Can they really represent you?

On times, voting because of what a candidate stands for is more important than the party votes where the candidate has serious shortcomings. Insecure, devious and divisive representatives use cheap tactics to gain votes and are only to benefit themselves. They can let down anyone at any time.
Mr Blackman (Con, Harrow East)
    • He shows a lack of democratic sense to respect all residents; he uses sensitive international situations to generate political support from the selected communities by siding with them in an unbalanced way
    • Having calculated his Harrow East votes and behaving accordingly, he won an endorsement from an interesting Hindu priest Parmar and a Jewish Rabbi Lew
    • The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) found him guilty of making more than 700 inaccurate mileage claims for travels within his constituency
    • While leading crusade to safeguard traditional marriage, Mr Blackman hit the headline that he ‘had 11-year affair behind his wife’s back’
    • He stands with his party that will scrap the Human Rights Act
    • He implies that any funding coming to Harrow projects from the government’s pre-allocated funds for hospitals and schools was somehow his doing as an MP
    • Under his leadership of the Conservative group at the Brent council, the number of the Tory councillors went down from 31 in 1990 to 15 in 2006 and 6 in 2010, seemingly due to the unpleasantness within the Tory ranks – a situation similar to Harrow under Cllr Hall’s leadership.
    • Regarding his place in his own party, Mr Blackman narrowly survived de-selection attempt as reported by the ‘Conservativehome’ on 10 June 2008.

Ms David (Con, Harrow West)

  • She shows lack of self confidence and relies more on who supports her from her party’s hierarchy like prime minister, London mayor and the party chairman
  • She claims to be a business champion and campaigner for Crossrail extension to Harrow without any thoughts about any adverse impacts of such a development – hardly any direct commitment to address deprivation in the constituency areas like South Harrow which is among some of the most deprived areas in the country – her visiting friends have been equally silent!
  • The listed local people backing Ms David in Harrow West that has pockets of deprivation, are mostly business owners and companies like Lynch Plant Hire & Haulage
    Scaremongering: in line with her party’s distortion tactics, Ms David in a personal letter to the selected residents says, ”Ed Miliband can only become Prime Minister with the support of the SNP”. And then she pleads for votes to her party so that there “will be no need for backroom deals after the election“, as there is nothing wrong with the practice of ‘backroom’ deal if needed – did LD held her party leadership to ransom? Ms David is obviously very confused!

Council cleverly ending Homelessness Housing Duty?

Having heard concerns about how Harrow council is ending its S193 duty (a part of Homelessness Legislation) and in the public interest, we made the following Freedom of Information request:
Number of cases each year since the 2010 council year where the Harrow council has said that it has discharged its housing duty under the Housing Act and therefore no duty will be owed to the applicant because they have refused an accommodation offer?
After a chase and well above the 20 days time limit (apparent confusions in and apologies from the housing department), we managed to get the following information:
Number of cases where S193 Duty ended because the offer refused: 11 in 2010-11; 10 in 2011-12 but then 20 in the subsequent years till 2014-15 (part).
This led to further questions:
  • Q1: Why such a rise/ upwards trend in the refusals?
  • Q2: How many times a property is offered and refused during these periods?
The council answer to Q1 is that the rise in the upward trend is due to the expectation of customers regarding the quality of the accommodation, for example.
Difficult to believe a sudden increase in the ‘expectation‘ or could it be that in the last few years the properties offered are more of the unacceptable quality?
Very disappointing answer to Q2: “we do hold this information it is not available in the format requested””. The information about how many times a property has been refused could have indicated its overall suitability/ unsuitability.
In view of the council’s inadequate response in this case, the question remains: is the council not in a hurry to cleverly end its duty to the homeless for statistical purposes?
*
Harrow homeless situation reflects in the national picture:
The number of homeless people in England is rising partly as private landlords evict tenants and partly because of housing shortages and cuts to benefits. Therefore, more people are now living in government-funded temporary accommodation than at any time since 2009 – in London, four in 10 cases of homelessness are caused by this.

Manoeuvring 5-points turning!

