Cuts in care services

A survey conducted for the Independent newspaper (2/6/11) finds that care services for the elderly and disabled people are likely to be reduced during 2011/12 as authorities implement cuts averaging 6% to social care budgets to save a total of one billion. Councils planning service cuts include Bradford, which will close a centre for disabled people and increase meals on wheels charges, Stoke-on-Trent where two residential homes will close, and Liverpool which is altering qualification criteria and proposing to close nine day care centres. In Brent, we are doing our best to safeguard such essential services.

Saving the Burnley Practice

I have been in regular contact with aggrieved Willesden and Dudden Hill patients registered with the Burnley GP Practice as we had heard that there were plans to close this surgery and to distribute patients to other practices – few of which are within easy access for older or mobility impaired residents. Residents did not know why the practice was threatened, especially as a “post code” lottery existed, with the Willesden area (NW2, NW10) having fewer GP’s per 100,000 population than other areas of the borough. Following complaints to the Primary Care Trust by myself and other councillors, meetings were held so patients could express their concerns. Thanks to the campaign, the Burnley Practice is not under threat and efforts are being made to secure its position and larger accommodation in or near the Willesden Centre for Health and Care.

Local government finance

A BBC survey of planned expenditure by 76% of England's local authorities published on 12 May, shows that, in 2011/12, planned adult social care expenditure is expected to fall by an estimated 4.7% in the North and rise by 2.7% in the South; and cultural spending (including libraries) is expected to drop by about 10.2%, education spending by about 11.4% and environmental spending by 3.7% ("Council Spending: Making It Clear").  

Sale of allotments?

Saw this in the Independent:

"The century-old right of people to demand an allotment from their council may be abolished by the Government under plans to scale back red tape, it emerged yesterday. Eric Pickles, the Communities Secretary, is examining plans to free local authorities from a 103-year-old obligation to provide plots of public land for cultivation by gardeners. The proposals could see local authorities, many of them strapped for cash under government-imposed cuts, selling off allotment land for social housing or even for profit to major companies. The move has triggered a wave of protest from allotment society members and gardeners, who have lobbied Mr Pickles to rethink the plans."

An idea as daft as selling forests - and probably another similar U-turn before too long.

Willesden street parties

Residents in two roads went ahead with parties to celebrate the royal marriage.  Kings Road got the whole road closed and had stalls for food and bric a brac and face painting for the children. Churchill Road residents used a small section for a "Street Meet" where they could gather and enjoy the music and food contributions.

Impact of government austerity programme

The Coalition Government's austerity programme is set to last for another four years, but the cuts will severely impact upon many vulnerable local people. The Tory-Lib Dem government have already overseen:

- the scrapping of Child Trust Funds.

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- the rise in VAT costing an average household an extra £275 each year.

-   - entitlement to child benefit for people earning over £44,000 being removed costing families £1,055 each year for the eldest child and £749 for younger children. 


-   - a freeze in the value of child benefit, causing families with children to lose over £100 per annum


-   - the Health in Pregnancy grant being abolished costing new mums £190.

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- the Winter Fuel Allowance for pensioners being cut this winter by £50 for pensioners under 80 and by £100 for pensioners over 80
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-   - financial support to employers to take on young unemployed people being cancelled after the Future Jobs Fund was axed (even though youth unemployment is at a record high).

Jubilee Line closures

There was a time when I felt lucky to have a Jubilee line tube station a few minutes from where I live. But for the past two years, the line has been closed most weekends for engineering work which was supposed to be completed last summer. Replacement buses - some really old looking bone-shakers - trundled down my road to cover the part of the line closed. I mean to ask Mayor Boris how much the replacement bus service has cost and what do Jubilee line drivers do when the line is closed - do they have "gardening leave?" Recently, some unlucky passengers were stuck in hot carriages for up to two hours when there was a fault on the line. I regularly ask when the upgrades will be finished. The latest news indicated this Bank Holiday weekend will be a key test for the signalling system on the J5 section, hence the closure of this section of the line on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  It should provide a good indication of progress towards final completion, now indicated to be the end of June. Here's hoping!

Budget "reserves"

The Communities Minister, Eric Pickles, and Housing Minister, Grant Shapps, continue to berate some councils for having large budget reserves while drastically cutting services.  Reserves are needed so that we can manage risks during the year, so if it snows for weeks in winter we can top up our gritting salt, or if there is an unexpected demand for social services for children or the elderly, we can dip into reserves to avoid an overspend. Brent reserves have rarely been above £10 million, which means the borough has the lowest percentage of reserves at 4.4% of any London council and is tiny when compared to Conservative Kensington and Chelsea's 54.7%.  The opposition groups in Brent want to use reserves to avoid hard decisions about cuts. But the Finance Director advises that such proposals would expose us to "unacceptable risks”.

CAB success

Visited the CAB office in Willesden High Road today. The Mayor had been invited to collect a token “cheque” indicating that CAB advisers had raised £1.8 million in tax credits for Brent residents over the last four years. That means for every £1 they received this year to fund the service, they raised £35 for Brent residents.  Without the CAB, this money may not have been claimed. Sadly, this is the last year they were funded to do this work by HMRC. Brent residents have made an incredible 23,000 visits to the bureau on the High Road this year and raised a staggering £4.23 million over the last two years for Brent families visiting outreach projects at Children's Centres and raised £263,000 over the last fifteen months for Brent patients at Park Royal Mental Health Centre. It is very regrettable that the CAB will not be able to keep up this level of work having experienced cuts of a third of all its funding (£240,000).

Final days of Dollis Hill House

Brent has at last heard from the Communities and Local Government Department that permission has been given to Brent to demolish the fire damaged shell that was Dollis Hill House. English Heritage had raised no objection. There has been a long campaign over many years to find an organisation to take the site over and to rebuild the house. Some organisations and uses were proposed but did not materialise.  It has taken Eric Pickles, MP, Communities Minister, some months to agree the demolition leaving Brent with daily costs for securing the site. This wasted scarce council resources which could be better spent on the demolition and the return of the land to Gladstone Park. Odd, considering how much the minister regularly berates local government for 'wasting' money! One idea for the site was for a cafe within a walled garden area. Not sure if Brent can spare the funds to do this at the moment but its an aspiration for the future.  Meanwhile, no date set for the demolition.