Green budget consultation

Green councillors want people and planet put first in the council’s budget.

Over 160,000 people live in Reading but there were just 114 responses to the vague Labour Council budget consultation. Only 21 people agreed with Labour’s proposals.

Green councillors support some measures in the budget such as the one-off grant to help those on low incomes manage the council tax increase. However we are concerned about other elements of the budget.

Complete our brief 4 budget questions survey here to let us know what you think.

We are concerned about the £50,000 cut proposed to the drugs and alcohol service (business case here on page 75) with the UK drug related deaths at an all-time high.

The council needs to do more on climate change. We estimate that the council has been properly insulating less than 50 properties per year (ones which are not currently well insulated). In Reading we need to be insulating 4000 homes per year to cut carbon emissions, tackle poverty and create jobs.

We oppose the cuts to the pay, terms and conditions of Reading Council staff including some care workers (business case here on page 99) and the impact this will have on staff morale, recruiting and retaining staff.

The council’s full budget papers can be found here: https://democracy.reading.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=136&MId=4503

The business cases that go with the budget papers can be found below. Disappointingly these have not been published by the council making it impossible for members of the public to understand the budget.

Directorate of Adult Care and Health Services business cases https://www.dropbox.com/s/6pcnzxptqwj7p4f/Directorate%20of%20Adult%20Care%20and%20Health%20Services%20Business%20Cases%20February%202021.pdf?dl=0

Directorate of Economic Growth and Neighbourhood Services business cases https://www.dropbox.com/s/uhrej0gwqq4mvyz/Directorate%20of%20Economic%20Growth%20and%20Neighbourhood%20Services%20Business%20Cases%20February%202021.pdf?dl=0

Directorate of Chief Executive and Corporate Business Cases https://www.dropbox.com/s/iqu1xqorp5mud9g/Directorate%20of%20Chief%20Executive%20and%20Corporate%20Business%20Cases%20February%202021.pdf?dl=0

Remember to complete our brief 4 budget questions survey here to let us know what you think.

Update on Henley Road Cemetery Muslim graves section

I have been contacted by residents concerned about council plans to grass over graves at the Henley Road cemetery in the Muslim graves section. I raised this with the council and got the following response which is being sent out to families with relatives buried there. Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help.

“Further to previous correspondence regarding your [mother/father’s] grave and the intention for the section where [she/he] is buried to be laid to lawn, I can now confirm that Reading Borough Council will be writing to all grave owners with loved ones buried in that section, with an option to change the grave type to a traditional grave. The decision to change grave type will only be able to be approved by the grave owner and the costs associated with this change will also be their responsibility.

Signs will also be placed near this section so that all loved ones are aware of this option. Grave owners will have a 6 months notification period to confirm their preferred grave type and a further 6 months for stone sets to be implemented. Upon receipt of the request to change to the traditional grave type, a letter will be sent you the grave owner by Reading Borough Council confirming the fees payable. These fees only cover the licence costs for RBC, they do not cover the cost of the headstone and traditional grave itself. Quotations will need to be obtained by the grave owner from licenced stone masons approved by Reading Borough Council. We will send you a list of approved stone masons.

I am also writing to the Chair of each of the mosques in Reading with this message to confirm the position. Additionally, I will share with them my hope that families who cannot afford to cover expenses but wish for a traditional grave should be duly supported by the mosque communities.

It is clear that information pertaining to the graves in this cemetery section was not properly conveyed by community representatives. To mitigate against communication lapses occurring again, I am committed to the following:-

• Community engagement sessions to be arranged to ensure the decision above and all future relevant information is also communicated to the wider Muslim community. All of these sessions will include Muslim councillors, representatives from each of the Reading mosques, representation from the Pakistani Community Centre and the Lead Councillor for Corporate and Consumer Services (or pertinent portfolio Councillor) and a representative from the Council’s Bereavement Services management team.

• Commitment to clear communication (via website and leaflets) with bereaved families. Leaflets are to be prepared in English and an appropriate second language providing:
o A clear description of what a Lawn grave is, how they are maintained, and the costs involved.
o A clear description of what a Traditional grave is, the conditions regarding requirement for a stone set and the costs involved.
o The Terms & Conditions for both grave types in respect of size, planting and use of adornments.

• Burial Notices to be shared with grave owners as well as the Licensee acting on behalf of the family.

• Written agreements to be introduced between Reading Borough Council and mosques with full details as above.

I would like to thank you for your representations and hope that you find this to be an amicable position.

Please do not hesitate to get in touch with me should you have any further queries about this specific issue or contact the Bereavement Team for general enquiries and to make arrangements for your loved one’s grave. Grave owners can expect to receive letters from Reading Borough Council in [the coming weeks].”

