Annual Borough Council on Tuesday night saw some major changes - for us in the ICG anyway - in the team to be fielded by the administration for its final year in office before the 2010 local elections.
First and foremost came the change of Mayor. It doesn't seem like a month, let alone a year, since our own Councillor Dr. Genevieve Hibbs assumed the honour of becoming the borough's first citizen, but last night she was replaced by Conservative Chiswick Riverside councillor Paul Lynch. Likewise her Deputy Councillor Shirley Fisher was succeeded by Councillor Barbara Harris. Both will, I have no doubt, prove to be inspired appointments.
Both Genevieve and Shirley have done the ICG proud. The ICG duo imposed their own personalities on the office and enhanced the reputation of our Group throughout the borough and outside of it. Anybody who might have felt that their appointments last year were a less than serious sop to a needed coalition partner will have found themselves surprised. Genevieve held pride of place amongst the short but growing line of "characters" who have held the office of Mayor since the formation of the new administration in 2006.
More personal to me, of course, was my decision to stand down as Lead Member for Housing and Community Safety and as a member of the Executive.
In what has been almost three years of office I have done too much and made too many good friends to be able to do it all justice here. I can only say that I have worked with some first class officers and partners and that I wish every one of them all the very best of luck for the year ahead and for the future.
In Housing my first task when assuming my role in 2006 was the Hounslow Homes Management Review, which became a battleground for two conflicting sets of ideals. My mission, indeed it had been my only mission when the ICG was first launched in 1994, was a simple one - to create a level playing field on our estates which would enable all residents to become involved in the process of estate management if they so wished irrespective of their politics. That I managed to achieve this at the end of an almighty battle was due in no small part to the tenaciously loyal service that I received during that struggle in particular from Susanna White (now moved on to pastures new), Sue Witherspoon, Barbara Perry and Yvonne Birch, and from other officers who were part of their team.
In the field of Community Safety and in the associated areas of Equalities and Community Cohesion there are so many officers who have given me their total, and sometimes very vocal backing that I am frightened to try to list them in case I leave anybody out, but they all know who they are and I shall miss the terrible accents (Amolak) and the even more terrible haircuts (Emmanuel) that I encountered so frequently as I strolled through the pavilion.
It would be wrong not to give special mention to the Head of Community Safety, Kirti Sisodia, who manages the department so well, as well as Uttam Gujral, Joan Conlon, Celia Golden, Sabin Malik (cruelly taken from us by Whitehall), Kate Tomkinson, Kathy Riley, Permjit, Adrian, Moushami, Aine .... I thought I wasn't going to mention names! Seriously, every last one of them did me really, really proud.
The sense of sadness that comes with stepping down however is tempered by the knowledge that the Group will be represented on the Executive by two huge and growing talents in Councillor Paul Fisher (Isleworth) and Councillor Jon Hardy (Syon). Between the three of us we've enjoyed much debate over the last couple of years about who should play what role at the top table, but Paul had demonstrated such a command of his portfolio over the past year and Jon suggests so much promise that I'm not in the slightest doubt that me standing down was the right thing for me to do at this particular time.
Having shuffled the pack, Paul now passes Service Improvement to Jon who is also Lead Member for Housing. In turn Paul inherits Community Safety to add to his Community Engagement and (bizarrely) Parking portfolios. Paul will handle the Executive side of my responsibilities to Brentford Football Club, whilst to the likely delight of some Jon assumes responsibility for managing our relations with Thames Water over Mogden.
It's not exactly retirement, alas. As well as remaining Leader of the Community Group on the local authority I have also been nominated to the Board of Hounslow Homes, an interesting progression from having been Lead Member. Last night (Wednesday), less than 24 hours after having been confirmed as a Board Member, I sat at St. Catherine's House in the company of Alf, Mohammed, Gillian, Bernadette, David and Jill - all people I had worked with so closely (and I like to think so well) in my previous incarnation - making decisions as part of the management team that will have to be considered by the new Lead Member.
Looking at one or two comments on other threads it would appear that there is already some speculation as to the reasons behind my decision. Nobody suspects altruism in the world of politics. But, like a successful football manager, my brief is to play the right players in the right positions during the right match.
