The outcome of LBWF’s appearance at Southwark Crown Court on Friday last has been well reported in the Waltham Forest Guardian, see especially here: http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/wfnews/12979957.Council_asbestos_failings_put_workers_at__serious_risk____Judge/ However, there is one detail which certainly deserves greater attention than it has so far attracted. The case against LBWF was init... »
PRESS RELEASE UNISON in Waltham Forest Embargo: None Date: 29th May 2015 THE LONDON BOROUGH OF WALTHAM FOREST FINED £66,000 FOR FAILING TO MANAGE ASBESTOS SAFELY AND PUTTING ITS EMPLOYEES HEALTH AT RISK The London Borough of Waltham Forest was fined today at Southwark Crown Court following their pleading guilty to two Charges under the Health and safety at Work Act 1974 section 2(1) and section 3(... »
LBWF is due in Southwark Crown Court on Friday 29 May for sentencing over its conviction for breaking health and safety legislation in relation to asbestos in the Town Hall. In the subsequent fall-out, further questions no doubt will be asked about how LBWF interacted with NPS London Ltd, since in formal terms the latter was a key player in the authority’s Asbestos Policy (for which see the ‘... »
A correspondent who worked in the Town hall for a number of years writes as follows: ‘After over a dozen emails and three interventions by my councillor…and after filling in a form (which was more suitable for a manager reporting on an industrial accident in their department) I have now been told the types of asbestos to which I may have been exposed. Talk about jumping through hoops !... »
The National Construction College’s facility in Cathall Rd., on the Leyton-Leytonstone border, was presented by LBWF as the jewel in the crown of Waltham Forest’s Olympic legacy. Looking like a super IKEA, looming over the surrounding buildings, and hyped by every Labour hack from Cathall Councillor Terry Wheeler to the Leader himself, here was something, the patter ran, that really was goin... »
In the immediate run-up to the start of the Olympic Games in July 2012, LBWF proudly promoted a ‘new international food market’ in Marshall Street, adjacent to Leyton underground station, and, more important, metaphorically ‘just a stone’s throw away from the Olympic stadium’. In a press release, Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Corporate Resources, Cllr. Mark Rusling, enthused: ‘This i... »
In his March 2015 E-bulletin, the somnolent MP for Leyton and Wanstead John Cryer comments as follows: ‘I was troubled by some reports which have surfaced online about how Waltham Forest Council dealt with the discovery of asbestos at the Town Hall. This had the potential to cause ordinary council workers, officers and the councillors themselves serious, chronic health problems. I met with t... »
Stop press: Mr Fenwick provides a full reply to our e-mail of 20 March 2015. 26 March 2015 ‘Dear Mr Tiratsoo, Thank you for your email. Its contents are noted. The Council has provided a response to your original queries and explained the relationship between NPS(London) Ltd and the Council. Daniel Fenwick Director of Governance’ 20 March 2015 ‘Dear Mr. Fenwick, Tha... »
Between 2008 and 2014, LBWF operated Worknet, a multi-million pound programme, funded from London and central government sources, delivered by outside ‘partners’, and aimed at helping local people find employment. At first, LBWF gave Worknet significant publicity, and presented it as a major initiative. For example, in November 2009, Council Leader Cllr. Chris Robbins told WFN: ‘“Walth... »
On 27 January 2015, Trevor Calver and I called for LBWF Chief Executive Martin Esom to resign over the Town Hall asbestos affair. Here is the correspondence that followed in date order, beginning at the bottom with our initial e-mail. 20 March 2015 ‘Dear Mr. Fenwick, Thank you for your e-mail. Most of it of course is entirely irrelevant to the points that we raised with Mr. Esom on 27... »