HARINGEY SCHOOLS NEARLY £1 MILLION IN DEBT

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New figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats show that schools across England have accumulated a combined debt of more than £121 million.Primary school debt accounts for £34 million, and secondary schools for £86 million.

The figures, which are broken down by Local Education Authority, were uncovered by Liberal Democrat MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, Lynne Featherstone.

Commenting, Ms Featherstone said:

“These figures are deeply worrying.

“Children’s education must not be compromised because of these shocking levels of deficits across the country. We need to get to the bottom of why so many schools are struggling.”

In Haringey, the total debt is £904,556.

75% OF THE STREETLIGHTS IN RINGSLADE ROAD ARE STILL OFF

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Woodside ward Lib Dem Focus Editor Annie Faulkner has hit out at the state of street lighting in Ringslade Road. She said:

“We have been monitoring these lights in Ringslade Road for over a week now. It is simply unacceptable that this has been allowed to continue to happen.

“It is a particular concern to residents given the dark mornings and evenings.

“We have contacted the Labour-run Council, as have some local residents and they have still failed to repair them.”

Nigel Scott, Woodside Lib Dem Focus Editor added:

“Haringey Council is not only failing residents in Ringslade Road and in Woodside, but actually across the whole of Haringey, it is obvious frontline services are being affected by the massive £10.5 million overspend on the “Tech-Refresh” project by the Labour Council.”

The average length of time it takes Haringey Council to repair a street light is 23.49 days, against their target of 10 days. The Council has admitted, “The target will not be met this year and will need to be revised for 2006-07.”

DELAY IN TAGGING UNACCEPTABLE

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Commenting on the report on the Electronic Monitoring of Adult Offenders by the National Audit Office, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson, Lynne Featherstone MP said:

“The Home Office obviously need to go back to the drawing board on this one.Delays in both fitting tags and responding to breaches clearly undermine this system, which makes a valuable contribution to reducing sky-high re-offending rates.

“The point of releasing prisoners early on a tag is to help them to rehabilitate and integrate back into society while maintaining a basic level of security.Public confidence is seriously undermined by the kind of hiccups highlighted in today’s report.”

Incitement to Religious Hatred Bill

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As you may have already heard, the Government’s Religious Hatred Bill suffered two defeats this week in the Commons.

After it passed from the Commons – despite Liberal Democrats and others voting against it – my Liberal Democrat colleagues in the Lords introduced an amendment to the Bill guaranteeing freedom of speech. Without getting too technical, when the Bill returned this week to the Commons – the Government wanted to negate the Lords’ amendments and re-introduce two dangerous elements. One was that you would be caught by the proposed legislation if you used ‘insulting or abusive’ language against a person of some faith or none. This was defeated and you will only be caught if the language is actually ‘threatening’.

The other element was that you will now have to ‘intend’ to incite religious hatred – i.e. inciting religious hatred is the purpose of what you say and the reason for you saying it. Basically, if you criticise someone for their religion – which is a legitimate function of free speech in a democracy – you will now no longer be caught by this legislation.

Had we not defeated the Government, we would have seen legislation not only chill free speech – but we would also have seen the unintended consequences of the Bill deliver the opposite of its avowed intention – more religious hatred and not less.

This was democracy in action – where the opposition parties across both Houses, and joined by the Labour rebels in the Commons, worked together to defeat a seriously flawed Bill.

The strength and depth of opposition registering in my post bag shows just how unpopular this Bill was. Such strong protest from the public definitely helped convince Labour rebels that the Bill could not be passed as it was.

Kurdish human rights

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In the evening host an event at Parliament – with a number of pretty high power speakers – about human rights issues for Kurdish women in Turkey. The event was titled “Ongoing Violence Against Kurdish Women in Turkey; What the EU-Turkey Accession Talks Offer Women”.

Estelle from the Peace in Kurdistan campaign had approached me to host the event – and the speakers included: Sehnaz Turan – a Kurdish human rights lawyer based in Istanbul; Baroness Helena Kennedy; Margret Owen a barrister and adviser to KHRP; Monireh Moftizadeh – founder member of Kurdish Women’s Project who worked om the Kurdish women’s charter and MEPs Jean Lambert and Sarah Ludford – and me!

Kurdish women in Turkey are fighting on two fronts for their freedoms and rights – both rights for women and for Kurds.

APOLOGY DEMANDED OVER COUNCIL'S £10M IT OVERSPEND

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On Monday (6th February) Haringey Council will be called on to hold Executive members to account over the wastage of £10 million of public money through a massive overspend on the Council’s IT upgrade project (Tech Refresh).

The motion tabled by the Lib Dem opposition also calls on the Council to acknowledge the findings of the damning Audit Commission report into the project, released earlier this month.

Opposition Leader, Cllr Neil Williams, who has tabled the motion says that the Executive must be held to account over the ‘negligent’ handling of the case.

Cllr Williams comments:

“To allow a budget to slip by £10 million is a totally unacceptable waste of public funds. I hope that on Monday members vote as responsible, elected representatives rather than whipped party members.”

PROBING QUESTIONS INTO WEBSITE FAILURE

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Residents in Haringey are regularly being prevented from accessing information about Haringey Council due its long-running website problems, according to Cllr Jonathan Bloch who hopes to get answers from the Council on Monday.

Cllr Bloch, along with many residents, has been unable to access the Council’s website regularly since the beginning of January. He is concerned that many people who need to access information on Council-run services often can’t get access.

