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Commenting on last nights violence in Tottenham and on the police shooting earlier in the week, Cllr Richard Wilson, Leader of the Opposition on Haringey Council, said:

“The IPCC must go about their investigation into the shooting of Mark Duggan as quickly as possible, and keep the family and community informed.  To counter the problems of rumour and misinformation that may have helped trigger the unrest and may continue to do so, the council and police must continue to talk to community leaders and release as much information as they can.  But we must all recognise a proper investigation takes time, and be patient to find out the full details of what happened in this shocking incident.

“Anyone who cares about Tottenham and its residents will be very upset to see such wanton destruction and violence in their community.  It must have been a terrifying night for those living above shops and others accidentally caught up in the mayhem.

“There is no possible justification for violence, arson and looting.  Tottenham has a great many problems and challenges, none of which will be helped by these actions.”

“The looting and destruction will leave a scar on this area for many years, and risks setting back Tottenham’s regeneration decades. The vast majority of Tottenham residents will rightly be very angry about the damage done to the community they love.

“The police and authorities must do all they can to bring those guilty of such terrifying violence and destruction to justice.  The Council needs to do all it can to help Tottenham’s shops and businesses recover from this terrible damage.”

“On behalf of the residents of Haringey, I would like to thank all the fire fighters and police officers who worked so hard to try to keep people safe, and express our sympathy to those officers who have been injured.”

The Council has been forced to make an embarrassing admission that it does not know what the environmental impact is of its flagship publication Haringey People. Asked by Liberal Democrats at the last Full Council meeting what the carbon footprint for printing, paper, delivery and plastic packaging of the six issues of the magazine, the Council replied that “this information is not available at present.”

Liberal Democrats say the lack of information shows Labour’s failure to take action on the Council’s impact on the environment despite the Council claiming to be leading the way on climate change.

Cllr Jim Jenks, Liberal Democrat Environment Spokesperson, comments:

“The failure by Labour to know the carbon footprint of their flagship publication is lamentable. For a Council that claims to be leading the way on climate change how do they not know the environmental impact of this magazine.

“I’m afraid this is another reason to finally cut Haringey People magazine down to size.”

Haringey Liberal Democrats are calling on Labour to set the record straight about whether disgraced councillor Charles Adje will be readmitted to the Labour Group, when his suspension from the Council ends in 9 days time on 7th August 2011.

The call comes after Labour Group Leader Claire Kober refused to answer repeated questions on the subject from Liberal Democrat Leader Richard Wilson at last week’s Full Council meeting.

Charles Adje, a former leader of the Labour Group and Haringey Council, was suspended from the Council for 4 months for misconduct over the botched deal to lease Alexandra Palace to Firoka, which cost local taxpayers £1.5 million.  This is the second occasion that the Council’s Standards Committee has found Charles Adje guilty of breaking the councillors’ code of conduct.

Liberal Democrats argue that re-admitting Charles Adje into the ruling Labour Group would be a “kick in the teeth to local residents” and would call into question efforts to turn round Alexandra Palace after years of mismanagement.  The Palace’s Board are currently investigating whether he is liable for any of the £1.5 million losses resulting from the failed Firoka deal, but Labour’s majority on the Board means its independence could be questioned.

Cllr Richard Wilson, Haringey Liberal Democrat Leader, comments:

“Charles Adje’s suspension from the Council ends in just a few days time and it is still unclear whether he is going to be welcomed back to the Labour Group. His actions have resulted in this Council losing millions of pounds, and in my view it is unthinkable that any political party should allow him into their group. His re-admission would be a real kick in the teeth to local residents.”

“For the sake of local residents, the Labour Group should set the record straight on whether he is being readmitted.”

“The Alexandra Palace Board is rightly investigating whether Charles Adje can be held legally liable for any of the £1.5 million loss, and be pursued through the courts.  If he returned to the Labour Group then residents could question whether the Palace’s Labour-dominated Board was really committed to getting that money back.”

A decision to spend millions of pounds of local taxpayers’ money to replace 4,500 computers for all Council staff should be reconsidered, Liberal Democrats have said today, after it was revealed in Council papers that the Council only received one bid for the contract.

Liberal Democrats have branded the decision by Labour councillors to proceed without a competitive bidding process “disgraceful” and have said it fails to ensure the Council and local taxpayers are getting value for money.

This revelation comes after the Public Administration Committee published a report today saying that an “obscene amount of public money” was being wasted under the last Labour government on IT after it found that big IT ‘cartels’ were charging up to 10 times the commercial rate for computers.

Local Liberal Democrats have said in a formal letter to Council finance chiefs that the process for buying new computers, worth anything from £3million to £7million, should stop until the Council is sure that it is getting the best deal.

Cllr Richard Wilson, Haringey Liberal Democrat Leader, comments:

“Every local resident when buying a new washing machine or getting a builder into fix the guttering gets a few quotes to gauge the best price. Labour councillors, by considering only one valid bid to replace all the Council’s computers, are failing to get value for money – it is disgraceful.

