Haringey Council wastes thousands in parking fine mess-up

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Information uncovered by local Liberal Democrats shows that last year Haringey Council had to cancel 277 parking tickets, at an estimated cost of £36,000, after it failed to respond to residents’ parking appeals in time.

Liberal Democrats have said that the information is evidence that the Council has handed out so many parking fines that it can not cope with the amount of appeals that are subsequently lodged. The Council has a duty to respond to an appeal contesting a parking fine within 56 days or the fine is written off.

Cllr Richard Wilson (Stroud Green) who unearthed the information, comments:

“It’s quite worrying that the Council is so keen to ticket residents that they can’t keep up with the appeals workload and enforce parking restrictions properly.

“Not only does this waste local residents’ time, energy and provide undue worry, local taxpayers may have lost out too due to the Council’s failure to respond in time.

“Some of the tickets that were automatically cancelled after 56 days may well have been legitimate, losing the council much-needed funds.”

Lynne Featherstone MP adds:

“This is another example of the fact that this Labour-run council is not on top of its finances, adding to an already long list with botched Ally Pally deals, and expensive new computers equipment, costing Haringey tax payers millions of pounds.

“In these tough times, when the Council is closing valued services like older people’s drop-in clubs and children centres, they need to take extra care with every penny, not waste it on mistakes like this.”

 

Liberal Democrats call for freeze after local residents face Council Tax bills of over £1,500

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Local residents face a new year with the staggering prospect of Council Tax bills in Haringey topping £1,500 after Labour councillors refused to support a Council Tax freeze despite funding being available from government to halt any tax rises.

Liberal Democrats have renewed their call on Labour-run Haringey Council to freeze Council Tax in 2012/13 after the Council’s latest financial reports show Labour is considering a tax rise of 2.5% meaning the average Band D bills would top £1500 a year.

Liberal Democrats have said that, at a time when many families across the borough are struggling to make ends meet, an increase in Council Tax will hit the worst-off hardest. Haringey’s Council Tax is already one of the highest in London with only four other boroughs charging more.

Haringey Liberal Democrats understand that it is a tough time for many and have vowed to continue to put pressure on Labour to do the right thing to freeze Council Tax.

Councillor Paul Strang, Haringey Liberal Democrats Finance Spokesperson comments:

“It is shocking that the Council is even considering a Council Tax increase when the government has said that it will provide the funds to freeze it.

“Council Tax is the only direct tax that the Council has control over and Labour wants to increase it despite it hitting poorer residents, struggling to make ends meet, hardest.

“Liberal Democrats understand that, with family budgets under pressure, small measures like a freeze in Council Tax can make a big difference and we will fight Labour’s Council Tax increase.”

Lynne Featherstone, MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, adds:

“The Council should be helping residents and not as Labour seem to want to do, increase an unfair tax which will hit the poorest more.”

It's been quite a year

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My column published in the Ham & High this last week:

It’s been quite a year – both in government and in the constituency. And there is no real separation between those two. The constituency is where legislation and the economy hit the street. The people who come to my advice surgery and the letters, emails and phone calls that come in from local residents at the rate of between two and four hundred per day are my reliable barometer of local peoples’ lives.

Sadly, the stand out of the local year has to be the riots, which kicked off in Tottenham and then spread – not only to Wood Green in my constituency – but across the country. The images of peoples’ lives in flames and wanton looting seared into the nations psyche. I have written about the riots, cause and effect before, but in terms of my own actions at the time – I was duty Minister at the Home Office on the Sunday. With Boris, the PM, the DPM and the Home Sec out of the country – it was down to me to go out on the airwaves to speak to the nation. And of course – locally – going to visit the traders in Wood Green who had been left for hours the night the riot kicked off without police coming to their frantic calls and then visiting Tottenham High Road with Nick Clegg on the Monday to see the devastation for ourselves, meet some of those who had suffered the consequences of the riots and all of the local partners who needed to put things in place for recovery and help and support.

More generally, as a Liberal Democrat in a coalition government, it has meant making terribly hard decisions in order to do the right thing for the nation. I would have loved to come into government like Labour did in 1997 with a flourishing economy. But the economy not only is not flourishing – but takes all we can do not to go under. So I totally support and believe that the stringent measures we have taken as a government are what is protecting us from the hideous interest rates that we see hit other countries like Italy, Greece and Ireland. If we had those interest rates – the job losses and loss of homes would be massive compared to what we are suffering now.

