Tag Archives: haringey council

Adoption delays must be investigated

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An investigation must be held to uncover why vulnerable children in Haringey face over double the average wait to be adopted, Liberal Democrats have said today. Recent figures show the average wait for an adoptive family to be found by Haringey Council, following a court order, is twice as long (107 days more) as the time taken in similar local authorities in London.

Information released by the government shows the time taken to adopt a child in Haringey (739 days) is similar to that in boroughs deemed to be statistical neighbours (717days) but over 100 days more than the English average (625 days). Liberal Democrats have said that, while the disparity with the national average is concerning, the average time taken (239 days) by Haringey Council from court order to adoption is “disappointing” and is twice as long as other boroughs. The average for comparative local authorities is 132 days.

Liberal Democrats have asked Labour’s cabinet member for children why there are such delays in completing adoptions and why vulnerable children and parents anxious to adopt have to wait twice as long as those in similar local authorities.

Cllr Katherine Reece, Liberal Democrat Children’s Spokesperson, comments:

“It is very sad and disappointing that children in Haringey, on average, have to wait twice as long as children in similar councils to get a place in a secure family after the courts have granted an order.

“Vulnerable and often young children should not have to endure long waits. Considering similar councils in London have much shorter waits an investigation is needed into Haringey Council’s performance.

“This is exactly the type of issue that the proposed new scrutiny panels should investigate and we are asking the new cabinet member for Children’s Services to explain what is happening with adoption in the borough.”

Lynne Featherstone MP, adds:

“An investigation is needed. I understand that cases can often be complex but vulnerable children having to wait over a hundred days more than others in London boroughs should not go unchallenged.”

Primary school places

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Lynne was recently contacted by a number of local residents experiencing trouble with their child’s primary school place. A number of children seem to have been allocated no school place at all, which has understandably caused a great deal of worry for the parents concerned.

It’s crucially important that these problems are sorted out urgently. Lynne has written to the Chief Executive of Haringey Council expressing her concerns, and you can find a copy of the letter which Lynne has sent below. Lynne will be sure to keep residents updated on the situation.

Letter from Lynne to Haringey Council Chief Executive, Kevin Crompton:

Dear Kevin,

RE:  Primary School Places 2012

I am writing with regards to the recent allocation of primary school places to children who are due to begin their education in the 2012/13 academic year.

I have been contacted by a large number of parents, and have been informed that many children have been offered places which are simply not practical. Of greater concern are the number of children (particularly in the Muswell Hill area) who have not been offered any school place at all. Many of these parents live in very close proximity (in some cases, less than 0.1 miles) to a number of primary schools, such as Muswell Hill Primary, Tetherdown, Rhodes and Coldfall.

I will of course be making enquiries on behalf of individual children and parents through the members’ enquiry system. There are, however, more general concerns and queries which I would like to raise with you.

I am keen to know exactly how many children who applied for a primary school place for the 2012/13 academic year have not been offered a place. I would also like to know how many have been offered a place that wasn’t in their ‘top 6’ choices. On confirmation of these figures, I would be grateful if you could let me know what the Council will do to ensure that these children will be given a place by the time term starts.

I would also be grateful if you could outline the policy used this year when allocating school places. For instance, were the places determined by distance to the school, or other criteria?

I would be most grateful if you could address the specific points that have been raised. Thank you for your kind attention in this regard and I look forward to your response.

Kind regards,

Lynne

Haringey children can benefit as £50 million summer schools fund opens

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More than ten thousand Haringey school children could be helped to attend summer schools under a new government scheme.

A £50 million Summer Schools Fund was announced by Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg last autumn. The scheme is now open for applications from local schools.

Head teachers will be able to design and run summer schools, targeting pupils who will benefit the most. The funding could be used for activities such as:

·         Transitional activities to help familiarise pupils with their new environment. Activities could include meeting teachers, having a tour of the school or learning more about their new curriculum.

·         Additional intensive support in English and mathematics to enable pupils who need it to make progress in these key areas before they start the secondary curriculum, both as catch up and preparation for the new term.

·         Wider enrichment activities such as arts, music and sports activities, trips to theatres and museums, visits to local higher education institutions and employers etc.

