• Over 25% of phone calls to Haringey Council services unanswered, or meet a ‘busy’ signal in first three months of 2003
• Only 46% of housing services calls answered
• Only 1 out of 7 council services shows improvement between January and March
• 65% of council tenants disillusioned with Haringey Council’s phone service

Haringey Council is still failing to serve those who need them most according to Liberal Democrat councillors following the publication of the Council’s telephone answering data which shows that over 25% of calls to the Council remain unanswered.

The statistics, published on 10 June in the Council ‘Executive’ agenda, show the housing service to be the worst offender, only answering between 44-46% of calls over the past three months. More worrying still is the general decline over the first three months of the year with only one service (housing) showing any improvement, albeit slight, from January to March (44% rising to 46%).

Liberal Democrat performance spokesperson Neil Williams is concerned by the figures and by the disillusionment of local residents, with 68% of council tenants claiming it is difficult to get through to the Labour council over the telephone. He is calling for the Council to take urgent steps to ensure that those who are in most need of assistance from the Council can get it, quickly and effectively.

Cllr. Neil Williams (Highgate) comments:

“These are terrible figures. The failure of the Council to provide adequate answering services is effecting quality of life for many residents. The telephone service has been dreadful for over two years, and it seems that while Haringey will no doubt say they are turning the corner, no improvement is made.”

Lynne Featherstone, Lib Dem Parliamentary Spokesperson, comments:

“If Haringey really wants to serve its residents, the least the Council can do is perform better at answering the phone. The distress and frustration caused by people who simply cannot get through leaves residents in despair. They must do better.”

Lib Dem Crouch End councillor, David Winskill has contacted Haringey Council to ask them to suspend their programme of replacing Victorian street lamps in Felix Avenue, at the heart of Crouch End, following urgent calls from local residents angry about the sudden removal of the lights.

The council is removing the Victorian light columns because they are believed to be corroded beyond repair and as part of the larger borough-wide community safety initiatives demand for higher levels of street lighting.

Cllr Winskill, although aware of the need for lighting to be improved in the area as a crime reduction measure, shares the concerns of residents who feel the new lights and columns are not in keeping with Crouch End’s Victorian surroundings. He is now seeking information on how the new street lamp designs were approved as well as demanding that work on removing the current lamps stops until the issue is resolved.

Cllr Winskill comments:

“I have asked Haringey to suspend the installation of the new lights, with the exception of the replacement of acutely dangerous lamp posts, until this issue is resolved.

“Haringey Council says that they took advice on the appropriateness of the replacement steel columns – however the local residents and myself feel they are far from appropriate. I will seek details of whether they made any efforts to seek any sort of grant to replace the lamps with a design more in keeping with Crouch End.

“Better lighting is essential for reducing crime across the borough. However it is important that we ensure that the new lights are in keeping with their old surroundings.”

Liberal Democrats have expressed concern that a key Social Services child protection indicator has shown a drop in performance for the sixth month in a row. Performance figures for Haringey’s child protection services to be tabled at the council’s Executive also show an increase in the number of looked after children to 507 – a steady upward trend.

Lib Dem Social Services Spokesperson, Ron Aitken is concerned that following the damning report by Lord Laming earlier this year, lessons have still not been learned. He has called on the Labour Executive member to act quickly to resolve this situation.

Cllr Aitken (Crouch End) comments:

“The drop in the number of six-weekly visits to children on the child protection register to 83.9% is the sixth month in a row that this has fallen, despite extra spending on children’s services. Combined with a steady increase in the number of children being taken into care this is a worrying trend.

“Over the last few months we have heard a number of excuses as to why this trend has continued. It is now time for the excuses to stop. The Labour Lead Member needs to explain why this situation has arisen and take steps to ensure these vital visits take place.”

Liberal Democrat councillors have welcomed initial plans to regenerate the Campsbourne Estate in Hornsey, but say more needs to be done following years of neglect by Labour-run Haringey Council. The plans were unveiled during a heated meeting between local residents and council representatives at Campsbourne School regarding regeneration funding on Wednesday, 4th June.

