Newham Council Health & Adult Social Care Scrutiny Commission

 

At start of @NewhamLondon Health & Adult Social Care Scrutiny Commission in #EastHam Town Hall. On hottest day of year.... We lost all those joining virtually due to sound issue but rest of scrutiny was positive and pretty constructive.

Planning for health provision with a growing population (which may be changed by new Government planning and housing policies?) and Leisure services. I believe it is available on YouTube to watch.

Voted to keep UNISON Political campaigns

 

Last week I got a ballot paper on whether or not to keep our Union's political campaign fund or not. I voted "YES" and posted in on Sunday. This ballot has to take place every 10 years. Our ability to campaign on political issues to protect members and improve pay and conditions is absolutely vital. 

You have to vote by post only (for now - hopefully our political campaigning will result in our balloting process being brought up to date).

The ballot closes on 16 August. The result of the ballot will be published on 22 August.

110th Anniversary of the start of World War 1

 

This morning I walked with Gill from Stratford to Sutton House in Hackney. Sutton House is a Tudor manor built in 1535, owned by the National Trust and is the oldest residential building in East London.

It is well worth a visit and I will post upon it another time. I noticed outside the building that there is a plaque remembering that Sutton House was bought by the National Trust in the 1930s with the proceeds of a bequest made by William Alexander Robertson in memory of his two brothers killed in World War I.

Today is the 110th anniversary of the start of World War 1. Above is one of my favourite pictures of my Welsh maternal Grandfather (Taid), Frederick John Matthews MC, who served in that war from 1915-1918. He is seated next to one of his brothers (whose name I am trying to confirm). It is incredible that he survived front line trench warfare in Gallipoli, Belgium and France. Our family was very lucky but so many others like the Robertson's were not. 

"Matchgirls, memorials and Manor Park"

 

I have been somewhat distracted lately with you know what, so missed these posts from local history blog E7 Now & Then: Matchgirls, memorials and Manor Park (e7-nowandthen.org). I worked for many years in Bow next to the former Bryant and May factory and did try and help the family of Sarah Chapman with their battle to safeguard her burial site in Manor Park.

"The Bow Matchgirls strike of 1888 is one of the iconic events in British working class history, but attempts to get formal public recognition for it, and its significance, via memorials, present a continuing challenge.

This is the first of a two-part series that examines the issues. In this we briefly recap the story of the strike and how the event has been acknowledged via statuary and plaques in East London. The second article (to follow) looks specifically at the story of one of the strike’s leaders, Sarah Chapman: her life and the campaign to get formal recognition for her, via a permanent headstone, in her burial ground, Manor Park cemetery.

We are grateful for assistance from The Matchgirls Memorial – a charitable organisation that was established in March 2019 that campaigns for better recognition of the women and girls who went on strike – for help in preparing these articles and for permission to use the images we are reproducing. Full details of the charitable organisation – and how you can assist – will appear at the end of the second article.

Matchmaking was an important industry in east London in the second half of the nineenth century: its products were needed to ignite almost all forms of commercial and domestic heating and lighting. The trade was largely unmechanised, meaning that considerable numbers of lowly paid – usually women – workers were employed in the production. 

The Bryant and May factory opened in Fairfield Road, Bow, in 1861, joining an already established larger firm, Bells, in the area. It was a dangerous trade – one of the key ingredients of the match head was white phosphorus, which casued a disfiguring and occasionally deathly condition known as “phossy jaw”. Charles Dickens had drawn attention to its danger and consequences almost a decade before the Bryant and May factory opened, but almost no heed was paid to the safety or welfare of those employed there when it opened.....

furher details check out E7 Now & Then: Matchgirls, memorials and Manor Park (e7-nowandthen.org)

NEWHAM COUNCIL ADOPTS DENTAL MOTION

 

Hat tip my Newham Councillor colleague Susan Masters.

