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Residents’ satisfaction with the council remains high following the latest survey of people living in the borough.  The results of the Spring 2016 Residents’ Perception Survey show that 74 per cent of residents are satisfied with the way the council runs things, significantly above the outer London average of 70 per cent.

Excitement across the borough is growing for the facility, which will offer 20 activities every night for young people aged between eight and 19, and up to 25 for those with additional needs.   Barnet Council are putting £4.2million towards the construction costs, and national charity OnSide has raised the remaining £2.3million from charitable trusts, foundations and philanthropists. OnSide has developed a thriving network of Youth Zones across the North West and Midlands and Barnet’s facility will be among the first in the South of the country when it opens next year.

The annual primary school performance tables, published by the Department for Education in December, show 73 per cent of 11-year-olds in Barnet achieved at least the expected standard in reading in 2016 – above the England average of 66 per cent. In Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling (GPS), 80 per cent achieved the expected standard – above the England average of 72 per cent. In maths, 77 per cent achieved the expected standard, compared with 70 per cent nationally.

Today the report has been published with an overall judgement of inadequate. The full report can be found here. A council report detailing our response to the inspection and our action plan for improvement is due to be presented to the Children, Education, Libraries and Safeguarding (CELS) Committee on 18 July where it will be discussed by members. You can read the full report here.

A full meeting of Barnet Council last night (1 March 2016) confirmed there will be no increase in Council Tax bills for the borough’s residents for the sixth year in a row. This means that, following a one per cent reduction in 2014/15 and a freeze in every other year since 2010/11, there has been a real term cut of 20 per cent in Council Tax bills since 2010/11.

Young people from across the borough are taking part in the online poll which runs from Monday 20 February until midnight on Monday 6 March. Results of the vote will be announced at a special results evening on 13 March at the North London Business Park. There are four positions as a Member of the Youth Parliament up for grabs, with members serving for one year. This year 39 candidates from 16 different schools and colleges across the borough have entered the race for election. Last year almost 9,000 young people took part in the vote.

A revised in-house service and shared service with the NHS are two options being considered for delivering adult social care in Barnet in the future.

The Worshipful the Mayor of Barnet, Councillor Mark Shooter, will speak briefly before the beacon is set alight at 7.30pm outside the bell tower of St Mary the Virgin Church, on Hadley Common. Everyone is invited to take part in the celebrations, which will include bell ringing from 6.50pm, followed by the singing of the national anthem and a round of cheers.

As part of the challenge which runs until 17 September, children aged 4 to 11 are encouraged to read six books during the summer holidays. The summer reading challenge is running in Barnet libraries with an impressive programme of nearly 50 free or low cost events for babies, children and young people, and more than 2000 children in Barnet have registered to take part in the challenge. Councillor Reuben Thompstone, Chairman of the Children, Education, Libraries and Safeguarding Committee, said:

The Re contract delivers a wide range of services including highways, planning, regeneration, environmental health, trading standards and the Hendon Cemetery and Crematorium. Residents can provide feedback on their experiences of any of these services or on any other aspect of the operation of the contract by submitting their views via engage.barnet.gov.uk.