Councillor Kath McGuirk

Governance, Audit, Risk Management and Standards Committee (GARMS) - Monday 10th February, 2025 7.00 pm, NEW

The Governance Audit Risk Management and Standards Committee noted the contents of reports about the Treasury Management Strategy Statement (TMSS ) 2025/26 and the Treasury Management performance Update Q3 2024/25.

Licensing Sub-Committee - Tuesday 4th February, 2025 10.30 am

The Sub-Committee granted the application for a new Adult Gaming Centre Licence for Little Vegas, 4 - 6 Cricklewood Lane London NW2 1EX subject to mandatory conditions applied by the Council and the conditions agreed with the Metropolitan Police. There were representations from the Council's Public Health department, two local ward councillors, and thirty-four local residents objecting to the application. Their concerns were primarily about the location of the premises on a school route and the advertising in the windows of the premises, and the protection of children and other vulnerable people from harm.

Council - Tuesday 28th January, 2025 7.00 pm

The Council of Barnet Council met on Tuesday 28 January 2025. The meeting started with tributes to Councillor Eva Greenspan, and former Councillors Usha Chopra and Joe Lee who had all sadly passed away. The council then adopted the [Joint Report of the Monitoring Officer and Chief Finance Officer (section 151 Officer)][Council cover report 28 January 2025], which detailed unlawful payments that had been made to, and from the Barnet Pension Fund. The Council delegated to the Pension Fund and Governance, Audit, Risk Management and Standards Committees the task of establishing the best way to rectify these unlawful payments, and delegated authority to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Monitoring Officer and Chief Finance Officer, to put those steps into effect. The council also noted the appointment of Alexa, Alina, Zahra, and Shama from Copthall Girls School to speak about the 60th anniversary of the London Borough of Barnet.

Budget Scrutiny, Overview and Scrutiny Committee - Thursday 12th December, 2024 7.00 pm

The committee considered a report on proposed changes to the Council Tax Support Scheme. It was noted that a separate public consultation was in progress, and the cabinet will consider the committee's views alongside the public consultation responses in February 2025. The committee recommended that the cabinet consider what other councils in London were doing. The committee also noted the Cabinet Forward Plan and considered a proposal to add the Open Door Homes acquisitions update to the plan for June 2025. There were no objections, so this was agreed. The committee noted the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme and agreed to move their meeting from 5 June to 12 June. They also agreed to consider the budget papers on 30 January to allow members to make comments ahead of the final budget being produced. Finally, the committee considered two reports on the council's budget: the Chief Finance Officer Report – 2024/25 Quarter 2 Financial Forecast and 2024/25 Budget Management and the Business Planning and Medium Term Financial Strategy 2025-2030. These reports revealed a challenging financial position for the council, with an anticipated overspend of £25 million for 2024/25. The committee recommended that the cabinet consider how the budget consultation might be improved in future years, potentially by adopting a themed approach where each department could be scrutinized separately.

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: