Call for investigating dumping at site near Harrow Leisure Centre that needed £348,000 to clean-up

Good that clear up of the site adjacent to Harrow Leisure Centre, which had become a dumping site for illegal fly tippers for over 18 months, is nearing completion.
The site remained unused by the council since August 2023 when the Special Needs Transport vehicle fleet depot was relocated.
However, the Labour group is not satisfied with the site clear up, accelerated after their intervention, claiming that the job will only be finished when those responsible for the illegal dumping of waste on the site are held to account and prosecuted.
“I am pleased to see that, after 18-months of neglect from this Conservative-led Council, the Leisure Centre dumping site is finally being cleared”  the leader of Harrow Labour Group, Cllr David Perry said.
But he is disappointed that the site was ever allowed to get into such a state, fly tippers not prosecuted and that Harrow taxpayers have had to bear the brunt of the £348,000 clean-up cost.
“Harrow Council still have work to do; while the site is cleared, those responsible for illegally dumping on the site have got away scot-free. I and my fellow Labour Councillors are therefore calling for an investigation into how this site was allowed to get into this state by the Council, why their enforcement and securing of the site was so weak, and how they intend to prosecute those responsible” Cllr Perry said.
Hitting back, deputy leader of the Harrow council Cllr Marilyn Ashton said: “The Labour Group know full well that the CCTV did not show any identifiable information on the vehicles used as the number plates were untraceable. In addition, the police were called but failed to turn up”.
“So, Labour’s comments on this are merely designed to keep the story running and are therefore political and nothing else” Cllr Ashton added.

Harrow council administration condemns cemetery vandalism but not overtly

The police are investigating criminal damage after 85 graves, mostly children’s, were vandalised in the Muslim section of Carpenders Park cemetery in Watford last week, and are treating this as Islamophobic crime.
The cemetery next-door to Harrow is owned by Brent Council but is widely used by the neighbouring boroughs.
Such targeted attacks do not take place in vacuum.
The recent far-right extremism in Britain stirs up nationalistic feelings for political gains, including by tarnishing the image of some in Britain.
Media, social media and the far-right politicians very effectively recycle such worked out negative image.
In reassuring the community, leader of the Brent council, Cllr Muhammed Butt said: “The desecration of graves is a distressing and unacceptable act. I confirm that the incident was reported to us on Saturday, and that a full investigation by Hertfordshire Police is currently underway. Council officers have been in regular contact with the police since the report was made, and we are providing full cooperation to support their enquiries”.
Despite that a vast majority of the Harrow Muslim community uses the cemetery and many vandalised graves have Harrow dead, there appears to be no public statement by the Harrow council leadership though privately they are liaising with Hertfordshire police and have contacted a mosque where they enjoyed a Ramadan iftar party last.
[40 minutes after this article and 4 days after the wicked crime that he calls ‘events’, the leader of the Harrow council issued a Facebook statement saying “I am deeply shocked and appalled by the events“!! Facebook is not widely read by the Harrow residents, anyway – to-date his statement is not on the Harrow council website – now it is, again after prompting!]
While the Harrow administration’s lack of an immediate response and low profile regarding such a wicked crime is disturbing, it is understandable in the political sense as the council election is next year and the administration apparently can’t take the risk to upset some in its group or at the ballot box next year.
Unsettled Conservative Party fears Labour less but more the “renegade nationalist conservatives”.

No Harrow schools get London mayor green scheme money

No Harrow school is listed* to benefit from the London mayor £2.9m Greener Schools programme to install solar panels, heat pumps and other technology across the capital.
A total of 38 schools in 16 London boroughs will receive funding through the pilot, with councils contributing an extra £9.6m to the project.
The scheme, which also includes insulation and LED lighting, could save schools almost £15,000 on their energy bills.
“Working with the boroughs, we’ve been able to leverage a further £9.6m to fund more vital projects in more schools, helping to meet our target of achieving net-zero by 2030, as we continue working to build a greener and fairer London for everyone,” London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan said.
Harrow needs not to pay for some in Harrow council Conservative administration who are toxically at odds with Sir Sadiq Khan and his improvement initiatives.
After Harrow councillor Hall’s bad defeat at the London mayor election, her ward colleague, also a Conservative councillor, organised a venomous petition calling for Sadiq Khan not to be knighted which, though pumped up the far-right mob, didn’t work, and Sadiq Khan was knighted.
The Harrow council Air Quality Action Plan has failed to credit Ultra Low Emission Zone impact like the biggest reductions in NOx emissions due to the ULEZ expansion in Sutton, Merton, Croydon, Harrow and Bromley, where harmful emissions are estimated to be around 15 per cent lower in 2024 than would be expected without the expansion to outer London.
Out of 32 London boroughs, Harrow was one of the four Conservative held London councils – Bexley, Bromley, Harrow and Hillingdon – that along with Surrey County Council had gone for a judicial review challenging the London mayor’s Ultra Low Emission Zone expansion programme across all London boroughs.
The revolt was apparently instigated by the Harrow councillor Susan Hall, who at the time led the GLA Conservatives group. Later, she stepped down from the post to stand against the sitting London mayor Sadiq Khan but was badly rejected by the Londoners.
The legal challenge was dismissed but the Harrow council administration never apologised to the residents for wasting their £150,000 on the court action which was apparently staged for the political gain at the London mayor election.
* Listed schools