Liberal Democrat MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, Lynne Featherstone, commented:

“I have written to schools in my constituency urging them to apply for funding through the scheme.

“The Coalition Government is doing the right thing by helping heads and governors to build on their own plans and give children an extra hand.

“The Liberal Democrats’ commitment to the most disadvantaged children doesn’t stop there. As well as this £50m fund, we are making significant extra funding available through the Pupil Premium.

“This will help schools tackle the inequalities that have been a part of our schools system for far too long.”

Residents ignored on phone mast plans

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Local people should be consulted on plans put forward by a mobile phone operator to install a new mobile phone mast on a sheltered housing block in Muswell Hill, Liberal Democrats have demanded.

Since early February local councillors have battled with representatives acting on behalf of Vodafone and Haringey Council to get details on how they will engage with local residents on their plans to build a mobile phone base station on the top of The Priory on Priory Road.

However, this week the Council stated that the mast can be put up without the need for a planning application as it is ‘permitted development’.

Cllr Jim Jenks has written an urgent letter to the Council and Homes for Haringey urging them to say what they are doing about consultation.

Cllr Jim Jenks (Muswell Hill) comments:

“Residents living in this sheltered accommodation block not only will have no say on these plans but it seems they have no idea that a new mobile phone mast will be built. It is unacceptable.

“I have urgently written to the Council and Homes for Haringey to ask what they will do about consulting with residents”

Lynne Featherstone MP adds:

“I have fought many long battles alongside local residents about mobile phone masts and this is another example of the Council and distant mobile phone companies riding roughshod over local people and ignoring them.”

Liberal Democrats meet luncheon club heroes and call for Council to do more

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Lynne Featherstone MP and Cllr David Winskill with luncheon club users at Woodside House, Wood Green.To meet the local heroes who have kept a local luncheon club open despite loss of Council funding, Lynne Featherstone MP and Councillor David Winksill this week, visited Woodside House in Wood Green.

The visit included talking with luncheon club users about how they have managed to keep the Tuesday club going despite the complete cut in funding by the Labour Council last year. Whilst the club is now run by volunteers, it no longer provides hot meals or personal or medical help due to the lack of permanent staff. Uncertainty remains as to whether the current service will be able to keep going without more help.

Local Liberal Democrats have recently unearthed £1.5million that has been left unspent in the Council’s Older People’s Budget this year. This has raised serious questions as to why drop-in centres, day centres and luncheon clubs (like those in Woodside House) have closed if funding is still available. Only two of Hornsey and Wood Green’s four luncheon clubs have managed to stay open, leaving many older people in the borough without this essential lifeline.

Lynne Featherstone MP comments:

“I am so impressed with these local heroes who have soldiered on to keep the Woodside luncheon club open, despite the loss of funding last year. But it’s been tough for them, they are now running a much reduced service and the future of the club is uncertain without cash to keep it going.

“Luncheon clubs are cheap to run, but give so much back, both to the individual and society at large. A little would go such a long way, and Haringey’s older people deserve to get their luncheon clubs back.”

Liberal Democrat Adult Social Services spokesperson Councillor David Winskill adds:

“It’s frankly appalling that the Labour Council has cut so fast and deep that £1.5million for older people’s services remain unspent this year. The money could have gone to keep luncheon clubs in the borough open. It’s clear from speaking to club users here today, that this service is loved and treasured, and sometimes the only opportunity some older people have to get out and meet other people.

“I am urging this Labour Council to put some money back into services that were cut last year to help support this very vulnerable group. The luncheon clubs are too important for Haringey’s older people and I hope that Labour Councillors will agree to my suggestions.”

Revealed – Labour’s £1.2million slush fund

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Documents revealed last week show how Labour councillors propose to spend over one million pounds next year on creating a fund which has no agreed plan or purpose and has the name of the party’s election manifesto.

Local Liberal Democrats have branded the £1.2million ‘One Borough, One Future fund’ a Labour slush fund which is aimed to promote political aims and pay for Labour pet projects.

Cllr Paul Strang, Haringey Liberal Democrat Resources Spokesperson, comments:

“I’m appalled that Labour have decided to take £1.2million of public money, that could be spent on front-line services, out of the Council’s budget to spend on their pet projects when, in their own words, public services are facing unprecedented reductions in spending.

