69 More Police Officers for Enfield
A big massive increase in local police numbers has been announced following a review by Boris Johnson, the Mayor for London. By September 2013 as part of the new policing formula Enfield should have 69 additional police officers.
In welcoming the increase Cllr. Rye, Conservative Spokesman for Crime and Community Safety said, “I am delighted that the Mayor for London, Boris Johnson`s review of police numbers has recognized the under provision of officers in Enfield and that the new police officers promised are being appointed. This is good news for Enfield and will help improve police visibility, crime detection and community safety. This is especially important given the recent high profile shooting in Southgate.”
Benefits Changes: 50% are now seeking work
New Council figures show that 50% of the 503 private tenants in Enfield, whose benefits will be reduced by more than £100 when the universal cap is introduced in April, now say they are actively looking for work.
Speaking on the change Cllr. Edward Smith, Conservative Lead on Housing, said "I welcome the courage shown by the Government in tackling the burgeoning cost of welfare that traps people able to work into poverty. Something the last Labour Government said it would do, but never did.
The introduction of the £500 pound per week benefit cap in Enfield this April poses some challenges for the local authority, but despite their political posturing, progress is being made in identifying the households most affected to provide advice and support. We will continue to support those efforts.
Residents to be kept in dark by Council
Concerns have been raised by local Conservatives that the Council's plan to dim street lights will lead to increases in mugging and burglary, as well as jeopardising road safety.
Conservative environment spokesman, Cllr Terry Neville OBE commented on the change. "Labour's claim that residents will not notice is tosh. If you travel along Broad Walk during the evening the lighting is appreciably poorer than say The Green at Winchmore Hill. There are other locations too that are affected and this is just while they are experimenting with the lights.
Lets face it, the timing couldn't be worse when burglaries are rising. What do residents want? Security in their homes and on the street. This project will deliver neither We know savings are needed, but there has to be a balance, which cannot exist while they are still pouring many millions of pounds into their pet projects.
Government funds extension to recycling, forcing pledge to protect weekly collections
The Government has granted an extra £2.46 million to extend a weekly organic waste collection service to all properties, including flats and supporting weekly residual waste collection services across the borough. The money was awarded to improve its refuse and recycling services by expanding its organic waste collection service to all properties, including flats and estates, from the Government's Weekly Collection Support Scheme. To gain the grant Enfield Council has been required to pledge to maintain weekly collections and provide an organic waste collection service to support its weekly bin collections.
Welcoming the government grant, Cllr Terry Neville Shadow Environment spokesman commented "This is a welcome uplift to Enfield's wast services budget and we shall be ensuring that Council spends the money properly."
