Friday 8 November 2013

The £16.1 Million bung to Capita - Clarification regarding Councillor Hugh Rayner

Yesterday the Barnet Eye asked the question whether the chair of the Barnet Business management overview and Scrutiny committee, Councillor Hugh Rayner should resign following the committees inaction over the £16.1 million pound gift to Capita, passed via a DPR.

Following various exchanges of emails as to which committee should be responsible for this, please see the description of the purpose of the committee from the Council website

The purpose of the Business Management Overview and Scrutiny Committee is to monitor and coordinate overview and scrutiny work across the authority. 

The Committee has the power to appoint Scrutiny Panels and Task & Finish Groups to look at certain issues in depth, and receive reports on the progress of these groups.  The Committee can also receives petitions, and is tasked with reviewing policy framework and the development of policy which does not fall within the remit of other Overview and Scrutiny Committees.

Business Management Overview and Scrutiny Committees also consider call-ins and Councillor Calls for Action.

Full details of the committee and its membership can be found here
http://barnet.moderngov.co.uk/mgCommitteeDetails.aspx?ID=119

Councillor Rayner is also a member of the

Budget and Performance Overview and Scrutiny Committee

The council website states that the function of this commitee is

The Budget and Performance Committee scrutinises the overall performance, effectiveness and value for money of council services. This includes the council’s annual budget process, the financial management of resources, and the planning, implementation and outcomes of all corporate improvement strategies.  The Committee also has responsibility for scrutinising One Barnet projects throughout the programme’s lifecycle.

http://barnet.moderngov.co.uk/mgCommitteeDetails.aspx?ID=123

Which means that Councillor Rayner is the chair of one committe which should ensure scrutiny of decisions is properly performed. He is also a member of the committee which is directly responsible for dealing with the Budget decisions regarding One Barnet. Thus far I am sorry to report that Councillor Rayner, despite these two important roles, has been singularly unable or unwilling to respond regarding what exactly either of the two committees he is involved in has done.

Now for all I know, Councillor Rayner is preparing a full response which will fully answer my concerns regarding the transfer of assets to a private company. If he does, we will publish that response. One thing which is becoming 100% clear to me, from various emails I have received is that this issue is clearly something which no Barnet Conservative Councillor is prepared to discuss. It is clear that they know something they are rather keen for the rest of us to be "protected" from.

2 comments:

Moaneybat said...

..try Barnet Homes and Lovell's for new electrical mains supply and domestic wiring on one Hendon estate. Amazing how some private orgaisations and their cavalry of sub-contractors get plenty of public money in excess of the tender for minimal work by their cavalry of subbies.

Doubt if any tenant and leaseholders are tenants who subsidise the works have ever seen a summary of the specifications sheet and, it would not suprise if the final costs on top of any "kickback" in austere times,are far in excess of the original tender submitted by Lovell's for all manner of work and equipment by their cavalry not agreed in the contract.

working class hero said...

well, even with this "investment" we have been without vital servers and access to applications to produce the council tax bills, housing benefits income, etc etc etc, due to IT issues, for 48 hours plus (so far) and this isn't looking like being resolved soon.

and no middle management from (capita) IT are in

16.1 million well sepnt, well managed, and well, well!!!!!!!