The people of Barnet have been paying for the Leader of Barnet Council to have a rather expensive blog, called Leader Listens. Former Leader Mike Freer set the Leader Listens program up to allow a two way dialog between residents and the leadership. When Lynne Hillan took over in December, she did two things. She deleted all of the "interesting and informative" historical blogs by Freer and then in February, she promised to post her expenses on a monthly basis on the blog. Like most of Hillans promises, this one was broken. The February post was the last one.
I thought I'd see if Lynne Hillan had actually bothered to update it whilst I was on holiday - see for yourself what she's done with her blog, which cost over £400 of taxpayers money to set up and was meant to keep the Barnet Taxpayer up to date with what the Leader has been doing :-
http://leaderlistens.com
Yup, takes you straight to the Barnet Council website - http://www.barnet.gov.uk/ - If you click on the link from this page to Leader Listens, you stay where you are. In short, the Leader has stopped Listening.
Leaderlistens.com sums up the Leadership of Lynne Hillan at Barnet Council. Like the link, it goes nowhere. Like the blog, promises have been broken, things have been hidden and the history of the Tory Leadership has been swept under the carpet. All of this at a huge cost to the taxpayer. A blog such as this one is free to set up - Freer paid £400 for Leader Listens blog for no good reason. I earn enough for the odd pie & pint from the Adverts in the sidebar. Of course that is called good financial management, something Hillan & co just don't get. She has got to go
Showing posts with label Leader Listens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leader Listens. Show all posts
Sunday, 29 August 2010
Wednesday, 4 August 2010
Allowancegate : Lynne Hillan - The leader that doesn't listen
There will be no new posts to this blog until after the election. The only exception will be my expenses which I will post monthly.
Thursday, 24 June 2010
Hey Lynne Hillan, what about your expenses
To quote Council Leader Lynne Hillan from her own taxpayer funded blog, from 25th Feb, explaining why she what she would and wouldn't be posting on the site :-
Guess when the last the post was? Yup 25th Feb. What happened to the expenses for March, April and May. It seems that monthly has a different meaning for Ms Hillan. You may wonder what Lynne plans to do with Leader Listens as she can't be bothered? We all wonder, don't we. Why don't you tell us Lynne?The only exception will be my expenses which I will post monthly.
And as for her expenses?
Monday, 10 May 2010
Leader Listens - where are the details of expenses.
The Leader of Barnet Council has a publicly funded blog called Leader Listens. This currently only has one entry - as follows :-
By my (admittedly poor maths) shouldn't there be two more entries by now?
February 15, 2010 – 12:34 pm
Thank you for coming to Leader Listens, the blog of the Leader of Barnet Council.
I took over as leader at the turn of the year and I am keen to review how Barnet Council consults and engages with residents. As part of that review I will be considering the role of blogging and the relationship it has to the other communications work of the council.
But with local election prudah coming up (this limits just what information council’s can publish for fear of influencing the election process) it would seem foolish to adopt a new model of communication with residents only to immediately suspend it for six weeks – so there will be no new posts to this blog until after the election.
The only exception will be my expenses which I will post monthly.
I hope, whatever your political persuasion, you take the opportunity to vote in May.
Regards
Lynne Hillan
By my (admittedly poor maths) shouldn't there be two more entries by now?
Wednesday, 17 February 2010
A manifesto for small business
A few interesting facts
84% of new jobs created between 2002-2007 were created by small businesses
53% of small businesses have introduced new products in the last 12 months
Over 50% of turnover small businesses goes straight back into the local economy
Seven pubs close every day and 24,000 people have lost their jobs due to pub closures in the last year
Local authorities made £1.6 billion from parking charges in 2005, Barnet made more than any other Borough last year
13.5 million people work in small firms
Small firms contribute more than 50% of the UK turnover
I spent the afternoon at the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) offices in a meeting helping to draw up the FSB's manifesto for the forthcoming elections. I've been a member of the FSB for a few years as I think that small business needs a voice. Now I'm just an ordinary member of the organisation and the meeting was open to any interested business. The FSB is not politically aligned. It's job is to make the voices of the diverse world of small business heard.
At the meeting yesterday there was a rather diverse group. Podiatrists, advertising agencies, It firms, music studios,etc. Strangely enough, all of the people present had rather similar views and issues on the problems we face. As you know, in Mill Hill we've been pushing for free parking for one hour in the town centre. I raised this and guess what? Everyone agreed. Other Boroughs have different schemes, but parking is a huge issue. It affects, customers, deliveries and business owners.
The other issues which came up were the problems with Banks and the problems with bureaucracy.It seems that not a week goes by without more legislation, more rules and more costs imposed by the government. Another general gripe was the way local authorities make it virtually impossible for small local businesses to tender for contracts. Given that small firms are more likely to employ local workers, it seems obvious to me that every effort should be made to encourage local business to bid.
In my experiences with Barnet Council, there is no understanding whatsoever of the small business sector. This is why I am supportive of the Leader Listens business breakfasts, which at least starts a dialog. I was a little disappointed with the response from Barnet Council when I contacted them to let them know I was attending the meeting. I guess that there excuse will be that they will claim that they thought I was just fishing for reasons to bash Barnet Council on this blog. Sadly they never seem to see the bigger picture. There is nothing I'd like more than to say that Barnet Council is the most business friendly Local Authority in the Country. I doubt that will happen until there is a strong group of Councillors who have experience of successfully running local businesses and whoa re prepared to work across party lines to improve the Council.
I have a question for Deputy Leader of Barnet Council, Councillor Andrew Harper, who hosted the business breakfast. You heard my contribution to the meeting. Presumably you've read the blog I wrote about it. Presumably you've read this blog. Do you think it would be a good or a bad thing if Barnet Council was recognised by the FSB as being the most business friendly borough in the country? Sadly, I have to report that this is not the current perception.
Anyway, I've said my piece, here's what I'd like to see happen.
- As many small business owners in Barnet join the FSB, so that we can effectively lobby the Council
- Barnet Council invite the Federation of Small Businesses to address a Leader Listens Session
- Barnet Council Officers and Councillors read the FSB manifesto for business
- All candidates for Council and Parliament publish their CV and so we can see their successess and failures in the world of business and their careers. Who employs anyone without reading their CV.
Please Note : This blog is my personal opinion and is not necessarily the official position of the FSB.
84% of new jobs created between 2002-2007 were created by small businesses
53% of small businesses have introduced new products in the last 12 months
Over 50% of turnover small businesses goes straight back into the local economy
Seven pubs close every day and 24,000 people have lost their jobs due to pub closures in the last year
Local authorities made £1.6 billion from parking charges in 2005, Barnet made more than any other Borough last year
13.5 million people work in small firms
Small firms contribute more than 50% of the UK turnover
I spent the afternoon at the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) offices in a meeting helping to draw up the FSB's manifesto for the forthcoming elections. I've been a member of the FSB for a few years as I think that small business needs a voice. Now I'm just an ordinary member of the organisation and the meeting was open to any interested business. The FSB is not politically aligned. It's job is to make the voices of the diverse world of small business heard.
