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Enabling children to access the right education provision at the earliest possible time is important.

Councillor Tony Vourou has become the 60th Mayor of Barnet, after being officially sworn in during the Annual Council Meeting held on Tuesday 21 May at Hendon Town Hall. Councillor Vourou takes over from the borough’s previous Mayor, Councillor Nagus Narenthira. The Mayoress will be his wife, Mrs Caroline Vourou. Councillor Vourou has chosen Macmillan Cancer Support and Age UK Barnet as his charities, and fundraising for cardiac equipment at Barnet General Hospital, during his Mayoral term.

The Leader of Barnet Council has announced changes to Cabinet portfolios to place greater emphasis on reducing poverty and boosting the local economy. Revisions to the responsibilities held by the team of top decision-makers were confirmed during a meeting of the Annual Council on Tuesday (21 May).

Barnet Council has signed up to a pledge to provide further support to help care leavers realise their ambitions. The council has joined the Care Leaver Covenant - a promise made by the private, public and voluntary sectors to provide additional support for care leavers aged 16-25 to help them to live independently.

Barnet Council will invest extra money in a range of key services to support residents after setting a balanced budget for the next financial year. The budget, which was approved during a full council meeting on Tuesday (27 February), includes £22m of additional funding for essential services for older and vulnerable residents, £7m to support children and young people, and £2m for homeless families.

Barnet Council has launched Safe Havens as part of its work to combat Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). This pioneering programme aims to provide practical support and refuge to individuals, particularly women and girls, who may feel intimidated, threatened, harassed, or unwell while out and about in the evening.

Barnet Council has announced plans to replace cladding on nearly 600 low-rise houses in its borough, in a multi-million-pound scheme that it believes will be the first of its kind in the country. Safety issues with the cladding on over 580 terraced homes came to the attention of Barnet Council following a serious house fire in one of the properties in the summer of 2023.

Three in four children due to start secondary school in Barnet this September have been offered a place at their first-choice school. Figures published on National Secondary Admission Offer Day 2024 by the Pan London Admissions Board show that 74.8% of Barnet pupils were offered a place at their first-preference school, compared to the London average of 70.5%.

Barnet’s first cycleway is now open and runs between Burnt Oak and Colindale, linking the two neighbourhoods with a shared pedestrian and cycle path. Designed to encourage cycling, walking, and running, cycleways are high-quality cycle routes that link communities, businesses and destinations across London and form part of Transport for London's cycleway scheme.

A series of projects designed to make Barnet more age-friendly will get underway following the launch of a new call to action. Age-Friendly Barnet focuses on seven key areas that can impact the way that people age - from ageism and intergenerational inclusion to transport, housing, employment and volunteering opportunities.