I believe I have got that decision right.
Showing posts with label Sue Witherspoon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sue Witherspoon. Show all posts
Thursday, 21 May 2009
Saturday, 21 March 2009
Another week in the life of...
With a car that these days sees the mechanic more often than his nearest and dearest and two kids who still cling tenaciously to their perceived right to be chauffeured to and from schools in opposite hemispheres, even getting to a meeting can be something of an achievement.
This week's itinerary began on Monday with a briefing by a consultant on housing allocation policy. The LOCATA system which we current use has been heavily criticised, sometimes rightly so, but still seems more fair than the old "not what you know but who you know" system. There is though a need to make it more transparent, better understood and in places more logical.
After a spot of lunch it was across to Feltham Town Centre to link up with Amolak Tatter, my superbly innovative and dependable Criminal Justice Programme Manager who along with his team was launching the Controlled Drinking Zone from a well-populated stall outside Asda. Whilst there I bumped into many old friends including former councillor John Murphy and his wife Pat.
Tuesday morning was my regular meeting with Mimi Konigsberg and Sue Witherspoon, respectively Director of Community Services and Assistant Director for Housing. As always there were a number of projects, problems and live issues to talk about. Then in the afternoon it was a discussion with Celia Golden and Permjit Chadha who have been so helpful to me in all my work as Chair of Hounslow Against Racial Harassment (HARH) and, more latterly, the Race Crime Stakeholders Group.
In the evening I had the choice of a private Executive meeting or the monthly meeting of the United Residents' Association of Ivybridge (URA). It was at the latter that it occurred to me just how far we had come and how much had been done just to reach a situation in which a few ordinary people who care about their estate could actually sit around a table with officers of Hounslow Homes and discuss such everyday issues as security, repairs, the concierge service, service charges and so forth. Less than three years ago such a benign scenario would have been deemed totally unacceptable and only those residents who were considered to be in good standing with the political establishment of the time would be afforded such a privilege, with officers effectively under orders not to communicate with those lesser mortals from outside their number. Today a very dedicated and efficient officer team are able to engage without fear with a comparatively small but well-organised and - most importantly - representative group of residents.
On Wednesday I accompanied Caroline to the doctor's surgery for a routine appointment, before having a pleasant and enjoyable lunch at a Southall restaurant with an officer with whom I have been working closely on Community Cohesion. Then in the evening the LBH Community Group held a Special Group Meeting to discuss some recent issues, not least how to deal with the fallout from the recent decision by the Sustainable Development Committee to approve the Mogden expansion plans. I am pleased to say that the Group reached a consensus view on this and some other recent concerns that were robust, proportionate and reasonable in equal measure.
The next morning Councillor Paul Fisher and I met with other members of an ad hoc Community Payback Joint Action Group to discuss how to take best advantage of the excellent service provided by the Community Payback Team under Bridget Klempner in a more joined-up way than has been happening of late. Sadly in places the "can't do" culture still prevails in areas of our corporate operation and Paul, I and other members of our Group are resolved to confront this mercilessly without any quarter being given over what is about to become the last year of the present administration.
In the evening the Isleworth & Brentford Area Committee (IBAC) met to consider, amongst other things, a request by residents of Isleworth's Hillary Drive to close the footpath which runs through the development and has created crime and security issues for residents there. The request for outright closure was opposed by The Isleworth Society (TIS) and eventually rejected, but it was also agreed that the residents of Hillary Drive deserved some protection and that safety and lighting issues would be addressed by a working party comprising councillors, TIS, the police and residents. Yet another excellent example of a community working together outside of the realm of politics to resolve everyday issues and problems. A motion tabled under Any Other Business seeking to protect the Area Committees from any attempt by anybody to weaken, merge or reduce them was supported unanimously.
Today (well I guess it's yesterday now) I had the morning to myself to catch up on some casework, but in the afternoon I travelled across to the Bridge Link Centre on Ivybridge to meet a resident to discuss an ongoing local issue, then back to Isleworth Public Hall for the first part of a meeting of Old Isleworth residents concerning traffic issues in and around Church Street.
