Patricia Richardson, Joint Chair of Grove Park User Group Committee has sent us an indepth account of her community groups struggle to defend adult education in Lewisham through the Mayor’s Commission on Libraries and Learning. 

It is a tale of buck-passing and broken promises as local government, the Mayor’s office and national education policy failed to address the needs of an organised and vocal community.

UPDATE: CALL has now received a letter from Community Education Lewisham describing the changes in more detail, you can read it here (doc, 39kb) 

Click the link below to read Patricia’s account in full.

Report: LEWISHAM MAYOR’S COMMISSION ON LIBRARIES AND LEARNING

March 2008/May 2009

Grove Park User Group Committee had been in existence a long time, but, in its present form, since 1997.

The Committee always fought to preserve the service, keep fees reasonable and was well aware of the dangers to funding of non-accredited courses. During early 2007 rumours were rife with threats to what we had. In those days we were novices but still managed press coverage, letters to the local press, visits to our MP, Bridget Prentice, letters to our elected Mayor and councillors. There was an angry, very well attended public meeting at the Town Hall, with Mayor, councillors and officers. In preparation for what was to come the Committee produced a report on Adult Education and it has been our mainstay.

Assurances were given, Centres would not close, classes would continue. No worries!

At least, not until the New Year (2008) when an e-mail from a councillor, on another matter, indicated a Commission was to be set up. We followed this up with vigour and all was revealed.

Looking back the conclusion to be drawn was that the powers that be KNEW there was going to be trouble, problems with funding from LSC, due to government policy, and London borough elections in Spring 2010. What were they going to do?

The first meeting of the Commission was held in March 2008. It was peopled, by and large, with representatives from quangos, Lewisham-based educational facilities, Lewisham-funded Community Groups, a councillor from each political party, and council officers.

The Conservative councillor never appeared, the Young Mayor’s Office appeared once. The NIACE representative did not come, someone from NIACE appeared once. Very few members of the Commission appeared at any of the public meetings organized by us, except the Mayor and some officers. No public meetings were organized for library users.

Library users and Adult Education users were allotted one space each. We were appalled. We were to operate in a field of professionals with current inside information, office staff and other advantages. Yes, a bit like Cinderella and no Fairy Godmother! The Commission manager refused repeatedly to allow us two representatives. This was only achieved after a public appeal to the Mayor himself.

I attended every meeting, followed up every communication, kept in constant contact with committee members (whose advice and total support was key) and followed up every lead, contact and possibility. Quite simply we did not let go. In fact, we followed our own star, set our own agenda and did not conform. We now have an excellent network of contacts from ministers to local students. And it was becoming a “hot” issue, not just for us.

And it ain’t over yet …

The Mayor’s Commission recommendations are to be launched on 9th July 2009 at the remodelled Manor House Library, Lee. No doubt it will also appear on the Lewisham Borough website. My comrade in arms, Miriam McLeod, and I had several long meetings with the Commission Manager to make a strong pitch for students, library users, all potential users and tax-payers and to get our views into policy.

This is difficult in the extreme. What do we want? We recommend:

> not spending large amounts of public money on rebuilds and changes without true cost/benefit analysis.

> retaining what we have, but look at the balance of fair and reasonable fees, crèche fees etc and not pricing out prospective students, at any level, concession or otherwise.

> accessible welcoming, community based centres, with a good range of well-taught classes, in which we are confident.

> “openness” in dealing with the public.

> strong, independent user groups.

BUT, and it is a big BUT,

The discovery is that we have no control over policy, especially at the ballot box. Most of what you will find in the recommendations is top-down.

Adult Education recommendations would happily have suited John Denham MP, if he had still been the minister. Setting up DIUS cost £7m. No doubt Peter Mandelson (BERR) will happily continue with the white paper, “Learning Revolution”.

Libraries’ policy is to follow MLA guidelines (Roy Clare’s safe pair of hands), which descends from the DCMS. Together this equals “CO-LOCATION”, now there’s a surprise!

At the “Grey matter, matters” conference it was revealed that all our problems with the loss of the over 6os’ concession stemmed from the EU equality policy (directive?). As all policy emanates from the unelected Commission, who has influence there?

And as for me, all I know is that I have spent nearly 2 years of my life facing the computer screen trying to avert the coming disaster. I won’t get those hours back. The public finances are in a mess and we will be lucky if we are able to just trade through.

If you take on the local authority, look out for obfuscation, very tardy replies, badly faulty (fictionalized?) statistics. Everything has to be chased, every avenue has to be pursued to hold them to account. FOLLOW YOUR OWN INSTINCTS.

And do you know, most councillors have the same problems as we do. It usually takes an MP to put on the pressure, and when asked, Bridget Prentice, MP for Lewisham East, did so. The other 2 MPs for the London Borough of Lewisham showed no interest at all.

Patricia Richardson,
Joint Chair of Grove Park User Group Committee
Adult Education representative on the Mayor’s Commission on Libraries and Learning (March 2008/May 2009)

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