

Janice Long said she was unwilling to refuse to implement cuts as someone else making them would be worse. Cllr Moher said that he was the only member of the Executive to make changes in proposals as the results of representations and had not implemented the proposed cuts to school crossing patrols. He said the Council had protected front-line services but had to exercise the 'judgement of Solomon' in deciding what to cut. In response to ex-Labour councillor Graham Durham, who called on the council to unite with other London Labour councils and refuse to implement the cuts, he said that the situation now was far more difficult than the 1980s when Durham had been a councillor.

Sarah Cox said the Coalition had no mandate for the cuts in the NHS and it was time to resist bad laws. She said the Council should have put together a 'needs budget' and taken it out to the people of Brent as a basis for a united campaign by the council, its workers, and the Brent public against the Coalition's policies. Pete Firmin said that Labour councillors hadn't taken up opportunities when they could have worked with local activists, such as attending the Fightback lobby of Sarah Teather, MP for Brent Central. He said other London Labour councils were backing the public sector strike on November 30th but no such backing had come from Brent Labour council. Labour's  deputy leader, Cllr Butt, had referred a caller who wanted to oppose the overnight closure of Central Middlesex A and E Department, to Brent Fightback. The council itself needed to get organised against such cuts.

Janice Long said with the council having to choose between closing libraries and enabling people to carry on living in their houses she had to say that having a house was more important.  Her statement was challenged as conflating local government cuts and the government's cap on housing benefit.

Questioned by Shahrar Ali, Brent and Harrow  Green Party candidate for the London Assembly, about the cost of the new Civic Centre, Janice Long said the cost to Brent residents was neutral and it would reduce the council's carbon footprint and provide more space. It would  pay for itself over 25 years.  Cllr Moher said that the cost of the interest on the £102m project would be a further £25m but the Civic Centre would save the council £4m a year compared with the current buildings. He admitted that it was a difficult project to justify in the current situation of cuts and recession.

Pete Firmin said the we needed transparency and honesty about the Civic Centre and that another connected issue was the concentration of services in Wembley rather than in the various localities of Brent.

Cllr  Moher said that he was right behind the November 30th strike as an individual but that the council itself wanted to see lower public sector pensions because of their cost.  He supported a pension based on 'career average' earnings rather than a 'final salary' scheme. He justified this on the basis of the immense burden on council tax papers of the pensions of high salaried senior officers but a member of the audience pointed out that this would also affect the low paid - the average salary based on 40 years service was much lower than one base don final salary.

In response to join the NUT and other unions at the Torch, Bridge Road, Wembley at 9.30am on November 30th, Janice said that she hadn't known about that, but the Brent Central Labour Party would be on the march.

There was a brief discussion about whether campaigners should stand an 'anti cuts' candidate in the forthcoming Wembley Central by-election. There were a variety of views on this and it will be discussed at a later Fightback meeting.

Earlier in the day there had been speeches from Chris Coates about the Brent SOS Libraries Campaign and its success in mobilising people, raising money and getting  high profile support form famous authors. Jeremy Taylor, President of Brent Teachers Association and NUT representative at Preston Manor High School, spoke about the impact of cuts on students at his school and how the changes in pensions would affect teachers. He expressed concern both for teachers and students if teachers were forced to go on teaching well into their 60s when the job required so much energy. He demonstrated that the changes in pension contribution represented a wage cut in real terms.

In a wide-ranging speech Kishan Parshotam, Chair of Brent Youth Parliament and a Brent UK Youth Parliament member said that the BYP was campaigning against negative stereotyping of youth and for their voice to heard. He said that they supported the reduction of the voting age to 16 so that politicians would have to listen to their concerns. The cuts in libraries would mean over-crowded study areas and poor ICT access for the most needy students, particularly in the south of Brent, who lacked those facilities at home.

He told the audience that in discussions 8 and 9 year old children were well able to talk about how cuts would affect them and should not be under-estimated.

As well as councillors, campaigners and residents, the meeting was attended by Dawn Butler, ex-Labour MP for South Brent, but she made no contribution during the open sessions. Cllr James Powney trotted past the venue just before the Assembly started but kept his head down and did not come in.

I think a valuable debate and perhaps even a dialogue was opened up during the day. Brent Fightback wants to involve a broader spectrum of people and this was a modest start. We now need to consider how to involve more people at a time when everyone is feeling hard-pressed and those most affected by the cuts are concentrating on day to day survival.

Shahrar Ali's take on the day is HERE

After the court verdict on libraries, will we have a political verdict at the by-election?

The appeal case concluded at the High Court yesterday with the verdict expected in 3 - 4 weeks time, which is comparatively fast in legal terms.  It appears that the decision will be mainly based on the issue of indirect racial discrimination as outlined in my previous blog.

Although a victory would be excellent news it would not 'save the libraries' as such but would force the council to carry out a proper Equalities Impact Assessment which may change decisions about which of the libraries should be closed.

The letter writing campaign to the Culture Secretary is about the much broader issue of whether the Council is providing an adequate library service after the cuts. The letters call for him to set up a Public Inquiry and post closure evidence on over-crowding of the remaining libraries; loss of study facilities, and children, disabled an the elderly being unable to access a library will be important.

