Four Hours in a Year

According to the FT, David Davis has met Mr Barnier for less than four hours of Brexit negotiation during this entire year.  That is just stunning.  I am starting to think it will be literally impossible to work through an agreement before the Article 50 deadline that Theresa May imposed on herself and us. 

Cooperative Party on the NHS March Today

Good to join the first outing of the London Cooperative Party's new banner at the NHS March today.  Theresa May's promises can't be relied on.

Arctic Henge and Fake History

The Guardian carried a piece on Arctic Henge in Iceland recently.  This kind of ersatz history actually has a long pedigree going back into the nineteeneth century and before when the Druidical movement (an essentially entirely artificial modern religion started building "henges" around Wales.  It is surely a curious thing that human beings feel constrained to create artificial histories.

At the same time, we also apparently want to edit to our actual history to remove aspects such as Cecil Rhodes who are no longer in favour. 

Momentum and Pragmentism

OnLondon reports that Haringey Council, having had an enormous political spat over regeneration, is now making rather more pragmatically guided decisions on regeneration.  This is related to safety concerns that have emerged.  I wonder whether its new councillors or any of their media cheerleaders will acknowledge the kind of dilemmas their predecessors faced. 

Inspiring Arts

A remarkably generous use of her prize to set up an artists in residence scheme has been announced by Andria Zafirakou.  The Alperton school teacher won the prize back in March.  In many ways she is going against the grain, with schools increasingly trying to cope with cost pressures by focusing on a core curriculum.  I hope it works out well and hooks up with Brent's own Borough of Culture and arts in libraries schemes. 

Moberly Sports Centre Finally Opens

Moberly Sports Centre is finally opening on Saturday in a ceremony with Lennox Lewis.  This project was mooted many years ago.  The Centre will now provide Brent with a third swimming pool, which is a long term objective of Brent Council.  The Centre will be accessible to Brent residents at reasonable rates as a result of a planning condition given back in 2014. 

You can join the Centre on its web site.

Eating at the Same Table in Willesden Library

Eating at the Same Table is the latest exhibition in the Willesden Art Gallery.  It is put on by a group of artists based at the former Willesden Police Station.  They are linked to Bold Tendencies, a CIC company trying to use Meanwhile spaces for art.    It complements the longer term art studios in Kensal Green and Sudbury. 

Evasive Action on Heathrow Airport

The Foreign Secretary's sudden urge to go to Afghanistan as the Commons voted on Heathrow underlines what a slippery customer he is.  At the same time he has written to councillors in Hillingdon saying he does not expect the third runway to be built.  That is one of the most senior ministers in the May government suggesting that its principal infrastructure policy will never happen. 

I wonder how long Johnson's leadership hopes can survive all these evasions.

Why are Councils Close to Collapse?

Local government is visibly getting closer to collapse across the country as Kensington, Northants and (probably) Somerset all show that they cannot perform their basic functions. 

The irony is that this a result that has been deliberately produced by a Conservative Government.

It used to be that the Conservative Party prided itself on quiet competence, but under Osborne/Cameron and subsequently under May a series of cuts have been deliberately organised hitting local government in particular.  Since local government is often the last resort in social care, homelessness, emergencies and so much else it is the first part of the government to crumble.

The fact that other institutions, like the NHS, charities and so on are all being pressured at the same time creates a perfect storm that means none of them can take up the slack.

The result is a kind of governmental nihilism.  The remarkable thing is that it is the preferred option of the Conservative policy, not merely an unfortunate by product.

A Horrible Development Near Willesden Junction

The Guardian has a long piece on a horrible development near Willesden Junction.  This combination of home and office really seems awful, and much worse than the "gated communities" that were allegedly growing a few years ago in terms of promoting social isolation. 

I wonder what the long term health and other disadvantages of this approach are?

Grenfell Chaos

Some idea of the chaos at Grenfell can be found here.  Kensington literally had no plan at how to respond so Ealing had to impose one.  This is not accidental but the result of ideology.  Tories really do believe in a Nick Ridley Council, which essentially does almost nothing.  All this in the name of cutting pennies off Council Tax.

The result is being shown up and will continue to be as Councils around the country simply collapse.

Labour Victory in Willesden Green

As expected Labour scored a victory in Willesden Green last night.  It represents a significant growth in Labour support since the elections of 2014. 

