Hands off Our Homes - Demonstrate March 30th 1pm

DEMONSTRATE  TRAFALGAR SQ

Saturday March 30th 1.00 pm

Housing crisis strategy meeting Tuesday March 19th

 Everyone is now aware of the deepening crisis in housing in London.  We are aiming to bring together people from across our community for a more united response: individuals (especially those with housing problems), Tenants and Residents Associations, housing and advice workers, community and council representatives, trade unions and political organisations.

We want to hold an initial strategy meeting so we can begin to: 

• build connections and share ideas/ experiences about the challenges that are hitting residents in Brent,
• discuss what we can do to raise awareness of what all these changes mean,
• help people who find themselves struggling to cope; make their voice heard and develop strategies to meet these attacks
• develop a campaign around policies which would begin to meet real housing needs in the borough

We hope you will be able to attend and publicise this meeting to others who may want to be involved:

6.30pm-8.00pm , Tuesday 19^th March 2013,

Brent Mencap offices 379-381 High Road, Willesden, London, NW10 2JR

Contacts: Robin Sivapalan, robsivapalan@hotmail.com, 07974 331 053 and Ken Montague, kenmontague@msn.com

(some of) what’s happening now: ·         Inflated rents and house prices, huge shortage of social housing, overcrowding… ·         …reduction in the Local Housing Allowance (housing benefit for private accommodation), the Universal Credit benefit cap… Brent will be the worst affected area if the Universal Credit cap is introduced. ·         …’Bedroom Tax’, charging Council Tax on Benefits, “Affordable” rent being defined as 80% of the market rate…. ·         ….Cuts to legal aid, advice, support and language services… ·         …Low pay, rogue landlords and mortgages companies, loan sharks…

Brent Fightback is an alliance of workers and service users campaigning against privatisation and cuts to jobs and services.

At the Brent Fightback meeting on Tuesday March 5th, the following decisions for action were taken:

FUTURE MEETINGS WILL BE ON THE FIRST  WEDNESDAY OF EVERY MONTH 7.30 pm at Brent Trades Hall, 375 High Rd, Willesden NW10 2JR - PLEASE KEEP FREE IN YOUR DIARIES.

NEXT MEETING WEDNESDAY APRIL 3RD 7.30PM. PRECEDED AT 6.45PM BY A PRACTICAL WORKSHOP ON USING TWITTER FOR CAMPAIGNING.

PUBLICISING  FIGHTBACK

Sujata to design a 'business card' with Fightback aims and contact details for wide distribution.

HEALTHSarah to request to speak at Brent Health Partnerships Overview and Scrutiny Committee urging Brent Council to emulate Ealing Council and 'refer up' the decision to close Central Middlesex A&E. The more that can attend the better. March 19th 7pm Brent Town Hall
Sujata to draft press statement on referring up and Brent Council inertia to be sent by midday on Monday. Phone Brent and Kilburn Times and Wembley and Willesden Observer on Friday to warn that statement coming. BKT-Max Walters 020 7433 6244, WWO-Hannah Bewley 0790 953 2453

SCHOOLSParents and Friends of Gladstone Park Primary, resisting forced academisation, are meeting with Sarah Teather MP at Pakistan Community Centre, Marley Walk (round corner from Willesden Green station next to Mosque) on Tuesday March 12th 6.30pm

We will be joining parents and teachers on the Gove Must Go demonstration on Wednesday 13th March. Assemble 5pm at Cathedral Piazza, Victoria Street, SW1 to march to the Department for Education. FURTHER DETAILS

Anti Academies Alliance AGM Saturday March 16th Martin to attend as Brent Fightback as well as Brent Green Party DETAILS

Inaugural Meeting of Brent Governors Group Thursday March 21st 7pm at Brent Play Association, Peppermint Heights (next to Sainsbury's) Alperton

HOUSINGStrategy meeting with community and campaigning groups will be held on March 19th 6.30pm-8pm at MENCAP all welcome. Robin to chair.

Brent Mencap’s address is 379-381 High Road, Willesden, London NW10 2JR.

BENEFITSBrent Fightback will support the Benefit Justice Campaign conference's Stop the Benefits Cuts' on Saturday March 9th 11am at ULU, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HY

COUNCILLORS AGAINST THE CUTS
Pete Firmin will attend the National Meeting on Saturday March 16th in Birmingham on behalf of Brent Fightback.

