Shocking figures for Haringey were publised in the answer to my recent Parliamentary Question.
MP uncovers dramatic increase in alcohol-related deaths in Haringey
Lynne Featherstone, Lib Dem MP for Hornsey & Wood Green, has uncovered a sharp increase in alcohol-related deaths in Haringey. They have risen by a third in just one year according to the latest official figures available.
This shocking statistic puts Haringey firmly in the worst five London Boroughs for the largest increases, and well above the average increase of 2%.
Lynne Featherstone MP comments:
“These are extremely disturbing figures and beg the question whether Haringey Council and our local health trust are doing enough. I will be urgently contacting the Council and local trust leaders for their take on the issue and for their plan of action.
“These stark facts mean that we must redouble our efforts against more health cuts and possible cuts in grants to voluntary organisations from the council.These are front line services that can make a difference and act to prevent these tragic and unnecessary deaths.”
Note: the number of deaths in Haringey increased from 25 to 33 between 2004 and 2005, an increase of 32%. For full London figures see the Parliamentary Question asked by Lynne Featherstone.
Dads and Doughnuts
They’re 
the subject of my latest column:
In the end if our children run riot or fail to flourish then that is our own responsibility first and foremost. Yes – the government and various authorities have an important role to play to – and they may fail our children in terms of their schooling or us in some or many ways – but in the end we are the parents.
The recent UNICEF report on children’s well-being doesn’t paint a pretty picture of how we are doing – placing British children at the bottom of the heap in the twenty-one rich countries that they looked at.
You can read me thoughts on the solutions to these problems in the full article.
Lords reform
Lordy! Lordy! Not for long. Yes – it was an historic day as the Commons voted to put paid to the bad old, bad old appointed Lords. Perhaps less of the historic and more of the hysteric. On a series of votes designed to find which proportion of appointed to elected Lords we will have in future – from fully appointed, through 20%, 50% 60% 80% to fully elected – we trooped through the lobbies.
To everyone’s shock – 100% elected got through – and with even a bigger majority than there was for 80% elected. The Lib Dem manifesto commitment was for a fully or predominantly elected House of Lords – so we are in a win / win on either of these. However – the shock was the 100% beating the 80%. And it is the result of shenanigans on behalf of some of those trying to distort the vote. Some who are wholly in favour of totally appointed Lords went through to support 100% elected in the hope that the Lords would be more likely to reject a 100% option than one of the lesser options. Lord knows what will happen now!
Dads and doughnuts
What are we going to do about our own behaviour? Because in the end if our children run riot or fail to flourish then that is our own responsibility first and foremost. Yes – the government and various authorities have an important role to play to – and they may fail our children in terms of their schooling or us in some or many ways – but in the end we are the parents.
The recent UNICEF report on children’s well-being doesn’t paint a pretty picture of how we are doing – placing British children at the bottom of the heap in the twenty-one rich countries that they looked at. Our children are more bullied, more unhappy and poorer. We have the second highest rate of family breakdown.
To me, a key issue is recognising that families do break down, and doing more to ensure the best for children in such circumstances. This includes have more and better male role models as well as more support for mothers. This is where the effort should go, and it isn’t about headline seeking legislation.
You can’t legislate to make two parents carry on liking each other or wanting to live together. (Though if you could make people fall in love by statute, it would make the debates in Parliament more interesting!) Neither can you bribe people to stay together through tax breaks for families. That is hardly the best of glues to cement a relationship. This goes much deeper and (allowing for the fact that there are same sex couple who do a wonderful job bringing up children) it means getting a better balance between engagement with mothers and fathers.
So many of our institutions, including many schools, really only engage with a mother and rely on her to communicate in turn with the father. The result? If the mother and father don’t get on, it means it is so easy for fathers to drift away through different mixes of volition, apathy and circumstances from proper involvement in the bringing up of their children.
Someone recently told me about ‘Dads and Doughnuts’- a USA initiative to get Dads fathers involved with their children and their schools. Interpreted in different ways in different schools, the schools invite the Dads with their kids for socials, breakfasts, reading sessions – whatever – without the Mums. Crucially, it means that whether Dad and Mum don’t get on – the Dad still gets involved.
Since I have been expounding ‘Dads and Doughnuts’ in the media for the last week or so (Alan Johnson and the Prime Minister are now following in my wake!) it has clearly resonated. Talking to people it is quite clear that even where schools have a policy on paper of contacting both parents it isn’t always happening in reality. One single father journalist rang me to say his experience, despite giving his details to the school, was that they never contacted him – contact was always through the mother. However, one of my colleagues, Paul Holmes (MP for Chesterfield) says that it is policy in his area to automatically contact both parents. So – there is some good practice in place which we can work to expand.
My next step is to contact the local head teachers to get their advice and find out what they do in terms of contact and how it works out and whether they think such a scheme might be a start. And if you’ve got feedback from your own school – do let me know too.
(c) Lynne Featherstone, 2007
Haringey Lib Dems welcome public support for change in local tax system
Haringey Liberal Democrats have welcomed a recent poll showing a majority of the public support a change in the local tax system. The recent NOP poll commissioned by the BBC has shown that 60% of those questioned favoured the fairer system of a Local Income Tax.
Haringey’s Labour administration recently increased the Council Tax burden to an enormous £1431.74 for a typical household. Liberal Democrats have highlighted the rapid increase of Council Tax under the Labour administration in Haringey over the past ten years. A total of £575.74 has been added to the tax burden for the residents of Haringey – a staggering 67.26% increase from 1998/99.
