Harlesden Town Centre Progresses

It is good to see that the Harlesden Town Centre remodelling is now well advanced in its final furlong.  Having been there at the start, it is good to see such a project through.  Once the physical rebuild is complete, I suspect the next biggest problem will be the installation of time banded collections. 

The Queensbury and Pub Protection

I see that Save The Queensbury campaign is advocating a pub protection policy to be included in Brent's new local Plan.  This may be a good idea, but I don't think it would have had much of an application to the Fairview appeal.  Fairview's proposal was to retain the same amount of pub space, and the same amount of community space, as part of their development.  That is why it was not cited as a reason for refusal.  Of course, the problem of the sheer scale of such a development in the Mapesbury Conservation Area, and without any similarly sized buildings nearby, remains.

Sikhs in World War One

I recommend the Sikhs in World War One exhibition at SOAS.  Among other things, it has interesting footage of the UK's first Asian RAF (RFC) pilot.  It also has some interesting insights into the wider politics of race in that era, which could be more nuanced than one might suppose. 

Lord Adonis and Tri Borough

Lord Adonis is launching a review into the Triborough project.  I have long suspected that this is more of a triumph of spin than one of substance.  It will be interesting to see whether Lord Adonis thinks the claimed gains are genuine.

Income Generation in Libraries

Some of the complexities of income generation in Libraries are set out in this report.  My impression is that many of the well meaning suggestions made about both Council run and Community managed libraries just don't understand what a minefield this can be, especially if you run into litigious partners.

The Language of Priorities and Brent Budgets

As Brent's councillors start to grapple with the prospect of setting budgets for the next four years, they might do worse than take on board the analysis of Flip Chart Fairy Tales.  My own experience of debates in Brent chimes with his view that there is "an air of unreality".  Very often I have seen people confronted with appalling figures of how the income of Brent Council is being reduced, and then plunge into a discussion of how they are going to spend more money on this or that.  This year's budget was one such example.  As he says, the LGA figures he quotes are actually fairly optimistic, and assume some increases in charges and efficiency as a given. 

I fear that Brent Council is just going to float along without proper planning, until suddenly the money simply isn't there and panic cuts have to be implemented.  When that happens, councillors cease to exercise any sense of priorities and simply try to balance this year's books, until they go through an even more difficult exercise next year.

Nye Bevan famously said that "The language of priorities is the religion of socialism."  It is also really the basis of all serious politics.

Poverty in Newham

Here is an examination of problems of poverty in Newham.  Many of these issues apply just as strongly in Brent as in East London. 

Brent Council Planning Consultation

There is still time for anyone who wants to to respond to Brent Council's consultation on its development policies.  The document and a consultation form are here.  The documents wound there way through the Council bureaucracy some time ago.  All this may seem quite remote, but it actually concerns a very wide range of things that directly impact on people.

Willesden Junction Rezoning?

I see that Stratford station is to be rezoned to 2 by TfL.  Willesden Junction was also once in zone 2 and thus Harlesden Town Centre benefited from the lower fares.  Boris Johnson has of course ramped up London fares to some of the highest in Europe.  If both Willesden Junction and Stratford were in zone 2, it would help create an affordable rail route across North London, helping to divert more people out of their cars.

Skateboards in Roundwood Park

I am delighted to see Cllr Lesley Jones is close to success in her long held ambition to get a skate board park in Roundwood Park. I know she has been aiming at this for years.

Localism Act Confusing Procurement in Lincolnshire

A second part of the Lincolnshire Library judgement that I find interesting is the procurement aspect.  This was a big concern for us in the Brent judgement, and one of the litigants' many points of attack in that case.  The Lincolnshire judgement indicates that the Localism Act may have made life much more complicated for Local Authorities.

The basic principle of procurement law is that you declare transparently what you want, and then have a level playing field for bodies to bid for it.  This is particularly important in the EU where a contract may be open to international interest, as the future of Lincolnshire libraries appear to be.

