Press Release - Barnet Council risk register shows quality of life in Barnet at risk from right wing Council policies

Today the Barnet Eye sent the following press release to local and national news outlets, drawing attention to the shocking revelations in the Barnet Council risk register as detailed yesterday.

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Date 30th December 2013.

 

On the 16th December, Barnet Council published a risk register on the Council website. This report, tucked away in a pack of committee reports, details nine areas where the policies of the Council are putting the economic wellbeing, the quailty of life and the infrastructure of the Borough at risk. The report details nine significant areas of risk, brought about by Council policies.  The areas concerned are

 

Risk 1. Homelessness in Barnet.
Risk 2. Waste management and sustainability.

Risk 3. Demographic Change and Population growth.

Risk 4. Welfare and Benefit reform.

Risk 5. People. (Lack of competent staff following the One Barnet outsourcing program)

Risk 6. Financial Position.

Risk 7. Information Management.

Risk 8. Barnets position as a prosperous suburb.

All of the above risks are High or Medium High.

 

There is one further risk, which is "Medium Low",
Risk 9. Resident engagement.

 

You can view the risk register here http://barnet.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s12085/Appendix%20E%20-%20Corporate%20Risk%20Register.pdf

 

The Barnet Eye has given a commentary on these rsks at this site - http://barneteye.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/the-barnet-council-corporate-risk.html

 

It is clear from the risk register that the Council has failed in its duty of care to the people of Barnet and by admitting that all of the above areas are at significant risk, the Council has shown that the extreme right wing policies of the Conservative adminsitration are putting the prosperity of the London Borough of Barnet at risk. Even more worrying is the complete lack of a plan to mitigate these risks. The Council clearly released this report in the run up to Christmas, hoping that it would be missed in the excitement of the ferstive season.

 

The Barnety Eye believes that this is a major news story. There was widespread media coverage earlier in the year of Barnet Council claiming that the One Barnet program had transformed the finances of the Council and put the council on a sound financial basis. This report, prepared by the Council, exposes this a complete myth.

 

The Barnet Eye calls on all media outlets, local and naational, to investigate this issue and ensure that the dangers of persuing such ideologically driven policies is properly examined in the run up to the 2014 election. As the media are looking forward to 2014, we should be doing everything to inform about the risks we are facing.

 

Yesterday the Barnet Eye emailed every Councillor in the London Borough of Barnet for comment. We have had 27 read acknowledgements, but not a single response about the report.

 

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