Lib Dems have welcomed a spectacular u-turn from Haringey Labour over a controversial plan to spend £400,000 of Council Tax money on publicity for its Better Haringey PR campaign – much of it in the run up to this year’s local elections. The move follows questions and concerns raised by the Lib Dems over the issue in recent months.

Lib Dem Leader Neil Williams comments:

“I am delighted that Labour has been force to back down on this silly proposal. Such a huge budget for self congratulatory PR from Labour would have been a gross waste of Council Taxpayers’ money. Proper information for residents on recycling and other environment services is needed, but not this huge sum of money claiming how well the council is doing. It is a victory for common sense.”

Haringey Labour are now trying to pretend that this proposal never existed, proving that they are either in complete disarray over their running of the Council or are trying to mislead Haringey residents.

Cllr Matt Davies, who sits on the Overview & Scrutiny Committee which first saw this budget proposal, comments:

“For Labour to say that they never had any plans to double this budget is at best misleading. This proposal was considered in the budget scrutiny process and I had my opposition to this huge sum of money officially minuted.

“The Labour councillors on the committee all agreed that the proposal to double the budget should be passed. For the Labour Executive Member to say now that there were never any plans to increase this budget is a disgraceful attempt to cover-up the u-turn we have forced.”

Lib Dem councillors have called on Haringey Council to urgently fill vacant scheme manager positions at a number of Sheltered Housing Schemes across the borough, following revelations that five full-time managers have been moved to become part of a new specialist team in Housing in preparation for the ALMO starting in April.

Lib Dem Muswell Hill ward Councillor Gail Engert was initially alerted earlier this month when she heard that a local resident was enquiring why the scheme manager at The Priory, Priory Road N8, had left and there was no replacement.

Cllr Engert immediately contacted the Council to look into what was happening.

Meanwhile, she visited Cranley Dene Court, another Sheltered Housing Scheme, in Muswell Hill where she found that their full-time scheme manager had also left to join Housing. She heard from some of the elderly residents that they were very concerned that they no longer had a manager and were ‘worried and frightened’ about what would happen in the future. They also told her that all they were now being provided with was a short morning visit by an area relief manager and emergency cords in the properties.

Tenants claim that they are not being kept informed of plans and felt that their fees for the scheme includes provision of a full-time manager. Cllr Engert was also told that in all five full-time managers had been moved, four from schemes in the west of the borough and one from the east, and this was causing alarm among current tenants.

Haringey Council has confirmed that five managers have been moved. The Council have also assured Cllr Engert that all residents were informed of these changes and that it will make little difference to the service provision. However Cllr Engert and Social Services spokesperson Cllr Wayne Hoban, say that correspondence and meetings with the residents affected tell a very different story and they want full-time managers re-instated immediately.

Cllr Engert (Muswell Hill) comments:

“Residents I have spoken to feel vulnerable without an onsite manager and have claimed they were not adequately informed about the changes or what will happen in the future. I along with my Lib Dem colleagues will be pressing for an urgent solution to this very unsatisfactory situation.”

Cllr Hoban (Alexandra) adds:

“Social Services continue to make great claims about their improvements, but this situation once again raises questions about the Council’s ability to consult with and provide a satisfactory level of service for a vulnerable section of our community.”

Transport for London has sensationally reneged on its plan to take out the ‘loop’ past Harringay Station from the W5 bus route following a petition delivered to London buses by Lib Dem councillor for Stroud Green, Laura Edge last month.

The petition, signed by over one hundred bus users and residents living in the loop, was arranged by a resident in Chettle Court, assisted by Cllr Edge and local Lib Dem activists. The loop diverts the bus off Oakfield Road via Stapleton Hall Road, past the Harringay Station before rejoining Oakfield Road.

Cllr Edge had expressed her deep concern at TfL’s lack of consultation with local bus users and residents over the proposed changes and had also experienced bus drivers already neglecting to pass through the loop.

