Monday 11 September 2023
Cllr Tatler takes over as Deputy Leader of Brent Coucil while Cllr Mili Patel is on maternity leave
Tuesday 3 May 2022
The Art of Campaigning: Furness schoolchildren say 'Time to Stop Air Pollution'
Furness Primary children stand proudly in front of their sign (Credit: Amandine Alexandre)
Children at Furness Primary school had a point to make and, on Tuesday 26th April 2022, in front of a group of parents, teachers and candidates to the local elections, they made it very clearly and eloquently.
The pupils of the school located in the Harlesden and Kensal Green ward unveiled the clean air artwork they have created as part of a joint Mums for Lungs and Lin Kam Art’ project.
The message displayed on the artwork they created with Harlesden born artist Linett Kamala is an injunction rather than a plea : ‘Time to stop air pollution’ is the slogan Year 5 pupils chose to have across the 5 panels of their text-based artwork and is a powerful message to tackle air pollution.
‘Less pollution, less driving, care for your health’, ‘Cars cause pollution, we need to find a solution', ‘We need to act now’ are some of the messages inscribed in red and black on the boards installed on Palermo road near Willesden Junction station that will get the attention of passers-by for the next weeks.
The urgency to act on air pollution locally was also voiced by some of the Year 5 pupils.
Photo: Amandine Alexandre
‘Some people such as myself suffer from asthma. (...) This can result in finding it difficult to breathe and suffering asthma attacks. We must act as a community now’, 9 year old Aya declared during the unveiling ceremony.
Her fellow pupils Ahmed and Samuel also made the most of the opportunity to get their message across to Councillor Mili Patel, independent candidate Wassim Badru and Green candidate Eugenia Barnett all present at the event. ‘As our elected representatives, how do you seek to improve the quality of air in Brent?’, Ahmed enquired.
Mili Patel, one of the outgoing councillors standing for re-election and a former pupil of Furness Primary, assured the children that she wanted to work with them on ways to reduce air pollution in the area. “As someone who grew up locally, now raising a family, I understand the need for better air quality in Harlesden (...)”, the Labour candidate later reiterated on Twitter.
The artist Linett Kamala who led the workshops said “the project we carried out with Furness Primary school pupils made it clear that the pupils were eager to find out about the impact of air pollution on their health and make a call for action through their artwork”. Mums for Lungs clean air campaigner Amandine Alexandre commented. “They are also acutely aware that solutions exist that will reduce air pollution drastically for the sake of everyone”, the Harlesden resident and mum added.
The Furness Primary school clean air art project is one of 4 school projects led by Mums for Lungs and Linett Kamala in Brent as a result of the first round of participatory budgeting, #YouDecide, organised by Brent council last January. It is one of 8 projects that Brent residents decided should benefit from the pot 2 of the Carbon Offset Fund.
After the event, Eugenia Barnett, Green candidate for Harlesden and Kensal Green told Wembley Matters:
It was a pleasure to be invited by Furness Primary school to the unveiling of clean air art work created by pupils in collaboration with Lin Kim Art and Mums for Lungs. For decades, Harlesden air pollution has been in the top 10 highest in the UK. Imperial College published their air pollution level report in 2021 report which marked Harlesden as the town with the highest pollution levels in the country - the nitrogen dioxide here can reach 4 times the levels approved as appropriate by WHO. At the same time, Harlesden has quite a high concentration of schools, where children perform PE outdoors. For these valid reasons, air pollution must be tackled in Harlesden and Kensal Green. We know that solutions do exist. I will lobby personally with local community groups to pressure Brent and London councils to improve the situation to ensure that our children grow up in the healthier environment. Brent Greens have endorsed Mums for Lungs' 'Five Asks.'
Monday 6 December 2021
Mili Patel, David Lammy's Head of Office steps down as Brent Cabinet Member.
Cllr Mili Patel
David Lammy MP, Shadow Foreign Secretary
It would have been Cllr Mili Patel's last Brent Cabinet meeting this morning as it was announced to the Labour Group tonight that she is stepping down as Cabinet Member for Children's Safeguarding, Early Help and Social Care. In fact she sent her apologies for absence.
With the local council election only 6 months away I understand her responsibilities have been mainly taken over by Cllr Thomas Stephens already responsible as Cabinet member for Schools, Employment and Skills. Some of responsibilities have been transferred to Cllr Harbi Farah, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care.
There is speculation that the stepping down may be due to the promotion of David Lammy MP to Shadow Foreign Secretary - she is Lammy's Head of Office. Patel previously served as Senior Party Researcher (2015-2016) to Keir Starmer MP after nearly 7 years in the same role for Frank Dobson MP.
