Haringey Council is being criticised over an inability to reign in its contractors to ensure an acceptable level of service to residents. Performance figures show that since records began, EDF, Haringey’s ‘District Network Operator’ – in effect the contractors in charge of the electricity supply – has consistently failed to meet its own targets. When Lib Dem Leader Neil Williams raised this in the council chamber, Labour’s lead member simply blamed the contractor rather than take responsibility.

EDF have in their customer charter a target of 10 days to repair street lighting power supply faults, but have missed this target every month since June last year, and have taken an average of 22 days to repair faults this year. Haringey admit that this is “particularly disappointing”, but have failed to take action – the records show that all that has occurred is that “the Council has sent a letter to EDF” to point this out.

Lib Dem Leader Neil Williams comments:

“It is bad enough simply to blame a contractor for a lack of good service, but to take no proper action to address the situation is ludicrous. The residents of Ringslade Road know all too well what this poor service means – they have spent weeks without lighting on their road during the winter months.

“The Council cannot simply blame their contractors for poor service without taking ultimate responsibility for the failures. The people of Haringey deserve as good a quality of service as private customers of EDF, and if this is not being provided it is the Council’s responsibility to do something about it.”