The economy has dominated all – and will do for some time to come. So without rehearsing a full list of Liberal Democrat achievements in government I will mention a couple of key policies delivered – both which go to the heartbeat of Liberal Democrats – fairness.

Thanks to Liberal Democrats, the coalition has taken over a million of the lowest paid out of tax altogether and put £200 back in the pockets of 23 million low and middle income earners.

Our ‘pupil premium’ (which is money that the follows the child and is awarded on the basis of deprivation), has meant that even during these tough times in Haringey we received £5.3 million extra for our schools the first year of the pupil premium. This year it has gone up to £8.8 million and this will go on rising year on year of this government. Education is the key transformative for so many children.

More personally in my government portfolio (which is Equalities and Criminal Information) I have been very fortunate to be able to commence the Equality Act (nine tenths enacted); see civil partnerships in religious premises become law; announce that the government will consult on same sex marriage next March; produced action plans on: violence against women, equalities and transgender; introduce consultations: on stalking; on widening the definition of domestic violence; on the disclosure of information about previous convictions men have of harm to women (Clare’s Law); get rid of identity cards; reduce vetting and barring back to common sense levels; ban wheel clamping on private land; set up a Body Confidence campaign group (fighting the impossible pressure of the perfect image); find some funding for male domestic violence groups; play a part in the change of the laws of accession; ensure that government messages on women’s rights (a moment in history with the Arab Spring and Afghanistan), violence against women and LGB&T rights are taken across the world by travelling ministers; play a part in the Bonn Conference on Afghanistan post 2014; tackle Homophobia and Transphobia in sport with the Sports Charter; support and pursue more women on boards, equal pay; women entrepreneurs – and a lot more – which there just isn’t room to cover in this column.

But as ever – home is where the heart is – and here in Hornsey & Wood Green there have been many,  many campaigns. Perhaps the biggest of which is fighting against plans which are supported by Labour Haringey for a massive waste plant at Pinkham Way . We have stopped them at the moment (thanks to lots of local people, Liberal Democrat Cllr Juliet Solomon and the Pinkham Way Alliance and the three local MPs) – but vigilance is key. As to Labour’s plans to make rubbish collections once every two weeks – judging from our survey – not wanted!

I have also – as always – been delighted to visit countless local people, schools, projects and events and you can always see what I am up to if you go to my website and look at the news section which covers what I do locally.

As ever, it has been an absolute honour and privilege to serve as your MP and I thank you all for your contribution in answering my emails and my surveys and for being the best constituents an MP could ever want.

Please just get in touch if ever I can be of help.

Wishing you all a very Happy 2012.

MP Encourages Energy Saving this Christmas

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To see firsthand how residents locally are benefiting from the Government’s home insulation programme, Lynne Featherstone MP visited a Wood Green couple on Friday (16th December) who were having their loft insulated.

Mr and Mrs Obeng are participating in the Carbon Emissions Reductions Target (CERT) programme, a Government scheme that enables people in draughty homes up and down the country to get free or heavily subsidised insulation.

The Hornsey and Wood Green MP was invited by national energy saving installer, Mark Group to see an installation in action.

Mr and Mrs Obeng had booked to have loft insulation professionally installed, knowing that thanks to CERT funding they would only have to pay £150. For this, Mark Group would insulate their loft to the recommended level (270mm), lag any pipes, insulate hot water tanks and seal around the loft hatch. In return, Mr and Mrs Obeng would enjoy the comfort of a warmer home, save up to £155 a year on their heating bills and help to cut carbon emissions. The scheme, run by the Government, also enables free insulation for households that are receiving qualifying benefits and some residents over the age of 70.

Mrs Obeng said: “You can’t really escape the messages in the media and from utility companies about making sure your home is properly insulated, but I don’t think many people realise how little it costs. There is always the option of insulating your loft yourself but, by getting the professionals in, we know they’ll do the job in half the time it would have taken us and with a lot less hassle.”

Ms Featherstone, added: “We have some of the draughtiest homes in Europe, and many people are losing money by the minute by not having the right level of insulation. The CERT scheme is a great way to help people save money and stay warm this winter.

“I’m sure Mr and Mrs Obeng will have a snugger, warmer Christmas thanks to their decision to insulate their home. And thanks to the CERT scheme, it is free or much cheaper than expected to follow in their footsteps.

