Petition: Fully fund schools for Covid-19 costs and provide relief for loss of income

 

Please share and support this campaign by a local Newham head teacher. https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/555718/signatures/new 

Hat tip my Labour Councillor & trade union comrade Sasha Das Gupta. 

Newham Annual Rough Sleeping Winter Street Count 2020

 

On Thursday evening at 11pm I went to Newham Council Dockside Building, to be briefed and then take part, in the annual survey of the number of people sleeping on our streets. This is a national survey that all councils are expected to carry out that particular night (not sure if only England?). 

The weather had turned very cold and for the first time this season, I had to clear my car windscreen of frost/ice before driving to the briefing. 

Due to Covid there were only 7 small teams, covering known rough sleeping "hotspots" in Newham. The teams comprised of 16 in total: Council officers, 3rd sector organisations, local volunteers, 4 
Newham Councillors and a representative from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Govt

There was also a team that stayed behind in order to make hourly checks on everyone to make sure they were safe and to take in the data at the end. Including a representative of the charity Homeless Link, who would independently verify the results. 

We were briefed by Ajitha Sajeev, a fantastic long serving Newham officer, who has been recently been awarded a BEM for her work https://www.johnslabourblog.org/2020/10/newham-hero-honoured-by-queen-on-world.html

I went as a team driver with Kris, a manager from the homeless charity Thameslink, who I have been  on many previous Newham Counts together. 

We had a number of "hot spots" to visit and I was pleased that we found only one person sleeping rough that night in a large Newham retail park. We were able to have a constructive  conversation with him and found that he did want help with getting his national insurance number, in order to find work (and hopefully safer accommodation). He did not want accommodation that night but outreach workers will visit him very early the next morning to see what they can do to help. 

While I cannot yet say what was the total number of people sleeping rough in Newham on Thursday due to the need for verification, in September 2018 it was 105 but in September 2020 if was only 12. This is thanks to the superb outreach work carried out by our officers, stakeholders and volunteers but also due to the government funding promise following the announcement in March of the "everyone in" policy for all rough sleepers to be offered accommodation due to covid. 

This shows what can be achieved if you have the funding and political will to solve a housing crisis. Hopefully this will be a lesson learnt. 

Since it was so quiet I was home just after 2am. 

BHP mine workers tell investors about their reality (and the "Shift of Death")

As a Pension trustee I took part in this virtual round table. It is shocking how badly supposedly "blue chip" responsible international mining companies treat their workers (and the environment!). Setting up "dummy" companies to outsource staff in order to avoid paying them proper wages and protecting their health and safety is just unacceptable and a massive financial risk to investors. 

"18 November, 2020IndustriALL Global Union and PIRC (Pensions & Investment Research Consultants Ltd.) hosted a virtual round table, bringing together BHP worker representatives with investors in the company to raise concerns over violations and mishandling of Covid-19.

The objective was to give voice to the concerns of workers at BHP operations in South America and to allow investors to engage in direct conversation with the workers. Major investors from the UK, France, Sweden and the Netherlands, as well as a number of key responsible investment service providers, participated.

Igor Díaz, president of IndustriALL affiliate SINTRACARBON, spoke about the situation at the Cerrejón coal mine in Colombia, jointly owned by BHP, AngloAmerican and Glencore, where workers have been on strike since late August.

Cerrejón has unilaterally – and illegally – imposed a schedule change that workers call the “shift of death”. It will lead to 12-hour workdays, increased working time, the elimination of benefits, the sacking of over 1,000 workers and serious impacts on workers’ health and family life. Far from driving productivity, the move threatens the well-being of miners and their communities.

Marcelo Franco, president of the workers’ union at BHP’s Cerro Colorado mine in Chile and head of the Coordinating Committee bringing together six BHP unions, discussed conditions at the company’s three owned assets in that country. Marcelo spoke of the mishandling of Covid-19 by BHP, with workers in many cases left to fend for themselves, isolated in squalid accommodations with insufficient food and medical attention or simply sent back to their families to be cared for.

The company took advantage of the government’s discrimination against workers with pre-existing conditions, leading to mass firings of these workers and their inability to find work elsewhere.

Marcelo Franco also underlined the company’s weakness in handling gender mainstreaming, including pushing male miners out to make room for female counterparts, and the lack of necessary adjustments made for women workers, such as adapted PPE for mining and appropriate health and safety conditions to protect women in the workplace.

Conditions for women workers at Cerrejón mine are also poor, with no childcare or breastfeeding facilities.

