Havering’s Places Overview and Scrutiny Committee, 18th July 2023

David Taylor’s debut as chair proved he’s affable and courteous. The principal items on the agenda concerned trees and Havering’s fleet of vehicles. Both items had officers presenting reports with skill and panache. It was refreshing to hear experts nimbly answering questions.

Trees are very complex. A ‘canopy’ cover in Havering was a surprise. What wasn’t a surprise was a discussion of fruit trees. Brian Eagling (39 mins)¹ and Gerry O’Sullivan (46 mins) spoke passionately about the damage, danger and mess they cause. They are an unintended consequence of the 1987 Great Storm, when there was no choice of replacement trees. The lack of maintenance was emphasised by Brian Vincent (34mins). Nonetheless the political consequences of stripping trees from streets was remembered by Osman Dervish (35 mins). Trees have passionate supporters.

The principal officers for Havering’s fleet of vehicles were a masterful double-act. The ULEZ programme has many ramifications. ULEZ fines were a burning topic and no-one believed the implementation August 29^th date will be postponed.²It seems Havering will pay about £88,000 in fines. This has incentivised the procurement of compliant vehicles. Air pollution was emphasied as a driving force in addition to efficiency though Climate Change wasn’t mentioned.

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Havering Daily: a comment

The e-newspaper did a survey of councillors about ULEZ.³ Not a single councillor mentioned Public Health, which was depressing. Even the Labour Party is trapped by a desire to have it both ways.

The Havering Daily should be congratulated for their efforts. And councillors who replied are sensitive to the democratic necessity of transparent dialogue – so they too should be congratulated. A surprising non-responder was Keith Prince – a ULEZ ultra.

Notes

1 Annotator Player (sonicfoundry.com) All times refer to this webcast

2 And they were quite correct as the High Court ratified ULEZ on the 28^th July

3 Havering Councillors Reveal Their Views on the ULEZ Expansion and Pay Per Mile Scheme – The Havering Daily

Havering Cabinet Meeting, 14th June 2023

Keith Prince’s inaugural meeting as Conservative leader began immediately (@4minutes)¹ with a complaint about exempt items. Strangely, he was quasi-apologetic, which contrasts with his usual combative style. Martin Goode continues to star in this committee and he should be a mentor to Keith. Martin does his homework diligently.

Martin’s comments (8 mins) were perceptive and helpful. He built on this later when commenting on the Climate Change report (24mins). Keith Darvill² discussed the use of heat pumps and Martin asked whether Havering was on the hook for conversion costs for the houses which are to be leased for the homeless. (LBH is leasing them for 10 years.)³ The question was asked but the answer? This problem clearly hadn’t been considered showing Havering’s failed understanding of a cross-cutting approach.

Gillian Ford made five contributions (12 mins) (19 mins) (27 mins) (29 mins) (35 mins) without offering insights. Keith Darvill’s (20 mins) cross-cutting Climate Change item was a golden opportunity for cabinet members to make departmental responses. Oscar Ford should have commented on the environmental impact of route design for school transport but didn’t. Paul Middleton’s new Leisure Centre is a huge energy user and a comment on that would have been helpful in a review of Havering’s Climate Change aspirations.

Climate Change is critically important and to passively ‘receive’ a report is a reckless dereliction of duty.

Notes

1 Annotator Player (sonicfoundry.com) All timings relate to this webcast

2 (Public Pack)Agenda Document for Cabinet, 14/06/2023 19:30 (havering.gov.uk) Item 7 is very interesting

3 See item 5 (Public Pack)Agenda Document for Cabinet, 14/06/2023 19:30 (havering.gov.uk) Summary statement 1

Havering Council Meeting – 12th July, 2023

There are 54 councillors and eleven¹ were absent from this meeting. Councillors Nunn and Mugglestone were attending a family funeral but the other nine? Twenty percent of councillors absent for a council meeting? Did they forget to pick up their £200 for this week?

The death of veteran councillor Linda Hawthorn was eulogised in various ways. Chris Wilkins (@ 25 minutes)², a family friend, sounded like a vicar who’d been given notes and then went through the motions. The contrast with Robert Benham (35 mins) couldn’t have been greater. A warm, kind and personal statement did both him and Linda proud.

Graham Williamson (43 mins) forgot to bring his petition to the meeting. A pitiful lapse. This provides a commentary on his organisational abilities.

