Barnet campaign group Save Barnet Libraries (SBL) has taken the first step in legal action to challenge the errors in the Council’s current consultation by sending a ‘letter before claim’ to Barnet Council earlier this week. ‘They’re keeping the buildings open but reducing the service so severely there’ll be almost nothing left. The consultation is much more limited than last year’s and it doesn’t even say what hours my library will

  Barnet Council is considering a future operating model for Adult Social Care with the aim of reducing demand for Council funded Adult Social Care Services. People will be expected to rely more on family, friends and community resources. Barnet Council is also considering changes to its Children’s Services that would be run by a not-for-profit organisation as an alternative to keeping the service in-house. Elderly people will be encouraged

Dear Library Lover Barnet Council have released their final consultation to allow you to give your views on the final proposals for our library. A reminder that for East Finchley this means: Reduction from 40 staffed hours per week to 16 Unstaffed opening will be introduced which makes the library inaccessible to unaccompanied young people and vulnerable users. Floorspace will be reduced from 5081 sq ft to 2153 sq ft The document is available here:

Dear Library Lover Please join us to protest the cuts to our library service from 6:30 outside Hendon Town Hall on Tuesday 20th October. The Conservative administration in Barnet have a majority of only one so the result is not a foregone conclusion. The recently published proposals, If implemented, will mean a terrible hollowing-out of our library service: - The council is planning to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on a system that makes

  “I have been proud to support John Burgess and all the Barnet UNISON members in the campaign against outsourcing these vital services, I have been on every picket line with them so far, and wish them well in the Employment Tribunal that started today. "Barnet are on the front line of the savage cuts to Local Authority budgets that the conservatives are forcing on local councils, Barnet UNISON have been dealing with the consequences of the

At Barnet Council’s Adult and Safeguarding Committee meeting on 19 March 2015 councillors discussed Your Choice Barnet, part of The Barnet Group, a company owned by Barnet Council.  In addition to the councillors who were members of the committee, senior council officers were present including the Adults and Health Commissioning Director. A director of the Barnet Group, which includes Your Choice Barnet was also present. The discussion focussed

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

  Take a look at what has been happening to Birmingham City Council since Capita came in. Remember we are told that privatisation will prevent cuts to frontline services, yet Birmingham Council are having to make huge cuts to public services whilst Capita sit there and make obscene profits from our taxpayer’s money.   It all started when the Coalition of Tories & Lib Dems running Birmingham City Council until 2012 agreed to let Capita

Barnet Council began consultation with coach escorts who provide a service for children with special educational needs (SEN). The impact - earnings drop from £8,891.67 to £5,845.84 a year. * * * Introduction: Barnet Council began consultation with coach escorts who provide a service for children with special educational needs (SEN) on 2 August 2013. The impact could see the majority of the coach escorts' earnings drop from £8,891.67 to £5,845.84

The three judges refused the application on the grounds that it was ‘out of time’. They, like Judge Underhill in the first hearing at the High Court, did not justify the council for failing to consult its residents on such a major change as outsourcing most of its services, ruling against Maria Nash only because she applied for a Judicial Review of One Barnet too late. Read the judgement here. Watch this space for further updates Maria is determined