Yak Yak, Rabbit Rabbit

Mr Mustard chaperoned Mrs Angry today on a visit to the North London Business Park to audit the Members' ( i.e. Councillors' ) Register of Interests. This was carried out in the largest conference room as all of the smaller more suitable meeting rooms in building 4 were engaged. The official Barnet Council chaperone, bloggers cannot be trusted to be left with a public register for even a second, didn't know how to operate the heating in the room so after 2 hours it was chilly enough for a gritting lorry to pass through. Mrs Angry will report in due course on what wasn't in the Register.

Recently Mr Mustard had cause to ask a Freedom of Information question about the Corporate Management Group which meets quarterly and he had read somewhere was comprised of the 100 most senior managers. Mr Mustard is about to give you a list of them but first let us have a suitable musical interlude.

So here is the list of the 145 managers who attend the quarterly talking shop.

Directorate	Job Title
Adult Social Care & Health	Service Manager
Adult Social Care & Health	Customer Care and Business Manager
Adult Social Care & Health	Head of Strategic Commissioning and Supply Management
Adult Social Care & Health	Head of Performance
Adult Social Care & Health	Joint Commissioner, Mental Health and Learning Disabilities
Adult Social Care & Health	Head of Practice and Mental Health
Adult Social Care & Health	Project Manager
Adult Social Care & Health	Service Manager, Learning Disabilities Social Care
Adult Social Care & Health	Associate Director, Joint Commissioning
Adult Social Care & Health	Customer Finance Manager
Adult Social Care & Health	AD Transformation and Resources
Adult Social Care & Health	Director Adult Social Care and Health
Adult Social Care & Health	Service Manager, Older Adults Community
Adult Social Care & Health	Head of Supply Management
Adult Social Care & Health	Interim Category Manager
Adult Social Care & Health	Deputy Director
Chief Executive	Chief Executive
Chief Executive	Deputy Chief Executive
Chief Executives Service	Strategic Communications Manager
Chief Executives Service	Head of Insight
Chief Executives Service	Strategic Policy Officer
Chief Executives Service	Strategic Policy Officer
Chief Executives Service	Assistant Director, Barnet Communications
Chief Executives Service	Head of Customer Service Transformation
Chief Executives Service	Media Manager
Chief Executives Service	Interim Head of Customer Services
Chief Executives Service	Assistant Director - Strategy & Policy
Chief Executives Service	Commissioning Manager
Chief Executives Service	Assistant Director, Customer Services
Chief Executives Service	Head of Performance
Chief Executives Service	Head of Registration and Nationality Service
Chief Executives Service	Internal Communications Manager
Chief Executives Service	Head of Revenue and Benefits
Chief Executives Service	Assistant Chief Executive
Chief Executives Service	Performance Manager
Children's Service	Head of Youth & Connexions
Children's Service	Manager, Youth Offending Service
Children's Service	Principal Educational Psychologist
Children's Service	Catering Manager
Children's Service	LNI
Children's Service	Divisional Manager, Safeguarding
Children's Service	Project Manager
Children's Service	Divisional Manager, Complex Needs
Children's Service	Director of Children's Service
Children's Service	Deputy Director, Safeguarding
Children's Service	Acting Head of Social Care
Children's Service	Assistant Director, Schools & Learning
Children's Service	Acting Div. Manager Complex Needs
Children's Service	BRSI Manager
Children's Service	Assistant Director, Children's Commissioning
Children's Services	AD Childrens Social Care
Children's Services	AD Policy, Performance and Planning
Commercial Services	Head of Estates
Commercial Services	Head of Corporate Procurement
Commercial Services	Project Assurance
Commercial Services	AD - Estates
Commercial Services	Commercial Services Director
Commercial Services	Project Manager, New Support Organisation
Commercial Services	Valuation Team
Commercial Services	Strategic Planning Manager
Commercial Services	Acting Head of IS Service Delivery
Commercial Services	AD Transformation
Commercial Services	Project Consultancy Manager
Commercial Services	Service Lead, NSCSO project
Commercial Services	Assistant Director, Commercial Assurance
Commercial Services	Corporate Programmes Manager
Corporate Governance	Openess & Transparency Manager
Corporate Governance	Divisional Manager - Advocacy (job share)
Corporate Governance	Overview & Scrutiny Manager
Corporate Governance	Acting Emergency Planning Manager
Corporate Governance	Cabinet Advisor
Corporate Governance	Head of Governance
Corporate Governance	Acting CAFT Manager
Corporate Governance	Head of Risk & Insurance
Corporate Governance	Divisional Manager Advocacy (job share)
Corporate Governance	Director of Corporate Governance
Corporate Governance	Assistant Director, Legal
Corporate Governance	Divisional Manager - Community
Corporate Governance	Divisional Manager - Commercial
Corporate Governance	Business Governance Manager & Deputy Head of Governance
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Regeneration & Transport Manager
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Regeneration Development Manager
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Assistant Director
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Highways Manager (Network Management)
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Major Developments Manager
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Area Planning Manager, Finchley & Golders Green
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Head of Planning and Development Management
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Acting EMS (Operations)
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Waste & Sustainability Manager
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Area Planning Manager, Hendon
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Area Planning Manager, Hendon
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Homeless Persons Manager
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Planning IT Services Manager
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Design & Heritage Manager
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Enforcement and Appeals Manager
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Assistant Director
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Business Development Consultant
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	DAAT Manager
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Group Manager Community Protection Group
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Housing Strategy & Business Support Manager
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Area Building Control Manager
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Planning Policy Manager
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Acting Assistant Director Housing and Environmental Health
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Parking Manager
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	EMS Transport
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Environmental Service manager (Residential)
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Interim Services Manager
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Enforcement Manager
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Business Performance & Development Manager
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Area Planning Manager, Chipping Barnet
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Highways Manager for Traffic & Development
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Housing Support Service Manager
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Information Manager
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Senior Engineer
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Housing Performance Manager
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Head of Strategy (Planning & Housing
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Area Building Control Manager
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Changes Innovation Manager
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Manager, Greenspaces
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Principle Project Manager
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Interim Director Environment, Planning & Regeneration
Environment, Planning & Regeneration	Regeneration
Finance	Head of Treasury
Finance	Assistant Director, Financial Services
Finance	Head of Finance - EPR and Corporate
Finance	Assistant Director, Strategic Finance
Finance	Head of Finance, SAP systems, Closing & Monitoring
Finance	Head of Projects Finance
Finance	Exchequer Functions
Finance	Assistant Director, Finance
Finance	Head of Finance - Adults and Children's
Finance	Head of Strategic Finance
Graduate
Graduate
Graduate
Graduate
Graduate
HR	Health & Safety Manager
HR	Interim AD People
HR	Head HR Business Partnering & Change
HR	Head of HR Service Delivery
NHS Barnet	NHS Barnet
NHS Barnet
NHS Barnet
NHS Barnet

