The £3,000 blowout

Mr Mustard has been working very hard for 6 months on site but now he is back and has the time to do things like have an idle look through the previous freedom of information responses of Barnet Council. He came across this response:

Mr Mustard likes a good feed much like many people. The difference is that he does it at his own expense. He has spent 6 months on site so at the end he took the whole team out for a restaurant meal and paid the bill, he did not charge his client.

He thought almost £3k for a buffet was a bit excessive. Every single councillor could be treated at The Haven, on a Tuesday, and we would still have £1,500 in change (63 * £22 = £1,386).

The Greyhound in Greyhound Hill could probably provide a lovely buffet for £1,000 if a council officer were to ask them. Just think about it, £1,000 buys an awful lot of vol-au-vents, quiche, chicken drumsticks, sausage rolls, pizza slices etc. A thousand pounds at a time when the minimum wage is £7.83 an hour and catering workers are generally lowly paid and food in supermarkets is cheap.

Anyway, Mr Mustard tweeted that this was a saving worth having

 

At the least someone should look at what is being ordered and who provides it and see if there is scope for a saving. These are meant to be the days of austerity.

Slightly to Mr Mustard's surprise the local branch of the Conservative party defended the ridiculous spend:

When you are spending someone else's money it is easy to lose touch with reality. Mr Mustard though he would fact check this. Now the bloggers always used to pop around to The Greyhound for their refreshment after committee meetings and would find opposition councillors in there. No-one was on an expense account but were generous with buying each other drinks if their pocket so allowed. If meetings ran on until 10pm at night Mr Mustard was truly in need of a pint of Youngs after listening to dry council business for 3 hours. Mr Mustard thought that the meeting in question must have been extended beyond 10pm or even gone right up to 10.30pm

So Mr Mustard checked the time at which the May 18 meeting of full council ended. The answer, dear reader, was 8.27pm with the meeting having started at 7pm

from the council's own minutes

So a meeting which lasted 87 minutes is, in the eyes of the unknown tweeter of the BarnetTories twitter account, an account which he/she shouldn't be allowed to have any unsupervised input to, a 'particularly long meeting'

 Now what does 'particularly' mean? This

& 'long'?

Oh dearie dearie me, Mr Mustard finds that both definitions leave the tweet of the BarnetTories looking like a scrap of self serving nonsense, a smokescreen, an attempt to polish a turd (sorry about the phrase when eating is being considered).

So Mr Mustard thought he would go back to see if this 2018 investiture of the bling of mayoral office, as worn & tainted by a former mayor being found guilty of assault by beating (you would surely want a brand new chain of office after that?) took longer than in previous years? Here is the answer:

So whilst this meeting did take 7 minutes longer than the average for the last 7 years, it really in all honesty cannot be called a long meeting, as they take 3 or 3.5 hours, and it definitely can't be called particularly long as 2 meetings in the last 7 years took longer.

What really begs the question is why catering is even called for at all, for meetings that take an average of 1 hour and 20 minutes, when historic meeting lengths are recorded & available. Any self respecting Mayor would invite everyone round the pub and put some money behind the bar, or invite them round to his place, or the mayoral parlour, and get a couple of barrels and some wine in and crisps & peanuts and have a jolly old time without soaking the public purse for almost £3,000.

The mayoral knees up should be scrapped. He has a year of municipal functions ahead of him and his waistband will thank Mr Mustard for it at the end of the year.

In a time of austerity the Mayor also needs to tighten his belt.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard

p.s. the identity of the writer of the tweet by @BarnetTories is unknown, Mr Mustard checked that it wasn't one of his own High Barnet councillors, David Longstaff, & it wasn't. Probably best that the writer remains anonymous to spare their blushes. The identity of Mr Mustard is public knowledge given his past appearances in the media.

Tis the season of goodwill

A poke in the eye isn't a goodwill gesture

It’s all rather strange.

Let’s compare and contrast a few points.

In High Barnet
•    We are told we have to pay to park without cash meters
•    We are told there is no money for troughs and hanging baskets.

•    We are told the council would have no means of watering them in any case.

•    We are told there is no money for a Christmas tree.

