Having just been forced to find an additional £2 million due to underinvestment in social services, Haringey Council is now also having to find another £2.7 million to allow urgent repairs to secondary schools go ahead.

The extra money, which the Labour Council could have foreseen is needed for new furniture, IT and the costs of removing furnishings to let the maintenance work go ahead. The Lib Dems say that the matter raises serious questions over the Council’s ability to manage large contracts with the private sector.

Cllr Ross Laird, Lib Dem Education Spokesman said:

“Yet again, there are serious concerns over both the ability of a council such as Haringey to manage such large contracts and whether PFI really represents anything close to the value for money it proclaims.

“Time and again the Council is needing more cash, but it seems unbelievable that these things were not costed and accounted for in the first instance. The PFI deal has caused all sorts of problems so far and brought few benefits to anyone. It raises serious concerns over the Council’s financial competence, contractual management and risk management procedures.”