At the meeting yesterday there was a rather diverse group. Podiatrists, advertising agencies, It firms, music studios,etc. Strangely enough, all of the people present had rather similar views and issues on the problems we face. As you know, in Mill Hill we've been pushing for free parking for one hour in the town centre. I raised this and guess what? Everyone agreed. Other Boroughs have different schemes, but parking is a huge issue. It affects, customers, deliveries and business owners.
The other issues which came up were the problems with Banks and the problems with bureaucracy.It seems that not a week goes by without more legislation, more rules and more costs imposed by the government. Another general gripe was the way local authorities make it virtually impossible for small local businesses to tender for contracts. Given that small firms are more likely to employ local workers, it seems obvious to me that every effort should be made to encourage local business to bid.
In my experiences with Barnet Council, there is no understanding whatsoever of the small business sector. This is why I am supportive of the Leader Listens business breakfasts, which at least starts a dialog. I was a little disappointed with the response from Barnet Council when I contacted them to let them know I was attending the meeting. I guess that there excuse will be that they will claim that they thought I was just fishing for reasons to bash Barnet Council on this blog. Sadly they never seem to see the bigger picture. There is nothing I'd like more than to say that Barnet Council is the most business friendly Local Authority in the Country. I doubt that will happen until there is a strong group of Councillors who have experience of successfully running local businesses and whoa re prepared to work across party lines to improve the Council.
I have a question for Deputy Leader of Barnet Council, Councillor Andrew Harper, who hosted the business breakfast. You heard my contribution to the meeting. Presumably you've read the blog I wrote about it. Presumably you've read this blog. Do you think it would be a good or a bad thing if Barnet Council was recognised by the FSB as being the most business friendly borough in the country? Sadly, I have to report that this is not the current perception.
Anyway, I've said my piece, here's what I'd like to see happen.
- As many small business owners in Barnet join the FSB, so that we can effectively lobby the Council
- Barnet Council invite the Federation of Small Businesses to address a Leader Listens Session
- Barnet Council Officers and Councillors read the FSB manifesto for business
- All candidates for Council and Parliament publish their CV and so we can see their successess and failures in the world of business and their careers. Who employs anyone without reading their CV.
Please Note : This blog is my personal opinion and is not necessarily the official position of the FSB.
Thursday, 11 February 2010
Barnet Council - Leader Listens Breakfast report
So a nice early morning for me. Up to North London Business park for the Leader Listens breakfast. This gives the business rate payers of Barnet a chance to meet the Leader of the Council and discuss local issues. There is usually a guest speaker and today was no exception, as we had Neil Basu, the Barnet Borough Commander.
Due to a rather frozen car, I arrived just as the meeting was starting, so missed out on the chance to chat to the other business owners, which is one of the main reasons for going to these meetings. Grabbing a quick cup of tea and a pastry, I entered and sat down. Deputy Leader Andrew Harper bounded enthusiastically towards me and said "Good morning Mr Tichborne". For a second I thought Lynne Hillan had asked him to escort me from the premises, but he carried on straight past me to the front of the room. Councillor Harper started introductions. He confided that he'd never been to North London Business Park this early (7.30am). He then gave Leader Lynne Hillans apologies. It seems she is unwell, nothing too serious, we all hope. Councillor Harper looks and talks like a Leader of the Council. I suspect that if Councillor Hillan falls under a bus or some other tragedy befalls her, he may well step up. He's jovial, self-deprecating and assurred. I rather suspect that his method of securing the Leadership would be to tell everybody that he didn't want it and would be useless at it. I suspect that he might be rather better than some recent Council Leaders, but thats another story.
Anyway, Councillor Harper then introduced Neil Basu, The Borough Commander. Chief Basu was quite a charismatic speaker. He started by giving us his CV. He started in Corporate Finance at Barnclays Bank. He moved to Mars to become a sales manager. He told us that this was not fulfilling so decided to opt for a career in the Metropolitan Police. He started as a regular South London Cop, rising to seargent at Brixton. He then had a job in the Anti-Corruption squad. He moved to investigating deaths in custody, on to the Trident murder squad (black on black murders), from there to the serious organised crime squad, then to the Commisioners assistant. He then took over Barnet on June 29th. He proceeded to give us a few interesting stats about Barnet. 340,000 people. Second most populous London Borough after Croydon( projected to become most populous in 2012). 4th geographically largest, 8th safest, 16th most diverse and one of the lowest rates of assault.
He then gave us the good news - Hate crimes down, vehicle crime down, violence down. Then came the bad news - Burglary up, gun crime up, armed robbery up. He told us that the Metropolitan Police were the model for the worlds police force. He told us that 60% of people though the met were doing a good job, but only 27% of people thought that the Police liaised effectively with Barnet Council. Q&A followed. Commander Basu dealt with these in a calm collective manner. I raised the issue of anti social behaviour in Mill Hill Broadway and how one of my employees had been told that this wasn't a priority and to contact the Council Leader if I wanted this changed. The commander agreed this was a poor response and suggested we raised a complaint if we got fobbed off. A lady from a High Barnet Jewellers told him that Barnet Police were far better than the police in her native South Africa. That was that. I was rather hoping Commander Basu would have told us tales of vice and corruption from the days doing his old jobs, but no such luck.
Councillor Harper then introduced the Deputy CEO of Barnet, Andrew Travers, who gave a brief presentation about the Barnet Council Budget. Mr Travers had the disadvantage of following a charismatic speaker talking about matters we all understand, to give a chat about figures, budgets and statistics. The gist of what he said was that only 18% of council spending was actually raised by council tax. The council has frozen this amount, so £15 million of cuts has to be found.
Then it was Councillor Harper. He took the Q&A. Councillor Harper asked for questions. He scoured the happ, only to see that I was the only person with their hand up. "Yes Mr Tichborne" he asked. I explained how I'd been out asking the Mill Hill Broadway traders their opinion of parking charges and whether they supported the Lib Dems proposal that the first hour should be free. I explained how the "free after three" scheme had been perceived as a success. One of the council officers piped up that although it had been a success it cost the council £100,000 which was a lot of money. I pointed out that the Council spent £209.5 million on housing benefit and anything which helped local business would promote employment, which would reduce housing benefit. Mr Harper responded that the government funded housing benefit, just giving it to councils to distribute. I replied that it was still funded by tax, therefore would ease the burdens on households.
With the local traders, there was pretty universal support of a cut to short term parking fees. I believe that Councillor Harper realised this was a sensible move, so lets hope the (deputy) Leader Listens!
There were several other questions. One gentlemen explained at length how the council did nothing to help small landlords rent properties. He suggested a more progressive policy would encourage business. Then the subject of Business rates were discussed. I raised the point that the whole process was badly communicated and causing widespread distress within the small business community. Councillor Harper asked the Business Link Officer (Hemand Ahmed was his name I think) to investigate ways to make this easier to understand.
