COUNCIL AND ACCORD RESPONSE TO STRIKE NOT GOOD ENOUGH, SAY LIB DEMS

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Haringey Lib Dems have slammed Haringey Council and Haringey Accord for not doing enough to advise worried residents how to deal with their rubbish as the refuse strike affecting rubbish collection in the London Borough of Haringey continues.

Lib Dem councillors have received many calls from residents who are unable to get through to the advice line offered by Haringey Accord. The Lib Dems say the information from the Council is far too patchy and gives the impression that Haringey is washing it hands of the problem, as piles of stinking rubbish accumulate across the borough.

Lib Dems are reminding residents that as a last resort, they can take their rubbish directly to recycling centres, which are now open later, if they are worried about smells and vermin.The entrance to the Recycling Centre in Hornsey is off the north side of Hornsey High St, between the banqueting hall and the former Council buildings and roughly opposite Greig City Academy. While the Lib Dems say much more could be done to make the centre visible to the public, there is usually a yellow ‘A’ board sign on the pavement pointing to the entrance.

Lib Dem leader Neil Williams says it is not good enough that the advice line being offered by the council is impossible to get through to, and Accord should face up to its responsibilities, ensuring that residents know what is happening.Incredibly, the Council has failed to move over any staff at all to the normal ‘waste’ call centre, consequently there are huge queues of people building up on the phone lines. Most residents who phone the waste line end up hearing an endlessly repeating answer-machine message, but cannot speak to an operator to request an emergency collection where the waste is blocking access or presents a fire or health risk.

Lib Dem Environment Spokesperson Bob Hare comments:

“The Council have known that this strike was a strong possibility ever since the one day stoppage in March, the vote to strike in May, and even more so following the unsuccessful ACAS-brokered negotiations that followed. That the strike action has started before warning people and getting information out represents a very serious failure by the Council.”

Lib Dem Leader Neil Williams comments: “It is not good enough for Haringey to put its head in the sand over this – smelly rubbish is accumulating right across the borough at the worst possible time of year. The advice and guidance given by the Council is not adequate. Just because the council has subcontracted the service, does not mean they can avoid responsibility for these problems.

“Not every one has email or the internet. If Haringey Council is not going to provide a basic service that residents have paid for, Haringey should have leafleted residents with detailed guidance, and ensure that advice lines are properly staffed. The instructions on how to get to the Hornsey recycling centre on Haringey’s website don’t even give its exact location or address, and it is poorly signed. This is just not good enough.”

The Lib Dems are also calling for the council to set out in detail its civil contingency plan for dealing with the crisis if it continues for a second or third week – or beyond.

Cllr Bob Hare says: “Accord have been collecting refuse from Council-owned blocks of flats, but not private blocks which have contracts with the Council. This is a completely unacceptable difference of treatment – private owners have just as much right to have their refuse collected as Council tenants. Anyone who has a problem with refuse collection should get in touch with Accord on 020 8885 7700 or with the Council’s waste management through the Council’s switchboard 020 8489 0000, or by e-mail: call.centre@haringeyaccord.com to request that a Council inspector calls to assess the situation and if considered an emergency, then a collection will be arranged. If any resident has difficulty getting through, Lib Dem councillors will try to help.”

There are currently between two and five refuse vehicles in action (normally 20), staffed by Accord management and staff brought in from outside Haringey (the actual number depends on staff availability). They are focusing on collecting the refuse from blocks of flats, with some street collections depending on how serious the accumulations of refuse are.

The Council has said it will begin to enforce the contract conditions forcing Accord to take on temporary staff later this week if the strike is not resolved.

“Haringey should tell the public in detail what plans it has if this situation continues,” adds Lib Dem Leader Neil Williams. The situation could deteriorate very rapidly if the strike is not resolved, and an action plan for dealing with the borough’s rubbish must be devised.”

Cllr Hare comments:

“This pressure from the Council has been far too slow. Given the record hot weather, we think this enforcement should have begun at the start of the week, so that the temporary staff could be trained and ready to work by the weekend. With this delay, refuse will be building up even more over the weekend, with clearing up not even beginning.”

MP'S SAFER HIGHGATE VICTORY

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Lynne Featherstone, Lib Dem MP for Hornsey & Wood Green, has scored a policing victory for Highgate as one of her longest running campaigns came nearer to fruition this week with Haringey’s Police Borough Commander agreeing to moving the Highgate Safer Neighbourhood team from Muswell Hill to Highgate itself.

The Chief Superintendent’s willingness to station the Highgate team in a local base represents a significant victory for the residents of Highgate and for Ms. Featherstone, former member of the Metropolitan Police Authority and long-time champion of local policing.

The next stage, on which the move rests, is now to identify suitable premises and to get the final green light from the Metropolitan Police’s estate department.

“As commanders have come and gone I have kept asking the same question for Highgate and up until now I’ve always had a negative response – one even said over my dead body – but persistence is in my nature.

