Ilford South Labour Party

The campaign by Downshall Centre users forced a hurried change to the agenda at Tueday night’s cabinet meeting. Various caveats were added to the recommendation for a “Free School” to replace the Downshall Centre. But the decision was still taken “in principle” to sell the centre to E-Act, a national organisation wishing to set up a school in Ilford & voluntary groups were left no clearer about their future.

The caveats were included to ensure that the council discharges its legal obligations, particularly in respect of Equalities legislation. Cllr Keith Prince, Leader of the Conservative & Liberal Democrat coalition running Redbridge, issued an apology to voluntary organisations & users of the Downshall Centre for the way things had been handled by his colleague, Cllr Alan Weinberg, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services. (more…)

Last night (Wednesday 16th) a farcical “public” meeting was held to present proposals by E-Act to open a Free School on the site of the current Downshall Centre in September (see post below). Below are some of the issues beginning to emerge

• E-Act have already advertised for a headteacher for the “proposed” school. The closing date for applications is this Friday, 18th March! If you wanted to apply, you’re already too late: the project briefing days for applicants were earlier this week.
• Back in October the Ilford Recorder ran a story about E-Act’s interest in bidding to open a free school in or near Newbury Park. It reported that a disused building such as a former office block would be used.
• The Department for Education website shows the proposal was approved to the “business case stage” on 14th January.
• About a dozen people attended last night’s “public” meeting held by E-Act. Most were representing voluntary sector groups using the centre. Also present were local councillor & Labour Group Leader, Bob Littlewood & union representatives. None of these people had been sent notice of the meeting. Only a couple were prospective parents, one of whom arrived minutes before the meeting ended.
• E-Act claims to have been running a consultation since December 2010. This has consisted of a survey carried out by MORI of a about 300 prospective parents about whether they would want to send their children to a free school in the local area. No consultation of existing users of the Downshall Centre. No consultation with local residents or their elected representatives.

Some of the questions which need answering are:

• When was the possibility of using the Downshall Centre first raised with Keith Prince, Leader of the Council, or Alan Weinberg, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services?
• Why was a true consultation of all stakeholders not implemented as soon as consideration of using the centre had been agreed?
• What consideration has been given to traffic management at the crossroads on which the Downshall Centre stands? This is already a longstanding problem which will be greatly exacerbated as the school builds from its opening capacity of 120 children to 420.
• What alternatives were considered?
• How can the results of the totally inadequate “consultation” be regarded as valid when those surveyed were not told the location of the school? Nor were they told it will take over the home of many servics provided by the voluntary sector & one of just four centres across Redbridge for the borough’s Youth Service.

Everyone accepts that there is an urgent need for more primary school places in the borough. That is why the last Labour government funded the building of new, purpose built primary schools on the old Port of London playing fields and off Winston Way. But the current proposal is not the way to go about it.

The Department for Education says free schools are “set up in response to what local people say they want”. We say:

• This is the ConDem government hurriedly pushing through its ideological free schools agenda with the connivance of local Tories & Liberal Democrats. This denies local people the chance to say what they want.
• This is no way to plan for the future.
• This is top down, not bottom up government.
• This is not transparent government.

“The unprecedented attack on front line services in Redbridge and elsewhere is not an economic necessity but is part of a wider agenda to undermine the public sector.”

So said the preamble to Labour’s motion to the budget setting council meeting at Ilford Town Hall on Thursday 3rd March.

The Tory led administration rejected the motion and pushed through £25 million cuts over the next 3 years with the help of their Lib Dem accessories. £15 million will be cut in the current year.

Cllr Bob Littlewood, Leader of the Labour Group said:

“The cuts proposed in this budget are unprecedented and unnecessary. The coalition government wants to dismantle the public services in this country.”

(more…)

Monday March 8th is the deadline for the public consultation on the health authorities proposals for North East London, including the closure of Accident & Emergency and other services at King George Hospital.

What can you do NOW?

