Nick Tiratsoo's Posts

Journalist Andrew Kersley’s investigation of Waltham Forest resident Tracey Turnell’s tragic death causes a stir, but after at first feigning interest, the Greens quickly chicken out

Journalist Andrew Kersley’s investigation of Waltham Forest resident Tracey Turnell’s tragic death, published on 30 May in The Londoner, has deservedly provoked much positive interest and comment (see below). But there is one grating note. After publication, the newly appointed Green Party cabinet member in charge of adult social care, Cllr. Martin Edobor, was in contact with Mr. Kersley and ‘said... »

LBWF is quietly paying consultancy Newton c. £5m. to help it make savings in services for those local residents most in need

From the beginning of the year, LBWF has been working with a big consultancy, Newton Consulting Ltd., on a project to deliver ‘change across its organisation, with a focus on…  Housing and Homelessness and Adult Social Care’. This is part of a new LBWF emphasis on ‘demand management’, that is, wherever feasible, remodelling its key statutory responsibilities in a way that produces t... »

‘How others see us’, an occasional series, No.2: The Londoner’s Andrew Kersley revisits the tragic death of Waltham Forest resident Tracey Turnell and eviscerates LBWF

The Londoner has just published Andrew Kersley’s forensic investigation of the tragic death of Waltham Forest resident Tracey Turnell, the so called ‘body in the wheelchair’ case, here: https://www.the-londoner.co.uk/tracey-turnell-death-wheelchair-walthamstow/ It is well worth reading in full, particularly for those who still believe LBWF’s much repeated claim that it puts residents first in... »

In Waltham Forest, the Greens take the Town Hall, but will ‘a new kind of council’ follow?

Jubilant at gaining an overall majority in the Town Hall, the Greens are promising major changes, no less than ‘a new kind of council’. However, there are several flies in the ointment, as this post explains. First, many of the new Green councillors are almost completely unknown, and it’s possible that when they step into the limelight, it will turn out that some have made comments in the past whi... »

LBWF’s equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) programme: has it involved unlawful discrimination against men?

For the last five years, LBWF has been implementing a wide-ranging equality, diversity and inclusion programme which has comprised numerous separate initiatives; involved every Town Hall employee, from the most junior to the most senior; and cost a large amount of public money, not least because all of the activity has taken place in worktime. One of the key objectives here, repeated again and aga... »

The Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review of historic child abuse at Whitefield School in Walthamstow is further delayed, questioning its credibility

Word reaches this blog that the Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review (LCSPR) of historic child abuse at Whitefield School, though already more than a year overdue, is to be delayed yet again, and in fact there is no longer even a target publication date. In explanation, it is said that the LCSPR panel needs to add further expertise, though why any knowledge deficit wasn’t addressed long ... »

LBWF’s promise to put ‘residents at the heart of everything we do’ yet again revealed to be a sham

Renowned Waltham Forest campaigner James O’Rourke has appeared in posts on this blog before. He is a highly qualified expert, a Family and Friend Representative, Learning Disability England; an Independent Panellist for NHS England’s Care, Education and Treatment Review programme; and a Member of the Adult Social Care All Party Parliamentary Group. In addition, he spends a good deal... »

The Whitefield School child abuse scandal: the five big issues that remain unresolved

BBC reporter: ‘You’re sure that his time in these calming rooms changed him?’ Mother: ‘Yes, very much so. He went in as a calm, sweet, innocent child, and he’s come out of there not even being able to function in his daily activities. He needs support with everything now…and basically…He won’t leave the house’. The Whitefield School child abuse scandal is withou... »

Whitefield latest: in August 2024 LBWF and partners initiated a statutory review of the school’s historic child abuse scandal, but incredibly it’s yet to report

In August 2024, LBWF and its various safeguarding partners initiated a Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review (LCSPR) to examine the historic child abuse at Whitefield School, and this was then publicly announced by the Leader, Cllr. Grace Williams, on 27 November 2024, one day after the BBC’s Noel Titheradge had published the third of his devastating exposés (‘CCTV…obtained by the BBC... »

LBWF’s commitment to being transparent again in question as campaigner finds c.£500,000 unaccounted for in audit documents signed off by the council’s senior leadership

In recent years LBWF has repeatedly failed to uphold its responsibility to be open and transparent, even where this is required by the law. A few examples are illustrative (for further details see the links below). In 2020, the Information Commissioner’s Office took the almost unprecedented step of issuing LBWF with a Practice Recommendation because of its widespread non-compliance with the Freedo... »

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