MIL Pubishing Engine 2

Source: City of Portsmouth

A team of 24 foster carers, the children they care for, their birth children and families, staff members and supporters took part in the Great South Run’s 10-mile, 5km, junior and mini races on behalf of Foster Portsmouth last weekend.

Eleven foster carers, five children they care for, five of their birth children, two Portsmouth City Council staff and a supporter all teamed up for the four races around our city over the weekend. Wearing branded running vests, they hoped to raise awareness of Foster Portsmouth and the need for more foster carers from diverse backgrounds to provide a safe home for the vulnerable children and young people in Portsmouth.

Foster carer Rob Cooke, who ran the 5km for Foster Portsmouth this year, said:

“I’ve been a keen runner for around 10 years. I’ve completed the Great South Run 10-mile race three times, one of which was for Foster Portsmouth. I prefer shorter runs now… and so do my knees!”

Rob added:

“I have loved fostering and would recommend it to anyone who feels they have some spare time. There are so many children who need caring for.”

The 5km, junior and mini races all took place on Saturday 14 October and the 10-mile race took place on Sunday 15 October. All four races took in many of the city’s iconic sites.

Cllr Suzy Horton, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Education at Portsmouth City Council, commented:

“It is fantastic to see some of the younger members of our fostering community join our Foster Portsmouth Great South Run team this year! It really made for an extra special family atmosphere over the weekend.”

Cllr Horton continued:

“Our team wearing our running vests really helps support us in raising the profile of Foster Portsmouth locally as well as the need for additional loving foster homes in Portsmouth and the surrounding areas for the children and young people in need of care in our city.”

“I’d like to thank all of the team on behalf of Foster Portsmouth!”

The council welcomes all enquiries about fostering. Portsmouth City Council’s foster carers all share the same commitment and motivation to make a positive difference to a child’s life. This could be a short or long-term arrangement until they’re ready to live independently or be reunited with family, support for unaccompanied children seeking asylum or children with a disability, Supported Lodgings to develop their independent living skills, a parent and baby placement, or respite care.

Foster carer David Holmes said:

“The Great South Run is an amazing event and I ran in Foster Portsmouth colours again this year to raise awareness of the need for foster carers within the city.”

“My wife and I have been doing respite and short-term fostering through Portsmouth City Council for just under two years now and have found it to be a very rewarding experience opening our home to young people in need.”

David continued:

“I am running both the Great South Run and the Gosport half marathon with the aim to also raise funds for Flying Solo, an organisation that helps to support care leavers who begin their adult lives with no family support structure to fall back on.”

Foster Portsmouth needs more foster carers from diverse backgrounds to reflect the children and young people we look after in our city. Anyone aged 21+ with a spare bedroom can foster with us regardless of their age, gender, faith, ethnicity, sexuality, marital or work status, or whether they rent or own their own home.

It was a family affair for foster carer Nikki Cameron this weekend. Nikki ran the 5k with her son Jude, her husband Steve ran the 10-mile, and two more children in the family ran the junior and mini race.

Nikki shared:

“We are all a little stiff today!”

Clare Maker, who will be celebrating her third anniversary as a Portsmouth City Council respite and short-term foster carer later this month, reported:

“I thoroughly enjoyed the run which I didn’t expect to and beat my time from 2 years ago by about 15 minutes!”

Foster carers receive excellent, local training and 24/7 support, including through our pioneering Mockingbird Family Model support network and mentoring scheme, discounts and benefits, and competitive fees and allowances.

To learn more about fostering with Foster Portsmouth, please contact the fostering recruitment team on 023 9283 4071, visit www.foster.portsmouth.gov.uk or email fostering@portsmouthcc.gov.uk.

Source: London Assembly

Commenting on Department for Work and Pensions data showing that 977,966 Londoners are now claiming Universal Credit, London Assembly Labour Economy spokesperson, Marina Ahmad AM said:

“This is a sad but not surprising reflection of the government’s economic failures across the country. Low wages, insecure work and a cost-of-living crisis have pushed almost a million Londoners onto Universal Credit. More people than ever cannot find stable, well-paid work to support themselves and their families so have been forced to use government benefits instead.

“We know that the low amount of these payments keeps people in punishing levels of poverty. 90% of claimants are unable to afford the essentials – meaning they are being forced to skip meals, go into debt, and dread their next bill.

