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

£348,000 cost to clear-up fly-tipping at Leisure Centre site

Labour Group leader Cllr David Perry at the Harrow council meeting on 27 February 2025 revealed the £348,000 cost of Leisure Centre site clear-up due to the council ‘neglect’ in fly-tipping enforcement.
“Due to a build-up of waste and fly-tipping on the area beside Harrow Leisure Centre, residents will have to pay out for the council’s mismanagement of the premises” says the opposition Labour group on the council.
Keys were handed over to the council in August 2023 to manage the site when the Special Needs Transport vehicle fleet depot was relocated.


“The first £348,000 of their (residents) increased Council tax bill will be used to pay for the leisure centre site to be cleared of waste, fly-tipping and construction materials that have been left to fester by the council for 18 months. Conservative Councillors have wasted taxpayers’ money, and often talk about enforcement, but their neglect in this case has cost taxpayers dearly” Cllr Parry said.
In explaining what has happened to the site, deputy leader of the Harrow council Cllr Marilyn Ashton said the site was broken into by criminal fly tippers and our security people were threatened, “and so, unfortunately, we will have to clear up the mess they made”.
Looking ahead, Cllr Marilyn Ashton said the best way to secure this site will be to develop it. It has been 20 years since the driving centre closed.
“We hope to start work on it sometime this year, and we intend to put up some hoardings soon” informs the councillor.
“Frankly, for Labour to make such an issue if this is a bit rich when they failed miserably over many years to make progress on developing this site. Whereas, we have a great proposal here, which now has planning permission with family houses and affordable homes, which we desperately need” Cllr Marilyn Ashton said.
Cllr Perry said he will be starting a campaign for the site to be cleared immediately, and an investigation started to find those responsible.

Many Harrow families would benefit from free breakfast provision for children¸ says Labour

Harrow shadow portfolio holder for children’s services calls on the council to support the government’s proposed legislation on universal breakfast clubs for the primary aged children.
The Government is committed to introducing free breakfast clubs in all state-funded primary schools in England, to ensure that all children from Reception to Year 6 have access to a free breakfast before the start of the school day.
For London, Sir Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, has said: “The GLA has strong relationships with boroughs and school leaders. I stand ready to work with them in whatever way is necessary to make a success of the government’s breakfast clubs initiative”.
Councillor Stephen Hickman (Lab), a teacher, has submitted a motion for the next week’s Harrow council annual budget meeting to support the government’s proposal for the breakfast clubs.
“Free breakfast club provision is especially important given the cost-of-living crisis, as it alleviates pressures on struggling families and provides flexibility for parents to work the hours and jobs they choose. Harrow has many families who would greatly benefit from universal free breakfast provision, particularly those facing financial hardship or challenges in accessing affordable childcare” Cllr Hickman has said.
The motion asks the council to write to the secretary of state for education to support the policy and encourage Harrow MPs to speak at the Commons for Harrow to be included in the early adopter phase of the rollout.
The government is to work with up to 750 early adopter schools from 2025 to 2026 to test and learn how best to implement the new breakfast clubs ahead of national rollout.

Increased opportunity to tackle rising anti-social behaviour in Harrow

Harrow’s Labour councillors welcome a central government-funded boost to community policing to tackle Harrow’s crime and anti-social behaviour “crisis”.
The government will put an extra £100million into neighbourhood policing including 13,000 more police officers on the streets by 2029 as it seeks to fulfil its pledge to put more officers on the ground.
More resources for the neighbourhood policing would help to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour in Harrow too.
Harrow has recorded instances of ASB up to 1,339 last year as well as the increase in shoplifting, for example, stores in South Harrow reporting between 20 and 50 daily incidences, the Labour group informs.
In appreciating the government redressing the cuts to community policing made, the leader of the Labour Group, Councillor David Perry, said: “Harrow’s Labour Councillors and residents across the borough welcome this announcement of extra funding and officers to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour in our community. I have been very concerned at the large-scale cuts to the Metropolitan police service by the previous Conservative government, and the rising anti-social behaviour incidents that the Conservative run Council are failing to tackle. This additional funding should immediately be spent making our communities in Harrow safer.”
In response, Cllr Marilyn Ashton, deputy leader of the council, said: “It is primarily the responsibility of the police to tackle this sort of offending.”
The primary agencies responsible for tackling anti-social behaviour are typically the local police force and the local council where the partnership is more effective when happily working together.
The council has an anti-social behaviour team and holds day of action with the police to let public know the seriousness in dealing with any ASB. Hopefully, increased policing resources and effective partnership would help the council administration to be more effective.