Tonight (Monday) at Newham's Full Council, with the support of my colleague John Gray I finally saw my motion addressing Newham's Dental Crisis adopted by Council.
Given this non-contentious motion was first tabled for council by Newham's Labour Group, over a year ago, it feels like it's been one hell of a long journey. While it was disappointing, after time running out on so many previous occasions, not to finally get to address my colleagues, it was a relief to see it pass on a unanimous, cross-party vote.

So how much has changed in the interim? Well from our local health scrutiny committee first exploring this issue in 2023 under a Tory Govt, to it being front and centre of our new Labour manifesto, it's been fantastic seeing it coming up the political agenda.

While it does feel like things have improved since commissioning moved to Integrated Care System level just over a year ago, our commission are still hearing of residents struggling to get a routine appointment without a three month wait, let alone emergency dentistry, I hope my motion will raise awareness of the issues, add weight to work addressing the problem and encourage others to lobby for a change to the dental contract to ensure better NHS access.

Newham Dental Crisis

Proposer: Councillor Susan Masters
Seconder: Councillor John Gray

-Tooth decay is the main cause of hospital admissions for 5-9 year olds in England
-In 2019 Newham was the London Borough with the fourth highest levels of tooth
decay among 5 year olds
-Poor oral health has been recognised as a trigger for diabetes, heart attacks and
strokes among adults
-Healthwatch – the statutory borough body commissioned to oversee the quality of
local services on behalf of residents - has been reporting a marked deterioration in
access to NHS local dental services since 2017, predating the pandemic
-In 2023 When Newham Council’s Health And Adult Social Care Scrutiny devoted a session
to paucity of local NHS dental care, a quick use of a new search engine revealed that
of 29 Newham dentists thrown up by the official NHS search engine, only 2 were
accepting new adult patients and 3 patients of all ages
-Other residents are finding that they are being told that the only way to access a
dentist at their practise is to sign up to an insurance scheme
-Brexit has brought about a shortage in dental nurses meaning the issue is not just
about having access to more NHS dentists
- On April 1st this year our North East London Integrated Care System took
responsibility for commissioning local dentistry services alongside optometry and
community pharmacy

Given the importance of receiving good dental treatment and the levels of financial
need in our borough, it’s clear our residents require strong NHS provision of dental
services

This Council resolves to:

-Use its presence within our local North East London integrated care system to force
an increase in the number of units of dental activity available to our borough and
ensure this shortfall is prioritised.
- Use its Health and Care Space Newham estate partnership to prioritise the creation
of new NHS dental surgeries and draw dentists and nurses into the borough
- Use LBN's estate powers to incentivise greater NHS dentistry provision where
possible to promote dental nursing roles to its schools and colleges of further
education.
-Explore the legality of and Lobby against dentists insisting patients sign up to
insurance schemes.
-Work with the LGA and campaign politically to oppose insurance schemes being
forced upon patients.

UNISON: Vote YES to keep our political fund and maintain our campaign voice

 

UNISON is required by law to ballot all members as to whether or not we should keep the political fund. This ballot is now underway, and all members are encouraged to participate!  So what is the political fund? The political fund is an optional extra that some members choose to pay into to support UNISON's political campaigns and advertising. There are two types;  The Campaigning Fund Also referred to as the General Political Fund (GPF) - this is not affiliated to any political party. The money paid into this gives a boost to the union's political campaigns. All sorts of national and local projects and campaigns benefit from this fund, such as anti-cuts campaigns, local campaigns against hospital closures, local equality events and the union's work combating racism and intolerance.  Labour Link Fund Also referred to as the Affiliated Political Fund (APF). This fund works to take UNISON's policies to the heart of the Labour Party. Over the years, the fund has helped secure gains including the national minimum wage, equalities legislation and increased investment into the NHS. Most recently, UNISON's input into the current government's New Deal for Working People would not have been possible without this fund.  We finally have a Labour government, and if want to ensure the voices of public service workers are represented and considered, we need to ensure this fund continues!  What can you do?  Remember to vote and encourage other members to do the same - it's a postal ballot only.  Ensure the leaflets (linked below) are circulated to members in your workplace - you can also have some copies on any stalls or walkarounds you are running in the ballot period Include in your branch newsletter There will be social media posts from both the regional and national UNISON accounts about this important ballot, share this with your followers!  Key dates for your diary  15 July | Voting starts - voting papers are posted to members 24 July | The voting helpline opens (UNISON Direct 0800 0 857 857) 09 August | The voting helpline closes at midday  16 August | Voting ends at 5pm 22 August | The results are published

