Are parking tickets funny? perhaps

PCN in yellow boxes are coming to Barnet soon.

Are parking tickets funny? well Mr Mustard made some of his friends laugh when he talked about an "interesting" parking ticket at FOI club a few months ago. They aren't funny when you get one but maybe, just maybe, a talk about them could be.

Mr Mustard is currently being filmed on occasion by Century Films who are putting together a documentary for the BBC about parking. They thought it might be good to see Mr Mustard pass on his knowledge about appealing parking tickets and how he achieves a 90%+ success rate - see, that is making you smile already.

So rather than packing a room with all his friends, there must be a group which is meeting in August ( it doesn't matter why you all get together although the local nudist society might pose some filming problems ) and who are prepared to allow Mr Mustard a 15 or 20 minute slot at the end of normal business to present a quick talk on parking tickets and how to appeal them. If he doesn't make you laugh he might save you £110 and then you will be laughing all the way to the bank. The presentation will be filmed by a small team of two ladies with one camera and no-one will be filmed if they don't want to be.

If you are game for a laugh (Mr Mustard does like to set himself a challenge from time to time) then please send an email to mrmustard@zoho.com and he will see what the film crew's diary looks like and get writing his presentation.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard

Hazy Payments

a Hays (geddit!)

Mr Mustard is looking forward to his Xmas gift from Paul Hughes, the external auditor, as he has just submitted his fifth Notice of Objection and that is going to lead to even more audit fees as this is extra work which was not included within the scope of the fixed external audit fee. Mr Mustard is conscious that it is your money (and a tiddly bit of his own) that he is causing to be spent so if all of his objections are found to be baseless (surely not because they are all serious and significant matters) then he will rein himself in next year.

Here is the covering email:

29 July 13

Dear Mr Hughes

I fell over some information at the weekend that I had been searching for. That has enabled me to send you what was going to be my original objection and which relates to the cavalier way in which any old supplier has been paid as if they were a supplying agency with a contract with Hays to supply staff when they weren't. Thus there is no proper contractual basis on which Hays were paid for supplies by unauthorised suppliers. This will be a large sum of money that has been unlawfully paid out.

I attach my Notice of Objection and two lists of supplying agencies provided to me under Freedom of Information by Haringey Council who set up the contract with Hays to which Barnet Council were joined and by which terms they are bound. Prior to asking Haringey Council I asked Barnet Council for a list of suppliers under the Hays contract and they didn't have one. How any manager could sign off an invoice without that basic information is an example of shocking mismanagement.

Yours sincerely

Mr Mustard

and here is the text of the objection:


29 July 2013



Mr P Hughes
Grant Thornton
Melton St
London
NW1 2EP


Dear Mr Hughes

The London Borough of Barnet
Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2013
Fifth Notice of Objection

1 Failure to properly apply PAYE to an office holder

Payments for the interim provision of Mr Andrew Travers to act as S151 officer and Deputy Chief Executive were £82,000 through his service company Halliford Associates Ltd and Hays and to a lesser extent Comensura for the period from 1 April to 3 December 12.

I refer to these notes on the HM Revenue and Customs website

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/esmmanual/esm2502.htm

It is quite clear that Mr Travers held an office, the statutory office of S151 officer and therefore his emoluments should have been subjected to PAYE and could only have been paid directly to himself. The Accounts include payments to Hays and Comensura (for onward payment to Halliford and then for distribution by Halliford as the shareholders of that company saw fit) which are therefore unlawful and should be reclaimed from Hays and Comensura and repaid to Mr Travers directly after the application of the PAYE regulations.

2 Multiple payments to Hays which are not covered by the contract

From when the practice started, in about March 2009 of employing interim managers through service companies (although "interim" could be 2 years or more) payments were made and shown, in some cases, on the over £500 spending lists. For some reason, possibly the interest shown by bloggers, from April 11 these payments were then routed through Hays as that anonymised the payments on the over £500 lists. Whatever the reason there would need to be a contractual basis for the payments. Had the individuals been paid under PAYE as Hays's own temps there would not have been a problem. As there were service companies acting as the supplier of the individual in many cases then these service companies would need to be supplying agencies of HAYS and that is what has been overlooked by the council. Quite simply Halliford Associates Ltd was not a supplying agency of Hays and as far as I can see never became one. You'll need to check the Comensura contract, which started on 1 October 12 when the Hays one ceased, to see if that has the requisite service companies as properly authorised suppliers.

