Space Invaders Vs Doom (part II)

So as I was saying yesterday, before I inadvertently pressed the "publish" rather than "save" button, before dashing out for a train ( http://barneteye.blogspot.com/2011/09/space-invaders-vs-doom.html ). I long ago gave up playing computer games.

When they first came out, no one had computers at home, we played them in arcades and pubs. I remember how in a few short years, pinball machines were displaced and the various electronic games took over. In Spain recently I had a go on one in arcade, first time for years.

So what has this got to do with Barnet & the price of fish? Well, as  I blogged here earlier, Barnet Council is forcing Mill Hill Sports Club to close so that it can build a new school on the site. Football pitches, Hocley, Cricket & a whole host of other activities will cease on the site. This is the nearest such facility for hundreds of young people in Grahame Park and Burnt Oak. So what is there for kids to do on these estates? Hang round on Street Corners looking bored? Sit at home on the Games console? I was discussing the issue of adolescent obesity with friends last week. When I was growing up, this was rare and generally associated with other medical issues. Now it brings on other medical issues.

Once we tear up football pitches and close down sports clubs, they are gone forever. Healthy exercise ceases to be a practical option for young people, with nowhere to go and no one to mentor them. Why on earth can't our politicians wake up to the fact that closure of these facilities is a crime. When youngsters become obese and develop heart disease, diabetes and other weight related issues, this is a direct result of such policies. Young people need activities and exercise. They need clubs with people to bring out the best in them.

Sadly we have a generation of politicians in Barnet who just don't care. We have a council who spend a fortune on their own private army, to keep us plebs out of the way, but won't lift a finger to actually give bored young people something constructive to do

The only Forum any Barnet Tory Councillors might enjoy

It seems that my fellow Barnet bloggers are full of tales of woe from the Barnet Residents forums. They note that the Tory chairmen (and women) of these have not been enjoying the experience. recently. These forums were introduced to increase public participation in the democratic process and bring the councillors more in touch with residents. Sadly the new rules, brought in by the Barnet Tory administration have had the opposite effect.

I couldn't help but snigger at the title at the top of this magazine - "Sexual Politics: Your Vote Counts". What a strange and wonderful world we live in, where Soft Porn magazines are more democratic than residents forums.

Barnet Council : Metpro Scandal - Lies and FoI's

Today I found out something truly shocking. Barnet Council have been less than honest with me in a response to an FoI request I sent in. What is more I can prove it. Today Mrs Angry posted an excellent blog detailing responses to FoI's she'd sent Barnet Council in this excellent blog -

http://wwwbrokenbarnet.blogspot.com/2011/09/straightforward-and-open-as-possible.html

The key section I have repeated is here (between the two broken lines). Read this very carefully. This is an email sent to Mrs Angry in response to an FoI request.
----------------------------
Again, as late as 28th March, someone has thought to query the extent of close contact that MetPro staff had with children. The response came:

From: [Redacted – s40(2) FOIA]

Sent: 28 March 2011 22:24

To: [Redacted – s40(2) FOIA]

Subject: RE: MetPro security

Importance: High

Hello [Redacted – s40(2) FOIA]

I was unaware that MetPro had put me on their materials as a reference and would certainly

not have agreed to this if I had been asked.

The section below surprised me - I am not aware that anyone in Children's Service was

involving MetPro in 'developing a future operational model for the enforcement of the

council's duty of care for looking after children.' Whilst working as Contact Team Manager I

was aware that MetPro wanted to develop their role, but not that Children's Service had

expressed interest in them doing so.

(note from Mrs Angry - there follows the MetPro claim from their pdf document):

"In the near future, we will

have officers being

specially trained to work

closely with children and

social workers in a plain

clothes role. They will play

an instrumental part in

developing a future

operational model for the enforcement of the

council’s duty of care for looking after children"

continues

As stated when we spoke on the phone, my knowledge of MetPro was limited to their role in

providing security for high-risk contact arrangements for children in care. It may be that they

had a role with other Children's Services' work - if you want to find out I suggest you contact

[Redacted – s40(2) FOIA], the Service Manager for children in care teams, or [Redacted –

s40(2) FOIA], Head of Care for children's social care.

[Redacted – s40(2) FOIA]

---------------------------------------------------------------
So there you have it. Metpro stated that a Barnet Council employee had acted as a reference. It couldn't be more plain or clear. This email was dated 28th March. On  Friday 1st July, I received this response to an FoI request . I have redacted the officers name

----- Original Message -----

From: T***, N***

To:  Roger Tichborne

Sent: Friday, July 01, 2011 9:06 AM

Subject: Response to your request ("Metpro group of Companies")

Dear Mr Tichborne,

I write in response to your request, received by us on 3 June 2011, for:

“…a copy of all references given for any company in the Metpro group (ie Metpro rapid response Ltd, etc) from Barnet Council to any third party”

We have processed this request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Response

After searching the council’s records I confirm we do not hold any information falling within your request.