Labour Win in Little Ilford & Beckton Ward By-elections

 

Just back home from the Count at East Ham Town Hall. So pleased that both Blossom and Alam (5th & 6th from right) had clear wins in their elections. I will post more on the elections when I can. 

The King's Speech Presents: A New Deal for Working People

 

Hi John, The King has just made a huge announcement at the State Opening of Parliament – this Government will be writing the New Deal for Working People into law, in full, in an Employment Rights Bill. This is a historic milestone for our movement, we wouldn’t have come this far without your support. But let’s not kid ourselves - bad bosses are coordinating attacks on the New Deal in the press and across the media. They’re determined to undermine and unpick it, so they have free rein to carry on driving down pay and conditions. We’ve come too far to let that happen. Add your name to celebrate the New Deal and show your support: https://labourunions.org.uk/supportnewdeal/   (5) Video | Facebook   But it’s not just the New Deal that the King announced today. New laws will kickstart Labour’s Green Prosperity Plan, creating 650,000 good jobs across the country, and the Government will set up GB Energy, a new state-owned energy company. The Government will publish an Equality (Race and Disability) Bill, enshrining in law the right to equal pay for disabled people and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people and implementing the New Deal commitments to mandatory disability and ethnicity pay gap reporting. There are new measures to turbocharge housebuilding and deliver more affordable housing, and a Renters’ Rights Bill to protect renters, including ending no-fault evictions. And there will be a Railways Bill to finally, after years of campaigning, bring our railways back into public hands. After 14 years of Tory chaos we’re seeing a return to Government acting in the interests of working people and their families. There’s so much to do to get our country back on its feet, and this King’s Speech shows this Government is hitting the ground running. Imagine a future where fair pay, job security, better work-life balance, and stronger rights are the norm, not the exception. We’re nearly there. This is our chance to make history and build a society that truly values working people. Let’s continue to celebrate it and fight for it: https://labourunions.org.uk/supportnewdeal/ Helen Pearce, Director, Labour Unions   Reproduced from an electronic communication sent by Helen Pearce on behalf of National TULO, 20 Rushworth Street, London SE1 0SS.

This Moron could be the next Vice President of the USA (If so, that will make 2 at the top)

"Donald Trump's new running mate JD Vance says the UK may now be “the first truly Islamist country to get a nuclear weapon... since Labour took over"

https://x.com/AdamBienkov/status/1813084295780790773

Sorry about being very disagreeable (and breaking my normal rule about disagreeing without being disagreeable) but what a piece of dangerous *****. IMO for what it is worth.

Hat-tip thingy @AdamBienkov & @LondonNurse2015 

Supporting Aktharul Alam in Little Ilford - By-elections Thursday 18 July

 

This evening I led a team in Little Ilford with our Labour candidate, Aktharul Alam (taking selfie), using printed sheets instead of the "doorstep" app on our phones. This is due to some national Labour technical glitch, which I believe has now been sorted. 

It was actually quite nice to have pen and paper again and to work as a team rather than individuals. Probably a more social and gossipy way of doing things while you wait to give your data or be given new addresses to call upon. 

The canvass itself went well and there was a number of teams out all day and evening in Little Ilford and Beckton Ward (where there is a second by election with the Labour Candidate being Blossom Young).