Two years ago today (23 March) saw the UK go into its first lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic and across Barnet people are reflecting on the impact it has had.

Twenty-four months on and nearly a third of Barnet’s population has been infected with the virus (115,417), over two-thirds have been vaccinated and, sadly, 1,078 people have lost their lives.

Barnet’s services for children and young people with special education needs and disabilities (SEND) have been found to be making a real difference, according to the findings of a joint Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) report.

Barnet Council is encouraging residents planning celebrations for Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, to make sure they apply for a street party license before the deadline of 8 April.

Celebratory events, including street parties and big lunches organised by residents and community groups, will be held across the borough and nationally to mark Her Majesty’s 70-year reign, across the special Bank Holiday weekend from Thursday 2 June to Sunday 5 June.

Barnet Council has completed the first phase of its plan to increase the energy efficiency of a number of council-owned buildings. The £1.38million upgrade is part of the council’s wider commitment to becoming ‘carbon net zero’ by 2030 as an organisation.

Phase one of the project has delivered a variety of energy-efficiency measures across Barnet Council buildings, including heat pumps, solar panels, battery storage and building management systems, installed in council offices, libraries, children’s centres and two primary schools.

Councillor Reuben Thompstone, Chairman of the Community Leadership and Libraries Committee, said: “Dr Shah was a well-known figure in our borough whose work touched many of our lives. As Chair of the Jain Network Dr Shah worked tirelessly to represent the Jain faith and promote its values, both here in Barnet and across the world. He was also a strong advocate of inter faith understanding, and a longstanding member of the Barnet Multi Faith Forum executive committee.

Barnet’s business community is being offered a free support service, as part of a package of council measures to help local employers bounce back from the economic hit caused by the pandemic lockdowns.