The changes considerably strengthens the position of Cllr Stephens who is regarded by Labour colleagues as in no way lacking in ambition.
Mili Patel's partner, Cllr Matt Kelcher, continues as Chair of Brent Planning Committee.
IMPORTANT NOTE
Since publication the Kilburn Times has followed up with a statement from the Council that contradicts the allocation of roles outlined above which came from a trusted Council source:
Cllr Mili Patel, who represents Harlesden, has departed the authority's top table and her 'safeguarding' portfolio will be filled by deputy leader Margaret McLennan.
A bounce back email from Cllr Patel states that she is taking maternity leave.
A Brent Council spokesman said: "Councillor Mili Patel has stepped down from her cabinet role to take time out. Deputy leader, Councillor Margaret McLennan, will take over the portfolio.”
Friday 15 May 2020
Should Cllr Butt follow Haringey leader on school re-openings?
As a press campaign, led by the Daily Mail, builds against teacher unions it is time that we saw some leadership in Brent.
Brent has many similarities with Haringey and in particular faces the disproportionate impact on BAME communities of the coronavirus.
Headteachers, school staff and parents are naturally anxious so it is important that they hear from the leader of the Council, Muhammed Butt; the lead member for Schools Employment & Skills, Amer Agha; and Mili Patel, lead member for Children's Safeguarding, Early Help and Social Care.
Schools are grappling with demands from the government that could go very wrong and cause unnecessary illness or death - they deserve more than silence.
Thursday 9 May 2019
Scrutiny decides NOT to refer Alternative Provision Free School proposal back to Cabinet
Cllr Jumbo Chan presents the reasons for the call-in
There were only two dissenting votes on Brent Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee this evening when the Committee decided not to refer the proposed Alternative Provision Free School back to Cabinet. This means the Council will go ahead and seek sponsors for the school despite official opposition from the Labour Party to the creation of any more free schools or academies. There may be a little token consultation along the way but this will not be about the principle of free school provision.
It was always going to be a difficult case to argue because of the ramifications of government legislation that (absurdly) prevents local authorities setting up new schools when they are needed. New schools have to be either a free school or an academy - both outside local authority oversight.
There is a possibility of setting provision up as part of a local authority school - rather than a new school, rather as Leopold Primary opened another site in Harlesden. However all secondary schools in Brent are either academies or voluntary aided schools so the only local authority schools left are primary. The Chair of the Committee, Cllr Ketan Sheth, raised doubts about whether a primary school could cater for older pupils, a point denounced as patronising by Jean Roberts of the NEU when she was eventually allowed to speak having had her hand up for a long time.
Strategic Director of Children and Young People, Gail Tolley, told Cllr Jumbo Chan that she had raised with secondary school heads the possibility of them taking on the alternative provision but they had not been interested. Those recognised by the DfE as able to set up a free school could still apply during the procurement process. Cllr Chan said that an informal discussion was not sufficient and requested evidence of a formal consultation. Union representatives protested that they had not been consulted as educational professionals on the Council's proposal.
In answer to claims that the secondary schools would welcome such provision Jean Roberts said it was these very schools, academies and free schools in the borough, that were excluding the pupils who will end up in the alternative provision. There was a discussion among educational professionals after the meeting about the danger that the provision may end up as a 'sin bin' with disproportionate numbers of black pupils as happened with Units for Disruptive Children in the 80s.
Simone Aspis, (see separate post below) had argued that outcomes of Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) and Special Schools were poorer than for similar children integrated with support into mainstream. There is a concern currently from Ofsted about the 'off-rolling' LINK of pupils by secondary schools. This is done so that the pupils are not counted in examination statistics thereby improving the school's league table position.
Will the existence of this provision mean that secondary schools will be tempted to off-roll or exclude even more children? (Recently a suggestion has been made that excluded pupils should be included in the excluding school's examination results to reduce the incentive to exclude.)
Will the unintended consequence of the Council decision be that a disproportionate number of black pupils will be sent to the provision - there is already a disproportion in those sent outside the borough to alternative provision? How does that sit with the principle of inclusion and Brent Council's current project to improve the educational attainment of Black Caribbean boys?
Cllr Mili Patel, argued that the Council has set out the condition that any provider would have to include a council representative and a secondary school representative on the trustees board. She claimed it would be more accountable than academy boards who have no local authority representation. Furthermore Gail Tolley argued that because these were vulnerable pupils the authority did have powers to intervene as it had a safeguarding duty for all children in the borough regardless of the type of provision.
