Havering’s 2021-22 Budget Consultation is a device which will be interpreted as an endorsement. Nonetheless, I ploughed through to see what could be gleaned from the ‘explanations’ which were offered to the questions. In truth there wasn’t much.
The amount raised by Council Tax is £130.1 million. An additional £339.6 million comes from government. Basically, Havering is a conduit funnelling resources into schools and social services. This makes the million pounds spent on councillor allowances unjustifiable. Decisions are made elsewhere. So what’s their role?
Question eight on Adult Social Care, and ‘Better Living’ reveals a saving of £3.569 million.** How? The gist is “…rather than relying on statutory services.” I don’t know what this means for vulnerable people in this context. However those receiving “…statutory services” will know and care rather a lot.
‘Smoke and mirrors’ continue for questions 8, 9, 10, 11. By question 15, the bottom of the barrel has been reached, “This saving was presented as part of the original Business case signed off by Cabinet in 2019.”(my emphasis)And the saving is – £190,000 – on a budget of £469.7 million. It wasn’t achieved in 2020 so why will it happen in 2021?
Question 17 is the crux of the consultation. But my option wasn’t there. I think council tax is too low.*** That was too shocking to be an option.
Notes
* Two informative graphs explain ‘Income-Spend’. They’re scene setting.
** Notice that they claim a saving to the nearest £10,000, which isn’t a rounding error.
Havering Council is consulting the public about the 2021-22 budget proposals.* Most people won’t respond because the majority of the Council’s budget is decided by the government. The consultation is marginal at best. Many big budget items are subject to inter-borough agreements, which can’t be altered because of contractual arrangements.
Havering’s Conservative party manifesto, 2018, said they’d oppose any attempt to curtail or restrict it. [Freedom Pass]” Two years later, the elderly can’t use the Freedom Pass before 9 a.m. This is because of the Covid-19 settlement between the GLA and the government. Naturally the Mayor blames the government and local Conservatives blame the Mayor. Both are ludicrous. The pandemic has changed everything and this is a minor irritation.**
The pandemic has reduced usage and the Council has benefited.
“The usage of freedom passes has understandably reduced dramatically in the current year. Future year settlements with TFL are negotiated with the previous year’s pass usage as one of the key factors. The reduced figures are therefore likely to result in an estimated £850k reduction in the cost of the freedom pass for 2021/22. The reduction is expected to continue through 2022/23 but it should be noted that costs are then forecast to rise significantly in 2023/24 as usage returns to normal.”*** (my emphasis)
Havering’s annual Freedom Pass budget is about £8 million. Dramatic savings could be achieved by negotiating with 32 boroughs and leaving the inter-borough travel concession. Havering has about 50,000 Freedom Pass holders who vote. I wouldn’t expect a saving to be made on this budget item. Would you?
The meeting received the ‘Inclusive Growth Strategy and Implementation Plan’. It includes statements about educational achievement in Havering in its discussion of economic growth (see table and graph above).
Havering’s secondary schools are, in general, well below the levels of Redbridge, unlike our primary schools which are above average at KS2.Unfortunately, Havering’s secondary academies ‘coast’ instead of building on this wonderful achievement. The government colludes in this,
“From September 2019, the department will no longer publish coasting thresholds and RSCs will take no formal action as a result of a school meeting the coasting definition. Whilst local authorities retain the power to intervene, the department is unlikely to support action against a school on the basis of coasting data alone.”* (my emphasis)
Havering’s KS2 general achievement is statistically significant at the national level. Post-16 education, in contrast, is a stark failure, especially NVQ 3 and 4. This is caused by the mediocrity at Havering’s academies (see Addendum). During the debate about future employment and new businesses in Havering, there was much talk about ‘aspirations’ and ‘jobs for Havering’s youngsters’ with ‘higher value jobs’**. None of this will happen without significant improvements in educational achievement throughout the 11-16 schooling period.
Brexit and Covid-19 *** place a premium on education. KS2 achievements should lead to KS4 excellence as a base for achievement at higher education. Havering is sold short by their secondary academies. Only the council can end the cycle of complacency and mediocrity. The government doesn’t want to admit that coasting schools are an outrage but this council should.
