Haringey Liberal Democrats have expressed concern that Haringey’s blundering Labour Council has lost control of its ability to monitor the performance of the services it provides.

The move follows revelations last week that no less than 33 separate performance indicators were adjudged to be inaccurate in Haringey’s recent Best Value Performance Plan 2003/04 (BVPP). The inaccurate figures presented by the Labour council spread right across the borough’s services from corporate health to planning, and have been exposed by an independent audit.

The Lib Dems are particularly concerned that some of the figures are dramatically different to the original figures produced by the Council in the BVPP. The independent audit corrections include:

* Readjustment of ‘change in proportion of non-decent homes which were not decent at 1st April’ from -9.38% to +83.50% (difference of +92.88%)
* Readjustment of number of non-principle roads not needing major repair from 215,952 to 1,125 (difference -214,827)
* Readjustment of expenditure per pupil over 5 from £5,179 to £5,486 (difference of -£307)
* Readjustment of cost of waste collection per household from 40.92 to 43.53 (difference +£2.61)

Leader of the Opposition, Ross Laird acknowledges that many of the statistics placed in the BVPP were estimates due to the publication deadline having to be met.

However he says that these figures demonstrate the Council’s failure to adequately assess performance accurately across the services. He adds that many of the adjustments compound previous criticism made by the Lib Dem group over the Council’s failure to meet its own targets.

Ross Laird comments:

“We are deeply worried that the Council has managed to get so many of its figures so badly wrong. Some of the adjusted figures such as waste collection and pupil expenditure compound original statistics showing badly missed targets.

“This shoddy approach to the BVPP exposes the Council’s lack of organisation and management of its services. For the sake of local services, the Council must pull its socks up.”

The Liberal Democrats have welcomed the news that social services has seen an improvement in its star rating from zero to one star following an inspectors’ assessment. However, Social Services Spokesman Cllr Ron Aitken has warned Haringey Council not to become complacent, as there is a long way to go before services reach a level that reflects the investment that the Council has poured in since the publication of the Laming enquiry earlier this year.

Cllr Aitken is concerned by how ‘delighted’ Executive members have been with the news and that improvements must be kept in perspective, given the official “uncertain” rating. Cllr Aitken acknowledges that there has been an improvement and that this reflects the hard work and dedication of the grass roots staff. However, he is worried about the sustainability of these improvements due to a huge budget overspend and a large amount of new inexperienced staff being taken on.

Ron Aitken comments:

“I am pleased with the improvements that have occurred over the past twelve months. However for Executive members to be ‘delighted’ with this rating demonstrates from what a low base they have started to build. The fact that the Council is celebrating the improvement in prospects for children’s services from ‘poor’ in 2002 to ‘uncertain’ in 2003 is premature.

Lib Dem Parliamentary spokesperson, Cllr Lynne Featherstone adds:

“It is right that the Council has acknowledged the hard work of the staff but Haringey must now be looking to ensure that these improvements continue. I am very concerned that because of a heavily overspent budget this year and an influx of inexperienced staff, continuing improvement will rest largely on the political leadership of a very weak administration.”

Highgate Liberal Democrat councillor Melanie Simpson has written to the Council asking for urgent action to ensure that a steep pathway between Wood Lane and Priory Gardens (to Highgate tube station) is regularly cleared of leaves and debris. The move follows a number of complaints from local residents many of whom use the route regularly to get to the tube station. Cllr Simpson has repeatedly called for action over the dangerous path.

The pathway is on very steep slope and is lined on both sides by trees, with the result that on wet days fallen leaves make the path extremely slippery and potentially very hazardous. Cllr Simpson is concerned that the Council and the station authorities will not take this issue seriously until someone has a serious accident on the path.

Cllr Melanie Simpson comments:

“Leaves are always a problem at this time of the year but this pathway is particularly hazardous. The Council must work with the station to take this more seriously. It is particularly steep and is used by the hundreds of people every day as a route to Highgate tube station.

“I am deeply concerned that someone will have a nasty accident unless there is action to address the problem, ensuring it is cleared frequently. I will be maintaining pressure on them until I see an improvement.”

Liberal Democrats have welcomed long awaited plans unveiled by the Government this week to invest money in improving schools in Haringey, but have questioned details of the schemes.

New money, part of the London Challenge strategy, is planned to fund a new secondary school and sixth form as well as refurbishing and rebuilding all the borough’s schools by 2010. However the Lib Dems have warned that lessons must be learned from the failures of PFI for schools before proceeding and that money for building and improving must be matched with funding to recruit and retain good quality teaching staff.

Lib Dem Leader Ross Laird says that Haringey has, over the past few years, been the subject of a number of ‘false dawns’ for education, with the Government using the Labour run council as a testing ground for many new initiatives. The Lib Dems hope that this is not another initiative that will slowly die away after the media has lost interest.