Black history mural listing update from Historic England

Louise Keane (Katesgrove Green Party candidate)
campaigning to save the central club and the mural.

I wrote to Historic England on behalf of Green councillors and campaigners in support of listing the Black History Mural. They got back to me with a few more details about what they plan to do. See below and let me know what you think. We will keep working with the black community to give the mural the protection it deserves.

"Many thanks for your email. We will be reviewing some of the listings in Reading as part of the upcoming High Streets Heritage Action Zone project, and this will include assessing the Black History Mural in London Street for listing. We took the view that considering the mural for listing as part of the HSHAZ would be appropriate because the cultural programme will enable working closely with local communities to understand the significance of the mural (and other candidates for listing) ensuring their input into the town’s listing project as a whole. You can find more information on that project here; https://historicengland.org.uk/services-skills/heritage-action-zones/regenerating-historic-high-streets/.

The assessment process itself can take around 6 months, although it is not clear exactly when we will begin, given the current circumstances. But please rest assured that we will be assessing the mural for listing over the coming months, and we will engage with the community as part of this process."

Royal Berkshire Hospital needs your help...

Dear all, please see below a message to Reading businesses and their employees sent on behalf of the Royal Berkshire Hospital by Reading Central and Abbey Quarter BIDs (Business Improvement District).

Many businesses in and around Reading have been forced to temporarily cease or restrict their operations due to coronavirus restrictions. At the same time many of you have been in touch with us to ask how you and your staff who are not able to work as normal can help with the response to the crisis.

The health and care system is facing particular pressure and the Royal Berkshire Hospital has identified a number of roles where help is urgently needed to provide additional resilience in the following areas:

Porters
Stores
Domestic (cleaning)
Catering staff
Welfare facilities
Management (operational and senior)

If you are a business or an individual in a position to help in these areas you can contact Covid.deployment&volunteering@royalberkshire.nhs.uk or call the hospital's coordinating team on 07500 835 565. The hospital is offering a range of paid casual working as well as volunteering opportunities.

Coronavirus: #rdguk council support on council tax

Green councillors have been lobbying for the council to take a caring approach to council tax at this tough time with Coronavirus at large. See below for the latest Reading Council position, correct on 2/4/2020 - web links at the bottom of the post:

"The Council’s Council Tax Reduction Scheme and the ability to spread payments over 12 rather than 10 months are measures already available in addition to statutory discounts, to assist residents who are experiencing difficulty with paying their Council Tax.

As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Government have announced a Hardship Fund of £500 million nationally which is available to support economically vulnerable individuals and households, Reading will receive £953k. The Government have stated that they expect billing authorities to use this to provide all recipients of working age Local Council Tax Support (LCTS) with a further reduction to their 2020/21 council tax bill of £150. We expect to be able to rebill these residents within the next 14 days, as soon as we have received the software scripting.

Reading has a working age Council Tax Support case load of approx. 4,400, equating to £660k of the funding. The remainder of the fund allocated to Reading, £292k, will be used to support residents through our Hardship Policy.

It should be noted the Hardship Fund is in addition to the packages already announced nationally to support businesses with employee remuneration costs, increases to national benefits and cuts to waiting times as well as support for the self-employed.

Residents who are worried about meeting their council tax payments during the pandemic are encouraged to seek financial assistance through our council tax reduction scheme and to contact us to agree payment plans. We will discuss options with residents based on their individual circumstances, these may include:

• reduced payments for an agreed period, with the balance due over the remaining months of the financial year
• payment breaks where appropriate, with the balance due over the remaining months of the financial year

The Council has temporarily suspended court action for anyone in council tax, business rates or rent arrears and all existing cases with our enforcement agents have been temporarily suspended to avoid any unnecessary distress at this time.

Bills and reminders will continue to be issued and our enforcement agents will contact residents that fall into arrears with their enforcement arrangements, to either revise or suspend payments. This will avoid a ‘bottleneck’ when the current crisis is over and residents falling further into arrears as well as assist the Council’s cashflow. The Council’s enforcement agents will also offer welfare benefit advice, which will assist in reducing pressure of calls to our customer services team at this time.

We would encourage residents to continue to make affordable payments and those that are facing financial difficulty to contact the Council to discuss their options and agree an affordable repayment plan so that debts do not mount up and become unmanageable in the longer term."

More information here: https://www.reading.gov.uk/discretionary-payments

Or from the One Reading Coronavirus Hub: https://www.reading.gov.uk/coronavirussupport

Reading University end of term update

We got the following update from Reading University. Green councillors will keep working with the University to improve the town for everyone.

This is probably my last post of the year so merry xmas everyone.

***

As many of you may know, the University term ended on 13 December and the University closes for Christmas on the afternoon of Friday 20 December. Before we close, I wanted to send an update on local community activity this term (I’ve also sent this to local community groups, including East Reading SNF, Earley NAG, NARA, ACER, MERA, KCA and Woodley and North Earley Forum).

