Dog disease that can jump to humans is spreading in Britain

September 18, 2023 News Editor

A dog disease that can jump from canines to humans is now spreading between dogs in Britain for the first time, the Telegraph understands.

Brucella canis is a disease that leads to infertility in dogs and is incurable and was previously only seen in imported animals.

But Dr Christine Middlemiss, chief veterinary officer at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, told the Telegraph there is now evidence some dogs are catching the infection in the UK.

It is not considered endemic due to low numbers and all the British dogs that caught Brucella canis had either mated with an imported dog, had contact with a pregnant imported dog, or are the offspring of an import.

“We have had spread of a case in the UK to another dog in the UK. It is through breeding in kennels,” she said.

“There is not a lot – there is very little. But that is new for us.”

A Human Animal Infection and Risk Surveillance Group report, published on Monday will reveal the risk to the public to be very low, and low for breeders.

However, there is growing concern around the disease as two people caught it this year from dogs and the number of human tests by the NHS has doubled.

Government scientists are understood to be gathering information on the possibility of implementing a screening protocol at the border to stop infected animals making their way to Britain.

Brucella canis is endemic in some parts of the world, including Eastern Europe, with Romania a hotspot for infected animals coming to the UK.

“There is no statutory requirements on import testing at the moment. We are gathering the evidence, various risk assessments are contributing to that evidence and we will consider it,” Dr Middlemiss said.

‘I do advise pre-import testing’

“I do advise at the moment that voluntary testing, pre-import testing, is a really sensible thing to do. If you’re bringing dogs in to breed then it would absolutely make sense to pre-import screen those dogs.”

The report’s advice to people with affected dogs has not changed, with euthanasia still the only option available to definitely stop the spread of onward transmission. The decision also still lies with the owner, a bone of contention for vets and owners who were hoping for more clarity.

Dr Middlemiss said euthanasia is still the only reliable way to ensure there is no risk of spread as antibiotics, even multiple courses for long periods, are not guaranteed to eradicate all the infection.

But a Brucella canis positive result is not a definite death sentence, with hope for infected dogs such as Albus and Spencer, the potentially infected guide dogs who were put in quarantine despite concerns their tests were false positives.

She suggested owners, vets and doctors should look at a range of factors to determine the best course of action.

“It is very difficult to set blanket black and white advice,” she said.

“For some people [euthanasia] might not be the right advice and they’ve got to take into account their personal circumstances.

“For me, I don’t have a dog at the moment, but the last dog I had was a UK dog, not in contact with others, if it was in contact it was under controlled conditions. I don’t have children. I’m not breeding dogs. There is a low risk of spread.

“But if you were a breeder of dogs and you end up having [a case] and you have multiple kennels, maybe lots of people have to look after them, then I think their circumstances are different.

High rate of false positives

“People’s risk appetite around that may be different, and it’s acceptable for it to be different. It would not be right for us to dictate an acceptable risk level to them. They have to work through that as an owner with their vet.”

There has been concern over a high rate of false positives, with as many as one in 50 positive cases erroneously deemed to be infected.

Dr Middlemiss said the issues were with some of the components used in the assay not being up to scratch, not the test itself, which is done at the Animal and Plant Health Agency headquarters in Weybridge.

“My advice would be for the vet, in cases where people are still concerned [about false positives], to speak directly to the disease and testing experts at Weybridge. They’re the best people to speak to in order to get advice on cases,” she said.

“For lots of tests you do not necessarily get a black and white answer, it is on a spectrum. We take into account the circumstances of the animals, the epidemiology and so on.

“And so, where people have any doubt I would advise vets to speak directly to disease colleagues at Weybridge.”

Cornwall Council sells £640,000 flats for £1

September 17, 2023 News Editor

Cornwall Council has agreed to sell Grade II listed flats worth £640,000 for £1 to ensure affordable homes stay in a Cornish town centre.

The council’s cabinet approved a recommendation to release the 11 Coastguard Flats in Looe to a community land trust to avoid costly maintenance.

Three Seas Community Land Trust offered to carry out a £1m refurbishment through grant funding.