“I would encourage all residents to do so, and help make Hornsey and Wood Green’s homes warmer, cheaper and greener.”

Mark Group installs over 200 cavity wall or loft insulation projects in the North London area every week, contributing to a total of around 250,000 installations nationwide, each year. Insulation is installed following a comprehensive survey of a property and agreement with the householder and can take as little as two hours to install. For further information or to arrange a survey call 0800 616 302 or visit http://www.markgroup.co.uk

Liberal Democrats demand action on inaccessible crossings for blind and partially sighted residents

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Lynne and Jim at inaccesible crossingLocal Liberal Democrats have today demanded that London’s Mayor takes urgent action to improve Haringey’s 15 pedestrian crossings which are not accessible to blind or partially sighted residents.

The demand comes after Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon unearthed information that shows 347 pedestrian crossings in London have no facilities to help blind and partially sighted people to safely cross the road, with 15 of these located in Haringey. This is despite there being long standing national accessibility standard to ensure every pedestrian crossing has either an audible sound and/or a rotating cone to assist blind and partially sighted people.

In addition to widespread poor access for blind and partially sighted people, Liberal Democrats have also found that Haringey has seven crossings that also fail national safety standards by not providing the minimum amount of time for pedestrians to safely cross the road.

Lynne Featherstone MP comments:

“It’s a disgrace that Haringey has fifteen crossings that are not accessible to blind and partially sighted local residents, and seven that do not leave residents enough time to cross.

“The Mayor has a responsibility to make sure that all crossings in London are accessible, but this poor record shows that blind and partially sighted residents, in particular, and pedestrians more widely, are not getting the priority they deserve. This needs action and it needs action now.”

Liberal Democrat Transport and Environment spokesperson Cllr Jim Jenks adds:

“Blind and partially sighted residents already face a whole range of obstacles when they walk on our local streets, be it advertising boards or other items strewn across our high streets.

“It should be safe for all to cross at pedestrian crossings. By their very nature they meant to help pedestrians cross busy roads safely. It is just not good enough that fifteen crossings in Haringey fail to meet basic safety standards for blind and partially sighted people even though guidelines have been around for over 15 years. I hope that the Mayor will now sit up and change this disgraceful record once and for all.”

More Pupil Premium money for Haringey’s schools

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Next year, more than half a million additional children will qualify for the Pupil Premium. In Haringey, close to 15,000 pupils are expected to be eligible, meaning that our schools are set to benefit from an extra £8.8 million to support disadvantaged pupils, an increase from the £5.3 million local schools got this year.

The Pupil Premium will be extending its reach to cover any child that has been registered for Free School Meals (FSM) in the past six years. For 2012-13, the Premium will be worth £1.25 billion in total.

These are England’s most disadvantaged pupils, including looked after children, and they are set to benefit from £600 each after the Department for Education announced that next year’s Pupil Premium will increase by £112 for each pupil.

Commenting, Lynne Featherstone MP said:

“For too long, social background has been a deciding factor in a child’s chances for the future. As a Liberal Democrat, I believe that in a fair society, a Government should work to overcome this disadvantage and help children reach their full potential.

“That’s why I am delighted that next year, Haringey’s schools will get an extra

£8.8 million to support disadvantaged pupils through the pupil premium. That’s up £3.5 million from Haringey’s allocation this year. This will make a big difference to schools across Haringey, with schools themselves deciding how best to use the funds.”

Haringey Liberal Democrat Children’s spokesperson Cllr Katherine Reece adds:

“Children who have been eligible for Free School Meals at any point in their school career have consistently lower educational attainment than those who have never been eligible. Of students gaining three As at A-level in 2008, 30 per cent were privately educated, whereas only 0.5 per cent were eligible for Free School Meals.

“That is why thanks to Liberal Democrats, the Coalition Government is doing the right thing by supporting schools with additional money to support children from less well-off backgrounds. This will help whole classes work better together and move forward faster.”

Commenting further, Liberal Democrat Children’s Minister, Sarah Teather said:

“As we come to the end of the second term of the Pupil Premium we are seeing across the country how these extra funds are making a difference. Additional tuition, better IT resources and closer work with parents are all examples of how the Pupil Premium is being used to support the most disadvantaged pupils.

