Row over £1.2million council fund as Haringey budget approved (From Haringey Independent)

Row over £1.2million council fund as Haringey budget approved

3:33pm Friday 10th February 2012 in News By David Hardiman

A political spat has erupted over a £1.2million investment fund after Haringey Council revealed its budget proposals for the next year.

The council’s cabinet agreed the budget for the next financial year on Tuesday, including the £1.2m One Borough One Future Fund – which the council says is for projects that “support innovation and change, stimulate new ideas and help the council deliver on its key priority of addressing inequality”.

Other investments include a one-off £200,000 grant for new benches, fences and bins in the borough’s parks – which were hit by a 50 per cent cut in funding last year – and £2m to help tackle youth unemployment.

The proposals also include an inflation-busting 7.5 per cent housing rent increase.

Councillor Joe Goldberg, cabinet member for finance, told the Haringey Independent in October that a raft of cuts totalling £19m – which could mean the closure of two children’s homes and a further 300 job losses – would have to be made after cuts in Government funding.

He said this week: “This budget addresses the council’s key priorities – tackling unemployment and investing in jobs, reducing inequality, providing high quality services for residents and making a commitment to the long-term regeneration of Tottenham.

“This is a budget that looks to the future and I very much hope it will provide the platform for voluntary organisations, residents and business to pull together to help all the communities of Haringey to fulfil their potential – from Tottenham to Wood Green, Hornsey and Muswell Hill.”

The council says it has had to cut £84m from a total budget of £273m for the three years from 2011 after massive cuts in central Government funding.

Most of those cuts were made last year when £41m was cut from the budget, closing youth centres, after-school clubs and a youth counselling service.

But Liberal Democrats have already attacked the £1.2m One Borough One Future Fund for being a “Labour slush fund” short on detail that will be used for party political aims.

Councillor Paul Strang, Lib Dem resources spokesman, said: “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.”

The full budget proposals will be presented to a meeting of the full council on February 28, where they will be debated by both parties – although it is highly likely they will be rubber-stamped by Labour councillors who hold a majority.