Your rights

If you are unhappy with the handling of your request you can ask for an internal review.  Please send such requests to our postal address or to foi@barnet.gov.uk and address them to the “FOI Officer”.  Please also explain why you feel we have not correctly processed your request.

If, having exhausted our review procedure, you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request or complaint, you will have a right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at: The Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF (telephone: 08456 306060 or 01625 545745; website www.ico.gov.uk).  There is no charge for making an appeal.

Yours sincerely,

N**** T****
Governance Officer

Corporate Governance Directorate
London Borough of Barnet, North London Business Park, Oakleigh Road South, London N11 1NP
Tel: 020 8359 7****
Barnet Online: www.barnet.gov.uk
P please consider the environment - do you really need to print this email?

---

From: T***, N****
Sent: 07 June 2011 13:28
To: Roger Tichborne  

Subject: Acknowledgement of your request ("Metpro group of Companies")

Dear Mr Tichborne,

Thank you for your request, received by us on 3 June 2011, for:

“…a copy of all references given for any company in the Metpro group (ie Metpro rapid response Ltd, etc) from Barnet Council to any third party”

We are processing this request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Under the Act we must respond promptly and in any event within 20 working days from the date we received your request.

Please note the Act defines a limited set of exemptions from the right to know.  If we decide not to release any information we shall explain why, which exemption we are relying on and how you can appeal.

Yours sincerely,

N**l T**u
Governance Officer

Corporate Governance Directorate
London Borough of Barnet, North London Business Park, Oakleigh Road South, London N11 1NP
Tel: 020 8359 7***
Barnet Online: www.barnet.gov.uk
P please consider the environment - do you really need to print this email?

---

From: Roger Tichborne
Sent: 03 June 2011 07:39
To: Freedom of Information Act
Cc: Walkley, Nick; Burgess, John (Unison); Moore, Cllr Alison Labour; Harper, Cllr Andrew Conservative; Cohen, Cllr Jack Liberal Democrat; Palmer, Cllr Monroe Liberal Democrat
Subject: FOI Request : Metpro group of Companies

Dear Freedom of Information

Please can you provide a copy of all references given for any company in the Metpro group (ie Metpro rapid response Ltd, etc) from Barnet Council to any third party, ie company, local authority, educational establishment.

I have been informed of several organisations which took up references from Barnet Council prior to engaging Metpro companies. It concerns me that Barnet may have given references without undertaking checks on these companies.

Regards

Roger Tichborne

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So tell me this. Barnet Council told me that no references had been given, yet they knew that Metpro had claimed a reference had been given and senior Barnet Council employees had raised the matter at a high level.  When giving legal responses, the law requires, you tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. There is no way any reasonable person can say Barnet Council fulfilled their obligations to me in their response. They knew that there was a "hot issue" regarding references for this company. They deliberately chose to mislead me with their answer. Any reasonable person reading the response from Barnet Council would say that "they were unaware of any references supplied for Metpro". Any reasonable person reading Mrs Angry's blog would say that it is patently obvious that when Barnet Council responded to me, they damn well knew that their own staff were aware of an issue with Metpro and references from Barnet Council. To me that is clearly misleading. What are they trying to hide? It couldn't be more clear that there is an issue with references, could it?

Today I read that one of my fellow bloggers, Mr Mustard had an FoI request refused on the grounds that it was "vexatious" (whatever that means).  It is clear from Mrs Angry's blog that Barnet Council are not being completely frank with their responses. It is clear from the email they sent me, they are deliberately misleading people who ask awkward questions.

What price trust in Barnet Council now?

Mill Hill Sports Club pays the Price for overdevelopment in Barnet

The Barnet Council Cabinet resources committee are debating how they murdered Mill Hill Sports Club on the 27th September. There are two items for discussion :-

The transfer of the lease on the site to Barnet Council
http://committeepapers.barnet.gov.uk/democracy/reports/reportdetail.asp?ReportID=10641

The relocation of Orion School to the site of Mill Hill Sports club
http://committeepapers.barnet.gov.uk/democracy/reports/reportdetail.asp?ReportID=10642

This blog has been saying for years that Barnet is being overdeveloped. We've been saying for years that this will cause social problems and destroy the character of the Borough. Why do we need a new school? Because overdevelopment has made Barnet Council run out of school places. Section 9.4 of the report states :-
9.4 Area of demand: Primary aged children must be offered a primary school place within two miles walking distance of their home address. Sustained demand is projected over the next five years, 2012/13 to 2016/17, in the following areas.