Addendum: Education and economic growth
To develop an aspirational programme through the Havering Academy of Leadership, to combat low ambition among young people and their parents. The Local Authority has worked with the early years’ providers, schools, and colleges to develop a shared Education Vision for the Borough. (my emphasis) Para 9:2 p67 (Public Pack)Agenda Document for Overview & Scrutiny Board, 24/11/2020 19:30 (havering.gov.uk) Let’s remind ourselves that these children and parents are the same children, with the same parents, who over-achieve at primary schools and then stagnate at secondary level.
** SQW and BBP’s report to the Board Economic Evidence Base: Havering January 2018 pp 118, 121, 126, 140. Table and bar graph on pp141-2. NB: NVQ 4 are degree level qualifications
Havering’s educational institutions are opaque in informing the public about their results usually relying on hyperbole instead of statistics. Havering Colleges Sixth Form Results 2019 says, “I am delighted to announce fantasticoutcomes for our students at Havering Sixth Form in 2019.”(my emphasis)Results – Havering Colleges (havering-sfc.ac.uk)
R. J. Mitchell didn’t have a direct personal connexion with Hornchurch but in an imaginative gesture his genius is acknowledged by the school named after him. The incredibly courageous RAF pilots who flew out of Hornchurch flew in Supermarine Spitfires, which Mitchell designed. The Spitfire was so advanced and capable as a fighter plane it made victory over the Luftwaffe possible.Mitchell’s Spitfire designs were a crucial contribution to victory by ‘The Few’.Hornchurch is indelibly identified with the battle of Britain, the Spitfire and R. J. Mitchell.
Discussion
The school concludes their brief history of the period by saying,
“We do not seek to glorify war, but to remember the sacrifice of brave people in extraordinary circumstances.”
The school reflects the community by honouring the RAF ‘aces’ of the Battle of Britain. This bonds the school with their community. Many of the school’s students come from streets named after fighter ‘aces’ in the immediate area. The school is located in a place which memorialises those fateful years.
Each passing year pushes those existential days further into the mists of history. So does it matter?
History does matter as it gives a sense of place and identity. The rich heritage that is celebrated by R. J. Mitchell School isn’t jingoistic. It’s measured, respectful and is to be applauded.
Havering’s Conservatives are in disarray over Free School Meals. Marcus Rashford highlighted the fact of hunger during the summer holidays. Johnson rejected the request. Government policy was reversed and meals were provided. The issue came back to parliament for the October and Christmas holidays. On 21st October, Conservatives in parliament decisively rejected provision of Free School Meals. Shortly afterwards, Andrew Rosindell stoutly defended the government’s position, which Damian White rejected. Johnson then reversed government policy once more.
Andrew opposed free school meals during school holidays. Andrew’s reply to my blog said,
“Extending Free School Meals to over the school holidays would mean effectively handing over responsibility for feeding our kids from parents to the Government and I do not believe that this is right.”*
Damian, Conservative leader of Havering, wrote to me saying,
“The Covid crisis we are in continues to have significant impacts on vulnerable people and families in the borough and this is a sensible solution to a problem that is fundamentally about the wellbeing of our children.”**
Romford’s Conservatives are split on Free School Meals because it means higher taxation. It’s now known that most welfare beneficiaries are in work. Welfare payments are a subsidy for employers. Johnson’s flip-flopping illustrates an unpleasant truth, which is that welfare payments are too low for civilised living in Havering today.
Julia Lopez’s political career began with her strutting along Downing Street with ‘secret’ papers. Eager photographers who’d been tipped off, zoomed in, making her front page news. Her reward was Hornchurch and Upminster. She’s held it since 2017.
Julia joined the extremist European Research Group (ERG) in parliament. This ideological group had an ‘all or nothing’ view of Brexit. In pursuit of their goals they wrecked Theresa May’s career and Johnson succeeded her. He won in December, 2019 with the slogan Get Brexit Done. Regardless of this, Johnson doesn’t have a Brexit implementation plan and negotiations have stalled. Unless Julia is a True Believer in the ERG view of Brexit, she may be dismayed by this outcome.
