Barnet Council chief financial officer releases his report and it is a nightmare.

 The Chief financial officer of Barnet Council has released their report, very late. The deadline for questions to the committee reviewing it was 10am yesterday morning. We've secured an extension, so questions can be taken. There are several highly concerning issues.

Here are my main concerns. 

Corporate debt.

It seems that Barnet Council has lost control of it's debtors. It has over £17 million of corporate debt, eleven million of which is more than 90 days old. Interestingly, Capita, who feature prominently in the list are responsible for debt collection. 

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5.18 Regular discussions are taking place relating to NHS North Central London CCG debt. A payment of £4m expected to be made in Month 8 will now be made during Month 9. There has been recent agreement to pay on account for sums in respect of client recharges this will result in a further £4.5m of invoices outstanding being settled during Month 10. The account remains under close monitoring. 

5.19 Legal discussions with The Fremantle Trust are ongoing. 

5.20 The Comer Homes debt was cleared in Month 9. 

5.21 Barratt Metropolitan LLP have paid £0.473m in Month 9. The remainder is under discussion with property services. 

5.22 There are on-going final account negotiations with Conway to recover the outstanding debt, it is not known as yet when this is likely to be concluded. 

5.23 Capita Business Services Ltd have paid the older than 30 days debts in Month 9 and the Accounts Receivable team are in discussion around the other balances. 

5.24 Discussions are ongoing with the Metropolitan Police to reconcile the council invoices to their AP system and purchase orders. 

5.25 Discussions are ongoing regarding the NHS Enfield CCG debt alongside the other CCG debts. 

5.26 Capita Property & Infrastructure Ltd have paid £0.105m in Month 9 and they are investigating why the remaining balance has not been paid.

This really should be the subject of an Audit committee investigation. It is simply not right that taxpayers should have to carry the can for corporate debt running out of control. All I can really say is that the council needs a big overhaul of its debt management processes.

A  few other notes

Brent Cross – The current 2021/22 position for the overall scheme is £4.849m over budget prior to the re-alignment virement agreed at P&R on 9 December 2021, which has aligned the forecast to the M7 detailed position. The overall programme has acknowledged potential inflationary pressures due to the impact of Covid-19. At present a detailed risk register is maintained within the service which includes pressures and efficiencies. As and when these potentially crystalise these will be included in the forecast as appropriate. 

I am not at all sure why Barnet Council should be losing money on a commercial development risk. These things should be earners for the council. Once again Barnet Council shows it cannot manage large projects.

Depot Relocation – slippage of £2.082m into 22/23 relating to land purchase costs materialising in 22/23, adjustments to works programmes, and rescheduling of works at the Brogan’s site

This has been a fiasco from start to finish, another £2 million down the drain. 

Environment – At Month 8 Environment is forecast to spend to £22.765m against budget, with £4.649m slippage. 

Another four and a half million 'slippage' here. More proof that Barnet Council is not managing its budget.

Collection Fund – Council Tax 

5.0 Overall collection continues to slightly improve compared to last year at 70.66%, which is 0.05% more than November 2020, but 1.11% lower than the previous year (i.e.prepandemic). In cash terms, current collection levels are £13.99m higher than last year and £15.4m higher than November 2019 (pre - pandemic) – this is due in part to annual increases in both the council tax base and the household charge over two budget cycles. 

It seems that over 30% of people in Barnet have not paid their council tax. This is appalling. More than three in ten households in Barnet are not paying council tax.

The summary contains a truly bizarre statement

The financial position for the current year continues to be marked by uncertainty, however as we get closer to the end of the financial year, the uncertainty levels are reducing and increasingly the risks and opportunities on the budget are either falling away or converting to actual costs and overspends, from a combination of the impact of Covid-19 and other pressures including inflationary increases and supply chain and distribution challenges. 

Suggesting that risks are falling away because they are turing into 'actual costs and overspends' is perhaps the strangest statement I've ever seen on a Council report. 

To summarise. Barnet can't manage projects properly, can't manage corporate debt and can't collect council tax properly. In short, the Barnet Tories have destroyed the ability to function as a council over the period since Mike Freer MP was leader and launched the One Barnet Outsourcing programme. You may not believe me, but the evidence is there in black and white from the chief financial officer.

I have submitted the following question to the committee on this subject

"Given that the CFO's report details that corporate debt is being mismanaged, council tax collection is less than 70% and that several major infrastructure projects have millions of pounds of cash overruns, what level of confidence can we have in this adminstration to manage taxpayers finances?".

Open Letter to the Leader of Barnet Council regarding the failure of the Cambridge Education Outsourcing contract

Last night I learned of the failure of the outsourcing contract between Barnet Council and Cambridge Education, which leaves school children in Barnet exposed as a key provider of Educational Services has left the council in the lurch at a time of crisis. 

This is how Barnet announced the outsourcing two years ago.