The University opens again on Thursday 2 January, but I will not be in the office until Monday 6 January. If you need to speak to someone at the University on 2 or 3 January, please call the switchboard on 0118 987 5123 or University Security Services on 0118 378 7799. University Street Wardens will begin patrols in local neighbourhoods again from Saturday 11 January.

New Neighbourhood Complaints Officer – January 2020To start with some very good news – the University has created extra resources to help manage neighbourhood complaints. From January, a new part-time Neighbourhood Complaints Officer will work Monday-Friday 8.30-12.30. This will provide extra resource to respond to complaints quickly and proactively manage local issues. Please continue to use the telephone number 0118 378 6764 and community@reading.ac.uk to raise complaints or issues and do feel free to contact me directly at any time.

3G All Weather Playing Pitch Event – 16 January 2020The University is holding an information event about the proposed 3G pitch on Thursday 16th January between 15:00-20:00, at the Reading University SportsPark. We are leafletting houses around the campus this week, including New Road, Elmhurst Avenue, Northcourt Avenue, Redlands Road and Marlborough Road. I have attached an electronic copy of the invitation – please do pass onto anyone who might be interested. I will also send a reminder out at the start of January.

Safety review of Whiteknights lakeWe carried out a safety review of the Whiteknights Campus lake and made a number of upgrades, which you can read in detail on our website.

University Alcohol Action PartnershipThe University has created a University Community Alcohol Partnership with Reading Borough Council, academics and professional service colleagues, to reduce alcohol harm by students on campus and in the local community. This term we have completed the following tasks:

•         We have held 3 alcohol awareness and brief intervention training sessions at the start of term aimed at student bar workers and hall welfare reps. The training gives advice on the risks of excessive alcohol consumption, myth-busting, practical tips to consume alcohol responsibly and ways to support friends and peers. We have had very positive feedback and will continue to work with students and experts to further develop the training, before rolling it out to RUSU sports clubs and societies.

•         We launched our Be A Mate campaign during national Alcohol Awareness Week. The campaign includes campus wide posters, social media activity and practical tools to encourage students to look after one another when consuming alcohol.

•         The practical tools include measuring glasses for students to use to learn more about units and measurements and scratch-cards, which students can use to self-determine how much alcohol they consume a week and where to get help if they need it. We know from other universities that both these things are very successful at initiating conversations, which is one of the most challenging barriers when addressing alcohol harm.

•         The Students’ Union Welfare Officer recorded a podcast on alcohol and mental health, including interesting interviews with the welfare rep of the rugby club and our expert on alcohol, Dr Ranjita Dhital, Lecturer in Pharmacy Practice.

•         We have held a number of regular alcohol-free events on campus throughout the term. Some of these have been more popular than others, and are useful in learning why and how students consume alcohol. Free tasters of alcohol-free drinks have been well received by students, as have been low-alcohol and alcohol-free drinks for sale in halls bars. However serving alcohol-free beverages on busy club nights have proven less successful, but we know from feedback that many teetotal students want to socialise in the same venues as their friends who do drink alcohol – so we need to do more research and try more of these events.

•         We are working with the new Alcohol and Drug provider in Reading, Change Grow Live (CGL), to provide support to students on campus and to potentially provide training to students who are disciplined for misconduct relating to misuse of alcohol and drugs.

Community Forum reportI recently sent a link to a report on the University Community Forum held on 26 September. You can find reports from all the University Community Forums held since 2018, on a new community webpage on the University website. This page will be regularly updated with community meeting reports.

Reading and Wokingham Student Strategy Partnership
The University has created a Reading and Wokingham Student Strategy Partnership, based on best practice from Manchester universities and Manchester City Council. The partnership includes key officers from Reading and Wokingham borough councils to discuss issues relating to students living in local neighbourhoods. The aim is to agree a partnership action plan for how we reduce negative impacts. We held the first meeting on 21 November 2019, and are currently agreeing the action plan including measurable activities. Once we have agreed an action plan, this will be published on our new community webpage.

Community Leaders ForumFinally, we aim to create a forum to bring together community leaders in the area, to better understand University impact in local neighbourhoods, and improve the way we communicate with community groups. I am still working on the detail of this forum, but we aim to include chairs of community and residents groups, ward councillors, faith leaders, trustees of non-profits and small business leaders. More information to follow on this.

Greens will keep up the pressure for the university to be a better neighbour

The University and students are an important part of the town. Below are Reading University's engagement plans for the coming year. We will keep up the pressure for the University to be a better neighbour and bring down the number of community complaints – which have risen sharply recently.

University of Reading Autumn Term: community engagement plans

Dates for Autumn Term

· First year students are arriving into hall accommodation this weekend (21-23 September).

