How to recycle your Christmas tree in Haringey

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Local Lib Dem campaigner Dawn Barnes today sent the very helpful email (below) to local residents. You can sign up for email updates by opting in here.

I hope you had a lovely Christmas and are looking forward to 2014.

It’s time to take the Christmas tree down and if you are looking for ways to recycle it you may find the following information useful.

If you receive a green garden waste collection, you can cut your tree into smaller pieces (maximum length 1 metre) and put it out for collection. Christmas trees can also be taken to Haringey’s Refuse and Recycling Centres:

Hornsey Centre – 35 High Street, N8 7QB
Tottenham Centre – Park View Road, N17 9AY
Opening times: Saturday and Sunday, 9am to 4pm

Alternatively, you can take them to designated sites in the following parks from Monday 6 January – Sunday 26 January:

  • Albert Road Recreation Ground (Staff yard) – Bidwell Gardens, N11
  • Bruce Castle Park (Staff yard) – Lordship Lane, N17
  • Down Lane Recreation Ground (Staff yard) – Park View Road, N17
  • Downhills Park (Staff yard) – Downhills Park Road, N17
  • Finsbury Park (Staff yard) – Endymion Road, N4
  • The Gardens Community Garden – Doncaster Gardens, N4
  • Priory Park (Staff yard) – Barrington Road, N8
  • Woodside Park (Staff yard) – High Road, N22

I do hope you find this information useful and feel free to pass it on to other local residents who want to dispose of their trees too.

Lynne Featherstone MP welcomes Haringey health funding boost

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Lynne Featherstone MP calls for fairer health funding for HaringeyThis year, Haringey will receive a £7.6 million funding increase for local health services such as hospitals and walk-in centres.

The above inflation increase for Haringey was announced by NHS England in December, after the funding formula used to allocate money was reviewed. The new formula ‘will more accurately reflect population changes and include a specific deprivation measure.’

The announcement follows a campaign for fairer health funding by Lynne Featherstone MP, the Haringey Liberal Democrats and local residents.

During the campaign, the Liberal Democrat MP contacted both the Department of Health and NHS England, demanding a fairer deal for Haringey health services – which have been historically underfunded.

Alongside welcoming the increase, the MP for Hornsey and Wood Green has vowed to continue the campaign to secure further funding for local services.

Lynne Featherstone MP commented:

“Haringey health services have been underfunded for decades, unfairly receiving less money per person than neighbouring boroughs.

“I am so pleased that the Government has changed the funding formula, giving Haringey health services a much needed funding boost. Thank you to all the local residents who got involved in the campaign for more funding, and helped add pressure for change.

“We don’t yet have truly fair funding, though, and I will continue to push for even more money for our local services.”

A year of local delivery!

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Here’s my latest Ham and High column, following a great year of working with local residents to protect our services

2013 was a year of people power in Haringey – with thousands of local residents and Liberal Democrats joining forces to protect local services.

At the beginning of the year, the proposed sell off of land at the Whittington Hospital was successfully halted, following a campaign by over 4,500 local residents and the Haringey Liberal Democrats.

Later in the year thousands of Lib Dem petition signers also prevented Royal Mail’s planned closure of Hornsey Sorting Office, and also stopped the threatened loss of local rail services at Hornsey and Harringay stations.

Local High Street traders also made their voices heard, calling for lower High Street parking charges. The Haringey Lib Dems and I backed them, by running a campaign for thirty minutes free parking and holding the Independent Shops Competition to give our best local stores some much deserved publicity.

The North London Waste Authority also finally backtracked on their idea to build a waste plant on the Pinkham Way site, thanks to a great campaign effort by the Pinkham Way Alliance, local residents and the Lib Dems. The NLWA still own the land, though – so we remain vigilant.

Last year was also great for jobs and apprenticeships – with more and more Haringey residents finding work. Since 2010, unemployment is at its lowest level in my constituency (over 1000 less JSA claimants), and youth unemployment has fallen by a third.

The apprenticeship event I ran this year was very popular and successful. I was so impressed with the ambition and drive of the young people who attended – and so were the employers. One Haringey young person was snapped up by an employer just a day after the event!

Looking forward to next year, I hope for more hard work and successes for the Lib Dems and people power. And one date in particular springs to mind – May 22nd, the next round of local elections.

