Tensions are running high in Noel Park, as demands are made for Labour-run Haringey Council to put pressure on its contractors to complete repair works on the basketball court and play area at the Noel Park Recreation Ground.

The children’s playground was removed two years ago when the new play centre was built and has never been replaced. Work began on the site at the beginning of June to demolish the basketball court so that the new work can commence, yet as the scheduled completion date of the end of August nears, it is becoming clear that the project is in danger of overrunning.

Sadly, at a time when superb weather has seen local kids desperate to stay out of doors, the basketball court has been dug up and fenced off.

Noel Park councillor Catherine Harris comments:

“Working with Lynne Featherstone MP, we have managed to get the fencing secured after it was vandalised. The Lib Dems have been calling for an accurate update on the new play area. We have been assured that the work will be finished on time, but we are concerned that it does seem likely that there will be yet another delay.”

Noel Park councillor Fiyaz Mughal comments:

“It is a real shame that the work had to be carried out during the summer months – local youngsters are obviously missing the use of the court. At the moment, kids are resorting to playing in the street, which is obviously not as safe as the park. We will continue to keep an eye on the work here in the park, and put pressure on Haringey Council to ensure that the work is completed as quickly as possible.This really should have been completed long ago.”

Haringey Lib Dems have slammed Haringey Council and Haringey Accord for not doing enough to advise worried residents how to deal with their rubbish as the refuse strike affecting rubbish collection in the London Borough of Haringey continues.

Lib Dem councillors have received many calls from residents who are unable to get through to the advice line offered by Haringey Accord. The Lib Dems say the information from the Council is far too patchy and gives the impression that Haringey is washing it hands of the problem, as piles of stinking rubbish accumulate across the borough.

Lib Dems are reminding residents that as a last resort, they can take their rubbish directly to recycling centres, which are now open later, if they are worried about smells and vermin.The entrance to the Recycling Centre in Hornsey is off the north side of Hornsey High St, between the banqueting hall and the former Council buildings and roughly opposite Greig City Academy. While the Lib Dems say much more could be done to make the centre visible to the public, there is usually a yellow ‘A’ board sign on the pavement pointing to the entrance.

Lib Dem leader Neil Williams says it is not good enough that the advice line being offered by the council is impossible to get through to, and Accord should face up to its responsibilities, ensuring that residents know what is happening.Incredibly, the Council has failed to move over any staff at all to the normal ‘waste’ call centre, consequently there are huge queues of people building up on the phone lines. Most residents who phone the waste line end up hearing an endlessly repeating answer-machine message, but cannot speak to an operator to request an emergency collection where the waste is blocking access or presents a fire or health risk.

Lib Dem Environment Spokesperson Bob Hare comments:

“The Council have known that this strike was a strong possibility ever since the one day stoppage in March, the vote to strike in May, and even more so following the unsuccessful ACAS-brokered negotiations that followed. That the strike action has started before warning people and getting information out represents a very serious failure by the Council.”

Lib Dem Leader Neil Williams comments: “It is not good enough for Haringey to put its head in the sand over this – smelly rubbish is accumulating right across the borough at the worst possible time of year. The advice and guidance given by the Council is not adequate. Just because the council has subcontracted the service, does not mean they can avoid responsibility for these problems.

“Not every one has email or the internet. If Haringey Council is not going to provide a basic service that residents have paid for, Haringey should have leafleted residents with detailed guidance, and ensure that advice lines are properly staffed. The instructions on how to get to the Hornsey recycling centre on Haringey’s website don’t even give its exact location or address, and it is poorly signed. This is just not good enough.”

The Lib Dems are also calling for the council to set out in detail its civil contingency plan for dealing with the crisis if it continues for a second or third week – or beyond.