Harrow council work improving but needs better consistency

Good to see recent improvements in the work of the Harrow council, like the street environment around the Harrow Town Centre, proactive planning regime, fewer complaints about the waste collection, and the council website, though not perfect, feels better.
However, improvement across the board and the borough remains challenging, particularly as the consistency of the council work depends on the political direction and the financial decisions which are thought to be mindful of the political gains in some instances.
From a comparative position, Harrow council has a balanced budget for 2025/26 where its Quarter 3 financial reporting period indicates to have a slight underspend by the end of the 2024/25 year.
Across London now, seven councils are in receipt of Exceptional Financial Support from the Government because their expenditure is unsustainably above their income.
“Therefore, although Harrow’s position is still challenging it is manageable, and we have been able to invest in priority areas for the 2025/26 year which residents should directly see the benefit from” said Alex Dewsnap, Managing Director of the Harrow council.
Responding to how the council assures consistency in its work, Mr Dewsnap said to ensure consistency of good services, the council underwent a Peer Review in 2023 led by an independent team via the Local Government Association.
The review, he informs, highlighted a number of good practices in the council, including a refreshed strategic performance reporting process, which has oversight of achievements and challenges every quarter, as well as focusing on specific issues such as the customer experience & complaints, finance, performance indicators, corporate priorities, workforce data, and risks.
“In addition to this, the council has regular performance reporting via a Corporate Improvement Programme, assurance statements, routine internal audits, customer satisfaction surveys, and oversight of key programmes through the Scrutiny process” Mr Dewsnap added.
“More recently, we have developed and implemented a Workforce Strategy and a Management Competency framework to support us in delivering high quality public services effectively, with a greater focus on productivity” Mr Dewsnap said.
Looking forward, Mr Dewsnap said “as a data driven organisation, the council is exploring the adoption of new technology and how such innovations of Artificial Intelligence can support our improvement journey”.
Regarding the effectiveness of the Workforce Strategy and a Management Competency framework, and the broad implications of the financial decisions, leader of the opposition group (Lab) Cllr David Perry said: “The Labour Group of Councillors are always extremely grateful for the hard work the staffing core at Harrow Council do on a daily basis on behalf of our residents. The staff are the lifeblood of the organisation, and we would always seek to work with staff on any initiative to improve the forward workforce strategy.
“Our biggest concern locally is the political decisions taken by the Conservative run Council directly impacting staff, whether that be cuts in Children’s services which has led to a failed OFSTED inspection now rated as ‘Inadequate’ or ignoring, following consultation, the already pressured frontline staff when £1.3m was cut from 4000+ of our most vulnerable families in Harrow through reduced council tax support. We continue to be impressed with staff resilience despite obvious huge local service challenges”.

