Harringay online

Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

A sign of the times.

It has been announced that Government funding for free swimming has been withdrawn from July 31. As a result, the Council has decided that that free swimming for Haringey residents who are 60 and over and 16 and under is to end in the autumn.

From September, Haringey residents who are 65 and over will continue to be able to swim for free from Monday-Friday from 9am-5pm if they have registered through the Active Card Scheme.

Children under three will also swim free of charge.

Finally under the Haringey school swimming programme children aged 9,10 and 11 who swim 50m front crawl and 50m back crawl will receive a book of swimming tickets for up to 50 free swims.

No new registrations for free swimming will be processed after August 6.



Tags for Forum Posts: public spending cuts, sport and leisure, swimming

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Learning how to swim should be a human right as learning to read is. Too many children die in water as it is (all children are drawn to water like a magnet), this act will drive the numbers of death by drowning up further. I am disgusted.
Haringey residents who are 65 and over will continue to be able to swim for free from Monday-Friday from 9am-5pm if they have registered through the Active Card Scheme
I'll register right away to save Britain's face in 2012. At least five more personal Golds - not counting the relay.
This is just the start James. You'll see many services being cut over the next year. This is why I was encouraging people to think about the cuts and contribute their thoughts as a basis for influencing what gets cut.

They'll be coming thick and fast.
Some councils have decided to subsidise free swimming themselves. See here.
To be fair to Haringey, they're doing exactly the same as Camden Michael.

My understanding of what Camden are doing is to continue free swimming till the end of the holidays but no longer. Same in Haringey. However, Camden's press release emphasises this aspect rather more than Haringey's did.
Will the cost of the AP fireworks was to be in the order of £100,000 or about £1,700 per councillor. If the "tiny" pay cut was taken from their basic remuneration, that would be in the order of 16% of their base allowance. Most councillors work pretty hard for their modest payment.

The fireworks have been a popular event for many years, but our Charitable Trust (from whose 'coffers' this event is paid for in the first instance), has not been able to afford this for many years now. Even in good times, it is debatable that so much money should be burnt up so quickly, but now we are assuredly not in good times.

Neither the Trust nor the Council (actually the same entity) can fund this "easily" although there is a slim chance that a commercial sponsor may yet be found.
I believe the current spending squeeze ought to make the council think hard about what its primary purpose is. Is it primarily to provide a service to the public or is it primarily to provide employment for council staff?

The March 2010 issue of Haringey People magazine (still unopened by me) has emblazoned on its front page in huge letters:

"0% COUNCIL TAX INCREASE 100% COMMITMENT TO FRONTLINE SERVICES".

The content of HP is approved by Members of the Council Majority Group and these slogans come pretty close to being election promises – two months before the poll itself.

The council will have choices as to how it cuts: I regard libraries as a front-line service and there are a number of things I would choose to cut before this genuine service to the public. #1 would be their PR department.
willhoyle: Are you serious ? Not teaching children to swim is akin to not teaching them to cross a busy road safely. Just because you were not taught to swim should not be a reason to condemn all children to the same fate.
I HOPE i'm wrong if i read into your post that children are a nuisance to you anyway and if they drown that's just tough. (please forgive me if i'm wrong)
Do the Council pay for lessons on how to cross the road safely ?
Surely this too is a parental responsibility ?

The abolition of Government funding is an example of handing power back to the people: If a particular Council decides to subsidse swimming, or any other activity, let them and the local voters/taxpayers can object or support if they wish.
Democracy in action :-)
This thread breaks the record for Meldrew awards
And you didn't have and benefit from free swimming lessons at school when you were a kid..?

I went to a TBC school and I certainly did.. in 1963/65

Handing power back to people -what rot!
Free skimming lessons you say? This is a disgrace. I would have thought there's quite enough theft of credit card information already without the council offering free lessons in skimming, which at a minimum, would appear to be prima facie unlawful.

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