A Hammersmith business has been fined almost £13,000 for flytipping offences.
When a council officer went to investigate sacks of illegally dumped waste outside Laptop Angels, King Street, in September 2010 he was subjected to a torrent of verbal abuse from the manager.
As the officer was going through one of the black bags, the manager of the business started picking rubbish and slamming it onto the pavement screaming, swearing and shouting abuse at the top of his voice.
The business was already well known to Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) Council for failing to have an agreement in place for the disposal of its trade waste and had been issued with fixed penalty notices before the incident. Both of these fines had not been paid.
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Crime is falling again in Hammersmith & Fulham despite the August riots that affected several parts of the capital.
There were 11,740 crimes committed across the borough in the six months to September 30 – which is 4 per cent down on the previous year.
If the decrease is maintained for the rest of the year it would be one of the best crime performances locally since records began.
The impressive decrease was achieved despite the fact that large parts of London were affected by violent disorder and looting in August – although proactive work by the local Police and council saw Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) emerge largely unscathed.
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The project to share council services across three inner London boroughs is on track to deliver its first £1m of savings by cutting senior management roles.
The Leaders of Kensington & Chelsea, Hammersmith & Fulham and Westminster announced on Monday that the savings include:
- £320k by sharing a single Director of Children’s Services;
- £320k by sharing a single Director of Adult Services;
- £100k by sharing a single Director of Libraries;
- £150k by combining environmental services across Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) and Kensington & Chelsea; and
- £120k by combining making a joint appointment to the Director for Schools’ Quality and Standards between H&F and Kensington & Chelsea.
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Council tenants who want to buy their own homes will benefit from an increased right to buy discount the Government announced this week.
The revised scheme will involve residents getting a larger discount than at present, although the details are yet to be confirmed, and new rules will see a new affordable home built for every one sold.
Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) Council has welcomed the move after the discount was slashed from £38,000 to £16,000 in 2004 triggering sales to slump from 245 (in 2003/2004) to just seven last year (2010/2011). H&F has the fourth highest house prices in Britain and many people who would like to own a place locally are currently priced out of the market.
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The number of children in care in Hammersmith & Fulham has fallen for the fifth year running – bucking the national trend.
Statistics from the Department for Education show that there are 250 ‘looked after children' in the borough. That compares to 260 in care in 2010, 320 in 2008 and 365 in 2007. Since these figures were published, the council has managed to take a further 10 children out of care.
There are many reasons why some children are placed in care. It might be that a child’s family needs help because of illness or because people are worried about the safety of a child. Living in care can include staying with foster parents or living in a care home.
H&F’s results are in stark contrast with the rest of the country, where that are 65,520 looked after children currently, an increase of 2 per cent from 2010 and an increase of 9 per cent since 2007.
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