We feel sorry for some Harrow MP candidates who do a five-points turning and hit the curb frequently – a local newspapers asked them to give five reasons for their candidacy!
Uma Kumaran (Harrow East, Lab), Chris Noyce (Harrow West, Lib) and Gareth Thomas (Harrow West, Lab) are all Harrow grown candidates who also live in Harrow.
They claim they know Harrow and local issues very well – most likely they do, especially Chris Noyce and Gareth Thomas who have long experience of being a Harrow councillor. Uma Kumaran, not a councillor, is well known to have ample social interaction with the Harrow communities.
Hannah David (Harrow West, Con), not from Harrow, claims she knows Harrow problems and feels to do something about it. For example, that ‘Harrow has a real problem with litter and fly-tipping’ and boosts about her ‘Rubbish Friends campaign’ – sort of council related matters that her Tory group on the council should be dealing with – is she fighting for a parliament or a Harrow council seat?
Bob Blackman (Harrow East, Con) claims ‘I’ve lived in our area for more than fifty years and in that time I’ve been a local councillor’. Well, he lives in Brent where he was a councillor. Such is his geographical knowledge of Harrow that the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) has found him guilty of making more than 700 inaccurate mileage claims for travels within his constituency for his so called ‘street surgeries’ and ‘community events’.
His councillorship in Brent: under his leadership of the Conservative group at the Brent council, the number of the Tory councillors went down from 31 in 1990 to 15 in 2006 and 6 in 2010, seemingly due to the unpleasantness within the Tory ranks – a situation similar to Harrow under Cllr Hall’s leadership.
Both Uma Kumaran and Gareth Thomas sharply identify the pressure on Northwick Park that has been alarmingly growing, particularly waiting times at A&E, with a firm commitment to do something about it. Chris Noyce wishes to correct decades of underfunding for mental health treatments.
Hannah David is silent about local NHS problems and Bob Blackman cleverly implies that any funding coming to Harrow projects from the government’s pre-allocated funds for hospitals and schools is somehow his doing as an MP.
Both Bob Blackman and Hannah David talk about an extension of Crossrail that will stop at Harrow & Wealdstone station without showing vision for any adverse affects of such a development.
Not being local, seemingly they don’t know the local history. Wealdstone has been an area of high police focus. Increased railways activity adjacent to the Harrow Town Centre has attracted more outside criminal elements because of easy access. Their wish for the Crossrail and Hannah David’s concern about crime, look unreal in the absence of any mention of the level of cuts seen to the police, with 109 uniformed police lost in Harrow since April 2010.
On the other hand, Gareth Thomas says that he will continue to campaign for a safer community with increased police numbers to tackle anti-social behaviour and crime. While Hannah David boosts Boris Johnson has backed her campaign and has millions of pounds worth of funding available, Bob Blackman says that he has been fighting for desperately needed lifts at local stations – why Boris Johnson who could find millions of pounds for Hannah David has not obliged Mr Blackman? References to the London Mayor look unreal.
Alarming that the political template of these candidates has no space for enhancing and preserving Harrow’s heritage, including its landmarks, landscapes and parks!
Green party candidates seem to be more focussed!

Faith and politics don’t mix?

In the vote grabbing moves, faith and politics do mix well!
Addendum: After her almost daily statements regarding Muslim ‘radicalism’/ ‘extremism’, symptomatic of Islamofobia, now the Home Secretary, PM-hopeful, publicises that attacks on Muslims will become specific hate crime!
Back in Harrow, some Harrow MP candidates are trying to impress certain faith groups in a variety of ways, for example:
Bob Blackman, struggling for Harrow East
In calculating his votes, Mr Blackman has sought endorsements from interesting Hindu priest Parmar and Jewish Rabbi Lew, in his recent leaflet.
Soon after demonstrating his anti Gaza position and the subsequent backlash, Mr Blackman showed similar one-sided attitudes towards Kashmir.
Israel: “I voted against the state of Palestine”.*
Jammu & Kashmir: “The Hindu Pandits were forced out in a process of ethnic cleansing … I stand as an unabashed friend of India to defend India’s position in the conflict”.
Uma Kumaran, Harrow East
Israel: “Settlements are wrong and illegal … I am proud to be for a Palestinian state”.*
Islamophobia: “I am committed to review legislation to ensure racial and religious hatred are on an equal footing”.*
Education: “I support faith schools in Stanmore”.*
Gareth Thomas, Harrow West
Palestine: “I believe that Palestinian statehood is not a gift to be given but a right to be recognised”.
Israel: Mr Thomas managed to have a sort of acknowledgement by the Jewish Chronicle, “Mr Thomas, Labour’s Shadow Middle East Minister, says he is well aware of the concerns of Jewish voters in the area”.
What we need are the MPs who are not divisive or extremists and don’t stir up residents emotions but could really represent the welfare and interests of all their constituents in a most balanced way!
* leaflet from a muslim forum of Middlesex, distributed at the mosques

Political deception!

