Hornchurch Country Park: Squadrons Approach to Berwick Ponds

There are number of walks beginning in the Country Park’s spacious car park. The easiest is walking in a more-or-less a straight line down to Albyn’s Farm pond and returning for a cup of tea at the lovely cafe. The walk has a good surface for its entire length so ordinary shoes are OK. There are views about half way along from the top of a steepish slope. This is wonderful if you have a child who wants to run and suddenly realises it’s steeper than it looks.

Both walks are about two miles.

The next one is with the café to the left. Keep going for about a quarter of a mile and turn left. In front of you is a Bailey Bridge. This is a relic of the Second World War. It was originally used by the army in Europe after D-Day.

A Bailey Bridge in use in 1944 in France

After the bridge walk about 100 yards. There’s a signpost, which is easy to ignore as it has graffiti on it, but go to the right. You are leaving the gravel path and the surface is unmade. Walk for about 300 yards and there is another signpost. Take the route to Berwick Ponds. Again, the path is unmade. If there has been a lot of rain it will be muddy!

The ponds are serene and will reward for your efforts. The café is a great place to reward yourself after your exertions.

photograph Graham Carr Taken in late January 2024

Havering Councillors’ Attendance: 1st August 2023 – 24th January 2024

A Councillor who is absent from all meetings of the Council and any committees of which they are a member for a period of six months automatically ceases to be a member of the Council unless they have been given leave of absence by the Council before the expiry of that six month period – s.85 Local Government Act 1972

Havering’s 55 councillors must attend committees1 at least once every six months. Failure to attend means they lose their seats. (Councillors don’t lose their seats if they ignore their constituents.)

Councillors usually have legitimate reasons for missing meetings, which are accepted without challenge. In brief, they’re always given the benefit of the doubt.

Full attendance need not be onerous. John Tyler, Jacqueline Williams and John Wood attended four meetings each in six months for a 100% attendance record. Full attendance is the target but less than 50% needs explaining.

How did Havering’s councillors do?

Thirteen had full attendance. All parties are represented – seven HRA, three Conservatives, and one each East Havering RA, Independent and Labour. Just three out of nine cabinet members had full attendance.

Six councillors attended for 50% or less – four Conservatives2 and two HRA. The worst attender is Sue Ospreay, HRA, with a shocking 28.6%. This implies incapacity or malaise. Either way HRA should get a grip to resolve this affront to democracy.3

The least the electorate expect is that councillors ‘turn up’. 50% attendance or less is a disgrace without exceptional circumstances.

Notes

1 Councillors attendance summary, 1 August 2023 – 24 January 2024 | The London Borough Of Havering Data base accessed 25th January 2024

2 Robby Misir has defected to HRA. He’s currently got a 50% attendance rate presumably it will improve with his new colleagues.

3 Perhaps the problem is that Havering has too many councillors? See Does Havering have too many councillors? – Politics in Havering

Havering Council Meeting, 17th January, 2024 (part two)

Question Time (QT)1 gives backbench councillors an opportunity to quiz the cabinet. So, does it work?2

Because of a technicality, Independent councillor John Tyler cannot attend as a full member of council committees.3 What does he do? He only has to attend eight council meetings a year. Yet he doesn’t participate in those meetings. He doesn’t ask any questions at QT, ever. And, amazingly, he doesn’t contribute to debates. Silence is golden but this is taking it too far.

David Taylor, asked three QT questions, followed by Jason Frost, Dilip Patel and Keith Prince with two each. David (37 minutes) was probing. He elicited the fact that Romford Market is in line to be privatised. Lurching into hard-core Tory David (1:00) showed he believes in the Class War. He demanded that the back gate of Royal Jubilee Court be kept locked. Why? Homeless people now live there and the back gate opens onto a *private* road. David implied homeless people are a ‘risk’ to those living on that *private* road. Keith Darvill didn’t challenge him saying the gate would be locked.

Dilip Patel (1:07) asked a dog whistle question about housing refugees. Paul McGeary said it was a time-limited solution from which Havering benefitted. The houses revert to Havering after three years and enhance the depleted housing stock.

Notes

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

2 Absentee councillors Mandy Anderson, Stephanie Nunn, Tim Ryan, Damian White and Reg Whitney

3 See Havering Council Emasculates Independent Councillors – Politics in Havering There must be matters where he could make a contribution on behalf of his constituents. This assumes that he talks to them.

Havering Council Meeting, 17th January 2024 (part one)

Keith Prince had a tour de force (1 hour18)1 His motion was opportunist (see addendum) building on the anger that SEN children’s school transport should be ‘reviewed’. It’s believed this will reduce the quality of the service. (A clue is a possible £1.4m saving over four years.).2

Keith said HRA and Labour amendments were out-of-order. This isn’t a technicality. If they were out-of-order, HRA and Labour would be caught in a cleft stick. They’d have to vote FOR the motion and lose £1.4m. Alternatively, vote AGAINST and show they were ruled by accountants.3

The Monitoring Officer rescued them. In an excruciating passage he wriggled4 and produced a ‘solution’. HRA’s amendment was accepted and the review of SEN transport continues its ‘consultation’ period.

