Sweets Way Estate families to celebrate the community that developers plan to bulldoze Barnet tenants announce community ‘Fun Day,’ Sunday 8 March, to show London what private developers Annington Homes are trying to replace with unaffordable private rentals. Barnet, London – As London’s most populous borough scatters its poor and working class residents in homes miles from their communities and support networks, private developers

  In response to the call-out for protesting the Sweets Way eviction in last week's BAPS newsletter, and following the visits of Barnet Housing Action Group activists there in the first week of the evictions, a few of us, members and supporters turned up to support the residents of this estate on Monday morning. What we walked into was an extremely depressing and distressing situation. Between the emptying houses, some already boarded, toys

Join us in Hendon Town Hall at 6 pm on Tuesday 2 December, where we will help Barnet Council hand a few more of our services to Capita in the run up to Christmas. These services include: Library Services, Education & Skills, Early Years Children’s Centres, Education & Catering, Adult Social Care (social workers) and Street Scene (which consists of refuse & recycling, street cleansing, parks etc). See here for details.

We have been told repeatedly that the Capita One Barnet Contract will save residents millions of pounds. The two main contracts and the forecast savings are as follows: NSCSO (now called CSG) Baseline (at December 2012) costs £38.8 million Forecast costs savings £7.01 million Procurement savings £4.69 million Improved council tax collection £0.84 million Total guaranteed saving £12.54 million By my reckoning this means that Barnet should pay

Here is some background and explanations that everyone should know, copied from Barnet Unison's website: In the local press the YCB chief executive said “The rates of pay for Adult Social Care are a national issue”,  Yes we agree There is a national social care crisis AND Doncaster Care UK dispute is evidence of this BUT there is a local crisis in relation to how care workers are treated. To those who want to know what has driven care workers

New video released today 7 May 2014 highlights the grim reality of life under One Barnet Tory regime, only two weeks before our chance to replace the Conservatives with a more humane council, on the 22 May local elections. Read BAPS press release here. Watch on YouTube And here are the lyrics of the song.

  After we had - or so we thought- exhausted all democratic means of preventing our borough from being occupied by an alien force this appalling, horrific news contains a spark of hope: it gives a clue as to how we are eventually going to win back what is ours: maybe it could prove to be the one thing that will unwedge Capita's loathsome grip on our services: solidarity - workers', users' and activists' joint action! This is how it works with

Barnet Council’s attacks on the borough's residents have been increasing lately. Following the damaging policies that have negatively affected disabled residents, local traders and users of the parking service, the council administration is adding fresh attacks on its workers and their trade unions. BAPS has been horrified to learn that in addition to redundancies and the dispersal of jobs to other parts of the country for those working in the

Missed the first You Ask the Questions meeting? Read about it here, and watch the BBC Sunday Politics Show report(26/1/14) about the effects of cutting Barnet Council Tax by 43 pence per week. The report features parts of our public meeting as well.   Standing at the back of the packed hall in Edgware, I met all those people who left the public meeting disappointed at the absence of the Conservatives. 'What's the point?' asked a woman who had

In Barnet Capita have taken control, They now control the residents body and soul For many of us it's been a bitter pill, To be forced out of Barnet into Capitaville Chorus They hand over 16mil an what do you get. Silence from Tories and deeper in debt St Peter don't you call us cos we can't go They sold our soul to the Capita Store.   Before the contract signing Capita had to pay But after the signing its gone the other way. Capita were supposed