“The uplift worked during the pandemic and was a lifeline to many. The government must lift the amount paid through Universal Credit and must address the cost of living crisis so that fewer Londoners are forced into poverty.”

Source: City of Portsmouth

Portsmouth’s voluntary and community organisations are set to benefit from up to £60,000 of new funding to support both unexpected costs and new projects.

Portsmouth City Council has announced £30,000 has been given to HIVE Portsmouth which will be used to provide groups and organisations with grants of up to £5,000 while the council will be allocating a similar amount through the return of its popular Community Inclusion Grants.

HIVE Portsmouth’s grants will support organisations struggling to meet unexpected or increased running costs related to delivering their services and will be available until the £30,000 has been allocated.

The council’s Community Inclusion Grant scheme awards grants of up to £1,000 for projects that challenge inequality, advance equality and celebrate diversity in Portsmouth, so could be suitable for any groups looking to attract a wider range of members, make their facilities more accessible or highlight unique aspects of a group or community. Applications are open until 3 December.

Chief Officer of HIVE Portsmouth Lorna Reavley said: “We’ve had a lot of feedback from voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations that the issues they’re facing right now are around one-off costs they weren’t expecting. This funding from the council means we can provide some support with that whether it’s a particularly large bill, or paying for extra staff to cover someone’s absence, if organisations talk to us we’ll find the best way to help them.”

Cllr Steve Pitt, Leader of Portsmouth City Council, said: “It is great news we have been able to secure funding for these two schemes. Portsmouth has a really strong voluntary and community sector and this support can ensure it stays that way. We’ve struck a great balance with the grants from HIVE Portsmouth available to help with unexpected costs while the Community Inclusion Grants support specific new projects groups want to take forward.”

More information is available on the Community Inclusion Grants webpage.

To talk to HIVE Portsmouth about grants available to support voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations email grants@hiveportsmouth.org.uk

Source: London Assembly

Following the Covid-19 pandemic, the design of our public spaces must adapt to meet the changing need of Londoners.

The 15-minute city is an urban planning model that aims to deliver neighbourhoods the necessities of modern life, including access to jobs, public services, recreational facilities, and other basic amenities to be available within a 15-minutes walk or cycle from home.^[1]

London has more than 600 high streets and 90 per cent of Londoners live within ten minutes of their high street.^[2]This has led to questions as to whether London is already a 15-minute city.

In September 2023, the London Borough of Waltham Forest published a Public Service Strategy, which includes a five-point plan to make the 15-minute neighbourhood a reality in the borough.^[3]

The London Assembly Planning and Regeneration Committee will meet tomorrow to investigate the 15-minute city concept, whether it could benefit the health and wellbeing of Londoners, and whether urban planners should be designing with the concept in mind.

Guests at the meeting include:

• Nicholas Boys Smith, Director, Create Streets
• Catherine Gall, Executive Director, Chaire ETI
• Enrica Papa, Associate Professor, University of Westminster
• Jonathan Lloyd, Corporate Director of Strategy and Change, Waltham Forest Council
• Matthew McCartney, Senior Researcher, Charter Cities Institute
• Stephen Passmore, Head of Knowledge, Future of London

The meeting will take place on Wednesday 18 October from 2pm, in Committee Room 2 and 3, at City Hall, Kamal Chunchie Way, E16 1ZE.

Media and members of the public are invited to attend.

The meeting can also be viewed LIVE or later via webcast or YouTube.

Follow us @LondonAssembly.

Source: London Assembly

• Apple, Samsung and Google among leading mobile phone manufacturers represented in milestone meeting at City Hall
• Meeting will focus on how the police, City Hall and the mobile phone industry can work better together to find the most effective deterrent to mobile phone crime
• Action comes as figures show criminal demand for the latest devices continues to rise nationally, with 157 mobile phones stolen every day in London in the last year*

 

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service, Sir Mark Rowley, will today (Tuesday, 17^th October) convene a landmark meeting with world-leading mobile phone companies to ask them to commit to designing out mobile phone robbery.

 

Apple, Samsung and Google are just some of the leading mobile manufacturers that will be represented in the milestone meeting at City Hall which will include representatives from major UK mobile phone network providers.

 

The meeting will focus on how the police, City Hall and the mobile phone industry can work better together to find the most effective deterrent and ultimately significantly reduce mobile phone robberies in London and beyond.

