Why should I trust any figures from Ealing Council?

At a meeting last night I was asking the Ealing Councillor Bassam Mahfouz, about the number of meetings he had attended with the new contractor Enterprise.

Nothing strange you think but previous to the meeting I had a Freedom of Information request sent to me detailing 32 meetings that had occurred involving Ealing Council and Enterprise, the contractor who failed miserably in April to collect our waste when the new contract started.

Of these 32 meetings it stated that Councillor Bassam Mahfouz had only attended three of them and they were only in the last month before the contract started which gives the appearance that the administration was not hands-on enough to ensure the contractor was set up and ready to do what they needed to when the contract started.

Councillor Bassam Mahfouz made a statement that he had attended a meeting not in my Freedom of Information request. So two possibilities:

• Either Councillor Bassam Mahfouz said he attended a meeting he did not (but he appeared sure of himself); or
• Ealing Council had produced inaccurate figures on this crucial matter.

Which of those is correct? Well I can only guess but which ever it does not make Ealing Council look trustworthy. To add insult to injury the Council is meant to get the information in my Freedom of Information request within 20 working days - it actually took much longer. So are Ealing Council hiding something?

I await to get a full apology from either Ealing Council or Councillor Bassam Mahfouz...

Watch this space.