Sarah Teather MP - a different view on libraries

According to Sarah Teather MP in 2005, London libraries could be consigned to history books in less than two decades. She revealed new figures in 2005 that showed the number of books being borrowed from libraries in the capital have dropped by more than 28% since 1997, leading to fears that in less than two decades time libraries will be consigned to the history books. The figures, taken from Parliamentary answers show that in 1997/98, there were 55.2million books borrowed from libraries in the capital. By 2003/04, this had plummeted to 39.7million - a drop of 28%. If current trends continue no books would be borrowed by the year 2022. Teather said:

"There is a real danger that in the not too distant future, London's libraries could be consigned to the history books. While there are many people now buying their books from the High Street rather than going to their local library, it is deeply worrying that the decline in borrowing could lead to the closure of London's libraries. The decline in borrowed books will lead to increased pressures to force libraries in London to close their doors."

Libraries: a brief view of the national picutre

Up to 523 libraries are due to close as part of cuts of 30-40% to councils' £1bn library budgets over the next four years. Almost a third of councils plan cuts of 20% or more to leisure facilities.

Redundancies: 4,000-6,000 library staff
Figures from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy show a drop of almost 1,000 in paid library staff in 2009-10. So far, 50 jobs will go at Wirral council, 40 in Harrow, 12 in Hounslow, 17 in Wiltshire.

Services
According to Cipfa, 45% of councils plan cuts of more than 10% to libraries and arts, museum and heritage services, and 28% plan similar cuts to leisure services. Twenty libraries could go in North Yorkshire, 20 in Leeds and 10 in Gloucestershire.

There are other, less spectacular, cuts. Library opening hours are being slashed to as little as three hours a week as councils look for ways to save money while avoiding unpopular closures. Almost five 500 libraries are currently threatened with the axe, with Hampstead Garden Suburb library in Barnet, north London, the latest confirmed casualty. But experts claim there is also a hidden cuts programme at work in many authorities, which will gut the service from the inside.
Total cuts in spend on libraries given as £350m

The Pontificating of Eric Pickles MP

The Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles, is continually interfering and criticising local decisions. Most of his criticisms have been reserved for Labour councils, stating for example that they don't need to make cuts to frontline services if only they would cut a few more senior staff.  No one outside his Whitehall department still believes this. Even his own party's councillors are telling him that cuts to frontline services are essential due to his funding decisions.  Most London councils have worked hard to find back office cuts, but still had to make painful cuts to frontline services. There may come a time when back office services have been cut so drastically that there is no one left to run anything.  


In a break from his usual script of claiming councils are responsible for the banking crisis, Eric Pickles recently made another astonishing claim - that Labour councils across the UK were deliberately making bigger and more damaging cuts to front-line services in order to make the Tory government look bad. 


Brent council leader, Cllr Ann John, has hit back at the minister, who she accused of hiding behind a smokescreen of empty talk. She said: “These times are extraordinary also for the behaviour of local government ministers. Ministers who have spent more time attacking councils than helping us deal with the enormous cuts they want to impose. Government ministers who want to hide their programme behind a smokescreen of empty talk about waste, while the Prime Minister acknowledges that councils are the most efficient part of the public sector. In Mr Pickles we have the first Secretary of State ever against local government."

Latest on Children's Centres

David Cameron has denied that funding for Sure Start has been cut.  This is far from the truth. What the coalition has done is to amalgamate funding for the children’s centres into a new early intervention grant which also includes funding for other schemes such as youth crime. So it is disingenuous of Cameron to suggest that there will is an automatic increase in spending on Sure Start. Labour MP Frank Field (the government’s "poverty tsar") has warned that Sure Start will be "decimated" by the cuts. As Minister of Children and Families, local MP Sarah Teather has overseen cuts in funding to schools and children’s services so should be well aware of the truth. Instead of checking facts, she has complained that Brent’s Labour Council had plans to close or downgrade half of our Sure Start Children's Centres in a “political” decision, choosing to spend the funds elsewhere. The truth is that no existing Children’s Centre will close. Some will be linked to a primary school and the three centres planned as brand new builds will not now go ahead.  Brent will therefore retain 17 Sure Start Children’s Centres.

Involvement as chair of Arts and Libraries from 1998 and then as lead of environmental services until 2006, so memory clear and neither short or selective. Brent Labour group NEVER proposed closing libraries even though recommended to "rationalise" the number of sites in officer briefings and reports.  Cllr Ann John's letter tells it straight.

Sarah Teather MP and library closures

My colleague Cllr James Powney has found this surprising gem of support from MP Sarah Teather. Appearing on Radio 4's Question Time, there was a question on library closures. She said that the closure of libraries was an “enormous cause for regret”, however she is in principle in favour of the direction that Brent Council are taking Library Services in the borough when she says that councils should look for solutions, such as ‘co-location’, whereby a number of departments provide services from a location. Maybe her Lib Dem colleagues will help rather than just criticise essential decisions. Unfortunately, she also rehashes the old story generated by Lib Dems that a former Labour administration had policies to close a number of libraries. They have never been able to back this untruth with evidence because it is just that - an untruth.

In his own backyard ....

Prime Minister David Cameron represents an Oxfordshire constituency. Oxfordshire County Council is planning to cut 20 of its 43 public libraries. Brent is one of hundreds of councils proposing to close libraries to meet huge cuts imposed by central government.  Nearly 400 libraries nationwide are threatened with closure.

Scrapping EMA

Last year, David Cameron said he "had no plans" to axe the Education Maintenance Grant (EMA) given to encourage students in poor homes to stay in education or training with a weekly grant of up to £30.  Today there is a statement in parliament about it being abolished. Aim is to save money, but if a large number of young people leave their courses and cannot find work and claim unemployment, wouldn't this cost more than EMA in the end?

Ward Working 2010/2011

Ward Working is a way councillors can support projects and improvements in their wards. A small fund (£20,000) is available for each ward in Brent. The 3 councillors have to agree to allocate funds to works or projects that are not the council’s responsibility to deal with.  This year, projects have included:

Brent Museum and Archives  – textile craft workshops and workshops to explore support services for people with mental health problems

Kings Hall Community Centre – storage shed and resources for new youth club started by parents

Victory Youth Group – football project

Cricklewood Homeless Concern – Night Shelter

Brent Area Community Watch – burglary prevention project

Willesden Green Library multiplexor

Planting in troughs leading to Sainsbury’s store

SNT Alert box funding for connection charge to link alert boxes within shops along the High Road

CAB – Working with the Tricycle Theatre to deliver financial education to young adults

We are now seeking ideas for the next financial year and would be pleased to hear residents’ suggestions.

Remembering the Grunwick dispute

Sad to hear of the death of Mrs Jayaben Desai last month.  Mrs Desai was instrumental in leading the dispute with the Grunwick company in Chapter Road, Willesden in 1976.  The dispute centred on the predominately female factory employees protesting about working conditions and the refusal of bosses to recognise their APEX union status. 

Mrs Desai was awarded a Citizenship Award from Brent Council several years ago. She has been described as a remarkable and courageous woman, intent on improving the lives of workers. A subsequent enquiry recommended Grunwick should recognise the union and protestors should be reinstated but they failed to do so. The former site of the Grunwick company is now being developed as flats. I made a request to Brent Building Control to name a walkway at the new development to mark the landmark strike by workers at the factory and its influence on industrial relations subsequently. The walkway is to be named “Grunwick Close” and I hope an opening ceremony can be arranged to celebrate the people involved.