24/07/2014 BBC London News

team event. Now, time for the news where you are.

News. There are fears that Scotland Yard

is struggling to cope with a huge increase in child abuse allegations

right across London. According to a report published today, the number

of alleged child rapes has increased by more than half over the past six

years. The London Assembly claims the Metropolitan Police's sex crime

squad is under`resourced, putting a serious strain on the unit.

It's one of the most difficult and stressful areas of investigation.

But police have a statutory duty to protect children from abuse.

Today, London's police and crime committee published a report.

Showing a dramatic rise in the number of allegations, bringing new

pressure that the Met is struggling to meet. Since 2008, there's been

more than a 50% increase in alleged child rapes.

Over the same six year period, the number of sexual assaults against

children has risen by 68%. The report suggests this is because

of high`profile cases like Jimmy Savile and Rolf Harris and more

confidence in the Met to properly investigate.

The Met are just about coping at the moment, but it only takes one case,

such as a Baby P to make everything un`Real. It's really important that

the Met properly resource child safety in London. Police numbers

have gone up to almost a thousand officers, 22% more than five years

ago. Some 50 posts were unfilled last September. There are many

positive comments here about how the Met deals with child protection, but

this report is a warning shot not to repeat the mistakes of the past.

The case of Baby P in Haringey in 2007 highlighted failures around not

having enough staff and lack of supervision.

High van can say rates and poor sharing of information between the

police and other agencies `` high vacancy rates. This report says

there is no room for complacency. The Metropolitan Police considers

the protection of your young and vulnerable people within our

community very important. We welcome the report because it focuses on a

chaining landscape in child abuse investigation. The Met claims

charges and convictions have increased. The police and comiem

committee says it will review Scotland Yard's progress later in

the year. A man hole cover has exploded in a road in North West

London this afternoon. It happened at St John's Wood. No`one was

injured and the cause isn't known but there's been a steep rise in the

number of pavement explosions over the past year.

Gatwick Airport has unveiled a series of new schemes worth over

?250 million to the local area. It's in response to issues raised during

a public consultation on a possible second runway at the airport.

Gatwick has pledged local jobs, house infrastructure and increased

support for residents and businesses, if they get the

go`ahead. Campaigners say it's still not enough.

This week, we have been looking at radical ways to help solve London's

housing crisis. Today, in the last of our series of Home Truths, we

asked if elderly people should be encouraged to downside to free up

larger properties for families. Lord Richard Best thinks so. He's the

chairman of a company which builds homes, including retirement flats

and he thinks new accommodation specifically for older Londoners

could make a real difference. If we can find the ideal flat for

people who're in their late 50s, 60s, early 70s and get people to

leave their nice three`bedroomed suburban house and move to their

flat, we solve all kinds of problems. We free up lost family

housing and they aren't family flats on the fifth floor, you know, they

are houses with gardens, and we look after ourselves when we are older

because sooner or later, the three, four bedroomed fally houses are too

much for us. It's not specialist retirement for

old people kind of housing, it's ordinary housing in communities,

everybody else is living all around you, you're part of everything. It's

the modern flat that City people, Londoners know how to deal with and

will enjoy in older age. One bedroom, one bathroom and one

sitting room. It's ideal for one. We have lovely views outside. The

garden and the pub. It's us that I think is the target,

getting people to, while they are still fully have their wits about

them, to move. 2% of people over pension age have two empty spare

rooms moved every year and downsized, that would produce an

enormous number of people on the move. What have you got in yours...

This can be a whole new life for people, the social life that twos

with being further into the centre in apartments with facilities all

around, not far from where you were before `` goes with being further

into the centre. It's no bigger than what I had

before. It can be vibrant and new, you can walk to things. It's a

trade`in, but it can be a trade`up. We have been getting comments on the

subject of housing this week. Join in the conversation and you can

also e`mail us. Tomorrow at 6.30, there'll be a special programme

looking at housing with a panel of experts.

Tonight, a new home has opened for the Black Cultural Archives which

started life as a small book shop in the 80s. A ?7 million redevelopment

is dedicated to collect, preserving and celebrating the histories of

black people this Britain. From his original home in a small

book shop in the 1980, the Black Cultural Archives has a permanent

space in the heart of Brixton. The ?7 million redevelopment of a

national heritage site is dedicated to collecting, preserving and

celebrating the histories of people of Africa and Caribbean descent in

Britain. For so many reasons, this work is important. I think when you

talk about the history of people of African descent, there are tensions

and we kind of are carrying a lot here. So here is an opportunity for

us to have some key conversations. There was privilege access to view

the centre. It's so important for people to feel like they belong to a

part of history that has been erased from the history books. To have a

focus like this is tremendous. Especially for children as they grow

up understanding that they are part of something right. It's a

magnificent day for Britain and black Britain in fact that we have a

place that can celebrate our contribution to this culture, that

the pioneer generation can walk in here with their grandchildren and

say, look, look what we are sharing, this is a magnificent day for all of

us. From an African`born Roman ever

report through to the Windrush, it's hoped the archives will serve as a

beacon for all who're interested in the contributions made by the black

community in Britain. That is it from me Forton ITV now

the weather forecast. Another hot day for us today. Indeed and still

more to come. If that is not your thing, I have some good news. A

change is on the way. Tonight it will be another close one,

particularly in the towns and cities. Low cloud filtering into the

north. You will see there it's a wee bit cooler. I don't think the cloud

will stick around too long during the morning. Things are moving

along. The breeze has been the saving grace over the past few days.

Come the afternoon, there is a chance that we could see some

thunder storms brewing as the temperatures push on towards 27, 278

`` 27 or 28 degrees. Saturday will be warm and we bring the fronts

around the north. The isobars get down into the north so something of

a change there. is getting too much for many people.

By Sunday, the temp will be cooler than today. Tonight, another warm

and comfortable night for