IndustriALL mining director Glen Mpufane said:

“BHP – along with AngloAmerican and Glencore – continues to claim that it cannot control what happens at Cerrejón, as it is only a part-owner. But they cannot reap the profits without taking any of the responsibility: as companies that have endorsed the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, they know that claims of “minority ownership” are no longer acceptable excuses for avoiding accountability. And while the other two MNCs have at least agreed to a dialogue with IndustriALL, BHP will not do even that.”

The round table touched on corporate governance and human rights-related risks to which BHP is exposing itself: namely, the disjuncture between its handling of Covid-19 in the global North versus the global South, and its extensive use of contract workers.

These workers have been particularly vulnerable during the pandemic, as they often cannot access sick leave or medical insurance, nor are they likely to speak up about health and safety at worksites due to the fear of losing their jobs.

The Australian Fair Work Commission recently threw out an appeal by BHP regarding its outsourcing model, Operations Services, and agreed with the CFMEU and several other IndustriALL affiliate unions that genuine agreement with the workforce had not been demonstrated and that the agreements may not pass the “better off overall test” compared with the industry award, as it is based on lower pay for the same work by contracted workers.
While the Australian unions had recourse because of a strong regulatory framework and judiciary, unions in the global South generally do not have access to remedy in the face of human rights abuses by foreign multinational corporations.

The main “ask” of investors at the round table was that they engage BHP on the concerns raised.

As Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL assistant general secretary said:

“The company must face the risks to which it is exposing its workforce, and address poor labour, environmental and governance practices at the South American assets that it either owns or co-owns. BHP has repeatedly refused to enter into direct dialogue with IndustriALL, thus closing off a major route to resolving problems locally.

“The question arises as to why the company is so willfully avoiding sitting down with workers and their representatives.”

Photo 1: Igor Díaz, president SINTRACARBON, Colombia, on the virtual round table.

Photo 2: Marcelo Franco, president of the workers’ union at BHP’s Cerro Colorado mine in Chile and head of the Coordinating Committee bringing together six BHP unions.

Greater London UNISON Labour Link AGM 2020 - Re-elected!

 

I was really pleased this morning that both myself and Yvonne Green were re-elected unopposed as the respective Chair & Vice Chair of Greater London Labour Link committee for the next 2 years. The last two years have been very difficult for all of us in the Labour movement and it was good to have the trust and confidence of a newly elected committee for the next term. 

The meeting started on a sad note as we held a minutes silence for former long serving committee member, Ann Jefferson, who has recently passed away. A letter of condolence and offer to pay into a charitable cause has been sent to her son. 

UNISON Labour Link works directly within Labour to take UNISON's policies into the heart of the party. In London we affiliate to the Labour Party Region and all 32 Constituency Labour Parties. We have representation on the London Labour regional board and have a network of branch Labour Link officers and CLP delegates. We work closely with other affiliated trade unions.

The committee has a budget which supports a wide range of training and mobilisation events, campaigning and importantly, UNISON members who seek elected office.

It is comprised of directly elected London UNISON members (such as myself and Yvonne) and representatives of our regional self organised groups. All of us are UNISON and Labour Party activists.

At the AGM we had a fantastic and detailed Parliamentary report followed by a Q&A with former London Labour Link activist, now MP for Erith and Thamesmead, Abena Oppong-Asare, who has been recently promoted as Shadow Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury

London Assembly member and leader of the Labour Group, Len Duvall, also gave his report and submitted a 14 page update on the great work that has been done to protect our capital city during the pandemic. 

I gave a commitment on behalf of the committee that we are united to do everything possible to re-elect Sadiq Khan as our London Labour Mayor and Labour Assembly members in the election in May 2021.

Once the other business of the meeting had finished in my closing remarks as Chair, I also spoke about how in our workplan we ought to consider in light of Covid-19, how we can prioritise the promotion of the UNISON Ethical Care charter in London in recognition of the personal sacrifice by so many of our most important but vulnerable members.

(Picture of Yvonne and I in collage was obviously after the last AGM in 2018)

"Talking to the Fabians about committees"

On Saturday morning there was a virtual debate organised by Newham Fabians on "Participatory democracy". 

Local blogger Martin Warne spoke in favour of changing Newham's governance from an Executive Mayor model to a "Committee model". Next May there will be a borough wide referendum to decide. 

Interestingly it appears that Newham Fabians could not find a speaker who was in favour of the Executive Mayor model. For balance one of its officers gave examples of the positive arguments for the model. 

This is Martin's excellent post https://forestgate.net/2020/11/23/talking-to-the-fabians-about-committees/

On Saturday Newham Fabians held an online meeting to talk about local democracy and participation. I was invited to talk about the committee model and why I think it’s the best option for Newham.