It is with some amusement that I sometimes receive advice, usually from predecessors who failed residents during their time in office and who were subsequently rejected, that I should find myself a 9 to 5 job and only give the remainder of my time to my constituents and to the public who elected me. Even without such a burden there don't seem to be enough hours in the day, and important work does from time to time get overlooked.
So much so that at nearly three in the morning I find myself recording my week's deeds for posterity.
This week's itinerary began on Monday with a briefing by a consultant on housing allocation policy. The LOCATA system which we current use has been heavily criticised, sometimes rightly so, but still seems more fair than the old "not what you know but who you know" system. There is though a need to make it more transparent, better understood and in places more logical.
After a spot of lunch it was across to Feltham Town Centre to link up with Amolak Tatter, my superbly innovative and dependable Criminal Justice Programme Manager who along with his team was launching the Controlled Drinking Zone from a well-populated stall outside Asda. Whilst there I bumped into many old friends including former councillor John Murphy and his wife Pat.
Tuesday morning was my regular meeting with Mimi Konigsberg and Sue Witherspoon, respectively Director of Community Services and Assistant Director for Housing. As always there were a number of projects, problems and live issues to talk about. Then in the afternoon it was a discussion with Celia Golden and Permjit Chadha who have been so helpful to me in all my work as Chair of Hounslow Against Racial Harassment (HARH) and, more latterly, the Race Crime Stakeholders Group.
In the evening I had the choice of a private Executive meeting or the monthly meeting of the United Residents' Association of Ivybridge (URA). It was at the latter that it occurred to me just how far we had come and how much had been done just to reach a situation in which a few ordinary people who care about their estate could actually sit around a table with officers of Hounslow Homes and discuss such everyday issues as security, repairs, the concierge service, service charges and so forth. Less than three years ago such a benign scenario would have been deemed totally unacceptable and only those residents who were considered to be in good standing with the political establishment of the time would be afforded such a privilege, with officers effectively under orders not to communicate with those lesser mortals from outside their number. Today a very dedicated and efficient officer team are able to engage without fear with a comparatively small but well-organised and - most importantly - representative group of residents.
On Wednesday I accompanied Caroline to the doctor's surgery for a routine appointment, before having a pleasant and enjoyable lunch at a Southall restaurant with an officer with whom I have been working closely on Community Cohesion. Then in the evening the LBH Community Group held a Special Group Meeting to discuss some recent issues, not least how to deal with the fallout from the recent decision by the Sustainable Development Committee to approve the Mogden expansion plans. I am pleased to say that the Group reached a consensus view on this and some other recent concerns that were robust, proportionate and reasonable in equal measure.
The next morning Councillor Paul Fisher and I met with other members of an ad hoc Community Payback Joint Action Group to discuss how to take best advantage of the excellent service provided by the Community Payback Team under Bridget Klempner in a more joined-up way than has been happening of late. Sadly in places the "can't do" culture still prevails in areas of our corporate operation and Paul, I and other members of our Group are resolved to confront this mercilessly without any quarter being given over what is about to become the last year of the present administration.
In the evening the Isleworth & Brentford Area Committee (IBAC) met to consider, amongst other things, a request by residents of Isleworth's Hillary Drive to close the footpath which runs through the development and has created crime and security issues for residents there. The request for outright closure was opposed by The Isleworth Society (TIS) and eventually rejected, but it was also agreed that the residents of Hillary Drive deserved some protection and that safety and lighting issues would be addressed by a working party comprising councillors, TIS, the police and residents. Yet another excellent example of a community working together outside of the realm of politics to resolve everyday issues and problems. A motion tabled under Any Other Business seeking to protect the Area Committees from any attempt by anybody to weaken, merge or reduce them was supported unanimously.
Today (well I guess it's yesterday now) I had the morning to myself to catch up on some casework, but in the afternoon I travelled across to the Bridge Link Centre on Ivybridge to meet a resident to discuss an ongoing local issue, then back to Isleworth Public Hall for the first part of a meeting of Old Isleworth residents concerning traffic issues in and around Church Street.
It is with some amusement that I sometimes receive advice, usually from predecessors who failed residents during their time in office and who were subsequently rejected, that I should find myself a 9 to 5 job and only give the remainder of my time to my constituents and to the public who elected me. Even without such a burden there don't seem to be enough hours in the day, and important work does from time to time get overlooked.