Asked what would happen if the authority was not satisfied with the performance of the provider Cllr Patel said that the contract could be terminated. One councillor rightly asked, 'what will happen to the children in the event of termination?'
One feature of the hearing was that three out of the six representations made at Committee were from the Young Brent Foundation, a registered charity LINK that claims to support 122 Brent young people's projects. They were led by their new CEO Chris Murray, who called on the committee to 'force through' the Cabinet's proposal. The YBF was set up by Brent Council after they closed the Youth Service. They help voluntary organisation find funding as a replacement for council funded youth provision. It is largely funded itself through the John Lyon's Trust, the charity arm of Harrow public school. LINK
When it was set up it was emphasised that the Foundation itself would not directly provide youth services but would help others to do so.
Their contributions focused on the benefits of the wrap around youth provision proposed for Roundwood now that the free school will pick up the bill for the maintenance of the site itself via a separate funding stream. They paid little attention to the reason for the call-in, which was not to oppose youth provision, but to ensure the quality and accountability of the alternative provision.
CONSULTATION
I submitted a Freedom of Information request to Brent Council regarding consultation on the proposal for Roundwood Centre and am still awaiting a response:
The Cabinet is making a decision on the future use of the Roundwood Centre at its meeting on April 15th including alternative provision via a free school sponsor and youth work.
The Cabinet paper lists the followign consultations:
"9.1 The council has consulted with young people at Roundwood Youth Centre (including young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities), council staff and other stakeholders on the proposed Alternative Provision schools and Youth Offer. See time-line below:
Youth Offer consultation with Brent Youth Parliament, January 2018;
Youth Offer consultation with Youth Offending Service, February 2018;
Design of the Youth Offer site (Hackathon), March 2018;
Consultation with Roundwood Youth Centre (RYC) staff about budget
proposals and changes to delivery at RYC, October 2018;
Feedback on Youth Offer final design, October 2018;
Children’s Commissioner takeover day (re Youth Offer), November 2018.
Consultation with RYC service users, January 2019;
Consultation with RYC service providers, January 2019;
Young people’s views have been sought from the Roundwood Youth Centre as well as from Brent Youth Parliament, Care in Action / Care Leavers in Action and other young people’s focus groups (as above). Young people were also previously consulted as part of the Council’s Outcome Based Reviews related to Gangs and Children on the Edge of Care, which have fed into proposals."
However there is no report on the outcomes of these consultations. Please supply all available reports/minutes on the above consultations before the Cabinet meeting.
Friday 26 April 2019
SAFER KIDS: Brent parents launch petition to local politicans calling for immediate action on 'daily threats' their children face
Why is this important?
- be able to walk to school and home from it
- go the the park/skatepark
- walk to a friend’s house
- go to the corner shop
- catch a bus/ the tube etc...without having to worry that they will be assaulted or mugged.
AC Collet on behalf of Safer Kids
We are broadly sympathetic to the aims of the petition and I've offered to meet with the organisers and anybody they would like to join with them.
Monday 15 April 2019
VIDEO: Butt lashed over Brent Labour Council's decision to set up a Free School
Brent Cabinet faced angry criticism tonight when it approved the setting up of a Free School offering 'alternative provision' for children rejected by local secondary schools.
Local Labour Party member Graham Durham lambasted Cllr Muhammed Butt, Labour leader of Brent Council, for not following Labour Party policy which he claimed is against the creation of any more free schools.
Cllr Mili Patel read a statement in a barely audible voice about the proposal but rather than focusing on the creation of a free school focused on the youth provision that would be offered outside of school hours by the voluntary sector. There will be no directly employed Brent Council youth workers but building maintance costs and school hours running costs will be paid by the Free School.
Durham said that rather than a Free School the Council could have asked a local mainstream secondary school to run the facility for out of school children. All Brent former local authority secondary schools are now academies as are all but one special school. The majority of Brent's academies are stand-alone rather than part of a chain.
Guardian on Labour Party education policy LINK
Later Graham Durham claimed on Facebook that the Brent CEO left the meeting to accost him after the item was discussed:
What made the event unusual was that as I was outside and walking away from the meeting outside in a corridor, I was cornered by the Chief Executive ( supposedly non-political) who called me ‘ a vile little man’. I had never met her before but she clearly does not like ‘her’ councillors receiving independent socialist advice. Odd.
