08/11/2017 London News

Newsnight is coming up on BBC Two.

Here on BBC One, it's time

for the news where you are.

Good evening.

for the news where you are.

I'm Alex Bushill.

for the news where you are.

It's almost a year since

the Croydon tram crash.

Seven people were killed when a tram

derailed and overturned.

Some of the families of those

who died have told this

programme they feel forgotten

by transport bosses.

The widow of one the victims has

been speaking to our transport

correspondent Tom Edwards ahead

of a memorial service tomorrow.

He left here at...5:40

to get on the 5:50 tram

at the top of the road,

which he'd done for three months.

And at nine minutes past six,

he was gone, wiped out.

Marilyn lost her husband

nearly a year ago.

A builder, Philip Logan was 52.

He left one morning

and never came home.

His ashes are in the

corner of the room.

His last words to me was, "Bye,

love, what's for dinner tonight?"

I said, "This is breakfast time,

not dinner time, phone me later."

And that was it, he was gone.

In her own words, the last

year has been hell.

Marilyn said she's had one

interim payment of £15,000.

Have you had help, have you had

assistance from TfL?

No, not at all.

An initial interim payment,

which was...beginning of December,

and nothing since then.

I've not heard from them,

no letters, no nothing.

Really?

People will be surprised by that.

I'm not!

Not at all.

So you feel like you've

been forgotten about?

Yeah, absolutely.

Her husband was one of the seven

passengers who died when this tram

overturned, speeding on a sharp

corner nearly a year ago.

51 people were injured.

For Marilyn, Christmas

is not going to be easy.

Not a sign of a Christmas present,

and I've no money to get any.

I mean, my family is excellent,

they don't expect, but it's

something I want to do.

But without money, I can't.

And it must make you feel angry.

Very angry - very, very.

Because I shouldn't have

to struggle like this.

Who knows when the claim

might go through?

Don't know.

Is it going to be a year, two years?

Have I got to live like this

for a year or two years?

For Marilyn, this last year

has been a struggle.

She says she's been lost

in a system and forgotten.

In response, Transport for London

says it is very concerned and upset

that Mrs Logan feels she has not

received the support she needs.

It says it was in contact

with her and her solicitors offering

financial assistance.

This is what the Transport

Commissioner told BBC

London earlier today.

Although we paid out over £1 million

already to those affected and their

dependents, if there's anyone who

feels we haven't dealt with their

issues in the way we should have

done, please get directly in touch,

we'll respond immediately with

urgency to ensure those issues are

tackled, we want to ensure we look

after people properly, we think

we've done so in all cases, but if

we've missed somebody or it hasn't

worked for any individuals, I

promise we'll sort it out.

And tomorrow that memorial

service will take place

in New Addington to remember

the victims of the crash.

A High Court judge has asked

for the public's help to find

a 3-year-old girl who's gone missing

with her mother.

Mr Justice Hayden says

he's very concerned

for Elliana Shand's safety.

Her mother has schizophrenia

and other mental health issues.

The little girl was put into care

by Barking and Dagenham council.

It's believed she was visiting her

grandmother when she disappeared.

All this week we've been looking

at the issue of personal debt

here in the capital.

And it's not just those on low

incomes who are struggling,

middle class households are also

running up unsustainable debts.

It's an issue the government

recognises, and today it announced

a new inquiry into the state

of household finances.

Gareth Furby reports.

He lives in a gated

mews in North London.

David Campbell runs his

own IT consultancy.

He should be living a comfortable

life, but instead he's struggling

to pay off a huge debt.

The total amount of that

is just under 30 3000.

It was built upon credit cards.

Virgin money credit cards.

MBNA, Halifax, Barclaycard.

It'll take at least

20 years to pay off.

And he now owns little more

than a computer and a push bike.

The flat is rented, and he admits

he is someone who could be

seen as middle class.

I

have, I guess, public

school education.

I went to King's College London,

studied business management there.

Now I have pretty much nothing

to my name other than debt.

The danger is you get used

to having a lot of credit

on a lot of different cards.

Iona Bain is middle

class and she has chosen

to never use a credit card.

I have a debit card,

and that way I know exactly how much

I've got to spend each month.

She also writes about money,

and says a middle-class lifestyle

can be expensive to carry off.

That's £80.

