The council in its meeting last month conferred the title of Honorary Alderman of the London Borough of Harrow Council upon Camilla Bath in recognition of the eminent and distinguished service she has rendered to the London Borough of Harrow over a continuous period of thirty-two years as a Harrow councillor.
Being Honorary Alderman brings several privileges, including: to attend as a spectator at meetings of the council and to have a seat reserved for this purpose, and to receive invitations to all civic and social events to which Members of the council are invited. The honour is held for the life of the recipient
The council has previously conferred the title of Honorary Aldermen in July 1986, on former Conservative councillors Frank Rees and Nan Rees. Both served the council for a long time and have since died.
In May 2006 the council conferred the title of Honorary Alderman on former Labour councillor Keith Toms in recognition of eminent and distinguished services rendered to the borough over a continuous period of 32 years as a councillor. Alderman Toms who also served as Deputy Mayor and Mayor of the Borough has recently died.
In June 2014 the Council conferred the title of Honorary Alderman on former Conservative councillor Richard Romain in recognition of the eminent and distinguished services rendered to the Borough over a continuous period of 32 years as a Councillor.

Many side street shops around the Harrow town centre do not enjoy the full benefits of one hour’s free on-street parking, as the parking slots are taken by those using the town centre.
“My customers often don’t find the meter parking spaces because these are taken by those who go to the town centre which is a short walk or bus ride away from here” said a leading Pinner Road shopkeeper who did not wish to be named.
Similar comments were made by some shops on the Headstone Road and Station Road in Harrow.
From 1 August, one hour’s free parking is available from Pay & Display machines in the borough to give businesses the boost they need following the pandemic.
Before the last council elections, Conservatives promised one-hour free parking, both on the street and at the council public car parks.
However, after acquiring the council administration though they kept the promise of one hour’s free parking across high streets but have deferred free parking at the car parks, subject to the outcome of a feasibility study.
When enquired about one-hour free parking at the council public car parks, leader of the Council, Cllr Paul Osborn assured it is coming by the end of this year.
“While the software change at the street parking meters is easy, technical changes at the council public car parks need more time” Cllr Osborn explained.
Hopefully the one hour’s free parking at the council public car parks, when done, would lessen the use of the side street one hour’s free parking spaces by those who park there to use the Harrow town centre rather than the local shops.

While those controlling the Labour Party from outside succeeded in manipulating the British media, the bold and comprehensive Al Jazeera investigation report The Labour Files reveals how senior officials in one of the two key political parties in the UK ran a coup by stealth against the elected leader of the party.
And that the candidates for key political roles were blocked, and constituency groups suspended as the party’s central office sought to control the elected leadership.

The investigation report also makes extended references to Harrow’s Labour in-party conflicts and oppression, naming Gareth Thomas MP and a few Harrow Labour councillors (from 29.11 to 33.47 on the video timeline).
“The files reveal the role of local Labour MP Gareth Thomas in expelling members of his own party. Thomas sent a letter to the general secretary asking for the activists in Harrow to be treated more harshly” says the investigation documentary.
A victim identified in ‘The Labour Files: The Purge I Al Jazeera Investigations’, Pamela Fitzpatrick, ex Harrow councillor and Labour parliamentary candidate, said:  “I was shown much more evidence by @AJEnglish than is revealed in the documentaries – a lot of it very disturbing – I now know the names of the 2 local people who in Summer 2021 submitted the complaints which led to my expulsion. Submitted the same day, same time, same wording and containing untruths. These complaints were acted upon almost instantly by GLU and were clearly organised. There are some truly dreadful people in the Harrow Labour Party.”
“There may be a general election very soon, and Labour indeed may win because the Tories are doing so badly. That’s precisely why it is vitally important to deal with the corruption, racism, and anti-democratic activities in the Labour Party that have been uncovered by Al Jazeera” said Ms Fitzpatrick.
Many are taken aback by the interjection of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its direct, uncompromising, unflinching and somewhat humiliating criticism of the government’s fiscal plan that suggests the plan was economically risky, it said it was likely to increase inequality and recommended taking an “early opportunity” for a re-evaluation of the policies in the coming weeks, on a specific date.