Harrow Air Quality Action Plan fails to credit ULEZ impact

Harrow has been classified as an Air Quality Management Area. An AQMA is declared if a local authority finds an area is unlikely to meet the national air quality objectives.
The council has a statutory duty to monitor, report on and contribute to improving air quality in the borough. This includes the preparation of an Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) every five years.
In responding to the Harrow council consultation on the draft AQAP, residents shared a concern for air quality and its impacts on human health and wellbeing.
The Harrow Air Quality Action Plan 2025-2029 before the council cabinet meeting on 10 April, informs that road transport emissions in Harrow are a significant source of pollution and commercial heavy and light duty vehicles make up almost 20% of all NOx, PM10 and PM2.5 transport emissions.
[air pollutants NOx (nitrogen oxides) are gases, while PM10 and PM2.5 are particulate matters]
The council priorities identified in the plan are to tackle air quality issues within its control and how it will collaboratively work with the community, the Mayor of London and other London boroughs to support and influence wider improvements.
It is good for the Harrow council to now work with the London mayor to improve the air quality in the borough, contrary to its previous hostility towards the mayor’s initiatives like Ultra Low Emission Zone expansion programme (ULEZ impact still ignored).
Out of 32 London boroughs, Harrow was one of the four Conservative held London councils – Bexley, Bromley, Harrow and Hillingdon – that along with Surrey County Council had gone for a judicial review challenging the London mayor’s Ultra Low Emission Zone expansion programme across all London boroughs.
The revolt was apparently instigated by the Harrow councillor Susan Hall, who at the time led the GLA Conservatives group. Later, she stepped down from the post to stand against sitting London mayor Sadiq Khan (now Sir) but was badly rejected by the Londoners.
The legal challenge was dismissed but the Harrow council administration never apologised to the residents for wasting their £150,000 on the court action which was apparently staged for the political gain at the London mayor election.
The report fails to credit that the boroughs which have seen the biggest reductions in NOx emissions due to the ULEZ expansion are Sutton, Merton, Croydon, Harrow and Bromley, where harmful emissions are estimated to be around 15 per cent lower in 2024 than would be expected without the expansion to outer London.
A daily charge of £12.50 is applied to the vehicle that doesn’t meet the ULEZ emission standards and is driven inside the zone.

Harrow ready for full pothole money

Following the government announced plan to ensure that its £500 million uplift for pothole and road resurfacing works is spent effectively, the Harrow council Labour group has reminded that in a bid to ensure accountability and delivery, this funding comes with expectations, like the council must publish annual progress reports, how many potholes they’ve filled and prove public confidence in their work.
Leader of the Labour Group, Cllr David Perry, welcomes this news that the funding set out by the government last year to tackle “the pothole crisis growing in Harrow” will be subject to strict conditions, ensuring accountability and delivery for the residents.
He demands that Harrow Council does all it can to sort out the local pothole “epidemic” – and secure additional support from the government.
Local authorities that comply will receive their full share of the £500m roads pot.
“Harrow Council is under pressure to deliver the vital repair and maintenance work or risk losing 25% of the £7.5 million uplift” Labour group warns.
Responding to how secure are the Harrow council’s arrangements to get the full amount of the pothole money, Cllr David Ashton, council cabinet finance executive, said “We are providing all the requisite information to get our share”.
“We are also investing £14million for each of the next three years, a hugely increased sum, reflecting the importance of decent roads and pavements” he added.

Thomas on Gaza!

Reflecting on the recent ceasefire in Gaza, Gareth Thomas, Harrow West MP, has said: “The recent ceasefire in Gaza brings a much-needed glimmer of hope. I am committed to sustaining momentum on the ceasefire, despite its fragility”.
“Gaza lies in ruins, and it is crucial we move through the phases of the current ceasefire to reach the reconstruction stage. I oppose moving Palestinians to neighbouring Arab states against their will and any attempt that reduces the territory of Gaza. Palestinians must be able to return to and rebuild their homes and their lives, a right guaranteed under international law” he said.
He remains concerned and reiterates that “Israel must ensure civilian protection. It must adhere to international law and clamp down on the actions of those who seek to inflame tensions”.
In his email to us, he has said: “I support the decision last year to suspend relevant export licences to Israel. Following a rigorous process in line with the UK’s legal obligations, the Government concluded there is a clear risk that military exports to Israel, where used for military operations in Gaza, might be used in serious violations of international humanitarian law”.
Mr Thomas believes Israel must end its presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including illegal settlements in the West Bank, as quickly as possible.
“In October, the Government announced new sanctions targeting three illegal settler outposts and four organisations that have supported and sponsored violence against communities in the West Bank” he informs.
“I am crystal clear this conflict can only be resolved through a two-state solution and I will continue to advocate for that at every opportunity” Mr Thomas concluded.

Colonialism conference at a school near Harrow

Very nice of St Helen’s School in Northwood to host its second annual post-colonial conference on March 10, to deepen students’ understanding of the colonialism and explore the scope of post-colonial themes in literature, history, and politics.
It was also good the conference welcomed students from Pinner High School, reinforcing the importance of collaborative learning.
About 21 years ago, The Guardian reported* leading historians addressing the Prince of Wales summer school for English and history specialists argued that Britain’s imperial past has been airbrushed out of history, and should be reinstated at the core of the secondary school curriculum.
Professor Niall Ferguson, who presented Empire – How Britain Made the Modern World on Channel 4 then, described the subject as “the big story of British history in the modern period”. Teaching British history without it, he said, is like “Hamlet without the prince”.
Scott Harrison, head of history for Ofsted at the time, said that the empire deserved a greater slice of school time. “We have school after school doing week after week of British social history and only one week on the empire. In terms of significance, that isn’t enough.”
Since then, many historians have argued that since imperialism/ colonialism was the ‘most important world trend of the 19th century, and the British Empire was the biggest and most important, why doesn’t it figure more prominently in British syllabuses?’
Teaching of the British colonial history is also important from the race relations point of view, where it is imperative to establish why black and Asian people have come to Britain. This education makes more sense now as the harmful divisive politics have increasingly been recycled.
It would be good to follow the St Helen’s example and enrich the school curriculum in Harrow.
*The Guardian reported