Barnet Traders then explained how they were implementing a Crouch End Project style promotion for the High Street. This sounded like a rather good scheme. Something to roll out across the Borough.
Finally we had a guy speak who works for a company which keeps the streets of Barnet free of grafitti. He told us that Barnet Council was marvellous and was a model for other London Boroughs. Councillor Harper beamed with pride. The guy then said that sadly Barnet had just made the bloke redundant who was responsible for this. Councillor Harper stopped beaming. A council official tried to explain that the guy had taken "Early retirement which is his right, and there is a succession plan in place". the guy from the company said he sincerely hoped so.
At that we all went home. What did I get out of the session? Well I got a good insight into the priorities of the police in Barnet. I was impressed by Commander Basu. I know many policemen and he certainly isn't old school. I had a chat with him afterwards and I think we've got a decent guy in the job. Councillor Harper? He has always struck me as one of the more sensible Tory cabinet members. I suspect that he'll be a competent leader of the Conservative group in the not too distant future (assuming he's not knobbled). But what about the real power in Barnet? The Council officers? The more I see, the more I realise that they rule the roost. My worry is that I really don't think they understand small business. Why do I say this? Well for a start, the budget presentation would have made far more sense if it had concentrated on the elements of the budget which had a direct impact on small business. I noticed, for example, that trading standards and community safety gets a budget of £3.6 million. Surely a bit more detail on this aspect would be of great interest to legitimate businessmen. Maybe we could provide some meaningful feedback. There was also a big dollop called "central expenses" of £49 million. Again, some of this might be of interest to the small business community. The council spends £7.3 Million on Tax collection and finance. Is there any way that the small business community could suggest cuts to this? Again there is £6.7 Million on IT. Again, has this been spent efficiently.
The only way that Barnet Council can improve is if they get feedback. That is why I actually think these sessions are useful. I have been contacted by some non Business ratepaying small businesses who complained that they were excluded from this meeting. I think that this was a short sighted move by Barnet Council. There are many things I disagree with Barnet Council and Andrew Harper about, but when he does something useful, I think he deserves a bit of praise. Thank you for a good session Andrew and pass on my thanks to Commander Basu for his time.
Due to a rather frozen car, I arrived just as the meeting was starting, so missed out on the chance to chat to the other business owners, which is one of the main reasons for going to these meetings. Grabbing a quick cup of tea and a pastry, I entered and sat down. Deputy Leader Andrew Harper bounded enthusiastically towards me and said "Good morning Mr Tichborne". For a second I thought Lynne Hillan had asked him to escort me from the premises, but he carried on straight past me to the front of the room. Councillor Harper started introductions. He confided that he'd never been to North London Business Park this early (7.30am). He then gave Leader Lynne Hillans apologies. It seems she is unwell, nothing too serious, we all hope. Councillor Harper looks and talks like a Leader of the Council. I suspect that if Councillor Hillan falls under a bus or some other tragedy befalls her, he may well step up. He's jovial, self-deprecating and assurred. I rather suspect that his method of securing the Leadership would be to tell everybody that he didn't want it and would be useless at it. I suspect that he might be rather better than some recent Council Leaders, but thats another story.
Anyway, Councillor Harper then introduced Neil Basu, The Borough Commander. Chief Basu was quite a charismatic speaker. He started by giving us his CV. He started in Corporate Finance at Barnclays Bank. He moved to Mars to become a sales manager. He told us that this was not fulfilling so decided to opt for a career in the Metropolitan Police. He started as a regular South London Cop, rising to seargent at Brixton. He then had a job in the Anti-Corruption squad. He moved to investigating deaths in custody, on to the Trident murder squad (black on black murders), from there to the serious organised crime squad, then to the Commisioners assistant. He then took over Barnet on June 29th. He proceeded to give us a few interesting stats about Barnet. 340,000 people. Second most populous London Borough after Croydon( projected to become most populous in 2012). 4th geographically largest, 8th safest, 16th most diverse and one of the lowest rates of assault.
He then gave us the good news - Hate crimes down, vehicle crime down, violence down. Then came the bad news - Burglary up, gun crime up, armed robbery up. He told us that the Metropolitan Police were the model for the worlds police force. He told us that 60% of people though the met were doing a good job, but only 27% of people thought that the Police liaised effectively with Barnet Council. Q&A followed. Commander Basu dealt with these in a calm collective manner. I raised the issue of anti social behaviour in Mill Hill Broadway and how one of my employees had been told that this wasn't a priority and to contact the Council Leader if I wanted this changed. The commander agreed this was a poor response and suggested we raised a complaint if we got fobbed off. A lady from a High Barnet Jewellers told him that Barnet Police were far better than the police in her native South Africa. That was that. I was rather hoping Commander Basu would have told us tales of vice and corruption from the days doing his old jobs, but no such luck.
Councillor Harper then introduced the Deputy CEO of Barnet, Andrew Travers, who gave a brief presentation about the Barnet Council Budget. Mr Travers had the disadvantage of following a charismatic speaker talking about matters we all understand, to give a chat about figures, budgets and statistics. The gist of what he said was that only 18% of council spending was actually raised by council tax. The council has frozen this amount, so £15 million of cuts has to be found.
Then it was Councillor Harper. He took the Q&A. Councillor Harper asked for questions. He scoured the happ, only to see that I was the only person with their hand up. "Yes Mr Tichborne" he asked. I explained how I'd been out asking the Mill Hill Broadway traders their opinion of parking charges and whether they supported the Lib Dems proposal that the first hour should be free. I explained how the "free after three" scheme had been perceived as a success. One of the council officers piped up that although it had been a success it cost the council £100,000 which was a lot of money. I pointed out that the Council spent £209.5 million on housing benefit and anything which helped local business would promote employment, which would reduce housing benefit. Mr Harper responded that the government funded housing benefit, just giving it to councils to distribute. I replied that it was still funded by tax, therefore would ease the burdens on households.
With the local traders, there was pretty universal support of a cut to short term parking fees. I believe that Councillor Harper realised this was a sensible move, so lets hope the (deputy) Leader Listens!
There were several other questions. One gentlemen explained at length how the council did nothing to help small landlords rent properties. He suggested a more progressive policy would encourage business. Then the subject of Business rates were discussed. I raised the point that the whole process was badly communicated and causing widespread distress within the small business community. Councillor Harper asked the Business Link Officer (Hemand Ahmed was his name I think) to investigate ways to make this easier to understand.
Barnet Traders then explained how they were implementing a Crouch End Project style promotion for the High Street. This sounded like a rather good scheme. Something to roll out across the Borough.