So much so that at nearly three in the morning I find myself recording my week's deeds for posterity.
Sunday, 3 August 2008
Old dogs and new tricks
On Thursday I and the excellent Sue Witherspoon, Acting Director of Housing at the London Borough of Hounslow, made a presentation to the Board of Hounslow Homes about the coalition administration's vision as defined through the new Hounslow Plan, and its ambitious Performance Improvement Programme (PIP) which will create the structures through which it will be realised.
Such a presentation was never going to be greeted with whoops of enthusiasm by everybody on the Board. When Hounslow Homes was set up in 2003 under the old administration it was regarded by most as fairly much an appendage of the New Labour political machine. All five council appointees on the new Board were either serving Labour councillors or unsuccessful Labour candidates. Having been rejected at the polls by the borough's tenants, the then administration thought it a good idea to cock a snook at the electorate by putting these same people in charge of the borough's housing stock.
The five tenant representatives were elected behind closed doors and, amazingly, usually resulted in the election of known New Labour activists. The ten council and tenant Board members would then choose another five independent members to make up the remainder of the Board of fifteen.
On the staff side the set-up was not entirely dissimilar. Many of the problems on our estates described elsewhere on this blog arose from the fact that those of us who were the "wrong" councillors were effectively frozen out of discussions relating to things happening in the wards which we had been elected to represent, as were the tenants who were known to have supported us.
When I took over the Housing portfolio I resolved to introduce a new culture into Housing in Hounslow. I believed there was a better way to conduct business, one which was not only more ethical but which also served our tenants and leaseholders better. The conduct of business by whisper and secret handshake may well work in other institutions, but in the field of government it is not only undemocratic, it also leads invariably to stagnancy in ideas and complacency and inertia in service delivery.
Nevertheless the Old Guard retains an important presence on the Board and, surprising as it may sound to some people, I have no issue with this. When we first came into office, both the Community Group and the Conservatives agreed to elect council representatives to the Board on the basis of political balance, rather than political allegiance as had been the case previously. Consequently two of the five seats were offered to Labour, an offer which they happily accepted without any evident embarrassment, even though we all know full well that in the event of Labour being voted back into office in Hounslow the old, undemocratic practices would immediately be restored. As Councillor Mark Bowen rightly said during a recent debate at Borough Council, we do things a better way because we are better.
Similarly I have no issue with other Labour activists being on the Board, just so long as they are properly elected or appointed by means of an open and transparent process. To me it is healthy, and a good thing, for all shades of opinion to be represented on such an important body.
Anyway, I digress. My brief was to present the administration's vision to the Board and I entirely anticipated that the political element would not pass up the offer of a platform from which to give voice to their sometimes very peculiar notions of where they believe me, as Lead Member, to be coming from.
The first indication that this opportunity would not be passed by came as soon as Sue introduced the ruling coalition as being one comprising the Conservative and Community Groups. "And the Liberal Democrats," interjected one of the Labour councillors, obviously disappointed by the more selective and intelligent approach to opposition taken by the small Lib Dem team on the council than by his own gang.
But it was at the Question and Answer session following the presentation that the claque really got into the swing. One member delivered himself of the opinion, completely unsupported by any evidence at all, whether circumstantial or actual, that I intended to sell off all HRA (Hounslow Revenue Account) land to developers to build private accommodation. Another, paradoxically, took the opportunity to plug a proposed development in which a close relative of a very well-known local Labour politician has or recently had an interest, even though the issue had no connection with Hounslow Homes whatsoever.
However, when all is said and done what really was pleasing about the evening was the level of interest being taken by some of the newer members of the Board, who seemed genuinely keen to know where the future lay for social housing in the borough, and how their partnership with the local authority might be further developed. This, and the fact that I already enjoy a good and positive working relationship with most of the current senior officers at Hounslow Homes, bodes well for the organisation in the future.
I hope I am not being naive when I say I believe that many who may at first have been sceptical now see the new positivism as being an altogether better way. There is no reason, other than possibly party diktat, that this positivity cannot in time transcend organisational allegiance and permit a group of people who are united in their desire to improve social housing in our borough to all work together in a spirit of openness and mutual trust.
