Joint Venture Yes, Joint Venture No, what is going on?

“What I have heard from the Leader, is that he will take a substantial amount of convincing before we get anywhere near a joint venture, so if I was a gambling man, which I am not, I think you could probably put the Icelandic Bank deposits….on there won’t be a joint venture if I was a gambling man, so , quite , quite why councillor Schneiderman you need to be excited about something which is highly unlikely to happen I am not sure.”

Waych here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0RlRku_wvI

(Councillor Brian Coleman, Chair of Budget Overview & Scrutiny Committee, Wednesday 19 September 2012).

Those in attendance at this meeting were the Leader, Deputy Leader and the Interim Director of Planning, Environment and Regeneration. They had ample opportunity to correct this very powerful statement, but chose to say nothing.

The very next day staff working in were informed that both bidders Capita Symonds & EC Harris have been told that a joint venture is the councils preferred option. The winning bidder will therefore submit a joint venture proposal in order to win the £275million pound ten year contract to run Barnet Councils Regulatory Services

The One Barnet Project Development & Regulatory Services (DRS) is looking to privatise the following Council services:

Trading Standards & Licensing, Land Charges, Planning & Development, Building Control & Structures, Environmental Health, Highways Strategy, Highways Network Management, Highways Traffic & Development, Highways Transport & Regeneration, Strategic Planning & Regeneration, Cemeteries & Crematoria.