Welcome to Barnet with Cambridge! The partnership aims to maintain Barnet’s excellent education offer and the good relationship between the Council and schools. Our traded services offer is built on what schools need, and will be offered to schools within the Borough and beyond.

— Barnet with Cambridge Education (@BarnetWithCE) February 19, 2018

We are lead to believe that at a secret session of the Policy and Resources committee on Thursday night, where the public were excluded from the session, the committee were informed of the problems. There was meant to be a public statement on Friday but this has not materialised.

As a result we are seeking urgent clarification of the situation. We sent this urgent email to the men in charge last night, we will keep the people of Barnet informed of any response.

Dear Councillors

Today I learned that Cambridge Education have unilaterally pulled out of their deal with Barnet Council to provide educational services. 

I am sure that at this time, you will agree that the number one priority for Barnet Schools must be stability and a focus on bringing schools back on line in a safe and ordered fashion. Please can you answer the following questions.

1. As an in house solution would be the most low risk approach at this time, will this be your preferred solution?

2. As the private sector has let Barnet Council down at a time when the council most needed the support of its suppliers, will you be reviewing your strategy for outsourcing?

3. Please can you confirm that the council does not intend to get distracted by a lengthy procurement process, when the focus should be on the safety of children and school staff.

4. Please can you confirm that you recognise that Barnet Council will not be in a good position to negotiate a deal from a position of strength for the replacement of the Cambridge Education contract, as this will have to be concluded quickly to be in place for September.

5. Please can you confirm that a due diligence review will be conducted of the process that awarded Cambridge Education the contract, as this has clearly exposed Barnet Council, school children in Barnet and staff to risk, as focus is now on issues other than getting schools up and running safely.

It is essential that we put ideological differences aside at this time and work for a solution that puts our children first. Outsourcing this service has clearly failed and the absolute top priority should be to keep the show on the road.

Regards 

Roger Tichborne

Barnet Council social care outsourcing disaster

It seems that Barnet Council have undergone a massive failure in provision of social care, following a change over of care providers. This story, which has been broken by the Hendon Times  - http://m.times-series.co.uk/news/14745911._Disaster____care_company_changeover_goes_badly_wrong/ - is just the latest in a sorry list of failure.

The Conservative councillor in charge,  Sachin Rajput, chairman of the adults and safeguarding committee, said: “We are very disappointed the transfer of our enablement service from our former provider to our new provider Aquaflo Care did not go as we had planned. This falls below the level of service our residents should expect and we are working closely with Aquaflo to make sure our vulnerable residents are safe. We are taking this matter very seriously.”

The programme which provides a six-week period of care to people who need help regaining their independence, was taken over by Aquaflo Care two weeks ago (September 5). But errors which arose from the takeover of the service, which was previously outsourced to Housing 21, left social service staff overworked and many people expecting care not knowing why they were going without.

The Barnet Eye is making its own enquiries and will report in more detail later. 

Barnet Taxpayer about to give Capita another billion quid to run our schools?

The Education & School meals contract has been published for tender and the top price they are looking for is just under a billion pounds!

“The upper estimate of 986 000 000 GBP contract value includes assumptions on optimistic growth success and is inflation adjusted at 2.5 % per annum over the possible 10 year contract period. The lower end of the contract value of 89 000 000 GBP is inflation adjusted at 2.5 % per annum and assumes that the joint venture vehicle only carries out the Education Services business of LBB over the initial 7 year contract period.

The potential return to the JV from providing services will depend on many commercial factors including, but not limited to, the services that the Council and individual stakeholder members agree to purchase from the JV, the performance of the JV, market conditions, and the arrangements for financing activities and sharing returns agreed between the Council and the partner in establishing the JV.

Bidders should seek independent legal and commercial advice in relation to the potential value of the opportunity of the scheme as a whole.

Estimated value excluding VAT:

Range: between 89 000 000 and 986 000 000 GBP”

See for yourself.

http://ted.europa.eu/udl?uri=TED:NOTICE:36188-2015:TEXT:EN:HTML

So what are Barnet actually looking at outsourcing? Read this. It makes you wonder what role governers will have in future and where local democracy comes into all this.

