Barnet Eye war on Spongers and parasites : A Coleman Porky prime cut?

Poor old Brian Coleman. The stress of all the troughing must be getting to him. He claimed in todays Evening Standard that he works 100 hours a week and he has only had three days off since Xmas (presumably New Years Day, Good Friday and Easter Sunday).

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23857940-councillor-on-pound-118500-a-year-says-im-good-value-for-money.do

I suppose, the nub of the matter is what constitutes work. Lets see what he does for Barnet :-

He's on the following committees :- 

Annual Council - Member -  Next Meeting May 2011 (annual)

Cabinet - Member - Once a month

Cabinet Resources Committee - Member - Once a MonthChipping Barnet Area Environment Sub-Committee - Substitute - Once a MonthChipping Barnet Area Planning Sub-Committee - Substitute - Once a monthCouncil - Member - Next meeting November 02 (approx every 2 months)

Then there is his ward surgery (which presumably he shares with the other two councillors) :-
Third Saturday of the month 10.30am-12noon. Barnet House, 1255 High Road, N20.

Then there's the the reports he has to read as Cabinet member for Environment (3 since April as far as I can see) :-
http://committeepapers.barnet.gov.uk/democracy/dp/meetinglist1mthcom.asp?intSubSectionID=25&intSectionID=4&meetingtype=Officer%20in%20Consultation%20with%20Cabinet%20Member%28s%29

You get the idea. Given that his former boss Mike Freer once said that the Council officers do all the work, there isn't a 100 hours a weeks worth of work here, is there?

Then there's his work for the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (he's chairman).

Forthcoming Meetings

• 16 September 2010
• 18 November 2010
• 27 January 2011
• 24 March 2011
• 23 June 2011 - Annual meeting

That's what I call a highly taxing schedule of work.
It seems he attends a few other committees - check if you like -
http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/CommitteesAndPanels.asp

Here's his full list -
http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/MemberProfile_BrianColeman.asp

There's the appointments committee (last meeting in February)
There's the Finance and Procurement Committee (four meetings a year?)
The urgency committee (last meeting in March)

And here's some idea of what he was up to (his expenses) for Feb & March when he was "working 100 hours a week without a day off)

30/03/2010	Travel	Members' car mileage - Meeting with Fire Commissioner and Mayor at City Hall	£11.44
30/03/2010	Travel	Congestion Charge - Meeting with Fire Commissioner and Mayor at City Hall	£8.00
25/03/2010	Travel	Members' car mileage - LFB Long Service Awards at Southwark Training Centre	£11.44
25/03/2010	Travel	Congestion Charge - LFB Long Service Awards at Southwark Training Centre	£8.00
23/03/2010	Travel	Members' car mileage - Meeting with John Barton, General Sec of RFU at City Hall	£11.44
23/03/2010	Travel	Congestion Charge - Meeting with John Barton, General Sec of RFU at City Hall	£8.00
16/03/2010	Travel	Members' car mileage - Meeting with Fire Commissioner at Union Street	£11.44
16/03/2010	Travel	Congestion Charge - Meeting with Fire Commissioner at Union Street	£8.00
08/03/2010	Other  Expenses	Subsistence - Dinner at Hilton Hotel, Manchester	£15.00
24/02/2010	Travel	Members' car mileage - Lunch with John Ransford, CE, LGA	£11.44
24/02/2010	Travel	Congestion Charge - Lunch with John Ransford, CE, LGA	£8.00
11/02/2010	Travel	Members' car mileage - Opening of Harold Hill Fire Station	£24.51
09/02/2010	Travel	Members' car mileage - Meeting with Fire Commissioner at Union Street	£11.44
09/02/2010	Travel	Congestion Charge - Meeting with Fire Commissioner at Union Street	£8.00

And what about the GLA - Well this is approx half his income at Barnet and LFEPA. Do you see 50 hours a week here? I will have a look at what he's up to for the other 50 hours at the GLA later in the week. In the meantime you may be interested to know that his boss at The GLA, Roger Evans says on his blog today that they are all off now till September, which gives you some idea of the heavy work load there.


http://city-hall.blogspot.com/2010/07/mqt.html

All I can say is this, Mr Coleman claims that he works 100 hours a week look a tad dodgy to me based on this. A few sporadic committee meetings, a few dinners and a meeting every two weeks with the Fire Commissioner. We'll look at his "work" for the GLA later this week. You can check his profile here. You would expect a flagrant self publicist like Coleman to tell us all about his work in his press releases. According to his profile the last one was over a month ago


http://www.london.gov.uk/profile/brian-coleman


For a man who works so hard, he seems to have a lot of spare time for outside interests :-

http://www.london.gov.uk/profile/brian-coleman/register-of-interests

• Representative on the Queen Elizabeth Grammar Schools Endowment Fund
• Ravenscroft School Charitable Trust
• Standing Advisory Committee for Religious Education
•  1 Friern Park Management Committee (Chairman)
•  Darlands Lake Management Committee (Chairman)
•  Representative on Totteridge Manor Association
•  Vice President of Totteridge Residents’ Association
• (Parliamentary) Committee of the Friends of Cyprus
•  Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts
•  Freeman of the City of London
•  Member of the Guild of Freeman
•  Member of Barnet Rotary Club
•  Member of Finchley Methodist Church
•  President of Edgware & Hendon District Scouts
•  Old Elizabethans (QE Boys Old Boys Association)
•  Hampstead Garden Suburb Residents’ Association – Associate Member
•  Liveryman of Worshipful Company of Farriers
• Patron of the Larches Trust, Larches House, No.1, Rectory Lane, Edgware Middlesex, HA8 7LF 

So does Brian Coleman really work 100 hours a week for Barnet, The GLA and LFEPA for his £114,000 a year? I'll let you decide. I'm off to be sick