The newly appointed Patrick (Pat) Flaherty has started this week as the 4^th substantial chief executive officer of the Harrow council in the last 18 years.
Mr Flaherty joins the council from Somerset County Council, where he has been chief executive for almost a decade and held leadership roles in areas including regeneration, transport and health.
Mr Flaherty replaces Sean Harriss who worked for three and a half years under the last Labour administration.
After his appointment to Harrow, Mr Flaherty said: “I am delighted and honoured to be invited to join the London Borough of Harrow as its chief executive officer.
“It is clearly a very exciting time to be joining, and I look forward to working with our councillors and staff, our partners and the wonderful community of Harrow to make a real difference”.
The current local authority was first elected in 1964, a year before formally coming into its powers and prior to the creation of the London Borough of Harrow on 1 April 1965. Since then, the Harrow population profile has hugely changed, for example further to census 2011, projected Indian population 29.1%, other Asians 12.1% and Pakistani 3.9%. The council members population is equally very diverse!
Councillor Paul Osborn, leader of Harrow Council, previously said: “This is the start of an exciting new chapter in Harrow’s story.
“As an administration, we are keen to begin working hard for the people of Harrow and doing so in partnership with our borough’s new chief executive”.
Given the council administration’s emphasis on ‘putting residents first’, hope Mr Flaherty would look into an apparent cultural change at the civic centre under the last administration where the residents were apparently discouraged from contacting the council officers directly (for example the contact details on the official council letters are disbanded) and the local residents struggle to get prompt, efficient or satisfactory response to their queries etc.

The Jewish Free School in Kenton (marked being in Harrow but under the Brent local authority) is ranked 78 in the table of all 396 UK state secondary schools based on their latest average performance in public examinations (GCSEs, A-Levels, and other exams).
It is 50 in the comparison list of all 396 UK state secondary schools based on their latest A-Level results in 2022. Only Nower Hill (at 226) and Bentley Wood (at 240) from Harrow are on this list.
The JFS has made good progress from the previous Ofsted inspection grade of “Inadequate” to good in April 2022. Inadequate means the school is failing to provide an acceptable quality of education and care for children, and will need to make significant improvements immediately.
The Ofsted inspection found the school senior leaders have well-established and clear expectations for the content and delivery of the school’s curriculum. Leaders, including members of the governing body, have acted swiftly and effectively to address weaknesses identified at the time of the school’s previous inspection.
In the top ten list of the state secondary schools in England, there are only two schools from the surrounding areas, both in the Labour controlled Barnet:
The Henrietta Barnett School: dubbed as one of the “magnificent seven”, the school was founded by Dame Henrietta Barnett in 1911 to improve girls’ education. It has since been recognised year after year as one of the best schools in the country, with high acceptance rates at Oxbridge and top achievements at GCSEs and A-Levels.
Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet: it has been consistently ranked among the top schools in the UK. Queen Elizabeth’s School topped the A-Level league tables for five years in a row, and it is consistently ranked among the top 5 schools in the UK.
Harrow schools once in a prominent place in the comparison tables, have gradually lost their place over the years.

From 1 August, one hour’s free parking is available from Pay & Display machines in the borough. It is not available at council car parks yet.
Before the last council elections, Conservatives promised one-hour free parking, both on the street and at the council public car parks.
However, after acquiring the council administration though they kept the promise of one hour’s free parking across high streets but have deferred free parking at the car parks, subject to the outcome of a feasibility study.
When enquired about one-hour free parking at the council public car parks, leader of the Council, Cllr Paul Osborn assured it is coming by the end of this year.
“While the software change at the street parking meters is easy, technical changes at the  council public car parks need more time” Cllr Osborn explained.
While neighbouring boroughs are reducing their free parking time for residents, Harrow has  extended it from 20 minutes to 1 hour.
The hour-long free parking will give people more time in their local shops, restaurants and cafés without worrying about parking costs.

The newly introduced Harrow Town Centre Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) forbids the town centre activities like amplification of music and voice; placing of tables, chairs, stands and other fixings / furniture on the street and distribution of leaflets.
Failure to comply with a PSPO is an offence and can lead to a summary conviction and fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
All enforcement officers as well as police are authorised to take action under the PSPO (there is no publicity about the role, responsibilities and powers of the Harrow council Environmental Enforcement Officer).
Very disappointing to find small size PSPO notices with small print at less obvious locations in the town centre and could easily be missed. (under this plea by a defaulter, the council is likely to lose a court case). see ‘A’
Well sized notices with good readable size print at a well pronounced spot like below would make more sense. see ‘B’

