Issue - decisions
Non Cabinet members' debate
28/09/2023 - Non Cabinet Members' Debate
Following the approval of an amendment moved by the Labour Group in relation to the original motion submitted, the following motion (as amended) was AGREED as the outcome of the non-cabinet member debate:
“Provision of support to deal with cases of RAAC (Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete) in Brent Schools
This Council notes:
Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) is a lightweight form of concrete pioneered in Sweden whose use swept across Europe particularly in schools, colleges, and other building construction from the 1950’s until the mid-1990s. Used in flat roofing, floors, and walls it offered a cheaper alternative to standard concrete, but its short lifespan means its use in permanent buildings has caused problems. The Secretary of State for Education has clarified, out of 22,500 schools in England, 156 have been confirmed to have RAAC and 52 of these have already got mitigations in place and are dealing with repairs.
To date, it has been identified that onlyone Brent school, although not maintained by the Council, has RAAC. St. Gregory’s Catholic Science College discovered it had RAAC in its Maths block in November 2022. Safety measures were introduced, and work was completed by Tuesday 12th September. The Council was informed by the school’s CEO/Headteacher in January 2023 of the discovery of RAAC. There is no current financial impact to the Council as the school affected is operated by an academy trust, therefore the local authority is not the responsible body.
Upon notification in January 2023, DfE have supported the school in arranging surveys and discussing the management of RAAC. Since the summer, a dedicated case officer has been assigned to the school from the DfE to manage the next steps of removing RAAC from the school with all costs to be reimbursed by the DfE as it rightfully should.
When Brent residents apply for rear building extensions, building control officers demand high quality materials be used. If this RAAC was known to have a recommended 30-year lifespan there must be question as to why it was approved in long term school and civic developments and what reviews were put in place by Building Control to undertake regular checks on its safety?
Parents, teachers and pupils across the country have been rightly concerned aboutthe news of RAAC and this has been reflected in how it has been reported. The Secretary of State for Education Gillian Keegan MP is the tenth Conservative Secretary of State for Education since 2010 and showed no sympathy for parents’ concerns across the UK in her highly unprofessional behaviour when she was being interviewed by ITV news.
As a result, this Council recognises:
· That the Conservative Government in the 1980s colluded in neglecting capital and infrastructure investment despite insatiable public demand for increased revenue spending on vital public services. This has been worsened by the effects of Austerity which decimated the country’s public services and de-funded buildings provided for our nation’s schoolchildren. People a century ago were truly building schools for the future; today’s squabbles are much more about ‘Patching Schools for the Present’. The uncomfortable truth is that this really, if anything, has been a pass-the-parcel problem made worse by the current Conservative Government, putting at risk school children and staff.
· It was a Labour Government that launched the Building Schools for the Future Programme, which was the biggest school building programme since the Victorian times allocating £55billion to rebuild every secondary school in the country. In the first months of the Conservative-led Coalition Government in 2010, then Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove scrapped the scheme and offered no replacement. Gove has later called the cancellation of this programme his biggest mistake in office.
· Covid has taught us so many things and lead us to deal with issues that we thought would never be achieved. We will also deal with this and learn the valuable lesson of investing in our public services to ensure good practice and safety for all of our residents.
· Whilst global events continue, there is also a need to recognise that the safety of our children comes first. The issue of RAAC has been missed for over 30 years. In 2002 the Labour government first became aware of the deterioration and risks of RAAC via a BRE (Building Research Establishment) report. In 2018 Conservative Minister Damian Hinds ordered an urgent and comprehensive review of RAAC in all schools. It is because of these inspections that we know the extent of the current risks. Senior officials at the Department of Education told the treasury while Rishi Sunak was Chancellor at the time that there was a need to rebuild 300 to 400 schools a year in England, Sunak only allowed funding for 100 schools which was then halved to 50.
This Council therefore resolves:
· To request the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Schools writes to the Secretary of State for Education to call for urgent additional funding to be secured for buildings affected by RAAC in Brent and across the UK, and for her to outline what measures the Government is doing to ensure the safety of our schoolchildren.
· To pledge to support in any way we can St Gregory’s Catholic Science College, which is the only Brent school currently affected with RAAC while also noting that there are limitations to how we as a Council can assist as the school is operated by an Academy and we pledge to support, guide and advise any schools which may become known in future.
· To recognise that school requests for planning permission and other compliance issues from the council should be dealt with expeditiously while following the planning and safety legislation that underpins all planning decisions.
· To work cross party to expedite planning permissions where required for the temporary classrooms and Portacabins schools may require and should they go down this route, to house the classrooms on site or alternatively assist in finding suitable accommodation across the borough. For example, when schools ask for planning permission there should be no complacency in recognising any defects and dealing with them quickly.
· To communicate with the affected schools should they need help with contractors for remedial works.
· In the case of schools which are affected by RAAC but are not the council’s responsibility, if the schools are short of funds to remedy the defects the Council to call on the Government to provide the necessary funding and not rely on already stretched Local Government budgets.
· To continue closely monitoring through building control functions all schools for cases of unsafe materials.”
