Download Islington - Issue 16 ( pdf - 1.6MB ) - Islington Council

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Caretaker of the year Caretakers play a vital role keeping council housing in good repair, clean and safe. Many of them work hard above and beyond the call of duty so congratulations are due to…. Tony Hinton from the Marquess Estate shared first place with Jeremy Pulley from the Packington Estate. Max Paltrinieri from New Orleans Walk was highly commended. Jeremy Pulley said: “I am happy that the tenants on my estate recognise that I work my best at all times.” Tony Hinton added: “Doing my job well means a lot to me and I know it makes a real difference for everyone on the estate. It’s not just the routine things; it’s the little ways of helping people.” Claim pension credit Pension Credit is a new social security benefit for people aged 60 or over. It is being introduced from October 2003. It guarantees everyone aged 60 and over of an income, called a Guarantee Credit, of at least: £102.10 a week if you are single; or £155.80 a week if you have a partner. If you already get the Minimum Income Guarantee, do nothing. You will be automatically transferred to the Guarantee Credit. For the first time, people aged 65 and over will be rewarded for some of their savings and income they have for their retirement. This will be known as the Savings Credit. You can get up to: £14.79 if you are single £19.20 if you have a partner. ✆To claim or for more information, phone 0800 99 1234. If you have speech or hearing difficulties, the textphone number is 0800 169 0133. Don’t wait, claim now. Green electricity, did you know?… Council tax refuseniks bankrupted As a result of a council crackdown on the hardcore of people who wilfully don’t pay council tax or business rates two people have been declared bankrupt. Mrs A owes more than £9,000 and Mr B owes £11,000. They didn’t pay a penny towards their council tax, despite extensive recovery action being taken against them. They both now face the possibility of having their homes sold to pay their outstanding debt to the council. Their action deprives the council of much needed cash to spend on services and so has a direct effect on all Islington residents and businesses. …that most of Islington’s streetlighting is being supplied with greener electricity rather than power from fossil fuel sources. And that some of Islington’s major public buildings, including the Municipal Offices, the Town Hall, Highbury House, Central Library and all of its leisure centres are supplied by ‘greener’ electricity. Buying these green supplies (some 14,000,000 kWh per year) makes Islington the 8th largest public sector buyer of greener electricity in the country. This means that Islington is saving some 4,800 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) from being released into the atmosphere over the coming year, this would fill 27,500 doubledecker buses. CO2 is the major greenhouse gas responsible for climate change. Green electricity comes from landfill gas, small scale hydro-electric, wind, solar, anaerobic digestion and good quality combined heat and power. Since this form of electricity generation is exempt from the climate change levy (a tax on the commercial use of energy), this also saves money. For further information contact Jane Wildblood on ✆020 7527 3517 4
Street crime wardens Cracking down on underage drinking A trail blazing initiative has seen a crack team of wardens sent into Islington’s busiest streets. The 11 street crime wardens are focussing on four crime hot spots in the Archway, the Nags Head, the Angel and Finsbury Park. These new street patrols will be the eyes and ears of the community and help police identify crack houses, search for missing people and track down vehicles used in robberies and burglaries. They will also report anti-social behaviour, graffitti and fly tipping and form a vital part of plans to reduce crime and the fear of crime as well as improve the street environment. Adama, one of the wardens said: “I’ve grown up in Finsbury Park and so I know the dangers on the streets. I can help reassure people and reduce the fear of crime just by being a presence on the street.” Islington’s new street crime wardens had a month’s intensive training which included human rights law, conflict management and dealing with people. They then shadowed the waste enforcement team dealing with abandoned vehicles and graffiti removal and worked with trading standards on illegal street trading. “Islington is a diverse and friendly borough and I wanted a job where I felt I was doing something worthwhile.” said 33 year old Anil. “The public’s reaction has been very positive, lots of people stop us in the street to encourage us and tell us how much they support the scheme.” In a recent exercise carried out by Islington Council, a 14 year old girl was able to buy alcohol in 14 out of 20 shops visited. All the shops were in the Holloway Road area – the volunteer teenager who was working with council officers was able to buy wine, lager and ‘alcopops’. Retailer information packs are being sent out so that sellers are fully aware of the consequences of selling alcohol to people who are underage. Future monitoring will also take place. Breakfast clubs boom Brighter safer streets The first new street lights under the council’s £25m private finance initiative have been installed in Anson Road, Tuffnell Park. Under the five year scheme, 8,500 lamp columns, traffic signs and pedestrian crossing lights will be replaced with equipment meeting modern standards. The work is being carried out by the council’s contractors, Seeboard. The upgrade is being phased on a street-bystreet basis to minimise parking disruption to residents. Not all street lights or streets are affected. If work is planned for your street, you will receive a letter. From April this year, all the council’s power for street lights now comes from greener sources such as wind, solar and hydroelectric. For information on the lighting replacement schedule until May 2004, ✆please call 020 7527 5000 Thanks to cash from the New Opportunities Fund (NOF) breakfast clubs are booming in the borough. There are 400 new affordable early morning childcare places for children aged 5-14 in sixteen Islington schools, twelve primary and four secondary. This is a boon for working parents and those who are training or seeking work. Providing a calm and safe environment in which children can start the day helps them to learn more effectively. For more information contact Sophie Blume on ✆020 7527 5196 5
Page 1 and 2: www.islington.gov.uk Issue 16, 2003
Page 3: Your Shout Below are some of the le
Page 7 and 8: Creating success It all kicked off
Page 9 and 10: ✁ What do you think of Islington?
Page 11: A “fantastic way of serving the c

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