OneBarnet and the destruction of Youth Service in Burnt Oak

Readers of this blog will be aware of the terrible news affecting Burnt Oak this week. One horrific murder and another stabbing are the top stories on the Edgware Times website. As if Burnt Oak hasn't suffered enough, Barnet Council are finishing the job. They really don't care about this area, one of the most deprived in Barnet.

This report - http://committeepapers.barnet.gov.uk/democracy/reports/reportdetail.asp?ReportID=10506 -  details how Barnet Council are withdrawing Youth Services from Burnt Oak, as well as Hendon Youth base and Dollis Valley Rainbow Youth Centre. How on earth can anyone think this is a sensible policy, in light of the social problems exposed this week. The purpose? To save £1.65 million. To quote the report :-

Phase one of the Youth Offer project involved restructuring the service and
implementing a new service model bringing together funding streams, resources and
expertise of six youth support services; making the required savings and ensuring
that greater joined up working would reduce the risk of the most vulnerable young
people being adversely affected by the cuts.

The Youth Offer project has enabled savings of £1.65m in 2011/12 in accordance
with the medium term financial strategy.

The aim of the project is as follows:-

The new service: Youth Support Service aims to target provision and support across all services for young people and families, to those who are most vulnerable and at greatest risk of disengagement (e.g. involvement in crime, poor school attendance, unemployment, lack of qualifications or aspirations) and poor outcomes.

So hands up then . Who thinks shutting a youth centre in Burnt Oak in times of great financial hardship will achieve these aims? Well if you want to know, it says on the front page :-

Contact for further information:
Andrew Charlwood, Overview & Scrutiny Manager, Corporate Governance Directorate
020 8359 2014, andrew.charlwood@barnet.gov.uk

And who issued the report :-

Nandu Valji, Project Manager
Claire Johnston, One Barnet Programme Manager

If you wonder what all the fuss is about in Barnet when we talk about OneBarnet - read this bit of bolloxspeak - it's the conclusion of a report saying "Lets shut down a major part of the Borough's Youth service provision"

6. Conclusion
The project has performed against the objectives set out and agreed in the PID.Relevant project management documents (Business Case, Project Initiation Document (PID) and Project Plans) were in place, kept up to date and utilised throughout the project lifecycle. Any outstanding  items have been identified and agreed between the project team and service lead and subsequently handed across to the service to deliver as business as usual.

It really is a shameful document. Just to remind you where the priorities in Barnet lie, when it comes to saving money. They shut Childrens centres, but the pay CEO Nick Walkley over £200,000 per annum and the contractor Andrew Travers, who is his deputy £14,000 a month. Can you guess how many senior officers are on over £100,000 a year?  Let me tell you - enough to sack half of them all and save all these front line services. Guess how many senior officers have had a pay cut in these "difficult times" when we are  "all in it together". This is why some of us write blogs in Barnet.