150 Ways
150 Ways
150 Ways
On Thursday May 22, Brent residents will have the opportunity to choose who will run their council for the next four years- deciding its approach to everything from jobs to schools to social care. This document, the second part of our manifesto for the 2014 local elections, spells out in a bit more detail than the first part what we will do for our borough if Labour comes out on top.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10. Well make sure pensioners and disabled people dont have to pay much Council Tax, and reduce the amount paid by other disadvantaged groups. 11. Well limit any increases in the cost of residential parking permits to the rate of inflation.
12. Well try out significantly reducing the time during which the council gives out parking tickets and tows cars on days on which concerts and football matches are held at Wembley. 13. Well continue to support food banks as a necessary last resort for people in tough times. 14. Well be guided by the findings and recommendations of the Social Mobility Commission- a year long investigation commissioned by the council and carried out by independent experts into the barriers preventing many people in Brent from getting on in life, and the ever widening gap between haves and have-nots in our borough. 15. Well lobby the government to withdraw the single person discount for high-earners. 16. Well campaign for the repeal of the Coalition Governments cruel and unfair Bedroom Tax.
28. Well continue to work with corporate and community partners to transform South Kilburn, constructing a new local primary school, urban park and health centre in the area. 29. Well invest in growth zones including Alperton, Queensbury and Church End to grow our boroughs economy in a way that serves its people. 30. Well lobby the Government and Mayor of London to maximise employment and training opportunities for local people resulting from major infrastructure projects affecting Brent like HS2 and Old Oak Common Crossrail Interchange, and to minimise the disruptive impact of construction works on our communities. 31. Well safeguard the future of our boroughs high streets by managing the conversion of vacant shops into office or high-quality residential premises. 32. Well make sure that new developments in Brent provide access to small, time limited, low cost workspace for local entrepreneurs and digital or creative businesses. 33. Well create more Meanwhile Spaces places where groups of residents and creative individuals can come together to run cultural and community projects and local entrepreneurs can try out new business ideas in sites which would otherwise sit empty. 34. Well work with partners in the community to ensure that culture and the arts play a key role in regenerating our borough through initiatives such as the Willesden Green centre. 35. Well make sure companies that want council contracts do their bit for Brent by investing in jobs for local people, training programmes for unemployment residents, local charities or community projects. 36. Well uphold the councils commitment to not employ exploitative zero-hours contracts, and work with its contractors to reduce their reliance on these insecure contracts. 37. Well enter into new agreements only with contractors who can assure us they will not blacklist workers and, if they have done so in the past, have taken adequate measures to redress the damage caused by this destructive practice; and who can demonstrate that they value human rights and practise employment policies consistent with International Labour Organisation standards in all countries in which they operate. 38. Well run a Timewise council- introducing flexible and part-time working arrangements to minimise the cost of childcare for parents working for the council and free up employees to participate in community activities, and working with commercial partners to promote these practices throughout our borough. 39. We see every day that the Governments Work Programme isnt working and we believe that services to support people back into work could be more effectively and
efficiently coordinated at the local level. Well lobby for more power over employment services and skills training to be handed to Brent, so that we can draw on the expertise of local organisations rather than seeing millions of pounds of public money going to big business.
53. Well work with voluntary sector partners to proactively identify and bid for external funding to enhance both our youth services and childrens centres. 54. Well launch a borough-wide mentoring service for our most vulnerable young people. 55. Well provide one-to-one support to more mothers and pregnant women under the age of 19 through our new Family Nurse Partnership scheme. 56. We'll work with local schools to create more Breakfast Clubs and make sure pupils in Brent get the right fuel they need to learn. 57. Well prohibit new takeaways from opening within 400 metres, and shisha cafes within 0.5 miles, of all secondary schools and further education colleges. 58. Well support families with kids at the same school to exchange homemade meals through cooking co-operatives- saving money and promoting healthy eating. 59. Well conduct a review of physical education in Brent schools to reduce childhood obesity. 60. Well work with schools and local dentists to improve the oral health of Brent children. 61. Well make sure that excellent sex education is provided in schools throughout our borough. 62. Well explore the benefits of placing a greater emphasis on life skills, entering employment and peer-to-peer mentoring within the Personal, Social and Health Education curriculum in Brent schools. 63. Well make it easier for Brent residents to close their streets to traffic on particular days to create play streets, especially during school holidays. 64. Well unashamedly support the teaching unions in their campaign to secure decent pay for all teachers, support the principle that educators should be able to start a new job at a pay level that reflects their experience and defend the right of teachers to a decent pension in retirement.
