The council meeting included a discussion of an opposition motion regarding secrecy and failures in corporate parenting, following the death of three young people with care experience. The motion called for the resignation of Councillor Barry Rawlings, Leader of the Council, and Councillor Pauline Coakley Webb, Cabinet Member for Family Friendly Barnet.

Secrecy and Failures in Corporate Parenting

Councillor Peter Zinkin, Leader of the Conservative Group, put forward an opposition motion titled Secrecy and Failures in Corporate Parenting. The motion referenced the death of three young people with care experience¹. The motion stated that:

This Council calls for the resignations of the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet member for Family Friendly Barnet following their failure to honour the role of Councillors as corporate parents and their serious omission in deciding not to submit the review of the two cases considered and the first inquest to public scrutiny at the Children and Education Overview and Scrutiny sub-Committee or any other relevant Scrutiny Committees...

The motion stated that all councillors are corporate parents² with a duty of care to all children in the council's care. It also stated that councillors have a duty to ensure that the council adheres to its duties to looked after children and care experienced adults. The motion criticised the fact that following the death of a young person in December 2023, the matter was only briefly reported without detail, as Any Other Business at the end of the Corporate Parenting Panel, which is a closed meeting with no publicly available minutes.

The motion stated that there were multiple opportunities to brief the opposition group(s) on the matter, including:

• January 2024, when a brief note was made in CPAP under AOB
• November 2024, when notice was given of the coroner's listing and the beginning of the case
• May 2025, when the coroner provided initial findings and asked for more information
• Later in May 2025, when involved charities published the coroner's initial findings and the council requested they take down their write ups
• June 2025, when the council responded to the coroner
• August 2025, when first approached by Sky News on the matter of their documentary
• October 2025, when the final findings of the coroner were communicated to the Council.

The motion also expressed regret that Councillor Rawlings and Councillor Coakley Webb allegedly failed to disclose information at all these opportunities and failed to inform the corporate parents of the death and the proceedings following it. It stated that this lack of disclosure was symptomatic of a toxic culture of secrecy and coverup.

The motion resolved that:

• Councillor Rawlings and Councillor Coakley Webb should resign.
• All Corporate Parents should be immediately informed of any event involving looked after young persons which may reasonably be expected to require an inquest.
• Reviews will always take place following such inquests.
• Said reviews will be published and sent to the relevant scrutiny committee for review.
• Members should be notified of the date of any inquest in which the London Borough of Barnet is a named party.