In East Barnet

•    There is a car park where It is free to park

•    There is lovely municipal planting that is regularly refreshed

•    There is a council owned water bowser that visits to keep everything looking tip top

•    There is to be a Christmas tree to be switch on by the Mayor

From what I see in social media and the papers, the Mayor is having a very jolly time turning on the Christmas lights in high streets all over the borough. Whereas here in High Barnet it seems that the council is doing nothing to help Christmas on its way, no lights, no tree, no bonhomie and seasonal cheer. It seems that Christmas is happening everywhere else except High Barnet.

Whilst writing I have just had a customer come in a say that Barnet High Street was the most forlorn and unloved shopping street she had recently been to. To sum up she said there was a “TOTAL ABSENCE OF CIVIC PRIDE”.

For a start we were led to believe that we were getting new Christmas lights for our lampposts – clearly we are so far down the list of the council’s list of Christmas priorities.

So what’s going on?

What’s to be done?

This is not a trivial matter. High Barnet’s commercial offering has suffered so dreadfully as a result of the council’s parking policies and lack of support. It really is time that the council put something back to help the struggling High Street. In retail this period is SO VERY IMPORTANT to us traders – it just seems that High Barnet is losing out.

Yours sincerely,

Michael Kentish
Hon. Treasurer
Barnet Businesses & Traders Association

c/o: Hopscotch Trading Ltd
88 High Street, Barnet, Herts, EN5 5SN
T: (020) 8364 9777

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Mr Mustard was somewhat surprised by the tone of the reply from an elected representative especially one charged with responsibility for resident engagement. A good councillor would soak up the criticism, do something about the complaints if he could and write with grace and style. Instead, this poke in the eye arrived.

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Dear Michael Kentish,

East Barnet doesn't have a tube station. High Barnet does have a tube station. If you want free parking I can assure you the car parks will be full of commuters. (A one hour restriction would solve that supposed problem)

The High Barnet Town Team agreed to maintain the baskets if the Council bought and installed them, but did not. The HBTT is now defunct.

High Barnet had a publicly funded Christmas Tree in 2011. East Barnet did not.

High Barnet had OLF money in 2011. East Barnet did not.

Several shops had makeovers with that money... and even then Pacino could only be motivated to put up one half of their shutters. Did you email them to complain about their lack of pride?

As 'Barnet Traders' did you constantly write to the previous owner of the market as she ran it into the ground and destroyed footfall?

What about the owners of the former 'Greggs' shop? Have you contacted them about their pride? I did speak with the owners this week and told them it was in a dilapidated state. There are 'legal' issues that need to resolved first, but I have implored them to get on with it.

This year High Barnet had the Freedom Parade by the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment. East Barnet did not. That parade brought a lot of people to the High Street, but that parade could have been done anywhere in the borough.

There is free parking on the High Street. There hasn't been free parking on the High Street for many years.

The local Barnet Resident Association and Barnet Traders (reps' names removed by Mr Mustard) had a recent meeting with Cllr. (Dean) Cohen regarding the parking changes. It was agreed that parking was greatly improved (figures confirm that), but that Moxon Street Car Park needed changes and they will be announced very soon, along with another parking change.

There is free parking after 2.30pm at the north of the High Street. There are no restrictions on Meadway, there are one hour restrictions on the streets west side of Barnet Hill/Wood Street. You frequently complain that this is not close enough for your shop, but if you needed vehicular access then why set up shop on a narrow bend with double yellows on both sides of the street? (it's all you own fault you idiot is how Mr Mustard reads this sentence) 

There is free parking on the weekends up to Christmas in December.

High Barnet has had substantial amount of money put into transforming the Churchyard Gardens; and nearly £20,000 this year on further works. East Barnet hasn't, to my knowledge.

The High Road has been resurfaced. East Barnet's, to my knowledge, has not.

High Barnet has a tremendous Remembrance Parade - over 500 residents involved or watching this year. The best attended in the borough. The High Street was looking excellent. Was your shop open to serve the visitors?