Finally we had a guy speak who works for a company which keeps the streets of Barnet free of grafitti. He told us that Barnet Council was marvellous and was a model for other London Boroughs. Councillor Harper beamed with pride. The guy then said that sadly Barnet had just made the bloke redundant who was responsible for this. Councillor Harper stopped beaming. A council official tried to explain that the guy had taken "Early retirement which is his right, and there is a succession plan in place". the guy from the company said he sincerely hoped so.
At that we all went home. What did I get out of the session? Well I got a good insight into the priorities of the police in Barnet. I was impressed by Commander Basu. I know many policemen and he certainly isn't old school. I had a chat with him afterwards and I think we've got a decent guy in the job. Councillor Harper? He has always struck me as one of the more sensible Tory cabinet members. I suspect that he'll be a competent leader of the Conservative group in the not too distant future (assuming he's not knobbled). But what about the real power in Barnet? The Council officers? The more I see, the more I realise that they rule the roost. My worry is that I really don't think they understand small business. Why do I say this? Well for a start, the budget presentation would have made far more sense if it had concentrated on the elements of the budget which had a direct impact on small business. I noticed, for example, that trading standards and community safety gets a budget of £3.6 million. Surely a bit more detail on this aspect would be of great interest to legitimate businessmen. Maybe we could provide some meaningful feedback. There was also a big dollop called "central expenses" of £49 million. Again, some of this might be of interest to the small business community. The council spends £7.3 Million on Tax collection and finance. Is there any way that the small business community could suggest cuts to this? Again there is £6.7 Million on IT. Again, has this been spent efficiently.
The only way that Barnet Council can improve is if they get feedback. That is why I actually think these sessions are useful. I have been contacted by some non Business ratepaying small businesses who complained that they were excluded from this meeting. I think that this was a short sighted move by Barnet Council. There are many things I disagree with Barnet Council and Andrew Harper about, but when he does something useful, I think he deserves a bit of praise. Thank you for a good session Andrew and pass on my thanks to Commander Basu for his time.
Friday, 15 January 2010
Lynne Hillan to revamp Leader Listens
I received an email from leader of Barnet Council, Lynne Hillan yesterday. I had emailed her congratulating her on her new job as Leader of Barnet Council and enquiring what her intentions were for Leader Listens. I'd been used to rather curt responses (when I got them at all) from the previous regime at Barnet Council.
It seems our new leader is at least good mannered in her style of email. She tells me she's currently reviewing the whole Leader Listens scheme, both meetings and blog. She tells me that she'll be publishing her expenses when she incurs some. I'm sure Councillor Hillan is no more kindly disposed towards this blog than the previous regime, but it's only fair to say that the tone of the email made a pleasant change.
I've had my doubts about the value of certain aspects of Leader Listens from the start, most notably the blog. I will say that I attended one of the Leader Listens business breakfasts and found this to be very interesting and informative, especially the talk given by the MD of Brent Cross. I also attended a residents meeting in Mill Hill with a former deputy Leader. Sadly this was rather less effective. Many residents raised concerns about the danger of traffic in Mill Hill Broadway. I had previously asked for action about illegal turns from Goodwyn Avenue on to the Broadway. The Council confirmed that over 300 cars per day were breaking the law, but they planned no action as it was "not a priority". They also completely ignored all comments about the dangerous changes to pelican crossings in the Broadway and the lack of a safe crossing for children on Lawrence Street. I also noted that they did some rather silly sessions such as the one in Golders Green on a Saturday morning.
My advice to Lynne Hillan is this regarding Leader Listens. If you are going to keep the blog, update it regularly. If you are going to continue with the meetings, actually listen to what the people who come along tell you. I suspect that listening rather than lecturing may be a far more productive way to go. If the meetings are to continue, I'd suggest that Hillan does a special Leader Listens with the residents of Sheltered Housing about the warden cuts. Nothing would make me happier than if Lynne Hillan listened to them.
It seems our new leader is at least good mannered in her style of email. She tells me she's currently reviewing the whole Leader Listens scheme, both meetings and blog. She tells me that she'll be publishing her expenses when she incurs some. I'm sure Councillor Hillan is no more kindly disposed towards this blog than the previous regime, but it's only fair to say that the tone of the email made a pleasant change.
I've had my doubts about the value of certain aspects of Leader Listens from the start, most notably the blog. I will say that I attended one of the Leader Listens business breakfasts and found this to be very interesting and informative, especially the talk given by the MD of Brent Cross. I also attended a residents meeting in Mill Hill with a former deputy Leader. Sadly this was rather less effective. Many residents raised concerns about the danger of traffic in Mill Hill Broadway. I had previously asked for action about illegal turns from Goodwyn Avenue on to the Broadway. The Council confirmed that over 300 cars per day were breaking the law, but they planned no action as it was "not a priority". They also completely ignored all comments about the dangerous changes to pelican crossings in the Broadway and the lack of a safe crossing for children on Lawrence Street. I also noted that they did some rather silly sessions such as the one in Golders Green on a Saturday morning.
My advice to Lynne Hillan is this regarding Leader Listens. If you are going to keep the blog, update it regularly. If you are going to continue with the meetings, actually listen to what the people who come along tell you. I suspect that listening rather than lecturing may be a far more productive way to go. If the meetings are to continue, I'd suggest that Hillan does a special Leader Listens with the residents of Sheltered Housing about the warden cuts. Nothing would make me happier than if Lynne Hillan listened to them.
Wednesday, 18 November 2009
Leader Listens? it's a bit hard with the comments turned off !
The Leader of Barnet Council has a blog, paid for by the taxpayer (not like this blog which is free). Why does he have it? Supposedly to engage in two way dialog with the taxpayers of Barnet (ie me and you). Now you'd think that calling it Leader Listens means he'd welcome comments. You'd think he'd LISTEN to them. Well rather like the old Stalinist Communist Newspaper Pravda (translates to "Truth"). It is actuallty the total opposite of what it says on the tin. I left a comment on there a couple of weeks ago and I've been checking in to see if Mike ever printed it.
Well not only has he not printed it, he's turned comments off completely. Check out the screen shot
You can click here to see LEADERLISTENS.COM in all it's glory. In this post Mike Freer claims he has nothing to hide in his expenses. Well there is one thing he definately wants to hide - My comments. If you were wondering what the question was that Mike was so reticent about answering, click here to see the post with the comment saved from my Blog.
How long can Mike go on calling it Leader Listens, before he realises what a prize plonker he's starting to look? It's quite simple Mike, just tell us what this entertainment was and be done with it. What is there to hide?
Well not only has he not printed it, he's turned comments off completely. Check out the screen shot
You can click here to see LEADERLISTENS.COM in all it's glory. In this post Mike Freer claims he has nothing to hide in his expenses. Well there is one thing he definately wants to hide - My comments. If you were wondering what the question was that Mike was so reticent about answering, click here to see the post with the comment saved from my Blog.
How long can Mike go on calling it Leader Listens, before he realises what a prize plonker he's starting to look? It's quite simple Mike, just tell us what this entertainment was and be done with it. What is there to hide?
