Barnet Question Time: Thursday 15th March

Young and not-so-young are invited to a “Barnet Question Time” event at Woodhouse College tonight, 5-8pm. The panellists will be:

* Neil Seabridge: Borough Commander, Barnet Police
* Cllr Andrew Harper: Cabinet member in Barnet for Education, Children and Families
* Robert McCulloch-Graham: Director of Children Services in Barnet
* Dr Sue Sumners: GP Chair of Barnet Clinical Commissioning Group
* Teresa Tunnadine: Headteacher at The Compton School
* John Burgess: Branch Secretary at UNISON

The questions, all very pertinent and probing, are:

1) Considering the fact that groups such as the Royal College of Nursing and the British Medical Association have withdrawn support for the Health Bill, do you think the Bill should still be pursued and why?

2) Do you think the cuts to youth support services together with youth unemployment doubling in Barnet since 2008 will lead to further youth disengagement and a repeat of the summer riots?

3) Do you think that Livingstone’s pledge to introduce a London Education Maintenance Allowance is necessary and feasible?

4) To what extent do you believe that reported proposals to privatise parts of the police serviceswill obstruct the course of justice and lead to problems in the relationship between the state and the police?

5) Last week whilst travelling on a bus in Barnet I was attacked because of my postcode, do you think that this is a sign of increasing social tensions between young people and what do you think should be done to address issues of safety on public transport?

6) With Barnet Council spending £4.6 million on CCTV between 2007 and 2011 – one of the top 10 local authority spenders on CCTV – do you think this is inappropriate in times of such austerity

7) Considering recent tensions with regards to Baroness Warsi’s claims of ‘militant Atheists’ and a‘Christian Britain’, do you agree that Michael Gove’s plan to send a copy of the King James Bible to every English school is a waste of money and out-dated? (If you had the opportunity to send one book to all schools in England what would it be?)

8) Considering the u-turns and broken promises that have occurred over the past two years – in particular those concerning tuition fees – do you think that the coalition is an effective and capable government?

The organisers, Woodhouse College students, say:

There will be time for questions and comments from the audience with regards to each question asked.

Please arrive promptly and when arriving use the side entrance which is to the right of the main entrance.

And apparently there will be food as well! You can follow the event on Twitter: @BarnetQuestionT.

(via Citizen Barnet)