1. Take part in the consultation, which runs until March 8 2010. Fill in the questionnaire on the Website www.healthfornel.nhs.uk.

2. Write in protest to Freepost RSAE RCET ATJY, Health for North East London, Harrow, HA1 2QG.

3. Call them with your views on 0808 238 5416 ( it is a free line).

4. Sign Mike Gapes M.P’s new petition on line at www.savekinggeorgehospital.org.uk or by requesting forms from his Constituency Office at 6 Mildmay Road, Ilford, Essex, IG1 1DT, Tel: 020 8911 0899. Forms need to be returned by Monday 8th March.

5. If you can manage it, we are encouraging everyone to ask for some forms and get their friends and neighbours to sign. Just remember we need them back by March 8th

Despite poor weather on 13th. February hundreds of supporters of the campaign to keep King George Hospital turned out to march from the Hospital to the Town Hall.
Ilford South Labour Party members were prominent on the march and the overall organiser Andy Walker is a member of Seven Kings Branch Labour Party.

At the Town Hall there were speeches from local M.P’s including our own Mike Gapes and Margaret Hodge from Barking.

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Among our photos here we see Mike Gapes M.P. at the start of the march, crowds outside the Town Hall, Cllr Stuart Bellwood and Aziz Choudhry Labour candidate for Valentines in the May  council elections in demonstrating mood, and Cllr Javed with Ilford South Labour Party Chair Helen Coomb and her sister Catherine on the march.

The Campaign goes on with another rally planned for 17 April. This time the idea is to get the local faith groups, who have all been keen supporters of the hospital to take the lead. Andy Walker is again the Organiser, watch out for more details.

In the meantime remember to sign Mike’s petition on his website, or if you want to  get your friends and neighbours to sign, ask for paper copies ( phone 020 8911 0899) and return them to Mike’s Constituency Office at: 6 Mildmay Road, Ilford, Essex, IG1 1DT.

Also remember you have until 8 March to participate in the consultation on health services in North East London. Go to www.healthfornel.nhs.uk or use the freephone 0808 238 5416.

Redbridge’s Conservative Council is planning to ‘reprovision’ the day care facility for older people used by 69 people each day at the Mildmay Centre in Albert Road. Labour Councillors managed to get a motion carried at Committee for the proposal to be reconsidered.

The proposal has spread alarm among the elderly who use the Centre as it is a life line for people who often would not otherwise get out and meet anyone. Friendships have been formed and many look forward to enjoying company on their weekday trips. Helpers at the centre feel that without the service many would succumb to depression.

The Conservative Cabinet Member for Adult Services, Cllr. John Fairley-Churchill is quoted in the Ilford Recorder as saying:-

‘ I have been told that we have unused capacity in our existing day centres. They may have developed friendships but I don’t accept that all 69 are bosom buddies’

‘I have done it to rationalise provision for the elderly…’

Labour’s Cllr. Filly Maravala says:-

‘At the Area Committee six meeting at Central Library, last week, members unearthed a cash saving plan to fund the Conservative Cabinet’s capital programme and recoup £40 million which the Council wants to strip from community schemes, claiming the move is unavoidable. The cuts would treble over the next three years and I found it hard to hide my anger when questioning a proposed 3.9 per cent council tax hike. Once again the Conservatives are targeting the most deprived and poor area of the Borough. It has decimated our Area 6 budget. As Labour Councillors we are calling on the cabinet to use this opportunity to redistribute resources in the more needy areas.

The plan to cut the Mildmay Day Centre service is part of this programme of cuts. I am leading a fight to stop the plans and so far I have been inundated with support and it clearly means a lot to people who use the centre. These people are in their twilight years and deserve better’

Labour locally says that it seems to this Conservative Council that‘rationalising’ services for the vulnerable without consideration for the users is acceptable.

