Your Choice Barnet: cuts WILL affect quality

There is a lobby tonight of the Your Choice Barnet board. Campaigners against the planned cuts will be there, including parents and carers of the adults affected by the changes.

They will be objecting to the fact that their voices are being ignored. There is an interview with one of the parents, John Sullivan, in this New Statesman article.

Barnet Unison, the trade union that represents many of the staff whose pay and conditions are being cut to make ends meet, has published the following figures:

YOUR CHOICE THE FACTS

Your Choice is claiming that the proposed changes to staff terms & conditions are not going to have an impact on service quality.

For the sake of transparency UNISON is providing the [figures on] cuts and changes for staff and we will leave it for you to decide if service quality will change.

Currently Support Workers are paid £12.40-£13.56/ hr and Assistant Support Workers are paid £9.49-£10.07/ hr

* As & When hours: Your Choice rely heavily on As & When hours. We learnt that staff now working As & When have already had their rate cut by 25% before the consultation began.

* 28 support workers posts to be reduced to 8 support workers posts.

* Creation of 20.5 assistant support worker posts

* Enhancements for working evenings to be stopped

* Enhancements for working weekends to be stopped  (these are paid at time and a half)

* Staff working a 5 day week to be moved to a 7 working week with no extra pay.

* Up to a sixth of the workforce have requested and been granted voluntary redundancy.  This will have a massive impact on a client group who have built long term relationships with workers in which ‘trust’ is a critical feature of this relationship.

* Your Choice has commissioned a consultant to carry out a benchmarking exercise with the market competitors. UNISON is already aware that many of the competitors are paying 30% less and some of these well below the London Living Wage.

'Your Choice Barnet' campaign launched

Click here for a report of the launch meeting for the "Bring 'Your Choice Barnet' Back In-house" campaign which happened on Tuesday 11 April at the Greek Cypriot Community Centre.

It was a great meeting, with around 50 people attending. Below, a couple of pictures.

The next meeting of the campaign is Thursday 25 April, 7-9pm, Greek Cypriot Community Centre, Britannia Road, London N12.

Before that we are supporting Councillor Barry Rawlings' motion to the next Barnet Council meeting, Tuesday 16 April, please join the lobby of Hendon Town Hall at 6.30pm.

Please sign the petition here.

(L to R) Roger Lewis, DPAC; John Sullivan; Tirza Waisel, Barnet Alliance

Tirza Waisel, Barnet Alliance; Helen Davies, Barnet Unison

Voting on the motions, including support for Councillor Rawlings' motion to the next Council meeting on 16 April

Daniel Thomas's gross irresponsibility toward Barnet council staff

An astonishing story in the Barnet Press today. Having reassured Barnet council staff transferring to Barnet Homes, the arms-length management organisation that runs Barnet's social housing, that their jobs were safe for a year, Deputy Leader (!) councillor Daniel Thomas has now done a volte face - about-face.

He admits that the 76 staff involved have no guarantees they will keep their jobs after 2 April. Seeking to excuse himself from making this gross error Thomas says:

"I have to apologise to staff, the statement was prepared quickly and officers did not check with HR before issuing it.

"Although pension rights are protected and terms and conditions are protected for one year, there is no guarantee that there will be no redundancies - just as there can be no such guarantee for staff remaining within the council."

Good news all round then!

Let's imagine that Thomas was not trying to hoodwink staff before, that his words were sincere. Why, then, the man's a fool! Does he realise the effect of his words? Does he realise how anxious people are about jobs at the moment?

And what about that threat of redundancies?

Any cuts in the number of staff delivering council services in future will mean worse services for residents and worse working lives for those still in post. Remember, too, that the One Barnet Programme, of which this transfer to Barnet Homes is part, will take our taxes and give them to private companies for profits. That is a scandal to add to the scandal that Thomas's "slip-up" represents!

Oppose One Barnet privatisation! Read the full Barnet Press report here.

Connaught workers: do they have a job or not?