Colindale, West Hendon, Burnt Oak and Hendon: 4FE rising to 7FE by 2015/16 18

Hale, Mill Hill, Edgware and Totteridge: 2 to 3FE

East Barnet, Brunswick Park and Oakleigh: 2 to 3FE

Coppetts, West Finchley, Woodhouse, East Finchley and Finchley Church End: 2 to 3FE

Childs Hill, Garden Suburb and Golders Green: 2FE

--------------------------------------------------------------------

In other words, the overdevelopment of Colindale needs a virtual doubling of Primary School provision. 4 form entry to 7 form entry. So to meet this legal requirement, they sacrifice community facilities. Have they learned? Of course not. It's all very well providing school places, but what do these kids do when school finishes? As football and cricket pitches are ripped up, they are left with no choice but to hang around on Street corners.  It will get even worse, with the humungous monstrosity that will become Brent Cross.

The closure of Mill Hill Sports club and the building of a huge school complex on it's site, destroying forever playing fields, which have been used by generations of local families is just one of many little bits of a jigsaw, where green fields are replaced by concrete and tarmac. I discussed this with a local Tory - his response "It is nothing to do with overdevelopment".  Oh yeah, what about the enormous Beaufort Park site next door? "Erm, well the population in Barnet is going up anyway" he responded. "Yes,with people moving into the developments and then starting families". This country has a static birth rate. The reason the number of forms in schools rises from 4 to 7 is nothing to do with a shagfest or a breeding spree by people in Colindale inspired by the latest EastEnders story. It is because they are putting up huge blocks of rabbit hutch flats.

For residents of Barnet I have two pieces of advice. Firstly go and enjoy the green spaces now, before the Council destroy them all. The second piece of advice. Have a good long look at the sky, because you won't see too much of it once all the skyscrapers have gone up.

Isn't it odd how the Tory strongholds such as Totteridge (home of Brian Coleman) don't seem to be affected by the overdevelopment? Strange that?

Oh yes, one other thing. Report 6 states as a risk :-

4.2 At present, this site is under utilised in terms of its provision of facilities for the
community. Its use as a site for a school will correct this. There is a risk that Sport
England may require that part of the site continue to be used for sports purposes. Dependant on the site area of the school to be built, this requirement may be able to be satisfied on site. Failing that, an alternative site for sport use will need to be identified
from the Council’s property portfolio.

Well they damn well will if I have my way. This whole scheme has been shrouded in secrecy, this is the first proper detail of what Barnet were planning.  Is that any way for a council to behave. Make the decision then consult people.

Space Invaders Vs Doom

The first computer game I played was Space Invaders (I don't count Pong). The last was Doom. My kids do nothing else but. I went through a phase where all I did was go to the pub and play the latest offerings. Asteroids, Pacman, Defender to name a few. Then I lost interest, until I went online and my brother in law introduced me to Doom. After six weeks of obsession, I went on the wagon.

Mill Hill Traffic accident - SLOW DOWN

Many people in and around Mill Hill and Edgware will have been inconvenienced by the accident in Hale Lane yesterday. The Hendon Times reports that

AN 81-year-old Mill Hill man is being treated for suspected fractures of the leg and hip after a traffic incident on Hale Lane yesterday.

The full Times story is available here. Having just returned from a parish council meeting at the Sacred Heart, I am sorry to report that there is a little bit more to the story and it's rather sad. The 81 year old man is a well known and loved member of the local community. He was walking to the bank to pay in proceeds from a charity collection, for a charity which he works. It appears that the car driver lost control and mounted the pavement, breaking his hip. When the news was broken to us, my thoughts went back to one of my mothers more bitter sayings "No good deed ever goes unpunished".

And why do accidents like this happen? Generally because people drive too fast. The location of the accident is approximately 50 yards from Matilda Marks School. I am just thankful that the accident didn't happen as the children were being let out.

The man responsible for roads and highways in Barnet is Councillor Brian Coleman. He has a policy of positively encouraging drivers to "get from a to b as quickly as possible". Traffic calming measures all over Barnet have been ripped out. I'm an advocate of 20 mph zones around schools, which if strictly enforced, may well have prevented this horrible accident. Do we have to wait until some maniac mows down a whole bunch of school children before we see sense. Does Coleman never learn?