I attach the lists of supplying agencies who have contracted with Hays to supply staff as at March 2008 and 29 March 2012. Given the impending contract end date with Hays of 30 September 12 there is no reason to suppose that the service companies suddenly all signed contracts with Hays to supply staff after 29 March 12.

What this means is that payments to Hays in respect of the following list of service companies in 2012/13 were unlawful as no contract existed and the same was the case in 2011/12.

The below is not an exhaustive list, and may contain some service companies which had ceased to supply, but that is a question that can only be answered by reference to records that are not available to me as a member of the public although they will be relevant to 2011/12.

Halliford Associates Ltd
Jacquie McGeachie HR Consulting Ltd
CCMPS Ltd
Renouval Ltd
Murphy's Solutions Ltd
Chas Dowden Solutions Ltd
Advance HR Consulting Ltd
Advantage Ltd
Lesley Meeks Associates Ltd
ANZ UK Teachers Ltd
Classroom Ltd
GJR Associates Ltd
Judd Farris Ltd
Keith Baxter Ltd
Prospects Staff Bureau Ltd
Huxley Associates / Sthree Staffing Uk / Sthree UK

Please request a public interest notice under s8, The Audit Commission Act 1998. A copy of this Notice of Objection has been sent to Mr C Naylor and to Cllr Monroe Palmer, Baron Palmer of Child's Hill, OBE, FCA. I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely


Mr Mustard

Now we simply have to sit back whilst the bean-counters at Barnet Council, the legal department probably, the external auditor himself, the Chief Operating Officer who is on holiday (sorry, this wasn't deliberate but you shouldn't assume Mr COO that the council won't get any serious objections - this isn't sleepy Barking & Dagenham you know)  and the Chair of the Audit Committee, Monroe Palmer, who is a senior and highly experienced chartered accountant who knows how many beans make five (tell me next time we meet Monroe, it won't be five will it?) work out a plan of action and then execute it.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard

Award of an arrangement - proper contract optional

The Wooden Spoon PH

Mr Mustard has written about vanity awards before and last year he did some follow up enquiries to see if there was any correlation between free dinners and work for suppliers.

20 July 2012

Dear Barnet Homes

Go Awards - Birmingham Metropole- March 2012

Four staff and two residents attended.

Did the hotel cost include the cost of the dinner? (my experience is that these dinners often cost £90 a head)

How much was the dinner and who paid for it please?

Yours sincerely

Mr Mustard

20 August 2012

Dear Mr Mustard

The hotel cost did not include the cost of the dinner. The dinner for the Barnet Homes staff and residents who attended the event was paid for by echelon Consultancy, which had facilitated the procurement process and with which the award entry had been compiled.

This is recorded in the Barnet Homes register of gifts and hospitality, with an assumed cost of £80 per head. We do not have a record of the actual costs incurred by echelon Consultancy for the dinner.

Yours sincerely

Barnet Homes

20 August 2012

Dear Barnet Homes

Thank you for that answer.

I have a new question please.

Please provide a list of all payments made to Echelon since 1 April 2006 ( date, amount & what for ) and a copy of all contracts signed with them since the same date.

Please also provide a copy of the register of gifts and hospitality for the year ended 31 March 2012.

Yours sincerely

Mr Mustard

18 September 2012

Dear Mr Mustard

Please find following the response to your enquiry below.

1. Payments to Echelon

Echelon delivered a number of different projects and services associated with Barnet Homes’ procurement and mobilisation of repairs and maintenance contractors through nine lots. The total value of the contracts, based on the ten years covered, exceeds £200million.

i) Strategy works:

Date	Amount (excl VAT)	Area of work
24/06/2010	£5312.21	Strategy works
24/06/2010	£5327.90	Strategy works
29/07/2010	£1375.00	Strategy works
27/08/2010	£732.00	Strategy works
26/10/2010	£1082.00	Strategy works

Subtotal: £13,829.11

Following a competitive quotes process, Echelon was commissioned to draft a strategic asset management procurement strategy for Barnet Homes. The costs also included a workshop with Barnet Homes staff and a workshop with residents who had expressed an interest in being involved in the procurement process.