“Haringey Council has a long history of failed and overspent IT projects under Labour. This cannot continue. We all know that money is tight – the borough cannot afford another bungled and expensive IT project.”

Lynne Featherstone MP, added:

“It’s clear that Haringey’s Labour Council is as bad as the last Labour government for failing to get value for money for IT projects. This is yet another example of Labour’s out of control spending on IT.”

The future of services for children and families in Fortis Green, Crouch End, Highgate and Hornsey continue to hang in the balance this week, despite a further report from Haringey Council setting out a new model for Children’s Centres. Liberal Democrats have criticised the “pitiful” level of detail in papers which fails to provide give a clear commitment of funding for Rokesly, Highgate and North Bank Children’s Centres.

The Labour cabinet were forced to reconsider their plans after Liberal Democrats successfully called-in Labour’s decision to reduce funding for Children’s Centres. At a special meeting of the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 8th June 2011 local residents, head teachers and Children’s Centre managers were unified in their opposition to Labour’s plans. The Labour cabinet member then agreed that additional funding would be made available yet today’s (28th July 2011) report fails to indicate any further details.

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

“Unified opposition forced the cabinet member to rethink Labour’s plans and we all welcomed further funding for North Bank, Highgate, and Rokesly. Yet, nearly two months on, we have a no commitment from the Council on funding and no detail on what services local families can expect.

“Labour need to state now their funding intentions and show some commitment to these superb Children’s Centres.”

Lynne Featherstone MP is urging local residents to “seize the best opportunity for a decade” to change Haringey’s unfair school funding system after the government this week published plans to end the long-standing injustice caused by local schools getting outer London funding but paying inner London wages.

The announcement of the start of the second part of the much anticipated school funding consultation has been welcomed by Liberal Democrats as it proposes a fairer funding system for all schools and specifically mentions “6 London authorities who are required to pay inner London weighting to teachers, whilst receiving outer London funding,” which includes Haringey.

The current funding regime results in Haringey’s schools getting £1500 per pupil less than schools in neighbouring boroughs like Hackney. However if the new ‘combined approach’ is adopted as proposed in the consultation, the historic injustice of Haringey paying inner London wages but getting outer London funding will come to an end.

The Hornsey and Wood Green MP, who has been spearheading her ‘fair funding’ campaign since unearthing the anomaly in 2007, is now writing to thousands of residents, urging them to respond to the consultation, which is running until 11th October.

Lynne Featherstone MP comments:

“It’s been a long, hard campaign, and the wonderful residents of Hornsey and Wood Green have been tirelessly backing me by signing petitions and responding to consultations to try and end this injustice.

“Labour recognised the unfairness, but in 13 years in power refused to do anything about it, until three months before getting voted out of office. One of the first things Liberal Democrats in government have done has been to announce that unfair school funding could not continue, and that this anomaly would have to be addressed.

“So here we are, a year into government, with Lib Dems putting clear proposals on the table to end Haringey’s historic injustice.

“Now I need the people of Hornsey and Wood Green to back me one last time, and seize the best opportunity in a decade to help end this injustice once and for all.”

Councillor Katherine Reece, Liberal Democrat Children’s Spokesperson, adds:

“School funding is a complex issue, and this is a complicated consultation. But that doesn’t mean we should shy away from responding – all of us want this injustice to end.

“If you want to help us fight for our schools to finally get fair funding, please get in touch with Lynne’s office on 020 8340 5459 or on lynne@lynnefeatherstone.org to get straightforward guidance on how best to respond.

“And we have until the 11th October, so please help us spread the word, and help us finally get fair funding for our schools”

Local Liberal Democrats have expressed their frustration and disappointment after Labour reconfirmed yesterday their commitment to the closure of Haringey’s older people’s drop-in centres and luncheon clubs despite overwhelming opposition to the proposals from service users and local residents. 

A special meeting of the Council’s cabinet was convened after Liberal Democrats forced a review of the decision to close older people’s drop-in centres and luncheon clubs which was heard by the Council’s ‘watchdog’ committee earlier in the week.

The Overview and Scrutiny committee agreed with Liberal Democrats that the drop-in centres and luncheon clubs provided a vital preventative service for older residents that the Council should protect.

However, the Labour cabinet ignored the recommendations of the committee and have now forced through the closures. Liberal Democrats, who have spearheaded the campaign against Labour’s cuts, have said that Labour’s decision is short-sighted and will result in older people becoming socially isolated.

Cllr David Winskill, Liberal Democrat Adult Social Services spokesperson, comments:

“Local residents and people who use the drop-in centres and luncheon clubs will be bitterly disappointed that, despite showing the Labour Council how much these services are used and depended upon, they have been ignored. 

“We asked Labour to give more time to the voluntary sector to make arrangements to take over these centres and they refused even to do that.”