· Freshers’ Fortnight is held on 24 September – 5 October

· Autumn Term starts on 1 October and ends on 14 December

Partnership working

The University is working with several partners over the year ahead, including local police and council teams. The Students’ Union (RUSU) has also put plans in place to ensure students are safe when socialising, and to minimise impact on local neighbours.

Freshers’ Activity (24/9 – 5/10)

· Local police teams will be putting on additional vehicle patrols throughout the Freshers’ fortnight, both in residential areas and in the town centre. Their aims are to support students who may be vulnerable and to manage any community issues.

· The Street Support Team (street wardens) will be working every night for the first week of Freshers’ when the majority of students will be out socialising. The wardens will be managing noise issues in residential streets and at bus stops.

· RUSU and Reading Buses will transport students from the centre of campus into town. Each hall social committee will escort their students to the centre of campus to go into town. These buses will only run throughout Freshers’ Fortnight, but may encourage students to use the 21/21a bus from campus into town.

· RUSU’s Safety Bus will be based on Friar Street, for students to get back to campus for free, after their night out.

· Training for social committees has been provided by RUSU and the University to ensure the hall-based committees keep students safe and minimise impact to neighbours when organising social events. The committees also received guidance from the police, street pastors and street wardens.

· Guidance provided to first year students. Throughout next week new students in halls will receive talks from the University and RUSU to welcome them to halls. These talks include advice on being a considerate neighbour when living and socialising in Reading.

Street Support Team during Autumn Term

· After the first week of Freshers’, the Street Support Team (street wardens) will revert to working Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, the key student nights.

· The street wardens will work in pairs between 2200 and 0400 hours a night.

· They will focus on residential streets in the Whiteknights Road, Erleigh Road and Christchurch Road areas. This will include bus stops on Wokingham Road and Christchurch Road.

· Feedback can be sent to community@reading.ac.uk or you can talk to the wardens when they are on duty (they wear hi-vis and University branded jackets).

Hello Neighbour campaign

· The University and RUSU will be delivering packs of information to all student households in local neighbourhoods throughout October.

· This will include advice on waste and recycling, parking, and will encourage students to get to know their neighbours.

· The information will also be communicated to RUSU’s sports societies and clubs, as many committee members are second year students living in local neighbourhoods.

· We will hold a welcome event for students and local residents to give them an opportunity to meet (location and date to be confirmed).

Recycling campaign

· The University is working with Reading Council to improve recycling by students living in local neighbourhoods. One of the frequent complaints received by the University is students not recycling their empty glass bottles. Reading Council are also keen to reduce the amount of contaminated recycling across the borough.

· The University will pilot new schemes to encourage students to recycle their glass bottles, including a reward scheme and some information delivered directly to the student households where issues occur.

Additional resource to manage complaints

· This year the Community Relations Team will be made up of one manager (Sarah Gardner) and four student community assistants. The assistants will each focus on residential streets where there are high concentrations of student households.

· The assistants will start in mid-October and begin to meet students and local residents in these defined areas. They will also help to resolve any issues between neighbours.

· If you have a complaint about a student household please email community@reading.ac.uk or call 0118 378 6764 and one of the team will help.

Other new activity

· RUSU has created a Safe Taxi Scheme, which means that students who haven’t got any money to get home after a night out, can use the RUSU safe taxi scheme. Yell Cars (based on campus) are providing the taxis and all drivers are DPS checked.

· The bars on campus are trialling a new live bus tracker. Park Bar will display live bus times, which will hopefully encourage students to stay in the bar until their bus is due. This might alleviate some of the noise issues at bus stops, as it may mean groups of students are spending less time waiting for a bus.

Community Forum in January
The University ran a Community Forum in May, which was well-attended by local residents. We had hoped to hold the next event in November, but given the departure of Sir David Bell as the Vice-Chancellor, we will hold the next event in January when the Acting Vice-Chancellor, Professor Robert Van de Noort will be settled in post. Date and time will be circulated in due course.

Stopping HMOs from taking over

Green Councillors have been concerned for some time about the rise in the number of ‘HMOs’ across Reading, especially in densely populated areas like Redlands. (An HMO is a house or flat occupied by three or more tenants, who form two or more households and share space like bathrooms and kitchens.) It’s not that a single HMO can affect an area – it’s the build-up of a number of these that changes the balance of a street causing problems with waste and bins for example.

On Planning Committee, we’ve argued against more HMOs in streets like Hamilton Road and Upper Redlands Road because it’s the mix that’s important, but sadly Labour councillors give these permission every time.

However, there is a change in licensing laws coming - currently, houses with three or more storeys and five or more occupants need to have an HMO licence.  However, from 1st October all HMOs with five or more occupants will need to have an HMO licence. Hopefully this will mean proper regulation of poor landlords and deter anyone just wanting to make a quick financial return at the neighbourhood’s expense.

