The second local paper wraparound

It seems that things are moving fast in Barnet today. Love him or hate him, and Mr Mustard doesn't subscribe to either viewpoint, Brian Coleman does know how to make the news

Here is the second wraparound from the local Press series of papers.

Click to enlarge any of the pages and then back to return.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard

Waaaaaaaaaah!

Here are some slides from a recent feasibility study for installing a "Landmark Library" in the artsdepot, a doomed idea which has now been kicked into the long grass for the second time this century. The money wasted would have run a much-loved local library for a year.

page 1 of over 100

Mr Mustard's supposedly Landmark Library

The words Landmark Library have cropped up time and time ago and no-one seemed to know what one was. Mr Mustard knew he had seen the detail somewhere and his alter ego being a debt collector he never forgets anything although his little grey cells work more slowly now that his brain is full of hundreds of council documents and facts and figures. His brain rolled back to the month in which he started blogging and in particular 29 March 2011 when Cabinet met and Mr Mustard sees from his diary that he was playing snooker that evening (badly!). In the Cabinet meeting the Strategic library review and its 7 recommendations were given the nod.

The report, which you can see on-line, runs to 115 pages. Here are the words that you need to know about Landmark Libraries. There is some duplication from different sections of the review.

Landmark libraries: These libraries will be amongst the busiest in London.

They will be in the busiest centres and will be on good transport routes where people regularly go.

They will have specialisms in higher education, further education and the arts and will have additional services will be available (sic) from One Barnet partners from benefits advice, CAB sessions, to additional ICT and learning lessons.

They will have:
A wide ranging, quality and comprehensive book stock
High quality children’s and young people’s activities, programmes, and spaces
A wide range of events and activities – reading groups, author events, learning sessions
High quality community meeting rooms and spaces
Spaces to study and relax
Longer opening hours

Landmark libraries:

1000 – 2000sqm sites, open 56.5 hours per week including Sundays.
These libraries will be located in the busiest centres and will be on good transport routes where people regularly go. Additional services will be available from One Barnet partners from benefits advice, CAB sessions, to additional ICT and learning lessons. 

They will have:
A wide ranging, quality and comprehensive book stock
High quality children’s and young people’s activities, programmes, and spaces
A wide range of events and activities – reading groups, author events, learning sessions
High quality community meeting rooms and spaces
Spaces to study and relax

Develop a physical network based around three landmark libraries (Hendon, Finchley, Chipping Barnet); nine leading libraries; two community libraries.

Description

This option would provide an efficient, well located within Barnet, based around a network of three landmark libraries, all offering a wide range of services, colocation with sympathetic (what?) services, lengthy opening hours, well-located within the borough to attract a large user base.

All three sites would be developed over the next five years to be amongst the most successful in London.

In addition, to provide extensive coverage across the borough, a network of nine leading libraries would be maintained offering extensive stock collections, community spaces, study areas, internet access and online resources.

This could be expanded with (the) creation of a new library in Brent Cross/Cricklewood.

Link Libraries would be developed to provide a joint service with partner agencies to offer an innovative service.

A comprehensive activity programme would be developed, and community and third sector partners engaged in designing a facility to meet local needs and improve support for reading and learning.

Now go back up to the feasibility slides and see how many of them fitted into the 1,000 to 2,000 square metre range. Chipping Barnet library is Mr Mustard's nearest library and that has 1,500 square metres of space and so fits within the size definition. None of the options identified in the feasibility study were more than two thirds of the size of the 1,630 Chipping Barnet library which Mr Mustard regards as adequate rather than Landmark. Mr Mustard is now worried about the Capita Symonds costings as they have added together the 2 floors of his local library being 1070 and 560 and got the answer 1,650 instead of 1,630. How far out is their minimum cost figure of £3,300,000? Would any construction industry experts who happen to be reading confirm the price at which you could build a new library of 1,005 sq m as Mr Mustard would hazard that it would cost between £1m and £2m.

So only one option just managed to break into the size criteria and so rather than a Landmark Library ever being an option only a molehill library was even remotely on the cards. Now Mr Mustard's value for money brain is throbbing. If a Landmark Library was truly required were Crapita Symonds only asked for options that met a criteria of 1,000 sq. m. or were they simply asked what size library they could shoehorn into the artsdepot? Whose stupid idea was it to even try and put a library into this building? Was it the brainchild of Cllr Robert Rams or did someone else suggest it and he end up having to flog it (like a dead horse)? Robert, do tell.

On November 17th November there is a FREE writers workshop at the best library in town, The Friern Barnet Library and Community Hub. The workshop is by Greenacre Writers and Mr Mustard notes that they have a short story group. He hopes to get along to the workshop as he has started a short story, provisionally entitled Waaaaaaaaaah! and he needs to finish it.

