Waltham Forest Council

The National Construction College’s Cathall Rd. facility UPDATE: local people still miss out

June 12, 2015 National Construction College Cathall Rd.

Courtesy of the LBWF Growth Scrutiny Committee, I now have some up-to-date figures on how many people – and in particular how many local people – have attended The National Construction College’s Cathall Rd. facility. As I pointed out in a previous post on this subject, LBWF initially promised that the College would have a dramatic impact on the locality. In December 2010, Council Leader Cllr Chris Robbins told Waltham Forest News that it was ‘“a fantastic, world-class training facility for local residents and people from across east London”’ and endorsed the view that ‘over the next four year... »

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Documenting Past Failures: (11) some conclusions, part one

June 10, 2015 Past failures: overview

The previous ten posts in this series have looked at LBWF’s record of extensive failure over the past decade or so, and it is now apposite to offer some general conclusions. First, it is notable that, by and large, the cases examined share some common characteristics, which may be summarised as follows: (a) rule breaches On paper, LBWF has always possessed clear rules to govern programme inception and governance. Yet the evidence shows that these were often disregarded.  Contracts were procured without seeking the requisite number of bidders; contract documents remained unsigned, sometimes und... »

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Town Hall asbestos: a closer look at LBWF’s defence strategy

June 2, 2015 Town Hall asbestos

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 initially heard at Westminster Magistrates Court in January 2015. On this occasion LBWF pleaded guilty on all four counts, and advanced the mitigation that: (a) it was very sorry; (b) it had spent a large... »

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Town Hall asbestos: Unison’s statement on today’s verdict

May 29, 2015 Town Hall asbestos

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(1), namely failure to protect their employees and failure to protect the public with a further two charges specifically relating to the Control of Asbestos regulations 2006 and 2012 regulation 4(8) wh... »

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LBWF and the Town Hall asbestos scandal: new evidence emerges

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... »

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LBWF and asbestos: how those potentially most affected are treated

April 23, 2015 Town Hall asbestos

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 ! I have written to my doctor to have this entered on my medical records. Of course, none of this answers the general point of how people who have been exposed but who didn’t see about it in the press ... »

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LBWF spinners

April 17, 2015 LBWF spin

A recent Press Gazette story highlights the large number of press officers and other communications staff who are now employed in local government – see here  http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/local-councils-now-employ-least-3400-comms-staff-more-double-total-central-government. Its author, William Turvill, has been kind enough to send me the figures for Waltham Forest. Apparently, there are currently 11 permanent staff working in Town Hall communications, whose job titles are: * Head of Communications and Councillor Services * Media Communications Officer (x3) * Deputy Head of Communication... »

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

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... »

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‘Our Olympics’: (1) LBWF and Leyton Market – the Council wins a ‘gold medal for ineptitude’

April 8, 2015 2012 Olympics in Waltham Forest: Leyton Market

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 is a great opportunity for Waltham Forest to celebrate the Olympics by creating trade for local businesses and offering a diverse selection of international food and drink for residents and visitors to... »

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‘Our Olympics’: an introduction

April 8, 2015 2012 Olympics in Waltham Forest

Waltham Forest was, of course, one of the ‘Olympic Boroughs’, and LBWF predictably milked that fact for all it was worth. From the ‘Big Six’ events (handily organised by the Manchester based Co-operative Event Management), to the outburst of civic pride that greeted the arrival of the torch, to the constant harping on ‘legacy’, no opportunity was missed to spread the message that the Town Hall brigade deserved out gratitude. Yet behind the scenes, it was a rather different story. A LBWF scrutiny committee report, published just a year before the Games opened, referred to ‘the perceived lack of... »

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