It would be naive to expect reasonable political honesty before the fast approaching general election. However, there are limits to what Harrow MP candidates could wrongly assert or claim.
In his electronic newsletter, Harrow East Tory MP candidate Mr Blackman implies that any funding coming to Harrow projects from the government’s pre-allocated funds for hospitals and schools is somehow his doing as an MP. While Hannah David, his fellow Tory candidate for Harrow West, tries to impress by her apparent support from the visiting prime minister and London mayor through her recent glossy ‘My Plan’ leaflet.
Also, Ms David wrongly claims that Wealdstone has been re-designated as an Opportunity Area in the revised London Plan because of her lobbying! Wealdstone, a most deprived ward in Harrow East constituency that was first designated as an Intensification Area well before 2010 when Ms David was nowhere near Harrow, meets the criteria for re-designation anyway.
Both have failed to focus on some of the key local concerns, including:
  • the Tory made cost of living crisis where bills are rising faster than wages e.g. residents squeezed by soaring energy bills
  • just under half (48.9%) of jobs in Harrow West alone pay less than the London Living Wage
  • the level of cuts already seen to the police, with 109 uniformed police lost in Harrow since April 2010
  • Harrow health profile
  • more GP practices in Harrow are in the Care Quality Commission high risk bands than in the neighbouring boroughs
  • following the closures of the nearby A&E departments, the pressure on the A&E department at Northwick Park Hospital has been alarmingly increasing

Tory guns target Harrow

Some never learn!
Like they did before the last council election, Tory big guns are dropping in Harrow, this time to support their MP candidates, despite that such visits have not been fruitful as the Tory support has been declining due to the attitudes of the Tory group on the Harrow council.
Prime Minister David Cameron visited Harrow last week and criticised Harrow council budgeting. Today, leader of the Commons William Hague, a former foreign secretary, visited North Harrow where Independents have been defeating sitting Tory councillors.
The Home Secretary Theresa May visited Rayners Lane (Harrow) before the last council election to support a remaining Tory councillor in the ward who then lost her council seat.
Similarly David Cameron, Boris Johnson and George Osborne visited Harrow before the council election to support their wobbly leader of the Harrow council who was accidently voted in by the breakaway and collusive Independent Labour Group (ILG) in a highly controversial move in September 2013.
But Cllr Hall could only lead her Conservative group to another miserable defeat, setting a pattern of defeats (Councils in 2010 & 2014 – five sitting Tory councillors were defeated – and 2 by-elections in 2013).
Background of Cllr Hall’s short-lived council administration
    • Like in 2014, voters voted in Labour administration to run the council in 2010
    • In mid-2013, a breakaway Independent Labour Group, snatched the council administration from Labour with the support of and encouragement from the Tory group leadership – the ILG seemingly had personal grudge against some in the Labour group
    • Few months later, the Tory group grabbed the council administration with the support of the well groomed Independent Labour Group who voted in the Tory group leader as the leader of the council through a highly controversial process which created the political mess i.e. a hung council where both the Labour and Tory groups had 25 councillors each, putting Tory minority administration in place by the 8 ILG councillors
    • Harrow finished up with an elected-mayor style short-lived Tory administration and three different council cabinets and administrations within a short period, and a perceived tense ‘culture of fear’ at the civic centre, marked by the resignation of the chief executive, followed by some key directors leaving

Why – explain NHS England!

While we are trying to understand the quality of transparency in the organisational and outsourcing work of the NHS and its agencies, and waiting response to our previous findings/questions*, following is a further puzzle:
As Alexandra Avenue clinic in Harrow is bleeding in the sense that Harrow has committed huge sum (nearly a million pounds a year?) of rent and there is plenty of vacant space at Alex, why Harrow Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) rents private space at Pinn Medical Centre (Pinner) whose senior partner is the current chair of Harrow CCG?
On 30 January 2015 we were alerted about and we reported on the closure of the Wasu Medical Centre in Rayners Lane to the public as soon as seizure of the premises by official receiver was announced.
Probably NHSE knew that there is a problem brewing at the practice for sometime but they left the things to the last minute. Their chaotic action to direct patients to certain clinics has caused unhappiness in the South Harrow cluster GPs and patients -– this is concerning.
We glean bitterness and concerns amongst local patients and some GPs about very poor communication with them and the way patients of the Wasu practice have been managed and directed to certain surgeries.
We would like the NHS England (NHSE), Harrow Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Care Quality Commission (CQC) to come clean and explain:
    • Didn’t you know that a problem was brewing at the Wasu Medical Centre for sometime – probably Dr Wasu was declared insolvent through the court proceedings which takes good time?
    • Why did you close the centre so abruptly while in the past common sense has prevailed under such circumstances?
    • Is it true or not that patients were seemingly given tacit direction to go and register at the Alex clinic which is part of Ridgeway surgery where a partner at the practice is also a CCG member?
Previously we have raised concerns regarding the following Harrow specific NHS matters:
    • that a Barnet GP practice based in Hendon has been given funding to provide NHS health checks, seemingly without exploring similar providers in Harrow- Public Health is a joint service which delivers a range of services across Barnet and Harrow
    • about the conflict of interests in commissioning certain services as some on the commissioning board are also providers – the Harrow Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is likely to use Prime Ministers Challenge Fund to re-establish a 7 days a week 8 am to 8pm walk-in primary care service at Alexandra Avenue clinic as well as at the Pinn Medical Centre and the new to-be hub in East Harrow