Monday, 9 November 2009
Mike Freer : We've got nothing to hide (except your comments)
Leader of Barnet Council Mike Freer says on his latest "Leader Listens" blog
Rog T
Your comment is awaiting moderation. Mike,
Please can you share with us exactly what this £417.20 in “Entertainment” was. I presume it wasn’t for a troupe of dancing girls to entertain you prior to your last cabinet meeting?
I trust publishing these figures here will demonstrate to critics and cynics, and to you, that Barnet has nothing to hide.Strange really that he chooses to hide the comment I left?
Rog TPlease can you share with us exactly what this £417.20 in “Entertainment” was. I presume it wasn’t for a troupe of dancing girls to entertain you prior to your last cabinet meeting?
Saturday, 7 November 2009
That Mike Freer, he likes his entertainment !!!!!!
Sometimes I see things and I think to myself - what on earth are they thinking? This happened to me today when I had a peek at Mike Freer's Leader Listens blog. Leader of Barnet Council, Mike Freer makes the following statement in his blog :-
a) Be extremely wasteful
b) Be incapable of doing even the most simple things in a sensible fashion
Lets analyse what Mike Freer says. He says that it costs Barnet a fortune in providing information to journalists which they are fully entitled to see. He concedes they have every right to see them. He has recognised that these perfectly legitmate requests are costing us all money. So how does he address the issue? Well firstly FOI requests from journalists are not the only thing which costs the Barnet Taxpayer money. Mike Freer's Leader Listens blog also costs us money. Unlike my free blog here at blogspot, it cost you and I, the taxpayer nearly £500 to set Mikes blog up. Now the penny has finally dropped that he could save some money by putting expense details on there. Of course, like most other things Mike Freer does, it's not what he says, it's what he leaves out.
First, why has he only put the last years expenses up? Why not go back to when he started as Leader. Is it because the "travel" expenses would be rather bigger in previous years, when he was going to Conferences in the USA? As he concedes, we are entitled to know this and it will cost the taxpayer money to service FOI requests, so if there is nothing to hide, just put it all up there.
Secondly, why are only his expenses posted? He's the Leader. Why doesn't he show all of the expenses for his Barnet Cabinet and the Mayor? We all know that there are certain members of the Barnet Conservative party who, lets say, take a different view to claiming travel expenses than Mike.
In fact, he really ought to put all Council expenses for all Councillors on the Barnet Council Website. This would eliminate for once and for all the cost of the FOI issue and then he could say the process is completely honest and transparent. Do it for the whole period since the last election. If there's nothing to hide, then he can say "look what a good job I've done". He should also do this for all Council officers on salaries of over £100,000 per annum.
Finally onto his expenses :-
I note that he's spent £417.20 on "Entertainment".What on earth is entertainment? We are in the middle of a recession and The leader of Barnet Council, Mike Freer is spending £417.20 of our money on "Entertainment". I'm minded to put a Freedom of Information request in to ask just what this is. Mike, I know you read this blog, please save us the cost of this request and tell us what this "Entertainment" was. Surely with Brian Coleman as Mayor, he doesn't need the Council to get a Court Jester in to keep all of our Councillors "Entertained".
I don't know about you, but personally I'm of the opinion that if the Leader of Barnet Council requires entertainment, then he should pay for it out of his own pocket. I daresay he'll come back and say that this relates to having lunches etc with senior business and political figures (such as Ian Clement or maybe not????). Maybe it's justified, maybe it's money well spent, but if he just lumps it all under entertainment, with no explanation whatsoever, he only has himself to blame, when we start asking questions.
I've posted this comment on his Leader Listens site. Lets see if he bothers to answer it?
I have now decided to start publishing my expenses on this blog every month in a clear form. Frankly these have been available to critics under the Freedom of Information Act for years and are regularly requested by journalists using the act to trawl for scandal across the UK (the expense to the taxpayer of such fishing requests is something I should return to another time).This is a clear example of why Mike Freer isn't up to the job and why any administration he runs will
a) Be extremely wasteful
b) Be incapable of doing even the most simple things in a sensible fashion
Lets analyse what Mike Freer says. He says that it costs Barnet a fortune in providing information to journalists which they are fully entitled to see. He concedes they have every right to see them. He has recognised that these perfectly legitmate requests are costing us all money. So how does he address the issue? Well firstly FOI requests from journalists are not the only thing which costs the Barnet Taxpayer money. Mike Freer's Leader Listens blog also costs us money. Unlike my free blog here at blogspot, it cost you and I, the taxpayer nearly £500 to set Mikes blog up. Now the penny has finally dropped that he could save some money by putting expense details on there. Of course, like most other things Mike Freer does, it's not what he says, it's what he leaves out.
First, why has he only put the last years expenses up? Why not go back to when he started as Leader. Is it because the "travel" expenses would be rather bigger in previous years, when he was going to Conferences in the USA? As he concedes, we are entitled to know this and it will cost the taxpayer money to service FOI requests, so if there is nothing to hide, just put it all up there.
Secondly, why are only his expenses posted? He's the Leader. Why doesn't he show all of the expenses for his Barnet Cabinet and the Mayor? We all know that there are certain members of the Barnet Conservative party who, lets say, take a different view to claiming travel expenses than Mike.
In fact, he really ought to put all Council expenses for all Councillors on the Barnet Council Website. This would eliminate for once and for all the cost of the FOI issue and then he could say the process is completely honest and transparent. Do it for the whole period since the last election. If there's nothing to hide, then he can say "look what a good job I've done". He should also do this for all Council officers on salaries of over £100,000 per annum.
Finally onto his expenses :-
I don't know about you, but personally I'm of the opinion that if the Leader of Barnet Council requires entertainment, then he should pay for it out of his own pocket. I daresay he'll come back and say that this relates to having lunches etc with senior business and political figures (such as Ian Clement or maybe not????). Maybe it's justified, maybe it's money well spent, but if he just lumps it all under entertainment, with no explanation whatsoever, he only has himself to blame, when we start asking questions.
I've posted this comment on his Leader Listens site. Lets see if he bothers to answer it?
- Your comment is awaiting moderation. Mike,
Please can you share with us exactly what this £417.20 in “Entertainment” was. I presume it wasn’t for a troupe of dancing girls to entertain you prior to your last cabinet meeting?
Wednesday, 5 August 2009
Mike Freer : "What Barnet really needs is more rabbit hutch flats"
The Leader of Barnet Council Mike Freer is at it again. Some people like knitting, some like drinking beer, some like golf, some like trainspotting. Mike's hobby is blaming everyone else when the wheels fall of his bonkers schemes. If you read Mike's latest leader listens posting, you'd think that the reason for the problems with Mike's scheme to concrete over the borough and cover it with flats the size of rabbit hutches is down to the government. He neglects to mention that the bloke in charge of the schemes at Barnet got the boot recently.