We care about the area and we want a mix of different types of accommodation in a road to create strong, balanced communities. We will continue to work hard, with residents, all year round on issues like these.

For more details, go to the Council website www.reading.gov.uk/hmo

Has Reading Council missed your bin collection?

A number of people have contacted us recently with the council missing their bin collection. This is what we would advise you to do if it happens to you.

1. Contact the council as soon as possible. The council say to do it either on the day the collection is missed (after 4 PM) or by 5 PM the next day. If you miss 5 PM the next day then still contact them and say that your bin collection has been missed. This page has details on how to contact the council: http://cllrrobwhite.blogspot.com/p/q_13.html

2. The council should give you a reason why the bin wasn't collected – recycling bin not put out in the right place for collection for example.

UPDATE: following our campaigning if the council says your bin wasn't put in the right place you should get a letter from them telling you where to put your bin – on the pavement or if the pavement is narrow at/near the boundary of your property. They should still take your bin but will tell you that it won't be taken in future.

3. If you aren't satisfied with the response – the council says the bin wasn't put in the right place (presented properly). Then say that you would like to complain. The collection vehicle has a camera on it so you could ask for the footage showing that the bin isn't presented properly. You could also ask for the footage 2 weeks before which might show them collecting the bin from the same place – which in my opinion is good grounds for them coming out and collecting your bin.

4. If at the end of this process still feel that the council has unfairly not let your bin then let me know: rob@readinggreenparty.org.uk

We are lobbying the Council to improve its bin collection service and to do a better job of keeping people informed. We care about the area and will keep working to improve it.

University launches street support team and forum

Students are a welcome and important part of the community. However, complaints about student behaviour have been on the rise this year in Reading. We have been lobbying the University to spend more on community relations. It's great to see new initiatives (Street Support Team and forum) from the University to address people's concerns. Details below.

Also, right at the bottom of the Street Support Team section is the email address for Sarah Gardner, the University's Community Relations Manager. I know she has helped a number of people and I would encourage anyone with concerns to contact her.

Street Support Team

A pilot community support scheme

We’re pleased to announce the launch of the University’s new Street Support Team, from Monday 16 April. The trial scheme is part of the University’s plans to promote positive community relationships between students and non-student neighbours.

The Street Support Team will provide advice to students socialising late at night, encouraging them to be responsible, respectful and safe when travelling through residential areas. The team will also help students feel safe and supported late at night and clean up any bottles/glass left on the streets, as they go.

The highly trained and highly visible team will be working in residential streets around the campus between 10pm and 4am several nights a week. They’ll primarily be based between:

· Redlands Road and London Road, including St George’s Hall.

· Whiteknights Road and Wokingham Road, including Bridges/Wessex Halls and the number 17 bus stop.

· Northcourt Avenue and Christchurch Green, including St Patrick’s/Sherfield Halls and the number 21/21a bus stop.

The University has created this trial based on views from local residents, neighbourhood police teams, Reading Borough Council and other community partners in the town. We are grateful for all the input and support.

The scheme will run as a trial over the summer and autumn terms. We’ll be reviewing the scheme regularly and we’d be very grateful for feedback so we can make sure the team are working in the best way possible. We will also use the feedback to consider long-term delivery.

Please send any questions or feedback to Sarah Gardner, Community Relations Manager at community@reading.ac.uk

University Community Forum – 9 May

I would like to invite you to a Community Forum being held at the University on Wednesday 9 May at 6.30pm.

The forum will provide an opportunity for residents living alongside the University to meet with the Vice-Chancellor, Sir David Bell, and ask questions about the University’s local engagement and impact. We hope that this will be an opportunity for local neighbours to shape and influence our community strategy. A short panel discussion, chaired by the Vice-Chancellor, with updates about the Street Support Team (see below) will be followed by a Q&A session. In addition to University colleagues, the panel will include representatives from local police teams.

The event will be taking place at the London Road campus, building 22, room G01. Refreshments will be provided.

As we have limited room space, it would be helpful if you could RSVP if you wish to attend. community@reading.ac.uk

More action needed on recycling in Reading

The Green party wants to see a better recycling scheme locally which allows you to put more things in your red recycling bin.

Following lobbying from us and others the council has recently increased the range of plastics which you can recycle. More information here: http://www.reading.gov.uk/rubbish

However, the recycling rate in Reading is a very low at 31% – compared to the national rate of 45%. Reading has a recycling target of 50% of household waste by 2020. However recent changes to the scheme are only expected to increase our recycling rate by 1 or 2%. More action is needed and we will keep up the pressure to: eliminate waste at source, get more reuse happening and increase the recycling rate through things like a food waste collection.