Barnet Council Special : A dilemma for Councillor Richard Cornelius

As avid readers will recall, this blog backed Councillor Richard Cornelius in the Leadership battle at Barnet Council in May. Why? Because we believed that the issue was too important not to. The next year could be the most important ever in the history of the council with hugely difficult spending decisions to make, as well as the whole issue of the Toxic One Barnet program.

Why did we back Cornelius? The reason was simple. He has run his own business for years. To run business successfully, I believe shows a degree of intelligence. I don't believe Richard Cornelius makes bad decisions with his own money, so I trusted him to make good decisions with the Taxpayers money.

Many people expressed disappointment that he didn't chuck out all of the old cabinet and start again. Many expressed disappointment that he didn't immediately scrap the Toxic One Barnet project. I believe there are good reasons for this. A sensible man makes a decision when he is fully appraised of the facts and doesn't rush the decision. I believe that four months is probably long enough to get a good feel as to what if any of the Toxic One Barnet scheme is worth saving. It shows due consideration to issues and public money.

It may well be that all the millions of pounds of money spent on Consultants will deliver some value. Richard should be aware that the longer he leaves the decision, the more he will be associated with the fallout when it blows up. I believe that now would be a rather good time to draw a line under it for all concerned. I'd urge Richard to assess how much experience of running real world companies his cabinet have as he listens to their advice. Those like Robert Rams, who have jobs running the party office at the GLA, I personally would not consider experienced enough to make commercial decisions. Those with a business background, a successful business background may have something more sensible to say.

I haven't lost faith in Richard. Yet......

Andrew Dismore Press release - BRIAN COLEMAN FAILS TO ACT ON HOUSING

PRESS RELEASE: IMMEDIATE

The Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) have confirmed officially in their response to a Freedom of Information request from Andrew Dismore, Labour London Assembly candidate for Barnet and Camden, that the current Conservative member for the GLA has not written to them even once about any housing policy issues in either Barnet or Camden 

Andrew Dismore said:

“It is shocking that GLA member Brian Coleman has not written to the Government at all on housing issues, despite the serious  problems in both boroughs.  There are acute social and affordable housing shortages in Camden and Barnet has one of the worst waiting list records in the country. The delayed regeneration schemes in Barnet have left residents in limbo and thousands of tenants are in temporary accommodation, some for years on  end.

And above all we are about to witness the effect of the Coalition’s cruel  housing benefit cuts, which will see hundreds of families unable to afford their rent, people up to 35 years old made to share homes, and families forced to move, taking their kids out of school, losing their jobs and their friends in the process.

Whilst Mr Coleman has sent a few official letters to DCLG  in his capacity as chair of London’s Fire Authority about fire service matters (no doubt written by the officers) , the whole issue of the local housing crisis appears to have passed him by. I am sure the electorate of Barnet and Camden are not so heartless and expect more from their GLA member. Either through ignorance or indolence, it is not acceptable for someone in his position to sit on his hands whilst his government is causing so much worry and suffering. It is time for him to go.”

For further comment call Andrew Dismore 07957 625813

Barnet Council : Freedom of Information request - Traveller sites

I have today submitted a freedom of information request, so that we can see exactly what sites are up for consideration regarding Mayor of London, Boris Johnson's requirement that Barnet Council provide 22 permanent sites for travellers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Freedom of Information,

 

Please could you provide any information held by barnet council relating to potential sites for permanent traveller sites. There is a legal requirement to provide these, so please provide all documentation which identifies where Barnet may have either a) planned to site them or b) reviewed and discarded as an option.

 

Please also provide any emails from councillors to council officials relating to these decisions.

 

Regards

Roger Tichborne

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I wouldn't expect anything too soon, but as soon as I get a response I will publish it. This should be rather interesting (if I or the blog) live long enough to see the response

Andrew Dismore Press release - New evidence on parking charges increases again points to Brian Coleman

PRESS RELEASE: IMMEDIATE

Using the Freedom of information Act, Labour London Assembly candidate for Barnet and Camden Andrew Dismore has established Brian Coleman’s  further complicity  in jacking  up car parking charges.

Mr Dismore said:

“The new emails I have obtained under freedom of Information have revealed how Mr Coleman argued for higher increases than the officers were proposing, and as usual got his way.

The emails also show that the purpose behind much of the increase was actually to replace lost revenue from fewer bus lane enforcement  tickets.

Barnet’s car drivers had clearly had enough of Coleman’s bus lane tickets and were avoiding his cameras and fines- so he decided to screw the money out of them anyway, through parking charges increases instead! Coleman claimed to be a friend of the motorist but these emails reveal he is their worst nightmare: “never knowingly undercharged” Coleman’s policies have ripped off local motorists yet again”.

For further comment call Andrew Dismore  07957 625 813