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Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

 

Haringey Efficiency And Savings Programme - New proposals to Scrutiny Committee

(see document attached). Note, these are proposals yet to be voted through. The full council cabinet meeting will consider these proposals on February 8th.

 

Thank you to Councillor Alan Stanton for directing us to this document, released on the council website Friday 21st January.

 

Some items from the document are highlighted below. Feel free to highlight others. 

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Item 61 (page 5)

 

Children's Network

The Children Centre service will be reduced and services targeted to most vulnerable families. Will result in reduction to number of centres designated as providing the core children's centre offer.

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Item 75 (page 7)

 

Decommissioning of Neighbourhood Management Service

 

Close 'Neighbourhood Management' service, transferring key functions to other services within the Council.

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Item 59 (page 5)

 

After School Clubs

 

Resources from 'extended services' grant to be delegated to schools within their budgets. Intention is to secure new ways of providing this service through schools, other council providers, partners and a range of alternative providers.

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item 43 (page 4)

 

Commercial Leasing of Parks Based Facilities

 

Proposal to develop commercial leisure provision in parks in partnership with private sector/third sector operators. Noted that this 'will attract some opposition to Commercialisation'

 

 

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Item 58 (page 5)

 

Parks maintenance reduced

 

Parks staffing 'efficiences' will lead to a 50% reduction in Parks and Open Spaces maintenance regimes. Nineteen staff will go.

 

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Item 70 (page 6)

 

Restructure Planning Service

 

Proposal will mean London Borough of Haringey's Planning Service will be 'one of the smallest in London'.

 

All work will need to be focused and prioritised. 'It will not be possible to deal with all desired planning policy, projects, regeneration and requests by public & councillors.

 

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Items 79 & 80 (page 7)

 

Cessation of 'Victim Support for young people' & 'Independent Domestic Violence Advocate roles'

 

No further funding available.

 

Tags for Forum Posts: Haringey People, public spending cuts

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No, but Mrs Baldwin has had some, see further down. The LCC don't seem to know much about what is happening yet.

Unremarked in the press - not for long I don't think.  As the effects of the cuts become a bit clearer I think there will be more noise. 

Just a couple or three points of note:

 

Item 43 Recreation Services: Commercial leasing of Parks based Facilities

"Consultation already completed on one scheme where opposition issues could be substantially mitigated"  Saving £25 + 50 + 25 = £100K 2011-2014. "will improve range of rec facs but will attract some opposition to Commercialisation."

Does this mean us and the FP Basketball Area? And how will the "opposition issues" be substantially mitigated?

 

Item 75 Decommissioning Neighbourhood Management Service

To save £1.4million. Does that mean £200K x 7 Neighbourhood Areas over three years? Does that mean £66.67 pa in Dasos's office?

Of course the transfer of key functions to other services hence mitigating against any impact loss of NMS may cause just proves it's not only Claire Kober needs Latin lessons.

 

Total Cuts: Front loading seeks £30.3m in 2011-12 out of a total of £34.0m over 2011-2014.

If you frontloaded a Jewson truck like that it would be doing head stands right along Wightman Road.

Yes I know further cuts are going to be identified for Years 2 & 3, but still . . . .

Parks - Commercial leasing; yes there will now be huge pressure to push through schemes such as the football pitches at Finsbury Park.

 

Neighbourhood Management service - we'll have to wait and find out whether or not we'll keep these very useful services which are about to be farmed out elsewhere. Will the very popular MtD monies be scrapped?

Hi OAE - do I understand right, that Haringey needs to make savings of £34m over the next 3 years, and they're trying to save £30.3m in the first year alone? Or that as of April they've started the cuts that will save the £30m over the 3 years?  sorry, am probably being dense...

thank you if you can explain!

alix

Alix

 

The council claims on its website here that it has a budget shortfall of £46 million for the next 12 months. The latest round of cuts discussed here involve £30 millions for the next 12 months. The last round of cuts announced in December involve £28m but not sure how much of that is for the year ahead (£16m?). 

No Alix, you're not dense at all. I just became a bit denser while making a crack about extreme frontloading. I only did O-level 'rithmetic back in 1959, I'm afraid.

 

The figures in the Appendix for Scrutiny's scrutiny are designed to ensure that Council can set a balanced budget at least for 2011-2012.

 

The £46 million Matt mentions (or £47m in Claire Kober's presentation) is of course correct. December's £28m + February's £30+m = £58+m. So, as Matt says, £16m (12+4) . . . . towards next year.

 

with £39 millions and more coming down the line - for those of us who live for another year or so.

(Excuse all these annoying italics - italic button banjaxed in 'on' position.)

 

 

MAN THIS WHOLE TOWN IS GOING TO BLOW, ah well at least there will always be parking attendants around.

Will:

 

re haringey People, that is a very good point.

 

What I would be doing if I was Haringey Comms Director (hope you are reading Mr Director!) is looking at extensive revamp of Haringey Council website including options to send council updates by text message, email etc, in the guise of digital services delivery or somesuch.  Obviously the bins can't be emptied by text msg but there are other applications.

 

So I would get rid of HP paper based publication and either:

1) support local paper by paying for a free edition with council inserts say 3 times a year, to be distributed across boro in same way as HP

2) or if this is too expensive to just do 3 issues a year or somesuch (I imagine there is some kind of equalities case for having a paper-based product). Get rid of glossy paper - sooo last year - and do it on recycled newsprint (again cost dependent)

3) more radical alternative is actually to work with a partner website eg harringay online to publish public info

Yes Harringey People magazine could be pulped. There are other ways of advertising services which is basically what that magazine has been doing.

Yeah! Hol members have now suggested cutting Haringey People magazine - at my very rough estimate - 487 times. Only another few hundred repetitions to go before the entire budget gap disappears.

And, I wonder, what exactly are the free means of providing information which stand a real chance of reaching most households in Haringey? I'm not a particular fan of Haringey People, and would gladly do without more photos of councillors and MPs. But with local newspapers across the UK in their death throes, there's a need to be filled for information-giving, consultations etc. Websites don't yet have the coverage.

Yes. It means the same half a dozen people on HoL endlessly go on repeating the same thing.

And yes, local councils spend a lot of money on consultation - including ads in local papers. In many cases this is a statutory duty. And quite often the people who criticise this expenditure are among those criticising the Council for not doing enough consultation.

This is a fascinating topic which goes far wider than local councils' publications. It's actually about the incredibly rapid pace of change in the media landscape as the old gives way to the new.

So rather than parroting Eric Pickles, try reading around the topic and thinking for yourself. Perhaps start here for a non-political take from a writer who criticises everyone involved but thinks that.

"Trying to regulate council "newspapers" is as pointless and anachronistic as seeking to restrict the activities of town-criers."

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