Haringey Liberal Democrats have called for urgent action from Haringey Council to sort out its ‘street scene’ services after they were given the thumbs down in the latest Audit Commission report.

The report rated the service as “poor” and gave it a zero star rating. In particular, the report criticised the failure to make improvements in the three years since the Street Scene service was established. The Audit Commission also warned that the majority of the key indicators for cleansing, collection, lighting and recycling are in the bottom quartile of performance compared to other councils.

The report went on to highlight concerns over whether or not Labour councillors were up to the job, saying “councillors’ commitment, in terms of continued investment and the securing of external funding remains uncertain.”

Liberal Democrat leader Lynne Featherstone comments: “Once again an outside, independent report has severely criticised Haringey Council’s failure to provide decent local services and rated it as one of the worst anywhere in the country.

“Labour’s repeated claims that services are OK and they just need to improve the PR of the council have once again been shown up by inspectors as being out of touch with reality.”

Note:
The Council’s Street Scene Service incorporates a number of previously separate service areas within the Environmental Services department including:

• Waste Management (Street Cleansing, Refuse Collection and Recycling);
• Highways Management (Street Lighting, Highway Maintenance, Traffic Engineering, Road Safety Education, Traffic Management Orders and Controlled Parking Zone design);
• Parking (Parking Management and Parking Operations – including on street enforcement and ticket processing); and
• Street Scene Support (Management and Administration).

Liberal Democrat councillors in Muswell Hill have secured agreement from Haringey Council that residents in Wood Vale will be included in the planned consultation over the possibility of a controlled parking zone (CPZ) in Highgate.

Wood Vale, which may well be affected by any displacement effects from plans for a CPZ in Highgate, particular if a new zone results in commuters parking further away from Highgate tube station.

Muswell Hill councillor Ross Laird (Lib Dem) comments,

“I am glad that Haringey Council has listened to myself and my Highgate Lib Dem colleagues and agreed to include Wood Vale in their consultation planned for next year. The residents may well be affected by the results, so they certainly must get a say.”

Leader of the Opposition on Haringey Council, Lynne Featherstone, has today set out a three point plan for Government action to tackle the pensions injustice that many women face.

She is calling for:

• A substantial increase in the basic state pension, particularly for older pensioners; this is the only way to guarantee that help gets through to the poorest pensioners, many of whom do not claim the Government’s complex means-tested benefits;
• For the Government to write to all women in their 40s and 50s who have ever paid the married woman’s “stamp” to warn them that their pension rights may be in jeopardy;
• A major Government inquiry into the future pension prospects of today’s working women, with a promise of action to guarantee that the next generation of women pensioners do not miss out.

There are 7,800 female pensioners in Hornsey and Wood Green and 6,800 in Tottenham.

Lynne Featherstone comments,

“Pensioners are still treated by this Government as second class citizens.They have not forgotten the 75p insult.But many pensioners who happen to be women are treated differently – as third class citizens.

“If the 75p was an insult, then what of the women who acted on Government advice and now find themselves with as little as seven pence a week pension?

“Liberal Democrats believe that everyone has the right to expect dignity and security in old age.Our three point plan would help to relieve poverty among today’s pensioners and would help to ensure that future generations of women pensioners do not have to live in poverty.”

Note:
The campaign highlights the facts that:

• Among today’s pensioners, poverty rates are highest among women; almost ¾ of pensioners on Income Support are women, and elderly widows are especially poor.
• The gap between male and female pensioners’ incomes has increased since 1979.For a single male pensioner, his average income has increased by 80%.For a single female, her income has increased by 73%.Between 1997 and 2000 a single male pensioner’s income increased by 20%.Over the same period a single female pensioner’s income rose by only 12%.
• More than 1 in 3 women who are entitled to the Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) fail to receive it. Up to 34%, or 460,000 entitled women do not receive their money.Numbers not claiming are getting bigger.In previous year, figure was 32%, or 430,000.
• Among women in their 40s and 50s, many are set to receive poor state pensions because they paid National Insurance at the special rate for married women.
• Many women who paid the reduced rate were not made aware of the consequences. Some have been promised pensions as low as 7p per week.
• This could affect up to 1.5 million in total.Up to 75,000 women are still paying the special rate.
• Women in their 20s and 30s, could face similar patterns of poverty in old age as their mothers and grandmothers; Government plans to increase the role of private provision and cut back on universal state pensions could leave many women vulnerable.
• 69% of stakeholder pensions bought by men & 31% bought by women.
• Employers moving towards ‘defined contribution’ pensions.The pension ‘pot’ must be converted into an annuity – a product that guarantees a regular income for life.Annuities pay 10-20% less to women than men.

Having just been forced to find an additional £2 million due to underinvestment in social services, Haringey Council is now also having to find another £2.7 million to allow urgent repairs to secondary schools go ahead.

