A recent news report stated that Leicester Council had responded to an FOI request asking whether they had plans to thwart an attack by Zombies. They confessed that none existed. I wonder if it is too late for Barnet and the Zombies have already taken over at the Town Hall. Have they been spiked with ZOMBIE CUCUMBER sandwiches, to create passive vegetables who are pliant to the whims of the executive?
I ask this because I was completely disgusted to find that following the email I sent to all of our councillors, regarding the Metpro Scandal yesterday, of 63 Councillors, not a single one responded. You may think "Why should councillors bother to respond to emails from awkward bloggers"? Well the chair of the Audit Committee, Lord Monroe Palmer, praised the bloggers of Barnet to the hilt at the Audit Committee, stating that the scandal would not have come to light without our efforts. He put on public record the fact that we'd done a massive service for the people of Barnet. I started to get paranoid, thinking that maybe the Council had blocked the email. I rang a councillor who I am friendly with, to ask whether they had received the email?
Their response was even more shocking. They said "Yes". I expressed my surprise that not a single councillor had responded. They said "Oh, I think that's because we got an email shortly after saying we shouldn't respond to it". I was livid. I asked my friendly councillor if they could forward me this email, exactly what it said and who sent it. They realised they'd told me something they probably should have and said "I don't think I can do that".
So in Barnet, unknown forces can tell the people I elected to represent me, and who's allowances I pay, that they are not allowed to respond to a perfectly reasonable email I sent them, even though the chair of the Audit committee agrees that we are performing a vital service.
I am not prepared to take this sort of treatment. I believe it infringes my democratic rights. I was highly impressed by the contribution of my Mill Hill ward Tory Councillor, Brian Schama and wish to discuss this further with him. I do not want to see Mr Schama put under undue pressure. Today I sent this email to the FOI department. I will of course publish any response - and when Lord Palmer lays on the buffet in thanks for the efforts of the local bloggers,I will of course avoid the cucumber sarnies !
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I ask this because I was completely disgusted to find that following the email I sent to all of our councillors, regarding the Metpro Scandal yesterday, of 63 Councillors, not a single one responded. You may think "Why should councillors bother to respond to emails from awkward bloggers"? Well the chair of the Audit Committee, Lord Monroe Palmer, praised the bloggers of Barnet to the hilt at the Audit Committee, stating that the scandal would not have come to light without our efforts. He put on public record the fact that we'd done a massive service for the people of Barnet. I started to get paranoid, thinking that maybe the Council had blocked the email. I rang a councillor who I am friendly with, to ask whether they had received the email?
Their response was even more shocking. They said "Yes". I expressed my surprise that not a single councillor had responded. They said "Oh, I think that's because we got an email shortly after saying we shouldn't respond to it". I was livid. I asked my friendly councillor if they could forward me this email, exactly what it said and who sent it. They realised they'd told me something they probably should have and said "I don't think I can do that".
So in Barnet, unknown forces can tell the people I elected to represent me, and who's allowances I pay, that they are not allowed to respond to a perfectly reasonable email I sent them, even though the chair of the Audit committee agrees that we are performing a vital service.
I am not prepared to take this sort of treatment. I believe it infringes my democratic rights. I was highly impressed by the contribution of my Mill Hill ward Tory Councillor, Brian Schama and wish to discuss this further with him. I do not want to see Mr Schama put under undue pressure. Today I sent this email to the FOI department. I will of course publish any response - and when Lord Palmer lays on the buffet in thanks for the efforts of the local bloggers,I will of course avoid the cucumber sarnies !
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----- Original Message -----From: Roger TichborneSent: Saturday, June 18, 2011 9:46 AMSubject: Email to Councillors
Dear Freedom of Information,Yesteday I sent the attached email to the CEO of Barnet and all Barnet Councillors. I have been informed that shortly after, an email was sent to councillors asking them not to respond to this communication. Please send me a copy of this email, detailing who it was from and who it was sent to. I would like to remind Barnet Council that the chair of the audit commitee praised my efforts (and those of other bloggers) in exposing the Metpro fiasco. I trust that all concerned would like to expose bad practise in Barnet Council.RegardsRoger Tichborne
3 comments:
Unlike you Roger I ( well my real alter ego ) wrote instead to the Chief Exec asking him to increase the size of the Audit department and I send a copy to every Councillor.
The majority have opened it.
It did not call for a reply but was intended as a wake-up call. One Councillor deleted the email unread. There is a copy in the snailmail to you Madam. You need to read it even if you then choose to do nothing.
I will now put in an FOI request to see if Councillors were instructed not to write to me.
Cllr Coleman has aked me to take him off my email list. You in the Cabinet Mr Coleman - you get an allowance for working on cabinet matters - I will keep you informed of serious matters like breakdowns in procurement - it is my right in a democracy and is necessary as the lunatics are running the asylum and they are like children in a sweet shop.
This is shocking Roger.
Council Officers have tried to control Councillors in other Councils. Stoke on Trent and Aylesbury are two recent examples. The Councillors in Stoke had the good sense to reject the whole idea of Councillors being gagged.
One thing it does prove is that there is a significant increase in the number of Council Officers who are attempting to derail democracy and control what they consider are their Councillors.
I have feeling that this may turn out to be a scandal of epic proportions when our, often rather dim, elected representatives catch on.
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