Category Archives: News releases

“Sham” consultation ignores residents’ views on Pinkham Way land says Liberal Democrats

Posted on by

Local Liberal Democrats have branded the re-run of a consultation on a Council strategy a sham after a report published last week showed that the Council has disregarded the responses of many local residents. Despite voicing their strong opposition to the changes which pave the way for the waste plant at Pinkham Way sixty responses from local residents were rejected.

The Council was made to repeat the consultation on the re-designation of land in its Core Strategy, which included the site that is proposed to be a new waste facility at Pinkham Way, due to concerns raised by the Planning Inspector that the Council failed to consult widely enough first time.

Liberal Democrats say that the council’s rejection of 60 responses shows Labour’s contempt for public opinion and reveals that the consultation was a ‘tick-box’ exercise rather than a chance for the Council to listen to the community. Liberal Democrats have written to the Chief Executive of Haringey Council and the Planning Inspector to voice their concern of the way in which residents’ views have been disregarded.

Despite the large number of consultation responses from residents raising concerns the Council has decided to make almost no changes to its plans in advance of the Examination in Public in February.

Residents will have a further say on the proposals for Pinkham Way after the North London Waste Authority said recently that it will consider further representations in the summer when its North London Waste Plan is consulted upon.

Cllr Juliet Solomon (Alexandra Ward) comments:

“It is clear from how the Council has replied to local residents who have taken the time and effort to submit responses to the consultation that the Council had already made up their mind. This consultation was a mere tick box exercise for the ruling group who seem adamant to push through proposals and steamroller public opinion to ensure the Pinkham Way plans get through to the next stage.

“Let’s hope the delay in further consultation gives the Council an opportunity to start to really listen to local people. Residents do not want the waste plant and it is time the Council started to sit up and take note.”

Lynne Featherstone MP adds:

“It’s really worrying that local residents’ views have been utterly ignored by the Labour Council in this way. They had to re-run this consultation because it was so poorly handled last time, and now they are more or less doing the same thing again.

“This shows utter contempt for local residents’ views’ and local democracy. My Liberal Democrat colleagues and I will continue to fight the waste plant at Pinkham Way every step of the way, and do our best to make sure local people’s concerns are heard and heeded. The fight is not over.”

Lynne Featherstone MP supports big energy week which helps people cut their fuel bills

Posted on by

Big Energy week launchRising fuel bills are stretching household finances and people are looking for ways to save money on their energy bills.

Help is at hand through Big Energy Week (16-21 January 2012) which is being run by Citizens Advice – and has received support from local MP Lynne Featherstone.

During Big Energy Week you can get practical advice on cutting your fuel bills and help to see if you are getting all of the financial support you are entitled to.  You can pick up a leaflet with tips and advice on cutting your fuel bills at your local Citizens Advice Bureau.

Haringey CAB is also this week running an event in the constituency to help local residents with advice and support, one on Friday 20th January at Noel Park Children’s Centre between 11:30am and 1:00pm.

A new website – www.bigenergyweek.org.uk – is full of tips on how to cut your energy bills.

Citizens Advice, Chief Executive, Gillian Guy said:

“We know hikes in prices have put extra pressure on people’s budgets at a time when money is already tight. Day in day out our Bureaux is helping people who can’t afford their fuel bills.”

Markos Chrysostomou, Chief Executive for Haringey CAB added:

“We’re worried that some people in Haringey are struggling unnecessarily because they’re not on the best deal; live in homes that haemorrhage heat or are not getting all of the financial help available to them. Please come along to one of our events this week or call us for help and advice.”

Lynne Featherstone MP said:

“Fuel bills are a big worry for many people at the moment.  I am pleased to support Big Energy Week and hope it will make a big difference to my constituents by saving them money on their bills.”

Big Energy Week is helping people save money on their bills by encouraging them to:

Contact your supplier to check you are you are on the best tariff and payment method for you.  Monthly direct debit is on average £100 cheaper per year than paying by cash or cheque.

Visit an accredited switching website to see if you could get your energy cheaper elsewhere. You may be able to save up to £200 off your annual bill by shopping around for a different supplier, particularly if you have never changed energy firm.

Insulate the walls and the loft of your home and you could save on average around £120 per year.  All major gas and electricity suppliers are giving away free or discounted insulation to any household, not just their own customers. Ask if you’re eligible so you don’t miss out.  That goes for heating oil customers too.

Check you are not missing out on any benefits or tax credits that could up your income; your local Citizens Advice Bureaux can help you with this.

Using less energy could save you money, just by doing simple things like turning off lights and switching appliances off at the wall. Turning your thermostat down 1°C alone could cut your heating bill by £60 on average.

If you are unable to pay your bills you should contact your energy supplier immediately as they have to help you manage your bills in a way that you can afford.