 

It follows a call to action from the Mayor of London and Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley in August for the mobile phone industry to play their part and “deliver bold and innovative technological solutions” to help tackle the rising number of robberies and thefts in the capital.¹

 

Figures show criminal demand for the latest devices continues to rise. In the last 12 months there has been a 28 per cent increase in mobile phone robbery in London and a 22% increase in theft of mobile phones. This represents a total of 57,174 mobile phones reported stolen and equates to an average of 157 mobile phones stolen every day in London.²

 

The Met continues its dedicated work to pursue perpetrators and target mobile phone crime hotspots. However, the Mayor and the Commissioner agree there is more that can be done to prevent mobile phone theft by making it harder for stolen phones to be re-used and registered for services not just on phone networks but also for services provided by Apple, Google Play, Samsung and other online stores.

 

Existing security measures, including pin, fingerprint and facial ID, are not deterring criminals from stealing mobile phones which remain in high demand and are being sold and re-used in a lucrative underground criminal market. And the release of new more expensive mobile phones is having an impact on the increase in robberies and thefts in London and across the UK.

 

A number of options will be discussed by leading industry, technological and policing experts at today’s meeting, including:

• Improving the location tracing of stolen mobile phones so the cycle of handling stolen goods can be broken, more devices can be recovered and offenders brought to justice;
• Taking action that could stop stolen mobile phones being able to be re-registered for services provided by Apple, Google Play, Samsung and other online stores;
• Exploring steps that could prevent stolen devices being used outside the UK.

 

Today’s meeting will also focus on the evolving nature of mobile phone theft – ask for commitments to work to look at options that will make it substantially harder for phones to be broken up for parts abroad. It will also seek to counter the growing menace of identity fraud whereby criminals steal the digital identity of victims and use it to access electronic payment apps, bank accounts and other personal information.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Today we’ve convened leading representatives from the mobile phone industry to design out the theft and robbery of mobile phones and ultimately make London safer for everyone.

“This meeting is an important milestone to developing a practical and long-term solution to ending the menace of mobile phone crime which we know is driving violence and criminality in our communities – not just in London but across the UK.

“Right now, it is far too easy and profitable for criminals to repurpose and sell on stolen phones. That must change and is why, alongside strengthening neighbourhood policing and record investment in supporting the police to go after the worst offenders, the Commissioner and I are now working closely with mobile phone industry to develop innovative and technological solutions that make a stolen phone far less desirable and usable by thieves.”

Met Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, said: “Current mobile phone operating systems make it far too easy for criminals to steal devices, re-register them, and sell them on. This fuels a highly lucrative and profitable criminal market across the capital, and is central to the rise in thefts, robbery and violent offending we’ve seen over the last two years.

“We remain focused on driving down violence in all its forms. We’re rebuilding neighbourhood policing, using data and tech to target hotspots and arresting criminals responsible for brazenly stealing phones from the hands of Londoners every day. Just this weekend we made multiple arrests and seized more than 70 stolen phones at a shop selling them onwards.

“But until we design out the ability for phones to be used in the way they currently are, we will be stuck in a vicious circle. Key mobile phone players have a huge part to play in crushing this criminal market, and this meeting is a really important step forward, but we have to move quickly. Over the last six months more than 26,000 phones have been stolen from Londoners. We can’t wait another six months to take action.”

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Sophie Linden, said: “Today is a really important opportunity for real collaboration between the police, mobile phone companies and the mobile phone manufacturers in our efforts to tackle smartphone robbery.

“Using the latest technical advances, we want to establish universal security measures that are not just an opt-in, but come as standard and are fail-safe – making smartphone crime far less lucrative for potential offenders.

“These crimes often cause untold psychological, physical and financial harms to phone owners. But with the support of the industry giants we can start to design-out and prevent these robberies across the capital and beyond.”

Aleyne Johnson, Director of Government and External Relations at Samsung UK, said: “Samsung has been working closely with the Mayor’s Office, the Met Police and authorities in London on the issue of mobile phone theft and related crimes. We are joining the Mayoral roundtable and look forward to discussing existing and potential new solutions to help combat this complex issue and improve the safety of mobile phone users.

“We encourage all of our customers to protect their device by setting up the security and privacy features, like ‘lock screen’, to use the latest security updates and please go to: What to do if your Samsung phone is lost or stolen & How to find it | Samsung UK for help in the event your device is lost or stolen.”