Robert came home late from the council chamber & sat on the sofa sobbing. What's wrong darling, his wife asked tenderly, gently brushing the tears from his suntanned face, did your beloved football team lose again? No, whined Robert, nobody loves me. I was going to leave such a lovely legacy to people, a new library, and yet the public don't like it, I don't understand them. 

I'm afraid to go to Friern Barnet because they had an effigy of me at an outdoor library which was more popular even in the pouring rain than my lovely little library inside a nice warm artsy building. They put horns on a picture of me, waaaaaaaaaah.

Oh dry your tears Robert, they were probably just having a bit of fun, they wouldn't actually harm you dear. Sticks and stones Robert said his wife whilst thinking to herself oh dear, it's words in the printed form that have got him into trouble.

Robert bleated on. Squatters have occupied my building and they are more popular than me. Waaaaaaaaaah. I asked the Court to evict them, it should have been a 5 minute job but the Judge liked them more than me and let them stay for a while. Waaaaaaaaaah.

Robert was now in full flow, waaaaaaaaaah, and, sniff, I am behind on budget he said because I have had to pay for security guards, and overtime, and extra rent, and for some consultants, and I can't sell the building, it's only an old building, it doesn't matter, waaaaaaaaaah...........

and so the story continued...........

Did it have a happy ending? Mr Mustard hasn't written the ending yet but has a funny feeling in his bones that the completed story will have a happy ending for the public who get a new extended library in Friern Barnet and an unhappy one for Robert who finds himself in 2014 once again a complete unknown and misses seeing his name in print in local blogs and being told off by an angry lady for tweeting in council meetings. 

Feel free to write your own ending. Waaaaaaaaaah!

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard

Note: Any resemblance to characters living or dead is, of course, entirely coincidental.

Duty to spend money wisely

click to enlarge

Dear Cllr Cornelius

I read with interest your letter in the Barnet Times of last week.

I am not a member of BAPS, although I do feature in the wraparound, and you are taking issue with its accuracy "given the extent of the inaccuracies and errors of the wraparound" which by extension, impugns my credibility.

I always strive for accuracy in what I write and if I dispute someone else's figures that is because I have a view as to what is accurate backed up by pieces of paper.

What I would therefore like to receive from you is a list of the alleged inaccuracies and errors so that I can study it. Simply saying that some unspecified figure is wrong is simply a political sound bite and I know how fond you are of sound bites Dr Evil.

One figure that you do seem to be taking issue with is the Billion Pound Gamble figure. You have carefully quoted only the expenditure figures in your letter. You are not telling the whole truth as the outsourcing contracts (if they ever get signed) will also concern the council's income.

Here are the figures from 2011 taken from the council's own reports (rounded to the nearest thousand to make them easier to digest.) (readers - reports are below)

£	DRS	NSCSO	Together
Costs	18,528,000	43,961,000	62,489,000
Income	10,286,000	13,647,000	23,933,000
Combined	28,814,000	57,608,000	86,422,000
Ten years	288,140,000	576,080,000	864,220,000
15 years	432,210,000	864,120,000	1,296,330,000

The items included in the One Barnet projects have changed over time due to changes of scope and cuts to services and staffing. The figures are in a constant state of flux. The range is from £522,000,000 for 10 years using your expenditure only figures to £1,296,330,000 across 15 years for all contracted items. Thus the roll off the tongue phrase "The Billion Pound Gamble" seems fair to me to give residents a flavour of what is proposed. They haven't exactly been told much by the council have they? A recent 1190 word scratch at the surface in Barnet First is all that the general public, as opposed to the public gallery, have had. One word for each million pounds. Not exactly shouting about One Barnet from the rooftops.

A good job us bloggers and BAPS & others are here to help spread the word for you.

Can I also whilst writing also point out an oversight in the draft gambling policy, which says:

The licensing authority has resolved not to license casinos, with immediate effect. Any applications received will be returned with a notification that a ‘no-casino’ resolution is in place.

There is an unlicensed high-stakes casino in the borough. It is called the Council Chamber and is located at Hendon Town Hall. I trust you will close it down immediately.

I do look forward to hearing from you soon with the disputed figures and your backup for them.

Yours sincerely

Mr Mustard

p.s. Please don't think that I am so sad that I spend my time counting words in Barnet First. The word count was done electronically.

DRS - June 2011

NSCSO - March 2011

Seize your opportunity to halt One Barnet

Here is the draft of joint letter, sent by the famous five Barnet Bloggers to 62 councillors today (we left Richard Cornelius off the distribution list and doubtless another councillor will tell him what we have said)

Ten councillors have already opened their email, which happens to be sent by Mr Mustard on behalf of the famous five Barnet Bloggers because he is probably the one who spends most time glued to his keyboard.

from Cabinet Resources Committee of 18 Oct 12.