ii) Procurement process

Date	Amount (excl VAT)	Area of work
30/11/2010	£4089.00	Procurement
23/12/2010	£6977.00	Procurement
28/01/2011	£5237.00	Procurement
15/02/2011	£16343.00	Procurement
14/03/2011	£9448.00	Procurement
20/04/2011	£22834.20	Procurement
26/05/2011	£8673.30	Procurement
24/06/2011	£6972.00	Procurement
09/08/2011	£3354.20	Procurement
13/09/2011	£5036.00	Procurement
21/10/2011	£1065.00	Procurement
23/11/2011	£3505.00	Procurement

Subtotal: £93,533.70

Echelon oversaw the procurement process for all nine asset management contracts. It is standard practice to use an external agency for procurement of this scale. Work included overseeing the procurement model, contract documentation, facilitating evaluation of PQQs, cost evaluation, feedback to senior management and the Barnet Homes board, more than 40 onsite interviews and inspections, tender clarification and the appointment of contractors.

iii) Mobilisation – Project Management

Date	Amount (excl VAT)	Area of work
17/08/2011	£6825.00	Mobilisation PM
13/09/2011	£9750.00	Mobilisation PM
17/10/2011	£5850.00	Mobilisation PM
23/11/2011	£8125.00	Mobilisation PM
13/01/2012	£5850.00	Mobilisation PM
23/01/2012	£10400.00	Mobilisation PM
22/02/2012	£9750.00	Mobilisation PM
19/03/2012	£9750.00	Mobilisation PM
13/04/2012	£10400.00	Mobilisation PM
18/05/2012	£9100.00	Mobilisation PM
15/06/2012	£650.00	Mobilisation PM

Subtotal: £86,450

Echelon supplied a project manager to oversee the mobilisation of the nine contracts. This was agreed following a benchmarking exercise. Costs are based on an agreed day rate of £650.

iv) Mobilisation – IT consultancy

Date	Amount (excl VAT)	Area of work
12/12/2011	£6320.00	Mobilisation IT
13/01/2012	£3860.00	Mobilisation IT
29/02/2012	£7800.00	Mobilisation IT
23/03/2012	£7150.00	Mobilisation IT
13/04/2012	£10075.00	Mobilisation IT
18/05/2012	£9750.00	Mobilisation IT
15/06/2012	£5200.00	Mobilisation IT
18/07/2012	£3250.00	Mobilisation IT
16/08/2012	£1950.00	Mobilisation IT
06/09/2012	£650	Mobilisation IT

Subtotal: £56,005

The IT consultancy role was commissioned to ensure fully functioning IT interfaces between all contractors and Barnet Homes following the departure of the former Barnet Homes Head of IT at a critical juncture in the mobilisation process. Costs are based on an agreed day rate of £650.

v) Miscellaneous

Date	Amount (excl VAT)	Area of work
26/10/2010	£2845.50	Advice on emergency repairs cover
29/09/2011	£3360.00	Mobilisation general
01/06/2012	£3500.00	Asset Management Improvement Partnership joining fee and annual membership
20/07/2012	£350.00	Management training

Subtotal: £10,055.50

Echelon provided advice on options for commissioning emergency cover for Barnet Homes repairs services after our former repairs contractor, Connaught, went into administration. The general mobilisation sum covers a further workshop with Barnet Homes staff, staff from the successful contractors and residents involved in the procurement process, along with associated reports.

Total payments: £259,873.31 (excl VAT)

2. You are welcome to view our hospitality and gifts register. Please contact the Company to arrange an appointment.

Yours sincerely

Barnet Homes

18 September 12

Thank you for the lovely lists of payments which appear to be fine.

The other part of my question was that I asked to see copy contracts. Are there any formal written contracts with Echelon? and if there are, please send copies to me with signatures redacted.

Yours sincerely

Mr Mustard

19 September 12

Dear Mr Mustard

There were no formal written contracts with Echelon

Yours sincerely

Barnet Homes

8 October 12

Dear Barnet Homes

Sorry to keep asking questions but this is an endlessly fascinating subject. I am sure we will reach the end of the chain soon.

What items did you benchmark and what against?

A simple list will suffice as I do try not to ask overly long questions (or a copy of the benchmarking paperwork if it can be easily copied without too many redactions).

Yours sincerely

Mr Mustard

5 November 12

Dear Mr Mustard

In response to your enquiry below, I will now provide the requested information.

Barnet Homes approached an alternative supplier to quote for (ii) the Procurement Process.

We also approached an alternative supplier to quote for iii) Mobilisation Project Management.

Echelon were appointed in both instances following receipt of the alternative quotes. The appointment of Echelon for iv) IT consultancy was informed by the alternative quote received for iii) Mobilisation Project Management.

Yours sincerely

Barnet Homes

So there you have it. A slap up meal and probably unlimited booze for 6 people in Birmingham sits badly with over a quarter of a million pounds worth of work for which only one alternative quote was obtained (and at least three written quotes was the requirement at Barnet Council at that time) and for which there is no written contract recording what exactly the terms are.

This terribly loose arrangement should be giving kittens to senior management and internal auditors. They really ought to know about it already from internal controls and have put a stop to it as well as any attendance at Awards Dinners.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard

Fourth Objection - Income targets

No pictures of fourth objection available so here is one of the fourth plinth

Mr Hughes chased Mr Mustard up for any further objections after number 3. 

Mr Mustard thought that the accountability worked in the opposite direction but this is Barnet where the opposite is often the case and public servants forget what the word servant means (not thinking of it in any menial sense, only as in "to serve"). Well the bloggers do provide an excellent and free service of information spreading, armchair auditing, critical friend, check and balance, democratic oversight, etc .

24 July 2013


Mr P Hughes
Grant Thornton
Melton St
London
NW1 2EP


Dear Mr Hughes

The London Borough of Barnet
Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2013
Fourth Notice of Objection

1. Unlawful PCN targets within parking enforcement contract.

I request a public interest notice as per section 8 of the Audit Commission Act 1998 that Barnet Council has signed and sealed a parking enforcement contract with unlawful collection targets, activity levels and incentives set within that contract contrary to law.

2. Unlawfully derived income from PCNs issued

I request a public interest notice as per section 8 of the Audit Commission Act 1998 that Barnet has unlawfully derived income from 150,150 PCNs issued with an estimated issue value of £15,122,500 for the financial year 2012/13.

I request you apply to the courts under section 17 of the Audit Commission Act 1998 to have the income derived from the £15,122,500 of PCNs issued declared illegally derived income.

I will supply documentary evidence of the unlawful targets. A copy of this Notice of Objection has been sent to Mr C Naylor and to Cllr Monroe Palmer, Baron Palmer of Child's Hill, OBE, FCA. I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely

Mr Mustard

Whilst he was writing Mr Mustard thought he would point out the bleeding obvious in a covering email to the external auditor, and the Chief Operating Officer, Chris Naylor, that the contract is not being adhered to by NSL and in that situation perhaps it would benefit from some auditing, just in case they weren't keeping up or Mr Mustard hadn't been clear enough.

It is clear to me that this One Barnet outsourcing contract with NSL is a complete and utter fiasco. In the limited time available to me, and given the difficulties in extracting information from the council, I have only been able to touch the surface as to what is wrong with the contract. It needs auditing (internally or by a contractor) with some thoroughness in the following areas, in particular:

-     How many PATAS evidence packs have not been produced leading to an automatically cancelled PCN and not receiving the service that has been paid for.

-     How many PCN are being pursued where the Notice to Owner was issued after the 6 month cut-off date which means the PCN must be cancelled.

-     How many PCN are being pursued where formal representations have not been responded to within 56 days which means the PCN must be cancelled.

-    Have bailiffs been instructed when a contract was not in place.

-     Have the contracted deployed hours been checked and provided or a price adjustment made for any under-deployment

-    Have unqualified Civil Enforcement Officers been employed.

-    Have 90%+ of all bus lane contraventions been captured?

-     Has all money due to the council been properly accounted for.

-    How many informal representations (between the PCN and the Notice to Owner being issued) have simply been ignored.

The problem for the council is that Mr Mustard probably knows more about the workings of the appeal process (despite gvernance banning him from asking questions about parking, parking tickets or CPZs which you won't find it is possible to do under the FOI Act - but hey this is Barnet where the impossible is possible) and the things that are going wrong in parking than almost anyone else at all in Barnet so fobbing him off isn't going to be easy or sensible. Did Mr Mustard mention that in the spirit of localism he has been keeping the Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP informed? no; well he has so be careful with your next steps Barnet Council as the wrath of Eric is probably best not encountered.

Of course what the auditor will say is that there aren't targets for PCNs which is sort of true but there are other targets which can only be met by issuing a certain number of PCNs so we are in a game of chase the lady.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard