Posts

LBWF spends enormous amounts each year on non-disclosure agreements, but is this justified?

November 1, 2023 LBWF spin

In recent years, and particularly following the Harvey Weinstein scandal, there has been growing unease about the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). It is widely accepted that NDAs can be appropriate in some circumstances, for example to protect sensitive commercial information. The worry, however, is that on occasion NDAs appear to have been deployed solely to cover up unlawful or abusive behaviour. Against this background, it is perhaps surprising to find that LBWF has used NDAs quite extensively, as the following table demonstrates: Moreover, this has come at a cost, since a significant proportion of these agreements have been accompanied by compensatory payments, with the annu... »

The Mall tower blocks: Stella Creasy raises safety fears with Secretary of State Michael Gove, but there are other big concerns too UPDATED

October 2, 2023 Redevelopment, Stella Creasy MP

In the last few weeks, Walthamstow residents have been amused – possibly bemused – by the sudden appearance of a new tower block’s soaring central core right in the middle of the Mall redevelopment scheme (now officially called ‘17&Central’). As the Waltham Forest Echo reports, this startling vision has prompted numerous memes on social media, including ‘King Kong atop the tower’, and a ‘mockup of the structure as the Leaning Tower of Pisa complete with tourists pretending to push it’. All this is undoubtedly entertaining, but there is also a serious side to the story which is well worth telling, provoking as it does questions about finance, safety (most of all, fire safet... »

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Chingford speed humps: the prior consultation was manipulated, and what LBWF refers to as supporting evidence is revealed to be decades out of date

September 20, 2023 LBWF spin, Mini Holland

Here’s a further update from our Chingford correspondent, this time with some incendiary revelations (see links for back story). ‘Recent research casts further doubt on how LBWF has acted in installing speed humps in Chingford. First, it emerges that the consultation about speed humps was blatantly manipulated.  LBWF claims to have distributed a survey to all households in the area where the humps were planned, seeking their opinions. One notable fact is that only 6.7 per cent of households responded, which seems to give credence to local claims that the distribution was nowhere near as comprehensive as claimed. But the bigger issue is how LBWF has subsequently presented the results. Th... »

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LBWF and information requests: a new case shows that despite past official reprimands, Information Officer Mark Hynes’ service is still casually impeding transparency

September 12, 2023 Freedom of Information Act

As this blog has documented, LBWF’s past history of handling information requests is chequered, with some residents finding their inquiries thwarted by delays, illegitimate evasions, and ignorance of the legal framework, to the extent that the Information Commissioner’s Office periodically has had to intervene. All that is regrettable, but a new case suggests that obfuscation has not just continued, but become bolder. In October 2022, the Leader, Cllr. Grace Williams, told me that if I kept asking questions about Town Hall asbestos failures, she might invoke the Council’s Unreasonable Behaviour Policy. Her threat triggered derision in Private Eye, but since my questions a... »

Departing LBWF CEO Martin Esom: 13 years in the job, £2.6m. salary in the bank, a few highs, but also some very unattractive lows

August 30, 2023 LBWF spin, Martin Esom

In December 2022, LBWF announced that its CEO, Martin Esom, would be leaving the Town Hall at the end of 2023, but subsequently, and without explanation, his departure date was brought forward to the last day of July just past, when he took up a position at the Sports Grounds Safety Authority. Accordingly, it’s a good time to evaluate what Mr. Esom has achieved in his near 13 years at the helm. Has he helped change the council, and Waltham Forest, for the better? It is certainly true that he has led the borough through an unusually volatile period, with budget cuts, Islamist terrorism, COVID, significant amounts of fresh legislation, and so on, each offering their own challenges. And it’s al... »

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