Lib Dem Parliamentary Spokespersons Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey and Wood Green) and Wayne Hoban (Tottenham) have called for the two other parties to ban illegal nuisance phone calls to local residents in the run-up to the General Election in the borough.

The move follows national complaints from people who do not want nuisance calls, and have registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) to stop such calls.It has been revealed nationally that such people are still be phoned by both Labour and the Tories. The Liberal Democrats only call TPS-registered people if they have given the party their phone number and agreed to be rung.

The Liberal Democrats have set up a new website – http://www.stopnuisancecalls.com – to encourage voters to register formal complaints when they receive nuisance calls from Labour and the Tories. Fines of up to £5,000 per call can be imposed by the Information Commission for abusing the TPS system.

Lib Dem Lynne Featherstone comments:

“People register with the Telephone Preference Service because they do not want to receive nuisance calls at home. The Tories and Labour should not be pestering voters if they have taken the trouble to ask not to be called. From today, our new website will help people to complain. It could lead to a £5,000 fine for the party concerned. The two other parties should respect the rights of voters and consumers.”

Lib Dem Wayne Hoban adds:

“The Lib Dems are the only major party to try and ensure we do not make calls to TPS-registered homes, unless the resident has previously given us their number with permission to use it. The other parties should respect the wishes of voters who have clearly and specifically asked not to be called.”

Lib Dem councillors have expressed their concern over constant delays in the provision of after-school club facilities in the Muswell Hill area.

The move follows answers to questions from Lib Dem Education Spokesperson Gail Engert, who has been pressing Haringey Council to commit to a date for the provision of services at The Grove N10 and at Rhodes Avenue Primary School N10.

The latest Haringey Council estimate is that the services will be up and running by mid-August and the end of July respectively, despite saying at an earlier meeting they would be open by January or February this year.

The original information was provided to the Council’s Education Scrutiny Panel on 22 November, which stated that the two clubs would be opened in January or February. However, in answer to a question from Cllr Engert on 1 March, the Council now says that the dates have been put back to July and August.

To add to concerns over delays, Ms Engert says that the abolition of the borough’s education scrutiny panel, which is about to be swept away by the Labour group, will further enable the Labour-run council to avoid questions on these and other problems in the education service.

Cllr Gail Engert (Muswell Hill) comments:

“These delays will cause enormous inconvenience and disappointment to parents waiting to use the after-school clubs. The clubs are not likely to open in this school year, despite undertakings that they would be ready last month. They may not even be able to provide holiday provision at the start of the summer holidays.

“It worries me also that there will be no forum in which to raise these issues once Labour abolishes the education committee. If they fail to deliver, they must be answerable to local parents and local councillors.”

Lynne Featherstone voiced her concerns at the decision of the Metropolitan Police Authority to impose a 2% cap on the growth of police officer numbers in Haringey for 2005/6, in effect denying the borough 14 extra officers.

Responding to the decision, Ms Featherstone said,

“The police in Haringey are working hard to bring down crime and tackle anti-social behaviour. They need all the resources and support they can get.

“This decision is a cruel blow to the community, who rightly expect to see the police they pay for, and which the Met itself says Haringey needs, out patrolling their streets.

“I have written to the Metropolitan Police Authority Chair, Len Duvall, making it clear that I expect extra resources to be made available to Haringey should the cap affect the ability of our local police to do their job properly, and seeking his assurance that in the future the MPA will make it a priority to bring Haringey up to its full officer entitlement.”

Lib Dem Parliamentary Spokesperson Lynne Featherstone has welcomed moves to tackle the speeding problem on Bounds Green Road.

The road has been subject to a number of accidents in recent times, and Haringey Council has now told Cllr Featherstone that they are seeking to introduce additional speed cameras on the stretch of the road near the North Circular. Ms Featherstone says that if approved the new cameras should be introduced during the 2005/06 financial year.

Lynne Featherstone has also expressed concern about cars overtaking onto the wrong side of Bounds Green Road near the North Circular. Haringey Council has told her that they are waiting for Transport for London’s detailed proposals for the A406 widening in Bounds Green before deciding on additional measures for this section.

Lynne Featherstone comments:

“I am pleased that action is likely to improve safety on this very wide and busy road.

“Speed cameras and signs will help, but the Council must get to grips with additional traffic islands on the road on the approach to the North Circular. I will continue to press Haringey Council to ensure these improvements are carried out as part of the wider A406 scheme.”