Councillors said the deal meant it would remain as affordable housing.

Second home ownership and holiday lets are blamed for a shortage of affordable housing in the county.

Councillor David Harris, Cornwall Council’s deputy leader, said: “This will retain much-needed affordable housing provision in Looe.”

He said an open market sale would likely have resulted in “the loss of affordable housing provision in Looe”, impacting negatively on the housing service by “increasing demand for temporary accommodation”.

He added: “A community-led redevelopment scheme would ensure the flats would still be used for affordable housing provision.”

Refurbishment of the North Road building was deemed “financially unviable” by Cornwall Housing in 2021.

The building was declared surplus to the council’s needs.

With support from Looe councillors Edwina Hannaford and Armand Toms, Three Seas Community Land Trust stepped in with an offer to carry out a full refurbishment of the properties at a cost of over £1m, to be achieved by grant funding.

The cabinet meeting heard the project would be hard to achieve without grant funding, which is available from Homes England, which supports the project.

Councillor Hannaford said: “Providing secure affordable housing is incredibly important for the people of Looe. The lack of affordable housing in Looe is a real emergency, replicated across Cornwall.”

It may be recalled that in April, Cornwall Council had also announced that three housing schemes in Penryn are to provide 22 new affordable homes for people at risk of homelessness.

The first on New Street, featuring four new-build flats, will see tenants move in “shortly”, Cornwall Council said.

A second project involves Stoke House being converted into six flats, with the third to feature six modular house being built on Commercial Road.

Currently, more than 700 households are in temporary or emergency accommodation in Cornwall, the authority said.

Authorities said the number of people registering for council housing and affordable homes in Cornwall has more than doubled in two years.

Last year, in response to the Cornwall housing crisis, Cornwall Council said in March 2020 there were about 9,000 households on its Homechoice Register but the figure was 21,200 by January 2022.

Rents had also risen sharply as the supply of rented housing has reduced.

Approaches to the council from those given eviction notices jumped 89% from 1,143 in 2019 to 2,156 in 2021.

Figures for May 2022 showed there were 22,423 households registered on Homechoice then.

Some say landlords had decided to stop renting out their properties and were instead using them as holiday lets, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said.

The average asking price for rents in Cornwall in March 2022 was £1,048 per month, a 26% increase on the average level in 2019 which was £831.

Scotland’s economy: Becalmed and misunderstood

September 16, 2023 News Editor

Output from the Scottish economy contracted across April to June, edged downward by lower wind speeds meaning lower power generation than usual.
As with the UK as a whole, the long recession that was forecast last year is not happening, but the economy remains weak.
Businesses have issued a harsh verdict on the Scottish government’s understanding of the environment in which businesses have to work, and its lack of engagement when planning policies that affect firms.

Scotland’s economy is showing just one of the consequences of climate change – when the wind drops, so does Gross Domestic Product.

That vital sign of economic health – some would say it’s a virility symbol – has taken a knock with the latest GDP estimate from the Scottish government.

It shows the second quarter of the year saw total output – across manufacturing, production, onshore energy, construction and the public sector – dropped by 0.3%. That’s a steep drop by most standards.

The UK economy was growing by 0.2% in the same three months. It was helped up by the warm weather in June, as a cue to consumers to get out and spend, on holidays, summer clothes and hospitality.

But that high pressure weather system also meant the wind dropped to low levels. And with Scotland having a large share of the UK’s onshore wind capacity, its economy felt the consequences. As more turbines are installed, the numbers are likely to become more volatile.

In more robust economic times, other parts of the economy could have compensated. But the services sector, at around three-quarters of the economy, stood still in June.

The economy was also becalmed in May. The contraction took place in April, following an anaemic start to the year, with GDP or output growth of 0.2% from January to March.

Further adrift

That’s a lot better than forecast at the tail end of 2022, when even the Bank of England foresaw a UK recession (a sustained contraction in output) lasting all this year and half way through next year.