Cllr Bob Hare says: “Accord have been collecting refuse from Council-owned blocks of flats, but not private blocks which have contracts with the Council. This is a completely unacceptable difference of treatment – private owners have just as much right to have their refuse collected as Council tenants. Anyone who has a problem with refuse collection should get in touch with Accord on 020 8885 7700 or with the Council’s waste management through the Council’s switchboard 020 8489 0000, or by e-mail: call.centre@haringeyaccord.com to request that a Council inspector calls to assess the situation and if considered an emergency, then a collection will be arranged. If any resident has difficulty getting through, Lib Dem councillors will try to help.”

There are currently between two and five refuse vehicles in action (normally 20), staffed by Accord management and staff brought in from outside Haringey (the actual number depends on staff availability). They are focusing on collecting the refuse from blocks of flats, with some street collections depending on how serious the accumulations of refuse are.

The Council has said it will begin to enforce the contract conditions forcing Accord to take on temporary staff later this week if the strike is not resolved.

“Haringey should tell the public in detail what plans it has if this situation continues,” adds Lib Dem Leader Neil Williams. The situation could deteriorate very rapidly if the strike is not resolved, and an action plan for dealing with the borough’s rubbish must be devised.”

Cllr Hare comments:

“This pressure from the Council has been far too slow. Given the record hot weather, we think this enforcement should have begun at the start of the week, so that the temporary staff could be trained and ready to work by the weekend. With this delay, refuse will be building up even more over the weekend, with clearing up not even beginning.”

Lynne Featherstone, Liberal Democrat MP for Hornsey and Wood Green and Lib Dem Spokesperson for Police, Crime and Disorder, has launched an online petition to stop the DNA of innocent people being kept indefinitely on the National Police Database.

Ms. Featherstone has revealed the extent of this ‘database by stealth’ which already contains the DNA of over 140,000 innocent people who have had their DNA taken and kept – even though they have never even been charged with a criminal offence – nearly 25,000 of which records are on children.

Ms Featherstone comments:

“There is no purpose or justification for keeping the DNA record of anyone who is not charged with an offence. We cannot be absolutely certain that there will be no misuse of the DNA Database and there are no real safeguards in place to control it.

“With the growing concern about racial profiling and disproportionality in criminal investigations and now even treating even children as permanent suspects – the need to keep innocent people on the DNA Database indefinitely is not only questionable but completely unacceptable.”

People wishing to sign this petition should visit http://campaigns.libdems.org.uk/dna

Lynne Featherstone, Lib Dem MP for Hornsey & Wood Green, has scored a policing victory for Highgate as one of her longest running campaigns came nearer to fruition this week with Haringey’s Police Borough Commander agreeing to moving the Highgate Safer Neighbourhood team from Muswell Hill to Highgate itself.

The Chief Superintendent’s willingness to station the Highgate team in a local base represents a significant victory for the residents of Highgate and for Ms. Featherstone, former member of the Metropolitan Police Authority and long-time champion of local policing.

The next stage, on which the move rests, is now to identify suitable premises and to get the final green light from the Metropolitan Police’s estate department.

“As commanders have come and gone I have kept asking the same question for Highgate and up until now I’ve always had a negative response – one even said over my dead body – but persistence is in my nature.

“I know from knocking on doors and meeting people that what they want are local police officers who know their patch and who are stationed in and amongst the community they are looking after.

“Obviously, there are a few final hurdles and I’ve already asked our Highgate Councillors to keep their eyes out for any suitable premises, but this is a real policing victory for Highgate.”

As the hot summer continues and temperatures soar to over 30 Celsius, Haringey Liberal Democrats are expressing serious concerns over the likely effects of strikes by refuse collectors.

Many of Haringey Accord’s refuse collectors are on an indefinite strike over the levels of their workloads. As the trend towards services being contracted out to independent companies continues, the action is being seen as a test of Haringey Council’s competence in dealing with contracts.

Haringey Council claim that contingency plans have been put into place to ensure that collections continue as normal, though residents and councillors continue to have concerns.

