Latest council figures unearthed by the Lib Dems show a huge financial problem building up for the future over the council’s controversial schools PFI contract.

The Lib Dems say that although in the first three years of the contract (2000-2 inclusive) the council receives more money from the government for the contract than it has to pay out, this changes from 2003 onwards. For example, by 2006 the council will have had to pay out over £3 million more than it has received.

And the total gap gets worse for each year of the contract afterwards – ending up with a massive £139 million gap by the end of the deal.

The Lib Dems are pointing out that it is rather convenient that the Labour-run council received more money from the Labour governments scheme than it had to pay out in the run-up to the 2002 elections, with the bills only mounting up afterwards.

Lib Dem education spokesman Ross Laird comments:

“These figure are worrying, and show that the Labour council may have walked into a financial black hole over this PFI deal. It has the prospect of becoming an immense financial drain.”

Note:

The figures are all in cash terms rather than net present value, but even under the controversial NPV calculations, it is still the case that the council receives less than two-thirds of the money it has to pay out during the contract’s lifespan.

Local councillor and London Assembly Member Lynne Featherstone has forced assurances from the Metropolitan Police that performance on 999 calls will be significantly improved.

The Met was responding to Ms Featherstone’s severe criticisms of their poor performance on answering emergency calls. The assurances were made at a high level meeting on Friday 11th October between Ms Featherstone and senior officers of the Metropolitan Police Service held in response to her concerns.

Recent figures have revealed that every month more than 5,000 * urgent calls for assistance are still unattended 23 minutes after the call was made. The statistics also showed that over 28% of all 999 calls took 63.5 seconds to answer * * . Given that these calls are made in crisis situations where every second counts, the performance was a cause of serious concern.

However, the Met has reacted positively to the uncovering of the problems. At their meeting with Ms Featherstone they stated their commitment to improving response, and outlined a number of measures put in place to bring about improvements. Ms Featherstone welcomed their efforts, but maintained a tough stance, stating that the MPA Performance Review Committee on which she sits would be closely monitoring progress over the next few months.

Ms Featherstone was particularly anxious to ensure that GLA-funded additional staff for the Met’s call centres, due in the New Year, would bring about a reduction in the time taken to answer 999 calls

Commenting, Ms Featherstone said:

“Time and time again local people bring up with me the issue of poor response times. When people are in real trouble, rapid response, both in answering 999 calls, and arriving on the scene is absolutely vital.

“It plays a highly significant role in building public confidence in policing, and, if performed successfully, can increase feelings of safety for people. That is why I consistently flag up this issue in my role as a member of the Metropolitan Police Authority and am working with the Met to bring about improvement.”

Notes:

* 21,869 calls over the period April – July, 5,467 per month were not responded to for at least 23 minutes.

* * Between mid-July and mid-August, the average time to answer the calls outside 15 seconds (over 28% of all calls) was 63.5 seconds.

Alexandra councillor Wayne Hoban has received assurances from the Chief Executive of North Middlesex University Hospital over the provision of key worker accommodation as a result of the PFI deal now being proposed for the site. The move followed a presentation to Haringey’s September full council meeting on the PFI project, in which the hospital stated that ‘the target figure was 25%’, but failed to offer any guarantees.

Wayne Hoban had written to the hospital asking for assurance that, in view of the acute shortage of NHS key-workers, a minimum of 25% of the new accommodation provided within the terms of the proposed PFI rebuilding contract should be reserved, at affordable rates, for NHS key-workers. It has been confirmed that this will be the case.

Wayne Hoban comments:

“With the planned building works taking away the existing accommodation for nurses and other key workers on the hospital site, it is absolutely vital that accommodation in the area is firmly set aside for these staff. Without this, the scheme would be grossly unfair on these key workers, who already have a hard job finding affordable accommodation in the area. These assurances are welcome.”