WE SAY SHAME ON THEM

A Social Services Liaison Meeting with the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) was held on Monday 28 January to discuss the 2008/9 budget proposals. It was supposed to form part of the Council’s budget consultation process. The proposal considered was that the overall budget for Voluntary Sector grants should be cut by 5%, amounting to £32,000.

The meeting was well attended by representatives of the VCS who expressed their concerns. Tory Cllr John Fairley-Churchill, the cabinet member responsible, left at the end of the meeting at 6.30pm having given assurances that he would give careful consideration to the points raised by those present. At 7pm he attended the Adult Social Services & Housing Scrutiny Committee where he defended the proposals and where a motion by Labour Cllr Filly Maravala to scrap the cuts to the grants was rejected out of hand by the Tories.

The cuts have been proposed despite Redbridge receiving the second highest settlement in London from central government. The amount involved is miniscule to the Council, but desperately needed by voluntary organisations in the Borough.

It will have an impact on grants to the voluntary sector and the ability of voluntary and community organisations to deliver services to the local community. It comes at a time when the voluntary sector are campaigning against the cuts to services in adult care for some of the most vulnerable people in Redbridge, amounting to well over £1 million. Government is expecting the voluntary sector to take on a greater role in providing support and services to local communities, but Redbridge are taking away the investment from the organisations that most need it.

Make sure Councillors know your views before they set the new budget. Write to:

Your MP
Mike Gapes MP for Ilford South
(click here for details of MPs representing other areas of Redbridge)
Your Ward Councillors (Enter your postcode in the “My Councillors” box on the London Borough of Redbridge web site.)  If you know which ward you live in & are represented by Labour Councillors, click here for their details
Cllr John Fairley-Churchill
The local press

This Thursday, 1st March, the Tory administration on Redbridge Council will formally present their Budget and Council Tax proposals for 2007/8 to Full Council.Labour Group Leader, Elaine Norman, says, “The whole Tory budget process has been an exercise in cynicism. They have ignored their own budget consultation, reneged on their own manifesto commitments and, at the eleventh hour, come up with a cynical saving option to cut local area committees budgets by some £175,000! Were they afraid to consult the public on this? What value their consultation on cuts to home care? Labour will not support the arrogance of this administration and their complete disregard of public opinion.”

“No doubt the Tories will use their propaganda sheet “The Redbridge Life” to crow about their new three star rating” says Deputy Labour Leader, Cllr Bob Littlewood. “No doubt at the Council meeting they will repeat the mantra, “It’s a budget for the whole Borough” .No doubt they will blame Ken Livingstone, the Government and anyone else they can think of , apart from themselves, of course, for making cuts in Redbridge services. No doubt they will again talk about the good things in their capital programme

The facts are:

• They have ignored their own public consultation results by:

• slashing home care for elderly people

• reducing spending on crime protection against the advice of their own officers’ and the Police Borough Commander

• ignoring their own expert officers by putting off improvements in street cleansing

• The Budget cuts will have a disproportionate effect on South Ilford. While Gants Hill and Barkingside get a makeover (no problem here), the environment in a number of neighbourhoods in the South is fast deteriorating and crime and anti-social behaviour are a growing concern.

And while they propose to increase spending on Redbridge Life, they are also cutting out some of the money spent on advertising and publicity for Area Committee meetings. It seems that they want to use the Redbridge Life to tell us how wonderful things are in Redbridge and simultaneously to squash criticism.

A Brighter Future? Part of the budget making process is about future capital spending. The Tories are always boasting about what their grand plans for the future are: New Schools. New Sports Centres, Road improvements, Redevelopment of Ilford Town Centre. £ millions to be spent in the future with money the Council hasn’t actually got! £ millions that can only come from the sale of Council land, decisions on which are on-going and being taken in secret.

Who is to say how much extra housing we will be forced to accept in the South of Ilford, how many allotments we will lose? And where’s the guarantee that the money raised will finance such things as the much needed sports centre and pool? There is no guarantee, as long as the process is secret.

But you can guarantee that the Redbridge Life will hail every decision as good “for the whole Borough”!