Residents were critical of the council for the handling of the meeting, complaining that it had been arranged by word of mouth and as a result many people were unaware it was taking place. Residents highlighted the fact that the council had watched the estate decline for many years and although they had made many promises, the council had failed to deliver. These issues ranged from drug dealing to infestation problems, many of which had be reported a number of times with no action taken by the council.

The council’s proposals to target three main issues of rubbish, repairs and the increasing height of Campsbourne Road wall were welcomed by Lib Dem councillor, Wayne Hoban. However he was critical of the time that it has taken for the council to react to this problem and called for wider consultation with residents over issues on the estate.

Cllr Hoban, Deputy Leader of the Opposition, comments:

“The council has sat back and watched the Campsbourne Estate decline for too long. I am pleased that they have now recognised that Campsbourne needs investment. However I find it shocking that they have allowed the estate to deteriorate to the present extent.

“In order to see a sustained improvement to the quality of life in and around Campsbourne, the council need to invest in regenerating Hornsey High Street and return it the bustling place it was 10 years ago.”

Lib Dem Regeneration spokesperson, Cllr David Winskill (Crouch End) adds:

“Residents on the Campsbourne Estate need to be consulted fully. They need to know what is going on and feel that they are being involved in the process to improve the area. Without their involvement the council will fail to address the problems fully.”

Local Lib Dems have called for action from Haringey’s Labour-run council, as important information regarding the costs to local taxpayers of the Alexandra Palace is still not being published in the Haringey Council Tax booklet even though the council assured Lib Dem councillor Lynne Featherstone that they would look into the problem four years ago.

In 2000, the Council responded to Cllr Featherstone’s request for a more open approach, and the council replied that it would look to see what could be done to make the information clearer in the future. Four years on and the Palace’s finances are still a confusion to most.

Lib Dem Alexandra Palace spokesperson Cllr Bob Hare is concerned that people are paying through their Council Tax bills for the huge costs of the Palace but they are not seeing the details they should on where exactly their money is going.

Cllr Hare (Highgate) comments:

“Everyone who pays Council Tax in Haringey is paying a substantial amount to the upkeep and running of Ally Pally. Very few people know how the money is spent on Alexandra Palace, so it continues to operate in a cloud of mystery.

“This lack of transparency can only be bad for the council and Alexandra Palace and I would urge them to take action quickly to ensure that taxpayers are clear about where their money is going.”

Lib Dem Cllr Featherstone, who first raised the problem, adds:

“I will be writing to Haringey Council again to enquire about the progress they have made on this issue and to encourage them to clarify where exactly residents’ taxes are going at the Palace.”

Lib Dems have expressed dismay at the latest closure plans for Post Offices in the area, with the announcement by the Post Office that it is consulting on the closure of its Crouch Hill Branch. Although just on the Islington side of the borough boundary, Lib Dems says they branch will be missed by many Haringey residents in the area and is the latest move in a debilitating closure programme.

The move comes on top of the closure of a Post Office on the Archway Road, Highgate, and a threat hanging over the Park Road Post Office in Park and Priory Village. The Lib Dems say they fear plans announced by the Post Office and backed by the Labour Government mean that as many as five out of out of the 16 post offices in the area are facing the axe.

Lib Dem Parliamentary spokesperson, Lynne Featherstone, comments:

“This is another blow to postal service in the area, and sadly there may be several more to come.Local shops in these smaller high streets rely on the Post Office to bring in customers. I would urge all residents who object to the Post Office’s plans to write to George Hooper, National Consultation Team, PO Box 641, St Albans, AL1 5XN.The Labour Government and the Post Office must be told what residents think of these plans.”

Liberal Democrat councillors in Fortis Green have thrown their weight behind local residents who are protesting against plans to build eight new three storey houses and twelve parking spaces on the land of 85-87 Woodside Avenue, N10. The land of the proposed development backs onto Lauradale Road and there is currently a single cottage and small office on the site.