Harrow children’s services not good overall, finds Ofsted

The Ofsted inspection of the Harrow children’s services in January 2025 has identified insistencies in the services due to the impact of leaders on social work practice with children and families not being good and needing improvement.
Since the last inspection when services for children were judged to be good, though improvements have been made to some areas of practice, significant leadership “churn”, including four directors of children’s services and two chief executives, has contributed to a deterioration in the quality of service and practice for care leavers, says the report.
While the experiences and progress of children who need help and protection is good, the quality of support provided to care leavers has deteriorated and is now inadequate because the risk of harm to care leavers is not always recognised or responded to effectively, and there are serious failures in keeping in touch with some care leavers, the inspection finds.
Previous shortfalls identified in 2023 for prevention and early intervention practice have been mostly addressed effectively, but the strategic and operational focus on prevention and early intervention has, however, not extended to services for care leavers in Harrow, the inspection judged.
Despite financial investment to strengthen services and increase staffing capacity, the care for leavers* is inadequate because “the corporate and political support for children and care leavers in Harrow has not adequately ensured that the needs of children and young people have been consistently met. The lead member appropriately acknowledges that there is much more to do for care leavers in Harrow”.
Harrow Monitoring Group finds the subsequent response of the cabinet member for children’s services quite naïve.
He said, “We accept the findings of this report and have moved quickly to ensure those who have been let down, now have a dedicated worker and will have the support they so rightly deserve to thrive in everything they go on to do, as adults.”
Developing and sustaining good practices across the service is not a five minutes job but a longtime challenge to change the ethos and culture of the services, to avoid situations like:
[Inconsistency in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Information Advice and Support Service advertised and provided.
Inaccurate information during the child protection inquiries: 22 016 751 of 8/12/2023, Mrs X complained that the council used false and inaccurate information during child protection inquiries to create a negative assessment of her and her family. She also said the council did not communicate properly and failed to consider her human rights.
“We found the Council was at fault in that it included inaccurate and irrelevant information in various documents, causing Mrs X distress. In recognition of the injustice caused, the Council has agreed to amend the documents, apologise to Mrs X and make a payment to her” the Ombudsman determined]
*According to data from Harrow Council, care leavers in Harrow are disproportionately from Black, Mixed, and “Other” ethnic backgrounds. They need to be treated equally well.

Accountability and transparency of Harrow mayor office?

Considering the gracefulness of the Harrow mayor’s office, expectation of the high standards of its accountability and transparency, especially in money matters, in understandable.
Therefore, we requested the past five years accounts of the Mayor of Harrow’s Charity Fund (charity number 219034) under Freedom of Information Act 2000, since the charity has submitted annual returns to the Charity Commission, but the accounts are not available for public viewing.
The accounts* received indicate that the charity’s financial disclosures are inadequate, raising further concern whether the councillor-trustees have been ensuring accountability and transparency of the mayor’s office in their trustee role.
The charity has recorded no expenditure or the charitable donations made despite receiving income each year because its incoming and outgoing donations or the money raised are handled through a bank account set up by the Harrow Council. Mayors have no real grip on their charity fund as they don’t have adequate  financial information about the state of their Mayor’s Charity Fund to decide the best use of the money, in addition to the donation to the chosen charity.
From the accounts, it is not obvious that the charitable funds are applied for Public Benefit.
It would have been more efficient and transparent to have donations, and any money raised, paid directly into the Mayor of Harrow’s Charity Fund should the charity had its own bank account. Such arrangements would have allowed to claim Gift Aid, thereby increasing the total funds available for the chosen charities.
At the end of the Mayor’s tenure, the funds could then be transferred to the designated charities, as well as used for other charitable causes as decided by the mayor. This approach would have maximized the impact of the public donations and any money raised, and demonstrated good governance and transparency.
Further concern is that the current banking arrangements for the charity may not align with Charity Commission laws, as donations intended for the Mayor’s chosen charity may not be properly accounted for under the registered charity framework.
Harrow council needs to ensure the accountability, transparency and good governance of Harrow mayor office.
*accounts