The economy has proven resilient in the face of rising cost and price pressures, skill shortages, rising interest rates, falling real earnings and weak business investment. But it’s still weak compared with similar countries. And the Scottish figures have not been that far removed from the UK picture.

The UK was the one G7 member that had failed to reach the same level of output it reached in the final quarter before the pandemic.

By the first quarter of this year, Scotland’s output was still 0.2% below that peak at the end of 2019. It is now even further adrift from regaining that milestone. And if the third quarter turns out to be negative, that would mean a recession.

Would that matter? Yes, with economic contraction, there’s less money to go round. Order books shrink, many firms pull back on investment and some firms collapse while, in most such downturns, private sector employers either shed jobs or stop hiring.

The long grass

That gives some context to another set of figures today, about business and the Scottish government. For ministers, they makec hastening reading. Faced with a prolonged period of difficult economic circumstances and very slow growth, it seems business does not think it is being well served by Holyrood policy.

Fewer than one in ten businesses in a well-established survey of around 400 firms said the Scottish government understands the business environment and a similar number said ministers would engage with their business sector if changes were planned that would affect it.

This comes from the Fraser of Allander Institute, working with legal firm Addleshaw Goddard, which this summer extended its quarterly business survey to find out how business perceives the Scottish government.

For further context, this followed on the change of party and government leadership, in an SNP campaign which brought business disgruntlement to the surface.

Humza Yousaf’s tone changed after he was elected first minister

As a candidate, Humza Yousaf always chose to turn discussion of the economy to “wellbeing”, and talked up use of taxes on the well-off to tackle inequality.

After winning, his tone changed. He paused (or kicked into the long grass) several of the policies that were yet to be implemented and were facing most business criticism: the deposit return scheme for drinks containers, marine protected areas closing off large sea areas to economic activity, and tight constraints on the marketing of alcohol. He also paused a big reform to social care that would have shaken up the private care homes sector.

It’s not clear what is now planned for any of these. On attempts to reduce harm from alcohol, a new impetus for tighter regulation came from the alcohol-related death figures published this week.

And having seen the Yousaf administration buckle under pressure, similar tactics are now being applied in the tourism sector, where self-catering landlords and bed and breakfast businesses are among those calling for a pause on licensing for short-term lets. Fergus Ewing, the former SNP tourism minister and a Highland MSP, is among those publicly against

Disagreements

But even after several policies have been paused or ditched, it seems the damage has been done in relations with business. The New Deal for Business announced by the First Minister in spring is either not getting through, or it is getting through and making little difference.

On the statement: ‘The Scottish government understands the business environment in Scotland’, a meagre 9% of businesses agreed and 64% disagreed.

The second statement in the survey was ‘The Scottish government engages effectively with my sector if it is considering policies that may affect my business’: only 8% agreed and 67% disagreed.

The strongest disagreement was to be found in hospitality, construction and retail. Less so in transport.

And there was stronger disagreement with these two statements among larger firms: a staggering 86% of respondents with more than 100 employees do not think the Scottish government understands the business environment, and 80% of hospitality enterprises in this sample.

Third, companies were asked if they knew a route to try to influence Scottish government policy if something was proposed that affects their sector.

The response showed 19% in agreement, and 39% disagreeing. On this question, larger firms were more positive about having routes to influence the Scottish government. That’s not to say they’re successful in changing policy, but at least they think they know how to try.

‘Green, fair, growing’

It’s worth noting what this survey does not tell us. At the first time of asking, there’s no comparison with other times and circumstances. And the questions are only being asked about the Scottish government.

We don’t know how the responses would differ if business was asked about the UK government or councils.

But what we do know, because Neil Gray, the cabinet secretary for the wellbeing economy, fair work and energy is conceding it: more has to be done to show the private sector that the Scottish government is on its side in trying to get through tough trading times.

The minister says to watch out for the Programme for Government, to be set out to MSPs when they return to Holyrood next week. Further initiatives are planned to boost the economy as ‘green, fair and growing’.