Lynne Featherstone, MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, added:

“Labour has used the veil of cuts in central government funding to hide their closure programme. They have tried to close these centres before and were forced to backtrack.

“This time they have forced through the closures without giving thought to the long-term costs to local older people who will become socially excluded and vulnerable as a result of this decision.”

At a packed Overview and Scrutiny on Monday, the decision to close drop-in centres for the elderly in the borough was sent back to the Labour Cabinet for review, after Liberal Democrats successfully highlighted the issue.

The decision was made after both Liberal Democrat and Labour members asked Adult Services lead member Dilek Dogus to reconsider the Council’s decision to cut funding to all drop-in centres and to ask the Council Cabinet for more time to allow charities and the voluntary sector to find ways to take over their running.

Over one hundred users and organisers of the services showed their anger at the closure decision as Cllr David Winskill, LibDem lead member for Adult Services, made the case that Haringey had not properly assessed the financial impact of the proposal on other Council services and local Health services.

He also said that there had been inadequate time for the voluntary sector to find the money, training and to make arrangements to take these much valued and essential facilities over.  The Scrutiny heard impassioned representations from Haringey Age Concern, HAVCO, I Can Care, Jackson’s Lane, Abyssinia Court, Woodside House and many other campaigners.

One 99 year old gentleman from Abyssinia Court stood up and said, “If these closures were to go ahead, it would be the worst decision Haringey has ever made”.

Commenting on the Referral Back to Cabinet, Cllr Winskill said:

“The meeting was a fantastic demonstration of just how important these centres are.  Haringey must listen and try to ensure they are kept open or at the very least, give the Voluntary Sector a breathing space so that they can plan to take them over before they disappear.”

Lynne Featherstone, MP for Hornsey and Wood Green added:

“The Scrutiny Committee really showed its mettle on Monday.  People are rightly angry that when times get tough, in Haringey, Labour always seems to hit the vulnerable first.  There must be time for a rethink so that changes can be made without abandoning our old people’s services.”

After hearing from worried constituents who were not able to listen to their favourite Greek radio station due to interference from pirate radio, Lynne Featherstone MP on Friday met up with the Office for Communication (Ofcom), which regulates radio stations, to hear what action they are taking to solve the problem.

Listeners of London Greek Radio have been growing increasingly frustrated at not being able to hear clear transmissions because of pirate radio station ‘dost.fm’, illegally broadcasting on a nearby frequency. Since January, Ofcom has taken close to 20 enforcement actions to end dost.fm’s broadcasts, resulting in the pirate radio station losing over 22 days of airtime since March. Pirate radio stations that illegally send out programmes on the FM band can earn lots of money from selling cheaper advertising, and disrupting legal radio stations’ broadcasts.

The problem with radio piracy is particularly big in Haringey, with close to a third of the capital’s pirate stations located within the borough.

Ofcom are working tirelessly to end broadcasts by pirate radio stations in London, by disrupting the day to day running of the stations and prosecuting the key players.

Lynne Featherstone MP comments:

“Over the years I have had endless letters from constituents who are so angry at not being able to hear their favourite radio stations because of pirate radio. But the issue of pirate radio is wider than that. Many organisers earn millions of pounds by selling cheaper advertising space, putting legal community radio stations out of business.

“London Greek Radio provides a really valuable service to the Greek Community in Haringey, and I’m glad that Ofcom is taking strong action.

“Fighting pirate radio stations like dost.fm seems to be a bit like guerrilla warfare , you pull the plug in one place, just to see them pop up somewhere else. Nevertheless Ofcom does a fantastic job, and they have my full backing in their continued fight!”

The Government has announced changes to its Health Bill to address concerns raised by the public, medical professionals and the Liberal Democrats.

Liberal Democrats led the calls for changes after raising serious concerns at the party’s Spring Conference in March. Nick Clegg and others have worked hard in Government to make sure the concerns have been addressed.

In particular, Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats have ensured:

• There will be no special favours for the private sector. There will be a level playing field, not a race to the bottom
• The pace of change is slowed down to ensure changes are not rushed into and those taking on new responsibilities do so when they are ready
• The changes will be evolution, not revolution
• The NHS is properly accountable, both nationally and locally

Commenting, Lynne Featherstone, MP for Hornsey and Wood Green said:

“I am proud of the way Liberal Democrats have listened and acted to address concerns about changes to the NHS.

“The Bill is now a whole lot better and will make sure decisions are taken in the best interests of patients.

“Liberal Democrats believe the NHS must always be universal, based on need and free at the point of use.

“We have ensured there will be no special favours for the private sector, proper accountability and that the changes are not rushed into before people are ready to take on new responsibilities.

“But this is no time for resting on our laurels. The NHS still faces huge challenges, with an ageing population and the rising costs of new drugs and technologies. I am confident the NHS is now in better shape to meet those challenges.”