The extra money, which the Labour Council could have foreseen is needed for new furniture, IT and the costs of removing furnishings to let the maintenance work go ahead. The Lib Dems say that the matter raises serious questions over the Council’s ability to manage large contracts with the private sector.

Cllr Ross Laird, Lib Dem Education Spokesman said:

“Yet again, there are serious concerns over both the ability of a council such as Haringey to manage such large contracts and whether PFI really represents anything close to the value for money it proclaims.

“Time and again the Council is needing more cash, but it seems unbelievable that these things were not costed and accounted for in the first instance. The PFI deal has caused all sorts of problems so far and brought few benefits to anyone. It raises serious concerns over the Council’s financial competence, contractual management and risk management procedures.”

A Lib Dem councillor is celebrating receiving a masters degree. Ron Aitken, who represents Crouch End has received an MSc in Asian Politics from Baroness Helena Kennedy, the human rights campaigner and broadcaster, who is Visitor to the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), part of the University of London.

Cllr Aitken’s MSc is in addition to the BA he already has from SOAS in the politics of the Middle East, Asia and Africa. As part of the studies for the Masters, the well know local councillor researched and wrote a dissertation, choosing as his subject “Burma 1824 to 1942 – a Scottish Colony in Asia?”.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of a masters,” he said. “An understanding of Asian politics will help me to represent the diverse communities which contribute to Crouch End life and Haringey generally,” he added.

The Grove, in Crouch End, is set for a series of improvements following the efforts of the area’s Liberal Democrat councillors.

Taking up complains from residents, they have secured agreement from Haringey Council for double yellow lines at the corner of The Grove and Lynton Road in order to ensure that emergency vehicles can access The development in future.

Local Lib Dem councillor Jonathan Bloch comments,

“These double yellow lines are a welcome step forward, as there have been several worrying stories of emergency vehicles not being able to access the area when called.”

The council has also allocated a cleaner to The Grove in order to tackle the litter problems in the area.

Councillor Lynne Featherstone (Lib Dem) comments,

“I am glad that the complaints of residents have been listened to and action taken.”

Commenting on the newly released ‘quality of service indicators’ for London Buses, Lynne Featherstone, GLA Liberal Democrat Transport spokesperson, said:

“It is good to see that several of our bus services in Hornsey and Wood Green are showing real improvements in performance.

“The 263 and 134 routes in particular have done well: the 263 (Archway-Barnet) has cut its excess waiting time by 34%. Metroline are getting there with these routes.

“Liberal Democrats in the Hornsey and Wood Green constituency campaigned to improve the 134 service and it’s good to see action is paying off.

“Bus services are going to be key in getting London moving especially when the Mayor’s congestion charging scheme is rolled out next February. Labour’s mad PPP plan for the Tube means it will be years before we see any gains on the Underground.

“Bus passengers always notice when things go wrong. But when real improvements are recorded we should give our public services credit where credit is due.”

Liberal Democrat councillors in Muswell Hill have welcomed efforts by Thames Water to tackle a mysterious smell in local streets following pressure from themselves and local residents.

Residents in St James’s Lane and Hillfield Park have been complaining for some time about a strong smell, apparently coming from the drains in the area.

After several false starts, when Thames Water’s subcontractors came to clean the wrong drains, a tanker was sent to flush the drains and cameras were inserted to check for any problems. Although no problems were found, the smell remained. Now Thames Water have also cleaned many of the gullies in the two streets in a further attempt to remove the smell.

Muswell Hill Councillor Lynne Featherstone (Lib Dem) comments:

“I am glad that Thames Water are listening to residents and persevering in their efforts to tackle the source of the smell in the area.”

Ross Laird, Liberal Democrat councillor for Muswell Hill, today welcomed the removal of long-standing scaffolding from The Priory residential home on Priory Road.

The scaffolding had been left over from long-completed building work, but its continued presence presented a security risk by making it easy for a would-be burglar to access windows. It also cut out considerable amounts of light from windows.

Muswell Hill Councillor Ross Laird (Lib Dem) comments:

“This is welcome news which will cut down the risk of crime and improve the area for residents.”

David Winksill, Lib Dem councillor for Crouch End, has criticised Haringey Council’s draft Cultural Strategy Paper for neglecting Hornsey Town Hall.

Cllr Winskill comments:

“It is a great pity that more emphasis has not been put on Hornsey Town Hall, a Grade II listed building. This is one of the architectural gems of North London and should be back in public use. Its potential contribution to the cultural life of Crouch End and the whole borough is immense.

“It is scandalous that the building has been left empty and deteriorating for 12 years. Haringey Council should be actively seeking a partner to restore and reopen the building, making it available for local community groups and other activities.”

Cllr Winksill has teamed up with Lib Dem leader Lynne Featherstone to ask residents for suggestions to put the Town Hall to use.

Cllr Featherstone comments:

“I would urge people to write to David Winskill and myself at townhall@lynnefeatherstone.org with their ideas.”