Culled from BBC

Ireland has two classes: working-class and ‘notions’. In London, it’s far more subtle

September 16, 2023 News Editor

If you shop at Marks & Spencer your dad owns a boat that he keeps docked in Latvia and lives on three months a year for tax purposes. Photograph: iStock

It’s easy enough to find the differences between cultures when you move to a new place. They’re unavoidable. When I moved to London from Dublin about six years ago, by far the most pervasive and interesting (but hugely irritating) difference between the two countries was the stratified and closed nature of class in the UK. This remains the case.

Of course, we do have the concept of class in Ireland; we have two classes – working class, and “notions”. Middle class people (and heaven forbid, whatever lies atop that) are registered in Ireland more or less as British. They’re allowed but somewhat reluctantly and they will be judged if they lean too far into it.

This conception has its problems and fundamentally, it is quite insular. It’s why everyone in your town will start calling you “comrade” at the pub if you dare to rock up wearing a pea coat. They’ll see your newly laminated eyebrows at your cousin’s wedding and some aul fella who’s friends with your dad will say, from his position leaning heavily on the (free) bar, “Here’s Marty Morrissey, now. How’ye there Marty?”, at which point a significant part of you will simply long for death.

Class pervades everything in London and is far subtler than accents and economics, which are the primary class signifiers at home. I quickly came to understand that you need to “pass”, or doors will close. You should understand which music is “good”; which clothing signals “I went to an elite university so you should pay me as much as my colleagues with double-barrelled surnames”; and which food is likely to indicate to people that you don’t belong.

These foods include anything that is not currently fashionable, anything with melted cheese on it and any chips which are not made from courgettes. That’s exhausting. It means you can only listen to Paul Brady’s Nothing but The Same Old Story in your headphones and that you must pretend to think courgette fries are just as nice as potato ones, when we all know they’re flaccid and weird.

British supermarkets mirror the nation’s class structure. Iceland, the supermarket where pretty much everything is frozen, is understood to be for poorer people. Asda is for the pragmatic and efficient working classes, as is Tesco. If you’re headed into Sainsburys, you’re upwardly mobile middle class and slightly notions. Marks & Spencer? Your dad owns a boat that he keeps docked in Latvia and lives on three months a year for tax purposes. Once you’re doing the weekly shop at Waitrose, your job in finance or your marriage to obscure European aristocracy is going very well indeed.

I once went in there at lunchtime and found a bottle of something from their equivalent of a “value” range – it was “Waitrose Essential Ironing Water”. That’s water you put in your iron but more expensive. I held its exotic weight gently and uncertainly as though I’d found a baby parrot in the laundry aisle and thought to myself: “You’re very much not in Limerick any more.” Even holding British ironing water in Waitrose could get you two to four years in Mountjoy. But there are worse crimes.

At the pinnacle of notions supermarkets in the UK is the United States’ (libertarian-founded and Amazon-owned) Whole Foods, where you can buy sausage-free sausages and free range eco Panadol for the headaches you get when your nanny can’t seem to keep the children quiet. They also do nice smoothies.

When we moved to Australia from London two weeks ago, for reasons I wrote about in these pages recently, I felt confident the supermarkets would tell me much about the class structure of my new country of residence. It was a relief to discover in the supermarket aisle that Australians generally appear to have a similar, less insidious class structure closer to Ireland’s.

They are practical people and the market here for panda-free low carb Panadol is smaller than in the UK. This is possibly because so many Australians are a couple of generations descended from Irish criminals – though I’ve noticed that they tend to dislike it when you tell them that. Especially when you point out that everyone here seems to claim their indicted Irish forebear was sent here for stealing a loaf of bread to feed their family and that the British were considerate and efficient about keeping all the serious criminals at home.

[ It was him or me: the battle to catch Mr Jingles, our furry little London lout ]

There’s an Aldi near me where you can buy, or simply marvel at, a two-kilo pack of beef mince for around €13 but, generally, Coles and Woolworth’s have a duopoly on Australian groceries. There are flaws in this system. Price gouging, probably. A distinct lack of Percy Pigs. And what happens if one day I encounter an ironing emergency and really do need some essential ironing water?