Wednesday 28 February 2018
Mili Patel accuses Cllr Warren of abusing his position, fueling fear and intimidating nursery
Cllr Mili Patel, lead member for children and families, is not well known for speaking at council meetings, but used the presentation of a petition about the College Green open space to launch an excoriating attack on Cllr John Warren, leader of the Conservative group.
College Green is, after all, in Warren's ward and he had made a speech in support of residents after Jim Hogan had spoken to the petition. Cllr Warren said that residents felt they had welcomed the College Green Nursery School into the open space but it now seemed to them that the nursery was stabbing them in the back by wanting to erect a screen around the open space. He said residents hadn't wanted to set up a petition but the nursery had refused to engage with them about the issue. The petition had been a last resort. In a conciliatory tone he asked for Mili Patel to agree to a meeting between the scouts who use the open space, the nursery and the College Green Preservation Society to resolve the issue as residents felt that this was a potential land grab. Residents didn't want a 'Berlin Wall' around the space. He asked that in her response Cllr Patel constructively engage so that residents fears could be put to rest.
Cllr Patel responded by justifying the fence on safeguarding grounds and claiming that the council had engaged with residents but they and the Preservation Society had not attended the last meeting about the positioning of the fence. The issue was now that of the screening off of the area.
She then went on:
However the agenda for Cllr Warren was to bring it full Council rather than having a meeting outside. Brent Labour takes its responsibility for safeguarding very seriously. We know from previous comments that you see safeguarding as 'crumbs'. You are taking the opportunity to take advantage of the impending local elections, perhaps you're running scared. I ask you to stop abusing your position and fuelling the residents with fear and also the College Green Nursery with intimidation and actually working with your community and get the group together.More calmly she agreed with Warren that they could get the group together and organise a meeting.
A somewhat stunned Cllr Warren pointed out that he had never said he regarded safeguarding as 'crumbs.'
Cllr Patel by concentrating her attack on Cllr Warren failed to address the issues that Jim Hogan of College Green Preservation Society had made in a cogent speech. He said the open space had been there for more than 100 years and enjoyed by the scouts for 50 years. In 1995 they had supported a nursery (now College Green Nursery School) moving on to the open space to preserve it. A 6ft 8inch fence had been erected around the open space by the nursery and they then fixed a screen around the perimeter of the fence - residents had got them to remove the screen.
Hogan said residents were vehemently opposed to any attempt to screen off the space and wanted the council to make an agreement that this would not be done. Hogan said that a screen would run counter to the council's own guidelines and cited:
- reduction of the sight lines of pedestrians crossing the busy junction
- impact of the loss of outlook by residents
- traffic safety
- effect on pedestrians
- effect on the character of a protected area
- effect on open spaces and nature conservation
Let's not let that happen at College Green. The nursery refused to meet residents to discuss their concerns. Let College Green Nursery School show some respect for their neighbours. Let us enjoy the view of the open space which has never been part of their property. Let's get an agreement signed by Brent Council preventing the screening of the open space. It won;t cost the council a penny. We don't want to have to start another petition after waking up to find a screen has been put up around the open space.Let's hope that the upcoming election does not stop this issue being resolved.
There are very few open spaces left in Brent and they are constantly under attack. Most of our front gardens have disappeared as a result of off-street parking. Our open space contributes to the well-being of local residents.
We want to walk around College Green to enjoy looking at the sun going down behind the magnificent oak tree planted by the scouts in 1967. We want to watch the crows, foxes etc.
What is the meaning of community? We don't want College Green hidden from our view or stolen from us. We want to enjoy it. A simple agreement between the scouts, the nursery school and Brent Council.
Wednesday 31 January 2018
Cllr Mili Patel breaks silence on The Village School academisation
Cllr Mili Patel |
If academisation were to go ahead it would mean special education in Brent was outside local authority oversight.
In a statement to the Morning Star yesterday she said:
The Village School and Woodfield School have worked in partnership for some time.
The education policies of the Tory government - including a 2.7billion cut to the schools budget and barriers to schools partnering up in any way that doesn't involve them becoming academies - have led to the Village School governors considering joining the same multi-academy trust as Woodfield. This is something most of the governors themselves would tell you they never thought they would be considering.
As a Labour Council we do not want them to take this step and I have been working hard to demonstrate the advantages of staying within the Brent school of families [sic 'family of schools'] to its governors.
It is encouraging the governors have taken this important decision out to consultation which will give local people the chance to demonstrate the strength of feeling there is in Brent against these plans.
Thursday 25 January 2018
Butt backs out of Village School consultation meeting and asks for strike action to be called off
There was disappointment and anger last night at The Village School when Brent Council leader did not show up for the consultation meeting about proposals that the school academise in order to become a Multi Academy Trust with Woodfield School.