Housing and Fire Safety

I thought I would give an update on my understanding of the housing and fire safety situation in Brent as I understand it.  This also follows a report back from Cllr Butt at a meeting I attended which I thought left more questions than it answered.

The Council has written to central government and asked for funding for fire safety.  As predicted, the government said no, and so Brent is going ahead with poorly defined investment of up to £10 million.  To my surprise, Cllr Butt seemed to think this would not come from the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) as I suggested, but from general resources.  Thus, the burden would fall on the general taxpayers.

I find the insouciance with which Brent Council has just committed to an extra £10 million of spending remarkable.

It remains unclear whether, leaseholders will benefit from this, or whether they will be expected to pay a service charge in the way they would for (say) a new roof.

Windrush Anniversary in Willesden Library

On Saturday, Willesden Library will be hosting a special day to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Windrush.  It lasts from noon until 4pm.

At the same time, there is a reminder about the problems that the Caribbean community continues to face with the announcement of extra funding to tackle educational underachievement.    Anecdotally, I know that this has been a concern in the black community for many years, but the causes are likely to be multiple and inter-related and therefore progress will not be instant.

NHS Evasion

One of the most disingenuous answers I have read for a long time can be found courtesy of Jeremy Hunt to a parliamentary question from Seema Malhotra MP.  He implies that the shift in NHS Hospital Trusts going into deficit from 5% in 2010 to a whopping 44% now is just some kind of monitoring tool because he wants to check on staff shortages.  Of course, it has led to the staff shortages and is a direct result of his government's decision not to fund the NHS properly.

Along side his attribution of extra funding for the NHS to a non-existent Brexit dividend, it seems that bare faced lying is becoming legitimized in British politics.

Brent Council's Silence on Budgets

Brent Council continues to appear to have no long term debate about its budget despite all the looming structural difficulties.  This continues to include pressures on the adult social care budget which it was recently confirmed would put 10% of English Councils in a Northants style position where they were unable to set a budget at all. 

Despite all this, the official list of Brent Council's forthcoming decisions strikes me as extraordinarily limited. 

DWP Services in Brent

This Parliamentary answer to Dawn Butler MP is of interest to all who follow Brent libraries of the use of the revenue and benefit service.  It may be recalled that the increasing use of online services is diminishing traditional face to face services.  I have covered this before here.

At that time I suggested that temporary spaces might be rented in Brent buildings such as libraries and it now appears from the minister's answer that this is being considered.  As with other forms of co-location, this allows for more flexibility in terms of partners and in terms of location.  Since the main objections to reducing the branches are that f2f may still be necessary and that some people find it very difficult to move around.  Using temporary arrangements allows for a wider range of locations covering a broader range of people.  It may, incidentally, help draw in a broader audience to Brent libraries which will help broaden the membership base of Brent Library service.

At least in theory therefore, it could be a win-win. 

Willesden Library Closed Again

Willesden Library is again closed today and for the same reason, there is no water supply.  Other Brent Libraries are open. 

UPDATE

As of Monday 18 June, Willesden Library has apparently reopened.

National Audit Office on Universal Credit

Universal Credit gives no evidence of value for money now and is unlikely to show any value for money in the future according to the National Audit Office.  Is that not one of the most damning verdicts on government failure imaginable?  Will anyone ever be held responsible for this debacle?

The Eerie Quiet of Brent Council

One of the things that make the current quiet of Brent Council so eerie is that there are actually many scary things on the near horizon. 

Firstly, there is whatever happens in the Brexit process, which even Boris Johnson concedes might lead to "meltdown" during which (as with Corporal Jones) his best advice is "Don't Panic".  Since one case being considered in Whitehall apparently includes the RAF airlifting emergency food supplies I really can't see what we could possibly be panicking about.

But there are also a range of things, the ultimate fate of business rate localisation, the local government settlement and the freedom of action the Council retains over its financial position which frankly no one appears to be talking about.

Even odder, I think, is that a Labour Council is putting out press releases such as this one.   This sounds as if it might have been dictated straight from Whitehall with no effort to point out that the problems of the Council are enormous, the policy described is a sticking plaster and that it is central government that has created these problems through its rigid Tory ideology.