Councillor Caroline Stock

Cabinet - Monday 18th November, 2024 7.00 pm

The Cabinet agreed to make significant changes to its capital programme, reducing expenditure by £69.5m. They also approved plans for the Grand Park North East development, with Lovell Partnerships Ltd. as their chosen partner for the scheme. They further endorsed the recommendations made in a report on GP Access in the borough, and a review of capital contracts with Capita. Finally, they approved changes to the Council Tax Support Scheme for consultation, and a proposal to decommission Pay & Display machines.

Licensing and General Purposes Committee - Thursday 7th November, 2024 7.00 pm

The Licensing and General Purposes Committee approved a revised Licensing Policy [^1] for the period 2025 to 2030, and recommended that it be adopted at the next full meeting of the council. The committee noted that public consultation had taken place and that 24 responses had been received. Concerns were raised about a perceived increase in male-dominated cafés, with members citing businesses such as the Toscana, Cafe 01, Tirana, and Pizreni on Vivian Avenue in Hendon. Some respondents believed these venues were intimidating to women, with one resident stating:

the Licensing and General Purposes Committee of Barnet Council

Council - Tuesday 15th October, 2024 7.00 pm

The meeting began with a series of speeches on the topic of Black History Month and then moved on to approve the minutes of the previous meeting held on 9 July 2024, note the contents of a number of reports, appoint new officers, and approve a new constitution for the council. Two motions were debated and voted on: a motion to celebrate the achievements of the Labour administration, which was carried, and a motion to regret the government's decision to means-test Winter Fuel Allowance, which was lost.

Adults and Health Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Committee - Thursday 5th September, 2024 7.00 pm

The committee discussed a report on children's oral health in Barnet. The committee was concerned that Barnet was the only borough in North Central London that did not provide a targeted fluoride varnishing programme for children, due to funding constraints. The committee requested data on how many children had been identified with safeguarding concerns from dental assessments or from the supervised toothbrushing scheme. There was disappointment that only 69% of Barnet's looked after children have had dental checks, which the Executive Director of Communities, Adults and Health agreed to raise with Tina McElligott, the Director of Children's Social Care. The committee also discussed whether there was any funding available to help people who have to travel to access NHS dentists, and asked the Integrated Care Board (ICB) to consider commissioning a mobile dental van, similar to some other boroughs.