UNISON sent to all 63 councillors – Briefing Number 11 entitled Competitive Dialogue – decision making.

Dear Councillors

(To view click here)

Please find enclosed Briefing Number 11 entitled Competitive Dialogue – decision making.

 

Competitive Dialogue is a complex difficult process something which has been highlighted in the case of West Coast Train fiasco.

 

What is clear is that the process & procedure for evaluating bids is critical.

 

UNISON has been requesting copies of the process & procedure for evaluating bids for almost four months and we are still waiting.

 

If councillors have copies of these documents could you please forward them to me?

 

As ever if there is a point of clarification or concern please do not hesitate to contact me.

 

Best wishes

John Burgess

Branch Secretary.

Barnet UNISON

UNISON sends all 63 councillors briefing from resident entitled ‘Graph of Doom Fact of Fantasy?

Dear Councillors

(to view click here)

Today I am submitting a briefing put together by a Barnet resident who very much cares like all of you about the borough and I know wants to work with the Council to make it a better place.

 

Some of you may know him as John Dix and others as Mr Reasonable.

 

The briefing below tackles an issue often quoted by councillors as the reason for the One Barnet Programme. I have heard councillors mention the ‘Graph of Doom’ to me many times.

 

I am referring to what has become nationally known as the ‘Graph of Doom’. Whilst I do not like the title as it reinforces a negative image of older adults, I think the Council must be applauded for bringing the issue of funding for older people to the national media attention.  If the issue of ‘Fairer Funding’ as identified in Dilnot report is going to be addressed it is going to have to happen at a national level and all political parties are going to have to come to an agreement.

 

The ‘Graph of Doom’ as probably many of you know was based on a whole set of assumptions. Unfortunately, until now nobody seems to have challenged these assumptions.

 

I would urge all of you to read this briefing.  

 

Link to the Dilnot Report: http://www.dilnotcommission.dh.gov.uk/our-report/

 

As ever if there is a point of clarification or concern please do not hesitate to contact me.

 

Best wishes

John Burgess

Branch Secretary.

Barnet UNISON

Sent to 63 councillors – Briefing number 12 Newcastle “A good model of staff engagement.”

Dear Councillor

 

Please find enclosed briefing number 12 Newcastle “A good model of staff engagement.”

(To view click here )

This approached involved in-house service improvement transformation running alongside competitive dialogue. This ensured the Cabinet to be able to make an informed decision about which bid offered best value to the taxpayer.

 

As ever if there is a point of clarification or concern please do not hesitate to contact me.

 

Best wishes

John Burgess

Branch Secretary.

Barnet UNISON

Street Scene Services Joint privatisation bid

On Monday 15 October Brent Council are proposing to go into a joint privatisation bid with Barnet Council.

The report is publicly available on Brent Councils web site here

http://democracy.brent.gov.uk/mgConvert2PDF.aspx?ID=9776

The following are extracts from the Brent Council report

“Three options for the new contract have been evaluated:

Option 1 Brent Council and Brent Housing Partnership (BHP) public realm contract only;

Option 2 a collaborative procurement and on-going management across the boroughs of Brent, Barnet, Richmond and Hounslow and BHP;

Option 3 a joint procurement across the four boroughs.”

This is what they are recommending

“3.5 Recommended Option

3.5.1 Considering the risks, the benefits and disbenefits and the financial savings shown in section 4, the recommended way forward is option 2 – the full collaboration project. This means that the London Borough of Brent would procure a contract on behalf of itself and the London Boroughs of Barnet, Richmond and Hounslow for the provision of waste and recycling, and additionally for street cleansing and grounds maintenance services for Brent, Barnet and Brent Housing Partnershiptogether.”

There is no mention that Barnet Council are exploring an in-house option. Barnet UNISON had hoped that the Council would support an in-house service but from reading this report it is highly likely they will be recommending a privatisation option at Barnet Council Cabinet Resources Committee on Wednesday 7 November at Hendon Town Hall.

