Opposition parties on Brent Council have combined to call-in decisions made by Barham Park Trustees and Brent Officers regarding property in Barham Park. The Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee will consider the issue next week at a special meeting on Wednesday October 2nd. LINK
Call-in requires the setting out of concerns over a decision and suggestions for alternative action.
One of the central suggestions is:
Refer this decision back to the Trust Committee to reconsider with a recommendation that the Council should once again review the Governance arrangements for the Trust and appoint Trustees with sufficient knowledge, experience and interest who will manage the affairs of the Trust better than has been done in recent years.
Delegation to Council Officers should also be deferred until this has been done and until the losses made by the Trust, as a result of the delegation of powers to officers, have been identified and evaluated and a revised set of duties and responsibilities have been listed to avoid similar failures in the future.
The call-in request is embedded below:
I have watched again both the September 2023 and September 2024 Barham Trust Committee Meetings. How could the Trustees allow a situation to arise that in TWO successive years the Accounts for the Trust had to be withdrawn at the last minute?
ReplyDeleteAre the Accountants responsible for preparing the Accounts so incompetent that they cannot get things right two years in succession?
It is hardly surprising that the Barham buildings are so neglected if the Labour Councillors in charge:
1. Fail to increase rents in line with the Leases
2. Fail to collect rents at all
3. Fail to make recharges for services
4. Waste money on surveys and architects fees which are never acted upon.
In the private sector the people responsible for this incompetence would be sacked. So why are the Trustees and the Officers responsible still in position to cause even more damage? The stink of corruption and incompetence is unbelievable.
I just hope that for once Brent's Scrutiny Committee does its job properly.