Haringey Liberal Democrats

Local councillors from Muswell Hill this week threw their support behind a local bowls club in a bid to help to expand its membership. Liberal Democrats visited the Muswell Hill Bowls Club in Kings Avenue on Friday (18th May 2012) to see first-hand the facilities available at the club and try their hand out at the game.

Muswell Hill Bowls Club was founded in 1901 and is open from April to September. Recently, Liberal Democrats included the bowls club on their proposed list of community assets which aims to protect buildings and land from any future development.

Cllr Gail Engert (Muswell Hill) comments:

“This is a great community asset and bowls is a game that any person, young or old, can have a go at. Muswell Hill Bowls Club really is a credit to the local area and I hope that many new members will come forward to ensure that this club can have a long and sustained future.”

Johnny Ellis, co-director of the Muswell Hill Bowls Club, adds:

“We have had declining membership for a number of years but now we want to start to attract a new generation of bowls players. We have a very competitive and sociable club and welcome any new players whatever their experience.”

An investigation must be held to uncover why vulnerable children in Haringey face over double the average wait to be adopted, Liberal Democrats have said today. Recent figures show the average wait for an adoptive family to be found by Haringey Council, following a court order, is twice as long (107 days more) as the time taken in similar local authorities in London.

Information released by the government shows the time taken to adopt a child in Haringey (739 days) is similar to that in boroughs deemed to be statistical neighbours (717days) but over 100 days more than the English average (625 days). Liberal Democrats have said that, while the disparity with the national average is concerning, the average time taken (239 days) by Haringey Council from court order to adoption is “disappointing” and is twice as long as other boroughs. The average for comparative local authorities is 132 days.

Liberal Democrats have asked Labour’s cabinet member for children why there are such delays in completing adoptions and why vulnerable children and parents anxious to adopt have to wait twice as long as those in similar local authorities.

Cllr Katherine Reece, Liberal Democrat Children’s Spokesperson, comments:

“It is very sad and disappointing that children in Haringey, on average, have to wait twice as long as children in similar councils to get a place in a secure family after the courts have granted an order.

“Vulnerable and often young children should not have to endure long waits. Considering similar councils in London have much shorter waits an investigation is needed into Haringey Council’s performance.

“This is exactly the type of issue that the proposed new scrutiny panels should investigate and we are asking the new cabinet member for Children’s Services to explain what is happening with adoption in the borough.”

Lynne Featherstone MP, adds:

“An investigation is needed. I understand that cases can often be complex but vulnerable children having to wait over a hundred days more than others in London boroughs should not go unchallenged.”

(Click picture to play video)

It is shameful that, despite all the promise on a four or five year old’s first day at school, or the passion of their teachers, you can all too often plot that child’s path just by asking how much their parents earn.

The £2.5billion Pupil Premium was one of the four pledges on the front page of our manifesto.  And now, with Liberal Democrats in government, schools are using the money for things like breakfast clubs; homework clubs; or to provide one-to-one-tuition. These are the sort of experiences many middle class children take for granted but a poorer child might rarely enjoy.

Yesterday I visited a fantastic primary school to see how they are spending their Pupil Premium, highlight our new Summer Schools to ease the transition from primary to secondary, and to set out our plans to reward teachers and hold schools to account.

The Pupil Premium shows that, in tough times, we are implementing Liberal Democrat values and prioritising help for those pupils who need it most.

Best wishes,

Nick Clegg MP

Leader of the Liberal Democrats and Deputy Prime Minister

PS Click here to find out how much money your local school will receive from the Liberal Democrats’ Pupil Premium.

Liberal Democrats have criticised the Council this week for failing to protect an important open space after a proposal to map the entire length of the Parkland Walk was thrown out by Council officials.

Following concerns from local residents that the Parkland Walk was under threat the Crouch End Area Committee agreed, as part of their Area Plan, that a survey should chart the boundaries of the Parkland Walk. Residents and councillors believe a survey is needed to reduce land disputes and encroachment onto the historic green space. However, Council officials have now branded the suggestion as “not in accordance with agreed Council policy.” and it has been removed from the Area Plan.

Liberal Democrats have voiced their concern that the Council seems to have “washed their hands” of responsibility for encroachment onto the Parkland Walk.

Cllr Richard Wilson, comments:

“The refusal of the Council to include a study to map the boundaries of the Parkland Walk throws into doubt their obligation to protect this precious open space.

“Residents and councillors understood that the Council has many financial pressures and suggested that this would be a great project for newly qualified surveyors from a nearby university to take on.

“But what we are left with is a Council without a clue of the boundaries of one of its most loved green spaces and little evidence it wants to protect it further.”

Liberal Democrats have said that the refusal to include the Parkland Walk study is an example of the Labour Council’s failure to commit to local residents having a say on plans for their local area.

Cllr David Winskill, who chaired the Crouch End Area Committee last year, adds:

“In far too many cases, trying to get open, unambiguous and prompt replies to questions from councillors in charge of key services was like trying to pull teeth. We need the Area Plan to be a live, evolving document which has residents and resident’s ideas at its heart. The lack of engagement from the Council really leaves the feeling that Haringey Labour’s commitment to localism is just tokenism!”

Liberal Democrats have demanded an immediate halt to plans to roll-out new waste collections in the borough following further evidence today showing Labour’s fortnightly collection policy is not working.  The Council plan to extend fortnightly connections to Crouch End, Stroud Green and Harringay next month despite the huge problems in the areas where the change has already been made.

Photographs taken in Muswell Hill highlight the extent of overflowing bins in some roads and back up recent evidence from Noel Park, Bounds Green, Alexandra and Woodside wards where similar problems have been found.