And some people may turn to credit

to keep up appearances.

So many people have put on a very

good show of having a good income

and having a desirable lifestyle,

but if you scratch beneath

the surface, it's built

on this foundation of debt.

Today, the Treasury

committee is launching

a new inquiry into the state

of household finances.

It estimated 15% of adults have some

kind of issue with debt.

And the middle classes

are not exempt.

We were doing this

transferring the balances,

interest-free, so you think,

it's money for nothing.

David Campbell has this advice

for middle-class Londoners

who are happy to build up and juggle

debt, from credit card

to credit card...

If you're not going to keep on top

of it very, very closely,

then it's a very dangerous game.

He's in a dark place at the moment,

and it'll take many to recover.

And if you'd like to tell us

about your experience of struggling

to get by here in London then please

do get in touch.

The contact details

are on your screen now.

A leading charity says

the number of homeless people

in the capital is now equivalent

to the population of Reading.

Shelter estimates more than 160

thousand Londoners are sleeping

rough or staying on people's sofas.

The charity has blamed the crisis

on years of under investment

in affordable homes.

With a look at the numbers,

here's Chris Rogers.

The housing charity, Shelter,

warns two London families are made

homeless every hour.

It's a nationwide crisis,

but the most startling figures

are here in the capital.

Where a report out today

reveals welfare reform,

housing shortages and rising rents

are forcing the young, the elderly,

and in some cases, entire families,

into emergency accommodation,

or even out onto the streets.

London boroughs dominate

the UK's top 50 hotspots

for homelessness in the UK.

13,607 in Newham, much

larger borough compared

with those who follow closely,

including Haringey at 9717 homeless,

Westminster at 8054,

and Enfield, at 10,057 people.

Shelter's Chief Executive,

Polly Neate, says tens

of thousands are stuck.

Trying to escape the devastating

trap of homelessness.

There are two main causes, really.

One is just the sheer

lack of housing.

So there just is not

enough housing available.

And, even more, there is not enough

genuinely affordable.

But we need to stop thinking

affordable housing means affordable

to buy, it's affordable for people

on lower incomes to rent.

So that the long-term cause of it.

The other issue is that these are

the consequences of welfare reform.

In particular, the freeze

on housing benefits.

Look at this, these are the faces

behind the statistics.

They are rough sleepers,

those in temporary accommodation,

as we revealed yesterday,

many living in a slum like rooms

because councils are overwhelmed.

Then there was the hidden homeless.

London is not recognised in official

figures sleeping on night buses,

illegal squats, so-called sofa

surfers, like Gillian.

I've got three

daughters with me now.

And there is a huge impact on them.

They become isolated

from their own friends

because they are then different

from their friends, and, therefore,

they just can't talk properly,

they can't express everything.

The mayor, Sadiq Khan,

is injecting millions into projects

to help rough sleepers,

and London councils will get a cash

boost from the government.

Sian Berry, chair of the London

assembly's housing committee,

says it's not enough.

We're not sure that councils have

enough funding to do even that,

to keep people in those

temporary accommodation homes.

So we need a new social rented homes

going up all over the city.

While a spokesman for the mayor

admits the statistics are worrying,

his office points out over the last

year we seen a decade-long

rise in rough sleeping

effectively halted.

Chris Rogers reporting there.

That's it from me so I'll wish

you goodnight and hand you over

to Darren Bett with a look

at the weather.

The rain cleared but took awhile for

the clout to break up today. It's

gone now and it is cold out there at

the moment. But by morning be dull

and a bit damp. We should see some

slow improvements through the day.

Right now, with clear skies, we've

got the temperature is not far away

from freezing. Look to the

north-west, there is clout, it'll be

thick enough to give rain and

drizzle which will lift the

temperatures more towards the end of

the night. The morning will be

getting off to a dull and damp

start, some patchy rain and drizzle,

no great amount. That should move

through. More slowly we will see

cloud breaking up. It's in the

afternoon we will start to see

sunshine coming through. It's a very

slow process and by then we are

looking at temperatures of ten or 11

degrees. Friday should start quite

cloudy but we'll see sunshine coming

through. Over the weekend, it'll get

windier, colder as well. Should be

generally drive. There will be a lot

of sunshine around. It'll be cold in

the wind. If you want to know what

is happening further afield the

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