The local papers are reporting that Connaught workers doing council house repairs for Barnet Homes, made redundant when Connaught went bust, have got their jobs back. But the picture is scandalously unclear. Yes, the unions had a meeting with Lovell, who are taking over some of the Connaught contracts, and with Barnet Homes this morning. And they were told they would be taken back on.

Some of them, Unison members, attended the lobby of the Barnet council meeting tonight. They wanted to talk about their experience. While they were there, their union rep received  notification from KPMG, the receivers, that they do not have jobs.

I don't know the situation at the moment, but they were shocked and upset to be treated in this way. Barnet Homes should take the workers back on now. It is a scandalous way to treat workers. And meantime council house repairs are going undone.


Connaught workers at the lobby of Hendon Town Hall, 14 September 2010

Connaught collapse - Back to the Future Shape?

Barnet council is currently embarking on a mass privatisation drive (Future Shape aka easyCouncil); they want to stop direct employment of council workers and farm them and service delivery out to arms length companies such as Barnet Homes and to multinationals such as... Connaught.

Oops. Connaught, the firm that has the contract for council house repairs in Barnet, among other places, is going bust. What will happen to Connaught's local workforce (once TUPE'd over to Barnet Homes and then again to Connaught)? Hopefully, they will be brought back into the Barnet fold.

It's a worrying time for the Connaught workers, annoying for Barnet's council tenants, who have only an emergency repairs service (as I understand it), and alarming for all Barnet residents who care to think about it: privatising services is no guarantee of a reliable, cheap service, yet Barnet's Tories present it as the answer to all our prayers.

In fact, the Connaught story shows Future Shape happening in reverse, no bad thing!

Great news: Mr Meakins can stay in his home

Great news broadcast on the Barnet council Facebook page:

24/08/2010

Barnet Homes has given a written assurance to Edward Meakins, of Cloister Road, NW2, that he will be able to remain in his current home.

The Chief Executive of Barnet Homes, Tracey Lees, wrote to Mr Meakins yesterday (Monday 23 August).

Barnet Council’s allocation policy stipulates that if a relative (non-spouse or partner) applies for succession to a tenancy and the property is deemed larger than the succeeding tenant requires, then steps may be taken to rehouse them in a smaller home.

Barnet Homes has agreed that this will be waived in Mr Meakins’ case, in light of his age and the length of time he has lived in the property.

The letter repeats Barnet Homes’ preference that Mr Meakins consider moving into a smaller home of his choosing, and so free up the three-bedroom council house for a family in need of this kind of accommodation.

Ms Lees said: “All cases of this kind are very difficult. We have to weigh up our sympathies for the individuals concerned against the number of families who have applied for council housing and are in need of a larger home.

“Given Mr Meakins’ age and the length of time he has lived at his property, we do not feel it right or proper that we should pursue any eviction proceedings against him.

“However, taking into account the intense pressure on council housing in Barnet, we have repeated our offer that Barnet Homes would support a move to a smaller property. Such a move would only take place if Mr Meakins is happy with this property and its location.”

Barnet Homes offers a Fresh Start scheme, whereby tenants are offered up to £4,000 to move to a small property. Around 70 households each year take up this scheme, which helps to ease pressure on council housing in the borough.

"Barnet Homes has agreed that this will be waived in Mr Meakins’ case, in light of his age and the length of time he has lived in the property." I think what Ms Lees meant was "in light of the public disquiet and campaign".

Another victory not for common sense - because Barnet Homes needed to be reminded what that is - but for concerted public action. Now, does this decision set a precedent? How many more Mr Meakins are there out there? We still need to campaign for more council homes so that no more elderly people need to go through an ordeal like this!

Connaught contract shows dangers of Barnet easyCouncil

News that Barnet council is ending its contract with Connaught for repairs to council homes does not come as a surprise. The company is in financial trouble and has been falling behind on repairs. Council tenants hve been paying the price for the difficulties experienced by a private company. And Barnet residents collectively have to bear the difficulties that follow the council ending the contract.

