Newham council is claiming victory after striking a deal with NatWest over £150m in high-cost bank loans that it says will save millions of pounds and enable it to boost spending on local services. The beleaguered east London authority said it expected to save up to £143m in interest payments over the remaining 41 years of the contract – or £3.5m per year – as a result of the deal. It also avoids a full-blown lawsuit, with Newham having withdrawn a high court claim against NatWest’s parent company, Royal Bank of Scotland. The offending lender option borrower option loans – known as lobos – have been criticised by activists and the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, for leaving councils on the hook for expensive interest payments that could be diverted to local services. Newham was in line to pay interest on six lobo loans, each worth £25m, over the next four decades. But after “lengthy negotiations” with the bank, Newham … [Read more...] about East London council claims victory with deal on NatWest loans
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UK patient first to be treated with clot-removing device
News / UK and world by Press Association April 4, 2019, 12:04 am Send us a story Sign up to our Daily newsletter A UK patient has become the first in the world to be treated using a new clot-removing device. Jackie Field, from Eltham in south-east London, was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis and underwent the procedure at St Thomas’ Hospital in November last year. The device, which is inserted into the vein and catches the clot in a “basket” before pulling it out, could reduce costs for the NHS and cut down the time patients spend in hospital, researchers say. Deep vein thrombosis affects around 620,000 people in the UK every year, according to charity Thrombosis UK. The NHS estimates that 25,000 people who are admitted to hospital die from preventable blood clots annually. Ms Field, a mother-of-two, developed a clot following an operation to repair an internal tear in her abdomen at Woolwich Hospital in November. The 55-year-old … [Read more...] about UK patient first to be treated with clot-removing device
Man pulls knife on London train passengers ‘as he tries to steal bag’
A would-be robber pulled a knife on terrified train passengers as he attempted to take a woman’s bag in south-east London, witnesses have said. Police were scrambled to Lewisham station to reports of an attempted robbery and a man in possession of a blade on Tuesday night. A passenger on the train said they believed an altercation ensued after someone tried to snatch a woman’s bag. He told the Standard a woman was “shouting about her bag” before a “big crowd” surrounded the area. Police removed a “large knife” from the scene and that there was some blood in the carriage, the witness added. The incident was on the Cannon Street to Crayford service, which departed at around 8.10am. Trains were temporarily stopped to and from the station, with its platform 2 fully closed. A man has been arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon and attempted robbery and was being taken to custody. Police said a Taser was … [Read more...] about Man pulls knife on London train passengers ‘as he tries to steal bag’
London’s creative industries are a culture club boxing out young people – here’s how we can fix that
London’s creative and cultural sector has boomed in recent years, but despite its success, women, members of black, Asian, and minority ethnic groups, and other people from less advantaged backgrounds remain woefully underrepresented, particularly in senior positions. This is a result of London’s creative industry becoming a “culture club” – one that is exclusive, with membership earned through financial stability and personal connections, rather than merit. This club-like mentality means that many Londoners are unable to work in the sector. Over the last six months, I’ve spoken to young creatives, cultural employers, universities, and colleges to try and understand what has gone wrong. Three main barriers have emerged. First, many young people face pressure to work for free, whether through unpaid internships or volunteering placements. This may be possible for those who are living with their parents, but for others – especially those from … [Read more...] about London’s creative industries are a culture club boxing out young people – here’s how we can fix that
Tower Hamlets destroys more dumped cars than any other London borough
PUBLISHED: 10:00 23 March 2019 Luke Acton Picture: Open Licence. Open Licence Tower Hamlets destroyed more abandoned cars than any other London borough according to freedom of information (FoI) requests. The council removed and destroyed 244 cars in the 12 months from April 2017.That means of the 2,338 cars removed in the city that year, more than one in 10 of them were in Tower Hamlets.But the number of abandoned cars reported to the borough is small in comparison to other areas of the capital.Half London’s local authorities got more than a thousand abandoned car reports in 2017/18. Tower Hamlets got only 396 that year.While outer London boroughs generally receive more reports, inner London boroughs have a higher rate of actually removing abandoned vehicles.It’s unknown what the exact relationship is between how many reports are made and how many cars are removed.Reasons for the difference between number of reports and the number of abandoned … [Read more...] about Tower Hamlets destroys more dumped cars than any other London borough