“You don’t call a fund after the title of your political manifesto if it isn’t going to be spent on politically motivated projects. The fact Labour have no plans as to how this money can be spent shows they haven’t learnt from their years of wasteful spending.”

Lynne Featherstone MP adds:

“Labour has cut treasured front-line services, but feel its right to spend £1.2million on yet to be defined projects. That is frankly outrageous.

“The local community should have a say on how this money should be spent or it should be reinvested in the services that Labour has decided to cut.”

 

Council admits to no consultation on fortnightly collections

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Haringey Council did not consult local people on a fundamental change to the way in which rubbish will be collected in the borough, it has emerged. Last week senior officers addressing the Muswell Hill Area Forum admitted that residents were not asked during a borough-wide consultation on the Council’s waste contract whether they wanted the Council to move to fortnightly non-recyclable waste collections.

Liberal Democrats who, at the Committee section of meeting, voiced their current opposition to the change to fortnightly collections, say that the lack of consultation shows that Labour have failed to get the buy-in of local residents on a change to a basic Council service.

In another development, that Liberal Democrats believe shows the Labour-run Council’s lack of consideration for residents, local people will not have a say on the size of the new wheelie bin for recyclable waste. Instead the Council will provide the largest 240 litre bin to all designated households in the new scheme.

Cllr Jim Jenks, Haringey Liberal Democrat Environment Spokesperson, comments:

“The Council have finally admitted that residents in Haringey were not given the opportunity to have a say on this fundamental change to rubbish collection.

“Liberal Democrats are 100% committed to increasing recycling but a change on this scale without consultation is unacceptable.”

Lynne Featherstone MP, adds:

“Not only are the Labour Council ignoring the views of local residents on the service but they are also failing to give local people any say on what size of bin they can have. Some households do not need a large 240 litre bin yet Labour are giving them no choice.”

“Sham” consultation ignores residents’ views on Pinkham Way land says Liberal Democrats

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Local Liberal Democrats have branded the re-run of a consultation on a Council strategy a sham after a report published last week showed that the Council has disregarded the responses of many local residents. Despite voicing their strong opposition to the changes which pave the way for the waste plant at Pinkham Way sixty responses from local residents were rejected.

The Council was made to repeat the consultation on the re-designation of land in its Core Strategy, which included the site that is proposed to be a new waste facility at Pinkham Way, due to concerns raised by the Planning Inspector that the Council failed to consult widely enough first time.

Liberal Democrats say that the council’s rejection of 60 responses shows Labour’s contempt for public opinion and reveals that the consultation was a ‘tick-box’ exercise rather than a chance for the Council to listen to the community. Liberal Democrats have written to the Chief Executive of Haringey Council and the Planning Inspector to voice their concern of the way in which residents’ views have been disregarded.

Despite the large number of consultation responses from residents raising concerns the Council has decided to make almost no changes to its plans in advance of the Examination in Public in February.

Residents will have a further say on the proposals for Pinkham Way after the North London Waste Authority said recently that it will consider further representations in the summer when its North London Waste Plan is consulted upon.

Cllr Juliet Solomon (Alexandra Ward) comments:

“It is clear from how the Council has replied to local residents who have taken the time and effort to submit responses to the consultation that the Council had already made up their mind. This consultation was a mere tick box exercise for the ruling group who seem adamant to push through proposals and steamroller public opinion to ensure the Pinkham Way plans get through to the next stage.

“Let’s hope the delay in further consultation gives the Council an opportunity to start to really listen to local people. Residents do not want the waste plant and it is time the Council started to sit up and take note.”

Lynne Featherstone MP adds:

“It’s really worrying that local residents’ views have been utterly ignored by the Labour Council in this way. They had to re-run this consultation because it was so poorly handled last time, and now they are more or less doing the same thing again.

“This shows utter contempt for local residents’ views’ and local democracy. My Liberal Democrat colleagues and I will continue to fight the waste plant at Pinkham Way every step of the way, and do our best to make sure local people’s concerns are heard and heeded. The fight is not over.”

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.”