Oscar Ford (2:08) kept remarking on ‘cost effective’ transport and Havering’s financial position. Unfortunately, an option is Uber. Robert Benham (2:13) noted Uber allocates drivers randomly and many children need continuity or get distressed. David Taylor (2:28) commented on Uber’s surge pricing mechanism, which makes predictions impossible. Ray Morgon (2:41) quoted a comment from ‘someone’ who said cabbies were making ‘thousands of pounds’ from SEN transport to bolster his argument.5 No evidence, no names.

Keith Darvill (2:21) politicised the issue in a telling speech.

 

Addendum: The Conservative Motion

“This Council calls on the Cabinet not to proceed with the proposed cuts and changes in service, proposed in the Home to School Transport consultation. It further recognises that such cuts would have a detrimental impact on both children and parents, causing them increased stress and anxiety.” (Public Pack)Agenda Document for Council, 17/01/2024 19:30 (havering.gov.uk) p39

 

Notes

1 Annotator Player (sonicfoundry.com) All times refer to this webcast The item begins at 1 hour 18 minutes and finished at 2:01 hours = 33 minutes of debate.

2 Several councillors noted they’d spoken to protestors outside the Town Hall. Specifically, Cllrs. Persaud, Taylor and Wise who made comments in their speeches

3 Typically this is known as a lose-lose situation

4 Giving a minute-by-minute timeline to ‘explain’ why the cock-up wasn’t his fault. And then discovered an arcane sub-clause ‘rarely’ used to defend the indefensible.

5 This is an example of Confirmation Bias where *evidence* is used to support an argument and countervailing points are ignored or downplayed

Havering’s Cabinet Meeting, 10th January 2024

Scrutiny of council policies and contracts depends on councillors doing their homework. Scrutiny is hard work and can feel like a waste of time. At this meeting every decision passed without a vote. Was that reasonable?

Item 5 should have been the virtually silent Paul Middleton’s great moment. Astonishingly, the item wasn’t *ready*. The current IT contract ends on 7th March 2024. Delay could mean the contract will be renewed without scrutiny. I hope the delay isn’t a way of avoiding scrutiny. The Horizon scandal has shown cosy relationships can be disastrous and expensive.

At this meeting every decision was passed with virtually no discussion. Only Keith Darvill chipped in on an item that wasn’t his.  

Martin Goode attends meetings, despite not being a cabinet member. He does his homework, asks hard questions and isn’t fobbed off. He identified a difficulty in the NHS partnership for rehabilitation services. NHS have committed £900,000 but only for one year. This is crucial as the contract lasts three years plus extensions. “What happens in year 2 if the NHS don’t continue the £900K?” The unfortunate answer is that those benefitting would cease to receive the service.

Keith Prince believes the rehabilitation service saves the NHS and LBH money. This might be wishful thinking as there’s nothing in the papers about savings.

Keith continued on another item by asking about the lack of toilet facilities for bus drivers at terminus points. The answer was ‘tough luck’. He let it pass.

Note

1 Annotator Player (sonicfoundry.com) This webcast is about 30 minutes long

School Ties – A Tax on Learning?

Havering’s academies obsess about school uniform, believing it’s a recipe for success. This obsession includes the colour of shoe laces1 and ties are considered equally essential, “The understated yet smart combination of a black blazer with black and maroon striped tie is instantly recognisable, and underpins the high standards of work and behaviour within the school.” (my emphasis)2 Ties are supported by the government who have made it policy. “We will support schools to introduce traditional blazer-and-tie uniforms, prefects and house systems.”3

The Prime minister tieless at Bolsover School. Clearly not on  message!

Ties are relics of a by-gone age like barristers’ wigs. Believing in a connexion between ties and  *high standards* is delusional.  Marshalls Park is typical – “Ties must be worn with logo showing below the knot.4 Worse, academies exclude5 students breaching school uniform policy. Conformity is more important than the legal right to an education.

Academies invest resources enforcing school uniform and inflicting economic pain. The result? Academies report GCSE results Olympic Games style.6 They brag about superstar students with 9 ‘A*s’. About 30% of Havering’s students massively under-achieve and are invisible in academy reports. Are they an embarrassment?

Focusing on the silent 30% should be the number one priority, not school ties.

Addendum: School Ties – a tax on learning

Havering has 17,327 students in secondary school. A small sample shows ties cost about £7. Havering’s parents have paid approximately £127,289 for school ties for no educational benefit. Bizarrely, Harris Academy, Rainham demands boys wear ties, but not girls. They don’t care about the Equality Act, 2010,9 or the girls who miss out on the *benefits* of wearing ties.