Cllr Laird is particularly concerned at the potential waste of funds. Over the past few years many of Haringey’s poorer schools have undergone expensive refurbishment. Now, in light of these new plans, the same refurbished buildings could be pulled down and replaced by new ones less than five years after the improvements. Although he accepts that improvements are necessary, he is concerned at the lack of long term planning by the Council, education authority and Government and that this will lead to waste.

There are also serious concerns regarding the targets set out in the proposals. Since PFI was introduced for building schools in the borough many projects have failed to meet deadlines with schools closing early and opening late. The result is many schools losing valuable weeks off the school year or having to endure disruptions while building work continues during term time.

Cllr Laird is most concerned about the lack of emphasis from the Government and the Council with regard to improving teaching conditions. He says that although an improved working environment will make teaching and learning more enjoyable, unless greater support is given to staff recruitment and retention many of the problems in Haringey schools will continue.

Cllr Ross Laird comments:

“Finally schools in Haringey look like they will get some meaningful funding which could bring our schools into the 21st Century. Lib Dems have campaigned hard for greater investment in local schools. The Council must ensure that spending on schools is well planned and waste does not happen.

“Ultimately the Council, and the Government must tackle the problem of recruiting and retaining staff in Haringey. Until that issue is resolved education in the borough will continue to suffer.”

Cllr Lynne Featherstone is calling for Haringey Council to urgently address serious litter problems in Duckett Road and the surrounding Ladder roads. The situation has continued to deteriorate and residents have become increasingly frustrated at Haringey’s failure to keep the street litter-free.

Cllr Featherstone (Lib Dem) has written to the Council asking them to ensure an immediate improvement to street cleaning in the area.

“Local residents have been complaining about the very poor standard of street cleaning for months, but have seen no improvement to the service – a service which we all pay a lot of money for through our Council Tax,” explains Cllr Featherstone. “Being so close to the shopping centre, these roads clearly need more frequent sweeping. Litter is being allowed to build up and have a detrimental effect on people’s quality of life, not to mention the potential safety and health hazards, and this is simply unacceptable.”

Residents have been complaining to the Council for months, reporting that there is constantly rubbish building up in these streets, including foul smelling rubbish and food leftovers as well as bulky rubbish like discarded tyres and furniture. Some items are left for weeks or even months.

“Some of the problems can be solved easily,” says Cllr Featherstone. “For example, street sweepers often go along the road just before the refuse collectors, whereas with a bit of common sense planning they could sweep the road after, to much better effect.”

“Haringey Accord receive a huge chunk of local residents’ council taxes. The Council must ensure that at last we get value for money – without these basic failures. I will be working with my colleague Cllr Wayne Hoban to press the Council to ensure these changes are made.”

Commenting on the reports of a train from Finsbury Park overshooting the platform at Hitchin, Lynne Featherstone, local councillor and Chair of the GLA’s Transport Policy Committee, said:

“Following the serious incident at Alexandra Palace, this is further worrying evidence of the disarray in our railway network. It adds to concerns about safety on our local railways, and for local residents travelling across the area.”

The Liberal Democrat Opposition on Haringey Council is calling for an immediate pause in the glut of new building developments in Crouch End to allow breathing space for residents to create a planning framework setting out a vision for the future.

Lib Dem spokesman Cllr David Winskill says that around Crouch End planning permission is being sought or has been granted for over 1,000 new dwellings in the past few years. However, there has been no corresponding increase or development in the social infrastructure, leaving Crouch End’s services – such as schools and doctors – groaning under the weight of new residents.

Local businesses are also losing out, changing the nature of the shopping area dramatically. David Winskill, Crouch End resident and Lib Dem Councillor, is urgently demanding a comprehensive approach to a new planning framework for the area.

“Crouch End is undergoing the fastest rate of change of any area in the borough. Residents and small businesses are feeling powerless and neglected,” says Cllr Winskill. “Simply allowing developers and market forces to decide the future of our community is unacceptable. We need an open debate and a Planning Framework to guide our planners.”

Cllr Winskill has written to the Lead Member for the Environment asking for a completely new approach on future planning developments to be put to consultation with local residents. He is requesting that an Overall Planning Framework for Crouch End should include housing provision, education, infrastructure, environment, retail, recreation/leisure/culture and movement.

“Putting all these areas into one document will make effective consultation with local residents easy and show that the Council is serious about both protecting and sensibly developing Crouch End,” said Cllr Winskill. “Crouch End is a great place to live – and as we welcome new residents into the area we must also make sure that we maintain all the aspects which make the town so great.”

Cllr Winskill’s call to the Labour Council is being fully backed by his Lib Dem colleagues across the Borough.