At Monday’s Full Council he expects an explanation as to why the website has been inaccessible for so long and what they plan to do to prevent this happening again.

Cllr Bloch (Muswell Hill) comments:

“We are keen to get to the bottom of this website debacle. It is essential that the Council reassures residents that this kind of failure will not reoccur, and that adequate back up procedures are in place in the event of the site going down.”

Regional conference

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Do a Saturday surgery today at Muswell Hill library. Don’t use this venue too often as there is no disabled access. Lots of heart rending situations this morning. I sometimes despair of the Home Office and its decisions – such as when I have to sit with a woman who has been raped and tortured – and yet has had her final notice that her appeal to stay is rejected.

I will write to the Minister and beg on compassionate grounds – but Tony McNulty’s ears are usually hardened to such pleas. A statistic is one thing – a woman in absolute despair and fear is another.

After surgery I go to Guildford to address a Lib Dem regional conference on ‘How we won Hornsey & Wood Green’. As well as the motivational story – which Hornsey & Wood Green is – I refer to our difficulties. I talk about ‘recent sticky moments’. Yes – as a gale of laughter shook the room – I realised my choice of words was not (or was!) well chosen.

Laughter being the best medicine it was a very jolly rally and I have no doubt when our leadership contest is done and dusted – we will be just fine. Particularly if Chris Huhne wins. I think he will bring that fresh feel to the Lib Dems – and now we need that more than ever.

Ken's at it again

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See my old sparring partner Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London, has a pop at the LibDems on the Assembly and at me in particular in his new column in the Ham & High today! I love it when Ken gets his knickers in a twist about me. Reading the politics of this – for Ken is always about votes – he is bigging up the Greens on the Assembly (who sold out to him long ago) and worried about the success of the LibDems in London coming up to the local elections. I will be in his sights as we have a fair chance of taking over Haringey Council from Labour. So the man’s a complete dirty street fighter – and this is his way of reaching out to my neck of the woods.

I used to be rather more of a fan of his in the early days of London government where, as Chair of Transport in London, I stood shoulder to shoulder with him supporting the first Congestion Charge and against Labour’s PPP for the Tube. But wow he’s Labour’s man at City Hall – not a peep about the Tube and particularly us poor Northern Line sufferers.

It’s no good Mayor Livingstone trying to have a go at me just ‘cos I didn’t like or support his West London Tram plans. He did a consultation and the people didn’t like it. As for residents in Haringey – don’t forget that Ken supports the concrete factory against local residents wishes. He also supports having tower blocks plonked in Wood Green without infrastructure – again against local wishes.

As for the Labour government’s commitment to the environment – the Government just moves the targets every time it sees it is going to fail miserably. Charity starts at home Ken. Have a go at your mates in Whitehall rather than trying to dabble in the politics of Haringey!

Later on, film crew arrive from the Dimbleby Show to film a little intro to the live interview they will be doing with Chris Huhne tomorrow. I hope it came across that he is a human with a hinterland. I think Chris is a modern man and understands the pressures of real life. He has a proper hinterland. And he has had the balls (although I think I used the word guts) to rise to this challenge. He can take on Gordon (I still don’t think Cameron has it in the longer term). He is tough, decisive – but also warm and friendly – and clear about direction. So – hope they edit kindly and big him up!

Simon Hughes

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Simon Hughes is indeed in the tabloids today – as being gay or bi-sexual. Now, it is hardly news to anyone I know – but Simon has always protected his right to keep his private life private – and I support him on that. But the attack is because a week ago to three newspapers he denied he was gay. I guess he was cornered and the question was never going to go away – and he just made an error of judgement. The media say he lied. I think he just defended himself badly. So another roller coaster for the party to bear as this latest news works its way through the rounds of the media.

It is the first question Steve Richards asks myself, Ed Davey and Phil WIllis who are having a pre-recorded panel session which will go out Saturday at 11am – the Week in Westminster. This is a panel of the key supporters for the leadership – me for Chris Huhne, Phil Willis for Simon Hughes and Ed Davey for Menzies Campbell. So – whilst none of us would go on any media to discuss Simon – once they’ve got you there anyway, there’s no stopping the question. We all basically defended Simon’s right to privacy and right to be whatever sexual orientation he wanted. Then, thank goodness, we get on to policy areas and have a right good ding dong. Great fun!

I get a call last thing because we (Lib Dems) need to put out a statement on Sir Ian Blair’s attack on the media for being biased towards coverage of white murders. For bizarre reasons he chooses Soham as an example of their bias. I remember the coverage at the time – because first the poor girls were missing and we all went on that journey of anxiety as we moved toward the eventual horrific reality. It would have been the same what ever colour the girls were. It was a huge story and the press were bound to follow that one.

However, Ian Blair is right to highlight the issue of bias in coverage. But when I think back I can remember examples both ways – when two murders occur when sometimes the black murder will be covered and sometimes the white. So methinks we need proper examination of this issue – as it is a very important one. We need to look at the way information about a murder gets to the press. Which stories originate from the police forces themselves. What are their policies in terms of media liaison over murders. Let’s have an analysis of all murders and their coverage over the last few years and see what led to what. I am not happy about statements that are not backed up by factual analysis on this. So I welcome the opening up of this as an area for concern – but let’s get it right and based on factual information.

Get home late – just in time for Question Time and Simon Hughes is on tonight. I don’t know if it’s good or bad to have such a media opportunity at this point when there is a feeding frenzy around him. It did give Simon the chance to put his case – which he did as well as he could under the circumstances.