Liberal Democrat councillor Wayne Hoban has today called on Haringey Council to explain why the African Caribbean Leadership Council (ACLC) has been served with a Default Notice, threatening withdrawal of their council grant from the 31st July.

Cllr Hoban has obtained a copy of a letter from the Interim Head of Corporate Voluntary Sector Team to the ACLC, which states that this action was taken following receipt of a report from Internal Audit which highlighted serious concerns regarding the running of the ACLC Centre in Clarendon Road, Wood Green.

The letter states that the Organisation has breached one or more of the conditions of the grant and that action will be taken to withdraw their grant if action is not taken to address concerns which include the employment status of – and payments to – ACLC employees and breaches of the terms of the lease.

Cllr Hoban has asked Haringey Council to provide him with a full copy of the Internal Audit report at the earliest opportunity.

Cllr Hoban comments:

“This Labour council has an extremely poor record of financial management, particularly regarding financial support to external organisations. We have seen only recently the Council suddenly pull the plug on CREATE Tottenham and the Broadwater Farm Community Centre.

“If the Council had taken a more active interest in how the grant money was being spent and taken appropriate supportive action at an early stage, it would not be necessary to suddenly withdraw such grants.”