Liberal Democrats in Haringey have condemned the Labour Government’s decision to abolish Haringey’s local health watchdog.

The final meeting of the Haringey Community Health Council (CHC) will take place on Monday 25 November – even though local hospitals remain in crisis, with worries over funding, waiting times and the proposed PFI schemes for the North Middlesex and the Whittington.

Liberal Democrat representative on the Haringey Community Health Council, Cllr. Ron Aitken, paid tribute to the many years of work by its members and said that proposals for “Patient Councils” were not the solution as they would not have the independent element that CHCs had.

Ron Aitken comments:

“It is an act of political vandalism to abolish the local CHC, especially when Labour’s promises on the health service have not been met.”

Haringey Council has agreed to replace a dilapidated park bench, following action from a local Lib Dem councillor.

Cllr Wayne Hoban, who represents Alexandra Ward, had pointed out that the bench outside the library at the bottom of The Avenue was in a bad state of disrepair, making it unstable.

Wayne Hoban has now received confirmation that a replacement has now been ordered.

Wayne Hoban comments:

“I am pleased the council has replaced the bench, which was in a sorry state, and looked as if it might collapse. We’re looking forward to seeing the new one installed”

Haringey Liberal Democrats have sounded a warning over the state of Haringey’s schools following the publication of a survey from the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT). The survey shows that nearly one in ten teaching staff in Haringey do not have qualified teacher status and that teacher vacancies in Haringey are running at nearly double the London average.

Commenting, Lib Dem Education Spokesman, Cllr Ross Laird said:

“Teacher training and recruitment is a constant problem in Haringey Council schools. Part of the problem is that the Labour Government is still not doing enough to support and assist people who want to become teachers. Other problems relate to poor Ofsted reports Haringey has received and people’s perception of the Council. We cannot just blame house prices as Haringey’s teacher shortage is more acute than in most London Boroughs.”

“We believe that Haringey schools will be unable to recruit the necessary staff while the LEA’s services fail to meet Ofsted’s targets. Even in the most optimistic scenario, that date is still some way off and our schools will continue to struggle.”

Note:

The NAHT received 18 responses from Haringey schools – covering just over 244 staff. From those results, 12.8% of Full Time Equivalent posts (including those filled by temporary and supply staff) were unfilled (compared to a London-wide picture of 7.2%) and 8.8% of the staff did not have Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).

A full copy of the survey results is available at www.naht.org.uk

A Lib Dem councillor has intervened in an attempt by Haringey Council to close a vital after school club for kids in Muswell Hill. The move follows protests by a Muswell Hill parent, who wrote to Ms Featherstone saying, “This is one of the rare Haringey services that is really valued by all who receive it.”

Lynne Featherstone, Lib Dem councillor for Muswell Hill, says attempts by Haringey’s Labour-run council to close the Grove After School Club in Muswell Hill are “quite unacceptable” and the council should act now to eliminate the staff shortages which it say will result in the closure of the facility in January. Children from Muswell Hill Primary School and other local schools use the popular club.

Haringey Council has just notified parents that the club will be closed from 20th December until 27th January due to “shortage of staff”.

Lynne Featherstone says that the council plans for the long closure fly in the face of government policy to remove barriers to work – particularly for women.

Lynne Featherstone comments:

“Closing this centre for such a long period would be a real blow to local parents, who rely on it to provide vital daytime child care. Clearly, the council needs to move swiftly to provide staff cover for this period. With all this advance warning about possible staff shortages, the council has plenty of time to put in place arrangements to deal with the problem.”

Highgate’s Lib Dem councillors are urging Highgate residents to turn out in large numbers on 6 November for a special ‘neighbourhood assembly’ meeting that they have secured on the Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) proposals for the area.

The Lib Dems say the meeting will be a big chance for local people to hear about the councils CPZ plans for Highgate at first hand, and to ask questions.The meeting is to take place at Highgate Primary School, North Hill at 7.30 pm.

Haringey Council has not granted Highgate its own ‘area assembly’ so the Lib Dems have secured two special meetings per year for Highgate residents to give their views on council issues. Next Wednesday’s meeting is the first of these.

Lib Dem councillor Bob Hare comments:

“This meeting will give residents a chance to have their say on the CPZ plans, and I would urge as many Highgate residents as possible to attend. In addition, we have set up a survey on our website and would welcome as many returns as possible.”

A Highgate Lib Dem councillor has demanded that action is taken to tackle speeding on North Hill, one of Highgate’s busiest residential and feeder roads. Cllr Melanie Simpson wants action from the police and the council, as she says cars are regularly speeding and there are not enough clearly visible warning signs.

North Hill forms a busy junction with the A1 Great North Road. The Lib Dems say that local residents have reported speeding of up to 70mph down the road. The recently elected Lib Dem councillor is also concerned about heavy vehicles, which are ignoring the weight restrictions on the road.

Councillor Melanie Simpson comments:

“We have taken up the issue of heavy vehicles with the police, and at least the council have agreed to cut back the trees to make signs more visible at the other end of the road.In the medium term however this is one of those stretches of road where drivers seem to know they can get away with horrendous speeding. As a next step, we need more warning signs along the route to discourage drivers from using North Hill as a speedway.”

Crouch End’s Liberal Democrat councillors have taken action to ensure confidence in the council’s consultation programme on a Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) in Crouch End.

As a result of discussions last week between Councillors Ron Aitken, David Winskill and Haringey Council, they have now reached agreement that there will be further consultation in November and also a ‘listening day’ where local residents will have a further chance to express their views.

