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An Ofsted inspection has rated Barnet’s children’s services as ‘good’ overall, with an ‘outstanding’ rating for the services and support provided to children in care. Following an on-site visit, the inspectors found children receive “strong and effective services” from a “stable and committed leadership team [which] has continued to strengthen and enhance social work practice since the previous inspection in 2019”.

A new wetland area in the relandscaped Halliwick Recreation Ground, Muswell Hill, has today been unveiled by the Worshipful Mayor of Barnet, Tony Vourou. The first of its kind in Barnet, the £1.3m Sustainable Urban Drainage Scheme (SuDS) – as it is known technically – will divert rainwater runoff from Halliwick Recreation Ground and nearby roads towards the newly built water storage basin, reducing the extent of downstream property and road junction flooding from surface water.

Barnet Council is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Janet Djomba as its new Director of Public Health. A public health professional with over 15 years of experience, Dr Djomba joined the council in 2019. She became Deputy Director of Public Health in Autumn 2022 and has been the acting Director of Public Health since the departure of her predecessor in December last year.

Barnet has been officially awarded Borough of Sanctuary status for its efforts in welcoming those seeking a safe place to live. The Borough of Sanctuary title is awarded by the charity City of Sanctuary UK to organisations and areas that go above and beyond to welcome those looking for a safe haven.

Work is set to begin next week on the £3 million reconstruction of Hampden Way in East Barnet representing the largest investment ever in a single road by Barnet Council. The project forms part of the £97m Barnet Road and Pavement’s Investment Programme and is expected to take between nine and ten months to complete.

Middlesex University has confirmed that Barnet Council’s Suicide Prevention Campaign, delivered in 2021, may have contributed to reducing suicide rates in the Borough. The evaluation showed that Barnet saw a significant drop in suicide rates for the three months that the campaign was live (Oct – Dec 2021) and for a further six months following the campaign's conclusion.​

Barnet Council has launched a crackdown on fly-tipping at hotspot locations around the borough as part of its Caring for our Places campaign. The initiative will see a dedicated team deployed daily to clear illegally dumped waste and gather evidence so that people who fly tip can be caught and prosecuted. It comes after more than 8,000 fly-tips were reported to the council in 2023/24, with each tonne of waste costing the council £100 to clear.

The Leader of Barnet Council says we must stand together and stop hate spilling over into our borough following the outbreak of violent unrest across the country. Leader of Barnet Council and the Labour Group, Cllr Barry Rawlings, said:

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