Connaught workers themselves were first transfered to Barnet Homes and then to Connaught when repairs were outsourced. They have been moved from pillar to post. Needless to say, their jobs have only got harder as they have moved further away from direct council employment. Now, at least, they hope to come back closer to inhouse, and be transfered back to Barnet Homes.

The Connaught saga shows the dangers of adopting the easyCouncil outscourcing model. As far as possible, we should keep services provided inhouse, where they can be accountable to Barnet residents, and all the money spent on them goes into providing a good service, not the profits of a private company.

Read the Times series report here.

Mike Freer backs Hillan - maybe - and Meakins - definitely

A man of few words, on the Finchley and Golders Green Conservatives website, the MP for Finchley and Golders Green, Mike Freer, acknowledges the u-turn over allowances by Barnet council leader Lynne Hillan:

"The decision to rethink Councillor Allowances shows a mature Leader who listens to concerns. I am delighted that the new scheme will save taxpayers over £90,000 a year."

Perhaps he is giving a steer to his fans among Barnet Conservative councillors to support Hillan in her upcoming ding-dong, knock-down, drag-out fight with Mark Shooter.

He also backs Edward Meakins against Barnet Homes over the question of whether Mr Meakins should be kicked out of his home of 74 years:

Mike has contacted Barnet Homes about Edward Meakin's case

He said, "I have written to Barnet Homes asking them to reconsider their decision. I am aware that there is a shortage of family homes in the area but because of the exceptional circumstances their policy should be overruled on compassionate grounds."

Join Ted (Edward) Meakins' official Facebook group, and challenge Barnet Homes' callousness

There are a number of Facebook groups supporting Edward Meakins' campaign to stay in his home. Please join this one, organised by Mr Meakins' great-niece Sharon Keep:

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/group.php?gid=140220136014801&ref=ts

This looks like another campaign that we can win, since the press coverage is massive (even if the content is not always that great), and Barnet Tory group needs bad publicity like it needs a hole in the head right now.

Just when they thought Allowancegate had died down, another front opens up against Lynne Hillan. And Barnet Homes. Let's not forget that the true villain of the piece here is Barnet Homes, the arms-length company to which Barnet's council housing has been transferred. Arms-length companies - in case you didn't know, they are Barnet Tories' preferred option for running Barnet easyCouncil...

The contact page for Barnet Homes is here. There is no general email address given for enquiries, unfortunately. Councillor Helena Hart is the Conservative councillor on the Barnet Homes board. I suggest you contact her with any views on Barnet Homes' treatment of Mr Meakins - contact details here.

Support Edward Meakins! Build more council homes!

The first injunction "Support Edward Meakins!" is addressed to Barnet residents. You can read the story of how Barnet Homes wants to move Mr Meakins to a flat, so that they can give his house to a family, in the Times series here. Mr Meakins, 83, has lived in his house in Cricklewood, with his family, since he was a boy, and a move would, let's face it, not be good for his health.

It's up to Mr Meakins and his family what they want to do about this situation in the spring, when he is expected to move, but I would urge all Barnet residents to pledge to do what they can and what is necessary to support Mr Meakins should he simply refuse to budge.

The second injunction is to councils and the government, to the political classes as a whole, if you like - because Labour failed dismally when they were in power to do what is needed - build more council homes!

What kind of weird world do we live in when an Orwellianism such as "affordable homes" has become an everyday part of the language? What the hell other type of home should there be? Do we not all need a secure roof over our heads?

As for the report in the Daily Express today, using Mr Meakins' story to put the boot into benefit claimants... The family of 12 they lambast don't even live in Barnet - the Express has just spliced two completely different stories together in order to make an objectionable political point.

If the Express actually gave a shit about old people they would be clamouring for the government to build AFFORDABLE (there, I said it) homes for everyone. It's only in conditions of such scarcity that we end up fighting like starving dogs over the scraps. The disgusting thing about the situation is that the scarcity is entirely artificial and man-made.