“Crouch End is constantly being hit by new developments including the current Texaco application,” explains Cllr Lynne Featherstone (Lib Dem, Muswell Hill). “There is so much to lose if the Council does not listen to this idea and take a step back before it is too late. New developments are inevitable, but with an Overall Planning Framework we can ensure that the bigger picture is taken into consideration and the overall nature of the area is preserved.”

“There is a lot of talk about listening to local residents and involving them in the community – here is a real chance for the Council to put its money where its mouth is and show they actually mean it for once,” she adds.

After a cross-party visit to Haringey Council’s Younger Children Assessment team, Cllr Matt Davies (Lib Dem, Fortis Green) has praised the dedication of the staff and the vital work they are doing. The team takes on families for a period of six weeks – families who have been referred by social services teams as needing help but where children are not immediately at risk.

Staff offer support with parenting and general living and aim to find sometimes simple solutions to problems which initially seem insurmountable. Following the six week involvement, cases are either closed as successfully solved, referred on to other agencies for further support or referred back to Social Services if further social work is necessary.

“The dedication of the team was obvious from meeting them – the enthusiasm and commitment were both clear. The benefits of a preventative approach like this cannot be underestimated and are far-reaching,” said Cllr Davies.

“Working with children and parents in the home, the team is able to achieve so much and work out solutions to problem areas before they escalate into anything more serious. This excellent approach is a credit to the staff involved and the only downside is that there is a waiting list for families to be seen, due to a reduction in the number of staff.”

Due to budgetary savings, the Younger Children’s Assessment Team had two posts “frozen” recently when employees left, meaning they cannot recruit replacements and have a reduced capacity.

“With a successful team like this, it seems madness not to enable them to work at full capacity,” said Cllr Davies. “They are empowering families and working hard in the community for the good of us all – not to mention the obvious financial return to the Council in solving these problems early, before more work is needed. When you think that there are five times as many staff at the Council working in the “spin” department as there are in this team helping troubled children, it does make you question the way priorities have been set.”

In Park and Priory Village, the area’s local Lib Dem councillors have this week reinforced calls for a much needed pedestrian crossing near the junction with Danvers Road N8 and welcomed campaigning by residents on the issue.

Local Lib Dem councillor Lynne Featherstone comments:

“We need this crossing, as elderly people and mothers with buggies cannot run to dodge the speeding traffic as they try and cross Priory Road – nor should they have to. Traffic flow must not endanger lives.

“This location is directly outside the Priory sheltered housing and a nursery – let’s hope that the Labour Council will respond to local residents’ pleas to improve safety for vulnerable pedestrians rather than make their usual excuses for inaction.”

Liberal Democrat Social Services Spokesperson Cllr Ron Aitken has revealed further serious concerns about the running of Haringey Council’s Social Services – this time around the care and protection of vulnerable adults in a residential home owned by the Council but run by CSS on the Council’s behalf.

Cllr Aitken, who voted against the original plan to transfer the care of residents in two homes for people with learning disabilities, has demanded that the Council explain why it has sat on a critical report by its own Inspection Unit since February 2001. Cllr Aitken says that the Council should justify the withholding of the full details in the report from the mother of a resident of Linden House, a home in Tottenham for adults with a learning disability.

Only by taking legal action was the mother, who had complained on several occasions that her daughter was showing bruises and was not being properly cared for, able to make public a copy of a summary report. It is estimated that Haringey will have to pay her costs of at least £6,000 as a result of the action which was due to be heard in the Administrative Division of the High Court on 26 September 2003.

Cllr Aitken comments: “It is a disgrace that neither elected councillors nor relatives with an interest in the welfare of these most vulnerable adults have not been given a copy of the full report. One wonders what other secrets Haringey is hiding.

“The Council has sat on the Report since February 2001 and only served notice on CSS for breach of standards in March 2002. It is very disturbing that Haringey has not made these facts public, therefore I will be scrutinising closely any further plans to ensure there is no repetition of these events.”

Notes:

Among the findings contained in the Summary Report of Haringey Council Inspection and Registration Unit on events in the home in the Autumn of 2000 are:

* There was an investigation into alleged physical abuse of another resident in the home.
* This resident was allegedly ordered to run upstairs naked.
* Overwhelming evidence that a staff member produced a piece of wood and entered a bathroom where this resident was present.
* A subsequent search of the home yielded a weathered bamboo stick from behind a sofa.
* A member of staff subsequently resigned.
* Criticism of the practice of making temporary staff permanent without proper training and safeguards.
* 91 staff worked in the home in the period June-November2000.
* It is not clear whether police were involved in an investigation.

The Council has since taken Linden House and several other homes back into Direct Management, but plans to hive them off once again to another organisation.