Julia became a minister in 2020 and in a Brexit related speech said Britain had a“bright future.” She explained how stalled negotiations would lead to her desired ‘No Deal’.
“As the Prime Minister has set out, there needs to be an agreement with the EU by the time of the European Council meeting on 15 October in order for it to be in force before the end of the transition period on 31 December. By then, if there is no agreement, there will not be a free trade agreement.”** (my emphasis)
(Her statement is ministerial hogwash as negotiations continue as of 14th November, 2020).
Julia’s political career began with brazen opportunism. She’s progressed from destroying Theresa May’s career to ministerial office. Now she’s faced by the 1st January, 2021 cliff edge, where there will, according to Julia, be a “bright future.” Let’s hope her careerism isn’t paid for by the people of Hornchurch and Upminster in higher food prices and delayed medicines.
If this committee was a sick animal the kindest thing to do would be to put it out of its misery. Havering’s Overview and Scrutiny chairs receive lucrative rewards. In Sally Miller’s case it’s for defecting from the Residents’ Association. She’s hopelessly out of her depth.
“Ah!” you might say, “This fellow is a political opponent and is cruel, heartless and unfair.”
An unexpected consequence of the horrors of Covid-19 has been a strengthening of democracy in Havering. How so? The committee has a webcast. This means you can watch the proceedings and ‘enjoy’ the sight of councillors floundering as they try to make sense of complex issues. I viewed the entire meeting, hoping there’d be evidence that councillors understood the concept ‘scrutiny’. Or, at least, show signs that they’d read officers’ reports. Alas and alack, that hope died a horrible death.
‘Probing’ Questions Not Asked
The police spokesman was proud of the ‘Stop and Search’ of 279 people. Who were these people? Was ‘Stop and Search’ targeted? What gender were those who were stopped? What age? Where? Why? What race? Perhaps the police spokesman could have been asked more about the actuality of ‘Stop and Search’ and demand a report which was more analytical.
This is the report detail,
Stop and Search
“As a unit the Havering Joint Task Force currently stops and searches more people and vehicles than any other in Havering. Since its formation, the Task Force has conducted 279 stop and searches, accounting for 20% of the boroughs total number of 1,365 stop and searches.”*
This ‘Virtual’ meeting had half the councillors missing, which is surprising as the meeting was streamed from living rooms. The committee is important and deserved to be treated seriously by councillors discussing major issues associated with public safety. A dispiriting meeting demonstrated none of the councillors are up to the job**. Comments were trivial, inconsequential and immature. The people of Havering deserve better.
Hornchurch Country park doesn’t rest on its considerable laurels. It’s constantly evolving. Its principal feature is peace and quiet in a rural environment. But that’s just the setting. There’s much more for all age groups and interests.
There’s a good walking surface over the extensive grounds with benches at appropriate places, overlooking the SSSI, Albyn’s Farm lake, and luxuriating in the countryside. Large open spaces offer opportunities for playing with dogs or flying kites or casual picnics at the tables which are scattered around. It’s also a Heritage site with information boards about the role of the area in wartime. The children’s playground has a model Spitfire as part of the equipment alongside traditional swings and so on.
The Essex Wildlife Ingrebourne Valley Trust has built a visitors centre. This serves as an educational facility as well as a cafe and shop. There’s a large outdoor area overlooking open countryside. Finally there’s a decent sized free car park with a hard surface.
Hornchurch Country Park is a destination for those sauntering, keeping fit, flying kites, dog-walking, kicking a football, picnicking, playing in the playground, and taking world famous photographs.** It’s a revered heritage site. This park is Havering’s finest. It’s a credit to the Council and everyone associated with it.