“I know from knocking on doors and meeting people that what they want are local police officers who know their patch and who are stationed in and amongst the community they are looking after.

“Obviously, there are a few final hurdles and I’ve already asked our Highgate Councillors to keep their eyes out for any suitable premises, but this is a real policing victory for Highgate.”

MP LAUNCHES PETITION AGAINST DNA CIVIL LIBERTIES ONSLAUGHT

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Lynne Featherstone, Liberal Democrat MP for Hornsey and Wood Green and Lib Dem Spokesperson for Police, Crime and Disorder, has launched an online petition to stop the DNA of innocent people being kept indefinitely on the National Police Database.

Ms. Featherstone has revealed the extent of this ‘database by stealth’ which already contains the DNA of over 140,000 innocent people who have had their DNA taken and kept – even though they have never even been charged with a criminal offence – nearly 25,000 of which records are on children.

Ms Featherstone comments:

“There is no purpose or justification for keeping the DNA record of anyone who is not charged with an offence. We cannot be absolutely certain that there will be no misuse of the DNA Database and there are no real safeguards in place to control it.

“With the growing concern about racial profiling and disproportionality in criminal investigations and now even treating even children as permanent suspects – the need to keep innocent people on the DNA Database indefinitely is not only questionable but completely unacceptable.”

People wishing to sign this petition should visit http://campaigns.libdems.org.uk/dna

Parking plans – and blog comments

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No – I ‘m not quite ‘out of office’ yet – but on my way. Before I go, just thought I would give you the latest update on the ‘Stop & Shop’ and CPZ proposals and consultations. My colleague, Cllr Martin Newton who is the LibDem spokesperson for Traffic and Transport on the Council has put together this latest info:

Stop and Shop: The consultations for Muswell Hill and Crouch End finished on 27th July. The Council is currently analysing all the feedback for these proposals in order to decide the need for, and format of, any further consultation with the local community.

It is unclear at the moment if Pay and Display for Muswell Hill and Crouch End could still be imposed on the local community – despite an overwhelming call for a new proper consultation to take place following a street-by-street study to assess any existing parking problems.

We will be looking at the feedback from these initial consultations in September to keep a close watch on what Haringey Council intends to do.

CPZs: The consultations are due to finish on 8th August. Due to pressure from the Lib Dems and local community, a second stage of consultation is now being considered by the Council and this is likely to happen in September. We do not have any details at the moment of what the Council proposes for this further consultation, but will let you know as soon as we get further details.

We will be keeping up the pressure on the Council, and it is important to know that the Council views CPZs and Pay and Display regimes as totally different proposals.

And very lastly – following up on the debate as to whether I should have comments on this blog: due to public demand as they say – I will be experimenting with this come September.

Wedding season

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They say that summer is here. The time for Wimbledon, picnics in the park and barbeques. However, it seems to me that for many Asian people, the marriage season is also upon us. I have recently had two interns from an Asian background in my Parliamentary office. Apart from the correspondence and research that they help out with, we do sometimes get the chance to chat as well! When I enquire about weekend or summer plans, attending several weddings seems prominent in their diaries.

Marriage is a rite of passage common to all of us, but we all have different ways of celebrating. So, with my inquisitive mind, I enquire about these weddings – and what a learning experience this is. One of the interns, who is from a Hindu background, describes a whole series of parties and events that wedding guest must attend before the actual wedding takes place. There is a world rich in colours and rituals that I am immediately transported to. It seems like the wedding itself is more or less the climax, or the formality at the end of all this fun and frolics. One such ritual that particularly stays in my mind is where the bridegroom’s shoes are taken and hidden at one of the events by the friends and family of the bride. These can only be returned if the bridegroom is willing to part with some cash – and the wedding ceremony itself will take place only after this happens. To me, this seems a brilliant way of ‘breaking the ice’ between the respective families of the bride and the bridegroom – and of course is also a great way of testing the bridegroom’s mettle!

The other intern is from a Muslim background. I find his descriptions intriguing as they offer a different picture of Islam than the one we are constantly being presented with. He does re-iterate that he wasn’t brought up in a strict Islamic environment, but was aware of his religious heritage. His descriptions also consist of many events and gatherings, of a lot of preparation, delicious food, DJs and fun. Again, the wedding ceremony seems to be just a small part of a much bigger picture. He also speaks of the religious ceremony, telling me that at the last such wedding he went to, the imam went to great lengths to stress that in Islam, a marriage that does not have the full and genuine consent of both the bride and the bridegroom, is deemed to be invalid. He also tells me that the bride, who is sitting in a different location to the groom at the time of the religious ceremony, has to be give her consent three times, in front of two independent witnesses, before the marriages can be officiated. His descriptions certainly do challenge the notion that is sadly held by many that Islam is oppressive religion, especially towards women.