Eligible for Call-In: No
17/07/2023 - Non Cabinet Members' Debate
The following motion was unanimously AGREED as the outcome of the non-cabinet member debate:
“Casey Review – Metropolitan Police
This Council notes:
§ The damning findings of the March 2023 Casey Review, which showed a persistent and endemic culture of racism, misogyny, homophobia and violence against women within London’s Metropolitan Police force.
§ The recent BBC investigation that found that the Metropolitan Police seriously mishandled key inquiries related to a major suspect in the murder of Stephen Lawrence.
§ That whilst the Casey Review and the recent revelations about the Stephen Lawrence investigation are shocking, it will not be surprising to many in our communities across Brent who have been failed by the Metropolitan Police. Rather, these findings have further exposed an institution that has been known for systemic failures since before the murder of Stephen Lawrence in 1993.
§ The persistent failure of leadership at all levels of the Metropolitan Police to act decisively and remove dangerous officers from their posts, despite multiple reports showing their propensity for serious harm prior to the violence and destruction they subsequently caused to dozens of lives.
§ That the murder of Sarah Everard by Wayne Couzens, the dehumanising treatment of Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman, the Stephen Port murders, and the 48 rape offenses committed by David Carrick might have been prevented if swift and effective action had been taken at the time.
This Council also notes:
§ That crime disproportionately impacts members of the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities, those on the lowest incomes and members of the LGBTQ+ community, and that tackling crime across the borough means it is integral that these communities have trust and faith in the police that serve them.
§ Black people are nine times more likely to be stopped and searched by police than white people, official figures for England and Wales show.
§ As highlighted by Baroness Casey, it is not enough for the Metropolitan Police to “reflect” on what needs to change, but that it needs a complete overhaul in order to take firm and decisive action against racism, misogyny and homophobia.
§ The work of the Independent Scrutiny and Oversight Board, which has highlighted the reluctance of the Metropolitan Police so far to make any significant change.
§ Whilst this council recognises the heroic work done by many police officers, including our own neighbourhood officers here in Brent, there is clearly unfinished business in the police force if there is to be an end to the culture that enabled these horrifying injustices to take place.
This Council further notes:
§ Brent Council's efforts to address Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) through the following initiatives:
o The establishment of a VAWG Scrutiny Task Group in 2020 which provided a set of recommendations on how best to utilise Council resources to help combat VAWG. These recommendations are currently being implemented and its progress regularly reviewed to ensure this issue remains a high priority for the Council.
o Increased resources to VAWG organisations across the borough, as well as increased MARAC service provision to meet the demands from the knock-on effect of the Covid-19 pandemic.
o Workshops conducted with local businesses across Brent to ensure that training is provided to the night-time economy (local pubs, bars, restaurants, etc.) around supporting vulnerable women and safeguarding is offered more widely to local businesses.
o A series of public awareness campaigns demonstrating solidarity against VAWG.
§ The Council's investment in approaches to address perpetrators, provide trauma support to victims of crime; and investment in early intervention and prevention of community violence and harm – it is local government across London that has the approaches and best practice that is of value to the Metropolitan Police in its transformation.
§ The positive introduction of LGBT+ Community Liaison Officers (CLO) for the North West Borough Command Unit (covering Brent, Barnet and Harrow boroughs) to improve relationships and trust between the LGBTQ+ Community and the Police.
§ The Cabinet Member for Community Safety meets with the Metropolitan Police Commander for North West BCU (covering Brent, Harrow and Barnet) once a month to discuss urgent police matters affecting Brent residents and to ensure the interests of our communities in Brent are taken into account by the local police.
This Council therefore resolves:
(1) That the Cabinet Member for Safer Communities & Public Protection should write to the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police to confirm Brent Council’s support of the Casey Review, requesting that the Metropolitan Police make concrete efforts to rebuild the trust lost by adopting and implementing without delay, all 16 recommendations of the Casey Review.
This includes:
o Adopting a new, independent, multidisciplinary team of police officers and staff who will reform how the Metropolitan Police deals with misconduct cases, with a particular focus on how it handles sexual misconduct, domestic abuse and discrimination.
o Overhauling the recruitment and vetting system to ensure that new recruits are not drawn to the job for the wrong reasons; and revoking special qualifications where officers’ standards fall short of public expectations.
o Providing the Police Commissioner new powers that ensure that they can take strong and decisive action when the sanctions and consequences for misconduct are inadequate.
o A dedicated Women’s Protection Service with specialist units who focus on rape and serious and sexual offences and the creation of a children's strategy to focus resources on safeguarding and child protection.
(2) To call upon the Metropolitan Police to build an improved borough-based approach that will rebuild trust in policing across communities by investing in frontline policing - including safer communities and public protection - and ensuring victims of crimes such as domestic violence and sexual assault have appropriate, compassionate, and effective support and resources.
(3) To call upon the Metropolitan Police to commit to an overhaul of stop and search powers and accountability for the use of force in our communities.
(4) To call upon the Metropolitan Police to further their partnership working with London local government as part of boosting local accountability and scrutiny of police powers, including working closely with those communities most impacted by police activity and communities and individuals subject to the disproportionality highlighted in the Casey report.”