This is what I said…

Since 2002 Newham has been run by a directly elected executive mayor – for the first 16 years that was Sir Robin Wales; the current mayor Rokhsana Fiaz has served for 2 ½ years.

The referendum in May will be the first time in close to 20 years that residents have the chance to debate and determine how our borough is run. The choice will be between the current arrangements and a modern committee system.

Newham Voting for Change, the campaign for a committee system, is delighted that there will be a clear choice between a council run by a Mayor and a small executive they appoint and a more participatory, inclusive and open system in which every councillor can play a role. We’re looking forward to campaigning for the committee system in the referendum and having the chance to make the arguments about how Newham council should make decisions and agree policy.

So, what is the committee model?

This is the flatter, less hierarchical and more collaborative alternative to having the executive – or strong leader – arrangements we have now.

Under this model, full Council holds all the decision-making powers. It is full Council’s decision whether to exercise those powers directly or to delegate them to committees or to officers. Council can decide for itself how to organise the committees and adapt them over time to meet changing needs.

While there is no set model of committees, historically they have been based on major functional areas, such as housing, finance, education and resources; along with regulatory committees such as planning and licensing; governance committees such as audit and standards; and statutory scrutiny committees, such as health.

The London Borough of Sutton, for example, has four main committees that are responsible for the Council’s principal functions. These are:

• Strategy and Resources Committee
• Environment and Neighbourhood Committee
• Housing, Economy and Business Committee
• People Committee

Full Council appoints a leader, but without executive powers and, of course, they can be replaced by full Council – not an option that exists under our current arrangements.

The council leader provides political and strategic leadership, proposing new policy, strategy, budget and service standards, as well as acting as spokesperson for the authority.

They represent the Council in the community and in discussions with regional, national and international organisations.

Although this is not an issue in our present one-party state, all committees and sub-committees must be politically balanced, where possible.

Research shows that in councils that moved back to a committee system, the role of full council has been enhanced, with more councillors involved in decision-making. Which is a key reason for moving away from a mayor or leader-and-cabinet system.

Why do we believe this the best option for Newham?

Good governance is about more than structures and processes. Political and organisational cultures, attitudes and behaviours are what make systems successful.

We have seen that the concentration of power and patronage in the hands a single individual, and their hand-picked ‘executive team’, has led to groupthink, poor decision-making and a toxic political culture. Although Rokhsana Fiaz has handed back many of her powers to cabinet there is nothing to prevent a future mayor reclaiming them for themselves.

In a modern Committee system, all 66 councillors will have the power to represent their areas and do the job voters believe they are electing them to do.

Decisions will be made by committees of councillors (from all parties, should an opposition ever manage to get itself elected) working together. All of our councillors will have a voice to represent the communities they serve – not just the mayor and their chosen few.

Power and resources for decision-making in local communities can also be built into a committee system. This means more decisions can be taken closer to the people affected.

We believe that the committee system is:

OPEN – there is more opportunity for citizens, experts and communities to have their say and influence decisions

REPRESENTATIVE – all council members have input into decisions, not just the Mayor and Cabinet

CO-OPERATIVE – councillors have to work together to make decisions

ACCOUNTABLE – every councillor takes a role in making policy and seeing decisions enacted

And a properly designed committee system will be just as swift for decision-making as the mayor-and-cabinet system.

The socialist case for committees

Socialists know that supporting open, democratic and accountable government is crucial. Our party was established to open up government to working people who had gone unrepresented — so that democracy might be used to improve the lives of the many, not just the few.

I hope the referendum debate can be a starting point for a wider discussion on how to renew our democracy in Newham. As Fabians and socialists, we have questions to answer.

How do we create a political culture based on cooperation and solidarity? How do we rebuild trust in our politics and in our public institutions? How do we build support for and fund high quality, universal public services? How do we become carbon neutral within the next decade, to avert climate catastrophe?

The scale of the task confronting us means that the public needs to be at the heart of deciding how to proceed.

I will finish by quoting Olivia Blake, MP for Sheffield Hallam and a supporter for the campaign for a committee system in her city: “Labour councils should be innovative, pioneering new democratic processes with greater citizen participation and deliberation. And we need to start now. The people are ready for change, and we should listen.”

Newham Fabian Society is the local branch of the Fabian Society, a left-leaning think tank dedicated to new public policy and political ideas that is affiliated to the Labour Party. If you’re interested in finding out more, email the secretary.

Give Newham the dosh you promised us Chancellor!

