10:47am Friday 27th August 2010
Councillor Phillip O’Dell asks whether the Government’s decision to scrap the Playbuilder Scheme for renovating play areas is “a pity”, and I suppose it is (‘Another blow for youngsters’, Your Views, August 19).
However, what is even more of a pity is that his Labour administration had the money to continue the renovation work, but chose to spend it on computers instead.
Polling shows that a large majority of people recognise the need for the Government to make cuts in order to pay off the massive national debt that Labour left behind.
And it is inevitable that some well-meaning but non-essential schemes like this will fall victim to those cuts, because Labour spent and promised money the country cannot afford.
However, when Cllr O’Dell talks about this decision being “another blow for the young people of Harrow”, it’s a case of him not putting his money where his mouth is.
In July, his administration committed £450,000 to a new IT contract that had been earmarked for the now cancelled Buildings Schools for the Future scheme.
There are also additional plans to provide councillors and officers with laptops and Blackberrys; the last time Labour bought laptops for councillors it cost over £255,000.
Therefore, the numbers show that Labour could have funded the additional 11 play area renovations if they really wanted to, since it cost just under £600,000 to renovate the first 11. So if Cllr O’Dell was really interested in the young people of Harrow, he would have voted for the money assigned to them to actually be spent on them.
Councillor Susan Hall, Harrow Council leader, Conservative
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.harrowtimes.co.uk/trade_directory/