The Council needs to be bolder if it is to hit its recycling target.

School cooks in Reading to get a real Living Wage

I followed up on on school cooks getting a real Living Wage at a recent council meeting. In summary they will do shortly! Question and answer below.

If you want to help us campaign on this and other issues then please get involved: https://reading.greenparty.org.uk/get-involved/

Real Living Wage for School Cooks
The Green Party has long been campaigning for everyone in Reading to receive the Living Wage Foundation Living Wage. This will make a big difference to tackling poverty. The Council recently produced a report on phasing in the Living Wage Foundation Living Wage for people working on the school meals contract. The recommendations were not voted on though as the report was pulled from the ACE Committee.
I would like to see school cooks getting the Real Living Wage as soon as possible. Please can I get an update on progress to make sure people working on the school meals contract get a Living Wage?

REPLY by Councillor Jones (Lead Councillor for Education):

As councillors know, this Council is a publically recognised supporter of the Living Wage Foundation Living Wage, as the plaque in the council offices foyer proudly declares.

The report, to which Councillor White refers, was wrongly included on the agenda of the last ACE Committee meeting and was a first draft prepared by council officers. As it did not have my support nor that of the Labour Group, it was withdrawn from the agenda.

I am pleased to advise that the contract extension has now been negotiated with the current provider of school meals and this includes the payment of the real living wage in full to all staff from the beginning of that extension later this summer - we made it clear to Council officers and the contractor that we would accept nothing less.

Last year homelessness in Reading was up 1033%...

Since 2010 homelessness has increased massively in Reading peaking at a shocking 1033% increase in 2016/2017. Fortunately this has levelled off but the increase from 2010 is still modelled to be nearly 700% this year – see the bottom of this email for homelessness and rough sleeping statistics.

That’s a forecast 285 families and individuals without a roof over their head, in the fear of ending up out in the freezing cold on the street, who have been offered help by the council.

Rough sleeping has also continued to grow in Reading. And it is deeply concerning that the rate of increase is speeding up! Of further concern is the fact that local homelessness charities say that this figure is an underestimate.

That is at least 22 people out on the street in the freezing cold.

If you have walked through Reading town centre at any time recently will have seen people in doorways. Cardboard and blankets laid out. This is desperate and sad.

Unfortunately at a council meeting last year Labour councillors voted to cut the budget for tackling homelessness by £245,000. This is a budget reduction of 17%!

As the Equality Impact Assessment noted when this cut was nodded through by the Labour group, it will impact on the physical health and mental health of people who are homeless and increase substance misuse.

The life expectancy of someone living on the streets is 47 years old. Approximately 30 years lower than average.

Green councillors support more funding for public services such as housing and homelessness. We agree with others who think there are some areas of the council – such as the amount of money spent on agency staff at all levels – where savings could be made by recruiting more permanent staff. http://cllrrobwhite.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/is-reading-council-wasting-money-on.html

We care about Reading and will keep working with you to improve it. Why not join the Green Party and help us make a difference: http://greenparty.org.uk/join

Number of individuals and families classed as homeless by the council by year

Year	Number of individuals and families classed as homeless by the council	Percentage increase since 2010
2010/11	36	0%
2011/12	80	122%
2012/13	148	311%
2013/14	230	538%
2014/15	339	841%
2015/16	309	758%
2017/18 (so far)	408	1033%
2017/18 (forecast end of year)	285	691%

Number of people sleeping rough in Reading by year

Year	Number of people sleeping rough in Reading
2010/11	6
2011/12	5
2012/13	4
2013/14	8
2014/15	12
2015/16	16
2016/17 2017/18	22 31

Is Reading Council wasting money on agency staff?

Green councillors have been concerned, at a time when children’s centres and swimming pools are being closed and homelessness support services are being cut, about the amount of money being spent by Reading Council on agency staff.

I asked about this at a council meeting last year and the response I got seemed to show that the spend on agency staff was coming down – as permanent staff were being recruited. Question and answer towards the bottom of this PDF: http://www.reading.gov.uk/media/8045/Item-7/pdf/171127questions.pdf

However, the council didn’t provide me with an end of year forecast and when I asked for an update recently I was shocked to see the agency spend go up massively – see the bottom of this post for the figures which includes all staff covering permanent roles including senior managers.

The Green Party thinks the council needs to have a greater focus on recruiting permanent staff. As well as saving the council money, increasing the amount of permanent staff will stabilise the council which is teetering on a financial cliff edge, help the council retain important skills and boost morale.

We care about Reading and will keep working to improve it. Why not join and help us make a difference on issues like these? http://greenparty.org.uk/join

Year	Reading Council agency spend
2015-16	£9.7 million
2016-17	£12.9 million
2017-18 (to date)	£12 million
2017-18 (forecast to end of year)	£14.4 million

Blindingly obvious: new street lights too bright

Despite repeated warnings, Labour Council continues with over-bright LED street lights.