Lib Dem Fortis Green councillor Matt Davies shares concerns of the residents who feel that the size of the development is unsuitable for the site and the area. Mr Davies says key problems centre around site accessibility, wildlife and environmental impact, traffic and parking, loss of amenity to surrounding residents and child safety issues – particularly with regard to Tetherdown School which is very near the site.

Cllr Davies comments:

“These proposals are completely inappropriate for this site and many residents have already written to the Planning Department to object – I would encourage other residents in the surrounding area to do the same.

“As this would be such a large scale development, I have asked the council to extend the consultation to a wider area around the site, as many residents may not yet be aware of it. I am keen to ensure local residents have an opportunity to voice their objections, so I have also asked the council to hold a consultation meeting so all local residents can view the plans and make comments.”

Councillor Lynne Featherstone, who represents nearby Muswell Hill, has also expressed her concern about the proposals:

“The site is not suitable for a development of this scale, which would stick out like a sore thumb. There are serious concerns around several aspects of the proposals, but one of the most serious is the potential overcrowding of this site and its impact on the safety of children and other pedestrians in and around the school.”

Haringey Liberal Democrats have revealed that Tottenham MP David Lammy, who is also a health minister, has been criticised by an influential think-tank over delays in announcing arrangements for the oversight of local health services following the abolition of Community Health Councils (CHCs).

Liberal Democrat Spokesperson on Social Services and Health, Cllr Ron Aitken, is calling for an urgent statement from the Tottenham MP on the issue. Haringey CHC will hold its final meeting on June 10th but as yet Mr Lammy has still not made a statement setting out funding for local councils to scrutinise health services.

In a policy briefing on the Department of Health guidance on the new local authority powers to oversee the NHS, the Democratic Health Network (DHN), part of the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU), states:

“It is disappointing, however, that there has not yet been any announcement about additional resources to support health scrutiny committees. The Health Minister, David Lammy, announced some weeks ago that he would be making a statement on this subject, but this has not happened.”

Cllr Aitken (Crouch End) comments:

“It is ironic that the Government has abolished watchdog Community Health Councils and now expects councils like Haringey, which were heavily criticised along with health services over the Victoria Climbie case, to stand up for patients. Without proper funding this oversight will be a sham, and David Lammy is the minister responsible.”

Liberal Democrats in Haringey have welcomed new research carried out jointly by Middlesex University and the Ethiopian Community Centre, based in Tottenham. The Embrace UK findings explode many of the myths about immigrants and asylum seekers.

Cllr Ron Aitken, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson on Social Services, said the research indicated that far from living comfortably on benefits or working, Ethiopians in Haringey were denied social security and work because of prejudice, qualifications not being recognised, or fear of state agencies stemming from persecution in their own country.

Cllr Aitken (Crouch End) comments:

“I commend the publication of The Embrace UK Project – Ethiopian Migrants, their beliefs, Refugeedom and Experiences in the UK. It should be read by everyone particularly those in the media and professionals working with refugee groups because it dispels much of the misinformation about the refugee community in Haringey.

“The Government’s stance on refugees is such that many well qualified people are being denied the right to work because their qualifications are not recognised in this country. Removing many of the barriers to work would allow Ethiopians and others to participate more fully in the community by obtaining qualifications or putting to use existing skills.”

Notes:

Key findings of the research are:

Of the 98 Ethiopian participants interviewed by Middlesex University 19 had to leave Ethiopia due to fear of imprisonment of themselves or family members. 7 had been beaten or tortured and 18 had to leave for political reasons such as coercion or harassment by the ruling party.

19% of the 98 had a Bachelor or Higher Degree and 10% a Diploma or professional qualification – but their qualifications are not recognised in the UK so even doctors, engineers or nurses cannot work here.

Over one-third of the participants received no social security or other benefits at all, a quarter received the minimum Income Support and few received food or cash vouchers. Most could not even afford the fares needed to go to work or college.