Barry Mugglestone was absent for Question Time.³ Mischievously Ray Morgon arranged for Judith Holt to have meetings with Barry about Qs. 1 and 3. Martin Goode (1 hour15) asked a very pointed question about the King’s Park estate and the quality of its infrastructure. Jason Frost (1 hour 26) asked a good question on biodiversity and planning.

A motion on e-scooters was led by Robert Benham (1 hour 50). He highlighted their menace. Robert could have asked why Havering’s private million pound policeforce⁴ don’t enforce the law but didn’t. Mandy Anderson (2 hours 05) said the Over 50s Forum condemned e-scooters. The HRA amendment was pointless.

Councillor absenteeism is outrageous and especially Damian White’s.

Notes

1 John Crowder, Philippa Crowder, Laurence Garrard, James Glass, Robby Misir, Barry Mugglestone, Stephanie Nunn, Katharine Tumility, Christine Vickery, Damian White and Darren Wise See https://havering.blog/2023/04/08/haverings-councillors-value-for-money-march-2023/ for a discussion of this point

2 Annotator Player (sonicfoundry.com) All timings relate to this webcast

3 (Public Pack)Agenda Document for Council, 12/07/2023 19:30 (havering.gov.uk) Go to Item 9 p93ff

4 Havering’s million-pound contract is with the MetPolice for five policemen. LBH is paying and OAPs fear e-scooters and so let our police leap into action. Havering’s Million Pound Mistake, 2019-22 – Politics in Havering

Political Reporting in Havering

If Havering had Proportional Representation, there wouldn’t be any councillors because most people don’t vote. There’d be an empty council chamber. Local elections are boycotted and newspapers will only report what is interesting.

Romford Recorder: 30^th June 2023

The Recorder gives politicians¹ a weekly column. Ray Morgon, Leader of the Council, filed a piece for this week.

He outlined administrative changes in the council structure, which are a Target Operating Model. The key priorities are three areas of activity: “improving our digital offering, improving our customer service and resident engagement.” He then discussed enforcement of littering laws, locking park gates (the majority don’t have gates), and cashless parking meters.

It was fascinating for geeks.

Havering Daily: accessed 3^rd July 2023

This is an e-newspaper with a section called, ‘Politics’. They highlight HRA, Brexit, Labour and LibDems.³

Access is excellent: content is terrible. Brexit and the LibDems have articles from November 2019. The most recent for HRA is 5^th June 2023 and Labour, 28^th June.

Each article is a local issue with one principal member identified with it.

An innovation is the Taylor Talks⁴ monthly column. There’s been one so far and he doesn’t identify himself as a Conservative councillor. Why? His article focuses on being proud of Romford, showing a tragic lack of ambition. His second article was due on July 1st and didn’t appear. Maybe he has a flexible concept of ‘monthly’?

Notes

1 Andrew Rosindell’s Big Idea – Politics in Havering This blog discussed Andrew Rosindell’s thoughts Recorder 14^th April 2023

2 Recorder p33 30^th June 2023

3 Conservatives aren’t listed, which could be a considered opinion

4 NEW: Taylor Talks-‘It’s time we take pride in Romford.’ – The Havering Daily

Havering’s Strategic Planning committee: 8th June, 2023

The first item was strategic.¹ The council could agree a major development on the borough’s Green Belt. This decision effects the HRA’s beating heartbeat and is of the first importance. HRA councillors have built their political careers ruthlessly opposing Green Belt encroachments. Now it’s their policy.

Ray Morgon was unequivocal in his Leader’s speech at Annual Council.² He said the data centre is a Treasure Island. This is evangelical. HRA residents will hope his infectious optimism doesn’t cloud the committee’s judgement.

The council is proposing a novel, for LBH, planning route. That route is a Local Development Order (LDO). The chief officer masterfully explained why this is necessary. Gerry O’Sullivan summed up the committee’s comprehension by saying he hoped future documents were “understandable”.

An LDO provides levels of certainty for the developer and avoids planning application hazards, especially delay.

The next item was old-fashioned. Parking! What else stirs passions amongst elderly male councillors? The discussion focused on 168 parking spaces in a Rainham development. Despite officers repeatedly saying that those renting the units knew about parking restrictions, Ray Best was unmoved. Jane Keane voiced an alternative point-of-view. It was a cry in the wilderness. Councillors were as intoxicated as fox hunters in full cry. Reg Whitney claimed electric cars would worsen the problem.