Cornwall Joint Venture Saga continues to unravel

Early next year Barnet Council will be making a decision to form a Joint Venture with the private sector . Yet Joint Ventures do not have good track record in public sector. Conservative Councillors in Cornwall are clearly unhappy with a Joint Venture proposal to outsource their back office services. Earlier this year the Cornwall Cabinet committee voted to go forward with the deal, only for the full council meeting to vote against.

This week in the space of two hours the Deputy Leader resigned saying

“The financial risks involved with the rush into the new joint venture proposals are unacceptable. The JV is basically too large to control.

“We have wasted £42m+ on the unitary (authority), £42m+ on the incinerator and we are now proposing to risk a great deal more on the joint venture.”

http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/Deputy-Cornwall-Council-leader-Jim-Currie-quits/story-17057049-detail/story.html

a few hours after this headline appeared 

Cornwall council leader steps down

The leader of Cornwall Council has resigned, amid deepening controversy caused by proposals to establish a £800m shared services venture.

http://www.localgov.co.uk/index.cfm?method=news.detail&id=107260

You can view all Cornwall Joint Venture Saga at the following links here

http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/Cornwall-Council-leader-facing-vote-confidence/story-17055120-detail/story.html

http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/Deputy-Cornwall-Council-leader-Jim-Currie-quits/story-17057049-detail/story.html

http://www.localgov.co.uk/index.cfm?method=news.detail&id=107260

http://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/update/2012-10-10/deputy-leader-of-cornwall-council-resigns/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-19867995

http://www.computerweekly.com/blogs/public-sector/2012/10/cornwall-privatisation-hangs-i.html

UNISON Regional Secretary writes letter to Leader Barnet Council

Dear Cllr Cornelius

URGENT – One Barnet

I write as a matter of urgency following the announcement that the Chief Executive, Mr Nick Walkley, has accepted an appointment at the London Borough of Haringey and is due to vacate his post at Barnet shortly.

Mr Walkley’s departure occurs at a critical point in the One Barnet programme. The final evaluation report concerning the NSCSO contract will be published in three weeks time and be considered by the Cabinet early next month, likewise the DRS report will be published and considered very early in the New Year.

Mr Walkley has played a – if not the – leading officer role on the One Barnet programme in the Council over many years, firstly as Assistant CEO with the Future Shape programme, and latterly as CEO with One Barnet. Moreover, most other senior officer roles concerned with driving the One Barnet programme are now being undertaken either by consultants or organisations external to the Council such as Agylisis and Impower. His departure will therefore inevitably result in the London Borough of Barnet relying almost exclusively on outside agencies to advise and make recommendation on the future of the bulk of the Council’s core services.

As you know, UNISON has consistently raised our concerns about the One Barnet programme, not just because we have major concerns for the workforce and our members, but also for the probable implications it will have for the standards of service and costs to the residents of the Borough. Now one of the chief architects of the programme will now no longer be remaining to see the project through or to take responsibility for its ongoing implementation.

For these reasons UNISON respectfully requests that the Council consider suspending the One Barnet Programme with a view to evaluating whether or not this now provides the best way forward for the Borough’s services. Further, UNISON remains fully committed to engaging in meaningful discussion

with the Council with a view to securing significant efficiency savings through service re-engineering whilst retaining high quality services in house, and would be very grateful if you would agree to meeting with us, and other trade unions should you find this appropriate, to explore this option as an alternative to the One Barnet Programme.

I would be very grateful for an early reply to this proposal.

Yours sincerely

LINDA PERKS

REGIONAL SECRETARY

UNISON GLR

cc All Barnet Councillors

Nick Walkley, CEO

Andrew Travers, Assistant CEO

UNISON try very very hard to start a dialogue about One Barnet financial assumptions

Dear Councillor Longstaff

The briefing (to view click here) was not UNISON’s so not mine to edit and I had permission to share it. I took it as a beginning of a dialogue about challenges facing public services as I haven’t read much commentary from anyone in Barnet about the Graph.

Following your comments I have spoken to John Dix and we are both happy to meet with you to discuss about issues raised in his briefing and I am prepared to try and ask Sam Markey if he would like to take part. Interesting you should mention Sam Markey who I had respected. I don’t know if you are aware that he has tweeted on this subject on a number of occasions I would like to quote one of his tweets earlier this year:

“Well, the name is not mine but it has helped it kick-start the debate. V happy for others to challenge and hone the narrative.”