Lynne Featherstone, Lib Dem health spokesperson at the London Assembly adds,

“Shortages of affordable housing for public sector works are a huge problem across London. It is excellent news that the North Middlesex deal will contribute to alleviating the problem.”

Highgate Lib Dem councillor Neil Williams is seeking assurances from Camden Council that it will not go ahead with the implementation of the CPZ plans for Highgate until the end of Haringey’s consultation process on the current plans.

Haringey is currently consulting on a CPZ of its side of the village, but has fallen behind Camden in the consultation process, with Camden already consulting local residents on the issue. Haringey is only beginning its own process.

Councillor Williams is calling on Camden to wait for Haringey to ‘catch up’ if Camden should decide to go ahead. Cllr Williams wants the maximum number of local residents on the Haringey side to participate in a public meeting on November 6th. The Lib Dems have secured a special Highgate meeting of the Muswell Hill and Highgate neighbourhood assembly to consider the present plans.

Cllr Williams comments:

“The two schemes are now out of sync, at least at the level of consultation. This is causing worry for local residents.

“We must have a co-ordinated approach between the two boroughs on all aspects.It would be a nonsense if Camden just presses on regardless of what is happening on the Haringey side.If this scheme does go ahead, and it is a big if, then there are issues which need to resolved, such as whether parking permits can operate on both sides of the High Street.

“All of these issues need to be discussed in a co-ordinated and thorough manner, with the maximum possible consultation possible so that residents and traders have the fullest possible say.”

Crouch End Lib Dem councillor David Winskill has welcomed moves to sort out the problems at the busy recycling point near Hornsey Library in Crouch End.

The Haringey Park site has been beset with problems in recent months, with the failure to clear the bottle and paper banks regularly causing a sea of dumped bottles, cans and newspapers near the recycling bins. David Winskill has just conducted a survey of users on the problems. A majority of residents wanted to keep the site, but felt that the situation had to be improved.

Haringey Council has agreed that the containers were often not emptied twice a week, as they should have been, on Friday afternoons and Monday mornings. The council have also agreed that the contractor that had been carrying out the work had a record that was “at best poor.”Cllr Winskill’s understanding is that contractors have now been replaced, and some of the containers have been replaced with larger ones.

David Winskill comments: “This is a good start, and gives hope that there will now be an improvement. What is clear to me is that local residents want to recycle as much as they can, and we need to support them in doing so – and not by creating an unsightly mess, as we have had. I will be watching to see that things do now improve.”

Councillor Winskill is urging local residents to report any deterioration in the service by sending him an email at recycling@haringeylibdems.org.

There was new embarrassment for Haringey’s embattled Labour-run council this week, as ‘notes’ from a summer summit on council services leaked to the Liberal Democrats show that even Labour’s top councillors overwhelmingly rate council services as “bad” or “ugly”.

The summit, held over the summer, with the council’s Management Board and the ruling Labour party executive of leading councillors, included an exercise where participants were asked to highlight council services as “good”, “bad” or “ugly”.

Although they rated 34 areas as good, a further 37 were rated as bad, with comments including “lack of consultation”, “lighting needs to be improved more” and warnings about the “increase in council tax”.

Even more remarkably, a further 33 areas were described as “ugly” by those in charge, including dumped rubbish, abandoned cars, post-16 education, social services and the lack of confidence from local schools in Labour councillors.

Lib Dem leader Lynne Featherstone comments:”Residents have known for years how badly Labour is running Haringey. Now even Labour’s own councillors have admitted in private that they know their record is dreadful.”

Lib Dem Leader Lynne Featherstone is calling on proper enforcement of double yellow lines at one of Muswell Hill’s most troublesome parking and traffic black spots. The move follows a successful campaign earlier in the year by the Lib Dems and local residents to have double yellow lines installed atthe controversial Pages Lane junction

Although the double yellow lines have brought about a welcome improvement, residents say that the lines are not being enforced properly. Residents claims that Haringey Council says it is up to the police and the police say it is up to the council. Furthermore, lorries serving the businesses near the site are still parking illegally, with the authorities appearing to turn a blind eye.