These principles seem to make a "Big Society" approach much harder, since the kind of small scale organisations that David Cameron seems to imply should bid are unlikely to have much procurement experience.  I noted before that in one example in Warwickshire there seemed to be shock at the amount of information that a Pre Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) asked for. Indeed, my own conversations with some would be Big Society operators led me to believe that they almost expected the Council to write their bids for them. 

The interesting thing about the Lincolnshire judgement is that a successful ground of challenge has been the swift rejection of Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL).  GLL are quite a big business.  They still have a fairly limited presence in libraries, but they are one of the biggest sports centre managers in London and the South East.  They are therefore well used to procurement.

The judge ruled that they should be considered a "relevant body" under the Localism Act.  In doing this he argued that they were a "charitable" body, which I don't think is really true.  I think they are a non-profit making company, which makes them a kind of Co-operative.  As a member of the Co-operative Party, I am all in favour of that, but it is different from a charity.

The difficulty for the procuring authority is that it creates a grey area between the kind of small scale organisation I think was envisaged under the Localism Act, and a full scale commercial procurement where companies like LSSI might be involved.  Since companies treated unfairly in a procurement can sue the procuring authority for profits foregone, that could be a real headache.

What Happens When the Money Runs Out?

There are some interesting thoughts on a Council running out of money here.  Setting an illegal budget was raised in 2011 by a few people, but I think generally dismissed as a loony left option.  The main conclusion of the Localgovernmentlawyer piece is that Eric Pickles may find himself taking over Councils as they fall apart.  If so, he may come to regret driving local government into the ground, as it far harder to put back together a collapsed organisation than to keep a functioning going.

Education in Brent

I have been thinking more about the recent Brent Education Commission report, which was swiftly rubber stamped last June.  It covers a wide range of issues, with a particular emphasis on improving educational quality in the later stages of primary school.  It also states that these aspirations need to be addressed from within current resources.  I think realistically they may need to be addressed with less than current resources.  If so, I wonder where in the current budget will be squeezed?

IT Defined as Part of the Statutory Library Duty

I have now had a chance to look at the Lincolnshire judgement on libraries, and I think it moves the debate about statutory definition on significantly. 

The conventional view of many professional librarians, and of the DCMS, is that computers and IT do not form part of the definition.  You can see this in the letter from the SoS confirming there would be no enquiry into Brent's s7 duty, which said:

"The total number of public access PCs is not a relevant matter under the 1964 Act, but in any event is mitigated by improved Wifi provision. It does not appear that there are an insufficient number of computers available."

Contrary to the SoS letter, the Lincolnshire judgement confirms the earlier remarks of the Judge in the Bailey case that in fact IT provision is in some sense part of the s7 duty.  The paragraph (4 in the Lincolnshire judgement) is worth quoting in full:

"It is apparent that library services were even in 1964 not limited to books or other literary material. We are now in the computer age and computer facilities are provided. They are used for the purposes of research and access to what is available and so are to a great extent an obvious "other material‟ which would fall within s.7(2)(a). But they are also made available to those seeking work or benefits since the systems now in place require in a number of respects internet access. Since such people are unlikely to possess their own facilities because they are likely to be too poor, a library provides them with such access and, incidentally, encourages them to use the other facilities available in accordance with s.7(2)(b). Thus it seems to me that all the computer services now provided by the defendant‟s libraries can properly be regarded as part of a library service within the meaning of s.7(1) of the 1964 Act. However, I do not think that an authority is bound to provide this particular service but, if it does it must continue to do so as part of its service."

This backs up the remarks of the judge in the Brent case in paragraph 116 of that judgement.  Basically, computers are part of the modern world and most of us can't imagine libraries without them. 

The last sentence of the Lincolnshire quote does, however, puzzle me.  I don't see the logic of it.  If the authority is "not bound to provide" IT services how can they fall under the statutory definition?  If they are part of the statutory definition, why would the authority not be bound to provide them?  Above all, is it possible using this definition, to charge for ebook lending, PC access, WiFi and so on?