The by-election in Wembley Central opens up the possibility of library closures becoming an election issue. Ealing Road library is in the ward and has suffered over-crowding since the closure of the other libraries. It also has a high Asian population, the group that the Appellants claimed had suffered indirect discrimination as a result of the library closures.

There is an entertaining and informative commentary on the hearing on I Spy Queen's Park HERE

Cllr Jayesh Mistry Resigns - By-election soon in Wembley Central

Cllr Jayesh Mistry

 The personable young Labour councillor, Jayesh Mistry, resigned from Brent Council this morning. Jayesh is a trade unionist and bus driver with strong roots in the local community. When I stood against him in a by-election in 2009 I found him a principled and friendly opponent.

No reason has yet been given for his resignation but the by-election will come at a time when the Labour administration is unpopular as a result of the cuts they have made in local libraries, street cleansing, adult day care and other provision. Their latest proposals are the closure of two nurseries.

Cllr Mistry represented Wembley Central Ward.

The resignation comes on the eve of the Brent People's Assembly where Labour councillors are due to join Brent Fightback supporters and answer questions from the public.

Borough Election Result May 6th 2010

Jayesh Mistry	Labour	2649	16%	Elected
Emad Al-Ebadi	Labour	2352	14%	Elected
Wilhelmina Mitchell Murry	Labour	2277	13%	Elected
Valerie Brown	Liberal Democrats	2122	12%	Not elected
Daniel Bessong	Liberal Democrats	1977	12%	Not elected
Afifa Pervez	Liberal Democrats	1917	11%	Not elected
Shaheen Butt	Conservative	1119	7%	Not elected
Ratna Kamdar	Conservative	1092	6%	Not elected
Miranda Colwill	Conservative	963	6%	Not elected
Rodney Freed	Green Party	210	1%	Not elected
Solomon Agbonifo-Ezomo	Green Party	174	1%	Not elected
Maya Sendall	Green Party	144	1%	Not elected

IT'S TIME FOR BRENT PEOPLE TO MAKE THEIR VOICES HEARD

This week I have been giving out publicity for the Brent People's Assembly along with other activists.  Shoppers in Harlesden High Street and  parents at school gates expressed their concern about the cuts and how they are impacting directly, and indirectly, on children.

With both the Coalition Government and Brent Council appearing to ignore the views of local people,  the People's Assembly has been organised as a forum where people can make their voices heard and talk about what the cuts are doing to them and their families.

We will hear about these experience and about the campaigns that are going on locally. This is a chance for the Brent community to get together and organise to make sure their children have a future.

BRENT PEOPLE'S ASSEMBLY

GIVE OUR KIDS A CHANCE 

Saturday November 12th 12.30 - 4.30 pm

Harlesden Methodist Church, 25 High St, NW10 4NE

(Just around the corner from Jubilee Clock)

 

The timetable for the day is:

 

12.45-1.30 Opening speeches:

 

Lee Jasper (Black Activists Rising Against Cuts),

Jeremy Taylor (National Union of teachers)

Kishan Parshotam (Chair, Brent Youth Parliament),

Speaker from Brent SOS Libraries Campaign

1.30-2.30 Workshops (all same subject):

Experience of cuts, successful campaign strategies, next steps

2.30-3.00 Refreshments plus video One Million Climate Jobs

3.00-4.00 Any Questions? 

Two Brent Labour Councillors and Sarah Cox and Pete Firmin from Brent Fightback answer questions from the audience

4.00-4.30 Reports from workshops and the way ahead

Kids are welcome and there will be some provision for them

Financial transparency bill will help tackle the tax dodgers

Blog by Caroline Lucas on FALSE ECONOMY LINK

The public services we all benefit from are funded by the taxes we all pay. It’s pretty straightforward. But that means people and companies who fail to pay the full amount of tax that is expected of them are starving our public services of funds. If we want to fight spending cuts, we must tackle that failure to pay the right amount of tax.

Taken together, more than £100 billion is currently being lost because of abuse of loopholes in the tax system, tax bills remaining unpaid and from illegal non-payment of tax. That’s why, earlier this year, I tabled the Tax and Financial Transparency Bill in Parliament, which is due to have its second reading in the Commons on 25 November.

A report published earlier this year by Tax Research UK estimated that regulatory failures by HM Revenue & Customs and Companies House mean that around 500,000 companies a year fail to pay their tax or file their accounts.

My Bill would ensure that banks have to provide details on all accounts they maintain for companies operating in the UK, so that HM Revenue & Customs and Companies House can chase those companies who do not file the returns they're obliged to make for the missing information – and the tax they owe.

The Bill would also require banks, companies and trusts that operate in the UK to publish details of how much tax they pay in all the jurisdictions where they operate. That means requiring them to reveal what use they make of offshore tax havens. Full transparency will enable the tax authorities (and the public) to make sure that these companies are paying the right amount of tax, and make it easier to close loopholes and crack down on tax avoidance. Who could argue with that?