"Short description of the contract or purchase(s) The London Borough of Barnet (the Council) is seeking an investment and delivery partner to create a joint venture vehicle to: deliver education services (the services) to the Council and to stakeholder members (i.e. Barnet schools); to develop new and innovative service offers; and to expand the services' client base. The core objectives of the Council in setting up the joint venture are to: 1. Maintain Barnet's excellent education offer. 2. Maintain an excellent relationship between the Council and schools. 3. Achieve the budget savings target already set by the Council. In addition the Council would be seeking to: 1. Deliver high quality products and services directly to the Council and other customers; 2. Provide opportunities to develop skills in the existing and future Barnet workforce; 3. Create a sustainable organisation which is fit for purpose now and in the longer term; 4. Provide long term financial benefits to the Council. The investment and delivery partner will be expected to provide up front financial investment to achieve the Council's budget savings target for these services and to provide business acumen and commercial discipline to deliver the objectives of the joint venture. The joint venture vehicle will have the benefit of the strong relationships that existing Council staff have built up with the Borough's schools as a result of their experience, professional specialist knowledge and skills. It is anticipated that this, together with the input of the investment and delivery partner, will enable the joint venture vehicle to capitalise on this opportunity to create an education services venture to support the Council and stakeholder members, as well as potentially a business at a national level serving new customers in the public and private sector. Key elements for consideration in dialogue will be the most appropriate form and composition of the joint venture vehicle and the most effective way of actively engaging stakeholder members in the governance of the vehicle and/or the commissioning of services to be provided by that vehicle. The investment and delivery partner will be expected to respond to the changing commissioning needs of the Council and individual stakeholder members, emerging statutory requirements in the education sector and changes in schools' performance. The stakeholder members consist of 24 secondary schools, 88 primary schools, one all through school and 4 nurseries throughout the Borough, serving some 54 524 pupils. A full list of stakeholder members will be provided in the pre-qualification questionnaire. The services to be provided by the partner through the joint venture vehicle to the Council and stakeholder members comprise, but are not limited to, the following: Strategic and financial management of the service — Strategic oversight of the Education and Skills service. — Strategic support and advice to the Schools Forum. — Management of the Dedicated Schools Budget and the distribution of funding to schools (including SEN place-funding and top-up funding). School improvement — Statutory local authority services, such as monitoring, supporting and challenging schools, and intervening in maintained schools where necessary. — Narrowing the gap service (DSG funded). Special educational needs (including changes implemented from 1.9.2014) — SEN placements and performance team. — SEN Early Support Programme. — SEN Transport — assessing pupils' eligibility for SEN transport support; brokering provision (liaising with the family and school and commissioning appropriate transport/travel assistance); and managing the contractual arrangements for the provision of transport/travel assistance. — Educational psychology team (part traded). — SEN placements (DSG funded). — SEN specialist support services (DSG funded). Admissions and sufficiency of school places — Pupil place planning. — Admissions Service (DSG funded). Vulnerable pupils — Education welfare service (part traded). Post 16 learning — 14-19 service to ensure sufficiency and breadth of supply. — Monitoring, tracking and supporting participation. Traded services — Catering service. — Governor clerking service. — Barnet Partnership for School Improvement (BPSI). — Newly Qualified Teachers support. — Educational psychology (part). — Education Welfare Service (part). — North London Schools International Network (NLSIN). The new delivery model would be expected to take over all of the services above. Please see MoI for more information about these services. In addition, the services to be transferred to the joint venture vehicle may include the operation and performance of some incidental and related corporate support services, inside and outside the education sector, but these are not expected to constitute a significant share of the joint venture's operations. This may include, for example, the brokering and contract management arrangements in respect of transport for Adult Services. The joint venture vehicle will be awarded a contract for a minimum term of 7 years, with a maximum 3 year extension by LBB to supply the services which originate from core services funded by grant from Central Government. All schools have the ability to procure services independently from the Council and it is envisaged that existing contracts awarded by schools and relevant third parties will be assigned and/or novated to the joint venture vehicle (note: most of these contracts are on a 12 month rolling basis). The joint venture vehicle is expected to grow its business by contracting with schools, academies and the wider education and skills sector both within London and beyond. The joint venture vehicle will also be able to identify new markets within the Education sector for the services it can supply. LBB may transfer certain assets into the joint venture vehicle where these are necessary for the provision of the Services. The period during which the partner investor is locked into its investment will be a matter to be discussed as part of the dialogue process."

Interesting that this comes to light at the same time as the Independent exposes Capita as shortchanging small businesses in its operation of a government contract.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/capita-accused-of-using-major-government-contract-to-shortchange-small-companies-driving-some-out-of-business-10037349.html

Makes you wonder, doesn't it.

Protest at Hendon Town Hall, tonight at 7pm to stop outsourcing

Lobby of Policy & Resources Committee

Hendon Town Hall, 7 pm, The Burroughs, NW4 4AX

Join the Barnet Alliance for Public Services in Hendon Town Hall at 6 pm on Tuesday 2 December, where we will help Barnet Council hand a few more of our services to Capita in the run up to Christmas.

 

Councillors on this committee are being asked to give seniors officers the green light to begin the outsourcing process for more than 81% of the current council's workforce.

The services that are now out for grabs include:

Libraries, Education & Skills and Catering, Early Years (Children’s Centres), Adult Social Services (social workers), and Street Scene (which consists of refuse & recycling, street cleansing, parks etc).

Details of all of the reports submitted to the Policy & Resources committee can be found here.

See here for details of the protest.