In setting the Cost of Living Emergency in Harrow Motion at the council meeting this Thursday, the Labour group on the council has highlighted how Harrow and its residents are suffering due to a cost of living crisis:
In the light of the increased energy price cap by 54 per cent, the average standard tariff energy bill will increase by £600+ per year and the average pre-pay meter energy bills increasing by £700+ per year (Ofgem, 2022), they have pointed out.
Recently, the  government increased National Insurance by 1.25%, which is projected to cost the average Harrow family an additional £108 per year.
In June this year, the UK inflation was confirmed at 9.1, the highest rate in 40 years.
The escalating cost of fuel is putting huge strain on local people simply trying to go about their everyday lives. As of 12 July, petrol is at an average of 190.65p per litre, while diesel is 198.42p per litre.
In some petrol stations, filling up a typical family car’s 55- litre fuel tank with petrol now costs £104.86 on average, while it costs £109.13 to do so with diesel.
The Government has suspended the pensions ‘triple lock’ for 2022/3, meaning that Harrow’s pensioners will see a rise of 3.1 per cent this year (instead of 8.3 per cent under
the triple lock formula). This year, this will cost a Harrow pensioner on the full new state pension an average of £487, and on the full basic state pension an average of £373 (TUC, 2022)
In 2021/22 Harrow foodbanks have handed out food parcels to thousands of residents on a weekly basis, many of whom are families with children. This continues to get worse.
The recent ‘Covid Additional Relief Fund’ (CARF) and ‘Household Support Fund’ (HSF) is just not adequate for the needs of Harrow families and businesses. Many will not even qualify for the schemes.
The proportion of people living in poverty in Harrow is 23%.
Very odd that while the Tory leadership candidates have clashed over cost of living during TV debates in a point-scoring, little mention of how the cost of living crisis that hit different groups of people differently, would be meaningfully addressed.

An hour free car parking: before the council elections, Conservatives promised one-hour free parking, both on the street and at the council public car parks.
After acquiring the council administration, they informed an hour’s free parking is coming this summer across high streets but have deferred free parking at the car parks, subject to the outcome of a feasibility study.
Further to this, a One-Hour Free Parking reserve has been established to fund the 2022-23 implications of the free parking initiative, but not clear whether this is just for on street parking, or for the street and council car parking both.
Potholes: the council to consider creating an in-house pothole service to improve the management and repair of potholes across the borough.
The council officers have asked to delegate authority to the director of environment to commission the study from external consultants at a cost of approximately £50k. £50k of the ratepayer’s money!!
On average, the council receive 578 enquiries from highway inspections and 492 from customer enquiries, bringing the total potholes reported per annum on average to 1,070 –  the average time taken to complete a pothole repair from inspection / notification is 4.5 days.
Improving the customer experience: the council admits many residents have felt that the council was unresponsive when trying to access services, offering little information and showing little empathy to their issues, often applying a ‘computer says no’ response. The council needs to strengthen residents’ trust by ensuring timely and effective responses, seamless customer journeys, a positive experience and ensuring a right balance between digital with more traditional channels.
Harder for residents to contact Harrow council, ongoing concern.
It is now proposed to produce a costed plan to lay out the council’s direction to improve the customer experience by putting residents first and treating both residents and businesses as valued customers
Odd that while planning improvement in accessing services, the cabinet agreed to close the telephone lines for Council Tax and Benefits to reduce the Access Harrow budget by £350k through staff reduction.
While nothing wrong in having a feasibility study about a council service to inform decision-making, the downside is that it’s outcome could be used not to deliver that service.

Some £1.47 million of the Government’s Housing Support Fund is set to go to Harrow residents this summer.
On 30 September 2021, the government announced that vulnerable households across the country will be able to access a new £500 million support fund to help them with essentials over the winter.
The grant has been extended to 30 September 2022 with an additional £500 million of funding which will be used by local authorities to support vulnerable households.
Harrow Council has confirmed how it will distribute the £1.47million summer tranche of the fund in the borough, focusing on vulnerable households with children and pensioners on Council Tax Support and Pension Credit.
The allocated grant must be dispensed by 30 September 2022 and Harrow is keen to distribute the money as quickly as possible as the cost of living concerns increase.
Cllr Stephen Greek (photo), Cabinet Member for Performance, Communications & Customer Experience, said: “We’ve considered how best we can put our residents first, and help those most in need during these challenging times. We are providing support to as many people as possible, whilst ensuring that the help is not spread too thinly. It is vital that we get this money out to where it is most needed.”
Part of the fund dispersed will be in the form of the Post Office vouchers, which can be used against energy/utility bills or for food.
Around £85,000 will be used to support households in rent arrears to help stop problems spiralling into acute difficulties, avoid court action and secure their tenancy.
Also, £135,000 for the Harrow Community Hub, ensuring it continues to provide food support until at least March 2023. The Harrow Community Hub is well-supported by the Harrow council – wonder why!!
Throughout the Covid-19, Harrow had its share of the government special grants but has been very difficult to find how exactly the money has been used – for example, who gets it, why and how much.