New LED street lights are being rolled-out across Reading as the old amber lights need replacing. The Council has ignored warnings that the ones being used are too bright for residential streets, for motorists, and for the environment; causing damage to insects and creatures that come out at night.

Brenda McGonigle said, “We’ll continue to campaign for appropriate lights in our streets, but you can ask the Council to reduce the power to the lights, or fit a shield that will stop the direct glare towards your house. Get in touch!”

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Pothole repair trial in Reading

We have been lobbying for a long time for shallow potholes – which the council doesn’t currently patch if they are less than 5 cm deep – to be fixed.  These potholes are a hazard for all road users especially cyclists. It is great to hear that the council has just conducted a trial on fixing these potholes. Let us know how this trial goes if you use one of the roads mentioned below.

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From the council:

“Please be advised that Streetcare Services Highway Maintenance Team will commence a week’s trial of an alternate pot hole repair solution that uses a pressure injection system on pothole defects. We are proposing to use the trial on roads where the depth of defects are below our current 50 mm depth investigatory level.

The trial will target roads of different construction make up, from concrete roads with very thin bituminous / surfacing layers that have scabbed off, to roads where the thin micro asphalt material has worn away. The repair system is a quick / speedy solution that will seal the road in advance of the coming winter, which will provide us with an ideal trail period to evaluate whether this would be an appropriate and durable solution to consider for future use.

Velocity UK Ltd will commence work on Monday 2nd October and are expected to complete by Friday 6th October.

The roads that are scheduled for repair during this trial are:

1.    Whiteknights Road

2.    Redlands Road (Addington to London Road)

3.    The Meadway

4.    Southcote Lane

5.    Portman Road

6.    Trafford Road

7.    St Marys Butts, junction with Castle Street

8.    Kiln Road

9.    Peppard Road service road by no 335

10. Valpy Street

11. Minster Street

12. George Street (Reading)

13. Northumberland (Hartland roundabout to Honiton Road roundabout)

The roads were selected to provide a good spread of roads with different construction makeup, vehicle type and volume use, presence of defects which currently fall below our 50 mm investigatory level criteria for repair, are ordered to provide a reasonable route for the contractor to follow and will be completed subject to available time and weather constraints. The work will be carried out under localise rolling traffic management by RBC Highways & Drainage Team and the working hours will be between 8 am and 5 pm.

We do not anticipate much disruption using this solution as it is quick process and moves along the length of the road fairly quickly. The Highways & Drainage operatives are on hand to provide traffic management and assist local residents who may be affected for a short period of time when any work is directly outside their homes.”

Update on fire safety in Reading following Grenfell

Following the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower Green councillor Brenda McGonigle asked for an update on fire safety in Reading at a recent council committee. Response below:

In the last six months there have been two major fires in high rise blocks of flats in other areas - one in Shepherds Bush and most recently the tragic incident at Grenfell Tower, Kensington.  The Grenfell Tower investigation is underway, but it will be some time before we fully understand how the fire started or why it took hold in the way it did.

Reading Borough Council has three 14-storey blocks of flats in Coley and four eight-storey blocks in Granville Road, Southcote, and we are confident they meet high levels of fire safety standards.

Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Services has audited 90 per cent of the Council’s blocks of flats, including our high rise blocks, with communal areas and have not raised any significant issues.  Where fires have broken out inside flats, none of them have spread outside the flat.

Formal fire risk assessments are carried out in our high rise blocks every other year by the Council using a qualified fire risk assessor.  A block inspector regularly checks all blocks and housing officers are on site most days to ensure constant monitoring.  From this year every flat within the blocks will have their smoke alarm tested every year and tenants are encouraged to check them weekly.

There has been much public concern and comment about potential flaws in the cladding that was on Grenfell Tower.  The Council can confirm that none of Reading Borough Council’s blocks have cladding systems comparable to those in the blocks where these fires occurred nor are any of the Council’s homes clad with the material which was used in the exterior refurbishment of Grenfell Tower.

The Coley high rise flats have very few cavities between any external cladding panels and the main concrete construction but on the limited elevations where they do occur fire breaks are in place to stop the spread of fire. None of the other flatted blocks have cavities.

The Coley high rise flats have fire exits at both ends of the blocks and have a call-point alarm system in communal areas which can be heard throughout the building when activated.  The Granville Road flats each have two communal staircases accessed via external balconies.  All flats have their own alarms which sound internally.  Smoke seals and intumescent strips are fitted on communal doors and the front doors of flats in all of our blocks to protect tenants from fire and reduce the risk of fire inside a flat spreading outside.

