Friday, 24 April 2015

BLACK'S FRIEND IN HIGH PLACES?

RESPECTED HOUSING
PROFESSIONAL
The Dame heard Juliet Rawlings confirmed Robert Black's appointment whilst he was still on probation!
What did  (left),Jean Daintith, the ex director of RBKC Housing and Adult Care....and a highly respected professional housing manager think of this? History does not relate
but the Dame surmises that Jean was a stickler for doing things right....if you see what the Dame means....


Did Rawlings engage a private company to carry out an objective assessment of Mr Black's performance in the role?
Or was it a case of the old pal's act...or you scratch my back etc...
These comments alerted the Dame to shenanigans that might have led to the wrong appointment.
I used to work for the Council. My boss insisted on observing the interviews of candidates for the TMO Chief Executives job. She told us that she would not have chosen Robert Black. She explained her reasons to TMO Board Members and Juliet Rawlings was having none of it.
Reply

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  1. I was on the TMO Board when Robert Black came for his interview. We ignored what Jean Daintith said about the applicants. We had the hump with her for giving the TMO a Breach Notice so we did not choose the person she wanted.

24 comments:

  1. Anonymous24 April 2015 at 16:02

    This is truly appalling...and who is this Rawlings woman?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous24 April 2015 at 17:49

    Juliet Rawlings was Chairman of the TMO. She did not make a very good job of it. During her time at the TMO, members called two extraordinary general meetings to hold the Board to account. There were violent outbursts at both of these meetings.

    Following these showdowns, the Council suspended the operation of the TMO's Management Agreement. The Council appointed a Solicitor to investigate the goings on at the TMO. The Solicitor's Report was damming. The Queen bestowed Juliet with the MBE. Robert Black was appointed Chief Executive.

    I do not know if Juliet has any 'O' Levels. She certainly did not have the business skills to run the Board of a Company which receives considerable sums of money form the Council.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Retired Chief Executive25 April 2015 at 10:32

    What we see here is not surprising. It is the exercise of power by Juliet Rawlings and the settling of a grudge against Judith Daintith by the TMO Board. Power is always messy if it is in the wrong hands or exercised by inadequate people. It happens in the TMO, in Tower Hamlets and in large corporations. The safeguard is effective governance - rules that prevent abuse and a culture that looks for the best people for the job. Good governance reduces the risk of cronyism, corruption and incompetence.

    The Chief Executive of the TMO carries a heavy social responsibility. And the salary of £140k plus bonus is substantial. These are favourable circumstances for attracting outstanding candidates. But the organisation, its Board and its Governance seem to be a basket case. Good people will not go near such a mess. It degenerates into a recruitment process of "I have a cousin who will do the job".

    I have not studied the Article of Association of the TMO. Ultimately the buck stops somewhere. I presume the Council. (Where does the money come from to pay the salaries?). Clearly there is a sorting out job for someone to do.

    In business we often find that when an organisation gets to a certain point of hopelessness, the best course is usually to close the factory and open a new one down the road. Maybe the TMO needs to be broken up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sheila25 April 2015 at 12:04

      If Robert gets £140, 000 plus bonus he is getting more than the Prime Minister.

      Delete
    2. Salary watch.25 April 2015 at 19:43

      £ 140, 000 plus bonuses, plus employer's superannuation costs, is an excessive salary package for the CEO of the TMO. REMEMBER that your NHS GP only gets £ 100, 000 a year and I expect most of us have a much higher opinion of our GP's than we do of the TMO.

      Delete
    3. Australian Tenant26 April 2015 at 08:15

      This salary is obscene. I do not begrudge my doctor one penny of his £ 100K because he does a great job looking after me and is a great bloke. I have written to Robert Black who does not bother to reply. Black is Boss Cocky.

      Delete
    4. Al27 April 2015 at 06:51

      Aussie's have a great way with words. I had to look up boss cocky on the internet. Black is complacent and boss cocky. More of this please.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous2 May 2015 at 08:29

      Salary watch is right. I have a much higher opinion of my GP than I do of Robert Black who gets £ 40, 000 a year more than my GP.

      Delete
  4. OWL25 April 2015 at 10:52

    The Dame is providing an invaluable public service by shining a light into the dark corners of the TMO. There is no hiding from her determination to expose what is wrong and rotten in the Royal Borough

    ReplyDelete
  5. Observer25 April 2015 at 11:00

    Jean Daintith was not given the backing and support that she required to sort out the TMO by the then Leader of the Council, Cllr Cockell. On the Pooter VIP scale the TMO did not register - no important people, no important events, no self promotion opportunities, no troughing events. It was a lost cause.

    Perhaps Cllr Paget-Brown has a different set of priorities

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  6. Janette Sewardstone (Mrs)25 April 2015 at 12:02

    A shocking state of affairs

    ReplyDelete
  7. Aime25 April 2015 at 16:54

    Did Juliet Rawlings know that the TMO paid for a Board Member to have counselling from a private therapist?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Reginald25 April 2015 at 17:49

    I don't know if Juliet knew about the TMO paying for private counselling for a Board Member. If you asked her, there is no guarantee that she would tell the truth. When questioned, at an AGM of the company, she denied all knowledge of a £ 9 million overspend on the Decent Homes Partnership project.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hamisch26 April 2015 at 08:41

    So there we have it. Jean did not want Robert Black and Juliet and her Board did.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Ian26 April 2015 at 21:18

    Dear Dame Hornet,

    I often wondered how Robert Black got the job. Thanks to sources inside the Council, I now know. You do a great service to the public.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous27 April 2015 at 18:48

    I bet Robert Black got a shock after all these years of doing the job when he learnt that
    the top woman at the Council did not want him and that he only got the job because Juliet Rawlings and her chums who had made a mess of everything wanted him.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sympathy for Robert Black27 April 2015 at 21:47

      I think Robert Black must be feeling HUMILIATED to find out that Jean Daintith did not want him and that the only reason he got the job is because the TMO Board which had made a monumental mess of running the show with nothing to show for their efforts other than a breach notice for failure. If Robert Black had been a nicer bloke and responded to my request for help, i might have felt sorry for him in the face of this humiliation.

      Delete
  12. On the subs bench at football28 April 2015 at 18:54

    So Robert Black got the job by coming on wearing the number 13 football shirt.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Tenant primacy is not the way28 April 2015 at 22:25

    Jean wanted a professional with talent, we got the comedy act thanks to the Board.

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  14. Night Shift Worker29 April 2015 at 04:40

    Funny how this has come out after all these years. It was probably the best guarded secret in the TMO. I wonder if Robert Black phoned up Juliet Rawlings to confirm it. If he didn't, I bet will do it now.

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  15. Martyn King29 April 2015 at 06:25

    Will someone tell the Dame what Robert Black did to stop a tenant on the Cremorne Estate from excluding children from the playground by locking it up whenever she decided?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Aime29 April 2015 at 07:01

    Have just got up and read the blog. Good question Martyn.

    Did the TMO do anything about the woman on the Cremorne Estate having part of the
    communal garden cordoned off for her own private use?

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous3 May 2015 at 09:40

    Yes, her Tory councillors gave her a Mayor's Award for services to the local Cremorne community! Presumably for keeping the unwashed out of part of the garden.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Black Watch Tartan5 May 2015 at 07:18

    I know about the Mayor's Award. Has the dreadful woman who locks kids out of the playground had her wings clipped by Black or at the very least by one of his underlings.

    ReplyDelete

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