Staff really should be given the whole picture

http://www.alleewillis.com/blog/2009/04/30/allee-willis-kitsch-o-the-day-half-a-cup-of-coffee/

If council staff are only given half the picture you can't be surprised when they come a cropper on something. Here is a message from the council intranet sent by the Internal Communications Manager. Mr Mustard presumes that councillors also read the intranet but isn't sure of this. Maybe one of them will tell him. 

Additions in red are by Mr Mustard and Mr Reasonable weighs in at the end.

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Transparency Project set to open up council data

Friday, 09 December 2011 12:00 Schroder, Johnathan

A Transparency Project has been initiated, led by Maryellen Salter, Assistant Director of Finance, Audit and Risk Management, to examine not only the data which the council releases, but also the quality of that data and how users can engage with it in a meaningful way. It isn't so much initiation as a response to a government requirement. Why spin this?

This work is being undertaken in line with the Government’s transparency agenda. The focus is to remove secrecy and extend transparency within the public sector, enabling citizens to hold government and public services to account. Whilst public sector transparency is obligatory, the government also hopes that openness of data will generate social and economic growth through the use of that data, as well as allowing the public to see how their money is being spent. As well as how it is mis-spent ( MetPro and RM Countryside Services Ltd )

With this in mind, the council’s Transparency Project is addressing the data needs of citizens by increasing the data available, as well as its accessibility and quality. This will include:

- reviewing all of the council's data with a presumption of publication unless there is a good reason not to exactly what Mr Mustard asked for - define "good reason"
- a new, more accessible internet site will be rolled out over the next few months, with a vastly improved search function good, as the existing search function is useless
- a decision that members of the public may film committee meetings they already can!
- the procurement of a new IT system for the handling of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. It is envisaged that the new system will auto-publish all FOI responses to the new website many are already on the whatdotheyknow website
- FOI requests are being analysed to highlight areas of public interest, so focus can be placed on releasing more information in areas of high demand this contradicts the presumption point above
- our quarter one performance data was recently published in machine-readable format for the first time.

In September 2011, the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) released “The Code for Recommended Practice for Transparency in Local Government”. Maryellen Salter said: “Much of the work that we had been progressing within the Transparency Project aligned to the principles included within the document, especially in respect of the release of data being demand led. However, there were a number of new minimum requirements that we should be meeting and work is underway to publish this information." The start of the article infers that the Project has only recently started but Mary-Ellen talks about it like it has been going on for ages. Why not use dates? "We should be meeting" and aren't

The new Transparency Code requirements are:
- senior employee salaries (salaries over £58,200), names, job descriptions, responsibilities, budgets and numbers of staff
- an organisational chart of the staff structure of the local authority including salary bands and details of currently vacant posts this will be easier once 70% of staff are outsourced
- the ‘pay multiple’ – the ratio between the highest paid salary and the median average salary of the whole of the authority’s workforce the answer is the Chief Exec earns almost 7 times the person on the median ( middle ) salary
- grants to the voluntary community and social enterprise sector should be clearly itemised and listed
- the location of public land and building assets that is normally recorded on asset registers. The ones that have not been sold off anyway

The Information Governance Council (IGC) ( how many talking shops are there at Barnet Council? ) oversees this work, and will continue to find ways in which to facilitate open government. Suggestions from staff are always welcome, and can be made to redacted.

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and now Mr Reasonable weighs in

Oh dear perhaps there has been a data entry error when copying what the Communities Department actually said onto this email. I have set out below what they missed:

· Expenditure over £500, (including costs, supplier and transaction information). Any sole trader or body acting in a business capacity in receipt of payments of at least £500 of public money should expect such payments to be transparent. (not currently compliant)

· Councillor allowances and expenses (not yet published for last year)

· Copies of contracts and tenders to businesses and to the voluntary community and social enterprise sector (not published)

· Policies, performance, external audits and key inspections and key indicators on the authorities’ fiscal and financial position (not published in full)

Mr Schroder seems a bit remiss.

Kind regards

Mr Reasonable

and 

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard

Democracy in-action

Hello fellow bloggers, universities, schools of law, national newspapers, solicitors, Barnet Council employees; you have all been looking around the blogs featuring Barnet Council and reading about the parlous state of, inter alia, democracy at Barnet Council.

Sometimes you need to see the truth for yourself. This next week is your chance. There are 3 Residents Forums taking place. They are public meetings and thus open to all ( the rules actually say so, they are on my blog somewhere ) and here is the poster which advertises them. Barnet Council are so keen that interested parties attend that with this month's email sending me the poster ( it costs nothing to send emails ) came the following message:

Dear Resident,

Please see the attached Resident Forum Poster.