Lynne Featherstone comments: “Haringey Council and the police have got to sort this problem out. The introduction of the yellow lines was welcome – but there must be proper enforcement.”

Notes:

A combination of factors is making Pages Lane dangerous if the double yellow lines are ignored.At the western end, the road is too narrow for easy parking, yet the area is twice daily inundated with vehicles, with parents dropping off children at the school. In addition, heavy plant is moving into the area as part of a school building programme and there is a busy tile centre nearby.

The 234 bus now uses the route, with residents pointing out that a stand-off often occurs as two large vehicles try to pass. Worse, drivers are parking right on the pavement, making it impossible for pedestrians to pass and forcing children out into the busy road.

The controversial Colney Hatch traffic lights to the east have made the problems at the other end of Pages Lane even more intense, as traffic often has to queue the entire length of the street to negotiate the junction layout.

The Liberal Democrats have called for urgent action after the release of new figures showing that North Middlesex Hospital is the worst for superbug infections in the whole country. The MRSA superbug is so named because of its ability to withstand many antibiotics and to kill in hours.

MRSA infections are caused by poor hygiene in hospitals and the bug can be spread by doctors and nurses failing to wash their hands between treating patients or by the failure to clean curtains, carpets or bedding properly.More than 100 people a month are infected with MRSA whilst being treated in London hospitals, with the North Middlesex having the highest infection rate not just in London but in the whole country.

Cllr Wayne Hoban, Lib Dem health spokesperson on Haringey Council, comments:

“I am very concerned that North Middlesex is performing so badly compared to other hospitals. The fact that the rate of MRSA infections isn’t falling shows how previous promises from Labour to clean up our hospitals haven’t been kept.”

Lynne Featherstone, Lib Dem health spokesperson on the London Assembly, comments:

“London now has more hospital infections than any other party of the country. We need swift and effective action to clean up our hospitals. Hospitals should be where people go to solve their health problems, not somewhere they can go and pick up a deadly infection.”

Local Liberal Democrats have welcomed the announcement that two beleaguered council blocks are to have their lifts replaced – something the Lib Dem have long been campaigning for.

Haringey Council’s procurement committee has agreed that the lifts in council blocks on the Sandlings estate, Wood Green, and the lift at Birkbeck Road, Hornsey are to be replaced. The Council accepted a tender of £348,212 as part of the Lift Improvement Scheme Budget for 2002/3.

Commenting on the move, Lib Dem housing spokesperson, Dave Beacham, said:

“This is very welcome news for the residents of the blocks. The Lib Dems have campaigned hard for improvements to these and other blocks in Hornsey and in Wood Green.”

Transport for London (TfL) has agreed to act to take swift action to sort out a highly dangerous pedestrian crossing on the busy Archway Road in Highgate. The move follows a meeting on Friday with Highgate Lib Dem councillor Bob Hare, who took a TfL official through this and several other outstanding problems at the vital junction, where TFL works on the junction layout are just being completed.

TfL agreed to act promptly after Councillor Hare pointed out the danger to the official present. When A1 traffic coming south turns left into Muswell Hill Road, the new pedestrian crossing remains at green, with the potential danger that someone crossing Muswell Hill Road on a green pedestrian light could be mowed down by an oncoming vehicle.

Bob Hare comments: “Transport for London have agreed to act on the pedestrian crossing, which is a great relief, as it was operating in a dangerous manner and should never have been set up that way. We are also addressing other problems at the junction.”

Bob Hare and Lynne Featherstone are continuing to work on other issues related to the junction and residents who would like a detailed report of all the outstanding issues with the new junction layout they are working on can send an email to highgate@haringeylibdems.org or write to 250 Muswell Hill Broadway, London, N10 3SH.