At the lobby earlier this year Cllr Butt and lead member for children and families, Cllr Mili Patel, had been asked to make a strong and clear statement of opposition to the proposal. Both Brent Central and Brent North CLPs have passed unananimous motions against academisation.
Instead of appearing at the meeting and taking questions, Cllr Butt instead chose to write today to all members of staff about the issue. The position he takes on academisation is weaker than that requested by his own Labour Party members. He expresses a preference for local authority oversight of schools but appears to believe that The Village has no choice. He also takes a traditional right-wing position on teacher strikes claiming that they 'punish' families and children for government policies and calling for next week's three day strike to be called off.
The letter requires close textual analysis to establish Butt's exact position and even then...
Furthermore, I think it would be a grave mistake to punish these children and their families for government policies to which we are ideologically opposed. Similarly, I know how hard a personal decision it is to take industrial action, especially when it disrupts the lives of people we care about. And I doubt anyone relishes the prospect of three days’ without pay. I ask then that any further strike action be called off and that those involved instead continue to engage fully in the consultation, ensuring that everyone’s views are made clear.
Monday 8 January 2018
Brent Labour Group fail to make clear stand against academisation of The Village School
Forty or so people turned up this evening at Brent Civic Centre to lobby the Labour Group regarding the governing body of The Village School move to convert to academy status.
The school's Chair of Governors is Sandra Kabir a senior Labour councillor and chief whip of the group.
Phil Pardoe, NEU Regional Official, said the pre-lobby meeting with Cllr Muhammed Butt, Leader of the Council and Cllr Mili Patel, lead member for children and families had been positive. They had said they could tell parents at consultation meetings that the Council would prefer the school not to academise. Pardoe said that the impact of this was unclear but that pressure needed to be exerted on chair of Governors Cllr Sandra Kabir, a key proponent of the academy bid.
Cllr Jumbo Chan reiterated his opposition to what he called Tory policy on academies and free schools and said that he would try and persuade the Labour Group to express their outright opposition to academisation in line with Labour Party policy.
At the Group meeting that followed Cllr Kabir adopted a contorted position of supporting and promoting academisation while at the same time claiming she did not want that outcome. Cllr Butt claimed his first preference was to keep local control of the school and academisation was a last resort but he stopped short of saying the Council would oppose The Village School academisation.
Cllrs Mashari, Miller and Long asked sceptical questions about academisation and Cllr Jumbo Chan and observer Michael Calderbank opposed.
Cllrs Mili Patel, Shama Tatler andAslam Choudry adopted the position of not liking academisation but said the Council had no choice.
The upshot, rather than a firm decision to state Labour Group opposition, was that the matter would be referred to Scrutiny Committee and that Butt would write to The Village School governors asking them to explore the viability of staying in the 'Brent family of schools'.
Friday 17 March 2017
Brent Council urges parents to respond to government consultation on school funding
Parents, schools and Brent Council are uniting to defend local school children following Government plans to cut funding to local schools by £2.2 million.
The proposed cuts - which would see local schools lose two per cent of their budgets overall and equate to £105 per pupil - are a result of the government's National Funding Formula. Overall, schools in London are set to lose £19million.
As around 80 per cent of a school's budget is spent on staff salaries, funding reductions are likely to result in fewer teachers and support staff posts in schools, as well as increased class sizes. This is significant because top quality teachers who are motivated and highly skilled are the main reason that children make progress and achieve good results in their education.
Cllr Mili Patel, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said:
In recent years, schools in Brent have made great strides. We have gone from 78 per cent of schools in the Borough rated as 'Good' or 'Outstanding' by Ofsted, to 96 per cent currently. Our primary school, GCSE and A Level results are all above the national averages and we are in the middle of an ambitious school build programme to ensure that every child in Brent has access to a good local school place.ENDS
All of these things are absolutely fantastic and a result of the tireless hard work and dedication that our senior leaders, teachers, support staff and governors in Brent put in every single day. But we need the teachers and schools' staff in the first place and this is only possible thanks to the sustained investment over many years.
Fewer teachers and bigger class sizes will do nothing to help our school children thrive - especially in a hugely diverse borough like Brent where pupils come from a huge range of different backgrounds. This is why we, at Brent Council, will do everything we can to support our schools.
If you are a parent of a school age child, the Government's current plans will see nearly £105 a year taken away from your child's education. I would urge all of our parents and carers in Brent to respond to the Department for Education's consultation and let them know what you think.