The Liberal Democrats believe that the present system of Council Tax is unfair – with those on low and middle incomes bearing the brunt. Plans for a Local Income Tax would base local tax payments on the residents’ ability to pay based on earnings.
Neil Williams (Leader of the Opposition) comments:
“This poll shows that there is public support for the local taxation system to change. It is not fair that Haringey residents have been overloaded by years of Council Tax increases by Labour, yet there is no end in sight.”
Matt Davies (Finance Spokesperson) adds:
“Haringey residents on average pay more than the Prime Minister does for his luxury house in Central London. Nobody can say that this is a fair system of taxation. It is time.”
Solar cooker day
Well – 
Solar Cooker Day dawned! And you should see the size of the one that we managed to borrow from ‘Engineers without Borders’ – from Imperial College. Thank you sooooooo much Imperial Engineers!
My researcher, Mette, spent six hours sewing green, white and purple ribbon together to make the colours of International Women’s Day – and then she and a helper carted the precious object to College Green (just outside Parliament). Whilst we had been going to do this outside the gates to Number 10 Downing Street, what with the size of the object and the vagaries of the blustery and rainy weather – we opted for a venue closer to the House of Commons.
A stream of Lib Dem Parliamentarians came to support the campaign and so now for International Women’s Day we will present a petition to Tony Blair to ask him to ensure that women in war-ravaged conflict zones are supplied with $2 solar cookers so that they do not need to go outside their refugee compounds and risk rape or murder any longer.
And of course, today is the first of two days of debates on Lords Reform. I just hope that we get a conclusion – and that that conclusion delivers an entirely or predominantly elected House of Lords!
Hot Stuff for International Women's Day
In connection with International Women’s Day the Liberal Democrats are urging the British Government to investigate, promote, and encourage the use of solar cooking technologies in the developing world, especially in refugee camps in conflict-affected states.
Lynne Featherstone, Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary for International Development and Hornsey & Wood Green MP comments:
“There is a danger for women and children who often leave the refugee camp in war afflicted countries in search of firewood for cooking. Many of them are attacked, raped and killed by militia bands. I am therefore delighted to lead this campaign promoting such a simple cheap devise that saves lives.
“You can get a solar cooker for as little as £1. That’s very little to pay to save our sisters from rape and murder. I hope the government will take on this simple cooking devise. It has to be the answer in the short-term.
“Solar cookers saves lives.”
Note:
The letter regarding the benefits of solar cookers being sent to Tony Blair reads:
We the undersigned urge the Government to investigate, promote, and encourage the use of solar cooking technologies in the developing world, especially in refugee camps in conflict-affected states.
Solar cookers are a win-win technology in sun-rich, fuel-scarce areas. Costing around $2 each, they reduce smoke and lung diseases as well as pasteurize unsafe drinking water. Perhaps most importantly, solar cookers have particular benefits for women living in refugee camps where leaving the safety of the compound to collect twigs for firewood often exposes them to rape and murder.
Will Downing Street let a cooker in?
On The Westminster Hour yesterday, Carolyn Quinn wanted to know what it is like being a woman in the House of Commons etc. This on the back of International Women’s Day coming up on Thursday and a debate on gender in the House of Commons.
Well – it’s still a boys school and we need more women. As to the atmosphere – water of a duck’s back in terms of the male testosterone being sprayed about. Having had my political baptism in the Haringey Council Chamber – three Lib Dems with me as Leader of the Opposition and fifty-four Labour members (then – it’s rather different now!) – the Commons seems quite sweet. However, there is a lot of pointing and jeering – by any other name at school this would be called bullying. And we are meant to have bullying policies at every school – so why not the House of Commons?
However, was grateful for opportunity to flag up the difficulty I am having with Downing Street. I want to deliver a solar cooker (looks like an oversized mixing bowl, covered with reflective silver foil) to Tony Blair. The point I am making is that these solar cookers cost around $2 and save women getting raped and murdered. This is because in many war zones when women go outside of the refugee camps to collect wood to make a fire to cook – they literally risk rape and murder. These cookers, which work of the hot sun, prevent them from needing to leave the safe compound.
So I am trying to deliver one to Tony, wrapped in purple and green ribbon for International Women’s day – but whilst I have permission to deliver a petition they will not let the cooker pass. I did threaten on radio to chain myself to the gates outside Downing Street (ever since the suffragettes I have been longing to chain myself to something for a cause) but that part was in jest!
But if the Downing Street media machine reads blogs – come on guys, let the cooker in: it’s not too much to ask.
Lib Dems back residents of Quernmore Road
Liberal Democrats have backed local residents and traders in Stroud Green by supporting plans for money which had been earmarked for the painting of shop fronts to be diverted to the provision of CCTV in Quernmore Road.
The Lib Dems reviewed consultation responses from residents and gauged public support at the Stroud Green Residents Association on 28th February 2007.
Liberal Democrat councillors will now be lobbying Haringey Council to match funding for the installation of CCTV in the shopping parade in Stroud Green. CCTV has long been called for by local residents, commuters and traders. A Liberal Democrat survey last year showed very strong support for the idea; this was reinforced by an enthusiastic response from local residents and traders at a residents’ association meeting this week.
Cllr Laura Edge (Stroud Green) comments:
“I am pleased that a consensus seems to be developing on how to spend this money in a way which will hopefully bring real benefits to Quernmore Road. I will work with the Council to make the installation of CCTV possible.”
Lynne Featherstone 