The £127,289 is a minimum as many students will buy more than one tie in their five years in school.

Notes

1 Havering’s Academies: School Shoes and Shoe Laces – Politics in Havering

2 Uniform – The Campion School According to government statistics Campion is in the second category as being *above average.* Nonetheless  32% of their students didn’t achieve grade 5 in English and mathematics. All schools and colleges in Havering – Compare school and college performance data in England – GOV.UK (compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk)

3 Schools White Paper: 24 Nov 2010: House of Commons debates – TheyWorkForYou Gove admitted using cocaine in 2019 see Michael Gove admits he was lucky to avoid jail over cocaine use – BBC News

4 Uniform-Policy-1.pdf (marshallspark.org.uk) A logo automatically makes ties more expensive

5 Students who flout the rules regarding uniform will be kept in isolation, or sent home to change appearance/uniform item…. Persistent offenders will be given an automatic after school detention and an exclusion may be applied. (my emphasis) BEHAVIOUR POLICY April 2023 – Google Docs Redden Court school, which is typical.

8 All schools and colleges in Havering – Compare school and college performance data in England – GOV.UK (compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk) Six are below average, 7 are average and 5 above average.

9 equality act 2010 – Search (bing.com)

Havering’s People Overview and Scrutiny Committee, 5th December 2023

Jason Frost1 made a convincing speech in December’s council meeting when requesting that his committee be sub-divided because of its overwhelming responsibilities. He was brushed off by Ray Morgon. This 27 minutes meeting2 proved Ray correct. Jason’s absence added further substance to Ray’s opinion.3

Frankie Walker chaired the meeting with aplomb.

There was an excellent discussion about the ‘hub’ for autistic adults. It’s in Romford Mall, the lease of which is very expensive and consumes most of its grant. Bryan Vincent (@17)2 said only 3.1% of adult autism sufferers use the facility, which means it fails 96.9%. Officers said this challenge will be met by the hub becoming ‘mobile’, using council facilities. Matt Stanton (@22)4 made the critical point that autism sufferers had an unemployment rate of 78%. He speculated this was due to poor support from DWP and the council. His insight was confirmed by the director who said that strategies were in place to correct this systemic failure. Matt built on a comment by Darren Wise (@15) about financing and forward visibility so proper planning could take place. The director supported them, describing multi-year contracts.

Gillian Ford (@9) attended the meeting. Neither she nor the chair understood her constitutional role. She entered the scrutiny debate, which is inappropriate. Cabinet members can only answer policy questions at scrutiny committees. The best mechanism for this is an unambiguous Q&A session. There haven’t been Q&A sessions in any Overview and Scrutiny committee and they ought to be introduced.

Notes

1 Annotator Player (sonicfoundry.com) Jason Frost (1:40) Time refers to the webcast See Havering Council Meeting, 22nd November, 2023 (part two) – Politics in Havering

2 Agenda for People Overview & Scrutiny Sub Committee on Tuesday, 5th December, 2023, 7.00 pm | The London Borough Of Havering Times refer to the YouTube webcast available here

3 Along with cllrs Benham and Wilks.

4 Cllr Stanton isn’t on the committee but attended for the scrutiny discussion

Havering’s Half Baked Budget Consultation, 2024-5

 “Even with the difficult proposals put forward in this consultation, the Council still has a budget deficit of £12 million.”1 (my emphasis)

Only half of the savings/revenue increases are available for consultation. Another £12m is floating about. The consultation is farcical. Voters are expected to see half a budget and take the other half on ‘trust’. In other words, agree half a budget and get £12m of cuts sight unseen.

The £12 million deficit demands an 8% council tax increase ABOVE what’s proposed.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Huge deficits need bold, imaginative transformative options. Avoiding bankruptcy in February 2024, requires brave leadership.2

Instead, the Administration has lost hope.3 The majority of the £11.93m cuts and savings programme is contained within five items, none of which are sufficient for the task in hand.4 Financial juggling and increased parking charges, for example, are 49% of the £11.93m. Toxic options, which would solve the challenge, are avoided. Havering waits for government Commissioners to do the unpopular dirty work.5

Keith Darvill6 said borrowing £12m from the government is “massive.” Massive means: £12m at 7.1% (RPI + 1%) for 20 years = £17m interest.7 Mortgaging future generations for a year’s deficit. The elephant in the room? 2025-6, 2026-7 and so on.

A genuine consultation should offer a 13% increase in council tax OR brutal cuts in services. Undemocratic play-acting is absolutely unacceptable in a mature democracy.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

This is a government inspired *perfect storm* for local authorities, not just Havering.

“I don’t believe that there is a conspiracy to destroy local government. But I think we are sleepwalking towards a position where councils just won’t be viable.”