To double-check the consultation exercises being carried out by the council, the Lib Dems are also conducting their own survey on the issue. This survey will also ask residents’ views on a wider range of possible traffic measures, such as making better use of the council’s car park at Hornsey Town Hall, which could be opened to the public in evenings and at weekends.

Furthermore, Crouch End councillors believe that if there is to be no huge new restaurant on the BT site, as seems increasingly likely, then consequently there is no need for a CPZ.

Lib Dem councillor Ron Aitken comments:

“I want to make sure that no stone is left unturned to ensure that everyone’s views are heard.That is why we are taking these new actions.

“We must also be clear that without the restaurant, there should be no CPZ. And residents should also be given a clear chance to express their views on other possible measures apart from a CPZ – such as better use of Hornsey Town Hall car park or chevron parking in some streets. Regardless of the CPZ issue, there are other traffic and transport issues in Crouch End which need tackling.”

You can let Cllr Aitken and his colleagues have your views on the CPZ proposals using the form below.

The Government’s Social Services Inspectorate has admitted to serious shortcomings over Haringey Council’s controversial attempts to interfere with an investigation carried out by the SSI into Haringey’s children’s services earlier this year.

In a response to letters from Lib Dem social services spokesperson, Cllr Ron Aitken, and Lib Dem leader, Cllr Lynne Featherstone, the SSI has admitted that another organisation, and not Haringey Council, should have been used to assist with or collect the controversial questionnaire.

The move follows the uncovering of the issue by the local Lib Dems and The Guardian newspaper. In a letter to Denise Platt, Chief Inspector of the SSI, Lib Dem Leader Lynne Featherstone accused the Labour-run council of:

1.Making direct contact with the recipients of SSI questionnaires, despite the fact that the information accompanying the questionnaires assured users that they were ‘anonymous’.

2.Offering home visits by council staff in order to “help” recipients to fill in the forms. One person, for example, was rung by Council staff who endeavoured to make an appointment for someone to call round to help her fill in the form.

3.Asking at least one recipient of the survey form if they had brought it along to a case conference.The council had apparently planned to collect the forms rather than have them sent directly to the SSI.

The Lib Dems are now asking Haringey Council to explain why their staff were collecting survey forms, when the SSI has told the Lib Dems: “”there is no need and we do not wish [it]”.

Lib Dem Social Services spokesperson, Ron Aitken, comments:

“This news exposes the disgraceful handling of this matter by Haringey Council. They have claimed the SSI’s inspector was happy with their procedures, but the SSI has now said this is not the case.

“Instead of its usual tactic of giving anything other than a straight answer, Haringey must now explain why its officials were collecting forms that were sent out by the SSI with stamped addressed envelopes and should not have been interfered with.”

Haringey Council has increased its estimate for the likely rise in council tax over the coming year.Local residents could see a dramatic rise of 13% in their bills this year, with a total rise over four years of nearly half (42%).

The latest figures were given to the Labour Executive for its 22 October meeting and take the projected figure for the total council tax bill for residents for 2003/4 above the £1,100 mark for a typical Band D payer. Haringey’s part of the bill would go up by 13% to £916.60.

Under the current Labour plans, the total bill for local taxpayers, including money collected by Mayor Ken Livingstone, could mean that a band D council tax, currently £983, rises to over £1,400 in 2006/2007.

Lib Dems have accused the Labour party of hypocrisy over the issue. During the recent council elections, Labour boasted about freezing council tax levels while at the same time was making behind-the-scenes preparations to reveal their plans for massive tax increases.

In its recent election manifesto, just five months ago, Haringey Labour told local voters that: “the Council’s finances are now in a sound state, with council tax having been frozen for the past three years.”

Lib Dem budget spokesman, Cllr Jonathan Bloch, says:

“Haringey’s estimates of the council tax seem to be moving ever higher.It is no surprise that the Labour council has moved to scupper plans for a Budget Committee to properly scrutinise their work. It does not bode well for the future. These huge projected increases will be an impossible burden on the borough.”

How Labour’s council tax plans add up:

Note: Band D figures include the GLA precept, whose figures have been projected based on past performance.

A Highgate Lib Dem councillor has labelled ‘a disgrace’ attempts by Haringey’s ruling Labour council to charge residents for the installation of a long-demanded disabled ramp at a block of flats in Highgate.

Lib Dem councillor Neil Williams, who has been campaigning for the need for disabled access to Dowding House, on the Hillcrest Estate, says the council is now telling the leaseholders in the block that they will have to fork out for the planned disabled ramp. When Councillor Williams raised this earlier in the year with the council, he was told that all matters would be up for consideration during the consultation.

The move comes on top of revelations, uncovered by Councillor Williams, that Haringey Council is raking in tens of thousands of pounds in profits from unsightly rooftop aerials fitted on the roofs of Dowding House and the other historic blocks on the Hillcrest estate.Despite the massive annual windfall of £50,000, the mean-spirited Labour council wants the block’s leaseholders to pay to bring disabled access up-to-date.

Neil Williams comments:

“Haringey’s handling of this matter is becoming a very distressing story. Asking all leaseholders to pay is putting disabled residents in an impossible position – and I was assured that this matter would be up for discussion. Instead, the residents seem to have been issued with a fait accompli.

“I am really outraged that the council rakes in £50,000 from the rooftop aerials but seems to want to do anything rather than pay for this improvement. This is a major building and it should have disabled access.

“It is deplorable that Haringey Council can earn so much money as a direct result of the buildings advantageous height, but when it comes to sorting out a design defect, they say the residents will have to pay.It is not good enough.”