Later today the Chancellor will announce the details of the Comprehensive Spending Review, which sets out the government’s departmental spending plans for the next financial year.

Let us not forget the financial impact COVID-19 has had on local government and Rishi Sunak’s broken promise to do ‘whatever it takes’ to support councils to get through this.

Covid has cost Newham £59.5 million so far. Newham needs the support it was promised. Hat tip to LGA

UPDATE after the announcement

"A Space to Learn, Live & Play" (but can West Ham residents afford to live here?)

 

Today I joined a zoom presentation by the developers of the old Ford car dealer showrooms at 259 Plaistow Road, West Ham ward, Newham.

I was there as a local ward Councillor with my colleague Cllr McLean (Cllr Whitworth had a medical clash and will be briefed later). 

This site is now owned by the Government's Department of Education and they want to build a new 6th form school with the Big Education Trust as well as community facilities, work places and shops. 

So far so good since it appears that Newham is in  need of more school places. While I would have preferred a local authority school to provide spaces the government refuses to allow Councils to build schools anymore. 

However, my challenge to the development team today was how many of the additional 400 homes  proposed to be built on the site will be genuinely affordable to local residents?  The Government spokesperson made it clear that they will expect the cost of buying the land and building the school will be offset by selling many of these homes. 

In Newham we have a massive housing crisis. If the new school reflects Newham,  66% of its pupils will be living in poverty after their parent's housing costs are taking into account. 

We also have the worse homelessness in the UK with more than 50% children living in temporary accommodation than in the entire north of England.  

It seems as only 30% of these homes will be deemed (even under the current nonsensical government definition) "affordable" even if that means charging 80% of market rent.  In Newham this could be £1400 per month. 

It would appear that only a small percentage of these homes will be at social rents (40-50% of market rents) that local families in need will be able to afford. 

The developers said that they will get back to us on this important issue. 

In the meanwhile they are informally consulting with local residents and I would encourage everyone to look at their website https://plaistowplace.co.uk/  and also attend if possible one of their webinars this Saturday and next Tuesday (links not currently working?). Full consultation is due to take place next year. 

I made it clear that the proposed levels of social housing are completely insufficient and must be reviewed. The developers bought this land in late 2018 after the May election when all Councillors and the Mayor were elected on a very clear manifesto commitment that 50% of all such developments must be at social rents. 

UNISON members time is running out. There’s only a few days left to #votechristina. Lets make history...

If you have not voted yet in the UNISON election for our new General Secretary then time is running out.

Vote for "MCANEA, Christina" with a single X to be the next General Secretary of UNISON. The first ever female leader of any big UK trade union. Number two in candidate list.

From my personal interaction with her as a NEC member and branch secretary, she is the best candidate but also it is important that we smash the glass ceiling and that it is about time that a women is elected as the first ever General Secretary of the top 5 UK trade unions.

She is the only female candidate standing in a union were one million of our 1.3 million members are women.

You should have received your ballot paper by now via Royal Mail at your home address. Ballot papers must arrive by this Friday 27 November (so please dig out your ballot paper, compete now and send it back by the freepost envelope tomorrow)

If you have lost the pre-paid envelope sent with the ballot paper you can return for free using your own and just write on envelope "Freepost Civica Election Services" and pop it in the post.

" Up with the houses and Down with the slums" - meeting to discuss forming a Newham Labour Housing Group Wed - 25.11.20 at 7pm

Check out this post and I have emailed an invite to many Newham activists but if you are a local Labour party supporter and are interested in attending then please email, message, Whatsapp or send via this blogs comments your contact details. 

Can I request that those who wish to attend make sure that they identify themselves fully when they join and also make sure they do not show any divisive backgrounds that may cause controversy or offence? I will be applying Labour Party rules on social media etc. 

"Building for the future after years of neglect" Newham Voices

 

Last month Aidan White from the new community newspaper "Newham Voices" interviewed me in my previous role on housing issues. Subscribe to Newham Voices for £5 per month via its website and you will get a free hard copy of the newspaper delivered to your home. 

"After almost 20 years of failed master plans, broken promises and growing frustration among residents, Newham Council has launched a new strategy to resolve the Borough’s housing crisis. Last month it announced plans to provide 1,000 new affordable homes by the end of 2022, to force landlords to improve rented accommodation and to give Newham children, among the poorest in the country, the prospect of a brighter future.

Councillor John Gray, the Deputy Mayor, told Newham Voices in an exclusive interview that the strategy is not built on empty words. “1,000 Council-owned homes at Council rents is going to make a heck of a difference to the lives of 1,000 families in Newham,” he said. “But it’s only a start and I hope we will build more.”

