Monday, 20 September 2010

Barnet Future Shape Project Scandal : An open letter to every Barnet Councillor

I sent this email to every Barnet Councillor. I want to make it 100% clear that they all know what a mess  the project is in and the fact that the audit by Grant Thornton has been scathing. This way when they try the Mike Freer defence of "I know nothing" we can all say "oh yes you did". Here is the text of the letter. I also copied the local press. They are trying to get another £2.5 million to chuck down the drain after the millions (some reports say £5 million) that they've spent on a project without a business case, a project plan and which the auditors say is "high risk"..
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Dear Barnet Councillor,
 
I am writing to draw your attention to a document being put before the Audit committee this week.
 
 
This document contains a report by Grant Thornton on the Future Shape/One Barnet project. The conclusions and recommendations contained in this report strongly indicate that vast sums of public money have been wasted (with more to follow). To illustrate this fact, here is just one small exert.

I have received advice, following an article featuring this report on my blog, which indicates that the implications of this report are enormous for Barnet Council, given the huge amounts sepnt on this project, with no business case, no organisational blueprint, no high level cost and benefit analysis and a "high level risk profile".
 
I would suggest that to avoid any risk of the council appearing negligent and to avoid future costly legal issues regarding the Future Shape project, you read this report and make sure that you give appropriate feedback to the leadership, the audit committee and the Council officers as you see fit.
 
I am not seeking a reply or a justification from you regarding this issue, I just ask that you discharge your responsibilities as councillors properly and make sure that you are fully conversant with the current state of this project. I am sending this email to all 63 councillors, as I have been advised that it is a serious enough issue to warrant it. I have also copied journalists from the local papers as I believe this is a matter of notable public interest and the CEO of Barnet Council.
 
Regards

Roger Tichborne

9 comments:

  1. Moaneybat20 September 2010 at 16:42

    The inference drawn from the Grant Thornton report is that Barnet Council have been "Negligent" by having spent the alleged sums of public money on various consultants to produce 'nothing.'

    It is the kind of conduct that cost nearly £28 million of public money. As Mrs Angry pinted out elsewhere, no wonder the tory Council were joyful at th demise of the Audit Commission

    ReplyDelete
  2. Moaneybat20 September 2010 at 21:01

    Now that Mr Travers, another one of the Public Sector executive management chancers, with a salary above the Prime Minister, has given his explaination, here is a SIMPLE Question,

    What exactly is a One Barnet Programme? It sounds like something a Nazi Government or other right wing dictatorship would introduce as a policy. We the public who is paying this cowboy's salary have a right to know what it is.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mrs Angry20 September 2010 at 21:23

    'One Barnet', Moaneybat appears to be the rebranding of Futureshape: see my August blog No Future/Shape for further enlightenment. The principle seems to be that if you give an ugly baby a new name, people will grow to love it ...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous20 September 2010 at 23:14

    @Moanybat - all correct but don't forget the Nazi's were National SOCIALISTS... not right wing...

    To coin a phrase, this is 'Communism with a smile upon it's face'

    ReplyDelete
  5. Mrs Angry21 September 2010 at 12:08

    oh come off it, Dan Hope: the Nazis were not right wing? Fascism is now a commie plot, I see. Go to your local library (while it's still there) and borrow a few history books, chum.

    One Barnet is a communist idea ... nurse, please: the curtains ...

    ReplyDelete
  6. Moaneybat21 September 2010 at 18:56

    Dan Hope,

    Now you're taking the mick! :)

    Nazional Socialist can't deny that, one nation, Aryan blue eyes blonde verstetes kein Englisch and all that, aber kein fascista, Los! To the 'left' of them were Rusnesski und Stalin's communists.

    I hope you are paying attention to Mrs Angry. Fascists seek to organize a nation according to corporatist perspectives, values, and systems, including the political system and the economy. Privatisation = Conservative Party or National Union of Conservative Assns.

    Dan' you gotta admit Travers, true Tory, has got a smile on his face - our loot.

    Mrs Angry,

    I frightened the priest at my christening.

    Seriously, I did read the blog and was aware of the name change. I just wanted the scumbag to tell us. Thanks for setting Dan und Ich straight on the 'Centre-Right Conservatives. Dan's actually a bright boy. 'We like to beat each other':)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous21 September 2010 at 21:02

    You lot need to get acquainted with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_Fascism

    ReplyDelete
  8. Rog T21 September 2010 at 21:08

    Dan,

    I can think of nothing I'd like less than to get acquainted with any form of fascism.

    I tend to think that at the very extremes (like the spectrum) the opposites collide in awfulness.

    I don't care what flavour they are. We should oppose repression in all its forms. That really should be the end of the argument. The "our nutters are less evil than your nutters" argument is rather pointless.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous22 September 2010 at 00:44

    @RogT - lol can't see anyone here asking you to don a Black Shirt and start marching through the streets, just read a Wikipedia article!

    ReplyDelete

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