Tuesday 30 November 2010

One Barnet - The numbers don't add up!

Last night Mr Reasonable attended the Cabinet meeting to ask a question about the costs and benefits of the One Barnet programme. Having read all of the details (or should I say lack of details) it strikes me that there are some huge gaps in the thinking about One Barnet. Last night I asked if Cabinet members had checked the figures to which I got a charming but evasive response from the Leader. I then asked why none of the figures stated in various documents actually reconcile against one another. I gave the example of the E recruitment programme where the figures in three separate council documents are all different - "so which one is correct" I asked. A very neat pass to the Deputy Chief Executive who looked a little flustered and said he would look into it. Disappointing especially as the next agenda item which was considering the privatisation of a raft of council departments contained a £1.25m error (Page 33 section 6.3). We, the council tax payers of Barnet, are paying a fortune for all these highly paid council officials. We are paying a fortune for a host of assorted and highly paid consultants. Why then can we not get a single, clear and evidence based set of figures on the costs and benefits of One Barnet.

5 comments:

  1. Why then can we not get a single, clear and evidence based set of figures on the costs and benefits of One Barnet.

    I assume this is a rhetorical question because you surely know that the council is utterly incompetent and cares only for platitudes and stuffing the boots of its senior officials with public money.

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  2. Rhetorical indeed DCMD but your response is unlikely to be bettered.

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  3. johnny/Mr Reasonable: please can you email me?

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  4. Dear Mr. Reasonable,

    I came across your blog and found it quite interesting. I'm doing an article for the HA1 about Barnet bloggers and was wondering if you'd like help answer some short questions.

    If you're interested, can you contact me at khoreliza@hotmail.com.

    Thank you.
    Elizabeth

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  5. And the man who could not answer your question because he wasn't sufficiently on the ball is paid £1,000 a day as a consultant. Pathetic

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