Barnet Council’s Cabinet last night (6 February) approved a recommended balanced budget for the next financial year, as well as proposals which include a record additional £97m for road and pavement improvement works over the next five years.

But what is community participation? We know that residents should be at the heart of what we do and that means as a council connecting with the insights, skills and drive of local communities - going to where people are, listening, learning through doing and being transparent about what we can and can’t change. Designing solutions for problems that communities face in partnership means we will improve the efficiency of our services and better tackle inequalities.

Barnet primary, secondary and special schools and maintained nurseries are due to receive net windfalls of around £17,000 each for the next two years following a decision at Barnet Council.

The money has become available because Barnet Council Pension Fund, into which local authority maintained school support staff across the borough pay, is doing well and is currently funded at 127 per cent required levels.

Every year, nationally, it is estimated that more than £18billion of benefits go unclaimed. This issue is getting worse year on year (21% increase in 2023). This means in Barnet that millions are going unclaimed.

Barnet Council has announced today (29 January) that the borough’s Healthy Child Programme is to be delivered by new provider Whittington Health NHS Trust. The programme includes health visiting, school nursing, oral health promotion, healthy weight nurses and infant feeding peer support.  

Barnet Council hosted its annual Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration service at Middlesex University yesterday (Sunday 28 January), bringing together the borough’s multifaith community to remember all victims of genocide.

Last night (Tuesday, 23 January), we celebrated a brilliant new addition to Brent Cross Town ‘The 108’ – the first indoor baseball and softball centre in Europe.

The launch event was full of excitement, with people eager to try out the sport and watch professional players on the field including the GB National Youth baseball team and guests also got a taste of the new American-style BBQ and sports bar.

Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime Sophie Linden has visited Barnet to hear how a ground-breaking police operation has led to hundreds of arrests.

The ‘Clear, Hold Build’ framework, centred on the Grahame Park Estate in Colindale, has seen local officers from the Metropolitan Police Service engage in a coordinated crackdown on gang-related and organised crime in the area.

The Minister for Loneliness, Stuart Andrew, visited Barnet's Care Leavers Hub on Thursday, 18 January, to gain insight into the pivotal role the hub plays in supporting care leavers to build and maintain social connections.

Barnet’s Cabinet Members voted last night (Tuesday 16 January) to approve a new sustainable drainage and flood defence strategy aimed at reducing future flood risks in the borough.

The strategy encourages building developers to include sustainable flood defence practices in their design plans, such as installing rainwater harvesting and water butts. Natural methods such as planting trees and shrubs to absorb excess rainwater can also prevent the flooding of streets and houses in urban areas.