She is delighted that the pressure has paid off and that residents have retained the proper service. She hopes that any future plans that TfL have for bus routes in the area will involve greater consultation so that residents’ public transport needs are met.

Cllr Edge comments:

“I am pleased that TfL have accepted that they made a mistake and scrapped the plans for re-routing the bus.

“I hope that TfL have learnt from this and next time consult resident and bus users before proposing changes to routes.”

Lib Dem health spokesperson Councillor Ron Aitken has spoken about the work of the Local Government Association Mental Health Taskforce, following the publication of its report “Future of Mental Health: A Vision for 2015”.

Speaking to Kurt Barling on BBC London News last week Cllr Aitken, who has campaigned for proper provision of acute mental health beds, said “The balance of power must shift from managers, accountants and Whitehall to the patient,” so that people who have serious mental health problems are not discharged from hospital on grounds of cost-cutting.

There have been several high-profile cases involving local mental health services, including the case of Roger Sutherland who was not admitted to the Whittington despite being seriously ill.

“The report has been produced working alongside colleagues from other parties and we have pooled our experience in different local authorities because it is often as local councillors that we witness the real effects of mental illness,” explained Cllr Aitken.

The project aims to scope and define the future role for local government in the delivery of mental health services, enable a shift from NHS led resources to community based responsive services and lobby for more help for those acutely ill.

Local residents are expected to gather at 79 Creighton Avenue (N10) at 10.30am on Monday 16th January to protest against controversial building plans.

One application to demolish the existing building, Strathlene House, and replace it with a five-storey care home, has already been dismissed. However, a new application, on a smaller scale, has been recommended for approval by the Council’s planning officers. The final decision is set to be made by the Planning Applications Sub-Committee on January 23rd.

Local residents, councillors and MP Lynne Featherstone have all objected to the current application on a number of grounds: overdevelopment; being out of character with the surrounding area; impact on Fortismere School; public transport links; parking; overlooking and loss of amenity for residents on Creighton Avenue and Ringwood Avenue; impact on Coldfall Wood.

Local ward councillor Matt Davies (Lib Dem, Fortis Green), who will be joining residents on Monday 16th for the protest, comments:

“The impact of this proposed building on neighbouring properties and Coldfall Wood would be very great. We would be much happier if the existing building was preserved and renovated – or if this is not possible for the developers’ purposes, then any replacement should be no bigger than the building which already exists.”

Local ward councillor Stephen Gilbert (Lib Dem, Fortis Green), who will be speaking at the meeting on Monday 23rd, comments:

“The scale of this development is simply not acceptable in this area. A care home could be a useful community facility, but this should not mean local residents’ wishes are disregarded. I am hopeful that the Planning Committee will listen to the residents’ objections and send this application back to the drawing board.”

Haringey’s Labour-run Council have said that they do not know how they will spend the increased £400,000 publicity budget for the Better Haringey campaign services next year should it be approved.

The answer came in response to a written question from Lib Dem councillor for Stroud Green, Laura Edge who asked for the Council to breakdown how the money would be spent and a timetable of spending.

She was surprised to see a response stating that it was ‘not appropriate or possible to provide details of what the money will be spent on and when’.

The Lib Dems who oppose this proposal to double the current budget are concerned that money is being thrown into a pot without any serious planning as to how it will be spent.

Cllr Edge, along with Lib Dem environment spokesperson Cllr Bob Hare, is concerned that money that could be making a real difference to the local environment is being wasted on self-promotion.

Cllr Edge (Stroud Green) comments:

“It concerns me that while many parts of the borough are in need of a serious clean-up, Haringey Council is choosing to pour yet more money into spin.”

Cllr Hare (Highgate) adds:

“Doubling a budget for publicity with no clear idea of how it will be spent does raise questions about the financial planning involved in this decision. We will continue to press the Council to reconsider this proposal.”

Haringey Council have promised to resolve the litter problem being caused by business waste left out on Saturday nights on Muswell Hill Broadway following persistent pressure from Muswell Hill Lib Dem councillor Gail Engert.

