Haringey Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Social Services Cllr Ron Aitkenrevealed on Thursday night (21st October) the existence of two secretHaringey Council reports which, he says, should have been made public before thedecision by the Council’s Labour-run Executive was made to permanently closetwo care homes and temporarily close a third earlier this month.

Cllr Aitken, along with GLA Assembly Member Lynne Featherstone, called inthe Executive’s decision for the Council’s Watchdog Committee to scrutinise and discuss. The twosecret reports, disclosed by Cllr Aitken at Thursday’s meeting, paint adisturbing picture of the Council’s failings in addressing carehome funding issues.

The first is a secret report to the Council’s Executive or ‘Cabinet’ fromJuly 2003 concerning the sale of Honeywood, another home which was closed byHaringey and left empty for a considerable period.

The other report went before Haringey’s General Purpose Committeeduring the Council’s summer recess this year and concerned a cut in pay forsome residential care staff.

Cllr Aitken also revealed that previous mismanagement of the residentialhomes had forced Haringey to raid its Child Protection Budget in the periodleading up to the death of Victoria Climbie in order to keep the residentialhomes, which were in a very poor state, going.

Cllr Aitken comments:

“We need more answers from Haringey’s Labour Group, because previousassurances about the financial background to the closure of care homes havebeen broken. It is a fact that capital receipts are pooled, and when thehomes were previously sold to Circle 33 the promised financial returns nevermaterialised. There are also two key reports known only to a small circle ofLabour Councillors which should be made public before the closures goahead.

“Furthermore, plans to close and rebuild Osborne Grove Older People’s Homein Stroud Green are also deeply worrying. Haringey’s failures to deliverservices for the elderly at Hornsey Central Hospital, which has been talkedabout for 15 years, as well as the fiasco over Alexandra Palace, mean thatthey cannot be trusted to close and then rebuild Osborne Grove within therequired budget or timetable.”