 I do have a very long response as to your question about the timing of the briefing which I am happy to share with all councillors but I would much rather talk about the briefing.

Best wishes

John  

From: Longstaff, Cllr David Conservative [mailto:Cllr.D.Longstaff@Barnet.gov.uk]
Sent: 05 October 2012 10:47
To: John Burgess; Ioannidis, Cllr Andreas Labour; Brodkin, Cllr Alex Labour; Campbell, Cllr Anita Labour; Cornelius, Cllr Alison Conservative; Finn, Cllr Anthony Conservative; Harper, Cllr Andrew Conservative; Hutton, Cllr Anne Labour; Moore, Cllr Alison Labour; Schneiderman, Cllr Alan Labour; Slocombe, Cllr Agnes Labour; Sodha, Cllr Ansuya Labour; Strongolou, Cllr Andrew Conservative; Tambourides, Cllr Andreas Conservative; Coleman, Cllr Brian Conservative; Evangeli, Cllr Barry Conservative; Gordon, Cllr Brian Conservative; Perry, Cllr Bridget Conservative; Rawlings, Cllr Barry Labour; Salinger, Cllr Brian Conservative; Schama, Cllr Brian Conservative; Farrier Cllr Claire Labour; OMacauley, Cllr Charlie Labour; Rogers, Cllr Colin Labour; Salinger, Cllr Catherine Conservative; Seal, Cllr Daniel Conservative; Thomas, Daniel Cllr Conservative; Yawitch, Cllr Darrel Conservative; Greenspan, Cllr Eva Conservative; Cooke, Cllr Geoffrey Labour; Johnson, Cllr Geoffrey Labour; Old, Cllr Graham Conservative; Sargeant, Cllr Gill Labour; Hart Cllr Helena Conservative; Rayner, Cllr Hugh Conservative; Cohen, Cllr Jack Liberal Democrat; Hart, Cllr John Conservative; Johnson, Cllr Julie Labour; Marshall, Cllr John Conservative; Scannell, Cllr Joan Conservative; Tambourides, Cllr Joanna Conservative; Tierney, Cllr Jim Labour; McGuirk, Cllr Kathy Labour; Rutter, Cllr Lisa Conservative; Braun, Cllr Maureen Conservative; Cohen, Cllr Melvin Conservative; Palmer, Cllr Monroe Liberal Democrat; Shooter, Cllr Mark Conservative; Coakley Webb, Cllr Pauline Labour; Cornelius, Cllr Richard Conservative; Houston, Ross Cllr Labour; Rams, Cllr Robert Conservative; Thompstone, Cllr Reuben Conservative; Turner, Cllr Rowan Conservative; Khatri, Cllr Sury Conservative; Palmer, Cllr Susette Liberal Democrat; Rajput, Cllr Sachin Conservative; Sowerby, Cllr Stephen Conservative; Davey, Cllr Tom Conservative; Prentice, Cllr Wendy Conservative; Zubairi, Cllr Zakia Labour; Mittra, Cllr Arjun Labour
Cc: Laura Butterfield
Subject: RE: Briefing Number 10 Graph of Doom – Fact or Fantasy

Dear John Burgess,

You deride the title of the graph and write the comment about ‘reinforces a negative image of older adults’. Please explain how you came to this conclusion when the graph is about Council expenditure, it’s about Children and Adult Social services. It’s not solely about a population living longer and costing more.

I notice you wait until Sam Markey, who produced the graph, has left before sending out this briefing, which restricts his opportunity to defend his work.

