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.”

At a packed social event in Highgate on Sunday, Director of Liberty, Shami Chakrabarti addressed Haringey’s Liberal Democrats on the current attack on civil liberties in Britain. She appeared at the invitation of local MP Lynne Featherstone.

Ms Chakrabarti spoke at length to members on ID cards, detention and other key civil liberties issues. She praised Lynne Featherstone and members in all parties who take up these causes.

Lynne Featherstone comments:

“It was a great honour to have Shami speaking on civil liberties here in Haringey, and it has been an enormous privilege to work with her on these vital issues in Parliament.

“With ID cards, detention and a range of other issues, our civil liberties have never been under more threat, and Shami has been key to putting these issues at the heart of political debate.”

The New Statesman, Britain’s leading political magazine, in association with Atos Origin, the leading IT services company, announces the short listing of Lynne Featherstone MP in their New Media Awards in the category of elected representative.

The key themes of this year’s awards are “ingenuity, modernisation and accessibility”. They intend to award those who have achieved something of benefit to others, whether in their community or in society at large. Since 1998, these awards have promoted projects that embrace new technology, fresh thinking and creative management in the UK.

“Society has always been promised a great deal by the digital revolution,” says John Kampfner, editor of the New Statesman . “The 2006 New Media Awards will highlight the projects that have really delivered on that promise.”

Lynne Featherstone MP said:

“I am absolutely delighted that for the second year I have been nominated for a New Statesman Award for my blog.

“The internet has always been a natural home for me, as it is for many of my constituents. It is a great way of keeping regularly in touch with residents about my work locally and in Parliament – and of receiving feedback from the public. For example, it’s a real benefit when debating issues in Parliament or pursuing issues with ministers to have that near-instant feedback from residents as to what their real experience is of public services.”

Full details of the awards can be found at: www.newstatesman.com/newmedia

The Sustainable Energy Partnership, which represents all the major environmental and ‘fuel poverty’ NGOs today, thankedLynne Featherstone MP for being in Parliament on Friday March 10th to supporta vitally important Bill dealing with climate change and fuel poverty – The Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Bill.

Partnership Organiser Ron Bailey said:

“It is absolutely vital that this Bill succeeds. Emissions of CO2 continue to increase and rising energy prices will mean that even more people are suffering from cold homes and fuel poverty this winter. This Bill contains practical measures to deal with both problems.

“We appreciate that it is difficult for MPs to be in parliament on a Friday, so we are especially grateful to Lynne Featherstone MP for having been in the House to help this Bill succeed.This is exactly the example that MPs need to set – action not just fine words. We thank Lynne Featherstone MP for making this commitment to the environment and to ending fuel poverty. We hope she is also able to support the Bill again later this week.”

Serious issues about Haringey Council’s massively overspent IT project ‘Tech Refresh’ still remain unresolved, following Thursday afternoon’s reconvened meeting of Haringey Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Despite repeated requests for information, Lib Dems say that two key areas remain unclear. No senior councillors or council officers have been held accountable for the failings which led to the £10.6 million overspend and there has not been a full explanation for the delay in calling in the District Auditor once the catastrophe was uncovered.

Haringey’s Lib Dem opposition are now submitting Freedom of Information requests to obtain some of the background facts that have not yet been provided:

·What degree of involvement and control the then Executive Member exercised over this multi-million pound project;

·What caused the delay between the Chief Executive being told of the massive overspend (April 2005) and the calling in of the District Auditor (July 2005)

Cllr Wayne Hoban (Lib Dem, Alexandra), Deputy Leader of the Lib Dems, says:

“It is unbelievable that no one seems to have been held responsible for this project which more than doubled its budget. The whole system failed – but who was responsible for monitoring this system and ensuring that taxpayers’ money was not wasted?”

“We belatedly received some more information from the Executive Member, which has addressed some of the outstanding questions about this fiasco. But there are still far too many unanswered questions.”

Cllr David Winskill (Lib Dem, Crouch End), Overview & Scrutiny Committee Member, adds:

“An external review has been ordered to look at the working relationship between councillors and officers and we will be seeking to take as full a part as possible in that and the future Value for Money review. We will continue to press for answers on this issue – Haringey residents deserve to know exactly what went wrong.

“The implementation and cost overrun of the IT ‘Tech Refresh’ project is a blot on the political landscape of Haringey that will last for a very long time.”

Lib Dem councillor Laura Edge has discovered that Haringey Council is not willing to make room in their budget for the replacement of the very popular play fort in Stationers Park in Stroud Green.

A survey has determined that the fort has reached the end of its life and needs to be taken down and replaced. The fort has been widely used and is popular with local children, who are disappointed to hear that Haringey Council is not currently intending to replace it with a similar structure. The Council is intending to consult residents over the matter, but has already advised that there is not currently enough funding available to provide a new fort of the same design.

Councillor Edge says:

“Without wanting to pre-empt the wishes of local people and children, if residents want the new facilities to be of the same design, I hope very much that the Council will find the money to provide a replacement fort that is not a quick-fix solution.

“Despite the Council telling local residents that they are spending pots of money on parks, they are also being told that the money is not available in this case. Given the obvious benefits that the fort has for local children – encouraging them to be active and stimulating their imaginations – I strongly urge the Council to mount a big effort to find the necessary additional funding.”

The Liberal Democrat spokesperson on Policing and Community Safety in Haringey has written to the British Transport Police with a request that they increase police patrols on commuter routes in the borough to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour against users of the rail network.

Cllr Ron Aitken has written to the Inspector of the BTP covering Haringey to ask for a breakdown of crime rates on the Silverlink, WAGN, Piccadilly and Victoria Line Underground and rail services in the borough, as well as costings for the provision of extra police and community support officer (PCSO) patrols.

“In the British Transport and Met Forces we have two tremendous assets doing a good job,” said Cllr Aitken.

“However, we need to find additional resources to pay for more police and PCSOs for the transport network as other boroughs are doing. Ken Livingstone rejected the Lib Dem proposal to spend £20 million on 272 new police officers on the system, so we are exploring our own plans as Lib Dems in other authorities have done.”

Haringey Liberal Democrats, led by Lynne Featherstone MP and Councillor Neil Williams, are launching a campaign to save Wood Green’s police kiosk – and get it used more effectively.

Lynne Featherstone MP said:

“This kiosk was launched with a major fanfare and now sits empty and useless. Haringey is not a crime-free area and we need to use all the resources available to fight crime and the fear of crime.”

Councillor Neil Williams, Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Haringey Council added:

“The community safety wardens could be based here with additional coverage by the police and police community support officers. The kiosk should be used better, not axed.”

You can download a Wood Green police kiosk petition form (pdf format) to help the campaign.

Lynne Featherstone MP and the Liberal Democrats have launched a campaign to safeguard the future of Muswell Hill’s police station.

The police station’s future has been put into doubt by a police review into their properties. The local borough commander has said, “There are question marks over Muswell Hill police station.”

Lynne Featherstone MP said:

“I appreciate that the building would need work to make it fit for future police use. But Muswell Hill must keep its police station, whether by improving the current building or by using a new building. Closing the station and moving services out of the area simply isn’t acceptable. Policing is at its best when it is local and engaged with the community.

“I welcome Sir Ian Blair’s commitment that if the building is closed any replacement would be as nearby “as possible” – but we must ensure that really means in our area, not far away.”

Muswell Hill Focus Editor Sheila Rainger added:

“Muswell Hill needs a police station and I welcome the comments by Simon O’Brien, Haringey’s Police Commander calling for a public debate on the future of the police station.”

Lynne Featherstone and the area’s Liberal Democrat councillors have previously worked successfully with residents in a high-profile campaign to get the police station’s front counter reopened to the public.

You can download a Muswell Hill police station petition form (pdf format) to help the campaign.

Residents of Muswell Hill, Highgate, Fortis Green and Alexandra wards had the chance to voice their anger over the controversial new lamppost advertising banners at the Muswell Hill Area Assembly last night. Charles Adje, Labour Leader of Haringey Council, faced furious residents who questioned him as to why the Council had felt that there had been no need to consult local people over the unsightly banners.

However, the Leader of the Council could offer, “no apology for keeping residents informed” of Council actions in the borough. This justification for the erection of the banners did not sit well with many residents, who feel that the banners are not only a poorly disguised political ploy, but the latest in a long series of Council actions taken without consultation with local people.

Liberal Democrat Group Leader Neil Williams comments:

“The Council’s arrogance and self-interest here is clear. They have signed a fifteen-year contract for these banners to be placed around the borough, and have not consulted local residents in order to do so.

“As if this wasn’t enough, it is quite obvious after last night’s meeting that Councillor Adje is not bothered in the slightest about residents’ concerns – indeed, it seems probable that the Council did not consult residents in the first place because they knew that most would be against the idea, especially given the council’s own guidelines on reducing street clutter. They are riding roughshod over their own rules.”