I remain of the view that it is just possible in certain circumstances, given the time and the will, to teach an old dog new tricks. To those who counsel that it would have been easier to have just shot the dog and been done with, I would simply point out that I still have the gun.
Such a presentation was never going to be greeted with whoops of enthusiasm by everybody on the Board. When Hounslow Homes was set up in 2003 under the old administration it was regarded by most as fairly much an appendage of the New Labour political machine. All five council appointees on the new Board were either serving Labour councillors or unsuccessful Labour candidates. Having been rejected at the polls by the borough's tenants, the then administration thought it a good idea to cock a snook at the electorate by putting these same people in charge of the borough's housing stock.
The five tenant representatives were elected behind closed doors and, amazingly, usually resulted in the election of known New Labour activists. The ten council and tenant Board members would then choose another five independent members to make up the remainder of the Board of fifteen.
On the staff side the set-up was not entirely dissimilar. Many of the problems on our estates described elsewhere on this blog arose from the fact that those of us who were the "wrong" councillors were effectively frozen out of discussions relating to things happening in the wards which we had been elected to represent, as were the tenants who were known to have supported us.
When I took over the Housing portfolio I resolved to introduce a new culture into Housing in Hounslow. I believed there was a better way to conduct business, one which was not only more ethical but which also served our tenants and leaseholders better. The conduct of business by whisper and secret handshake may well work in other institutions, but in the field of government it is not only undemocratic, it also leads invariably to stagnancy in ideas and complacency and inertia in service delivery.
Nevertheless the Old Guard retains an important presence on the Board and, surprising as it may sound to some people, I have no issue with this. When we first came into office, both the Community Group and the Conservatives agreed to elect council representatives to the Board on the basis of political balance, rather than political allegiance as had been the case previously. Consequently two of the five seats were offered to Labour, an offer which they happily accepted without any evident embarrassment, even though we all know full well that in the event of Labour being voted back into office in Hounslow the old, undemocratic practices would immediately be restored. As Councillor Mark Bowen rightly said during a recent debate at Borough Council, we do things a better way because we are better.
Similarly I have no issue with other Labour activists being on the Board, just so long as they are properly elected or appointed by means of an open and transparent process. To me it is healthy, and a good thing, for all shades of opinion to be represented on such an important body.
Anyway, I digress. My brief was to present the administration's vision to the Board and I entirely anticipated that the political element would not pass up the offer of a platform from which to give voice to their sometimes very peculiar notions of where they believe me, as Lead Member, to be coming from.
The first indication that this opportunity would not be passed by came as soon as Sue introduced the ruling coalition as being one comprising the Conservative and Community Groups. "And the Liberal Democrats," interjected one of the Labour councillors, obviously disappointed by the more selective and intelligent approach to opposition taken by the small Lib Dem team on the council than by his own gang.
But it was at the Question and Answer session following the presentation that the claque really got into the swing. One member delivered himself of the opinion, completely unsupported by any evidence at all, whether circumstantial or actual, that I intended to sell off all HRA (Hounslow Revenue Account) land to developers to build private accommodation. Another, paradoxically, took the opportunity to plug a proposed development in which a close relative of a very well-known local Labour politician has or recently had an interest, even though the issue had no connection with Hounslow Homes whatsoever.
However, when all is said and done what really was pleasing about the evening was the level of interest being taken by some of the newer members of the Board, who seemed genuinely keen to know where the future lay for social housing in the borough, and how their partnership with the local authority might be further developed. This, and the fact that I already enjoy a good and positive working relationship with most of the current senior officers at Hounslow Homes, bodes well for the organisation in the future.
I hope I am not being naive when I say I believe that many who may at first have been sceptical now see the new positivism as being an altogether better way. There is no reason, other than possibly party diktat, that this positivity cannot in time transcend organisational allegiance and permit a group of people who are united in their desire to improve social housing in our borough to all work together in a spirit of openness and mutual trust.
I remain of the view that it is just possible in certain circumstances, given the time and the will, to teach an old dog new tricks. To those who counsel that it would have been easier to have just shot the dog and been done with, I would simply point out that I still have the gun.
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