Ray Best sulked after discovering there was a GLA imperative which might reduce the 168 spaces. A few remarks were passed about Sadiq Khan but it was low key grumbling.

Notes

1 Annotator Player (sonicfoundry.com) The webcast was abysmal with very uneven quality.

2 Annotator Player (sonicfoundry.com) from 1 hour 7 minutes

Havering’s Academies: School Uniforms and the Cost-of-Living Crisis

The statutory guidance was published in November 2021 and advises, in order to keep the cost of uniforms down, for branded items to be kept to a minimum and for high street items to be allowed. It also states that second-hand uniform must be available, providing cost-effective and sustainable options.¹ (my emphasis)

Abbs Cross, Hornchurch: “All items marked with a * must be purchased from the school supplier.” These include: blazer; tie; school jumper; rugby shirt and PE socks. The minimum cost is £83 and the maximum cost is £96.²

These additional items are compulsory.

Black trousers or skirt and socks/tights plus a white shirt
Polished black shoes – black laces, black stitching, black sole and heel³
Appropriate jacket or coat
PE polo top; PE joggers; PE shorts plus PE fleece jacket. All with school logo
Swim shorts/suit plus swim cap

Logos increase costs and Abbs Cross breaches government guidance.

Sacred Heart of Mary, Upminster: “Dark navy blue pleated skirt or navy trousers. These items are available only from the School Shop. Other items can be bought elsewhere. Navy leggings with School Badge Blue fitted Polo Shirt with School Badge Netball Skirt with School Badge Gym Shorts – All have to be bought from the school shop.” (my emphasis)

They follow government guidance quite well.

It’s cheaper attending Sacred Heart because fewer items are sold non-competitively. Helpfully, fewer items require logos.

Marshalls Park, Romford: “Uniform is not fashion-orientated and, should individual items of clothing be deemed inappropriate, we will contact parents/carers.”⁵ Only the school badge and tie are purchased from their Resources department. Their uniform policy is prescriptive but good efforts to reduce the cost burden are in place.

This academy fully complies with government guidance.

Conclusion

School uniform is a tax on learning. Children must attend school in uniform. The government’s attempt to mitigate costs aren’t universally obeyed. Worse, control-freakery⁶ adds to the costs for hard-working families. Parents/carers should make representations to the governors about this scandal.

Addendum: Government guidance on dress codes

Consult widely on a proposed school dress code policy (or any changes to a policy) with pupils, parents/carers, school staff and governors including making use of school assemblies and school councils to achieve respect for diversity and an ethos of inclusion. Include school staff in the development of the policy in order to achieve consistency across the school in applying the dress code.

Ensure the items of clothing in the dress code being proposed are affordable for all who wish to attend the school.¹

Notes

1 School uniform | NEU

2 Abbs Cross Academy – School Uniform Direct Loxford Group includes Abbs Cross and four secondary academies. Having a sole supplier is worth an estimated £500,000 in ‘tethered’ i.e. non-competitive sales.

3 For a discussion of Havering’s academies control freakery on shoes see Havering’s Academies: School Shoes and Shoe Laces – Politics in Havering

4 Uniform | SACRED HEART OF MARY This academy is last in the list of Havering’s academies and wasn’t chosen to make a point.

5 Uniform-Policy-May.pdf (marshallspark.org.uk)

6 The use of logos on clothing is a classic example; hyper specific descriptions of shoes are another.

Havering Councillor: Keith Prince (Squirrels Heath)(part two)

It’s difficult to overstate how unique Keith’s political position is. He’s a councillor for both the GLA and Havering.¹ Conservative Central Office parachuted Keith into Havering because it needs political maturity. Keith is a veteran of local politics and will inject realism into Romford Conservatives. They’ve lost power after 20 years, which is ominous. Lost power in a Conservative heartland!²

Keith was elected 33 years ago as a Havering councillor. He moved to Redbridge, became Leader and effortlessly slid into the GLA in 2016.³ In 2022 he ousted Damian White from Squirrels Heath ward. Damian saw it coming and finessed the attack by shifting to Havering-atte-Bower ward. He then politically manipulated naïve new councillors⁴ from Rainham, winning the 2022 Conservative leadership election. A triumph of political manoeuvering.

