contracts – Waltham Forest Matters

LBWF and the Town Hall asbestos scandal: new evidence emerges

Nick Tiratsoo May 27, 2015 Town Hall asbestos

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 ‘documents’ tab). It is already established that (a) policy or no policy, there was a good deal of confusion about the asbestos in the Town Hall, the dates when reports were received, who exactl... »

asbestos, contracts, HSE, LBWF, Martin Esom, NPS London Ltd., past failures, Shifa Mustafa, Southwark Crown Court, Waltham Forest Council, Waltham Forest Town Hall

‘Our Olympics’: (2) The National Construction College’s Cathall Rd. facility

Nick Tiratsoo April 10, 2015 National Construction College Cathall Rd.

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 going to impact on local people’s lives, and in particular dramatically diminish worklessness. Today, the Construction Academy is virtually forgotten, and the rumour is that it will soon close. Loca... »

Afzal Akram, broken promises, Chris Robbins, contracts, LBWF, National Construction College Cathall Rd., Olympic legacy, Shifa Mustafa, Terry Wheeler, Waltham Forest Council, Worknet

Documenting Past Failures: (10) LBWF and Worknet: a tale of underperformance, failure, and the betrayal of local people

Nick Tiratsoo March 24, 2015 Worknet

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: ‘“Waltham Forest have always said our 2012 Legacy…will be…jobs, education and opportunity…Huge strides have been taken towards achieving that…with our Worknet jobs programme”’. However, by late 2013, Worknet... »

Afzal Akram, broken promises, Chris Robbins, contracts, DCLG, Julian Martin, Kennedy Scott, LBWF, O-Regen, past failures, Reed in Partnership, Rocket Science, Shifa Mustafa, Waltham Forest Council, Widows and Orphans International, Worknet

Documenting Past Failures: (7) The Independent Panel and a ‘scathing’ report on LBWF’s ‘deep-rooted culture of non-compliance with procedures to prevent fraud’.

Nick Tiratsoo March 9, 2015 Independent Panel

In mid-2009, the crisis around the BNI finally came to a head. The Council had spent c. £116,000 on a series of seven or eight disparate inquiries into the programme, (Waltham Forest Guardian, 17 June 2009) culminating in the PwC report, but some were obviously flawed, few convinced, and almost all begged further questions. Negative press coverage continued, as when the Waltham Forest Guardian revealed that, contrary to previous assurances, BNI money was being used to subsidise Waltham Forest’s 2012 projects department, with the further revelation – that the documentation here was also ... »

Andrew Kilburn, BBC, Chris Robbins, contracts, Deloitte, Independent Panel, Independent Panel report, LBWF, NRF Youth at Risk, Sir Peter Rogers, Waltham Forest Council, Waltham Forest Guardian

LBWF, the Local Authority Business Growth Initiative programmes, and the Waltham Forest Business Board, E11 Bid Co., and North London Ltd.

Nick Tiratsoo February 13, 2015 Argall Car Parks, E11 BID Co., North London Ltd., Waltham Forest Business Board

A couple of years ago, I started hearing some very surprising things about Leytonstone’s Business Improvement District (BID) company, the E11 Bid Co.. The allegation, in short, was that the directors of the company had failed to keep proper books and neglected to pay their taxes; run up substantial debts; and as a consequence jeopardised the company’s ‘going concern’ status. I had always been suspicious about the E11 BID Co. because there was a lack of transparency about its operations, and a lot of obvious flannel about its alleged successes. I knew that councillors (i... »

Afzal Akram, CCTV cameras, Chris Robbins, Clyde Loakes, contracts, E11 BID Co., LABGI, LBWF, Leytonstone Business Forum CIC, Martin Esom, Michael Polledri, North London Business, North London Ltd., One Stop Shop, past failures, Shifa Mustafa, Terry Wheeler, Waltham Forest Business Board, Waltham Forest Business CIC, Waltham Forest Council, Worknet

Documenting Past Failures: (3) NRF, EduAction and an open letter to Cllr. Chris Robbins

Nick Tiratsoo February 10, 2015 Cllr. Chris Robbins, EduAction, NRF

One of the outside organisations that LBWF paid NRF monies to was EduAction, or more properly EduAction Waltham Forest Ltd., a joint venture formed by Amey Plc (‘one of today’s leading public services providers’) and Nord Anglia Education. In the 2000s, EduAction ran the schools in the borough, after a damning Ofsted report at the turn of the century had disposed of the idea that the local authority was up to the job. It was always said that EduAction was receiving NRF monies to help it run special programmes, aimed for instance those at those most at risk of failure or truancy. Ho... »

BNI, Chris Robbins, contracts, Corporate Audit and Anti-Fraud Team, Dr. Foster, EduAction, LBWF, NRF, past failures, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Roger Taylor, Waltham Forest Council