Members of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) will discuss ways the service can achieve Mayor Boris Johnson’s proposed budget of £431.9m (currently
£422.3m for 2008/09) and his direction that they use £15.6m of the Authority’s reserves to fund the budget.

Officials say they have an undertaking from the Mayor that any additional savings which are identified before during the budget setting will be used to reduce the amount taken from reserves.

LFEPA Chairman Brian Coleman, who is also a Conservative member of the London Assembly, said Mayor Johnson’s draft budget “provides sensible management of public funds to provide London with the fire and rescue service which Londoners need and expect.”

Coleman promised that there “will be no cuts to frontline services”.

Licensed retailers are also being reminded of their obligations which include ensuring staff do not sell fireworks to any person under 18. Trading Standards officers are also warning that it is illegal to set off fireworks between 11pm and 7am.  

Barking and Dagenham Councillor Milton McKenzie, executive member for consumer protection, said “fireworks really help the night go with a bang” but warned that “traders must also take heed that we will crack down on anyone selling fireworks to underage people or trading without the proper license.” 

Most local councils hold public fireworks displays on November 5th, details can be obtained from your local Town Hall. 

The findings are the result of a joint investigation by the Metropolitan Police Service, London Fire Brigade and Forensic Science Services, working with electrical examination experts Dr Burgoyne’s & Partners LLP.

Police Officers studied over 250 hours of CCTV footage and spoke to 70 contractors working on the ship during the course of their investigations.

According to the Cutty Sark Conservation Project “there was amazingly little damage to the ship’s original material” and the ship is expected to re-open in Spring 2010.

Link: www.cuttysark.org.uk

The warning comes as Mayor Johnson, Transport for London (TfL) and the Metropolitan Police Service launched the latest phase of the Safer Travel at Night campaign aimed at raising awareness of the dangers of using illegal cabs.

Thanks to the Cabwise service users within the capital can get numbers for two  ocal licensed minicab firms and a black cab company by texting HOME to 60835. The Mayor said the service “is a number that all those going out in London should save on their mobiles.”

According to statistics released by TfL the proportion of women using illegal cabs to get home late at night has fallen from 19 per cent in 2003 to three per cent in 2008. Despite this fall, official police figures show that 104 cab-related sexual attacks were committed in 2007.

Johnson’s warnings have been backed by Chief Superintendent Joe Royle, of the Transport Operational Command Unit (TOCU), who cautioned that “the dangers of taking an illegal minicab should never be underestimated.”

The latest phase of the Safer Travel at Night campaign, which includes outdoor poster, radio and tv advertising, has been timed to co-incide with the arrival of thousands of university students in the Capital, many of whom are unfamiliar with London’s late night travel options.

The ‘Safe as Houses’ packs include a ‘Nominated Neighbour’ card which enables older and more vulnerable people to tell unexpected callers to contact a nominated neighbour who lives nearby. Organisers say the card can be displayed through a window or letter box so that the older person need not open the door. If the call is genuine, the nominated neighbour will agree to return with the caller and stay until their business is completed.

The packs also include advice from Bromley Council on avoiding rogue traders and staying put in your own home, fire prevention pointers from London Fire Brigade and advice on domiciliary care, general maintenance and home repairs from Age Concern.

Safer Bromley Partnership Chairman, Cllr Colin Bloom said the pack: “demonstrates very well how members of the Safer Bromley Partnership come together to focus on the needs of a specific group of residents in the borough.”

“We want older people to feel safe in their own homes and having a supportive community can often help this to be the case. The new Nominated Neighbour initiative in particular promotes an easy-to-set-up way in which the local community can look out for others in their neighbourhood.”

According to council officials the belts located by lakes in Beckton District Park North and Forest Lane Park are often removed and sometimes thrown into the water.

Newham Councillor June Leitch said: “Beckton District Park and Forest Lane Park are very popular and are visited a lot by residents, especially at this time of year. We are very fortunate to have the lakes in the parks, which are a haven for wildlife and a place of tranquillity.”

According to Cllr Leitch, who is the executive member for anti-social behaviour, “no sooner are the life belts replaced, they are vandalised soon afterwards. The foolish actions by these uncaring individuals are endangering the lives of people.”

“I find it extremely hard to believe why anyone would act so irresponsibly. These life belts are there to help anyone whose lives may depend upon them.”

The council is asking anyone who witnesses someone damaging or stealing the life belts to report it in confidence on 0800 731 3300.