BARNET SPRING MARCH

Barnet Alliance for Public Services and Occupy Barnet  are holding a 'Save Our Services' March on Saturday March 23rd starting at noon at Finchely Central station. It focuses on the One Barnet programme that will privatise the majority of public services for a minimum of 10 years. Support was not discussed at last night's meeting but support for this protest is in line with Brent Fightback policy.

Enough is Enough! Stop the cuts in Brent!

Brent housing crisis hits the headline

Brnet Brent Fightback meeting Wednesday January 9th 7.30 pm

The next meeting of Brent Fightback will be on Wednesday January 9th 7.30 pm at Brent Trades Hall (it says London Apollo Club over the door) 375 High Rd, Willesden NW10 2JR.

The New Year will begin with a renewed assault on our public services which needs a renewed and vigorous resistance. Among the subjects to discuss and plan action over will be:

• The continuing campaign against NHS cuts and the privatisation of our health services. 
• The housing crisis and the effects of benefit caps, bedroom tax etc
• Cuts to the Council's budget and the effect on jobs and services
• Gove's attacks on teachers' pay and privatisation via academies and free schools
• AOB

NHS: NHS NW London is due to give their response to the Shaping a Healthier Future "consultation" on February 19th. A meeting on December 6th of 80+ NHS campaigners from right across London named February 16th as a London day of action against NHS cuts especially the closures of A & E and maternity departments. Campaigns have been invited to send representatives to a meeting of London Keep Our NHS Public on Wednesday January 9th at Camden Town Hall 7.30 pm to firm up these plans and make a final decision between an All London Demo or coordinated local demos.

The Brent 38 degrees group which is working on trying to prevent further commissioning of services from the private sector by Brent CCG (Clinical Commissioning Group) meets at 3 pm at the Priory in Belsize Rd on Saturday January 5th and hopes to meet with the CCG at their next meeting which is also on January 9th!

For background information about the state of the NHS it's worth reading these articles:

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/health/dont-send-patients-to-stretched-aes-health-bosses-urged-gps-8422177.html  an article from the Evening Standard on 17th December

This Guardian video  http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/video/2012/dec/18/private-healthcare-providers-patients-risk-video  and there are links to several other very pertinent Guardian articles

When A & E departments close, hospitals also lose their maternity services and many other services too. this article from the Mail illustrates the crisis in maternity care which can only worsen if more services are closed: 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2248592/The-secret-midwife-Psychotic-mothers-exhausted-doctors-nurses-asleep-job-A-whistleblower-reveals-the.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Housing Crisis: The proposed benefit cap, the "bedroom tax" which cuts housing benefit for people with spare rooms and the cut in government funding to Councils for council tax benefit which means that almost everyone, however low their income, will be expected to pay some council tax, are set to cause a housing crisis on an unprecedented scale. Already, families are losing their homes. Brent Council plans to move people to Hertfordshire and beyond, people with box rooms deemed to small to be used as bedrooms are still being charged the bedroom tax. At the last Fightabck meeting, it was proposed to hold a People's Assembly on Housing in February at the Harlesden Methodist Church and to invite participation &/or sponsorship from groups like Cricklewood Homeless Concern, Private Tenants' Rights Group, N18, Shelter, The Councihan Family Campaign, Brent Law Centre and Housing Emergency which includes the Defend Council Housing Campaign. Leao Neto, the minister from the Methodist Church is interested and says it might even be possible to make this a joint event. The local papers are interested.

Councils cuts: The Council's budget setting meeting is in February. Eric Pickles has just announced further cuts to Council funding. Mohammed Butt spent time recently helping out at a foodbank, but what will Brent Council do to join with the people it is supposed to represent to prevent them being ConDem-ed to further misery in the New Year?

Education: The Slithy Michael Gove, having urged headteachers to dock pay from teachers taking part in the current work to rule, has now announced that he is going to do away with the national pay framework and allow schools to pay teachers whatever they like. He's thrown down the gauntlet, but shamefully, the NUT Executive has failed to pick it up. Meanwhile, OFSTED is doing the Government's dirty work by judging popular schools with happy children to be "in need of improvement" thus preparing them for takeover by their mates in the Academy chains. He's also making it easier for Free Schools to get buildings to set up in, whether they are suitable or not. (This item on education represents my personal rant, and is not necessarily the opinion of Brent Fightback - Sarah)