He said that while assets could be sold off in the short term, it would lead to a big transfer of wealth of public assets into private hands.”8

 I think there is a conspiracy to privatise local authorities and loot their assets.

Notes

1 Havering Budget Consultation 2024 – London Borough of Havering Council – Citizen Space

2 Romford Recorder2 headline was: ‘Council could declare bankruptcy in 3 months’. 24th November 2023 p3 Reporter Josh Mellor

3 The consultation document is here Budget Leaflet.pdf (havering.gov.uk) The summary statement is here 1 APPENDIX A SUMMARY SAVINGS PROPOSALS.pdf (havering.gov.uk)

4 Ibid (Appendix A) The top 5 account for 49% (£5.85m) the other 51% is 35 items the smallest of which is £23K

5 Reducing the library service to two libraries, closing Romford market and ending the 30 minutes free period for parking are obvious starting places.

6 Romford Recorder 24th November 2023 p3

7 United Kingdom Retail Price Index YoY (tradingeconomics.com) RPI = Retail prices index

8 Jeremy Hunt’s budget cuts spark fears of ‘existential threat’ to English councils (msn.com)

Havering Council Meeting, 22nd November, 2023 (part two)

The principal debate wasn’t about Havering’s impending bankruptcy. Conservatives chose, instead, to discuss Romford Market. This illustrates why Havering is in a mess after 20 years of Conservative rule.

In the 1990s Arthur Latham listened to the traders and spent £1,000s on cobble stones and £1,000s removing them because shoppers hated them. Traders spoke, Latham listened: it was an expensive mistake.

David Taylor (@1:06)1 discussed the survival of the market. Adopting a conspiracy theory, he accused HRA of attacking Romford itself. Graham Williamson (@1:11) pointed out the market was very costly.

Romford Market is in a death spiral. The,

“….number of traders was in long-term decline with 339 traders in 1985, 266 traders in 1995 and 170 traders in 2005. By 2015 the number of regular traders had declined to 90.”2 Reducing once more to 60 in 2023 according to Williamson.

Veteran councillor Michael White (@1:29) said blaming Conservatives for doing nothing after 20 years in power was unfair. Timothy Ryan (@1:32) recounted stories about his childhood. Ray Morgon (@1:35) was surprisingly enthusiastic.

Conservatives demanding subsidies for lame ducks is strange. The Administration refused to say that subsidising Romford Market was throwing good money after bad. This is despite the fact that Romford Market has been on life-support for 30 years.

What would Margaret Thatcher do?

Addendum: Margaret Thatcher on lame duck industries

“…her policies had consigned out-dated, lame-duck industries to the nostalgia books…”3  Ironically she’s revered by Romford’s Conservatives, especially their MP.

Notes

1 Annotator Player (sonicfoundry.com) Times in brackets indicate when speeches begin and relate to this webcast

2 Romford Market – Wikipedia

3 An economic dawn in the wastelands | The Northern Echo

Havering Council Meeting, 22nd November, 2023 (part one)

This meeting was amazing. It pivoted round councillor behaviour, slacker councillors and the failure of Overview and Scrutiny.

Councillor Behaviour

The Mayor (@18)1 was displeased by David Taylor’s off-hand manner towards her. This was quickly followed by her rebuking the chamber for chatter whilst she was speaking. (@21)

The Leader was surrounded by councillors treating the chamber like a canteen. Brian Vincent ate throughout the meeting, Gerry O’Sullivan brought a mug into the chamber and Oscar Ford had a flask, from which he drank repeatedly. An appalling example to impressionable children watching.

Slacker Councillors

Jason Frost (@1:40) made the important point that his committee should scrutinise 70% of the budget but it can’t do it effectively. His committee is allocated about 20 hours per year which is far too little time for the workload. He proposed that his committee should become two scrutiny committees to cope. Ray Morgon (@1:44) denied Frost’s task was impossible. A case of defending the indefensible.

Then things turned nasty. Keith Darvill (@1:51) launched a blistering attack on slacker councillors.2 He said another Overview and Scrutiny committee wouldn’t happen because of unwilling councillors. The sad fact is that some councillors are semi- detached in their commitment to their democratic responsibilities. They want the honour of being a councillor and £200 a week, without fulfilling their duties.  Frankie Walker (@1:54) gave forceful support to Darvill. Keith Prince (@1:59) noted that inadequate scrutiny was a common theme amongst failing councils. Ray denigrated the sincerity of Jason Frost’s proposal.

Notes

1 Annotator Player (sonicfoundry.com) All times (@ 18) in brackets relate to this webcast

2 For councillor attendance see Councillors attendance summary, 2 June 2023 – 25 November 2023 | The London Borough Of Havering The current leader in the competition for the Slacker of the Year Cup  is Sue Ospreay, with 33% attendance