Last year, Haringey Council (which is currently run by Labour) failed to deliver on many key local services. Our roads are in a state, two thirds of residents are dissatisfied with their rubbish collections, and Childrens Services has been tarnished with more child protection scandals.

And at the same time, the Labour-run Council continues to waste money. £3.7 million in shockingly large bonuses were dished out to repairs staff – while essential repair work to local homes was cancelled. It’s no wonder Haringey Council is the fourth most complained about in the country.

That’s why I want to see a change in how our local services are run and how our Council Tax money is spent.

And after this great year of local delivery and working with residents, I hope it’s the Haringey Liberal Democrats that take control of Haringey Council, so they can work with residents to fix Haringey for good.

Now, that really would be a happy new year!

Shop local this Christmas!

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During the festive season, I love shopping in our local stores for presents. From the Big Green Bookshop in Wood Green to the delightful delicatessens in Highgate – there is a big enough range to get gifts for everyone!

This year, the Haringey Lib Dems and I have worked hard to support and promote independent traders – through our campaign for cheaper high street parking and our independent shops competition.

And to round off the year, I’m happy to promote the following special offers from some of our best loved independents:

  • Crocodile Antiques in Muswell Hill are offering two mugs – with pictures celebrating Muswell Hill shops throughout the ages (example here) – for £10
  • Dunns Bakery in Crouch End are offering a box of 8 assorted mince pies for £6.99 (usual price £9.30), and a free jar of our homemade brandy butter with Christmas orders over £50
  • Little Paris are offering 10% off orders over £40. Customers can accept the 10% off, or give it back to Little Paris, who will then use the money to donate gifts to the Haberdashery coffee shop for their secret santa. The Haberdashery are open over Christmas, and on Christmas Day they will be providing dinner and secret santa presents to around 30 elderly and vulnerable local residents.

This Saturday (14th) Crouch End will also host a Christmas Craft Fair, with over 30 stalls, a brass band, school choirs, tombola, mulled cider, cakes and more!

And on Sunday 15th at 10am, Pickled Pepper Books in Crouch End are having a party to celebrate the first snow of winter – winter story telling, puppets, party games and crafts.

Happy shopping – and remember that buying gifts locally can make a big difference to our high streets and traders!

Tory and UKIP MEPs fail to condemn female genital mutilation

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Lynne Featherstone, MP for Hornsey & Wood Green, and Liberal Democrat European human rights spokeswoman Sarah Ludford MEP have strongly condemned Conservatives MEPs who voted against or abstained in a European Parliament vote on condemning the disgraceful practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

Four Conservative MEPs – Marta Andreasen, Nirj Deva, Sajjad Karim and Timothy Kirkhope – voted against the motion to condemn FGM, and several UKIP and Conservative MEPs including UKIP’s London MEP Gerard Batten abstained.

Lynne Featherstone commented:

“It is deeply shocking that so many Tory and UKIP MEPs refused to condemn female genital mutilation.”

“I have made it a priority of this government to end this horrific practice within a generation. That means working through international organisations like the EU to help shape cultural attitudes worldwide.”

“Sending out mixed signals like this completely undermines the global fight against FGM on which Britain is playing a leading role, in support of the many African countries who have already banned the practice.”

Sarah Ludford added:

“Yesterday’s vote was a betrayal of the millions of young girls who have been subjected to genital mutilation the world over.”

“Tory and UKIP MEPs would do better to put their personal attitudes towards the EU aside when it comes to something as important as the fight against FGM. Surely we should be standing united in condemning this barbaric practice and working together to end it.”

Lib Dem efforts secure extra money for Haringey schools

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Lynne Featherstone MP and the Haringey Lib Dems have welcomed a revised funding formula for local schools.

The Hornsey and Wood Green MP reacted angrily and demanded a rethink last year, when Labour-run Haringey Council produced a funding formula which left a number of schools with less money, despite the council receiving £millions more funding from Government.

The local MP publicly criticised the Labour administration and asked the Department for Education to intervene. Under the new formula, all schools in the borough will receive a rise in funding next year.

Haringey Borough received an extra £13million to give to schools this year, thanks to the Pupil Premium policy introduced by the Liberal Democrats in Government. An additional £7.3 million will also be received following the Liberal Democrat MP’s successful campaign for fairer education funding.

