16/01/2018 London News

on the problems of recruiting and

retaining nurses in the NHS.

Now

Welcome to BBC London News.

I'm Chris Rogers.

There could be dire

consequences for the capital

following the collapse

of construction giant Carillion -

one union is warning the full

impact is not yet known.

BBC London has learnt that

a multi-million pound development

at one of our busiest hospitals

has been hit as a result.

And we've also discovered

that the Met police has

contracts with the company.

Here's our political

correspondent, Karl Mercer.

St Helier is in need of repair.

These parts of the Sutton hospital

are well past their sell by date.

Which is why bosses here decided

they needed to shell out £12

million on repairs.

It's the biggest refurb

the hospital has ever had,

and will see windows

and roofs replaced.

The outer walls

strengthened and repaired.

Only yesterday the work hit a snag.

Its name?

Carillion - a major

sub-contractor on this

project, and one not living up

to its billboard promises.

Yesterday work here stopped.

Some workers were on site today.

But their future too is uncertain

past the end of the week.

The hospital chief executive was not

available per interview today, but

he did tell me last night worker

stopped yesterday. He is in urgent

talks with contractors to see what

happens. He is either a statement in

which he said he was grateful to

stop still working on site despite

the uncertainty. He said, we are

working hard to find a solution to

enable the work to continue as

planned.

The improvement works are very badly

needed.

The St Helier redevopment,

like most, is done with the help

of private contractors,

under the sort of scheme brought

in by the Prime Minister, who first

introduced the private finance

initiative to Britain,

and was born in this hospital.

Local MPs today hope his scheme

will still go ahead

on time and on budget.

You've got the hospital at maximum

capacity because of the winter.

Every bed used. At the same time as

you are trying to replace Windows,

make sure there is a new roof and to

actually make sure there is no water

getting in. It is not

straightforward. But I do have

confidence that it will continue and

we desperately needed.

The chief

executive is making sure something

and get sorted out. It is a worry

that we don't want any further

delay. We want to make sure we have

costs right as well. We have only

got a limited budget. It is

important that we are on the case

straightaway.

It's not just the public sector

affected by Carillion's collapse.

This housing development

in Central London left quiet today.

Workers simply coming back

to pick up their tools.

And unions warning the full effects

are yet to be felt in the capital.

It's not just Carillion. It is many

thousands of construction workers,

small companies, medium-sized

companies, who are literally

wondering what will happen at the

end of today, tomorrow, the end of

this week.

The coming days will

be difficult for many

connected with Carillion.

Workers - and those

who depended on its services.

And it's emerged the

Metropolitan Police is also

affected, with Carillion involved in

four South London police stations.

They prepare exhibits

for court cases, provide some

of the custody services,

processing people through

the system, and do maintenance

and electrical work.

They also have an even bigger

contract, which is operating

and managing the Metropolitan

Police's specialist training

centre in Gravesend,

where they train officers

in public order,

how to deal with rioting,

with seige situations - and they

have a shooting range there.

The Met Police and Mopac -

the Mayor's Office for Policing

and Crime - say they have

contingency plans which suggests

the staff will stay there

for the immediate future.

I wouldn't want people to think that

if there were to be any difficulty,

that would cause the Met to come to

a halt. It absolutely wouldn't.

These are important contracts for

us. The people who work in Carillion

are concerned about their futures,

we understand that. At the moment we

have no break in service and it is

the intention of the mayor and me to

make sure that continues into the

future.

A decision on a controversial

regeneration plan for south london

is expected tonight.

Councillors are still meeting

to consider plans to demolish

the shopping centre

and neighbouring buildings.

Nearly 1000 new homes are planned,

but protestors who stormed

the council offices say

not enough of them affordable.

Ayshea Buksh has been

at the meeting tonight.

Any progress?

