The committee that organised the East Finchley Festival had a good meeting tonight to talk about how it went, whet to learn for next year (there are a few lessons) and to congratulate on a job well done. I want to pay final tribute to those who have helped run this year's festival, and say how well it was run.Many have said how much they enjoyed it, how they missed it last year, and that the community could not take it for granted.
A huge well done and congratulations to everyone.
Friday, 28 June 2013
Wednesday, 26 June 2013
Action on Prospect Ring
I was concerned to see that a lift on the block 61-104 Prospect Ring was not working,and that the bin doors on the block of flats on Market Place still have not been fixed. I am glad to report that Barnet Homes hope to fix the door by 4th July, and are sending someone to look at the lift.
Diabetes in Barnet
Andrew Dismore has highlighted some of the worryingly high figures we have for Diabetes in Barnet. Read his report here.
Bus Services
Do you have a view on the 102 or the 234 bus services and their cross borough services? if so email me at cllr.a.mittra@barnet.gov.uk as part of a TfL consultation.
Diamond Jubilee video
You can see here the video that has been produced to demonstrate a proposed Diamond Jubilee gate near Hendon Town Hall.
Salute to Julia Gillard
Few world leaders have had to put up with as much vile sexist rubbish as now former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard. "Ditch the B****" being one slogan, the menu scandal and such the like. She has been pelted with food, assaulted and harassed. The personal questions have just been awful.
As she says, perhaps she has made the job slightly easier for the next female PM, but it was never easy for her on her tightrope majority. I think the Labor Party might now have a hope of salvaging something to build on after this year's election, regardless of the result. Either way, however hard it is, fences must be mended and the fratricide must end. Nothing can be worse for Australia the Tony Abbott, even the Labor party performing the Sopranos.
Let's be honest, al least the ALP are doing better than their nation's cricketers. The Ashes will be a delight I'm sure.
As she says, perhaps she has made the job slightly easier for the next female PM, but it was never easy for her on her tightrope majority. I think the Labor Party might now have a hope of salvaging something to build on after this year's election, regardless of the result. Either way, however hard it is, fences must be mended and the fratricide must end. Nothing can be worse for Australia the Tony Abbott, even the Labor party performing the Sopranos.
Let's be honest, al least the ALP are doing better than their nation's cricketers. The Ashes will be a delight I'm sure.
Residents forum
I attended the Finchley and Golders Green residents forum last night.
All I can say is that the Council are looking for feedback on these rather limited and outdated sessions. you can let them know what you think if you can find the feedback form!
These sessions are dreary, because residents xan only report environmental issues. They are not a place where residents can voice opinions of policy, or even frankly voice opinion.
Case in point is that there were several queries on pedestrian safety, but because the committe can't affect the policy, it is not allowed to be discussed. There were a number of residents from the Garden Suburb who got more and more frustrated as time went on. I don't think they had ever seen the Councilinaction in action before, and they were not impressed.
If they were annoyed with that they were even angrier with the waste and recycling changed brief. Many of the anxieties could have been answered if they had public involvement at an earlier stage. There has not been any effort to explain the background to these changes, such as the huge costs of not recycling more. Nor has there been any effort to look at some of the challenges of terraced roads, which was a prominent concern. When residents got angry, the debate was shut down. A real pity, as they could have addressed many of these concerns at the meeting, instead of being defensive.
All I can say is that the Council are looking for feedback on these rather limited and outdated sessions. you can let them know what you think if you can find the feedback form!
These sessions are dreary, because residents xan only report environmental issues. They are not a place where residents can voice opinions of policy, or even frankly voice opinion.
Case in point is that there were several queries on pedestrian safety, but because the committe can't affect the policy, it is not allowed to be discussed. There were a number of residents from the Garden Suburb who got more and more frustrated as time went on. I don't think they had ever seen the Council
If they were annoyed with that they were even angrier with the waste and recycling changed brief. Many of the anxieties could have been answered if they had public involvement at an earlier stage. There has not been any effort to explain the background to these changes, such as the huge costs of not recycling more. Nor has there been any effort to look at some of the challenges of terraced roads, which was a prominent concern. When residents got angry, the debate was shut down. A real pity, as they could have addressed many of these concerns at the meeting, instead of being defensive.
Huge thanks to those involved in the East Finchley Festival
I wanted to say a thanks to the organisers, volunteers, stalls, bands and visitors to the East Finchley Festival on Sunday. We had a really good day, lots of people came, and the feedback was very positive.
Many thanks to all of you.
Many thanks to all of you.
Tuesday, 18 June 2013
Scrutiny training
Cllr Barry Rawlings, Cllr Sury Khatri and I attended a scrutiny training even held by the centre for Excellence in Local Government and Health (ELGH) in Lambeth today. It was a very useful session, and I think we all came away with some good tips on how to scope committee investigations and task and finish groups. It was interesting to hear the approaches of officers to scrutiny, and hear some good tips.
What was most interesting was how bad some things are in Barnet, and how dependent you are as a committee on a good chair for a successful committee. The tenor of a meeting and the attitude of committee members stems from the chair.
Take for example, Health and Budget and Performance. Health is a good committee because the members work together, the chair is excellent and gives a fair hearing to all and we cover the agenda. We do site visits and call a range of witnesses. Budget and Performance is not so, and if possible I recommend watching the DRS meeting last week to see why.
I wonder if our system isn't as broken as the way it is applied. For any system to work, it calls for a real change in attitude, or else the same problems will persist whatever the system.
I thought we were also presented with an amusing set of questions about how the council view scrutiny, such as whether the Leader of the Council views scrutiny as a management tool. Barnet would have failed them all. It's a real pity because, as I saw today, scrutiny can be valued by the administration as a way of making sure people know what is going on and are kept on their toes. It was good to see that approach taken by Lambeth, and I think it is possible to be done in Barnet, it just needs good chairmanship and a change in attitude.
What was most interesting was how bad some things are in Barnet, and how dependent you are as a committee on a good chair for a successful committee. The tenor of a meeting and the attitude of committee members stems from the chair.
Take for example, Health and Budget and Performance. Health is a good committee because the members work together, the chair is excellent and gives a fair hearing to all and we cover the agenda. We do site visits and call a range of witnesses. Budget and Performance is not so, and if possible I recommend watching the DRS meeting last week to see why.
I wonder if our system isn't as broken as the way it is applied. For any system to work, it calls for a real change in attitude, or else the same problems will persist whatever the system.
I thought we were also presented with an amusing set of questions about how the council view scrutiny, such as whether the Leader of the Council views scrutiny as a management tool. Barnet would have failed them all. It's a real pity because, as I saw today, scrutiny can be valued by the administration as a way of making sure people know what is going on and are kept on their toes. It was good to see that approach taken by Lambeth, and I think it is possible to be done in Barnet, it just needs good chairmanship and a change in attitude.
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