At the Audit Committee meeting last Thursday, I requested a copy of the list of assets held for sale, as I noticed the figure had jumped from £3million last year to a whopping £27 million this year. My concern was that this list included buildings such as Friern Barnet Library, Church Farmhouse Museum in Hendon or Barnet Museum.
My colleague Cllr Pauline Coakley-Webb of Coppetts ward has already raised the issue of the contents of Barnet museums being auctioned off in Birmingham. I am glad to see the Hendon Times are following up on Pauline's detective work here.
I have not yet received the list from the council, but I wonder if the contents of the museums are what I may have spied in the Audit report under assets for sale as well? We will find out soon.
This is also a good reminder on how important it is to read all the papers thoroughly in order to be fully effective in scrutiny at the Town Hall.