Because sometimes Irish people are in the mood to be slightly notions, though we may pretend otherwise. Inside every Irish person is a tiny British person in a pea coat who likes Yorkshire puddings and Percy Pigs. It’s not our fault – that’s just part of the legacy of colonialism.

When my husband asked a stylish young Gen Z guy with a generous mop of hair and the look of someone who’s giving veganism a solid crack for September if there is a Whole Foods in Canberra, the boy looked at him in bafflement. “A whole what?” he replied. My husband elaborated, mentioning terms like “organic” and “grain-free”.

“There’s a farmer’s market on Sundays,” the obliging fellow replied with an expression of mild distaste at the question. “They have vegetables and stuff.” It feels less far from home here than you might think.

Full list of planned London Underground, National Rail, Overground and bus weekend changes for September 16 and 17

September 16, 2023 News Editor

Engineering work will cause travel disruption across London this weekend as a contrasting picture lies ahead for the capital’s weather. After a sun baked capital basks in temperatures of 26C on Saturday (September 16), on Sunday it will be more overcast, and we could even see thunderstorms.

Locals and tourists alike will be travelling in their millions around the capital on public transport during their days off. The London Underground , National Rail services, and London buses all have alterations this weekend.

As well as TfL’s website and TfL Go app, we’ve got you covered here at MyLondon . We’ve gathered all the information from our sources across London’s transport organisations and our team of reporters across the city to keep you moving.

Two Tube lines will be closed for longer than normal this weekend(Image: Getty Images)

London Underground and DLR

Tube – District line: On Friday, September 15, from 9pm, and all day Saturday 16 and Sunday 17, there will be no service between Earls Court and Ealing Broadway / Richmond. Replacement buses will operate.

Piccadilly line: From 9pm on Friday, September 15, until 4.30am on Sunday, September 17, there will be no service between Hyde Park Corner and Northfields / Uxbridge (including Night Tube ). Customers have been advised to use Metropolitan line services between Rayners Lane and Uxbridge.

DLR – On Saturday and Sunday, there will be no service between Bank/Tower Gateway and Poplar/West India Quay. Replacement bus service DL1 operates between Tower Gateway and Canary Wharf.

Waterloo & City line does not run on weekends

Vogue World’s flurry of stars brings succour to London’s arts and hope to its fashion

September 16, 2023 News Editor

Starriest ever London fashion week launch testified to editor-in-chief’s contacts book and emphasised city’s heritage and prospects

There was Stormzy, and there was Shakespeare. There was a tribute to My Fair Lady, and there was Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell. There was opera by Henry Purcell, and hats by Stephen Jones; catsuits by Burberry and comedy by James Corden. A dizzying roster of cameo appearances included actors Damian Lewis, Sienna Miller and Harriet Walter.

Vogue World, a one-night-only performance at Theatre Royal Drury Lane on Thursday, was far and away the starriest opening night London fashion week has ever seen. The theme of the 37-minute show, linking Eliza Doolittle to Moss and a new Wayne McGregor ballet to a gospel choir, was London.

Sienna Miller and Kate Winslet greet each other at Vogue World. Photograph: Darren Gerrish/WireImage

Erdem and Simone Rocha were among the designers who took time out from preparations for this weekend’s collections to design costumes for the show, but the most glamorous peacocking of the night took place in the lobby before curtain up, as the 1,500-strong audience paraded in their finery. Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice wore floral gowns while Alexa Chung was in hotpants and a leather bonnet. Victoria Beckham went for minimal black tailoring. Tom Daley opted for silver sequins.

The show was masterminded by Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and Stephen Daldry, Bafta- and Olivier-winning director of The Crown, to celebrate London’s heritage as a cultural powerhouse and to highlight and support the city’s performing arts, with proceeds from the event going to a range of performing arts organisations in the capital, from the National Theatre and Royal Opera House to the Royal Ballet, Southbank Sinfonia and the Rambert dance company.

“The arts are under threat in the UK,” Wintour said before the event, describing Vogue World as “a timely reminder of how important they are, how vital a part of our lives, and how much they need our support.” Held on the eve of the fashion showcase, it framed London fashion week as part of a grand artistic tradition in the city.