If you use heating oil or liquid petroleum gas to heat your home, shop around and compare prices from different oil suppliers.  You could also save money by buying in bulk with your neighbours; check if there is an oil club you can join or start one up.

Added Gillian: “More and more people are coming to us for advice on how they can save money on their energy bills.  Through Big Energy Week we hope to help lots of people cut their fuel bills and ease their money worries.”

Extra government funds welcome for Haringey’s older residents

Posted on by

Services helping Haringey’s older residents to leave hospital earlier and receive better care at home were given a boost last week after the government announced that the borough will receive £630,000 of a £150million funding package aimed at shortening hospital stays this winter.

Liberal Democrat pressure in government has ensured that the funding can be used to access various preventative services such as Home care support, crisis response teams and services providing specialist equipment for older people in Haringey.

Local Liberal Democrats have sought assurances that this funding will not be diverted to fill Council budget shortfalls elsewhere but will be used to support older residents leaving hospital.

Cllr David Winskill, Haringey Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson, comments:

“This is substantial sum of money and will go a long way making the transition for older people from hospital to home that much easier, safer and more comfortable.  It will also free beds up in our acute hospitals and hence release resources for other patients.”

Lynne Featherstone MP adds:

“By reinvesting these savings in social care we can offer more support for older people leaving hospital.

“It is absolutely crucial that Haringey NHS and the Council work together to help people leave hospital when they are ready. The benefits are on all sides – patients get to go home with the support they and their families need, and hospital beds are freed up.

“This money will help cut the delays in getting the equipment and adaptations that people may need to enable them to live independently at home – saving them from an unnecessary stay in hospital or going into residential care.”

Haringey Council wastes thousands in parking fine mess-up

Posted on by

Information uncovered by local Liberal Democrats shows that last year Haringey Council had to cancel 277 parking tickets, at an estimated cost of £36,000, after it failed to respond to residents’ parking appeals in time.

Liberal Democrats have said that the information is evidence that the Council has handed out so many parking fines that it can not cope with the amount of appeals that are subsequently lodged. The Council has a duty to respond to an appeal contesting a parking fine within 56 days or the fine is written off.

Cllr Richard Wilson (Stroud Green) who unearthed the information, comments:

“It’s quite worrying that the Council is so keen to ticket residents that they can’t keep up with the appeals workload and enforce parking restrictions properly.

“Not only does this waste local residents’ time, energy and provide undue worry, local taxpayers may have lost out too due to the Council’s failure to respond in time.

“Some of the tickets that were automatically cancelled after 56 days may well have been legitimate, losing the council much-needed funds.”

Lynne Featherstone MP adds:

“This is another example of the fact that this Labour-run council is not on top of its finances, adding to an already long list with botched Ally Pally deals, and expensive new computers equipment, costing Haringey tax payers millions of pounds.

“In these tough times, when the Council is closing valued services like older people’s drop-in clubs and children centres, they need to take extra care with every penny, not waste it on mistakes like this.”

 

Liberal Democrats call for freeze after local residents face Council Tax bills of over £1,500

Posted on by

Local residents face a new year with the staggering prospect of Council Tax bills in Haringey topping £1,500 after Labour councillors refused to support a Council Tax freeze despite funding being available from government to halt any tax rises.

Liberal Democrats have renewed their call on Labour-run Haringey Council to freeze Council Tax in 2012/13 after the Council’s latest financial reports show Labour is considering a tax rise of 2.5% meaning the average Band D bills would top £1500 a year.

Liberal Democrats have said that, at a time when many families across the borough are struggling to make ends meet, an increase in Council Tax will hit the worst-off hardest. Haringey’s Council Tax is already one of the highest in London with only four other boroughs charging more.

Haringey Liberal Democrats understand that it is a tough time for many and have vowed to continue to put pressure on Labour to do the right thing to freeze Council Tax.

Councillor Paul Strang, Haringey Liberal Democrats Finance Spokesperson comments:

“It is shocking that the Council is even considering a Council Tax increase when the government has said that it will provide the funds to freeze it.

“Council Tax is the only direct tax that the Council has control over and Labour wants to increase it despite it hitting poorer residents, struggling to make ends meet, hardest.

“Liberal Democrats understand that, with family budgets under pressure, small measures like a freeze in Council Tax can make a big difference and we will fight Labour’s Council Tax increase.”

Lynne Featherstone, MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, adds:

“The Council should be helping residents and not as Labour seem to want to do, increase an unfair tax which will hit the poorest more.”

MP Encourages Energy Saving this Christmas

Posted on by

To see firsthand how residents locally are benefiting from the Government’s home insulation programme, Lynne Featherstone MP visited a Wood Green couple on Friday (16th December) who were having their loft insulated.

