Posts

LBWF councillors: what do they do, and is it value for money? An update.

March 7, 2023 LBWF, Local government reform

In essence, the relationship between residents and councillors is an informal contract. Residents agree to pay councillors from the public purse For their part, councillors, amongst other things, attend (and in some cases chair) council meetings; read and digest the associated minutes and papers; promote the interests of those who live in their wards, or at least make sure they are not left behind; and help any residents in need of assistance. A post published in February 2020 looked at how this arrangement was going, and the following is an update. To start with, what do councillors receive in terms of remuneration? Remuneration All councillors receive a basic allowance, and on top of that ... »

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LBWF’s fiefdom: ‘borough of culture’ or borough of dysentery?

February 16, 2023 Cllr. Clyde Loakes, food hygiene, LBWF spin

One recurring theme in LBWF’s endless self-promotion is that, thanks to the Town Hall’s efforts, Waltham Forest is an unusually appealing place, the borough of ‘the Stow’ and ‘the Stone’, ‘quirky, individual creative businesses’, a vibrant night-time economy, and an exciting and diverse ‘cultural offer’, in short, a honeypot for what one of LBWF’s more influential consultants calls ‘the rising prosperity’ demographic. Yet the amusing thing is how often reality intrudes, how often the glittering images collide with the tawdry realities. In 2021, the Evening Standard reported that ‘Waltham Forest tops the list as London’s least hygienic borough for food’. And now an interactive ... »

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Hate crime in Waltham Forest: setting aside the scary rhetoric, is it as bad as LBWF claims?

February 13, 2023 Policing/crime

Introduction In the last few years, LBWF has regularly asserted that Waltham Forest is afflicted by ‘an unprecedented rise’ in damaging hate crime – especially, according to senior councillors, racist, Islamophobic, homophobic, anti-Semitic, and transgender hate crime.  As a response, and leading on from a specially convened Citizen’s Assembly, it has put in place various high-profile awareness, intervention, and training programmes, costing hundreds of thousands of pounds. With the Town Hall’s example before it, the local police force has followed suit, employing a dedicated hate crime officer; offering ‘an anonymous email inbox…for those experiencing hate crime’; mounting patrols at ‘... »

Looking back at the past, an occasional series. Part three: Private Eye reports on LBWF’s feeble attempts to curb Islamist extremism

February 7, 2023 Prevent

From Private Eye No.1407, 11/12-18/12/15 As a previous post noted: ‘Perhaps curiously, given LBWF’s decidedly chequered record in identifying and addressing Islamist extremism, Martin Esom, the council CEO, chaired the pan London Prevent Board…from 2012 to late 2018’. »

After 64 working days, LBWF Director of Governance and Law, Mark Hynes, is still to complete his asbestos inquiry, ratcheting up public unease

January 31, 2023 Town Hall asbestos

In an e-mail of 30 January 2023, LBWF Director of Governance and Law Mark Hynes writes: ‘Although I was hoping to have concluded my review into the concerns you raised about asbestos management compliance, the matter is still ongoing. I hope to have concluded matters in the near future and will write to you again at that time’. I first contacted Mr. Hynes about whether LBWF had respected the asbestos legislation on 1 September 2022. He made no substantive response for eight weeks, and then on 27 October 2022 suddenly announced an inquiry. Now, some 64 working days later, and despite the no doubt costly assistance of ‘global law firm’ Clyde & Co. LLP, there’s still no outcome.... »

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