The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the fragility of Britain’s businesses and the jobs dependent on them. Thriving shopping malls, like Romford’s, are in meltdown, faced by a pandemic and on-line shopping. Tens of thousands of jobs are now unviable. The social and economic question is this: is this a new world or a temporary blip? In this cauldron, children are collateral damage. Andrew and the government’s problem is clear: should children go hungry because fighting the pandemic means work disappears? On 21st October the answer was ‘Yes’. Andrew didn’t speak in the debate but his definitive statement was his vote.
Andrew is said to be a loyal Conservative MP and always votes with his party and so ‘held his nose’ and voted as instructed. But Andrew doesn’t always vote with the party. In the Public Health debate, 13th October, 2020, Andrew voted against his party because he disapproved of the economic measures embedded in the government’s proposals. Andrew carefully chooses how he votes. Throughout the latter stages of the Brexit EU negotiations, he rebelled against Theresa May’s Conservative government. Andrew helped bring down a Conservative prime minister because he judged it was in the national interest. He’s a parliamentarian, not an unthinking ‘nodding donkey’.
His vote against the provision of Free School Meals for impoverished children over Christmas is calculated. Andrew believes it’s the right thing to do. The immediate implication of this is the abolition of Free School Meals altogether. The reasoning by many Conservative MPs justified children going hungry because the state has no responsibility for feeding hungry children.This repudiates the 1906 Education (Provision of Meals) Act. This Act acknowledged that children were victims of circumstances and it was a grotesque injustice they be punished with hunger. Andrew’s vote on the 21st October is a reversion to Victorian attitudes towards children living in poverty.
Andrew’s prepared to rebel against Conservative whips when it suits him. His membership of the European Research Group helped destroy Theresa May’s government. He and 43 other Conservatives voted against Johnson’s proposals to fight Covid-19 because it was ‘uneconomic’: a lives against business argument. And now he’s voted against the proposals to provide minimal school meals from October, 2020 to Easter, 2021 because such claimants are scroungers. Andrew has a ‘safe’ seat and believes he’s immune to punishment in the ballot box. He may well be right but what happened to his moral compass?
Marshalls Park is an average academy in Havering,* which is why it was chosen for this critique. This is intended to be constructive criticism, contributing towards a reorientation from the merely peripheral to substantive educational issues.
Discussion
On the academy’s website, the Headteacher in his 18th September, 2020 blog remarks that, “….it’s that schools are under constantly[sic] scrutiny by the whole community and that just magnifies the pressure.”**It isn’t “community….pressure” calling for transparency about GCSE results, it’s a perfectly normal expectation.The presentation of the 2019 GCSE results was opaque. Let’s take the top line:-
Subject ……………….9-4…………….9-5……………..9-7
English Language 68.26%……….52.10%……….7.19%
There’s no explanatory note explaining grade boundaries. Grade 9 is an outstanding result. Grade 4 is a bare ‘pass’ with a three grades beneath them: Grades 1-3. The results don’t show the 31.74% of the 2019 cohort sitting English Language who achieved grades 1-3. It’s as if a third of the school is invisible and unwelcome because they’ve failed the school. The students might say that they have been failed by the school of course.
The Headteacher sings from a different hymn sheet. His 2nd October, 2020 blog focuses on the new Barnes building. The site manager is warmly praised despite the building being delivered late. Astonishingly, the teaching staff’s unique role in 2020 is ignored, as is the implementation of a new system of teaching and learning. The staff’s stellar efforts maintaining progress through the lockdown is taken for granted.
A Headteacher’s blogs are an important mechanism for setting the tone of an academy. The priorities embedded within blogs guide the expectations of the reader. Both of this term’s blogs are unfortunate. They go a long way towards showing why there’s systemic weakness in Havering’s academies. Only sharply focused senior management teams, who aren’t in denial about their GCSE results, will break out of mediocrity. Parents and the wider community are entitled to know in detail the outcomes of GCSE results. They should not be concealed or underplayed on school websites.
The GCSE results for 2019 at Marshalls Park academy. As of 6th October 2020 these 2019 results were still being described as ‘provisional’ fourteen months after being announced.They missed the announced date of April 2020 by six months.http://marshallspark.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Subject-breakdown.pdf
Politics in Havering 