All that aside though, I'm rather pleased that this particular hobby horse is in trouble. Unlike Mike, I don't think that Barnet is lacking in ugly, rabbit hutch sized flats. Unlike Mike, I don't think that building these for 80,000 new people is a good idea. Schools in Barnet are creaking. Portacabins are being frantically installed, newly IT suites ripped out, extra classes added. Now, surprise surprise - SAT results have got worse. Who's fault is this? Fiona Bulmer, Mike's lackey at education has the answer "Not me guv". Well she didn't actually say that, she said :-
How many times do we have to tell him - More flats = more people = more traffic = more kids wanting a place at school = less green space = less for kids to do = a worse environment for everyone.
Mike's leader listens posting disturbs me. It doesn't surprise me though. I was told last night that someone is running for a senior post in the Hendon Conservative party who has a history of wanting to concrete over the green belt. Someone who is universally loathed and despised in Mill Hill for his attempts to ruin the nicest areas with unwanted development. Someone who has fought tooth and nail for years to bend green belt regulations. Someone who as a matter of course uses the law to harrass and intimidate those who get in his way. A man who has deliberately ruined a beautiful scenic view purely to spite the residents of Mill Hill.
Matthew Offord is the Conservative candidate for Hendon. If this person gets the job they are after, there will be a huge backlash in Mill Hill. I doubt that many of the stalwart supporters of John Hart who belong to the preservation society will forgive him. I'm not a Conservative so I'd like to see them lose, but they really should mind their company.
More on this later, but until now I've been unable to understand Mike Freer's addiction to overdevelopment. When I heard about the moves afoot in the Hendon Conservative party it all became rather clear.
- Oh, by the way in answer to your emails re my last post. No I haven't really hacked the US military computer and no I don't have evidence of alien life. It was a JOKE !
All that aside though, I'm rather pleased that this particular hobby horse is in trouble. Unlike Mike, I don't think that Barnet is lacking in ugly, rabbit hutch sized flats. Unlike Mike, I don't think that building these for 80,000 new people is a good idea. Schools in Barnet are creaking. Portacabins are being frantically installed, newly IT suites ripped out, extra classes added. Now, surprise surprise - SAT results have got worse. Who's fault is this? Fiona Bulmer, Mike's lackey at education has the answer "Not me guv". Well she didn't actually say that, she said :-
Our feedback from teachers was that marking was stricter this yearNow our Fifi, as we like to call her, isn't despondent though, she adds helpfully :-
Well it's good to hear that results got worse, the head of education is pleased and she's not complacent! Could it be because her allowance for the job got bigger. Maybe I'd be pleased if I got a payrise for doing a bad job. What happens when school standards go down the pan? Property prices decline and people move out. I detailed all of this last month. Barnet's infrastructure is at breaking point, but bonkers old Mike wants to build more flats, import more social problems, cause more parents heartache as their children fail to find schools.
However, we are pleased with the results overall, though we are never complacent
How many times do we have to tell him - More flats = more people = more traffic = more kids wanting a place at school = less green space = less for kids to do = a worse environment for everyone.
Mike's leader listens posting disturbs me. It doesn't surprise me though. I was told last night that someone is running for a senior post in the Hendon Conservative party who has a history of wanting to concrete over the green belt. Someone who is universally loathed and despised in Mill Hill for his attempts to ruin the nicest areas with unwanted development. Someone who has fought tooth and nail for years to bend green belt regulations. Someone who as a matter of course uses the law to harrass and intimidate those who get in his way. A man who has deliberately ruined a beautiful scenic view purely to spite the residents of Mill Hill.
Matthew Offord is the Conservative candidate for Hendon. If this person gets the job they are after, there will be a huge backlash in Mill Hill. I doubt that many of the stalwart supporters of John Hart who belong to the preservation society will forgive him. I'm not a Conservative so I'd like to see them lose, but they really should mind their company.
More on this later, but until now I've been unable to understand Mike Freer's addiction to overdevelopment. When I heard about the moves afoot in the Hendon Conservative party it all became rather clear.
- Oh, by the way in answer to your emails re my last post. No I haven't really hacked the US military computer and no I don't have evidence of alien life. It was a JOKE !
Tuesday, 14 July 2009
Leader Listens - Business Breakfast report
If you run a business in Barnet, you should have received an invitation to North London Business Park for a Leader Listens session with Council Leader Mike Freer. It took place this morning between 7.30 am and 9.00 am. I hauled myself out of bed at 6.30 to go. Having finished working at 3am, this was a Herculean effort. Was it worth it?
Yes, actually it was. The guest speaker was Tom Nathan, general manager of Brent Cross. He put in a superb performance. I think anyone who runs a business benefits from listening to other people who are at the top of their game. Tom certainly gave me food for thought and I came away with a few notes for my own music business, which I really think will benefit the company. Toms message, simple and obvious though it should be was "listen to your customers and give them what they want".
Afterwards we had a question and answer session. This was reasonably lively. The main concern of small business in Barnet seems to be related to customer parking and the cost of it. Mike revealed that the council make a profit of about £2 million a year, which is ring fenced and ploughed back into pavement & highway improvements. I have no real criticism of that, although it is clear that the local schemes are open to improvement.
As it was a lively session, I didn't get to ask all of the questions I wanted, but I made my point about rates. Mike said he'd write to central Government about my suggestion that small startups be given a rates holiday to get going. This would boost employment and would be good for Barnet.
There has been criticism in some quarters that various councillors were not invited. Strangely enough, for this forum, I think that the Leader Listens format works. Getting a top businessman in and having the leader of the council & CEO (Nick Walkley) present means that small business people such as myself can :-
a) Learn something
b) Get our point over
For meetings with the general community, I think Mike should attend the residents forums, but discussions about business are different and the tone is different. It may surprise you to hear me praise a Mike Freer initiative, but I enjoyed the session and thought it was useful. I'm sure Mike will be pleased to know I'll most certainly be attending the next one (if I can get up).
I don't agree with Mike Freer on a whole host of issues, but it would be stupid and childish to criticise useful initiatives which benefit the people of Barnet.
Yes, actually it was. The guest speaker was Tom Nathan, general manager of Brent Cross. He put in a superb performance. I think anyone who runs a business benefits from listening to other people who are at the top of their game. Tom certainly gave me food for thought and I came away with a few notes for my own music business, which I really think will benefit the company. Toms message, simple and obvious though it should be was "listen to your customers and give them what they want".
Afterwards we had a question and answer session. This was reasonably lively. The main concern of small business in Barnet seems to be related to customer parking and the cost of it. Mike revealed that the council make a profit of about £2 million a year, which is ring fenced and ploughed back into pavement & highway improvements. I have no real criticism of that, although it is clear that the local schemes are open to improvement.
As it was a lively session, I didn't get to ask all of the questions I wanted, but I made my point about rates. Mike said he'd write to central Government about my suggestion that small startups be given a rates holiday to get going. This would boost employment and would be good for Barnet.
