Haringey Liberal Democrats have criticised the long awaited release, on 21st March 2007, of the Lyons Report into local government funding. The Liberal Democrats say that the review does not go far enough to combat the unfairness of the current Council Tax system and that tweaking the existing system, as the Lyons Report suggests, will only perpetuate the tax burden on Haringey residents, especially the elderly.

The report proposes the introduction of two new Council Tax bands at either end of the spectrum – a new band for the most expensive homes and an additional lower one for the cheapest properties, changes to the Council Tax Benefit system and a tourist or bed tax as an extra source of local authority income.

Haringey Liberal Democrats believe that Liberal Democrat alternative proposal of a Local Income Tax would provide a solution to the Council Tax problem rather than the fudge proposals set out by Lyons.

Cllr Neil Williams, Leader of the Lib Dem Opposition comments:

“This report has achieved remarkably little for a lot of effort. Three years of talking, and no fair alternative to the unfair Council Tax has been put forward.

“What we need is a local income tax based fully on the ability of local residents to pay. No amount of hugely expensive re-banding, or revaluation of properties will solve the key problem of the Council Tax – it is a very unfair tax which a lot of people simply can’t afford to pay.

“Council Tax was created by the Conservatives after the disaster of the Poll Tax but it has done nothing to make local taxation fairer. Labour have kept this Conservative invention going and are merely tinkering with it rather than scrapping it.”

For more information on Liberal Democrat Local Income Tax proposals and to sign the petition see www.axethetax.org.uk

Liberal Democrats in Tottenham have expressed dismay that the end of the financial year on 31st March will also see the end of funding to the Ladder Community Safety Partnership (LCSP), an award-winning residents’ association.

Lib Dems say the news is all the more surprising, given that in the spring of 2006, Haringey Council, through “the Better Haringey Building Safer Communities Together” awards, named the it as Haringey’s “Most Proactive Residents’ Association.”

Yet by December, Haringey Council, through the Safer Communities Partnership under the Chief Executive’s Department, confirmed that it was cutting the 2006 grant in half, and that there would be no funding at all from 2007.

The LCSP, which co-ordinates the work of several neighbourhood watches and residents’ associations in the Harringay Ladder, between Finsbury Park and Turnpike Lane, has for many years brought local residents, Council officers and the police together to benefit the community.

“The LCSP has acted as the eyes and ears of the Council and the police,” says local councillor Karen Alexander (Lib Dem, Harringay ward). “It has identified pockets of anti-social behaviour, helped to improve Harringay Passage, a mile-long passageway through which children walk to school, and has acted as a whistle blower against unlawful developments and late-night openings.”

David Schmitz, Chair of Tottenham Liberal Democrats, adds: “The grant they received was tiny, as most of their work has been done by volunteers. However, the money paid for a part-time co-ordinator who really made things happen. It’s hard to imagine a falser economy than the cutting of this grant.

“The Council seem to be thinking that the new Ward Panel can take the place of the LCSP, but that’s nonsense. Welcome as it is, membership is by invitation only and it emphasises police-related matters, not other things like planning control and the local environment. The panel just cannot include as many people and cover as many issues as the LCSP does.”

New figures revealed by Lynne Featherstone MP show that there has been a dramatic increase in hepatitis C outbreaks in London over the last five years.

The figures show a 124.6% increase in just five years. Ms Featherstone, MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, is urging the Government to priorities raising Londoners’ awareness regarding hepatitis C.

Commenting Lynne Featherstone MP said:

“This is a time-bomb waiting to happen.

“There is little awareness of symptoms and risk factors and this explosive increase shows that the government has clearly failed to tackle this. The problem with hepatitis C is that you can live with it for decades and it might not be obvious.

“We have a silent crisis on our hands, yet the Government is failing to inform Londoners about it. The government must ensure that people are given the information and support they deserve.”

Note: the figures come from an answer to a Parliamentary question.