Assistant Commissioner for community safety Steve Turek said: “Nobody wants to go on holiday and find out their home has been wrecked by fire. Taking a few minutes to carry out some simple checks could prevent this from happening.”

The Brigade have issued six important tips to anyone leaving their home empty:

• Switch off and unplug all unnecessary electrical equipment including appliances such as TVs and radios which have a ‘standby’ mode.
• Turn the water off at the mains. Water from a leaking pipe or overflowing cistern could short out electrical wiring and cause a fire.
• Close down the gas supply at the mains unless you have gas-powered appliances which need to be left on.
• Let a neighbour know you are going away and leave a key with them.
• Close all doors and windows, especially the internal doors, so if fire breaks out its spread will be slowed down.
• Check your smoke alarms and change the batteries if necessary

The Brigade is offering all London residents a free home fire safety visit. Firefighters visit homes, talk to you about fire risks and fit free smoke alarms if they are needed. For further information on fire safety in your home go to www.london-fire.gov.uk.

The London Living Wage has been calculated yearly for each of the past four years and recognises the higher costs of living in the capital which are not reflected in the National Minimum Wage. All GLA staff are currently paid the 2007 Living Wage rate of £7.20 per hour.

Today’s announcement marks a major change of policy for City Hall’s Conservatives. Last June former Mayor Ken Livingstone clashed with Conservative members of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority after they voted against plans to pay cleaners the then Living Wage of £7.20.

At the time Brian Coleman, now Chair of the LFEPA, claimed: “Paying London Fire Station cleaners the London Living wage of £7.20, as Labour’s Val Shawcross suggested, is just ridiculous. A wage hike to those levels is equivalent to the cost of running four stations.”

In a statement issued this afternoon Mayor Johnson said “there is too much poverty and depravation” in the capital and that he wants “City Hall to lead by example by ensuring its staff can maintain a decent standard of living in one of the most expensive cities in the world. Therefore I have made it clear to all parts of the organization that I expect the Living Wage to be the basic standard.”

The Mayor’s announcement has been backed by Megan Dobney, Regional Secretary for the TUC in London, who said unions were “pleased that Boris Johnson has committed to the continued implementation of the policy throughout the GLA Group.”

A number of major corporations including Barclays, KPMG, Credit Suisse and Lehman Brothers have adopted the London Living Wage.

Barclays Employee Relations Director Dominic Johnson said the company “believe that people who work for our contractors, whether cleaners, security staff or in other roles, all contribute to our customers’ experience of Barclays. Fair pay means motivated staff who stay working at Barclays longer. Improving people’s standard of living makes business sense.”

The pair will be joining the march to promote the Brigade’s commitment to recruiting people from all the capital’s communities. This year the Brigade was ranked 13th in the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index.

Before joining the march the pair will hosting a Pride breakfast at Soho Fire Station.

Councillor Coleman, who is also a London Assembly, said: “As the first openly gay Chairman of LFEPA, I am determined to get the message through that being gay in the fire brigade is just as ordinary as being gay in any other profession.”

However Coleman says there “is no room for complacency and there is still much to do before we have a truly diverse workforce. We are proud to be part of London’s Pride celebrations and look forward to working with the community.”

Commissioner Dobson said he was “really looking forward to taking part in the parade” adding that he was “keen to join firefighters and other Brigade staff to meet what I’ve heard is a very loud and welcoming crowd.”

“It’s so important to be part of events like Pride to make sure that we are reaching the LGBT audience with fire prevention messages, and to encourage people who may not have thought about a career working with us to do so.”

Organisers say the Wednesday’s (25 June) event will be a unique opportunity to discuss how the UK’s fire and safety services can develop existing efforts in the future.

Cllr Brian Coleman, AM, FRSA, Chairman of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority said the Brigade’s youth engagement schemes, including the Local Intervention Fire Education (LIFE) programme, “have been proven to reach out to the young people in our communities and improve motivation and confidence.”

“Most significantly they have also resulted in the capital now having one of the lowest rates of attacks on firefighters in the country.”

Wednesday’s event will be opened by Councillor Coleman and speakers will include Fire Minister Parmjit Dhanda, London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson, the Government’s Chief Fire Advisor Sir Ken Knight and representatives from the Princes Trust, the Youth Justice Board, the Department of Children, Schools and Families and the National Youth Agency.

Fire Minister Parmjit Dhanda said the London Fire Brigade’s initiatives “have put thousands of youngsters on the right track through a number of skills and confidence-boosting initiatives and I’m delighted they’re hosting this valuable event.”