Better homes:
65. Well kick off an ambitious council house building programme (see 66.) and work with housing associations to build 3,000 new affordable homes throughout Brent by 2018. 66. Well build 1,000 new council homes in our borough between 2014 and 2021. 67. Well spend 110 million to radically improve the quality of existing council houses by 2018. 68. Well bring 300 empty homes back into use by 2018. 69. Well weed out unscrupulous rogue landlords and stomp out beds-in-sheds by requiring everyone looking to rent out a private property in Brent to license it with the council and go through basic safety checks. 70. Well set up a not-for-profit lettings agency to bring down the cost of renting and help people get longer term lets. 71. Well explore the possibility of purchasing properties directly in order to let them to local people. 72. Well reduce the number of Brent residents living in temporary accommodation by 360 by the end of 2014. 73. Well continue to support local people who want to downsize into more manageable properties, freeing up properties for families who need more space. 74. Well make sure that residents who already live in an area where a development is being built and who need a which home will betters suits their needs are first in the queue for new properties to be let at social rent levels. 75. We believe that too much taxpayers money, which could be spent building homes for the many, goes towards subsidising a comparatively small number of landlords, and that local people have the right to know who is truly benefiting from our benefits system. Well publish an annual register of all companies and individuals in Brent getting over 250,000 in housing benefit payments. 76. The measures listed above will improve life for private tenants in our borough and create many new homes for Brent families, but national legislation is required to stabilise the rental market and address Brents housing needs crisis. Well campaign alongside organisations including Advice for Renters for parliamentary action to bring down rents, and lobby the government to lift its cap on how much the council can borrow to build new homes. 77. The Tory Mayor of London wants to increase social housing rents throughout our city. Well continue to lead the fight against City Hall to keep rents genuinely affordable for housing association tenants.
79. Well invest wherever possible in preventative care, because we believe that its both more effective and cost-efficient to address issues early on, before they become complex and engrained. 80. Well help older and disabled people to live at home for longer by giving them more say over their own care, installing grab rails and stair-lifts in more homes and providing more Extra Care (or very sheltered) housing. 81. Well continue to fund and work with the Brent Pensioners Forum and other community organisations giving a voice to older people to tackle issues including fuel poverty and social isolation. 82. Well reduce social isolation and loneliness in our borough by launching new befriending schemes to help elderly and vulnerable residents stay connected to the people around them. 83. Well continue to fund the Freedom Pass to make sure older people can get out and about. 84. Well provide new and improved facilities at local day centres in conjunction with community and voluntary sector partners. 85. Well support older people to share their knowledge, skills and interests through community programmes such as the University of the Third Age. 86. Well work with NHS Brent Clinical Commissioning Group to provide joined-up mental health care plans for vulnerable residents. 87. In line with our Time to Change council pledge, well continue to strive to end mental health discrimination in Brent and beyond. 88. Well work with local support groups and community organisations to find and offer help to more unpaid carers in our borough. Well also work with schools, youth centres and B My Voice to identify and offer special support to teenage carers, who are less likely to know what help is available and how to access it. 89. Caring is a tough job and carers need support, including the chance to have a break, catch up with friends and do things that interest them. Well continue to promote and improve our new Carers Hub where carers can access emotional support, training, financial advice and information on short break and leisure programmes based on what carers tell us they need to make their lives just that little easier. 90. Well make sure that all home care workers on council contracts are paid the LLW at minimum. 91. Well work with social care providers to improve the working conditions of residential care staff, with the ultimate aim of making sure all people working in care in Brent are paid the LLW.
92. Well work to support working aged disabled people into work, and offer dedicated support to young people with disabilities aged 14 to 25 years-old to effectively plan for their futures. 93. Well assess reports of abuse of Brent residents in care within 24 hours of the alert first being raised. 94. Well encourage and assist service users to interact and provide reciprocal advice and support to one another through online forums and social media platforms. 95. Well campaign to overturn the Coalition Governments reckless and politically motivated decision to close the busy and well-used Accident and Emergency department at Central Middlesex Hospital, which will put chronically sick, mentally ill and elderly Brent residents at risk.
98. Well continue to collect old kitchen appliances, furniture and other bulky items for free. 99. Well significantly reduce the amount of our boroughs waste that we send to landfills whilst continuing to recycle at least 45%. 100. Well protect our green spaces from development. 101. Well continue the fight to ban fracking in Brent. 102. Well install land drainage systems in our parks and open spaces to reduce the risk of flooding. 103. Well plant 1,200 trees throughout our borough by 2018. 104. Within four years, well reduce carbon emissions in Brent by 15%. 105. Well monitor air quality throughout our borough, and lobby the Mayor of London and the Environment Agency to crack down on air pollution around the Neasden Goods Yard and to tighten up emissions standards for taxis, heavy good vehicles and buses. 106. To prevent accidents on the road and decrease carbon emissions, well increase the number of 20 mile-per-hour speed limit areas in our borough. 107. Well maintain school crossing patrols in areas where serious risk is identified. 108. To reduce reliance on cars and promote environmentally friendly, healthy and safe ways for pupils to travel to and from school, well roll out a School Travel Plan for every nursery, primary and secondary school in Brent. 109. Well promote our parking permit surrender scheme, through which Brent residents who choose to cancel their parking permit and agree not to purchase another for at least two years can claim 200 towards the cost of a bicycle or in Oyster card credit. 110. Well continue to work with TFL to improve bus routes in our borough- pressing for the extension of the number 18 route from Sudbury to Northwick Park Hospital. 111. Well spend 1 million over four years to improve cycling routes and provide more training courses for adults and children, and make sure all new developments in Brent are cycle-friendly. 112. Well open six more outdoor gyms. 113. Well promote the new swimming pool at Bridge Park as well as the new gym facilities at Vale Farm. 114. Well train up local people to help others in their communities and areas to get active and live healthier lives.