Tom Daley, Yasmin Finney and AJ Odudu at Vogue World. Photograph: Darren Gerrish/WireImage

A Vogue insider described the event as a way to use “the great Vogue privilege of being able to create a lot of noise” for a cause which is both worthy and close to the heart of Vogue overlord Wintour. It was a showcase for the prestige of London, and for the prestige of Wintour herself. Like the Met Gala in New York, the event was a formidable flex which spoke to the power of Wintour’s contacts book. Who else could secure Sir Ian McKellen as the theatre’s “voice of God” for the night, and orchestrate a surprise finale featuring a quartet of the original supermodels: Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell and Christy Turlington?

Over tequila cocktails before the show, gossip revolved around the fashion industry’s current favourite topic: the Kremlinology of who is in and who is out at British Vogue, where Edward Enninful is stepping down from the editor’s chair. With an announcement expected imminently, the programme and seating plan were fine-combed for clues as to who is poised to succeed him.

The audience was a veritable who’s who of fashion and arts. Before the show, Stormzy was to be seen deep in conversation with Andreas Kronthaler, husband of the late Vivienne Westwood. Sarah Burton, who recently announced her imminent departure from Alexander McQueen, caught up with ex-Burberry creative director Christopher Bailey. Alistair Spalding, artistic director of Sadler’s Wells, was in the audience alongside playwright David Hare with his fashion designer wife, Nicole Farhi.

The film director Baz Luhrmann – said to have been brought in at the 11th hour to add a little extra stardust to the production – roamed the lobby resplendent in a pearl necklace, while Stella McCartney led the dancing when Annie Lennox sang Sweet Dreams Are Made of This.

Baz Luhrmann, Anna Wintour and Edward Enninful greet guests at Vogue World. Photograph: David M Benett/Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/Getty Images

With Wintour rumoured to be moving to London and focusing her legendary energy on British Vogue and the wider British fashion industry, the night seemed to hint at what her strategy might be for revitalising London fashion. An orchestra played on the red carpet, while Wintour and Enninful made small talk in a formal receiving line, shaking hands with all guests on arrival; at the end of the night, bouquets of red roses were presented as a farewell token.

This mood of old-school elegance was a notable departure from the rough-and-ready vibe which has tended to define London fashion week, known for draughty car park venues and stompy models. The night was a love letter to theatre and performance, to supermodels and to glamour – and, perhaps, the start of a new age of elegance in London fashion.

Culled from The Guardian

Ulez expansion: Business owner fears ‘massive impact’ on her livelihood

August 31, 2023 News Editor

A business owner in Kent has said that the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) to the whole of outer London will have a “massive impact” on her livelihood.

But a clean air campaigner labelled Ulez “the most effective solution” to pollution and poor respiratory health.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said it would bring “cleaner, healthier air”.

Abby Austen said she was saddened and stressed by the Ulez expansion

Motorists will now have to pay £12.50 a day to drive their vehicle in the Ulez if it does not meet emission standards.

Abbie Austen lives in Medway and runs a carpet cleaning business.

She says 75% of her clients live in London so she regularly drives into the capital in her van, which does not comply with Ulez.

Ulez would have “a massive impact, financially and personally”, Ms Austen said.

“Ultimately I could lose the business,” she added

Abbie Austen uses her van to transport equipment for cleaning carpets

According to Mr Khan, “90% of cars seen driving in outer London already meet the standards and their drivers won’t have to pay a penny”.

“Those who do are eligible for thousands of pounds to replace their vehicle”, Mr Khan added, referencing the Ulez scrappage scheme.

However, the scheme is only open to London residents, meaning those who live outside of the capital but regularly drive there face the choice of fully funding a new vehicle themselves or paying the daily charge.

Councils bordering London have refused to install signs warning drivers they are entering Ulez

James Stoddart, from Epsom, Surrey, has a classic 1985 Austin Mini and a 20-year-old van, neither of which comply with Ulez requirements.

