I refer the hon. Resident to the reply that I gave some moments ago

Quite separately, I devised some questions about Future Shape to put to the Hendon residents' forum on 5 February, and David Howard, Chair of the Federation of Residents' Associations in Barnet (FORAB), devised some questions about Future Shape to put to the Chipping Barnet residents' forum on 17 February.

Not surprisingly, they were quite similar questions because they are the most obvious questions that a concerned resident might ask about the Future Shape programme.

My questions were: When and how does the council intend to inform Barnet residents about the Future Shape programme; will it seek their opinions on the proposals; how will it respond if Barnet residents reject the proposals?

To which Richard Grice, Future Shape programme director, replied:

The Future Shape of the Council programme is a direct response to concerns raised by residents about access to and the cost of services. These concerns are reflected in the Annual resident survey and other consultation and engagement initiatives, such as whereilive.org. In the period to June 2009, a number of groups will explore ways in which improvements and savings will be made. Many of these will consult in a targeted way with Barnet residents. For example we have a group looking at the way we assess people with complex needs in the Borough and we will be talking to a group of families about their experiences and how these can be improved.

Officers will report back to the Council in the summer detailing proposals about where savings and improvements can be made. Should the Council decide after that to change what services are provided or who supplies them, this will be done on a business case by business case basis, taking full account of the likely impact on residents and staff, and the risks involved. This is in line with the way that previous decisions of this type have been made.

David Howard's questions were: What proposals does the council have to include the ratepayers of Barnet in the Future Shape of the Council Programme? Will the public have an input to the discussions before any decision is made? Will the public have an opportunity to vote in a referendum on any major changes?

To which Richard Grice, Future Shape programme director, replied:

The Future Shape of the Council programme is a direct response to concerns raised by residents about access to and the cost of services. These concerns are reflected in the Annual resident survey and other consultation and engagement initiatives, such as whereilive.org. In the period to June 2009, a number of groups will explore ways in which improvements and savings will be made.

Many of these will consult in a targeted way with Barnet residents. For example we have a group looking at the way we assess people with complex needs in the Borough and we will be talking to a group of families about their experiences and how these can be improved.

We will report back to the Council in the summer detailing proposals about where savings and improvements can be made. Should the Council decide after that to change what services are provided or who supplies them, this will be done on a business case by business case basis, taking full account of the likely impact on residents and staff, and the risks involved. This is in line with the way that previous decisions of this type have been made

As you will see, this is - but for a couple of punctuation changes due to hasty cutting and pasting - an identical answer to that he gave me on 5 February. I admit our questions were similiar, but they were not identical. As it happens, I consider Mr Grice replied to me quite poorly, and I daresay David Howard feels similarly.

Is this what the council means by being economical, using the same answer for two different residents at different forums asking similar but different questions? It's contemptuous, is what I call it.