:00:00. > :00:19.So the Chancellor's big announcement as far as we're concerned,
:00:20. > :00:21.was for London to have more devolved power.
:00:22. > :00:25.But on analysing the details it seems there's not that much
:00:26. > :00:33.Yes, Local Authorities will start to keep their business rates,
:00:34. > :00:35.but when it comes to funding police and projects like
:00:36. > :00:44.Our political editor Tim Donovan can explain more about it.
:00:45. > :00:54.He is in Westminster for us tonight. Anyone expecting a sudden transfer
:00:55. > :00:56.of responsibility to the mayor or to the boroughs or anyone expecting
:00:57. > :01:02.grand projects would have been disappointed. Having said that it's
:01:03. > :01:05.clear a sizeable chunk of the extra money made available will go to
:01:06. > :01:11.London councils and councils in the home Counties to help them deal with
:01:12. > :01:16.this acute issue of caring for the elderly and providing help for
:01:17. > :01:20.people with complex needs. It's also clear that a sizeable amount of this
:01:21. > :01:24.hardship fund dealing with business rates for businesses in the capital
:01:25. > :01:28.will have a disproportionate impact in the capital because it is in the
:01:29. > :01:32.capital where we have seen thousands of businesses affected by sudden big
:01:33. > :01:34.rises because this is where rents have risen so high. Carl Mercer now
:01:35. > :01:40.reports. There is one further area
:01:41. > :01:42.in which I can announce action The Communities Secretary and I have
:01:43. > :01:46.listened to the concerns raised The revaluation has undoubtedly
:01:47. > :01:52.raised some hard cases. While the Chancellor
:01:53. > :01:55.was on his feet in the Commons, Hackney's Brewers were on theirs
:01:56. > :02:02.on the bottling line. Two small firms, like hundreds
:02:03. > :02:05.across London, who are facing big You go from the right,
:02:06. > :02:09.four in, that's my grandad. Bob Cooke was born in the flat
:02:10. > :02:20.above his Hackney pie and mash shop. At 69, he is still
:02:21. > :02:24.making 700 pies a day. But, from April, his business rates
:02:25. > :02:28.are set to go up nearly ?2,000. I said to my wife, it's
:02:29. > :02:31.a terrible thing, I don't know We will probably pay it, but it's
:02:32. > :02:39.sucking the life out of us, really. Just around the corner, it's
:02:40. > :02:42.a similar story at this brewery. Four years old tomorrow, they, too,
:02:43. > :02:44.will see their rates go up. In Hackney itself,
:02:45. > :02:54.the average is 46% rate hike. And these are all people that make
:02:55. > :03:00.up our local community. They are neighbours,
:03:01. > :03:03.they are our friends, Today, the Chancellor announced
:03:04. > :03:08.a little help for London. ?72 million will come to London's
:03:09. > :03:11.councils to help businesses hardest My first impressions
:03:12. > :03:15.are it's not enough. I've been speaking to small
:03:16. > :03:17.businesses across London over the last few weeks and months,
:03:18. > :03:20.including those who represent The Chancellor appears to have
:03:21. > :03:27.listened a bit but his announcement My worry is that small
:03:28. > :03:30.businesses in London, who worked their socks off,
:03:31. > :03:31.may go under. London will remain as one of only
:03:32. > :03:37.two cities in the UK where business The majority of cities, actually,
:03:38. > :03:40.business rates will go down. What we see is in the most
:03:41. > :03:43.successful cities, London and Reading, actually,
:03:44. > :03:45.business rates will go up. What that means for businesses
:03:46. > :03:47.in London, particularly large businesses, is they are the ones
:03:48. > :03:50.that will bear the brunt Details of the scheme to help
:03:51. > :04:05.firms affected will be The devolution deal announced by the
:04:06. > :04:11.Chancellor could be one for the purists, there was a suggestion in
:04:12. > :04:16.there that councils could be able to raise money from developers on land
:04:17. > :04:19.they hold on to to pay for infrastructure projects, a taskforce