“If I go right out of my house, then I’m in the zone – there are cameras everywhere,” he said. “If I wanted to go to the shops up the road, I can’t even do that anymore.”

Adrian Hill, who has chronic and life-threatening asthma, said clean air zones were “the most effective way of reducing traffic-related air pollution”.

Although he acknowledged that replacing a car was “an expensive endeavour”, he said people with ill health had not been compensated for “years of suffering”.

Mr Hill, from Brighton, said that at times he had “woken up in the morning starved of oxygen” and people with respiratory conditions were “just asking for clean air”.

“I think that’s a fundamental right,” Mr Hill added

Culled from BBC

Ulez expanded to include whole of outer London

August 30, 2023 News Editor

The Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) has been expanded to include all of London’s boroughs.

Drivers must pay a charge of £12.50 per day to drive a non-compliant vehicle anywhere in the zone under the controversial clean-air plan.

A £160m scrappage scheme is still available for all Londoners to claim from, with a maximum of £2,000 being offered per vehicle.

Small businesses, sole traders and charities are included in the scheme.

Drivers must pay £12.50 if they enter the Ulez zone with a non-compliant car

To monitor the new zone, Transport for London (TfL) said it would install 2,750 cameras across outer London. As of mid-August 1,900 cameras had been erected, almost 70% of the total number planned.

Meanwhile, the Met Police has received hundreds of reports of criminal damage being done to cameras, with more than 300 of them either vandalised or stolen.

Nevertheless, TfL’s director of transport strategy and policy, Christina Calderato, insisted the transport authority was “ready” for the expansion.

Ms Calderato also recommended people signed-up to an Auto Pay account on TfL’s website, where drivers are automatically charged so they “will never receive a PCN (penalty charge notice)”.

Those driving in the zone in a non-compliant car must pay the £12.50 charge online or by phone up to three days after they travelled.

The penalty for not paying is set at £180, which goes down to £90 if it is paid within 14 days.

A number of protests have been held about the expansion

According to Sadiq Khan: “We now have a really effective policy to reduce air pollution.

“It’s shown to be effective in central London and inner London, but I think clean air is a right not a privilege.”

The mayor said more than 15,000 applications had been made to the Ulez scrappage scheme in the past week.

Since the announcement was made about the expansion in 2022, it has been met with opposition by some politicians and motorists.

Five Conservative councils took the policy to the High Court but lost after the judge ruled the mayor’s expansion decision “was within his powers”.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the expanded scheme was going to “hit working families”.

“I don’t think that’s the right priority, I don’t think that’s the right thing to do and I wish they hadn’t done it,” he added.

Members of Mr Khan’s own party were also hesitant to support the policy after Labour lost the by-election in Boris Johnson’s former seat of Uxbridge and Ruislip.

At the time, Labour leader Keir Starmer refused to say whether he backed the Ulez expansion, and told the BBC the mayor should “reflect” on the policy.

The Conservative mayoral candidate Susan Hall has pledged to reverse the Ulez expansion if she is elected mayor in May 2024.

The BBC said it has assessed some of the claims made about the policy to better understand its impact.

Culled from BBC

Ulez: What is it and why is its expansion controversial?

August 29, 2023 News Editor

The expansion of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) has been a point of contention amongst both politicians and the public.

The High Court has now ruled that expansion of the zone is lawful, after five Conservative-run councils had challenged the Labour mayor of London’s plans.

It was also a big issue in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election.

What is Ulez and why is it controversial?

A £12.50 daily charge applies for driving in the Ultra Low Emission Zone, commonly referred to as Ulez, if the vehicle doesn’t meet certain emission standards.

Boris Johnson decided to introduce it when he was the Mayor of London. It then came into effect in April 2019. By this time, Labour’s Sadiq Khan had become Mayor.

Initially it covered the same central area as the Congestion Zone, before widening out to the North and South Circular roads in 2021.

In November 2022, a further expansion to cover all London boroughs was confirmed. This is due to start on 29 August 2023.

The mayor’s office said the expansion was needed to tackle air pollution, congestion and the climate emergency.

Some other UK cities have their own, different clean air zones.