Well, just because it’s fair and it makes sense, doesn’t mean it won’t need a huge amount of campaigning momentum – and political will – to challenge the vested interests which do so well out of tax dodging. To help channel that momentum, I’ve set up an e-petition on the Government’s website, which echoes the demands in the Bill. Everyone who is opposed to cuts in public services, and who thinks the same rules should apply to everyone when it comes to paying tax, should sign it. If we can gather more than 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in Parliament.

A successful e-petition can achieve a lot by helping to build pressure for change, so please do sign the petition and keep circulating the link. With a coordinated effort, we can reduce tax avoidance and reduce the terrible harm it does to our crucial public services.

Council failed to investigate whether library closures indirectly discriminated against Brent Asians, QC claims

Outside the High Court today

The public gallery  of Court 63 was crowded with Brent library campaigners today as the first day of the Appeal was being heard.  The Appellant's QC made it clear that the library campaigners' case was based on the process that Brent Council followed in its consultation and decision to close the libraries, rather than whether it was right to close libraries as such.

She focused particularly on the Council's failure to recognise that its own data signalled the possibility that the closure of the six libraries would indirectly discriminate against the Asian population of Brent. The figures showed that whilst Asians constituted 28% of the Brent population, they accounted for 46% of library users while the white population of 45% accounted for only 29% of users. As 3 of the six libraries that were closed served areas with higher than average  Asian population,  they were left with only Ealing Road library in the ward with the most dense Asian population. (Before the closure of the other libraries more than 60% of Ealing Road users were Asian)  So not only were people deprived of their own libraries but the remaining library at Ealing Road, as later evidence testified, had become over-crowded as a result of the closures.

Cllr Ann John appears outside the High Court

The QC also drew attention to the fact that despite their high usage of libraries only 21% of responses to the consultation came from Asians. She argued that this should have alerted the Council to ask why Asians used libraries more than other groups and  why they had not been effective at getting the views of the Asian population. A double whammy. There had been no attempt by the Council to investigate if Asians would be more affected than other user groups.

A further argument was that the Equalities Impact Assessment, as required by legislation, had been done at the last minute, and after the decisions about closure had already been made for all practical purposes. Although the EIA was very long it was premised on the Council's belief that there was 'no risk' of indirect discrimination and therefore did not analyse the data. It was a question of 'never mind the quality, feel the width'. The Appellant's submission was that the Council had an erroneous approach to the EIA and had claimed that 'only' the elderly, those with a disability and the very young,(those who could not travel or migrate to other libraries), would be affected.

Council confusion over library 1.5 mile claim

Following Brent Council's correction of the oft-repeated claim that no resident is further than 1.5 miles from a library which left the impression that the original quote was based on all libraries, including those that have now closed, a Brent Council spokeswoman seems to muddy the waters again. It appears they were including libraries in other boroughs.

She is quoted HERE on London24, the Archant Group's website:

The Brent Council spokeswoman said it was “nonsense” that the council has been misleading anyone.

She said: “It is true that everyone living in the borough is no more than a mile and a half from a library, either in Brent or a neighbouring borough, and many residents choose to use a library in another borough. This was clearly explained in the proposals.’’

It looks like we'll have to all get out our measuring sticks. Could it be that Brent is measuring it 'as the crow flies' rather than actual walking distance?

Brent Nursery Closures Will Force Us To Pay Double

From Today's Evening Standard

Parents today told of their fears for affordable childcare if plans to close two council-run nurseries go ahead.

They claim that hundreds of children could be left without nursery places. 

Parents at Treetops Children's Centre in Willesden said they were given eight weeks to come up with a business plan to run the nursery from March - or face paying more than twice as much for private childcare.

Treetops has about 50 children on its books and 100 on a waiting list. Also set to shut is Harmony Centre in Neasden. 

Brent council said it was consulting on closing the centres because of "huge" government funding cuts. It claimed the nurseries are predicted to make a total loss of more than £250,000 for 2011/12. 

The council is also consulting on a further nursery, Willow, which could be restructured, taking children with disabilities and some children with special needs.

Parents in the borough say that many of them, especially single mothers, will be forced to give up jobs and go on to benefits because of a shortage of affordable nursery places. While Treetops costs £33 a day, other local nurseries are said to cost up to £70.

Charlotte Sones, whose one-year-old daughter Margot attends Treetops, is leading a campaign to save the centre. Mrs Sones, a 39-year-old writer and telesales worker from Harlesden, said: "I feel sick to my stomach about it, it's keeping me awake at night. 

"One, because the council have forced a group of parents into the position of having to save a nursery, and two, having the trauma of potentially having to move a child who has been there since she was seven months old." Charlotte Schilcher, an event manager from Harlesden, has two children, Alfie, six, and Betsy, one, who have both attended Treetops. 

She said: "Parents are really worried and nervous about the future and their children. These are the things that are directly affecting families in this area." Parents have until December 14 to submit plans to run Treetops, which is set to close on March 23rd. 

Brent council's head of early years and integrated services, Sue Gates, said: "We can't afford to carry on as we are now. There's lots of alternative childcare provision locally so families shouldn't face any problem finding a suitable place for their child and, if these proposals are agreed, we will help them to make alternative arrangements."