This year the event marks the 70th anniversary of the London Declaration, when nations of the Commonwealth agreed to move forward together as free and equal members.
The Worshipful Mayor of Barnet, Councillor Reuben Thompstone – who was joined at the Town Hall by Professor Tim Blackman from Middlesex University – read the Queen’s Commonwealth Day message.
The findings come after Ofsted carried out its sixth and final monitoring visit since the council’s Children’s Services were judged to be inadequate in July 2017.
During the visit in February, inspectors focused on the quality of practice in the care leaver’s service. They found that the quality of social work practice is improving steadily and that the changes to the service are making a positive difference to the lives of young people, with appropriate support and help offered to care leavers.
The Corporate Plan – Barnet 2024 is focused on three main outcomes: A pleasant well-maintained borough that we protect and invest in; our residents live happy healthy independent lives with the most vulnerable protected. The final outcome is safe and strong communities where people get along.
There will be a 2.99 per cent increase to General Council Tax this year. The increase in Council Tax, which was approved by Budget Council on Tuesday, 5 March, will mean an extra £36 per year for a Band D property.
Between 18 and 23 February, there will be a range of activities on offer to children and young people as part of our 0-19 Early Help Services, ranging from circus skills and motor mechanics, to drama, music production and app design.
The launch of the new website is a big part of the council’s plan to improve the quality of customer services we provide.
In a recent survey of 5,000 residents asking them how the council can improve its customer experience, most said they would prefer handling their council business online.
The annual statistics for last year show that Key Stage 2 pupils were among the top 10 per cent of pupils in the country and above the national average for meeting the expected standard for reading, writing and maths combined.
The progress that Barnet children made between Year 2 and Year 6 saw the borough ranked second highest in the country for reading, and eighth in the country for mathematics.