The Council is a major stakeholder in the Chipping Barnet Town Team. The Barnet Traders should have a major part to play as a stakeholder in the Town Team. For reasons I don't understand, the most successful trader in High Barnet was once part of the Barnet Traders, but hasn't been for three years. His presence would surely have a galvanising effect on the Barnet Traders. Why is he not part of Barnet Traders?

If you want the Christmas Tree lights switched on by the Mayor, then you could have requested it through the Mayor's office, or asked a local Councillor for advice on contacting the Mayor. (This one sentence is actually sensible advice) 

The Mayor does open the Barnet Christmas Fayre each year - because the organisers request it.

I believe (redacted) has been in discussion with Council officers and arranged Christmas lights - 'simple design but elegant' her email said.

I will speak with Cllr. Cohen, but money and resources are tight. High Barnet is a large area with a large number of demands. The area does get a reasonable share (a completely unsupported statement, no comparative figures with other town centres, easy to write but hard to prove). One always wants more and that's what I'm constantly trying to deliver.

Regards,

Cllr. David Longstaff

Cabinet Member for Safety and Resident Engagement

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Mr Mustard isn't Richard Cornelius's biggest fan, although enjoys perfectly cordial chats with him and will happily buy him a pint when time allows after a council meeting, but at least Richard's politically tuned brain for self preservation, and that of his team, doesn't let him down. He never writes much but that is a whole lot better than what his cabinet member wrote.

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From: Cornelius, Cllr Richard
Sent: 24 November 2013 18:40

To: <mail@hopscotchsweets.co.uk>
Cc: Longstaff, Cllr David;
Cohen, Cllr Dean;
theresa@theresavilliers.co.uk
Rams, Cllr Robert;


Subject: RE:

I think David has replied to this email, perhaps more directly than I might have, but correctly.

Yes, we do want to help High Barnet and all the high streets.

regards

Richard

---

Suitable chastened, David Longstaff wrote again. So much better when you write fewer words David, take a tip from the leader, least said, soonest mended.

---

Dear All,

I have spoken with Cllr. Cohen and he has agreed to look at his budget and see what can be put toward the Christmas Tree.

Regards,

---

By this time the High Barnet traders had raised enough money for a Christmas tree but they can put that aside for now and use it on hanging baskets in the spring or other initiatives. The flowers on the crossing near the police station are still looking fab thanks to Hopscotch Sweets (well worth a visit for their huge range and warm welcome).

Merry Christmas to one and all. The council are lucky that we have traders who care and do things collectively to help the High Street survive whilst the council tax it to death with high business rates and a vicious parking ticket enforcement regime.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard

Special warblings - The omnidatashambles

the latest in a long line of Mayors - Brian Schama From: Adams, Nikki P.A. to Nick Sent: 18 May 2012 15:42 To: AllStaff Subject: Weekly Message from the Chief Executive 99% of staff probably hit delete when this lands in their inbox Tuesday evening was Annual Council meeting. Cllr Schama was confirmed as Mayor for the Municipal Year 2012-13. The mayoralty remains a significant part of life here in Barnet undertaking hundreds of visits to groups, special events and representing the Borough at London wide events. Given that this is Jubilee and Olympic Year I’d expect Cllr Schama to have an even busier schedule than usual. Mr Mustard expects that Cllr Schama will be a good mayor and his only concern that Cllr Schama has high standards of what he expects from officers and the time available for him to bring his non-nonsense commonsense why aren't we walking before we try to run view to committee meetings will be much limited. Alongside the ceremonial aspects of Annual Council there is also important political business to transact as appointments for the coming year are confirmed. The only substantial change to the Cabinet was that Cllr Dean Cohen replaces Cllr Brian Coleman as Cabinet Member for Environment. Cllr Coleman has in turn been appointed Chair of the Budget and Performance Overview and Scrutiny Committee. Why the chairman gets £15,333 for chairing that will be the subject of a future blog.   The Opposition Labour Group also nominates a Shadow Cabinet and there have been more changes here. Cllr Cooke becomes Shadow Cabinet Member for Resources, Cllr Houston becomes Shadow Cabinet Member for Children and Education, Cllr Schneiderman becomes Shadow Cabinet Member for Environment, Cllr Brodkin becomes Shadow Cabinet Member for Crime and Policing and Cllr Julie Johnson Shadow becomes Cabinet Member for Housing and Regeneration. A little table would have been easier presentation to absorb.   You can find more details about Committee Memberships on the Council and Democracy pages of the website. But not about allowances which are more deeply buried.   However Annual Council is really all about the mayoralty and the outgoing Mayor spoke with pride about her time in office. Amongst the many highlights she outlined was a day when she had visited places of worship representative of every major faith. Her pride and the on-going enthusiasm of a very diverse community for civic recognition were obvious for all to see. Longer than the longest Oscar speech to all accounts.   And of course in the background are our outstanding Mayoral Team, the Mayor’s drivers, including the never flustered Lewis, and the admin team led by Angela. The out-going Mayor thanked them for their support and I wanted to join her in doing so this week. Finding a way through the protocols, diary clashes and traffic can be a nightmare but the team do it extremely well.   Some of you will have seen news coverage that the Council has been fined £70k by the Information Commissioner for a breach of the OPA. OPA? Don't you read anything Nick or is your P.A. not conversant with the DPA as in the Data Protection Act - actually that seems to be endemic. The loss occurred when a member of staff was burgled and a laptop (encrypted) and papers containing personal data were stolen. Another £70,000 of tax payers' money wasted by Officers. Slippery stuff this data eh Nick? You forgot to mention your previous in this regard when the details of 9000 children slipped out of the council's care in March 2010 and you had to sign a letter promising to be more careful in future. Funny isn't it how closely guarded papers are about the One Barnet programme but data about kids is left lying around. So slow implementing change that another loss occurred. These things tend to come along in threes. What next?   The ICO criticisms focus on the paper record handling policies of the Council. I therefore think it worthwhile reminding staff what current policies, accepted by the ICO, are.   These are: There is a general presumption against taking off-site personal or other confidential data contained within paper records/hard copy material. Personal or other confidential data contained within paper records/hard copy material should only be taken off-site when it is a necessity and not a convenience. Line management approval must be obtained before personal or other confidential data contained within paper records/hard copy material is taken off-site. The approval request must provide details of the personal or other confidential data proposed to be taken off-site and the necessity for doing so and the relevant times. Where personal or other confidential data contained within paper records/hard copy material is taken off-site it should be kept to a minimum both in terms of content and duration. Why don't we provide a fire safe at the home of people who have to take confidential papers home sometimes? Only £30 Whilst off-site and temporarily in the home of an employee (or other person covered by the policy), paper records/hard copy material containing personal or other confidential data, that is not being actively worked upon, must be kept secure and separate from any valuable items such as laptops. So that hopefully the laptop gets stolen and the paperwork is left behind. Where personal or other confidential data contained within paper records/hard copy material is taken off-site and is in transit from one location to another, it should be transported in a way that mitigates against the risks of theft or loss. Computers should be chained down at all times when outside work. It's easy and cheap. This means that, insofar as possible, all necessary steps should be taken to seek to ensure that the paper records/hard copy material are/is not mistaken for a laptop, other electrical device or valuable item by a thief and should be transported in a separate container to such items. Tut tut, hard copy paperwork is a valuable item. Furthermore where paper records containing personal or confidential information are taken off site, staff must ensure they have made a log of the removed/copied papers. This is to ensure that the council can appropriately risk assess the level of harm likely to be caused should a loss of data occur. Why not just scan and encrypt them in the first place and put them on the hard drive?   A full copy of the policy is available on the intranet and staff must ensure they are familiar with it. If you have any concerns in meeting the requirements of the policy, these should in the first instance be raised with your line manager. The onus is placed on the employee. Will managers check?   If you require further advice or guidance on Data Protection or Data Security, please email data.protection@barnet.gov.uk   Nick Nick Walkley Chief Executive London Borough of Barnet, North London Business Park , Oakleigh Road South , London N11 1NP Tel: 020 8359 7001 Barnet Online: www.barnet.gov.uk Sorry if you are really bored with these non-stick messages. Why should the staff suffer alone? Yours frugally Mr Mustard