There has been criticism in some quarters that various councillors were not invited. Strangely enough, for this forum, I think that the Leader Listens format works. Getting a top businessman in and having the leader of the council & CEO (Nick Walkley) present means that small business people such as myself can :-
a) Learn something
b) Get our point over
For meetings with the general community, I think Mike should attend the residents forums, but discussions about business are different and the tone is different. It may surprise you to hear me praise a Mike Freer initiative, but I enjoyed the session and thought it was useful. I'm sure Mike will be pleased to know I'll most certainly be attending the next one (if I can get up).
I don't agree with Mike Freer on a whole host of issues, but it would be stupid and childish to criticise useful initiatives which benefit the people of Barnet.
Monday, 8 June 2009
Leader of Barnet Council Caught telling Porkies !
Porkie of the week award goes to Barnets most esteemed council leader, Mike Freer. Mike has just released a funky Youtube clip (see below) where he makes the outrageous claim that if you ask him a question, he'll always give you an answer.
Regular readers of this blog will know that I've asked loads of questions on Mike's Leader Listens page, which he's ignored.
Now Mike has claimed elsewhere that he doesn't answer questions from "One Handed bloggers "because we don't like him. So much for the "You may get an answer you don't like". What he doesn't explain or justify is why he hasn't even bothered to answer a question from Richard Logue, a regular commenter on this blog when he left 1 question on Mike's Blog.
Now I leave messages on blogs all over the place. I leave them on Roger Evans blog - he's the Tory leader at the GLA. I leave messages on James Cleverly's blog, he's another Tory on the GLA. I'm sure they think I'm a pain in the butt, but they post the messages and give nice polite anwers. They even have the odd bit of banter.
Here's Mike's video. If you want this crock of .... exposed for what it is, click on the Leader Listens tag at the bottom of this blog and read all of the old posts - it's all actually quite sad.
Sunday, 15 March 2009
Leader Listens - What are we paying for?
As you will no doubt be aware if you read this blog, the Leader of Barnet Council has a blog called Leader Listens, paid for by me (and you if you are a taxpayer). He justifies this expense (he could have a free blog like this) by saying that the expensive version allows him to use more facilities. Whilst I've yet to see any features which are an improvement on a free blogspot blog, one has to assume there must be some reason.If he's going to have a taxpayer funded blog, one would think he'd have the decency to use it for the public good. The last entry was March 5th and constituted of a big excuse for Barnet losing it's 4 star council status. Since then a massive story has broken in Barnet. The council has lost £27.4 millioni Iceland. The leader of the council put out a statement on Monday saying that Council Officers had mislead him. For the last 5 months, the leader of the council was lead to believe that the Council Officers had followed the agreed policy. On monday, the scrutiny committee pointed out that the secret cabinet report had lead them to conclude that this wasn't the case. A Council Officer has resigned and auditors have been called in.
Strangely the press release detailing this isn't on the Council press release page. On top of this it isn't mentioned on leader listens either. What is the point having a leader listens website if the leader doesn't bother to use it. Surely the Iceland story is the story in Barnet. If this doesn't warrant a mention, then what does? Sadly I suspect that like Mike Freer's policy for publishing comments, the reason it doesn't appear is because it shows him to be a poor leader. I really don't think that at a time when funds are tight, the council should waste a penny on such a vanity project.
Mr Freer has stated on his blog and in other media that he is confident that Barnet will get all it's money back from Iceland. I challenge him to show us one piece of information on his blog to support this assertion. I also challenge Mike Freer to explain why he hasn't called in the Police to investigate the cover up surrounding the Icelandic investment policy. If he has been deliberately and systematically mislead by multiple council officials, resulting in risk to public funds, surely the Police should have been called on Monday.
Finally I ask Mike this. Was the Council official who resigned given a payoff to go quietly? If Mike Freer answers all of these questions honestly, openly and completely on his Leader Listens blog, I will accept that it serves a public function and will refrain from criticising it's cost in future.
Monday, 2 March 2009
Leader Listens? Well he can't even be bothered to turn up !
If you were the leader of Barnet Council and you decided to start a program called Leader Listens and you promoted this as a chance for regular people to engage directly with the council leader, and you only had to fit around one visit a month in, would you bother to turn up? Well it seems that if the meeting is in Burnt Oak and your name is Mike Freer, the answer is clearly NO. You send your bagman - Matthew Offord - (check Leader Listens for full details and video of this charade).
Now as the scheme is Mike Freer's baby, you think he'd be able to plan the meetings so that he could be there. The sessions aren't called Leader and Deputy Listen. They are not called "A bloke from the Council Listens" they are not even called "Leader Listens if he can be bothered to turn up". The sessions are quite clearly called "Leader Listens". Now if I'd put off a hot date or given up a pre Christmas night out with the boys to engage with Council Leader Mike Freer and he sent a lackey along, I'd feel pretty cheated. You see if the Leader is there, you know he's heard what you have to say. If you tell Deputy Dawg what is troubling you, our great leader can say "Oh, Matthew in the middle was very naughty and forgot to tell me".
So what is it about Burnt Oak which means that Mike can't be bothered to go? I put this question to the Burnt Oak Society of Jedi Knights and after 3 days meditation on this issue they suggested the following possible options:-
a) Mike Freer is a snob and wouldn't be seen dead in a working class area such as Burnt Oak.
b) Mike Freer got a better offer and went somewhere else
c) Matthew Offord did the session as Burnt Oak is in the constituency he's standing in for Parliament.
So lets explore these options.
a) Well if this is true it's terrible. The voters of Burnt Oak deserve the same treatment as everyone else.
b) There is no mention in the minutes of an apology from Freer, so we can assume he either hadn't had a better offer or he is too bad mannered to offer an apology. Not the standard of behaviour we'd like from a council leader.
c) It seems to me that Freer and Offord have form on this. I attended the Mill Hill Leader listens session (again in Hendon Constituency). Offord took this session as well. If Offord and Freer are divvying up the sessions according to who's constituency they are in, I'd say that could be an abuse of public funds to gain an electoral advantage. Candidates are not allowed to abuse their position to gain an unfair advantage. As opposition councillors candidates are excluded from these meetings on the grounds that the purpose is engagement with the Council leader, use of the forum for party political advantage would clearly be deemed "out of order".
The only way to clear this up is for Mike Freer to post an explanation as to why Offord took the Burnt Oak and Mill Hill Sessions and he took the Finchley and Golders Green sessions (in his constituency).
The only crumb of comfort I would take from this, if I were an opposition candidate is that from what I saw of Offord at the Mill Hill Leader Listens session, he is completely useless.
I raised 3 points with him
1) The fact that the council had failed to chop down a tree on their property which was damaging my mothers flat. A week later they dispatched a team and chopped the wrong tree down.
2) Illegal turns onto Mill Hill Broadway from Goodwyn Avenue. Offord confirmed that this had been monitored and that 300 offences a day were occurring. I asked what he intended to do and he said nothing. I asked if this would change if someone got run over. He said "It might then".
3) Improvements to Bunns Lane Car Park. Offord said he would investigate this and report back to me. I'm still waiting. It must be a very thorough investigation, having taken over a year.
So there you go. If you live in Hendon Constituency, you don't get the Leader Mike Freer - he can't be bothered. You get Captain Useless - Matthew Offord. I just hope that the voters in Finchley, Golders Green and Hendon see through this charade.
Now as the scheme is Mike Freer's baby, you think he'd be able to plan the meetings so that he could be there. The sessions aren't called Leader and Deputy Listen. They are not called "A bloke from the Council Listens" they are not even called "Leader Listens if he can be bothered to turn up". The sessions are quite clearly called "Leader Listens". Now if I'd put off a hot date or given up a pre Christmas night out with the boys to engage with Council Leader Mike Freer and he sent a lackey along, I'd feel pretty cheated. You see if the Leader is there, you know he's heard what you have to say. If you tell Deputy Dawg what is troubling you, our great leader can say "Oh, Matthew in the middle was very naughty and forgot to tell me".
So what is it about Burnt Oak which means that Mike can't be bothered to go? I put this question to the Burnt Oak Society of Jedi Knights and after 3 days meditation on this issue they suggested the following possible options:-
a) Mike Freer is a snob and wouldn't be seen dead in a working class area such as Burnt Oak.
b) Mike Freer got a better offer and went somewhere else
c) Matthew Offord did the session as Burnt Oak is in the constituency he's standing in for Parliament.
So lets explore these options.
a) Well if this is true it's terrible. The voters of Burnt Oak deserve the same treatment as everyone else.
b) There is no mention in the minutes of an apology from Freer, so we can assume he either hadn't had a better offer or he is too bad mannered to offer an apology. Not the standard of behaviour we'd like from a council leader.
c) It seems to me that Freer and Offord have form on this. I attended the Mill Hill Leader listens session (again in Hendon Constituency). Offord took this session as well. If Offord and Freer are divvying up the sessions according to who's constituency they are in, I'd say that could be an abuse of public funds to gain an electoral advantage. Candidates are not allowed to abuse their position to gain an unfair advantage. As opposition councillors candidates are excluded from these meetings on the grounds that the purpose is engagement with the Council leader, use of the forum for party political advantage would clearly be deemed "out of order".
The only way to clear this up is for Mike Freer to post an explanation as to why Offord took the Burnt Oak and Mill Hill Sessions and he took the Finchley and Golders Green sessions (in his constituency).
The only crumb of comfort I would take from this, if I were an opposition candidate is that from what I saw of Offord at the Mill Hill Leader Listens session, he is completely useless.
I raised 3 points with him
1) The fact that the council had failed to chop down a tree on their property which was damaging my mothers flat. A week later they dispatched a team and chopped the wrong tree down.
2) Illegal turns onto Mill Hill Broadway from Goodwyn Avenue. Offord confirmed that this had been monitored and that 300 offences a day were occurring. I asked what he intended to do and he said nothing. I asked if this would change if someone got run over. He said "It might then".
3) Improvements to Bunns Lane Car Park. Offord said he would investigate this and report back to me. I'm still waiting. It must be a very thorough investigation, having taken over a year.
So there you go. If you live in Hendon Constituency, you don't get the Leader Mike Freer - he can't be bothered. You get Captain Useless - Matthew Offord. I just hope that the voters in Finchley, Golders Green and Hendon see through this charade.
Wednesday, 18 February 2009
Mike Freer : Lets get the "Current Shape" of the Council right first
It amazes me to read the latest numpty press release from Barnet Council - http://www.barnet.gov.uk/press_releases.htm?id=1891 To quote "Young people in Barnet are being given the opportunity to work towards breaking down barriers of faith and ethnicity with a £25,000 grant scheme run by Barnet Council."
Well I'm speechless. My son plays football for Watling Club Under 9's. Anyone who has ever played a team sport soon realises barriers are broken down and friends are made. The team has boys of all colours and creeds. They all get on, they play as a team. The only problem is that they've missed several games this season because Barnet Council hasn't spent the money on ensuring the pitch at the Watling Leisure Centre is playable. It seems that Mike Freer is perfectly happy to make eye catching press releases like this and "Splash the cash" whilst neglecting the basics.
As you are aware the Barnet Council Tax payer funded the Leaderlistens.com blog for Freer to indulge in communication directly with the people of Barnet. As you will know if you follow this blog, he doesn't allow comments he doesn't like. Well here's one I posted that he won't publish on this very subject. Draw your own conclusions.
Why can't Mike Freer just get the basics right. Mike Freer reminds me of Derek Wanless, former CEO of Nat West Bank. He was always drawing up grand schemes to make Nat West the biggest bank in the world in a few years time. Trouble was that he neglected the present and RBS gobbled them up (and we all know how rubbish RBS are).
My Message to Mike Freer, stop worrying about all this "Future Shape"rubbish. Get the "CURRENT SHAPE" right and GET THINGS RIGHT.
Well I'm speechless. My son plays football for Watling Club Under 9's. Anyone who has ever played a team sport soon realises barriers are broken down and friends are made. The team has boys of all colours and creeds. They all get on, they play as a team. The only problem is that they've missed several games this season because Barnet Council hasn't spent the money on ensuring the pitch at the Watling Leisure Centre is playable. It seems that Mike Freer is perfectly happy to make eye catching press releases like this and "Splash the cash" whilst neglecting the basics.
As you are aware the Barnet Council Tax payer funded the Leaderlistens.com blog for Freer to indulge in communication directly with the people of Barnet. As you will know if you follow this blog, he doesn't allow comments he doesn't like. Well here's one I posted that he won't publish on this very subject. Draw your own conclusions.
1.
Rog T
Posted February 5, 2009 at 5:48 pm | Permalink
Your comment is awaiting moderation.
Dear Councillor Freer,
If the contracting out of Leisure Centre’s works so well, how come the football pitch at Burnt Oak Leisure has had no maintenance in recent weeks, making it unplayable last sunday. No sand had been put on waterlogged goalmouth areas, therefore it was unfit for purpose.
Do you ever make spot visits unannounced to these sites to talk to the people using the facilities or do you just sit in your office and read management reports.
When was the last time you visited Burnt Oak Leisure Centre on a Sunday morning when Youth teams were playing on the pitches (or not).
Why can't Mike Freer just get the basics right. Mike Freer reminds me of Derek Wanless, former CEO of Nat West Bank. He was always drawing up grand schemes to make Nat West the biggest bank in the world in a few years time. Trouble was that he neglected the present and RBS gobbled them up (and we all know how rubbish RBS are).
My Message to Mike Freer, stop worrying about all this "Future Shape"rubbish. Get the "CURRENT SHAPE" right and GET THINGS RIGHT.
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