However, I am also well aware that problems do exist. There are still instances of people in the Asian community being forced into marriages and of course there is terrible scourge of ‘honour’ killings – a complete misnomer in my opinion. One of my interns tells me that for some families, matters of family pride and standing in the community are put of ahead of the true happiness of a child. Now, I can understand that there is a certain comfort and security to be found in maintaining a strong community unit and consolidating it through marital ties, especially if you are a minority ethnic group. However, I do believe that the Asian community is firmly part of our wider community, and that our Asian youth should not see a clash of cultures, where the two are mutually exclusive, but rather should see how cultures can co-exist and complement each other.

My interns say that things have moved on a lot from the times of the parents’ generation, where many marriages were forcefully arranged. Whereas a lot of young Asians do still marry into the same ethnic and religious communities, for various reasons, there is a minority who are delaying marriage to pursue careers or marrying into other cultures. Basically, there is no longer a ‘one size fits all’ policy, nor should there be my intern argues. I think this is the right mentality; acceptance and tolerance go a long way. Please enjoy any weddings you will attend this summer – oh, and of course all the parties and gatherings beforehand!

Highgate police to be based in Highgate?

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Met with local Haringey police commander, Simon O’Brien this morning.

Major success of the day is his agreement, if suitable premises can be found and the Met Estate Office agrees – that we can locate the Highgate Safer Neighbourhood Team in Highgate itself. He even suggested that I should go out with local officers to check out locations – so will do as soon as possible.

This is all part of the wider Met Estates strategy – and my bottom line in Hornsey and Wood Green (agreed by Simon O’Brien) is that nothing goes before there is something else that has been accepted by the public in its place. It’s all very well wanting to update buildings – and Lord knows there are buildings that are out of the ark in terms of what is needed for police stations – but where police are stationed is absolutely crucial to public confidence and being part of the community. We don’t want any police stations closed just on the promise that a new replacement will come along some time in future – with all the risk that you end up with nothing which that brings.

We move on to staffing levels for the Safer Neighbourhood teams. Although I hear some ‘you never see one’ comments – these are much less than before. However there are a few missing from the full complement and Simon says that his target for full complement is probably by October – but the outer limit set by Sir Ian Blair (London’s top policeman) is end December.

The part of our conversation he enjoys the most is when I ask about local crime statistics etc – and whist not everything is perfect it is clear that the police have had phenomenal success in terms of the increased rate of detection. In the end, it’s detection that it the first step towards conviction!

Also today had a long, long surgery meeting constituents with their individual issues. Off for a break myself shortly, and as usual during August I’ll be largely taking a break from blogging, though this year will put up one or two more contemplative pieces during the month.

Noel Park playground: update

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Forgot to say that I had an email from the Council about my enquiries on the never replaced, often promised, childrens’ play equipment for Noel Park Recreation Ground, which has been absent now for two summers. Result – children with nothing to amuse them!

The email said that contractors began on 14th June (no they didn’t as I was there at beginning of July) and that they would be on site until end of August completing works. It also mentioned Groundwork (an activating company – very good) being brought in to work with local residents on further development.

Well – call me suspicious – but I knew no work had been done in the first month but thought I better go down and check – so on Wednesday went down there and found that parts of the area had now been dug up. Fencing had been erected around the site – but was falling down (and dangerous in my view) in at least three places. So I called the guy in charge of this – and he promised to look into it and then get back to me with a further update of when and where and what. So – went back today – and bob’s your uncle – the wire panels on the fencing have been repaired and some really sturdy posts put in to ensure that the fencing stays in place. So – one thing corrected and I now wait for the update on content and finishing dates so I can let everyone know.

SUPPORT FOR ID CARDS A COSTLY MISTAKE

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Commenting on Tony Blair’s announcement that identity cards will form a ‘major plank’ of the Labour Party manifesto at the next General Election, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson, Lynne Featherstone MP said:

“The Prime Minister seems determined to push ahead with identity cards despite the growing body of opinion warning against their implementation.

“Identity cards will cost a fortune and won’t stop terrorism or fraud. If Tony Blair wants to nail his legacy to ID cards then it will be a suitable end to his faltering premiership.”

ANGER OVER SECURITY DOOR DELAY

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Noel Park Councillor Catherine Harris is calling for urgent action to install working security doors on the Sandlings Estate, as residents’ complaints flood in. Residents on the estate have been waiting for the doors to be replaced since March, yet Labour-run Haringey Council has seemingly taken no action to provide them with much-needed security.

Councillor Catherine Harris comments:

“I have visited the estate several times since May and found security doors with wires hanging out and panels missing. One was even nailed open when I visited last week. I am concerned that elderly and vulnerable residents who have raised this issue with me are being ignored by Haringey Council.

“I have raised this issue repeatedly and had no satisfactory answer as to why the doors are taking so long to be replaced. I urge Haringey to take action to ensure the safety of its residents.”