Kumail Jaffer – Local Democracy Reporter – Southwark News

Transport for London pioneering a government drive to bring down the amount staff ‘on the sick’

Kumail Jaffer - Local Democracy Reporter — Sun, 19 Apr 2026 17:13:51 +0000

Transport for London (TfL) is leading the way in pioneering a government drive to bring down levels of employee absence, a minister has said. The transport body is one of the largest employers to have joined the ‘Vanguard’ group of the Keep Britain Working Review led by Sir Charlie Mayfield. This means it will trial […]

Calls for more Met Police funding as shoplifting cases triple in London since 2020

Kumail Jaffer - Local Democracy Reporter — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 12:44:00 +0000

Shoplifting in London has trebled in the last five years, new data has revealed as the Mayor of London was urged to lobby the government for more funding for the Met Police. Research from the Liberal Democrats showed that there were were 93,626 cases of shoplifting raised with the Metropolitan Police in 2024/2025 – up […]

£175 million for young Londoners to be trained up in clean energy and AI

Kumail Jaffer - Local Democracy Reporter — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 16:14:53 +0000

Thousands of young Londoners will be trained up to work in the clean energy and technology sectors thanks to investment in two specialist colleges in the capital. Capital City College Group, which runs eight colleges across the city, and South Bank College are among the 19 new Technical Excellence Colleges in the country backed by […]

Could Londoners finally be saved from agonising cladding work delays?

Kumail Jaffer - Local Democracy Reporter — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 15:28:02 +0000

Londoners trapped in high-rise buildings with dangerous cladding could see reparis speed up significantly under new reforms announced this month. The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) – which regulates higher risk buildings across the UK – has announced a targeted package of measures aimed at streamlining both remediation projects and approvals for new residential buildings. The […]

One year on from the National Insurance rise how is the hospitality sector coping?

Kumail Jaffer - Local Democracy Reporter — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 16:59:51 +0000

Punitive tax rises are stretching London’s hospitality sector to its limit, local business owners have claimed. Last April Chancellor Rachel Reeves faced heavy criticism for choosing to top up the public finances with an extra tax on businesses. The policy, intended to raise £25billion from companies nationwide, saw National Insurance (NI) rates increase from 13.8 […]

Mayor announces £30 million for late-night youth clubs in London

Kumail Jaffer - Local Democracy Reporter — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 16:32:35 +0000

City Hall’s £30million investment in late-night youth clubs across London is ‘critical’ to stopping at-risk youngsters from falling into a life of gangs and crime, a veteran community leader has claimed. The Mayor of London announced a £30m investment this week that would fund a “Youth Lates” programme across all 32 boroughs in the capital. […]

London has become an ‘urban heat island’ and the cost to fix it is eyewatering

Kumail Jaffer - Local Democracy Reporter — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:39:06 +0000

London’s lack of preparedness for extreme heat could see more than £200 million lost in productivity annually by 2030, new research has suggested. The capital’s decision to deprioritise the installation of air conditioning (AC) in both commercial and residential buildings means it is particularly vulnerable as temperatures continue to rise. Researchers from Climate X, a […]

There’s now 435km of cycle routes in London, but are they safe?

Kumail Jaffer - Local Democracy Reporter — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 12:45:31 +0000

Cycling in London has become far safer in recent years but there is still “plenty of room” for improvement, Transport for London (TfL) has been told. Polling seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) in February showed that 43 per cent of cyclists in the capital still don’t feel safe despite the city’s cycling […]

Calls for Met to take control of criminal gangs “squatting” in London’s empty properties

Kumail Jaffer - Local Democracy Reporter — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 17:04:16 +0000

The Met Police must regain control of the growing issue of criminal gangs squatting in London’s empty homes, the City Hall Conservatives have said. Deputy leader Emma Best and Iain Duncan Smith, the MP for Chingford and Woodford Green, have called on the Mayor of London to direct the Met to improve and increase training […]

Mayor of London urged to stand up to ministers over leasehold reform

Kumail Jaffer - Local Democracy Reporter — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 11:27:00 +0000

The Mayor of London has been urged to ‘stand up for leaseholders’ after refusing to commit to converting all City Hall-backed developments to give homeowners a share of the freehold. Sir Sadiq Khan has been a vocal campaigner on leasehold reform in the past, often calling on his Labour colleagues in government to move faster […]