These questions seem to me to be ones that the Secretary of State should be asked.

The importance of asking them is that authorities are throughout the country looking to limit their activities to the legal minimum.  Lincolnshire has gone further in this than any other authority, and the judgement confirms the legitimacy of that approach.  Thus, if (say) ebook or audiobook provision does not fall under the statutory definition there is a real danger they may get removed in many authorities.

Street Cleaning in Kilburn

The recent story about the improved cleaning of Kilburn High Road is actually linked to the Public Realm Contract.  This allowed a more flexible need based approach to street cleaning rather than an old fashioned frequency based approach.  It also incorporates a greater focus on Veolia staff reporting flytips in a proactive way.

The Brent only approach is something of a disappointment, however, following warm words about Brent/Camden cross working.

Lincolnshire JR Verdict

I see that the Court has quashed Lincolnshire County Council's decision on its library service.  It is not entirely clear yet what the basis of the decision is.  It does not appear to be on the "comprehensive and efficient" grounds, but I shall be interested if it can illuminate on the scope of the definition that I raised before. 

The Collapse of Scrutiny in Brent

Martin Francis has a lengthy post about local democracy in Brent.  I think it fair to say that democracy in Brent is sliding backwards, and one example of this is the effective abolition of the scrutiny function just as Ed Miliband comes out for more scrutiny.

The previous system of scrutiny, which certainly had plenty of inadequacies, has been abolished and replaced with a single committee.  The Council's own web site informs us that:

"The Scrutiny Committee sets its work programme for the year, usually at its first meeting of the year. It is important that the committee has a focused work programme that makes best use of the resources available to it."

This seems particularly important if it is going to have a series of task groups devoted to specific investigations.  As yet, it doesn't seem to have met, have any work programme or even had any kind of debate on what members think should be investigated.

In many ways, I suspect that this committee may mimic the failings of the old Forward Plan Committee, where I was a member.  This could in principle examine any subject on the forward plan, which sounds a significant power.  In practice it became a reactive committee that jumped from subject to subject without really pursuing anything for long.

More on Waste and Recycling

The Executive meeting on 21 July has the recycling proposals I referred to previously.  I am not sure it entirely answers the questions I asked before.  This is in fact just the kind of issue where a pre meeting of a scrutiny committee might have been useful.  While I know that the recycling officers at Brent have great expertise, their estimates and opinions should not simply be taken on trust.

With regard to green waste, for example, we are told that 35% of green waste will "not be produced," not counting the 43% diverted to home composting.  I don't see the mechanism for such a large reduction.  A key driver for garden waste is simply weather and season, so I don't see how it can be predicted.

I also doubt that flytipping will be reduced, as much of this is bulky items not covered by the normal blue top bin collection.

The report does not address my suggestion of separate glass collections to offset the higher carbon emissions, or explain the rationale in diverting dry recycling when the landfill bins can be expected to contain only a limited proportion.  Nor does it address potential problems for the West London Waste Authority. 

Former Kensal Rise Library Planning Permission

The former Kensal Rise Library building is finally coming up for planning permission on Wednesday, having been deferred from a previous meeting.  The lawyers have come back essentially repeating their previous advice, which I find unsurprising.  However, I am surprised at one aspect, which is the reference to the Council being given "first refusal".  I thought that even if this condition is lawful in the first place, the building's status as an "asset of community value" means that it has to be made available to any group or groups that want to bid for it.  Thus, I would have thought the "first refusal" condition unlawful.

Blaming Officers

There are some interesting parallels between the this post on the relationship of civil servants and politicians, and the relationship between officers and councillors in local government.  Essentiallly, the author argues that political appointees complain about civil servants because of their own inadequacy.  I would say the same is true of councillors.  I posted earlier on the Barham Park example, but it it true in general.

What surprises me is how people fall for councillors claiming that they are frustrated by officers, when the constitutional position is well known.  Why does no one pick up these councillors on how their blaming officers implies their own sloth, ineptitude and inability?