The new funding formula is due to be approved at the Haringey Council cabinet meeting next week.

Haringey Lib Dem spokesperson for children, Cllr Katherine Reece, said:

“I am pleased to see that Liberal Democrat campaigns are having a real effect on the ground, and that Haringey’s children are to benefit from the success of these campaigns.

“After so many years of losing out, Haringey schools are close to having truly fair funding.”

Lynne Featherstone MP commented:

“The Lib Dems, both locally and nationally, have worked hard to secure over £20 million in extra funding for our schools – so it is quite right for every school in the borough to get a boost.

“I was absolutely livid last year when Labour-run Haringey Council put together a botched formula which projected a loss of money for some local schools.

“Thankfully, the revised formula, which is more in line with national standards, has produced a much better result.”

Power to Change

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The Big Lottery Fund has recently announced the launch of ‘Power to Change’. This is a community enterprise scheme, aimed at supporting local people to come together and improve their neighbourhoods.

From 2014, the £150 million fund will be invested in community enterprises to help them grow their membership and increase their range of activities.  This fund is available to all community groups, from pop-up shops to local run sports teams, and is designed to make sure they have the funds to start up, and the support to thrive.

These enterprises will have a business plan, and must be inclusive of the whole community within a specified geographical area. Power to Change will offer them financial and administrative support, and will be accepting applications from January.

Haringey has always had a fantastic community spirit, and it is one of the many reasons I am proud to be the MP for the Hornsey and Wood Green constituency. We have lots of volunteer-led organisations that give back to their local area, and I am sure that many of them could benefit from the new scheme.

Both existing and planned enterprises are eligible for help from the fund, and so if you think this could be of use to your organisation you can find out more at http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/powertochange.

More homes – not bonuses for failure

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Here’s an email I sent to residents last week about housing in Haringey. Please do add your name to our petition, if you’d rather Labour-run Haringey Council spent money on houses, rather than bonuses for failure.

Haringey housing bonsues to be probedLabour simply can’t be trusted to run Haringey Council properly. They haven’t built a single new home in almost 25 years, despite over 10,000 local families waiting on the list for social housing.

The local Lib Dems and I are petitioning the Labour-run Council to spend more money on homes, rather than on bonuses for failure. You can add your signature here.

There is some good news, though. Following a local Liberal Democrat campaign, Haringey Council have finally agreed to build 100 new council homes.

Haringey Lib Dem leader and housing spokesperson, Cllr Richard Wilson, first suggested the idea back in February, when it was rejected by local Labour Councillors. Now, finally, it is going to happen.

It certainly won’t make up for the 25 years of neglect, but it’s a sensible first step. The project will also create local construction jobs, assist the economic recovery and help those in need.

If the Haringey Lib Dems were in charge of Haringey Council – the project would have started much sooner!

But until the Lib Dems are in charge, please do support our petition, calling on the Labour-run Council to spend their money on homes, rather than on bonuses for failure.

MP steps up call for Fairer Health Funding for Haringey

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Lynne Featherstone MP calls for fairer health funding for HaringeyLynne Featherstone MP wrote to the Chief Executive of NHS England last week regarding the money received by health services in Haringey.

NHS England is due to make an announcement on a new health funding arrangements by the 17th December. The changes will see some areas receive more money, in an attempt to make funding fairer across the country.

The MP for Hornsey and Wood Green has long campaigned for fairer funding for Haringey. As part of the campaign, the local MP exposed figures which reveal that Haringey receives hundreds of pounds less per person, per year, than neighbouring boroughs such as Camden and Islington.

The Lib Dem MP submitted a report to NHS England, to put forward the case for an increase in money for Haringey health services – and has pledged to continue the fight for fairer funding if Haringey does not receive an increase this time.

Lynne Featherstone MP said:

“Last year alone, Haringey received £70m less funding than Camden in total. This is just not right – levels of deprivation and need in Haringey are now at least equal to those in inner London boroughs, so we need just as much funding.

“This underfunding is having a direct impact on nurses, doctors and patients in Haringey – and that’s why I started this campaign alongside the Haringey Lib Dems and local residents.

“NHS England agreeing to review the formula was a great step forward in the campaign – but of course they have to change it for the better!

“I have sent in extensive submissions and a report to arguing for more funding for Haringey. I very much hope we see an increase in funding, but if we don’t – the fight goes on.”