Mr and Mrs Obeng are participating in the Carbon Emissions Reductions Target (CERT) programme, a Government scheme that enables people in draughty homes up and down the country to get free or heavily subsidised insulation.

The Hornsey and Wood Green MP was invited by national energy saving installer, Mark Group to see an installation in action.

Mr and Mrs Obeng had booked to have loft insulation professionally installed, knowing that thanks to CERT funding they would only have to pay £150. For this, Mark Group would insulate their loft to the recommended level (270mm), lag any pipes, insulate hot water tanks and seal around the loft hatch. In return, Mr and Mrs Obeng would enjoy the comfort of a warmer home, save up to £155 a year on their heating bills and help to cut carbon emissions. The scheme, run by the Government, also enables free insulation for households that are receiving qualifying benefits and some residents over the age of 70.

Mrs Obeng said: “You can’t really escape the messages in the media and from utility companies about making sure your home is properly insulated, but I don’t think many people realise how little it costs. There is always the option of insulating your loft yourself but, by getting the professionals in, we know they’ll do the job in half the time it would have taken us and with a lot less hassle.”

Ms Featherstone, added: “We have some of the draughtiest homes in Europe, and many people are losing money by the minute by not having the right level of insulation. The CERT scheme is a great way to help people save money and stay warm this winter.

“I’m sure Mr and Mrs Obeng will have a snugger, warmer Christmas thanks to their decision to insulate their home. And thanks to the CERT scheme, it is free or much cheaper than expected to follow in their footsteps.

“I would encourage all residents to do so, and help make Hornsey and Wood Green’s homes warmer, cheaper and greener.”

Mark Group installs over 200 cavity wall or loft insulation projects in the North London area every week, contributing to a total of around 250,000 installations nationwide, each year. Insulation is installed following a comprehensive survey of a property and agreement with the householder and can take as little as two hours to install. For further information or to arrange a survey call 0800 616 302 or visit http://www.markgroup.co.uk

Liberal Democrats demand action on inaccessible crossings for blind and partially sighted residents

Posted on by

Lynne and Jim at inaccesible crossingLocal Liberal Democrats have today demanded that London’s Mayor takes urgent action to improve Haringey’s 15 pedestrian crossings which are not accessible to blind or partially sighted residents.

The demand comes after Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon unearthed information that shows 347 pedestrian crossings in London have no facilities to help blind and partially sighted people to safely cross the road, with 15 of these located in Haringey. This is despite there being long standing national accessibility standard to ensure every pedestrian crossing has either an audible sound and/or a rotating cone to assist blind and partially sighted people.

In addition to widespread poor access for blind and partially sighted people, Liberal Democrats have also found that Haringey has seven crossings that also fail national safety standards by not providing the minimum amount of time for pedestrians to safely cross the road.

Lynne Featherstone MP comments:

“It’s a disgrace that Haringey has fifteen crossings that are not accessible to blind and partially sighted local residents, and seven that do not leave residents enough time to cross.

“The Mayor has a responsibility to make sure that all crossings in London are accessible, but this poor record shows that blind and partially sighted residents, in particular, and pedestrians more widely, are not getting the priority they deserve. This needs action and it needs action now.”

Liberal Democrat Transport and Environment spokesperson Cllr Jim Jenks adds:

“Blind and partially sighted residents already face a whole range of obstacles when they walk on our local streets, be it advertising boards or other items strewn across our high streets.

“It should be safe for all to cross at pedestrian crossings. By their very nature they meant to help pedestrians cross busy roads safely. It is just not good enough that fifteen crossings in Haringey fail to meet basic safety standards for blind and partially sighted people even though guidelines have been around for over 15 years. I hope that the Mayor will now sit up and change this disgraceful record once and for all.”

More Pupil Premium money for Haringey’s schools

Posted on by

Next year, more than half a million additional children will qualify for the Pupil Premium. In Haringey, close to 15,000 pupils are expected to be eligible, meaning that our schools are set to benefit from an extra £8.8 million to support disadvantaged pupils, an increase from the £5.3 million local schools got this year.

The Pupil Premium will be extending its reach to cover any child that has been registered for Free School Meals (FSM) in the past six years. For 2012-13, the Premium will be worth £1.25 billion in total.

These are England’s most disadvantaged pupils, including looked after children, and they are set to benefit from £600 each after the Department for Education announced that next year’s Pupil Premium will increase by £112 for each pupil.

Commenting, Lynne Featherstone MP said:

“For too long, social background has been a deciding factor in a child’s chances for the future. As a Liberal Democrat, I believe that in a fair society, a Government should work to overcome this disadvantage and help children reach their full potential.

“That’s why I am delighted that next year, Haringey’s schools will get an extra

£8.8 million to support disadvantaged pupils through the pupil premium. That’s up £3.5 million from Haringey’s allocation this year. This will make a big difference to schools across Haringey, with schools themselves deciding how best to use the funds.”

Haringey Liberal Democrat Children’s spokesperson Cllr Katherine Reece adds:

“Children who have been eligible for Free School Meals at any point in their school career have consistently lower educational attainment than those who have never been eligible. Of students gaining three As at A-level in 2008, 30 per cent were privately educated, whereas only 0.5 per cent were eligible for Free School Meals.

“That is why thanks to Liberal Democrats, the Coalition Government is doing the right thing by supporting schools with additional money to support children from less well-off backgrounds. This will help whole classes work better together and move forward faster.”

Commenting further, Liberal Democrat Children’s Minister, Sarah Teather said:

“As we come to the end of the second term of the Pupil Premium we are seeing across the country how these extra funds are making a difference. Additional tuition, better IT resources and closer work with parents are all examples of how the Pupil Premium is being used to support the most disadvantaged pupils.

“That’s why I’m so pleased that, next year, we’ll be extending the Pupil Premium to another half a million children, and increasing the money that schools get to £600 per pupil. This means that, as a result of Liberal Democrats in government, more children will get a better start in life”.

Lynne Featherstone MP delivers Christmas encouragement to Royal Mail posties at Muswell Hill Delivery Office

Posted on by

Lynne and Alton Kennedy MH delivery officeLynne Featherstone MP on Friday visited Royal Mail’s Muswell Hill Delivery Office to pass on her best Christmas wishes and encouragement to the postmen and women at their busiest time of year.

The Hornsey and Wood Green MP was shown round the Delivery Office by local Delivery Office manager Alton Kennedy and was introduced to the postmen and women who are working hard doing their bit to sort and deliver Muswell Hill’s share of the estimated total 2 billion UK Christmas mail bag.

Lynne Featherstone MP commented:

“It was great to meet the hard-working Royal Mail postmen and women at Muswell Hill Delivery Office and to see firsthand just how much effort they put into delivering the Christmas post for people this December.

“Posties do such an important job at this time of year and I would like to thank them for their efforts and wish them all the best over the busy festive period.”

Muswell Hill Royal Mail Delivery Office Manager at Alton Kennedy said:

“Christmas is the busiest time of year, and our people really do pull out all the stops to deliver the Christmas mailbag. We are pleased that Lynne Featherstone MP came along to witness the hard work that goes on behind the scenes.”

“The postal staff do a fantastic job at this time of year to ensure that friends and families stay in touch through their Christmas greetings and gifts.  And as usual, we urge our customers to post early so that friends and family have longer to enjoy their Christmas greetings!”

It is also vital that people remember the last posting dates for mail. These are:

  • Tuesday 20 December for 1st Class items
  • Saturday 17 December for 2nd Class items
  • Thursday 22 December for Special Delivery items

To help Royal Mail at its busiest time of the year, customers are being encouraged to take a few simple steps:

  • Post early – to help Royal Mail spread the workload, post early and order presents early. The last posting dates this Christmas are: December 17 for 2nd Class mail; December 20 for 1st Class mail; December 22 for Special Delivery
  • Use a postcode – A clearly addressed card or parcel, with a postcode, helps Royal Mail sort the item more efficiently   
  • For more information about Christmas with Royal Mail visit: www.royalmail.com or call 08457 740 740.

MP Lynne joins Deputy Prime Minister as he signs ‘Real Man’ pledge

Posted on by

Local MP Lynne Featherstone last week joined Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg as he signed Women’s Aid ‘Real Man’ pledge, backing a campaign fighting violence against women.

The Hornsey and Wood Green MP joined the Liberal Democrat leader in her role as International Champion on Violence against Women, to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence  against Women.

Women’s Aid is running a national campaign asking both men and women to help send out the message that ‘Real Men’ do not abuse and control women – physically, emotionally, sexually or financially. The campaign asks supporters to sign the ‘Real Man’ pledge, which is:

• A ‘Real Man’ doesn’t hit, abuse or control
• A ‘Real Man’ doesn’t hurt the ones he loves
• A ‘Real Man’ makes a difference
• I’m supporting the ‘Real Man’ Campaign for Women’s Aid, standing up to end violence against women and children.

Hornsey and Wood Green MP and Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone said:

“I am happy to support the Woman’s Aid Real Man Campaign because tackling violence against women and girls is not a task for central Government alone. Men and women across society should feel able to speak out and challenge violent behaviour.

“But the Government also has a job to do, and by developing an ‘action plan’ to deliver practical steps we have helped reduce the risk to women and girls of being victims of these horrendous crimes. This has included the introduction of Domestic Violence Protection Orders to help keep abusive partners from being able to contact their victims.”