Game, Set and Match to Damian.

It was temporary.⁵ Keith won the group election in 2023 and Damian is yesterday’s man. Keith believes he’ll solve Romford’s ‘problem’ with time to spare. He’s a GLA councillor with 400,000+ constituents, a Havering councillor, and Leader of the Conservatives. Superman?

At Annual Council Keith misunderstood procedure. A blip? Havering needs a strong Opposition to keep HRA/Labour on their toes.

Notes

1 (a) Register of Interests for Havering Council mgConvert2PDF.aspx (havering.gov.uk)

(b) Register of Interests for the GLA Keith Prince – Register of interests | London City Hall

2 Julia Lopez and Andrew Rosindell have huge majorities.

3 Roger Evans was GLA member from 2000 to 2016.

4 They decamped joining the HRA after a few weeks reducing the Conservatives to 20 councillors. They are Sarah Edwards, Jacqueline McArdle and Sue Ospreay.

5 See Havering Councillor: Damian White (Havering-atte-Bower) – Politics in Havering

Havering’s Annual Council Meeting, 24th May, 2023

Havering’s Annual Council meeting¹ is a character-building event. Only political geeks should attend. Out-going mayor Trevor McKeevor, walks and talks like a mayor, so Stephanie Nunn, the new mayor, has a hard act to follow. An instant difference was Stephanie’s easy-going familiarity. She waved to people in the chamber. This included Robert Benham and her spiritual advisor (at 47 minutes). This is a sharp change in tone.

The death of Linda Hawthorn² was noted without eulogies. That will come at the council meeting on the 12^th July. She was a veteran councillor having served 33 years.

The meeting livened up when new Conservative leader, Keith Prince, tried to withdraw David Taylor’s nomination for a council position. He misunderstood procedure and Taylor remained on the candidate list notwithstanding Prince’s efforts to withdraw his name. Taylor was defeated 29-3 with three members not realising they were voting for a non-candidate.³ They demonstrated loyalty (beyond!) the bitter end.

The meeting concluded with Ray Morgon’s summary of the year. He had a good story to tell. Unfortunately, he ruined it with a disastrous metaphor about the sea – in landlocked Havering. His principal highlight was building a successful coalition. The low point was the ‘parking permit’ fiasco, which he⁴ gracefully accepted as being the antidote of a triumph.

Notes

1 For the webcast go to Annotator Player (sonicfoundry.com) All times relate to this source

2 See Havering Councillor: Linda Hawthorn (Upminster) – Politics in Havering for a summary of her exceptional position in Havering’s political life.

3 The voting was: 29 For the HRA candidate; 3 Against; 7 Abstentions. Interestingly these 39 votes out of 54 mean 15 councillors were doing something else.

4 The responsible cabinet members, Barry Mugglestone and Chris Wilkins, presumably accepted blame in private.

Havering’s Overview and Scrutiny Board: 30th March, 2023

The Overview and Scrutiny Board is Havering’s principal scrutiny committee. It has twelve members and ten attended this meeting. (Non-attendees were cllrs Summers and Damian White.)¹

Item 6, Corporate Risk Register, analysed risks to the budget. (Addendum One) Every risk is rated ‘high’.² The minutes of the ‘discussion’ are shocking.³ There was virtually nothing said about this ultra-specific report. Worse, the viability of the mitigation of risks was unchallenged. Proposed mitigation included wishful thinking…lobbying government. (Addendum Two)

Members discussed ULEZ’s effects on some care workers, which isn’t a Corporate Risk and wasn’t in the report. The existential bombshell below was in the report and was ignored.
“Difficulty in identification of further efficiencies and savings following a decade [actually 13 years] of Austerity and increased demand following the COVID pandemic.”
Translated: LBH can’t mitigate risk because the Conservative Austerity programme has destroyed the resilience of the council.

The budget is at ‘High Risk’ of failure. Gerry O’Sullivan should summon Chris Wilkins, LBH’s finance Tsar, to discuss his mitigation proposals. The O/S Board meeting with Wilkins will be an important building block in proactive scrutiny.