 

Hamish MacLeod, Chief Executive Mobile UK said: “Mobile Operators and the Device and Operating System manufacturers have several capabilities and measures to deter the theft of mobile phones, including the provision of capabilities which customers can enable, allowing them to track and disable mobile handsets. We welcome today’s roundtable to discuss with the Mayor of London and the Metropolitan Police further actions, including prioritising mobile theft and prosecutions to deter and reduce these crimes.”

 

Claire Waxman OBE, London’s Independent Victims’ Commissioner, said: “These days so much of Londoners’ lives are on their mobile smartphone – family photos, online banking, diaries, travelcards, wallet and emails. So while every robbery or theft is traumatic, the impact of the loss of a phone can go far beyond the loss of a personal possession containing so much that cannot be replaced. Carrying a phone is also felt by many as a security blanket – a way of contacting loved ones, emergency services or providing maps and information to help you navigate the city. The fear of smartphone robbery can severely impact how people go about their daily lives.

 “That’s why I welcome today’s landmark meeting between the Mayor, the Met Commissioner and the mobile phone industry and the proactive and intelligent approach they are leading to tackling the problem. Mobile phone crime is a menace and we need to seize this unique opportunity to develop a long-term and innovative deterrent to protect Londoners.”

Source: London Assembly

The Mayor’s preferred pathway to net zero will require 2.2 million heat pumps installed and operational by 2030.^[1] The UK government has a target for installing 600,000 heat pumps a year by 2028^[2], however fewer than 10 per cent of this level were installed in 2022.^[3]

The Mayor declared a Climate Emergency in 2019, and in 2022 published the London Net Zero 2030 analysis by Element Energy.^[4] This evaluated four pathways for policies to reach net zero targets by 2030, with estimates for the numbers of jobs that would be needed to achieve these – estimated at around 50,000 additional green skills jobs in London by 2026.

The Mayor has a number of initiatives and programmes aimed at increasing the supply of low-carbon skills and jobs, including the Mayor’s Academy Programme and London Retrofit Accelerator.

The London Assembly Environment Committee will meet tomorrow to investigate the challenges of increasing supply of low-carbon skills jobs, and how effective the Mayor’s programmes have been to date.

Guests at the meeting include:

• Jules Pipe CBE, Deputy Mayor for Planning, Regeneration and Skills
• Dr Austin Entonu MBE, Head of Energy, GLA
• Cara Jenkinson, Interim Head of Cities, Ashden
• Andrew Eldred, Director of Workforce and Public Affairs, Electrical Contractors’ Association
• Ann-Marie Soyinka, Assistant Director for Skills and Employment Unit, GLA
• Nancy Jonsson, Technical Consultant, Heat Pumps Association
• Polly Persechino, Head of Economy, Skills and Employment, South London Partnership

The meeting will take place on Wednesday 18 October from 10am, in Committee Rooms 2 and 3, at City Hall, Kamal Chunchie Way, E16 1ZE.

Media and members of the public are invited to attend.

The meeting can also be viewed LIVE or later via webcast or YouTube.

Follow us @LondonAssembly.

Source: City of York

City of York Council and One Adoption North and Humber, the regional adoption agency for the York, North Yorkshire and the Humber, are supporting this year’s National Adoption Week, 16 to 22 October.

Source: City of Portsmouth

Over the summer holidays hundreds of children from across the city visited the public libraries to sign up for the ‘Ready, Set, Read!’ challenge. Children set their own targets of how many books they would read and borrow during the summer, in a hope to attend the winners’ ceremony and receive a well-earned medal.

Treasure hunts, facepainting, storytelling from Debutots and a silent disco, were just a few of the activities that the children enjoyed. They also had the chance to try out Bounce Fitness and an original puppet theatre performed by the Doyle Detectives.

The challenge was set to encourage children to keep their minds and bodies active over the summer holidays. For every book they read, the children received stickers and other incentives to keep them reading, before finally being presented with a certificate in their local library.

Charlie, aged 6 from Paulsgrove said, ‘I loved reading so many great books in my holidays and finding more about Portsmouth doing the treasure trail! I can’t wait to take part again next summer’.

The challenge recognised reading in all sorts of formats: story books, graphic novels, poetry, joke books, picture books eBooks and eAudio books, which can all be borrowed from the city’s local libraries.