Opposition councillors have said that Labour has failed to give residents any say on the introduction of fortnightly rubbish collections and they should now halt, review and listen to residents before any expansion of the scheme goes ahead.

Cllr Richard Wilson, comments:

“Labour has failed to consult local residents, has ignored the 90% of people who responded to our survey saying they did not want fortnightly collections, and are refusing to admit that there is a real problem with overflowing bins.  They must abandon their plans to extend fortnightly collections to Crouch End and Tottenham and start listening to residents’ genuine concerns.

“Instead of labelling residents who are concerned about fortnightly collections as ‘scaremongers’ Labour councillors should get on with sorting out the mess they have created.

“Liberal Democrats want to increase recycling but this can be achieved without forcing a one-size fits all scheme on everyone.”

Cllr Gail Engert (Muswell Hill) comments:

“Local residents who walk or get the bus to Muswell Hill will have seen the mountains of rubbish in some front gardens. It shows that fortnightly collections are just not working and with rubbish spilling out onto the streets, especially with summer on the horizon, they will start to cause a real stink and the threat of vermin.”

The Liberal Democrats have warned that local residents will inevitably have to pay the price for the Labour Council’s high level of debts, after a new report showed Haringey’s pension deficit burden to be one of the highest in the whole of the UK.

The scale of the hole in Haringey Council’s staff pension scheme has been revealed by a new report that shows that the local authority’s pension deficit is now £374million – or £1,659 for every resident in the borough.  Of the UK’s 400+ local authorities, Haringey has the 11^th highest per resident deficit in the country.

Local taxpayers are ultimately liable for the shortfall between the Council’s £592million worth of assets and £966million of liabilities.

Liberal Democrat Finance Spokesperson Paul Strang said:

“In the same way that the national Labour Government saddled the country with billions of pounds of unsustainable debt, our local Labour Council has piled millions of pounds of debts on local residents through its under-funded pension scheme.

“The Haringey pension deficit now stands at £1,659 per resident – one of the highest debt burdens faced by local residents in any part of the UK.   This means that every year more and more of the council tax paid by local residents will have to be devoted to plugging the £374m gap in the pension fund rather than being spent on vital local services.  Local residents will pay the price of Labour’s pension shortfall.

“This report should be a wake-up call to the complacent council about the level of debt it is passing on to Haringey residents.  The Labour Council needs to come clean with residents about the hole in its pension fund, and develop a clear plan for getting out of this financial mess of its own making.”

This week, Paul Burstow (Liberal Democrat minister at the Department of Health) has launched a national £4 million lung cancer awareness campaign. The campaign, the first of its kind, will use TV, radio and press adverts, and advertising on pharmacist bags and inside GP surgeries, to raise awareness of the disease.

One of its aims is to persuade anyone who has had a cough for more than three weeks to see their doctor.

You can find more information about coughing and lung cancer at the Department of Health website, here: http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/05/coughing-could-be-a-sign-of-lung-cancer-2/

With 33,000 new cases diagnosed each year, lung cancer is a blight on the lives of far too many of our families and an early diagnosis can make all the difference. Please take the opportunity of the Be Clear on Cancer campaign to find out more about prevention and diagnosis, and to visit your local doctor if you’ve had a persistent cough – it is always better to be safe than sorry!

http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/tag/be-clear-on-cancer/

Haringey Council had two of the top twenty most highly paid local authority employees in the country last year it has been revealed today. The Taxpayers’ Alliance Rich list shows that Haringey’s Chief Executive and Director of Children’s Services were both paid over £200,000 in 2010/11.

Further information revealed today by the Liberal Democrats shows how the number of highly paid employees has rocketed in the past four years under Labour. From 2006 the number of employees receiving over £100,000 has increased from two to ten in 2010. The number of employees receiving more than £50,000 has increased by more than 50% from 180 in 2006 to 278 in 2010.

Liberal Democrats recently criticised the Labour local authority for refusing to back a plan to increase wages for low-paid, often front-line staff, and cut allowances for high paid directors to fund the survival of older people’s day centres and luncheon clubs.

Cllr Richard Wilson, Liberal Democrat Leader, comments:

“Labour says that it doesn’t have enough money to fund older people’s luncheon clubs and day centres but continues to pay senior officers hundreds of thousands of pounds.

“Liberal Democrats proposed cutting back on special allowances for senior staff but Labour rejected this. It shows how out of touch Labour is when it would rather pay senior staff more than help low-paid workers or keep front-line services open.”

The Council must rethink its plan to close parking payment systems for nine days or risks chaos at customer service centres, local Liberal Democrats have said today.

The Council has said that the parking system, which allows residents to apply for and renew parking permits, pay penalty charges and order visitor permits, will be closed from 2^nd May to 10^th May 2012 for an upgrade. But Liberal Democrats have suggested that any updates should be done overnight and at weekends to minimise disruption.

In September last year, before the delayed online parking payment system went live, Liberal Democrats revealed that local people had to wait for hours at customer service centres for parking permits. Labour’s plans to close the online parking payments service for over a week risks queues becoming unbearable.

Liberal Democrats say that local residents will be further incensed by information that reveals that Civica and its sub-contractors, who run the online payment system, have been paid over £817,000 by the Council this year for a service that was delayed and plagued with problems.

Cllr Richard Wilson, Haringey Liberal Democrat Leader, comments:

“Haringey’s Labour Council just doesn’t seem to understand that hard-working Haringey residents have busy lives, and it is unacceptable to shut down an essential service for so long.

“The Labour Council is completely out-of-touch with ordinary residents if they think this lack of service is acceptable.

“There is no way Haringey Council would stop handing out parking fines for nine days – so they should not stop providing parking permits for nine days either.”