Chris, the future of

the elephant and Castle shopping

centre has been on the table through

many years. This is the third scheme

that the council has considered in

the last 20 years. The current plans

are to demolish the centre and the

surrounding areas, and to replace it

with new homes, shops and leisure

facilities. Before the meeting

started there was a protest which

started at the elephant and Castle

roundabout. They marched through the

London Bridge area onto the offices

here. The meeting was ticketed. Some

of the protestors, frustrated at not

being able to get in, stormed the

building. Earlier I spoke to some of

the demonstrators on the march and

asked why they are so against this

scheme.

We can't afford luxury flats. It is

pushing poor people out of their

local area, their communities.

It

will be destroyed. The traders,

people.

Around 100 businesses run by

Latin American traders with their

families are being affected.

As I left the meeting, councillors

were quizzing the developers over

various issues. There are plans for

nearly a thousand new homes. All

will be privately rented. Some of

the objections that were voiced by

different people at the meeting were

over the lack of affordable homes

and light blocking existing

residencies. The Latin American

community have many shops and

restaurants within the centre. The

council say this is a long-held

ambition and aspiration to redevelop

the centre. They want to make it a

good place to live for a new and

existing residents.

Thank you.

Jewish and Muslim families

in North London say their elderly

relatives are moving away,

because they're worried

about what will happen

if they die living in the area.

They say the local coroner

won't honour their traditions

of burying people immediately.

Victoria Cook has more.

Helen Langberg lost two

relatives in the same year.

It's Jewish custom to bury

the deceased immediately.

But they were left waiting for days

for the coroner to release the body.

Every day, every minute, every hour

was more anxious. We were fretting

and worrying. We didn't know when it

was going to be.

And they aren't the only family

in North London affected.

Many elderly people want to move

away from the area because they are

frightened of dying, their loved

ones, their children shouldn't

suffer, that they can't be buried at

the right time. It is important for

us.

Jewish and Muslim families

say their religious beliefs aren't

being considered by the coroner.

I've had many families

from Jewish and Muslim

families in tears, not able

to bury their loved ones.

For nonreligious people, they may

say that everybody should be treated

fairly in order. What do you say to

that?

This is not about jumping the

queue. I would not advocate that.

Everybody should be treated on an

equal basis. Equality means also

understanding people's religions.

Britain is a diverse country. There

are no specific laws about burial

timings but the Ministry of Justice

hats to set guidelines. They say a

coroner should, where possible, take

into consideration religious beliefs

and traditions.

A solicitor representing

people from the Jewish

community says the coroner

is in breach of human rights laws.

He's now applying

for a judicial review.

Most people in Britain really don't

care, they are not in a rush. Burial

takes place a week or more after

death. Some faiths, Muslims and

Jewish people, need to bury

immediately. It is part of their

faith. Therefore, being able to do

so wouldn't in any way harmed those

who simply are not in a rush.

The coroner for Inner North

London wouldn't comment.

But in a letter to the community

she says...

There are now calls

for the coroner to step down or be

moved away.

The introduction of what is believe

to be the Uk's first ever buffer

zone to stop protestors

from gathering outside

an abortion clinic, has come

a step closer tonight.

Campaigners have welcomed a vote

by ealing council to begin a public

consultation into the plans to stop

anti-abortion demonstrations

outside a Marie Stopes

clinic in the borough.

That's it for now from me.

But let's find out

what the weather's up

to with Stav Danaos.

It has been very cold today. Plenty

of sunshine. We had some wintry

showers in southern areas,

particularly across the Downs. For

most it would be a dry, clear and

chilly night. Watch out for some icy

patches. It would be a cold night.

Tomorrow, a fine day again for our

region. It will be sunny, cold and

windy. It will be windy through the

morning. The odd passing shower

could be possible. Lots of sunshine

into the afternoon. Wrap up if you

are heading out. Then we see a spell

of wet and windy weather spreading

across the region over a Wednesday

night. Very briefly milder with this

spell of gales and rain. It will

turn cold on Thursday morning. A

windy start to Thursday. A few

showers around. Plenty of sunny

spells. Temperatures between eight

and 9 degrees. Things calm down

towards the end of the week.