115. Well stop unsightly clusters of exploitative betting shops, payday loan lenders, pawnbrokers and takeaways from forming on our high streets and in our town centres. 116. Well restrict the right of betting shops, pawnbrokers and payday loan lenders to open in buildings which previously housed banks, building societies, small offices, estate agents, recruitment agencies, job centres, Citizens Advice Bureaus, print and copy shops, key cutting and shoe repairers, commercial photographers, restaurants, cafes, pubs, bars and takeaways. 117. Well make it harder for premises to obtain alcohol licences in known problem areas. 118. Well protect community pubs, whilst cracking down on licensees who flout the law. 119. Well campaign for the introduction of minimum pricing for alcohol. 120. Well work with Brent Youth Parliament to raise awareness of the health hazards of smoking shisha. 121. Well work with community and faith groups to publicise the dangers of chewing tobacco-laced paan and crack down on paan spitting.
124. Although crime in Brent is falling, incidents of domestic and sexual violence are on the rise. Well press for the prosecution of perpetrators of these crimes, and work with charities and community groups to improve support services for people forced to flee their home or partner. 125. Well run an extensive campaign to raise awareness of the illegality and detrimental health effects of female genital mutilation throughout our borough. 126. Well invest in mentoring programmes and community programmes to prevent young people from joining gangs and create routes out of gang culture for teenagers. 127. Well support more local businesses and organisations to make their premises CitySafe Havens- places, such as the Brent Civic Centre, where local people can seek refuge if they are in danger or feel threatened. 128. Well make sure that our streets and estates are well-lit at night. 129. Well continue to crack down on intimidating behaviour, noise nuisance and vandalism through our dedicated anti-social behaviour team, which includes Brent Police officers. 130. Well treat the victims of substance misuse. 131. Well implement an evidence-based and data-driven approach to identifying crime hotspots. 132. Through the newly formed Brent Safer Neighbourhood Board, well make sure our boroughs police respond to residents priorities and concerns and carefully monitor reports from the Brent Independent Stop and Search Monitoring Group.
136. Well set up a Volunteering Hub to help Brent residents find a scheme to match their skill sets and ambitions, to identify new ways in which volunteers could help to make our borough a better place to live and work and develop suitable programmes, and to spread the word about volunteering opportunities to local schools, businesses and community groups. 137. Well investigate launching a recognition and reward scheme to thank people who volunteer regularly in Brent. 138. By continuing to invest in digital advances and new books, well make sure our boroughs state of the art libraries remain fit for future generations. 139. Well offer training and support to community groups who want to set up and run new libraries. 140. Too many Brent residents dont know about the work their council does, and in order for us to give people more say over how their council services are run they must know what services the council provides. Well change the way the council engages with local people, shaping our communications around their daily lives and routines. 141. Well increase the number of ward-level action weeks- bringing together different teams to provide face-to-face advice and access to council services on residents doorsteps. 142. Well run a listening council, employing digital innovations such as our online budget simulator to involve more local people in consultations and holding more events to encourage residents to help make decisions affecting the future of their neighbourhoods at the Civic Centre and across Brent. 143. Well continue to live-stream council meetings via the twitter-integrated Brent Live service. 144. Well promote the Civic Centres multi-purpose community spaces. 145. Well create a cross-service online portal to enable residents to access, learn about, pay for and feed back on all council services through a single log-in. 146. Well rise to the challenge to democracy posed by Individual Electoral Registration by giving local people the opportunity to register to vote during all interactions with the council, and by running an extensive voter registration campaign throughout our borough. 147. The Coalition Governments swingeing cuts have impacted disproportionately on women in communities throughout the UK including Brent. Well appoint a member of the Executive with special responsibility for implementing a cross-departmental strategy to improve local womens lives and championing womens voices. 148. Well make maximum use of the Sustainable Communities Act to drive forward government action or the devolution of powers from Whitehall in situations where we
have identified a new way to improve Brent residents lives but existing council powers prove unequal to the task. 149. We are on the side of local people and are proud to have fought to protect services at Central Middlesex Hospital, to stop police office and fire station closures in our borough and to keep rents genuinely affordable for our housing association tenants. Well continue to stand up for local people against policies enacted by the government and the Mayor of London which are bad for Brent- including in the courts if necessary. 150. Sometimes, in difficult times, there is a risk that we seek to blame others for our problems and so turn against one another. Well continue to work to promote solidarity and inclusion throughout our borough and to oppose those who seek to spread blame and discord.