Regards,
Cllr. David Longstaff

PS You can also supply the ‘sniff test’ to Unions


From: John Burgess [mailto:john.burgess@BarnetUnison.org.uk]
Sent: 05 October 2012 10:13
To: Ioannidis, Cllr Andreas Labour; Brodkin, Cllr Alex Labour; Campbell, Cllr Anita Labour; Cornelius, Cllr Alison Conservative; Finn, Cllr Anthony Conservative; Harper, Cllr Andrew Conservative; Hutton, Cllr Anne Labour; Moore, Cllr Alison Labour; Schneiderman, Cllr Alan Labour; Slocombe, Cllr Agnes Labour; Sodha, Cllr Ansuya Labour; Strongolou, Cllr Andrew Conservative; Tambourides, Cllr Andreas Conservative; Coleman, Cllr Brian Conservative; Evangeli, Cllr Barry Conservative; Gordon, Cllr Brian Conservative; Perry, Cllr Bridget Conservative; Rawlings, Cllr Barry Labour; Salinger, Cllr Brian Conservative; Schama, Cllr Brian Conservative; Farrier Cllr Claire Labour; OMacauley, Cllr Charlie Labour; Rogers, Cllr Colin Labour; Salinger, Cllr Catherine Conservative; Longstaff, Cllr David Conservative; Seal, Cllr Daniel Conservative; Thomas, Daniel Cllr Conservative; Yawitch, Cllr Darrel Conservative; Greenspan, Cllr Eva Conservative; Cooke, Cllr Geoffrey Labour; Johnson, Cllr Geoffrey Labour; Old, Cllr Graham Conservative; Sargeant, Cllr Gill Labour; Hart Cllr Helena Conservative; Rayner, Cllr Hugh Conservative; Cohen, Cllr Jack Liberal Democrat; Hart, Cllr John Conservative; Johnson, Cllr Julie Labour; Marshall, Cllr John Conservative; Scannell, Cllr Joan Conservative; Tambourides, Cllr Joanna Conservative; Tierney, Cllr Jim Labour; McGuirk, Cllr Kathy Labour; Rutter, Cllr Lisa Conservative; Braun, Cllr Maureen Conservative; Cohen, Cllr Melvin Conservative; Palmer, Cllr Monroe Liberal Democrat; Shooter, Cllr Mark Conservative; Coakley Webb, Cllr Pauline Labour; Cornelius, Cllr Richard Conservative; Houston, Ross Cllr Labour; Rams, Cllr Robert Conservative; Thompstone, Cllr Reuben Conservative; Turner, Cllr Rowan Conservative; Khatri, Cllr Sury Conservative; Palmer, Cllr Susette Liberal Democrat; Rajput, Cllr Sachin Conservative; Sowerby, Cllr Stephen Conservative; Davey, Cllr Tom Conservative; Prentice, Cllr Wendy Conservative; Zubairi, Cllr Zakia Labour; Mittra, Cllr Arjun Labour
Cc: Laura Butterfield
Subject: Briefing Number 10 Graph of Doom – Fact or Fantasy
Importance: High

Dear Councillors

Today I am submitting a briefing put together by a Barnet resident who very much cares like all of you about the borough and I know wants to work with the Council to make it a better place.

Some of you may know him as John Dix and others as Mr Reasonable.

The briefing below tackles an issue often quoted by councillors as the reason for the One Barnet Programme. I have heard councillors mention the ‘Graph of Doom’ to me many times.

I am referring to what has become nationally known as the ‘Graph of Doom’. Whilst I do not like the title as it reinforces a negative image of older adults, I think the Council must be applauded for bringing the issue of funding for older people to the national media attention.  If the issue of ‘Fairer Funding’ as identified in Dilnot report is going to be addressed it is going to have to happen at a national level and all political parties are going to have to come to an agreement.

The ‘Graph of Doom’ as probably many of you know was based on a whole set of assumptions. Unfortunately, until now nobody seems to have challenged these assumptions.

I would urge all of you to read this briefing.  

Link to the Dilnot Report: http://www.dilnotcommission.dh.gov.uk/our-report/

As ever if there is a point of clarification or concern please do not hesitate to contact me.

Best wishes

John Burgess

Branch Secretary.

Barnet UNISON

Barnet & Southgate College UNISON Redundancy Feedback

Following discussions between UNISON and the Director of Organisational Development at a Support Staff Interest Group meeting the effectiveness of the current curriculum administrative support was raised.  Both former Colleges operate different administrative structures for the same service and so an urgent review was needed to identify best practice and harmonise systems across the merge organisation.  UNISON offered to assist HR with an audit of curriculum administration to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the current structures, understand the variety of roles and the requirements for this service going forward.

To view full report click here

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