Cllr Engert was alerted to the problem by a local resident who had noted that on consecutive Sunday mornings the contents of a number of refuse sacks left out for collection by the shops when they closed on Saturday were found strewn around the Broadway the following morning.

This concerned Cllr Engert given that the Lib Dems secured 24 hour cleaning of the Broadway by Accord, Haringey Council’s waste contractor, some years ago.

She contacted the Council and demanded they take action to resolve the problem immediately. She received an assurance that the issue would be looked into.

However Cllr Engert demanded a more detailed response from the Council with proposals of how they were to address this problem.

The Council have responded confirming that they will start regular inspections of the site this weekend (14th-15th January) and have proposed a couple of solutions to the problem that include directing local businesses to keep their refuse on premises after the Saturday morning collection until just before subsequent collections take place on Sunday in the late morning.

Cllr Engert is pleased that the pressure appears to have paid off; however she says that she will monitor the situation and the Council’s activity until an improvement is seen:

“Waste bags being left overnight at the weekends are causing extra litter problems on the Broadway and the Council needs to find a solution quickly.

“I am glad that after some persistence we have secured a firm assurance from the Council that this issue will be addressed. I, along with my Lib Dem colleagues, will continue to work hard to clean up Haringey.”

Lib Dem planning spokesperson Cllr Jonathan Bloch has cautiously welcomed Haringey Council’s assurance that it has not terminated its Pembroke Works lease or entered into any other contractual arrangement yet regarding the site in Hornsey.

The assurance came in response to a written question tabled by Cllr Bloch at Monday’s Full Council. He,along with Lynne Featherstone MP, had voiced concerns over the development proposals sinceHaringey Council revealed that they were in discussions over plans to redevelop the Pembroke Works, Cross Lane, Hornsey into housing with the loss of 25 jobs at a Housing Forum Meeting in November last year.

However, Cllr Bloch is concerned that, despite the assurance, Haringey Council is still investigating their options over the site and stated that they’d have to ‘determine whether it would be appropriate, and financially more advantageous for the Council’.

He says that the Council must look into and consult with residents and businesses on the long-term affect of building homes at the cost of a modern light-industry site in the area and not just the financial benefits the Council would reap from the sale of the site.

Cllr Bloch comments:

“I am pleased that the Council has not committed itself to anything yet and I will be pressing them along with Cllr Lynne Featherstone MP and others to carry out a full and open consultation before making a decision on the future of Pembroke Works.”

At last night’s Haringey Council meeting, the opposition Lib Dems announced they were appointing two councillors to the Alexandra Palace Board.

Until now, the Lib Dems have not taken up their positions on the Board due to concerns about its constitutional position, powers, and structure. Despite promising to address these, Labour have never done so.

Lib Dems say that while all councillors should be entitled to information on what is happening at the Palace, this has been consistently refused. Over the last four years, the Lib Dems have made numerous requests for information on the accounts, and most recently on the nature of the unsuccessful bids. The Labour Council have consistently blocked or delayed answering.

Incredibly, in 2004, Councillor Bob Hare was refused access to the accounts which he had asked to see within the statutory open period (see note 3).

Recently, the Lib Dems have become more and more concerned at the process the Labour-run Board has set for the sale of Ally Pally. In particular, it has become increasingly clear that the timetable and approach were not set to ensure the best result for the charity but rather to fit with the Haringey Council elections in May.

It is as a result of these concerns that the Lib Dems have made two appointments to the Board, Councillor Bob Hare and Councillor Wayne Hoban (note 4).

Councillor Bob Hare comments:

“Lib Dems have always argued that there is an inherent conflict of interest for members of the Council sitting on the Alexandra Park and Palace Board which the Labour Council have never satisfactorily resolved. The resulting arrangements have not served either the Council or the Alexandra Palace and Park charity well in recent years.”