Directors in blue, Assistant Directors in magnolia and everyone else on a white background in case you were wondering.

So Mr Mustard asked to see the minutes of this talking shop to be told that there aren't any. Just to be sure he has asked to see any written record whatsoever and if there isn't one he will let you know.

Do you suppose this is the only meeting of lots of management that takes place? Well, there are the FirstStat meetings. FirstStat?

Meetings held by the Chief Executive to challenge and discuss performance issues against corporate priorities.

Mr Mustard is fairly sure that non-stick won't be sat in a room talking to himself. These are held roughly every 2 months. The last one that Mr Mustard knows about was on 13 December 2011 and was in order to look at Barnet’s response to the pan-London disorder: August 2011. Mr Mustard hasn't asked how many people are obliged to attend FirstStat meetings as he can see already see that there are too many meetings involving too many poeple without having precise statistics.

Let us not forget the Council Directors Group which presumably only involves Directors although Mr Mustard won't be surprised if it also includes Assistant Directors. There are minutes to this group which meets fortnightly and Mr Mustard has asked to see them. They have to be redacted and a long delay is on the cards.

Mr Mustard expects that he will receive emails telling him of other regular talking shops that go on. There was one on Monday 30th January 2012. Mr Mustard does not think it achieved much but it was most illuminating. You will need your hankie to dab your eyes with as it is a corker (non-stick has forgotten that jokes are usually on Fridays but perhaps he had to do something important like check the number of available car parking spaces. Mr Mustard didn't even try and enter NLBP in the car; he committed the heinous crime of parking in a side road where there was plenty of room and all for free)

And now a message from a little cheese:

On Monday morning a big management meeting was called, whereby the Big Cheese waxed lyrical about how great Barnet is and how other councils are queueing up to learn from Barnet (oh dear Mr Mustard is rolling around on the floor laughing hysterically; How not to do it is what they come to find out), how they are not going to go back on a decision made two years ago. It was all very over the top. Here is proof that the wheels are starting to come off of the OneBarnet bandwagon.

That's enough on boring meetings.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard