Petition for Safer A4 Crossings in Brentford

Over the past week I've been collecting signatures at the gates of 3 of our local schools demanding prompt and serious action from TfL on the dangerous crossings of the A4 where pedestrian lights are regularly ignored by vehicles on the A4.

• In 2007, Brentford parents approached Brentford councillors with their concerns about safety on the A4.  We identified over £500,000 from recent planning applications that could be spent on these improvements.  After five years, no serious work has taken place.  TfL have said they wil make some minor changes, but not until October.  We are calling on the Mayor of London, and Transport for London, to begin work immediately on making the A4 crossings in Brentford safer.

I meeting local parents I met family members and friends of a woman killed on the Clayponds Lane crossing in recent years.  But also many parents who have had clse shaves when crossing at the "Green Man" and vehicles trying to shoot through the red light.  They are suggesting adjustments to the louvres on the lights, and repainting the white stop line and putting warning signs up.  BUt what many feel is that there should be additional drivers-eye level lights on the signal columns, which are prevalent in many other countries.  


Email me if you'd like copies of the petition ruth.cadbury@hounslow.gov.uk
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HOUNSLOW’S COUNCIL MEETING REPORT – 17 JULY 2012

The key issue of the night was at the end of the meeting, in answers to questions about the rise in the use of Bed and Breakfast, and the ending of Council Tax benefit.  They allowed Steve Curran and I to spell out in words of one syllable the impact that the raft of benefit changes will have on over 15,000 low-income households in this borough.  Growing debt, rising homelessness, greater stress on families, people having to leave their jobs to move to somewhere cheaper, children being taken out of school, and greater risk to vulnerable people.  We will not only have to allow for more time in our surgeries, but long term we will have to build in additional costs to deal with the inevitable long-term costs.  

The meeting started with a minutes silence in memory of the soldiers based in Hounslow recently killed in Afganistan.  Other announcements:

• Lily Bath announced that Brentford’s Torron Lee Dewar has received an achievement award and will be a torch-bearer on Tuesday (in Hillngdon unfortunately)
• I announced the torch relay arrangements, thanked staff for all they have done to assist with our part in welcoming the Games to London, but expressed anger at TfL for the way they have, without consulting the Council, changed the phasing of the lights on the A4, thus causing long delays on roads approaching it, and disproportionate disruption across the road network. 
•  I welcomed Brentford FCs news that they have been able to buy the land at Lionel Road so can proceed with their plans to develop a 15,000 seater stadium, a home for Brentford FC Community Sports Trust
• Steve Curran – all Hounslow’s secondary schools are rated Outstanding or Good
•  Ajmer Grewal – 6 Borough Parks now have Green Flag status, including Boston Manor Park
• Sachin Gupta – the borough's population is up 17% since 2001, now over 250,000 for 1^st time

Petitions: from parents of children with Type 1 diabetes with high maintenance issues, seeking proper support at school; and from residents wanting a CCTV camera to stop burglary and arson.

The Medium Term Financial Strategy shows that with sound financial management, Hounslow is tackling the consequences of Government grant cuts, is reducing depbt and growing reserves.

The full agenda of the borough Council can be found here

Modernising Social Care in Hounslow

At July’s Council Cabinet we made two significant decisions about Adult Social Care.
We want to end the false dividing line between health and social care services  so July’s Council meeting  agreed a joint feasibility study with Hounslow and Richmond Community Healthcare NHS Trust (HRCH) and Richmond Council (LBR) to explore greater integration.   HRCH provides the primary health services such as District Nurses, Physios, Health Visitors formally part of the PCT. If successful we'd end up with an ‘integrated care organisation’ which would serve those needing care and support living in both boroughs.  It would be a great achievement as this causes so many problems for people dependent on health and social care services.  Covering a bigger area could get economies of scale, and as the West Mid is at the geographic centre, there could be further benefits for the "hospital to home" transition.

The second social care paper was on improving Day Opportunities for Adults needing support.  We want people to have services that give them dignity, independence, and specialist services where needed.  There will be more home and community-based activities for the more able.  Acton Lodge in London Road Brentford will be rebuilt and so the remaining day-centres will provide specialist services to specific groups of disabled people - such as those with multiple and profound disabilities, or autism with challenging behaviour.

Collecting waste and Social Care is all Councils will be able to do by 2020

As someone who is passionate about local government and its importance in providing services and transforming lives, I was brought up short by the Local Government Association report on future funding this week.   By 2020 Councils in England will have enough money to give basic social care support and to collect the rubbish, and that is it.  

Councils were cut earlier and harder than the rest of the public sector by Government, and if the same pattern of cuts is replicated in the next Spending Review, and demand for services continue, then there will be a £16.5bn spending gap by 2020, or a 29% shortfall between revenue and spending pressures.  The report has modelled the funding available for services within these constraints.  If waste and social care are fully funded, other services face cuts of 66%, and that if capital financing and concessionary fares are also fully funded, then the cash cut for remaining services rises to over 90%

Whilst local government remains the most efficient part of the public sector, without money and massive reform, there is no solution.    

Obviously there are some big “Ifs”.  If this Government continues on its deficit reduction policies with no Plan B, then not only is the whole public sector screwed, but so is the economy as a whole – over 100,000 local government workers in England have lost their jobs since May 2010, most now spending less , paying less tax and claiming benefits, not to mention the impact on the thousands of businesses dependent on Council contracts. 

