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There has been an increase in the number of applications, with 145 more children applying this year, bringing the total number of new applications to 4,555. A number of extra primary places have been created through establishing additional classes at primary schools including Tudor, Childs Hill, St Agnes, and Underhill. An additional 60 new permanent places are also being provided at the new Ashmole Primary Free School.

Councillor David Longstaff, Chairman of the Community Leadership Committee, and Councillor Graham Old, Vice Chairman of the committee, visited the borough’s new CCTV control room to see the improvements in action. Since upgrade work began, 111 of the borough’s cameras have been replaced with high definition equipment so far, with other significant improvements made to transmission and monitoring equipment and a new CCTV control room. The improvement work is part of a contract between the council and OCS Group Ltd for CCTV services which began in 2014.

A major cross-party review of the Customer and Support Group contract between Barnet Council and Capita has demonstrated that, three years in, it is delivering significant benefits to the borough, with overall savings of £31 million achieved alongside increased resident satisfaction. Barnet Council awarded Capita a 10-year contract to run the council’s main internal support services, including HR, finance, IT and estates, as well as outward-facing customer services (face to face customer contact, telephone call centre, and website) and the revenues and benefits service in 2013.

Results received so far in Barnet show 98.9% of A Level examinations were awarded an A* to E grade. This is above the national average of 98.1%. 84.5% achieved an A* to C, 62.9% A* to B and 36.8% A* to A. The percentage awarded an A* to A is over 10 per cent higher than the national average (25.8%). Based on these same 17 schools last year this shows an improvement on the 2015 results at A* to C and A* to E: A*-C have gone up from 83.2% in 2015 to 84.5% in 2016 A*-E have gone up from 98.6% in 2015 to 98.9% in 2016

Barnet Council values residents’ views and opinions about how it is performing and delivering. The ‘Question Time’ events are the latest opportunity for residents to hear about the work of the council and ask questions about things that are important to them. These views help to inform how the council works and set it priorities Barnet Council already engages with the local community via its resident perception survey, as well as through service consultations and engagement with service users and residents.

People who attended the event, the first to be held in Barnet, on 27 January at The Compton School, North Finchley, were able to find out more about the opportunity to join more than 3,500 teachers already working in Barnet. Those who came along had the chance to attend a series of talks on the day about the benefits of becoming a teacher in Barnet, advice on how to find that first job and advice on the different routes people can take into teaching.

The Keep Barnet Clean campaign is now well underway with in excess of 100 fines issued to people caught littering and fly tipping in the Borough. As we move into the next phase of the campaign, we are asking our residents and businesses to show support for the campaign, so we can all work together to help keep Barnet clean. You can help by organising or attending a community litter picks. We have three community group litter picks so far confirmed for September. Join either:

More than 100 schools in Barnet were recently given STARS (Sustainable Travel; Active, Responsible, Safe) accreditation by Transport for London (TfL) for successfully implementing initiatives that aim to reduce car use while commuting to school. In total, 105 schools were awarded STARS accreditation this year with 23 receiving bronze, 19 silver and 63 gold. This is the highest number of STARS awarded to Barnet schools, since the beginning of the accreditation scheme in 2007.

Nominations for the 2017 awards are open until 31 December. The awards, which are now in their 17th year, are a chance for the borough to officially acknowledge the dedication and hard work of those who strive to make a positive difference to people’s lives. Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony held in March next year hosted by the Worshipful the Mayor of Barnet, Councillor David Longstaff.

Councillor David Longstaff, Mayor of Barnet and Chairman of Barnet’s Community Leadership Committee, said: "We are looking forward to welcoming everyone on Friday 25 November at the Sangam Centre. “Locally we know that an average of around 2500 cases of reported domestic violence and abuse (DVA) are reported in Barnet each year. “This event demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that all members of our community in Barnet are safe, especially women, girls and those who suffer DVA.