Addendum One: High risk factors for the 2023-24 budget

Financial Resilience – Inability to deliver a balanced budget as a result of:

Inadequate Government Funding
Rising Demographic pressures and/or increased complexity of Social Care
Rapidly increasing inflation
Cost of Living Crisis
Delay or non-achievement of planned MTFS savings
Inability to forecast due to uncertainty over medium term Government Funding
Uncertainty regarding timing of future Government funding reforms including introduction of the care cap (currently no sooner than October 2025), whilst being required by government to move towards the median cost of care.
Difficulty in identification of further efficiencies and savings following a decade of Austerity and increased demand following the COVID pandemic
Government changes in policy e.g. changes to Home Office refugee dispersal

Addendum Two: Mitigation of the risks to the 2023-24 budget

Early diagnosis of the financial gap to allow time for actions to be put in place including new savings proposals.

– Lobby the Government at every available opportunity to put the case for both lack of Funding for local government generally and more specifically how Havering is disadvantaged from the current distribution formula. (my emphasis)

– Work with national lobbying groups such as the LGA and London Councils to put the case for more funding to the Government. (my emphasis)

– The Council has developed over £30m of savings proposals (over 4 years) which are being consulted on to reduce the financial gap which will be monitored for delivery.

– The Council continues to review its structure to develop a new target operating model which both aligns with current service priorities but also delivers savings and efficiencies.

– The Council is in the process of reviewing the Capital Programme to ensure that all schemes continue to be viable (see regeneration section of this risk register for further details).

– The Council has developed action plans to mitigate and reduce the in-year overspend including:

All overspends reviewed and challenged to identify any non-recurrent spend which could be funded from reserves · All use of consultancy reviewed by senior management

Appendix 1: Source: HAV00005 p31

Notes

1 For enquiries on this agenda please contact (havering.gov.uk) Cllr Ruck is the vice-chair he attended the meeting via Zoom, which wasn’t noted in the minutes.

2 See p28 for details of categories of risk.

3 For enquiries on this agenda please contact (havering.gov.uk) Minutes para 39

The Politics of Potholes

After 13 brutal years of Austerity, the Conservatives lost 1059 councillors in the May, 2023 local elections. Voters voted against the destruction of council services. The beneficiaries were Labour, LibDems and the Green Party. Worse, for the Conservatives, was lethal tactical voting.¹

This happened in Havering in 2022. 20 years of Conservative power ended with a coalition between HRA² and Labour. An example of the new political reality is Julia Lopez’s position. She has a massive majority and no Conservative councillors, in her constituency.

Havering finances have been hollowed out. The real reduction in funding since 2010, is £97 million p.a.³ An obvious consequence are potholes becoming more dangerous. They’re now causing significant damage to cars when they hit them.

Which brings me to The Politics of Potholes.

Resident Associations used to focus on street care. They reduced councillor allowances to supplement that budget. Now they must make political decisions about the use of resources. Unfortunately, they’re in hock to the ‘Law and Order’ lobby.

The HRA/Labour coalition continued Conservative policies. The Section 92 MetPolice contract at £300,000+ p.a. was renewed. They then turbocharged the CCTV surveillance system with a multimillion-pound investment. Both were agreed without meaningful debate.⁴

The problem is: What do HRA/Labour “Really, really want?”⁵. Havering’s roads are a disgrace and need millions of pounds of investment. The money could come from the CCTV capital programme.

Pothole Repairs or CCTV?

Both sides have passionate advocates and it’s the art of politics to prioritise and not lose support. Considering that HRA built their ‘brand’ on street care, it seems quixotic to plump for CCTV. Damian White binned the same CCTV propositions and he ‘won’⁶ the 2022 election. He only lost power because of a surprise coalition between HRA and Labour. Motorists experience potholes every day and many of them vote.

Notes

1 Tories swept out of Home Counties council after Labour and Lib Dems formed a ‘progressive’ pact (msn.com)

2 HRA = Havering Residents Association

3 Havering’s Budget and Rishi Sunak: 2023 – Politics in Havering

4 In a rare moment of sanity about CCTV, Barry Mugglestone gave Christine Vickery a quick lesson in cost/benefit analysis. Annotator Player (sonicfoundry.com) Go to one hour one minute (1:01) for the exchange.

5 So, tell me what you want, what you really really want. – Bing video

6 23 Conservatives; 19 HRA; 9 Labour plus 4 others