Petition calling for referendum on controversial One Barnet plan goes to council

Wednesday, 24 October 2012

By Koos Couvée

A PETITION with over 2,000 signatures calling for a referendum on the council's controversial One Barnet outsourcing programme will be discussed at a council meeting tonight.

The petition, signed by 2,973 residents, will be presented to the Business Management Overview & Scrutiny Committee at Hendon Town Hall at 7pm.

The signatures were collected by the Barnet Alliance For Public Services, after an endorsement by the Barnet Labour group. The petition calls for an immediate stop to the One Barnet programme until residents are allowed to have their say on the scheme through a yes/no referendum.

Petitions of over 2,000 signatures must be considered by the business management overview and scrutiny committee, and gives the lead petitioner the right to address the committee for five minutes.

The One Barnet Programme would see huge swathes of council services, such as street cleaning and customer services, outsourced to a private company.

Julian Silverman, a spokesman for BAPS said: “Even if the council goes to referendum it would not be binding, they could still go ahead as planned. But we started this petition also to raise awareness about the disastrous One Barnet programme. More people need to know what was being done in their name, purely for the sake of profit.”

BAPS will be holding a debate with council leader Richard Cornelius about the One Barnet programme at 7pm on Thursday, November 8 at the Greek Cypriot Centre, in Brittannia Road, North Finchley.

Email: koos.couvee@nlhnews.co.uk

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