Cllr Steve Pitt, Leader of Portsmouth City Council and Cabinet Member responsible for culture, said:

“The summer reading challenge was a great success. Reading has so many benefits for all, including improved self-esteem, freeing the imagination, broadening vocabulary, bringing joy, and most importantly, it’s fun! We are a city rich in culture and creativity and aim to spark creativity in our younger generation. Thank you to our libraries for providing such a valuable service.”

Cllr Suzy Horton, Deputy Leader at Portsmouth City Council and Cabinet Member for Children, Families & Education added:

“The libraries’ challenge is a fantastic way to encourage young people to open themselves up to the world of stories. Reading develops vital life skills, opens up opportunities and enhances their enjoyment in books for the rest of their lives. It’s amazing that so many children have taken part this year and we are thrilled to be able to celebrate their success with this wonderful event to reward them for their efforts”.

Source: City of Portsmouth

A yearlong project to replace Mountbatten Leisure Centre’s roof and carry out essential maintenance and repairs to its plant equipment is set to begin this winter, funded by Portsmouth City Council.

The repair to the Mountbatten Leisure Centre roof and plant was agreed in Portsmouth City Council’s 2023/4 capital budget, as one of four key investments. The others being for power upgrade at the port, city centre north regeneration and transport and street environment improvements, including active travel. Other spending in the council’s 2023/4 budget saw investment in schools, additional spending in Children’s Social Care and Adult Social Care, doubling the tree canopy across the city, the provision of grants to families on low incomes to help with the Cost-of-Living Crisis, and investment in the seafront.

The project will be carried out by specialist contractors in phases to minimise disruption on public health and wellbeing services. The first phase of work begins in November 2023 when the sports hall will be temporarily closed until Summer 2024 while overhead works are carried out.

The rest of the leisure centre, including the car park, gym, swimming pools, classes and café will all be open and running as usual. However, it is planned that activities usually taking place in the sports hall will be relocated to other areas of the centre and at neighbouring locations where possible. PAYG sessions for sports including badminton, basketball, baton-twirling and table tennis will also be available at Wimbledon Park Sports Centre and Charter Community Sports Centre.

Mountbatten Leisure Centre is managed by registered charity BH Live, in partnership with Portsmouth City Council.

Leader of the Council with responsibility for leisure, Cllr Steve Pitt, said, “The original section of Mountbatten Centre’s roof was built in the 1980s and the plant equipment and structure are no longer sustainable, so it’s vital to carry out these works for the centre to continue to operate.

“We’re providing the funding for the works at Mountbatten Centre because we’re committed to provide this much-needed health and wellbeing facility for our residents, in line with our vision for people to live healthy, happy lives.”

Customers are being advised of the temporary sports hall closure and how it may affect them. Alternative pools, gyms and classes are also available for customers to use as part of their multisite BH Live Active membership or on a pay as go you basis at other local centres. These include Pyramids and Charter Community Sports Centre. Facilities vary at each centre.

See bhliveactive.org.uk for more information and ask in centre if any assistance is needed.

Source: Northern Ireland – City of Derry

Mayor guest starts 200th Derry City junior parkrun

16 October 2023

Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Councillor Patricia Logue, was the guest of honour as the Derry City junior parkrun celebrated the milestone of its 200th event at St Columb’s Park on Sunday morning.

The junior parkrun takes place every Sunday and is a free, safe and fun way for children to take part in a 2k run (jog or walk).

It is open to any child over four years old and they can take part until the day before their 15th birthday.

The course is marshalled so that juniors will be in sight of at least one marshal at all times.

Mayor Logue started Sunday’s event where 85 young runners completed the course on the St Columb’s Park greenway.

“I was privileged to be able to attend the Derry City junior parkrun on their 200th outing on Sunday morning,” she said.

“Junior parkrun is a great introduction to running and physical exercise for the young people who take part and while some of them may go on to pursue further goals in running, all of them will reap the social, physical and mental benefits it brings.

“The event would not be possible without the dedicated network of volunteers who host it each Sunday and I would like to thank them for the positive impact they have had on so many young people’s lives over the last 200 events.

“I would encourage all the youngsters in our City and District to consider trying out the junior parkrun, what better way to start your Sunday morning than by getting up, outdoors and active.

“Here’s to the next 200…!”

The junior parkrun assembles each Sunday on the St Columb’s Park greenway beside the Foyle Arena Carpark and starts at 9.30am, registration is free and details are available on the parkrun website at www.parkrun.org.uk/derrycity-juniors/