Cllr Williams, Lib Dem Leader of the Opposition, comments,

“As Haringey changes from a ‘service provider’ to a ‘service procurer’, the needs of residents must not be forgotten. The Council must stand firm on behalf of residents, ready to enforce the terms and conditions that have been negotiated and that Haringey taxpayers have paid for. This is a test as to whether they have the wherewithal and the competence to properly manage these key contracts.”

Lynne Featherstone MP adds,

“Let’s hope that this is not the start of a summer of discontent. As temperatures soar having mounds of rubbish pile up on our streets is not an option.Public health and safety must not suffer.”

Noel Park Councillor Catherine Harris is calling for urgent action to install working security doors on the Sandlings Estate, as residents’ complaints flood in. Residents on the estate have been waiting for the doors to be replaced since March, yet Labour-run Haringey Council has seemingly taken no action to provide them with much-needed security.

Councillor Catherine Harris comments:

“I have visited the estate several times since May and found security doors with wires hanging out and panels missing. One was even nailed open when I visited last week. I am concerned that elderly and vulnerable residents who have raised this issue with me are being ignored by Haringey Council.

“I have raised this issue repeatedly and had no satisfactory answer as to why the doors are taking so long to be replaced. I urge Haringey to take action to ensure the safety of its residents.”

Commenting on Tony Blair’s announcement that identity cards will form a ‘major plank’ of the Labour Party manifesto at the next General Election, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson, Lynne Featherstone MP said:

“The Prime Minister seems determined to push ahead with identity cards despite the growing body of opinion warning against their implementation.

“Identity cards will cost a fortune and won’t stop terrorism or fraud. If Tony Blair wants to nail his legacy to ID cards then it will be a suitable end to his faltering premiership.”

Labour-run Haringey Council is coming under criticism for their inability to respond to requests to make safe a large open manhole that poses a serious risk of injury.

Lib Dem councillor Bob Hare discovered the open manhole while walking down Park Road in Crouch End last week, and reported it to Haringey Council in order that they could cover it and make it safe for pedestrians. A week later, the manhole remained open, partially covered only by a piece of chipboard barely big enough to cover the hole, placed there by a resident.

Councillor Bob Hare comments:

“This manhole is over three feet deep, and the only effort to make it safe seems to have been to place a traffic cone over the top. Older residents and young children are especially at risk, but anyone could have fallen in and badly injured themselves. Labour need to take urgent steps to ensure that this level of negligence doesn’t happen in the future.”

Figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats show that the Prison Service lost 589,471 working days during 2005/06 due to sickness, an average of more than twelve sick days a year for each member of staff.

The statistics were revealed today by Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson, Lynne Featherstone MP.

She said:

“As the prison population continues to soar, it is no wonder that prison staff feel overburdened. The Government needs to shift its focus from chasing headlines to its front line services and the staff they depend on.

“With working conditions for prison staff having deteriorated to such a low, how will they be motivated to help prisoners break the vicious cycle of re-offending?

“As the prison population continues to expand, stress and sickness amongst beleaguered staff is only going to increase.”

Notes:

The statement was obtained through a written parliamentary question where the Secretary of State for the Home Department was asked to reply directly to Lynne Featherstone MP.

During 2005/06 the number of working days lost due to sickness absence was 589,471 among prison staff. The Home Office 2006 Departmental Report lists 46,128 Prison Service staff.

Commenting on the Joint Committee Report on Counter-Terrorism policy and Human Rights, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson, Lynne Featherstone MP said:

“This report shows how badly wrong the Government has got its terrorism legislation.

“The Government is willing to lock up suspects without charge but isn’t willing to use intercept evidence to convict. We have to ask, what is the purpose of their incarceration if not to convict?

“The Government has been rattling sabres about extending the 28 day period without charge. This reports put a nail in that coffin.

“These laws were supposed to allow the police time for further investigation so that the suspect could be brought to justice. The Government needs to tell us what on earth has been going on.

“Clearly we have been misled over the use of the terror law of detention without charge. If the suspect is not being investigated during incarceration – then that detention is being conducted under false pretences.”