Councillor Wayne Hoban adds:

“There are major decisions to be taken in relation to the Palace, and Lib Dem members must be in full and immediate possession of the facts. We have faced consistent obstacles in recent years to requests for information about affairs at the Palace. Labour have run the Palace at a very low ebb, and repeatedly mismanaged and missed vital opportunities to get the building working properly. With that track record, the decision on the sale of the lease is too important to leave to them.”

Councillor Neil Williams, Leader of the Lib Dems, also says:

“The challenge to Labour is that they will now have to provide information that has been unacceptably withheld. All councillors should have been entitled to information on what is going on. Having to drag this out of the Council using Freedom of Information requests, or by referring matters to the Charity Commission, is a slow process. That is why we are joining the Board at this time.”

Notes1) Haringey Council is the corporate trustee of the Alexandra Park and Palace Trust, which is a charity. The Board is a sub-committee of the Council, to which the Council have devolved all of the Council’s powers in relation to APP. While in complete agreement with the transfer of powers to a sub-committee for day to day decision-making, the complete transfer of powers brings with it fundamental questions including:

Who are the trustees?

Who takes the major decisions?

What involvement and responsibilities do the nearly 50 members of the Council who are not members of the sub-committee have?

2) The Council previously agreed it would seek the directions of the courts on these questions of trusteeship, but has failed to do so, instead preferring to obtain repetitive advice from the same legal chambers.

3) In 2004, the annual statutory period during which the accounts of the Council and the APP Trust were open to examination fell in the period immediately leading up to the November fireworks display. Councillor Hare was asked if he would change the date of his requested visit to the week following the fireworks, and was given an undertaking by the General Manager that he would be able to see the accounts then. When he arrived, he was refused access on the grounds that the he was outside the statutory period.

4) Councillor Wayne Hoban is Deputy Leader of the Lib Dems, and has been on the APP Statutory Advisory Committee since being elected to the Council in 2002 , he was also Deputy Chair of the Committee last year.

Councillor Bob Hare has been Lib Dem spokesperson on Alexandra Palace since 2002, attending nearly all meetings of the Board, also of the Statutory Advisory and Consultative Committees.

Last night (Monday 9th January), the Lib Dem Deputy Leader in the London Borough of Haringey called on the Council’s Labour leader to support his letter to the District Auditor calling for an independent audit of The Bridge New Deal for Communities.

The call follows months of investigation by Cllr Hoban after concerns were raised with him by residents back in May that the £50.1 million project was being managed poorly.

Since then he has attempted to acquire satisfactorily audited accounts from Haringey Council and the Director of The Bridge NDC who, whilst insisting that the accounts had been fully audited, were unable to produce them. Following a fruitless Freedom of Information request, Cllr Hoban was left with no alternative but to refer his concerns to the District Auditor.

Residents’ concerns were reiterated at a meeting attended by Cllr Hoban of Suffolk Road Residents’ Association, where he was disturbed to hear the Director of The Bridge NDC project inform resident freeholders that funding for an ongoing programme designed to bring their homes up to the Government’s Decent Homes Standard had been withdrawn because “the Government had clawed back the money.”

Apparently a programme of works had been agreed for both council tenants and freeholders. The cost of these works was to be funded through a 75% government grant and the NDC.Phase 1 had already been completed and phase 2 had been started to the point the contractors were already on site; the pilot home was nearing completion and several council tenants were to have their new double glazed windows installed on Monday 14th November.

Last night, an oral question tabled by Cllr Hoban to the executive member for housing concerning this issue was not heard due to filibustering by Labour councillors.

Cllr Hoban comments:

“It is clear from the high level of dissatisfaction from residents in the NDC area, evidenced by a 600 strong signed petition to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister asking for an independent investigation, that there are some serious questions to be answered concerning the way in which Haringey Council are managing the delivery of this £50 million programme. Nothing less than a fully independent forensic investigation of the NDC accounts will do to reassure residents and councillors that the funds are being spent appropriately.”