Welcome back Michael

Good that popular Harrow council chief executive Michael Lockwood, forced out by the short-lived Cllr Hall administration, is back today, but of course bad for the opposition leader Ms Hall who now has to work with the same Mr Lockwood.
Not only this embarrassment but also another defeat for the opposition leader who has been repeatedly leading her Conservative group to defeats (Councils in 2010 & 2014 – five sitting Tory councillors were defeated – and 2 by-elections in 2013).
Councillor Hall’s elected-mayor style Tory administration, grabbed through a highly controversial process, was marked by the resignation of the chief executive, followed by some key directors leaving – seemingly Hall-style administration was not possible with a strong chief executive in place.
Background
    • Like in 2014, voters voted in Labour administration to run the council in 2010
    • In mid-2013, a breakaway Independent Labour Group, snatched the council administration from Labour with the support of and encouragement from the Tory group leadership – the ILG seemingly had personal grudge against some in the Labour group which became highly toxic with the time
    • Few months later, the Tory group grabbed the council administration with the support of the well groomed Independent Labour Group who voted in the Tory group leader as the leader of the council through a highly controversial process which created the political mess i.e. a hung council where both the Labour and Tory groups had 25 councillors each, putting Tory minority administration in place by the 8 ILG councillors
    • Harrow finished up with an elected-mayor style short-lived Tory administration and three different council cabinets and administrations within a short period, and a perceived tense ‘culture of fear’ at the civic centre, marked by the resignation of the chief executive, followed by some key directors leaving

Wasu factor!

On 30 January 2015 we were alerted about and we reported on the closure of the Wasu Medical Centre in Rayners Lane to the public as soon as seizure of the premises by official receiver was announced.
Probably NHSE knew that there is a problem brewing at the practice for sometime but they left the things to the last minute. Their chaotic action to direct patients to certain clinics has caused unhappiness in the South Harrow cluster GPs and patients – this is concerning.
We glean bitterness and concerns amongst local patients and some GPs about very poor communication with them and the way patients of the Wasu practice have been managed and directed to certain surgeries.
We would like the NHS England (NHSE), Harrow Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Care Quality Commission (CQC) to come clean and explain:
      • Didn’t you know that a problem was brewing at the Wasu Medical Centre for sometime – probably Dr Wasu was declared insolvent through the court proceedings which takes good time?
      • Why did you close the centre so abruptly while in the past common sense has prevailed under such circumstances?
      • Is it true or not that patients were seemingly given tacit direction to go and register at the Alex clinic which is part of Ridgeway surgery where a partner at the practice is also a CCG member?
Previously we have raised concerns regarding the following Harrow specific NHS matters:
    • that a Barnet GP practice based in Hendon has been given funding to provide NHS health checks, seemingly without exploring similar providers in Harrow- Public Health is a joint service which delivers a range of services across Barnet and Harrow
    • about the conflict of interests in commissioning certain services as some on the commissioning board are also providers – the Harrow Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is likely to use Prime Ministers Challenge Fund to re-establish a 7 days a week 8 am to 8pm walk-in primary care service at Alexandra Avenue clinic as well as at the Pinn Medical Centre and the new to-be hub in East Harrow

NHS England adequately transparent?

We have been sent the following snap shot of the notice regarding a GP surgery and have heard concerns about the NHS follow up actions!
We don’t know the full circumstances of this GP practice but Dr Paramjit Wasu surgery was in a lowest risk band (Band 6) as recently assessed by the Care Quality Commission and it enjoyed £311,364 total funding, including £22,617 cost for the premises.
Seemingly NHSE has agreed for the WASU Medical Centre patients to be seen at the Ridgway surgery – we don’t know who contacted who for this arrangement but have become aware of the concerns about the inadequacy of information to the practices, including the surrounding practices.
Previously we have raised concerns regarding the following Harrow specific NHS matters:
    • that a Barnet GP practice based in Hendon has been given funding to provide NHS health checks, seemingly without exploring similar providers in Harrow- Public Health is a joint service which delivers a range of services across Barnet and Harrow
    • about the conflict of interests in commissioning certain services as some on the commissioning board are also providers – the Harrow Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is likely to use Prime Ministers Challenge Fund to re-establish a 7 days a week 8 am to 8pm walk-in primary care service at Alexandra Avenue clinic as well as at the Pinn Medical Centre and the new to-be hub in East Harrow