Dear Councillors

In the next few days you will be asked to vote on a motion of no confidence in the Conservative party leader Richard Cornelius.

You will no doubt be asked to express your loyalty to Councillor Cornelius and to defeat the motion.

As local residents we would like to ask you to think very carefully about the consequences of such an action.

We know that many of you are now deeply concerned about the future of the Conservative administration, that you have profound misgivings about the viability of the One Barnet programme, and that you are also concerned by the response of the leader to issues arising from the arrest and consequent charging of your colleague Councillor Brian Coleman, in relation to an alleged assault. The announcement today that the much trumpeted Landmark Library plan has fallen through can only add to your sense of misgiving. 

The continuing difficulties felt by residents and traders over the contentious parking policy has caused enormous damage to the relationship of trust between this administration and the residents of Barnet, and now it has become abundantly clear that the massive scale of privatisation of a further £1 billion worth of council services envisaged by the One Barnet project is hugely unpopular not only amongst residents and voters, but within your own ranks.

Last week Andrew Travers,  the newly appointed ‘interim’ Chief Executive of Barnet Council, affirmed to a committee that the ‘Joint Venture’ model was still very much under consideration, despite the fact that elected members have not been involved in the discussions for such a proposal, and that the leader has stated previously that he was being excluded from such discussions.

Councillors must ask themselves why they are being distanced from policy decisions of such vital significance. Who is in control of this council, councillors or the officers of the senior management team?

Once the £1 billion contracts are signed, of course, elected members will effectively lose all control over almost all of our council services, which will then be in the hands of unaccountable private companies for a period of ten years, with huge financial penalties to the authority, that is to say to residents, should any serious difficulties arise, which they inevitably will.

Councillors must also ask why there never been an independent assessment of the risks posed by the One Barnet programme, and why there has been such a clear failure to mitigate the risk of conflict of interest raised by the exchange of senior officers between the council and the private companies bidding for contracts as part of the One Barnet programme.

Such an apparent lack of regulation might reasonably be said to have compromised the whole procurement process, and to have exposed the authority to legal challenge, a prospect already a clear possibility on the basis of the blatantly inadequate consultation with the residents and stakeholders who will be bearing the full impact of the privatisation of almost all our council services.

Another question that must be addressed is the extraordinary level of cost to local taxpayers of Agilysis/iMPOWER, the consultants who are acting as the One Barnet ‘implementation partners’ – newly released figures reveal that their bill for September alone cost us nearly half a million pounds, and spending on all consultants, wildly out of control, is now estimated to reach a staggering total of £9.5 million.

Such extravagance with taxpayers’ money at a time of austerity, with no return in the form of savings is clearly a reckless indulgence, benefiting no one other than the consultants themselves. In combination with the loss in revenue as a result of the newly privatised parking service, it perfectly illustrates the improbability of the delivery of any of the promised savings from the outsourced profit of the One Barnet programme.

Last week Cornwall County Council voted to halt their own Joint Venture proposals at a late stage in the negotiations, due to the extent of concern felt by councillors and residents over the plans for their large scale privatisation of council services. The Conservative leader lost a vote of no confidence, having shown a determination to proceed with the plans in the face of enormous opposition.

Now here in Barnet you, our elected representatives, face the same choice as your Cornish counterparts - and now is the time for you to have the courage to act.

Please use this opportunity to bring a halt to the One Barnet programme and instigate a fundamental review of a commitment which will place the long term future of our borough, our services, our residents, in the hands of unaccountable private sector companies using us for their own profit.

Please take this last opportunity to stand up for what you know is right, what is the sensible thing to do.

Derek Dishman

John Dix

Vicki Morris

Theresa Musgrove

Roger Tichborne

Nolan Principles / No Principles

The seven principles of public life are

and in the last 18 months Mr Mustard thinks he has heard them talked about only the once and even then probably in the pub by the bloggers and not within the council chamber.

He is particularly interested in the Objectivity principle which states:

 
In carrying out public business, including making public appointments, awarding contracts, or recommending individuals for rewards and benefits, holders of public office should make choices on merit.

Now take a look at the first section of this internal email from Andrew McLaughlan (the One Barnet Communications Manager - hence why you have never heard of him, he hasn't communicated with the public?) of 25 March 2011 which clearly states that in-house is not an option (quaintly phrased as "rather than providing services itself") 

(He only "expects" that the services will be cheaper. "Expect" isn't good enough for Mr Mustard and it shouldn't be good enough for councillors.)

Quite simply as the in-house option has not been given a look-in on DRS and on NSCSO the councillors in the Cabinet have not adhered to the Objectivity principle of the Nolan principles. It looks like Mr Mustard will have to talk to his lawyers.

What disturbingly closed minds the ruling councillors in the Cabinet have. 


Yours frugally

Mr Mustard


 

Blues of Cain

Greenacre Writers, free workshop, FREE!