:04:20. > :04:24.looking at that. There is a suggestion there's going to be a
:04:25. > :04:27.devolution of health powers, an announcement that be to do with
:04:28. > :04:30.property and land and housing and then a suggestion some criminal
:04:31. > :04:34.justice powers, maybe over youth offending or the probation service,
:04:35. > :04:38.could be more of a role for the boroughs and the mayor there. The
:04:39. > :04:43.mayor said he was the half-full kind of mayor and this was a step in the
:04:44. > :04:46.right direction. Analysts said hang on, all looks a bit wooly. The
:04:47. > :04:51.Minister for London was positive. I think we got a lot of concrete
:04:52. > :04:54.things in this budget. We heard extra funding for social
:04:55. > :04:57.care, it's a huge issue in London. We had extra help from
:04:58. > :04:59.the Chancellor on top of the existing transitional relief
:05:00. > :05:02.for our small businesses and for our We had extra funding for new schools
:05:03. > :05:07.and extra money for maintenance We also had this important step
:05:08. > :05:10.forward on devolution. So I think there's a lot in here
:05:11. > :05:21.that Londoners should welcome. An overall verdict, maybe pending,
:05:22. > :05:26.to be confirmed because we have to see what proportion, what amount in
:05:27. > :05:31.this national pot is going to come to local authorities. There is a
:05:32. > :05:36.suggestion from some that the Government is focussing on its mid
:05:37. > :05:39.engine, that's where the Chancellor will be from tomorrow morning,
:05:40. > :05:46.perhaps the emphasis has moved away from London. Certainly on devolution
:05:47. > :05:50.the talk is of a taskforces and of future announcements but not really
:05:51. > :05:56.much there about London being able to react to its problems and issues
:05:57. > :05:58.and raising money to deal with them. Thank you.
:05:59. > :06:01.In other news, the Crown Prosecution Service says it'll
:06:02. > :06:03.review its decision not to prosecute a far-right activist
:06:04. > :06:05.for a speech he made at the Cenotaph in Westminster.
:06:06. > :06:09.Jeremy Bedford-Turner has links to Nazi symphathisers and was filmed
:06:10. > :06:13.making a speech to supporters two years ago.
:06:14. > :06:15.The CPS decided not to prosecute him for alleged anti-Semitism but that
:06:16. > :06:19.decision was challenged by the Campaign
:06:20. > :06:24.An Independent Police Complaints Commission Commissioner has stepped
:06:25. > :06:26.down from her duties while police investigate criminal allegations.
:06:27. > :06:29.Jennifer Izekor was in charge of the inquiry into three Met police
:06:30. > :06:42.The case collapsed and all were all cleared last July.
:06:43. > :06:44.Police Scotland has confirmed they're looking at two criminal
:06:45. > :06:48.The IPCC says Ms Izekor's suspension does not indicate any concern
:06:49. > :06:52.Children as young as 13 bought knives in London when teenager
:06:53. > :06:55.volunteers were used to test if shops were complying
:06:56. > :07:00.In the undercover operation Police and Trading Standards found more
:07:01. > :07:04.than one in ten stores breaking the law by selling
:07:05. > :07:11.The tests were carried out as part of the Metropolitan Police's
:07:12. > :07:16.Operation Sceptre initiative aimed at reducing knife crime.
:07:17. > :07:18.The construction industry is thought to be responsible for more air
:07:19. > :07:20.pollution than you might think, especially when it comes
:07:21. > :07:25.Generators and inefficient vehicles are being blamed but now
:07:26. > :07:31.alternatives are being sourced as Jim Wheble has been finding out.
:07:32. > :07:40.The careful dismantling of Ford's stamping plant at Dagenham.
:07:41. > :07:45.But amidst the mess is a quiet, clean revolution in construction.
:07:46. > :07:51.This is one of our normal diesel generators that's running
:07:52. > :07:57.And this is one of our hybrid generators, which,
:07:58. > :07:59.when it is running, is completely silent.