“That’s why I’m so pleased that, next year, we’ll be extending the Pupil Premium to another half a million children, and increasing the money that schools get to £600 per pupil. This means that, as a result of Liberal Democrats in government, more children will get a better start in life”.

Lynne Featherstone MP delivers Christmas encouragement to Royal Mail posties at Muswell Hill Delivery Office

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Lynne and Alton Kennedy MH delivery officeLynne Featherstone MP on Friday visited Royal Mail’s Muswell Hill Delivery Office to pass on her best Christmas wishes and encouragement to the postmen and women at their busiest time of year.

The Hornsey and Wood Green MP was shown round the Delivery Office by local Delivery Office manager Alton Kennedy and was introduced to the postmen and women who are working hard doing their bit to sort and deliver Muswell Hill’s share of the estimated total 2 billion UK Christmas mail bag.

Lynne Featherstone MP commented:

“It was great to meet the hard-working Royal Mail postmen and women at Muswell Hill Delivery Office and to see firsthand just how much effort they put into delivering the Christmas post for people this December.

“Posties do such an important job at this time of year and I would like to thank them for their efforts and wish them all the best over the busy festive period.”

Muswell Hill Royal Mail Delivery Office Manager at Alton Kennedy said:

“Christmas is the busiest time of year, and our people really do pull out all the stops to deliver the Christmas mailbag. We are pleased that Lynne Featherstone MP came along to witness the hard work that goes on behind the scenes.”

“The postal staff do a fantastic job at this time of year to ensure that friends and families stay in touch through their Christmas greetings and gifts.  And as usual, we urge our customers to post early so that friends and family have longer to enjoy their Christmas greetings!”

It is also vital that people remember the last posting dates for mail. These are:

  • Tuesday 20 December for 1st Class items
  • Saturday 17 December for 2nd Class items
  • Thursday 22 December for Special Delivery items

To help Royal Mail at its busiest time of the year, customers are being encouraged to take a few simple steps:

  • Post early – to help Royal Mail spread the workload, post early and order presents early. The last posting dates this Christmas are: December 17 for 2nd Class mail; December 20 for 1st Class mail; December 22 for Special Delivery
  • Use a postcode – A clearly addressed card or parcel, with a postcode, helps Royal Mail sort the item more efficiently   
  • For more information about Christmas with Royal Mail visit: www.royalmail.com or call 08457 740 740.

Transgender Action Plan

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I was very proud today to launch the Government’s Advancing transgender equality: a plan for action – the first ever Government action plan to advance transgender equality.

It lays out the Government’s vision and commitment to improve transgender people’s lives. To view the action plan and our e-bulletin, please click here.

The action plan was formulated with the trans community and I would like to thank everyone who took time to speak to us, attend our events and respond to our e-surveys. All of the input, challenge and continued hard work by the community themselves have made the action plan possible.

PS  Support our campaign to tackle homophobia and transphobia in sport. Sign the Charter for Action by ‘liking’ our facebook page

MP Lynne joins Deputy Prime Minister as he signs ‘Real Man’ pledge

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Local MP Lynne Featherstone last week joined Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg as he signed Women’s Aid ‘Real Man’ pledge, backing a campaign fighting violence against women.

The Hornsey and Wood Green MP joined the Liberal Democrat leader in her role as International Champion on Violence against Women, to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence  against Women.

Women’s Aid is running a national campaign asking both men and women to help send out the message that ‘Real Men’ do not abuse and control women – physically, emotionally, sexually or financially. The campaign asks supporters to sign the ‘Real Man’ pledge, which is:

• A ‘Real Man’ doesn’t hit, abuse or control
• A ‘Real Man’ doesn’t hurt the ones he loves
• A ‘Real Man’ makes a difference
• I’m supporting the ‘Real Man’ Campaign for Women’s Aid, standing up to end violence against women and children.

Hornsey and Wood Green MP and Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone said:

“I am happy to support the Woman’s Aid Real Man Campaign because tackling violence against women and girls is not a task for central Government alone. Men and women across society should feel able to speak out and challenge violent behaviour.

“But the Government also has a job to do, and by developing an ‘action plan’ to deliver practical steps we have helped reduce the risk to women and girls of being victims of these horrendous crimes. This has included the introduction of Domestic Violence Protection Orders to help keep abusive partners from being able to contact their victims.”