Cllr Gray says that poverty in the Borough is rooted in the homes crisis. The scale of the crisis is shocking. “After you take housing costs into account, some 50 per cent of residents and 66 per cent of all children in Newham live in poverty. I find these figures astonishing,” says Cllr Gray.

He says there are more children in temporary accommodation in Newham alone than the entire north of England. 

The new Council strategy includes: 

• Immediate action to deliver 1,000 new affordable homes;

• Repairing and upgrading sub-standard homes, with a focus on vulnerable adults and older 
people’s housing;

• Targeting bad landlords and prosecution of those who don’t maintain property;

• Support for landlords and residents who want to improve and upgrade their property;

• Creating more “green homes” through a programme of energy- efficient retrofit across Council 
properties and encouraging private landlords to do the same.

Priority to dealing with homelessness. “Where homelessness cannot be prevented, we will ensure early intervention and we’ll build upon the success of the “everybody in” programme,” he says. In the first days of the lockdown in March rough sleepers were moved off the streets within days.

The Council also plans radical change to its waiting list policy which currently is biased in favour of people already in work and requires people to have lived in the Borough or have connections in the area for five years. Instead, Cllr Gray says priority will now be given to households on the waiting list that are most in need and the list will be open to people who have lived in the borough for three years in line with the rules for neighbouring councils.

“There are now considerably more families with children in desperate need of decent housing,” he says. Those with greater needs on the waiting list will be helped before those who may have been on the list longer, but don’t have an urgent need, even if they have a job. “Covid-19 job losses mean giving

As well as making sure homes are fit for purpose as everyone tries to tackle climate change there’s a promise of investment in existing properties to ensure that these properties are safe, well maintained and managed.

“A quarter of Newham’s CO2 emissions come from domestic energy use,” says Cllr Gray. “It’s not just cars and aeroplanes that are the problem. We are setting ourselves high standards for low-energy homes.”

Cllr Gray says the Council will give priority to those in employment makes even less sense. We will now focus on those most in need, and we won’t be penalising those who don’t have jobs during Covid-19 and the forthcoming recession,” says Cllr Gray.

“We recognise that waiting time is important to people’s sense of fairness,” he says, “but we’re adjusting so that it’s those who have been in need for the longest time who get priority.”

The Council aims to tackle overcrowding – particularly where there are children involved – which is a key risk for health. People living in cramped, overcrowded conditions will now be regarded as in acute need.

Among the innovative approaches under consideration to get moving quickly and efficiently to tackle the crisis are plans to build on the top floors of existing blocks, create modular homes to boost temporary accommodation, and a joint venture with the NHS.

The Council is organising consultation with residents until December with virtual focus groups being organised with people in the categories most affected. Final proposals will be adopted early next year.

Fact File Housing

• According to the homeless charity Shelter, the London Borough of Newham has the highest level of homelessness in the country, with 1 in every 24 people without a home. That’s at least 14,500 people.

• After housing costs have been taken into account, 49 per cent of Newham residents live in poverty -more than double the UK national average (which is 22 per cent according to a Joseph Rowntree Foundation study).

• Almost half of Newham’s housing stock is privately-owned and a quarter of all private accommodation is a category one health hazard – that is it’s dangerous to live in.

• A category one hazard includes a range of problems including exposed wiring, dangerous or broken boilers, poor heating, leaking roofs, mould, vermin and broken stairs.

• Children are worst affected. About 67 per cent of all children in Newham are living in poverty after rent payments are made.

• Newham has 120,00O households and 60,000 people in need of housing support.

• 25 per cent of all privately rented households in Newham suffer from overcrowding.

• One in 24 of Newham residents live in temporary accommodation and are technically homeless

• Newham has 17,000 different landlords renting accommodation across the Borough and 13,000 of them own only one property.

• Newham Council spends £60 million on temporary accommodation each year.

• The government ‘right to buy’ legislation has seen Newham Council lose 9,000 homes over the last 25 years.

• Almost half of Council homes sold under right to buy in Newham are rented out in the private sector.

Sources: London Borough of Newham, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Shelter

How much is “affordable” rent?

In Newham, the term is based upon what is called “London affordable rent” which is linked to local incomes and is meant to be around 50 per cent of the market rate. So, for example, if it costs £1200 a month to rent a two-bedroom apartment privately, an affordable rent would be around £600 for the same property. More detailed examples of affordable rents for different properties can be found at https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/ad_132_affordable_and_genuinely_affordable_rents.pdf.

(slight typo in article. Waiting lists eligibility will increase from 2 to 3 years in line with neighbouring councils)