A note for readers…
This is a personal blog, which aims to scrutinise the powers that be in Waltham Forest, from the Council (hereafter London Borough of Waltham Forest or LBWF), both elected members and staff; to our MP... »
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LBWF’s in-house ‘Eastern Legal Partnership’ initiative: another Waltham Forest mystery
Back in 2018, LBWF launched Eastern Legal Partnership (ELP), which its supremo, Director of Governance and Law Mark Hynes, introduced thus: ‘Eastern Legal Partnership (ELP) is a team of lawyers that p... »
Learning the lessons of Grenfell…or maybe not: LBWF’s 2017-18 flat entrance door update programme at Northwood Tower, Goddarts House, and other sheltered housing blocks
From November 2017 to April 2018, LBWF, via its repair and maintenance agent Osborne, employed a company called Exterior Plas Ltd. to upgrade 217 flat entrance doors (FEDs) at what it called five ‘key... »
LBWF councillors right to withhold ‘sensitive’ information about themselves on the Register of Interests: use and possible abuse
Though relatively rarely discussed, a clause in the current local government legislation allows councillors to withhold information on their register of interests forms so long as the monitoring offic... »
LBWF’s Internal Audit and Anti-Fraud Team investigates Town Hall procurement of goods and services, and finds disturbing ‘non-compliance with existing Rules’
In late 2019, LBWF’s Internal Audit and Anti-Fraud Team (hereafter IAAFT) completed a report on Town Hall procurement, and surprisingly, given the fact that each year this involves many millions... »
Cllr. Clyde Loakes makes Private Eye
From Private Eye No.1532, 9-22 October 2020. Cllr. Loakes, of course, is no stranger to these kind of controversies, see, for example, the story retold in the links. It is also arresting that someone ... »
London Borough of Waltham Forest: the local authority that can’t even finalise its annual accounts (3)
The saga of LBWF’s failure to complete its 2018-19 accounts – originally due, as for all other local authorities, on the last day of July 2019 – continues, and indeed seems to have no very clear end i... »
The Labour Left in Waltham Forest: neither use nor ornament (1)
As anyone close to the action readily will tell you (if only off the record), Labour in Waltham Forest is split down the middle. Labour Party One consists of Walthamstow MP, Dr. Stella Creasy, the LBW... »
LBWF and fire safety at Northwood Tower: yet more jiggery-pokery?
The antics of LBWF never cease to amaze and (for those who appreciate dark humour) amuse. A fresh example has just emerged. In the last few years, fire safety at the 21 floor, 99 flat, Northwood Tower... »
Fire safety at LBWF’s Northwood Tower in Walthamstow: a further chapter in a long-running and dismal story
From August 2017 onwards, the Waltham Forest Echo journalist Michelle Edwards has repeatedly warned about the perilous state of fire safety measures at Walthamstow’s 21 floor Northwood Tower. Shocked ... »
LBWF and COVID-19 (3)
With the passage of time, there is growing clarity about how LBWF has been affected by COVID-19, and to what extent the impact is being mitigated by special support received from the government. The f... »