Why are such zones introduced?

Low emission zones have been introduced to clean up the air, with the aim of making people healthier and reducing the burden on the NHS.

Petrol and diesel vehicles emit the CO2 that warms our planet, but this scheme is principally aimed not at fighting climate change but reducing levels of two key air pollutants – nitrogen dioxide (NOx) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5).

Those pollutants have been blamed for causing thousands of premature deaths and stunting the growth of children’s lungs.

What scrappage schemes are available?

For the London Ulez expansion, £160m in total has been set aside for a scrappage scheme.

The scheme was initially open to people on low incomes or disability benefits, some very small businesses and London-based charities.

However, that scheme will be extended to all Londoners from 21 August 2023.

Anyone with an eligible vehicle who lives in one of the 32 London boroughs or the City of London will be able to apply to scrap a car or motorcycle, Transport for London has said.

Eligible drivers can get up to £2,000 for scrapping a car. The amount of money on offer differs for vans and motorbikes.

Changes to the scheme’s criteria were made in June and August.

There is also a grace period for small businesses and charities who have already ordered a new compliant van or minibus, or booked retro-fitting.

How do I know if my car is Ulez compliant?

Transport for London has an online ‘Check your vehicle’ tool where people can enter their number plate and the country where their car was registered to see whether they will need to pay the £12.50 per day Ulez charge.

Cars need to meet minimum emissions standards to avoid paying the charge.

Petrol cars generally meet the standards if they were first registered after 2005, while diesel cars generally have to be newer than September 2015.

When does Ulez expand?

The scheme is due to expand to cover all London boroughs from 29 August.

Transport for London has a map showing where it will operate and a tool to check which postcodes will be covered.

Why is Ulez controversial?

The latest expansion of Ulez has proved divisive. Clean air campaigners support it.

However, some residents, businesses and politicians have expressed serious concerns. They include the financial impact during a cost of living squeeze, and the nine month-long notice period.

Some people affected say the scrappage scheme won’t help them. The cost of second-hand Ulez-compliant cars has also risen.

Five Conservative-run councils launched legal action over the decision to expand Ulez, although the High Court dismissed their challenge. There have also been public protests.

The mayor has defended the plan, arguing it is necessary to help prevent health conditions related to air pollution and even excess deaths. Preparations such as installing cameras have continued.

Has the existing London Ulez made any difference?

The number of older polluting vehicles that have entered the Ulez has fallen dramatically with 97% now meeting the cleaner standards.

Within that area it is estimated that NOx emissions have fallen by 26% since 2019 with PM2.5 emissions falling by 19% over the same period.

Air quality has improved as a result but all Londoners still live in areas exceeding World Health Organization guidelines for both pollutants.

Do other countries in Europe have similar schemes?

There are low emission zones in a number of European countries, and they vary by vehicle type and emissions.

Italy has the most zones in Europe – some of them permanent, many seasonal – followed by Germany, according to the Urban Access Regulations website. In Paris, a zero emission zone is planned for 2030.

Culled from BBC

Notting Hill: Revellers dance in fabulous feather outfits as they hit the streets for famous carnival

August 28, 2023 News Editor

The streets of West London were awash with colour as dancers made the most of the fine weather for the Children’s Day Parade.

Revellers were covered in paint and flour at the start of the two-day event. Credit: © Jeff Moore

The Notting Hill event, held over the August Bank Holiday is Europe’s largest street carnival and celebrates Caribbean culture and history.

Some dancers wore brightly-coloured wings as they took part in the parade. Credit: EPA

One group of dancers wore Phoenix-like wings on their backs, while another group were decked out in all-red outfits and third group wore eye-catching flamboyant dresses.

A dancer wore this eye-catching outfit complete with huge feathers. Credit: EPA

Those who had come to watch and soak up the party atmosphere were soon covered in paint and flour as they took part in J’ouvert, the traditional opening to the two-day event.

A cop joins in the fun and sprays paint during the traditional J’ouvert opening. Credit: Reuters

It’s been projected that two million people will attend the two day event.