Fire risk is taken very seriously and the Council operates a zero-tolerance policy regarding items left in communal areas by tenants, as this poses a fire risk.  The Council enforces this policy strictly.

Every block of flats also has a fire notice board with an evacuation plan and factsheet giving advice regarding what to do in the event of a fire.  Following the Grenfell Tower fire, the Council wrote to all tenants in our high rise flats to reassure them of the fire safety measures in place and to urge them to regularly check their flat’s alarms and provide guidance on how to reduce the risk of a fire occurring and what to do if a fire does occur.  If any resident had any health and safety concerns about electrical appliances inside their flat, the Council also offered to visit and carry out testing to check that there were no issues. A fire safety briefing was also provided to all Councillors.

The Council takes fire safety extremely seriously and reviews measures as new information arises or updated guidance is issued.  This includes learning from major incidents in other areas, including the findings which will come out of the investigation into the Grenfell Tower fire.  Despite Reading Council’s blocks differing in design to Grenfell Tower, in order to provide residents with complete confidence and assurance, the Council is appointing an external organisation with specific expertise on fire safety in high rise blocks.  The organisation will carry out a review of our practice in the areas of management, fire safety measures and safety advice to tenants.

Reading Council and fire safety

Following the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower, Reading Council has clarified the situation in Reading. See below. We will keep up the pressure to ensure that all Reading residents live in decent, safe homes.

"Following this week’s horrific fire at Grenfell Tower in West London, I am sure like us your thoughts quickly turned to fire safety at tower blocks in Reading. This note is to provide you with a level of reassurance around existing fire safety measures in place. We hope it will help to answer any initial questions or concerns you may have.

The Council has three 14-storey blocks of flats in Coley, and four eight-storey blocks in Granville Road, Southcote. We are confident they meet high levels of fire safety standards. None of Reading Borough Council’s blocks have cladding systems comparable to those in Grenfell Tower Block.

The Coley high rise flats do not have a panel system. The blocks have limited, enclosed cavities between external cladding and the main concrete construction. On the limited elevations where they do occur, fire breaks are in place to stop the spread of fire. None of the other flatted blocks have cavities.

Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Services has audited 90 per cent of the Council’s blocks of flats - including our high rise blocks - and have not raised any significant issues.

The Council takes fire safety very seriously.  While tower blocks in Reading differ in design to Grenfell Tower, we are nonetheless appointing an external organisation with specific expertise on high rise blocks to review management practice, fire safety measures and construction and safety advice to tenants. We hope this additional external review will provide a further level of reassurance to you.

The Council is this week writing to all tenants in the Coley and Granville Road high rise flats to reassure them of the fire safety measures in place. The letter is attached - this includes a reissue of the fire safety information which we provide to all tenants."

Red Route consultation in Reading

UPDATE: I have now had a briefing from a transport planner and can confirm that contrary to what the council's press release says the parking bays on the Wokingham Road are being changed subtly to white marked bays as part of a Red Route. This means that anyone parking outside of the bay (double parking for example) should hopefully get a ticket. However pay-and-display machines (with a free 30 minutes) will still be needed to make sure people don't stay in the bays for too long.

The council has started consulting on a Red Route along the number 17 bus route. We think this is generally a good thing for creating a more reliable bus service. We also think that if done right it could tackle the Wokingham Road parking problems in the vicinity of Alfred Sutton school.

As you can see from the plans – linked to from the consultation page – the Red Route won't impact on the majority of the parking in the Wokingham Road shopping area. This means that the double parking would continue.

We think the council needs to introduce pay-and-display machines in this area at the same time as the Red Route. The pay-and-display machines could have a free first half hour so the free parking would be the same as it is now. However it would be easier for the traffic wardens to issue tickets as they would only need to do one pass – as opposed to the situation at the moment where what they need to do one pass to see who is parked there and a second pass to issue tickets, by which time everyone has seen them and moved.

Please respond to the consultation with your thoughts.

Red Route to tackle Wokingham Road #rdg parking problems

Green councillors have been campaigning to tackle dangerous parking problems on the Wokingham Road, near to Alfred Sutton school. The council will be consulting on introducing a Red Route later in the year. We think the best opportunity for improving road safety in the area.

Red Routes are used in London to help buses run on time. The Reading Red Route will be along the 17 bus route. It is a similar parking restriction to the current loading ban along much of this route, but easier to enforce. For example the CCTV camera car can be used to issue tickets.

At the same time as introducing the Red Route the council will also be looking at other measures to tackle problems. Green councillors would like to see pay-and-display (with a free first 30 minutes) introduced in the parking bays on Wokingham Road opposite Alfred Sutton school. This would make enforcement easier and help tackle some of the parking problems. It would also free up the bays for people using the local shops.

Let us know what you think. We will keep people updated when we have more information about the consultation.