Informal challenges and a new address

Mr Mustard has had some recent problems with his formal representations not being answered and has also had them in the past with informal challenges not being answered. He knows of 500 cases where correspondence was indexed to the wrong PCN in August/September 12. Let's have a quick look at both types of challenge:

Informal

An informal challenge is what you are making when you ask for a PCN, that has been put on your car in the last 28 days, to be cancelled. This stage is not laid down in statute but is offered on the PCN and as the council say they will consider any challenge then under their general duty at law to be fair (see Secretary of State for Homeland v ex parte Doody) they have to consider them. If your PCN reaches the PATAS stage without an informal challenge being considered the council (NSL) will argue that they don't have to. That is to ignore the Hackney Drives Association Ltd judicial review which found that they do have to be. 

The no-nonsense independent adjudicator at PATAS, Mr Anthony Chan, considered this point in PATAS case number 213043539A and found that it was a procedural impropriety not to consider the informal challenge. You can read the decision here (put 213043539A in the case reference box and then hit enter) and although it is not binding on other independent adjudicators Mr Mustard thinks they would follow his reasoning as he is much respected. Don't rely on this as your only appeal point, add all the rest that you can find.

Formal

The formal representations are the ones that you send in response to the Notice to Owner (you must send them within 28 days of receipt of the Notice to Owner). If these are not properly considered and responded to within 56 days the council are deemed to have accepted them although that won't stop the process unless you clearly tell the council they are going wrong. Tell them they are in breach of Regulation 5(5) of The Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions (England) Representations and Appeals Regulations 2007 in order to get their full attention.

New address

A new address for correspondence has been brought to Mr Mustard's attention (he personally prefers to email to barnet@nslservices.co.uk as that is quicker and there is an automatically generated proof of receipt or you could use the online system and printscreen as proof that you used it) and it is

Barnet Parking Services

PO Box 197
Lowton Way
Hellaby
Sheffield

S98 1LW

Did you know that you can find the physical address to which PO Box mail is delivered by asking the Royal Mail ? Well you can. It didn't help this time as the Royal Mail simply told Mr Mustard it was Lowton Way. He looked at Lowton Way on streetmap and couldn't see a branch of RR Donnelley. What he did find, by using google search, is that there is a company called PARSEQ there and that they handle mail and cheque payments for NSL. Mr Mustard will let the Royal Mail know where to deliver the post as they don't!

Mr Mustard recalls that the tender for the parking enforcement contract by NSL rowed in their "strategic partner" RR Donnelley and that there was a month's contract start delay whilst RR Donnelley applied for membership of the local authority pension scheme.

What has happened to RR Donnelley?

Why were they disposed of, was it a service quality problem?

Does this change need a contract amendment?

How are the up to 7 staff who were tuped across affected?

Keep an eye on the paperwork you receive from now on as you should probably be writing to this new Sheffield address (jobs being moved even further away from Barnet) rather than the Worthing one. Presumably there are some arrangements in place to make sure that mail sent to Worthing is still handled promptly and properly.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard

The Friday Joke - Water(proof)Gate

15 May, absolutely siling down, warden in woolly hat & jumper

The warden did not know this picture was being taken. You can see from the puddles at the kerb how heavy the rain has been and still is.

Sadly today's joke is deadly serious.

Let us remind ourselves of some of the content of the weekly message that Pam Wharfe, the Director responsible for parking & the interim (for now, but how much longer?) Director of Environment, Planning & Regeneration spouted on 4 May

From: First Team Sent: 04 May 2012 15:20 To: AllStaff Subject: Weekly message - Pam Wharfe, Interim Director for Environment, Planning and Regeneration Nick has asked me to write the weekly message as he is at Alexandra Palace in his role as Returning Officer for Barnet and Camden in the GLA elections. Most of my week has been tied up with the implementation of the One Barnet programme. Monday was the last full day of the parking staff working directly for the council as they transferred to NSL and RR Donnelly on Tuesday. We had an informal farewell on Monday organised by their colleagues for the staff working in NLBP and the Civil Enforcement Officers (CEOs) had an event last week. On Wednesday I met with Tracey Lees (Chief Executive) and Deep Sagar (Chair) from the Barnet Group to discuss how things are going with the transfer of Housing Needs staff and looking ahead to how we can work together to address various challenges facing the council. Mr Mustard notes that Pam Wharfe knows so much about the companies to whom she is content to abdicate the responsibility for staff that she can't even spell their name correctly. It is "Donnelley" not "Donnelly". Tracey in passing said she had noticed that the CEOs out and about in North Finchley had smart new uniforms. This is a striking comparison to my first winter when I was responsible for the service and we discovered we couldn't actually provide enough coats for all the staff. This is a practical example that shows the new provider has a better understanding about how to run this service. Pam Now read what the GMB union have just said.

Gmb Demands Barnet Parking Enforcement Officer Sacked for Asking for a Waterproof Coat in the Recent Wet We...

So there is the joke. Pam Wharfe says that before NSL, Barnet council couldn't afford enough coats for their outdoor employees (which is palpable nonsense but what she wrote) and NSL have sacked someone partly for asking for a coat (per GMB) in the wettest summer we have seen for ages.

The non-joke part is that an employee who was not on the largest salary, about £110,000 less than the obscene amount that Pam Wharfe is paid, now doesn't know where his next pay cheque will come from or even when he will next have one and he has family responsibilities.

It should go without saying, in a civilised society, that staff who are expected to work outdoors all year round should be automatically provided with the necessary clothing to do their job without the risk of catching pneumonia.

It is also important to note that councillors bang on all the time about how employees who are transferred to a new employer under TUPE+ have the same terms and conditions as they had before the transfer. That must mean that if there is a family friendly staff policy at Barnet Council  then the same family friendly policy should be in place at NSL. The staff did not ask for a new employer and should be no worse off if one is foisted upon them. 

Mr Mustard will follow the story of Mr Ojikutu and report the outcome to you.

Update 08.30: Mr Mustard found a little time to see what he could find out about family friendly policies at Barnet Council and here they are.
The London Borough of Barnet - Pay and Benefits

You will have spotted the howler on the first page. "High caliber individuals" and of course there is no such thing. There are "High calibre individuals" around but one of them didn't write the offending page. Caliber is the spelling favoured in America and if all the One Barnet consultants could move there, as they will evidently feel right at home, Mr Mustard would be delighted.

Have a nice day now.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard