Haringey’s Labour Council could be about to concede that in some areas they may have to go back to weekly rubbish collections, after months of Lib Dem campaigning on the issue.

The Lib Dems have long argued that some areas are not suitable for fortnightly rubbish collections and that the council needed to change its one size fits all policy and recognise that different areas have different collection requirements.

The potential change in policy was mooted at the council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee. The proposal for change was made by the Lib Dem Vice-Chair and gained cross party support.

The Council’s Labour Cabinet is due to discuss the idea when it meets next week on the 13^th November. If Cabinet agrees the recommendation then weekly rubbish collections could be re-introduced in some areas where there are exceptional circumstances, like the Miltons area of Highgate.

Cllr David Winskill, Lib Dem Vice-Chair of the Council’s watchdog committee, comments:

“While many parts of the borough have had a relatively smooth transition to fortnightly collections there are significant hotspots where residents have been experiencing massive disruption and inconvenience because it is simply not possible to store adequate number of wheelie bins off the pavement.

“Adding the option of weekly collections as a last resort would give Haringey no excuse for their failure to resolve these difficulties.”

Lynne Featherstone, Liberal Democrat MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, comments:

“In many cases fortnightly collections simply do not work – and Labour would have known this had they consulted residents properly in the first place. Many streets are littered with overflowing bins and rotten rubbish and some have far too many bins, which is ruining the look of the street.

“One such case is the Miltons area in Highgate. Highgate Councillor Rachel Allison and I forced a meeting with officials last week. We fought for weekly collections and an end to ‘one size fits all’ bins in streets like those in the Miltons. I will keep pushing the Labour-run Council on this until we can be proud of our streets and I encourage residents to contact me if they feel they should have weekly rubbish collections again.”

Lynne Featherstone, Liberal Democrat MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, today welcomed news that people who steal or sell metal will soon face tough new penalties.

Liberal Democrat Crime Prevention Minister Jeremy Browne MP has announced that next month, powers will take effect to stop cash being paid for metal, and the police will be given stronger powers to target rogue traders.

According to the Home Office, there are roughly 1,000 metal thefts a week. This includes many thefts from war memorials and churches.

Commenting, Lynne Featherstone MP said:

“As we come up to Remembrance Sunday, we are reminded of all the selfless sacrifices made by members of our armed forces. We remember the fallen from both World Wars and more recent conflicts, right up to the present day.

“That’s why I am so angered every time I hear that another war memorial has been vandalised by metal thieves who want to make a quick buck out of the nation’s respect for the dead.

“Earlier this year, many of my constituents also contacted me about the theft of metal from churches – I was more than happy to represent their views to ministers.

“I am proud that the Coalition Government is doing the right thing in backing measures to crack down on this disgraceful crime by tackling scrap metal theft.”

Lynne Featherstone MP today visited a Community Project at Braemar Avenue Baptist Church.

The project is run by the Women Fellowship of the Baptist Church, and aims to support vulnerable people. They hope to reach out to abused women, the homeless and elderly residents in the community. Visitors are provided with free food, tea and coffee, and donated items such as clothes and games.

During the visit, Lynne Featherstone MP met with the volunteers who run the project, and sat down to speak with visitors. The Liberal Democrat MP also donated some clothes and food to the project.

Following the meeting, Lynne Featherstone said:

“It was great to see firsthand the fantastic work that the volunteers are doing. Their drive to help vulnerable people in the community was so impressive – I was very happy to visit and donate some items to them.

“I wish the volunteers and the project all the best for the future.”

Lynne Featherstone, Liberal Democrat MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, has welcomed the news that the UK economy has emerged from recession.

Between September and July this year, the economy grew by 1%. This figure is based on official gross domestic product figures (GDP), which measure the market value of all officially recognized final goods and services produced within a country.

Lynne Featherstone MP commented:

“Today’s positive GDP figures are another encouraging sign. Together with falling unemployment and inflation, these are signs that the economy is healing.

“Liberal Democrats know that what matters to people is the money they have in their pocket. That is why we have supported people on low and middle incomes in these difficult times by lifting more than a million people out of paying Income Tax at all.”

Commenting on the GDP figures, co-chair of the Liberal Democrat Treasury Parliamentary Policy Committee, Stephen Williams MP said:

“We are working hard to build a sustained and sustainable economic recovery. Only last week, Nick Clegg announced another £1bn worth of investment through the Regional Growth Fund, helping to create jobs across the country.

“The UK suffered a huge economic shock during the financial crisis. Liberal Democrats were clear when we joined the Coalition Government that it would be a choppy road to recovery but that we needed to create the right conditions to support growth and deal with the deficit.”

Just weeks after the Liberal Democrat MP for Hornsey and Wood Green called for a council tax freeze Haringey’s Labour Council have caved in and agreed to freeze Haringey’s Council Tax next year.

Last year, Haringey Council’s financial reports revealed that Labour was considering a tax rise of 2.5%. This was despite councils being offered funding from Government to halt a rise and having one of the highest council taxes in London with only four other boroughs charging more.

Liberal Democrat MP Lynne Featherstone and the Haringey Liberal Democrats called on Labour-run Haringey to freeze Council Tax last year, and were successful in preventing a rise. Once again Labour have caved in to the Lib Dem’s demands and agreed to freeze council tax next year.

Local authorities who freeze their Council tax will be given an extra £450million in Government funding. This is the third year in a row that the Coalition Government has enabled councils to freeze their Council Tax by offering them enough money to cover the cost.

Lib Dem Finance spokesperson, Cllr Paul Strang, comments:

“Liberal Democrats understand that, with family budgets under pressure, small measures like a freeze in Council Tax can make a big difference. That’s why we have campaigned year after year for a council tax freeze.

“Labour have caved in again and frozen council tax but Haringey Council still has one of the highest council taxes in London.

“The Lib Dems will continue to campaign to make sure that people on low incomes get the help they need in these difficult times.”

Lynne Featherstone, Lib Dem MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, commented:

“Once again Labour have listened to our calls to freeze council tax. I’m glad it only took them a few weeks rather than a few months this time to realise that the right decision for local people is to freeze council tax.

“The Lib Dems in government have ensured that hard working families on low incomes are getting the support they need by raising the level at which people start to pay income tax and by providing money to local councils to freeze council tax.”