:08:00. > :08:02.Before the hybrids, only diesel generators would have supplied
:08:03. > :08:07.the electricity to this type of site.
:08:08. > :08:10.And considering just clearing all this lot will take 2.5 years,
:08:11. > :08:14.that's a great deal less diesel being consumed.
:08:15. > :08:17.We've been using our hybrids here for one month and we've already
:08:18. > :08:20.saved over 3000 litres of diesel we haven't had to use to power
:08:21. > :08:26.And that's probably about ten tonnes of carbon that we've
:08:27. > :08:29.saved from being emitted into the atmosphere.
:08:30. > :08:36.It's estimated that up to 7% of London's and nitrogen oxides
:08:37. > :08:38.It's estimated that up to 7% of London's nitrogen oxides
:08:39. > :08:43.Because since the VW omissions scandal, there is now doubt
:08:44. > :08:50.What we're doing now with the project is figuring out
:08:51. > :08:53.on the sites and we're doing something called PEMS, portable
:08:54. > :08:54.emissions measurement systems, and we're taking total emissions
:08:55. > :08:57.measurements from those engines to see how they perform in
:08:58. > :09:02.In 2015, City Hall did ban the use of older types of polluting
:09:03. > :09:07.But they are pushing for more broader powers.
:09:08. > :09:11.So, what we'd like is the powers akin to what we're using for the low
:09:12. > :09:15.emission zone, so the ability to enforce emissions
:09:16. > :09:17.standards across London, like we do with vehicles,
:09:18. > :09:21.but to do it for construction machinery, machinery used
:09:22. > :09:30.In the shadow of the ultimate symbol of green energy.
:09:31. > :09:34.Powering demolition this way might be the stuff of Mad Max movies,
:09:35. > :09:39.but it's hoped the dawn of a cleaner age in construction
:09:40. > :09:47.Transport for London has scrapped its standing-only escalators scheme
:09:48. > :09:53.The convention is for customers to stand on the right allowing
:09:54. > :09:58.But a six-month trial at Holborn station where all passengers stood
:09:59. > :10:00.saw peak-time congestion reduced by 30%.
:10:01. > :10:05.Nevertheless, TfL says it won't be rolling out the scheme.
:10:06. > :10:12.A look at the weather now with Louise. A nice day as far as
:10:13. > :10:14.temperatures go, but not sunny. It was messy really. That's the
:10:15. > :10:20.word! Really messy. Mild, yes, 15 at
:10:21. > :10:22.Heathrow but a lot of cloud and drizzly rain and showers.
:10:23. > :10:29.Tomorrow is going to be better, sunny spells and very mild for all
:10:30. > :10:33.of us. Through the night we keep that cloud, thick enough still for
:10:34. > :10:36.the odd spot of drizzly rain, particularly down to the south of
:10:37. > :10:41.the Thames. That will ease during the early hours of the morning. It's
:10:42. > :10:44.going to be a mild night after that mild day. The difference with
:10:45. > :10:48.tomorrow is the cloud should break up and we will get a little more
:10:49. > :10:55.sunshine. It's going to be a promising day, more sun means that
:10:56. > :11:00.temperatures will peak at around 14-15. One or two might see highs of
:11:01. > :11:01.around 16. Let's look at the general outlook, staying mild and Nick has
:11:02. > :11:02.the bigger picture across outlook, staying mild and Nick has
:11:03. > :11:11.the bigger picture across the UK. Hello. Spring is in the air with
:11:12. > :11:16.temperatures reaching 14 or 15 in a few spots today as they will again
:11:17. > :11:22.over the next few days. Very pleasant in the sun. The daffodils
:11:23. > :11:28.were loving that in York. More places under blue sky tomorrow and
:11:29. > :11:32.dry. Tonight heavy showers moving across Scotland on strong to gale
:11:33. > :11:37.force winds, some may clip Northern Ireland. It's a mild night in
:11:38. > :11:38.southern England and South Wales but damp and