Please note that you will no longer receive this poster via email. Please visit the following link which will direct you to the appropriate section of Barnet Councils website for all future meeting details: ( oops a missing apostrophe in Council's )

Link to forums

Resident Forum meetings will be advertised in the Barnet Press and Libraries

Kind Regards,



P***** *******
Business Governance Officer, Corporate Governance Directorate

and here is the poster itself

Nov 11 Residents Forums - Barnet Council

So now instead of being informed in an open and transparent manner ( Barnet Council often claim those two adjectives apply to them ) the notification of the meeting to the parties who were interested enough to give their email address to Barnet Council ( and they were still being collected at the last meeting so this is an sudden change of policy ) one has to go into the library in the correct period, receive the local paper whose delivery is variable or keep looking on the website. Oh dear, an impartial observer might think that there was something to hide.

So dear readers, do please come along and make these the best attended meetings ever. Do read the rules first to find out what subjects are off the agenda - it is a long list. 

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard

Non-job #9 ? - Openness & Transparency Manager

Following so soon after the previous posting you may find it hard to believe that it takes two people to be open and transparent in Barnet.

Pay £47,907 - £50,789

Purpose of Job:

As a member of the Governance leadership team, to contribute to the overall leadership, direction and management of the Governance Service in the context of local and national priorities.
To provide a professional lead on openness, transparency, Member and democratic engagement.
To manage all aspects relating to Members’ Allowances.
Drive the improvement/transformation agenda within the service and develop capacity in key areas to support services in meeting local and corporate objectives. ( has this been cut and paste from the wrong page ? ) 
To be a key player within the service in a management capacity who is actively seeking and applying best practice and innovative methods of service delivery. ( ditto )

To promote and safeguard the welfare of vulnerable people, ensuring this principle, culture and practice is embedded throughout all council services, including stakeholders and partners in compliance with national and local procedures and protocols. ( ditto )
Lead development, delivery and implementation of strategies and plans alongside the full range of stakeholder groups. ( ditto )
Lead at an operational level at promoting culture changes and developing and implementing effective processes and systems across the Openness and Transparency Team, including new technological advances. The Team! What, are more people going to join ? Mr Mustard has just realised that the appropriate acronym is OTT ( over the top ).
To provide excellent services to ensure Member and all aspects of democratic engagement and transparency is in accordance with the Council’s Constitution and policies, budget allocation and statutory requirements.
To manage and provide a professional lead on the Council’s openness and transparency function in accordance with all legal and constitutional requirements.
To be responsible to the Assistant Director – Governance for effective management and efficient performance of the team within the service.
To ensure that all activities across the Council are managed within the broader context of One Barnet. ( I think you aren't paid enough to do this )
To act as a change agent to assist the council manage and implement change programmes. ( what is the Change and Innovation Manager doing then ? see non-job #3 ? )
To lead by example and effectively manage people, projects and budgets effectively. ( how about leading all the non-job employees to the Job Centre ? that would manage the budget more effectively )

What will Mr Mustard find next ?

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard 

Non-Job #8 ? Openness & Transparency Officer

yet another mantra "Working together"

 

The Council’s One Barnet programme is to redesign the council in order to meet increasing local and national challenges and opportunities, implementing any agreed changes.

Pay scale £39,790 to £42,499

 
Purpose of Job

• To lead on all aspects of work relating to Member and democratic engagement to promote openness and transparency, including research and data gathering; presentation of findings; implementation and co-ordination of actions and monitoring and reporting on progress. The postholder will be required to lead on particular aspects of Member development, Members’ allowances and democratic engagement.
• To manage and provide a professional lead on Member development, Members’ allowances and democratic engagement across the service and corporately as required.
• To lead on and advise Members and senior officers of the Council on strategies relating to transparency, Member development and democratic engagement.
• To contribute to the success of the Governance Service.

Mr Mustard has been distracted by so much other tut coming out of Barnet Council that he has neglected the non-jobs so that is being put right today.

Barnet Council do not appear to be committed to Openness and Transparency as otherwise they would not

• set rules and limit the questions one can ask at Residents' forums
• reduce the opportunity for debate at Council Meetings
• fail to produce minutes of meetings in a timely fashion
• allow Councillors to ask residents not to email them
• allow Councillors to delete emails unread
• have meetings at which no Cabinet member appears
• have refused filming against the wishes of Central Government
• have refused entry to a Council meeting

I expect that other bloggers will add a few more entries in the comments box
and this non-job would not be necessary. 

It looks like £40,000 in the bin to Mr Mustard.

This surely cannot be a full time job ? 

Can't Nick Walkley advise members on this as part of his leadership role as set out in his Role summary ?

Ensure the Council operates in an open, accountable and democratic manner to minimise any challenge to its operations based on such grounds.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard