In the build up to Remembrance Sunday, Haringey Liberal Democrats are supporting calls from local residents for a memorial to be built in Tottenham to honour war hero Walter Tull.

Tull lived an extraordinary life, becoming only the second black man to play professional football in Britain, when Tottenham Hotspur signed him in the summer of 1909. Tull went on to become the first black officer in the British Army in 1917 and spent much of World War I on the frontline, including taking part in the major Somme offensive of July 1916. He was killed in battle on the Western Front in 1918, at the tragically early age of 30.

Cllr David Winskill, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Culture, Leisure and Lifelong Learning, commented:

“Walter Tull is clearly a figure of great historical note, being only the second black man to play professional football in Britain and the first black officer in the British Army. Bearing in mind Walter Tull’s strong connection to Tottenham Hotspur FC and the large Afro-Caribbean population in the borough, I believe it’s a great shame there is currently no memorial to a man who gave his life for his country and is clearly a great role model.

“I have written to the Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Lifelong Learning, to ask if any discussions have been held between Haringey Council and Tottenham Hotspur FC with regard to erecting such a memorial. I urge Cllr Basu to support a memorial to Walter Tull and do all he can to ensure such a memorial is erected.”

David Schmitz, the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidate for Tottenham said:

“As we approach Remembrance Sunday and are in the middle of Black History Month, this is the perfect time to call for a memorial to Walter Tull. Whether it be in the grounds of the White Hart Lane stadium or elsewhere in Tottenham, this would be a fitting tribute to a man who served his country with honour and paid the ultimate price.”

Further doubt has been cast over Labour-run Haringey Council’s handling of the Icelandic bank financial crisis this week. Liberal Democrats criticised Haringey Council for failing to plan a public discussion into the loss of £37million of taxpayers at Tuesday’s Audit Committee – the ultimate watchdog committee for Haringey Council’s finances. Only after Liberal Democrats challenged the omission was an agenda item included at the meeting.

Following the requests by Liberal Democrats at the meeting for it to be discussed the Council’s Chief Financial Officer confirmed that an inquiry into the potential loss of £37 million will take place, but did not provide details of the terms of inquiry, who the inquiry will report to or who will oversee it.

Liberal Democrats demanded an independent inquiry on 13th October when it became clear that £37 million of Haringey taxpayers’ money had been placed in jeopardy by the collapse of a number of Icelandic banks.

Haringey Council had the biggest amount of money invested in Icelandic banks of all the Local Authorities in London.

Cllr Robert Gorrie, Leader of the Liberal Democrats commented:

“Haringey Council’s reluctance to be public about all the facts surrounding its investment in Icelandic banks is now continuing into its proposed investigation. It is ridiculous that at the first Audit Committee meeting following what is potentially the largest loss in the history of the Borough, Haringey Council did not see fit to even propose putting the item on the agenda.

“I am pleased that the Council has heeded Liberal Democrat calls for an inquiry into this loss. However, it is vital that the inquiry is public, independent and robust. I have made this clear in meetings with senior officers and have written to the Chief Executive of the Council stating the same view. Residents need to be reassured that an issue of this magnitude is being looked into properly and not being swept under the Haringey Labour carpet.”

Demands to come clean over how Haringey Council plans to deal with the rubbish it collects from our dustbins have been made by local MP Lynne Featherstone, following a secrecy order placed by Haringey Council on official papers.

Neighbouring councils involved in the same project have already disclosed information detailing the fixed 30-year term of the North London Waste Authority (NLWA) proposal and the substantial increases in waste volumes and costs to residents and businesses that the NLWA approach assumes.

Ms. Featherstone is concerned that Haringey Council’s reluctance to reveal information to the public is preventing proper debate about the future of waste disposal, even though it will have a high environmental and financial impact if sustained at current levels.

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

“I am very disturbed that Haringey Council officials’ instincts seem to be to withhold information from local residents rather than engage them in the debate.

“The things we throw away in our dustbins are one of the most direct ways we effect our environment. We need to reduce the amount of waste we throw away and then we need to figure out how best to dispose of what is left. Treating residents as adults, and sharing with them the likely costs through their Council Tax if we do not change our approach to rubbish, is an essential first step.

“It is completely bizarre that Barnet residents are allowed to know the potential impact on their borough and their Council Tax while Haringey residents are left completely in the dark.”

Royal Mail bosses have rejected calls for any extra resources in local Post Offices this Christmas, following questioning of Royal Mail’s preparation for Christmas by Hornsey & Wood Green MP, Lynne Featherstone.

In a letter on behalf of the Royal Mail Chief Executive, Adam Crozier, the only meek assurance given was that they are “confident that those branches in your constituency that have been retained in our network have the capacity to meet the additional customer footfall.”

No specific promises for additional resources were made over and above the normal provision for the festive period.

Commenting, Lynne Featherstone, Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Hornsey & Wood Green, said:

“Given that a staggering four out of the ten Post Offices have been axed in Hornsey & Wood Green, it is completely ridiculous to claim that no extra staff will be needed for the Christmas rush.

“There could be real pandemonium without thorough planning now.Christmas can be stressful enough without the extra worry over whether friends and family will get their gifts on time.

“Their response is simply not good enough, especially as they promised this in public before they closed them.

“I have already had a good number of local residents returning their Post Office queue surveys.I would encourage people to return their completed surveys so I can get as full a picture as possible about the true effects of these closures.”

Additional copies of the survey can be obtained by contacting Lynne Featherstone’s office.

Last Monday (13th October 2008), Labour councillor Liz Santry confirmed publicly that, following the conclusion of the Baby P criminal case, Haringey Council will hold a special council ‘watchdog’ committee meeting to challenge and question officers and responsible councillors if any issues about Haringey Council’s performance are raised by the case.

Confirmation of the meeting, which had been requested by Liberal Democrats, was welcomed by opposition councillors but the Labour administration failed to go as far as to say that a special Full Council meeting would be called to discuss the case.

The Chair of the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny committee stated that any special meeting on this case would include questioning of the Leader of the Council, Cabinet members, Chief Executive and the Children and Young People Director.

A special Overview and Scrutiny meeting will be arranged after the criminal case has been completed.

Cllr Gail Engert, Liberal Democrat Children, Schools and Families Spokesperson, commented:

“It is of utmost importance that, after the criminal trail has completed, councillors confirm for the public that a full and proper investigation has been undertaken by Haringey Council. This should include scrutiny of both Haringey Council and external agencies. This special scrutiny meeting is a welcome step in the right direction.”

Haringey Council still has one of the highest rates of fly-tipping in the country. Information revealed by the Liberal Democrats shows that Haringey has the 4th highest incidents of fly-tipping in London and is 6th highest in England.

Data collated from April 2007 – March 2008 by Flycapture, the Government’s fly-tipping database, shows that Haringey had a total of 35,418 incidents of rubbish dumping. Flycapture shows that Haringey has ten times the number of fly-tipping incidents of an average English Local Authority, twice the number of incidents of the average London borough and three-times that of neighbouring boroughs.

Cllr Martin Newton, Liberal Democrat Environment (Traffic, Street cleaning and Rubbish) comments:

“Once again Haringey is at the top of the wrong type of league table. Constantly Haringey Council is within the top ten or worse of London boroughs and nationally for fly-tipping incidents. How many times does this Labour-run council need to get a message – Haringey is rubbish at combating fly-tipping.

Lynne Featherstone MP added:

“This is further proof what many local residents will know – fly tipping is at epidemic proportions and Haringey Council still has not got a handle on the problem.

“Whilst Haringey Council continues to charge people to dispose of large items and fails to use its powers fully to prevent this criminal activity our community will continue to suffer.”

Lynne Featherstone MP yesterday launched the Schools for Africa Programme at Nightingale Primary School’s assembly. The whole Wood Green-based school is joining in the task of filling 24 gift boxes with goodies to send to orphaned children in Kenya for Christmas as part of their black history month celebration.

To mark the launch of the programme, Lynne Featherstone spoke at assembly about poverty and HIV/Aids in Africa, as the boxes are going to kids orphaned by the disease.

On Monday, the local MP also met with four of the school’s students as they attended the official launch of School for Africa at Parliament.

Lynne Featherstone commented:

“Most of the children supported by Schools for Africa have lost everything – their parents and their homes. Very often they are sick too. The gift boxes are sometimes the first gifts they ever receive.

“That’s why I am so proud that the students at Nightingale Primary are so keen to join in and help the kids in Kenya. It was great to hear the enthusiasm with which they suggested stuff to fill the boxes with. I’m sure Christmas will be extra special for the kids who get the Nightingale boxes.”

Haringey Teaching and Primary Care Trust’s official rating for quality of service has fallen from ‘good’ to ‘fair’ and its performance in meeting national targets has fallen to ‘weak’.

Local MP Lynne Featherstone and Councillor Richard Wilson have demanded an urgent meeting with the Trust’s leaders to seek assurance over an action plan for improvement.

The annual rating check was revealed today by the official watchdog, the Healthcare Commission.

Lynne Featherstone MP commented:

“A patient who received a diagnosis like this would be worried.

“I am extremely concerned that so many failures have been highlighted in vital frontline services from breast cancer screening to access to GP service.

“The leaders of the Trust need to explain what they are doing to urgently improve the quality of service local residents are receiving.”

Councillor Richard Wilson, Haringey Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson, added:

“I am alarmed that so many important services that local people rely on have suffered such a dramatic deterioration.

“With such high levels of health problems in Haringey, it is scandalous that services are getting worse rather than improving.I will be demanding a plan of action to get our local NHS back on the right track. “