Tag Archives: housing

Two thousand families hit by benefit change

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Over two thousand families on low incomes in Haringey will be £780 poorer per year from next April when the Labour government’s benefit changes take effect, it has been revealed. In a response to an enquiry by Cllr Richard Wilson, Haringey Council confirmed that 2,016 residents will be affected when changes are made to the Local Housing Allowance rule which takes away £15 per week extra for families to spend on better housing.

Changes to the Local Housing Allowance were announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, in the April 2009 Budget report. In total, £1.5million will be taken away from the poorest families in the borough.

Liberal Democrats have criticised the Government and have likened the changes to the abolition of the 10p tax rate last year that similarly hit the poorest and resulted in an embarrassing u-turn by the Labour government.

Cllr Richard Wilson, Deputy Leader of Haringey Liberal Democrats, comments:

“I am appalled that, at a time of recession, the Labour Government are raiding the pockets of some of the poorest families in Haringey. There are over 2,000 families across Haringey relying on this money. £15 might not seem much to Labour Ministers but is a huge amount to someone on the poverty line.”

Lynne Featherstone MP adds:

“This is as bad as the abolition of the 10p tax rate and yet another example of how out of touch Labour are with the least well off.

“I will be contacting the Minister at the Department for Work and Pensions to ask why local residents are being hit by the government at this hard time.”

Haringey Council to investigate digital aerial 'opt out' after action by Liberal Democrats

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Haringey Council will now investigate the feasibility of an ‘opt out’ from the installation of new digital aerials scheme for local leaseholders. The success for the campaign led by leaseholder groups and Liberal Democrats came after a special meeting of Haringey Council’s ‘watchdog’ committee last week (1st October 2009) to hear concerns raised by Liberal Democrats.

The committee agreed that Homes for Haringey should report back on the possibility of an opt-out for leaseholders who do not want the new aerial system installed. Since Haringey Council started the scheme, many leaseholders have paid more than £1,000 for installation.

Liberal Democrats have welcomed the feasibility report but have said that they will not stop the campaign to get a better deal for local leaseholders and will continue to closely scrutinise the financial management of the Decent Homes project, which has come under increasing criticism.

Cllr Richard Wilson, who presented the Liberal Democrat ‘call-in’ last week, comments:

“Whilst we welcome this small step in the right direction it was disappointing that the Labour councillors, once again, rubberstamped this dubious cabinet decision.

“The Decent Homes programme and budget continues to be out of control. Agreed standards of work have been exceeded without finance in place, leaseholders have been ignored, and consultation has been non-existent.”

David Winskill, Liberal Democrat lead on the Overview and Scrutiny committee, adds:

“I was shocked at the lack of understanding of how this £198 million scheme has changed so much. Nobody seemed to know how Homes for Haringey had veered away from the specifications agreed by Haringey Council in 2005 and, more worryingly, nobody seemed to grasp that this may have an effect on the standard or amount of homes that will be renovated under Decent Homes.”

Lynne Featherstone MP, adds:

“The way in which leaseholders have been treated is a symptom of the failure by Haringey Council to get value for money from this project. I’m glad efforts from local leaseholders and my Liberal Democrat colleagues are making progress, but we will not stop there.”

Note: Local Liberal Democrats have set up a petition at http://campaigns.libdems.org.uk/aerialscampaign

Online petition launched in digital aerial campaign

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The ongoing fight against Haringey Council’s extortionate digital aerial costs that have been imposed on leaseholders continued this week as local Liberal Democrats launched their online petition.

Charges to install the Integrated Receiving System (IRS) have exceeded £1000 despite many local leaseholders saying they neither want nor need the new service.

The petition demands that Haringey Council reduces costs (neighbouring Islington Council established leaseholder digital access for only £75 per leaseholder) and to give leaseholders the ability to ‘opt out’ if they do not wish to have the aerials installed.

Local residents and leaseholders can sign the petition by visiting http://campaigns.libdems.org.uk/aerialscampaign

Lynne Featherstone MP comments:

“Local leaseholders have had a rough deal from Haringey Council and continue to be ignored. It is time that we all came together to show how much opposition there is to this scheme – £1,000 to watch TV is ridiculous and leaseholders must get the chance to opt-out if they want to.

“I hope local leaseholders and residents will sign the petition so that we can show that the extortionate prices for aerials, that many do not want or need, will be fought all the way.”

Cllr Matt Davies, Liberal Democrat Housing Spokesperson, adds:

“We will continue to listen to the concerns of local leaseholders and press any way we can to ensure they get a better deal.”

Anger as Haringey misses out on new council homes

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Haringey Council has failed to win funding for new council homes despite the London Borough of Haringey’s chronic housing shortage, it has been revealed.

Haringey Liberal Democrats have attacked the ruling Labour administration for their failure to successfully lobby their own government for a better housing deal, following an announcement last week that Labour intends to build 2,000 new homes.

The missed opportunity comes on the back of a string of failures to obtain fair funding deals for Haringey’s residents, including equal per pupil funding for the Borough’s school children and inadequate financial assistance to support people seeking asylum.

Liberal Democrat MP, Lynne Featherstone, has written to the Housing Minister, urging him reconsider the failure to include Haringey in this or future waves of the programme.

Commenting, Lynne Featherstone says:

“My weekly surgery is packed with families who desperately need new homes today. Yet again, Haringey Labour has failed to stick up for these people.

“Now, not only do our school children not get a fair deal, but neither do people waiting to be housed. The case for Haringey is so strong – the Government must reconsider.”

Councillor Matt Davies, Haringey Liberal Democrat Housing champion, adds:

“This is such a disappointment for the Borough, particularly given the urgent housing needs of local residents. Even though the numbers to be built are small, they would have been a step in the right direction.

“How the Labour-run Council could fail make the case for Haringey is beyond me. The Government must change its mind.”

Note: Haringey currently has approximately 12,000 residents on the housing waiting list and 4403 in temporary accommodation.

£5m raid for troubled Haringey ‘Decent Homes’ project

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Money set aside to repair local residents’ homes was raided by Haringey Council’s Labour Cabinet last week, after it was  forced to pump yet more taxpayers’ money into the troubled ‘Decent Homes’ programme. Over £5 million was diverted from Haringey Council’s Major Repairs Fund to plug a gap in the Decent Homes budget, due to a Labour overspend on digital aerials and pitched roofs.

Only last month it was revealed that the Decent Homes project was £26 million in the red. The Homes for Haringey Gateway Report showed that the project overspent on items that were not shown in the original budget. This threatens work to homes still to be improved by the four year Decent Homes programme.

Local Liberal Democrats, concerned at the continual problems with the Decent Homes programme, have questioned Labour’s ability to control such large financial projects.

Cllr Matt Davies, Liberal Democrat Housing Spokesperson, comments:

“This project is rapidly descending into a financial farce. Sadly, once again, it is the Haringey taxpayer and council leaseholders who will have to pick up the tab for Labour’s financial incompetence.

“The Council’s own report shows that the Decent Homes project is over-budget, thanks to the massive overspend on digital aerials and pitched roofs.

“It may be desirable to have these, but you do not spend money that you do not have and which was never in the original budget.

“Now, Labour have had to dip into the Major Repairs Fund, which was already allocated for urgent repairs, to bail out the Decent Homes Project. It clearly demonstrates yet another Labour financial project that is out of control.”

Lynne Featherstone MP adds:

“This is more evidence of a council in crisis. Council leaseholders are being used as a cash cow, to hide Labour’s financial incompetence in the Decent Homes programme. They have had to fork out over £1000 each, to fund Labour’s reckless spending.”