But even if Osborne changes tack, and the future for Council finance is in crises, and radical reform of services is inevitable – we will not succeed in the challenge by efficiencies alone .  There has to be a solution for social care funding, and we have to think about what services we want to pay and what we want to receive in return. 

Ed Milliband demands an Inquiry into Bollinger bankers

At last I feel Ed Milliband is groing into a strong leader theat this country so badly needs in the speech he made yesterday to the Fabian conference.

“How can it be that someone is sent to prison for stealing £50 worth of goods from a shop but there is no punishment for those who lie and cheat to gain millions of pounds?” 

In probably his strongest speech yet,  he attacked the criminal behaviour of Bollinger bankers.  He called for an independent enquiry into the banking sector, criminal charges for those who have done wrong and greater competition to the big four banks.  He reminded us why this matters; the family struggling to pay their mortgage, small businesses struggling and being ripped off with insurance products they don’t need.

Has made a powerful and necessary intervention into the issue that will dominate discussion about the economy and politics for some time to come.     A speech that in its immediacy, and moral strength, shows Ed Milliband as a PM in waiting.  He has put the present one on the back foot – Cameron now  has to respond with an inquiry, or look like the PM who protects the wayward bankers.  

Heathrow: Address spare capacity before building more runways - 4 borough letter in today's Evening Standard

Sir

BAA continue to put their efforts into proving that Heathrow is past its sell by date and incapable of serving the needs of the UK economy without further expansion.

Of course the company has a powerful vested interest in crowding yet more flights into their one London airport.

But don't let's confuse this with the quite separate issue of what kind of airport capacity and connectivity the UK economy actually needs.

History shows that Heathrow's demand for growth is insatiable. If BAA get their way over a third runway, how long before they come back for a fourth or a fifth?

Just how incessant does the noise have to be over south and west London and for how many more years do local communities have to suffer air pollution levels that are not tolerated in the rest of Europe before BAA  concede that its prized possession is simply in the wrong place?

As the Coalition Government prepares to consult on ways of addressing capacity that do not involve heaping yet more noise misery on Londoners, it's worth putting BAA's claims under the microscope.

Business passengers account for less than a third of those flying in and out of Heathrow. And while we hear much about the need to serve the emerging markets in the Far East it's still far too tempting for the airport to simply add more flights to the same money-making destinations - New York for example still has 50 flights a day even though the aircraft fly with a quarter of the seats empty.

Too often we are led to believe BAA's interests are synonymous with those of the wider UK economy. But other airports are just as keen and able to serve those key markets in the Far East - not least Gatwick which has around 25 per cent unused capacity on its single runway.

There's plenty of scope at Heathrow for more business traffic and more services to the Far East - but only if BAA are prepared to tackle levels of under-occupancy of up to 46 per cent on some popular routes - and to start prioritising new routes to new markets at the expense of some of the lucrative old favourites.

Yours

The Leaders of Wandsworth, Hounslow, Richmond and Hillingdon Councils

 

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee - an unexpected surprise

A week after the "main" weekend I attended yet another celebration, the Isleworth Thursday club at the Public Hall. Almost 100 older residents enjoying old time singing, tea and a piece of jubilee cake, under strings of bunting and waving union jacks. All familiar sights in the Jubilee celebrations that took place across Hounslow in the last few weeks.

As Hounslow's cabinet lead for Olympic Games preparation, I had the Jubilee added to my portfolio at some point during the last year, so attended as many events as I could. I come from solid Republican stock (Quakers were imprisoned for refusing to doff their caps to the king) so might otherwise have considered going away for the four-day break. However by staying locally I had the privilege of being part of an amazing carnival of community celebration and unity. We decided at an early stage that during this "Summer of Celebration" any street parties would have the license costs of road closures waived, and we set aside Council funds so that community and residents groups could have up to £500 to spend on a local celebratio - 43 groups took advantage.



My weekend included; the Big Lunch in the Butts and street parties in Old Isleworth, Enfield Road, Avenue Road and Brook Road South in Brentford, two more community events in Isleworth, the 2-day extravaganza in Brentford High Street, the Friends of Faith festival in Hounslow and a street show in Hounslow High Street. I danced till late to a live 60s band at Isleworth Working Mens Club and witnessed the Mayor lighting the Jubilee beacon in Lampton Park. I slipped home occasionally and saw the finale of the river pageant too.

The surprises? I hadn't expected food to be such a defining element of the Jubilee - I relived old tastes from my childhood such as candyfloss, chocolate-covered meringues in silver wrapping and lots of moist sponge cakes always made with real butter. And then there was the most amazing curry made by a chef who works at a Michelin-starred Indian restaurant in Mayfair, but this time cooking for his neighbours, many of whom had never met each other before. And finally the edible bunting - just silly.

But for me, the delightful and unexpected surprise of the whole Diamond Jubilee celebration, locally and nationally, was that at every event people were determined to have a good time, to get to know neighbours they had previously not connected with, and to admire the Queen for her positive role as a uniting figure in this country. At each of these events was a feeling that we were celebrating Britain together - whether our background is British, Commonwealth or other. And whilst we ate traditional English/British food and sang some old songs, it wasn't exclusive or excluding. In a diverse community such as the one we have in Hounslow, I am determined that the Council builds on that spirit and we will take it forward for the rest of this Jubilee year, and into the future.

PS: Here is the link to the rest of my photos of the weekend: