0:00:11 > 0:00:16Good evening - I'm Riz Lateef.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19An investigation by BBC London reveals how much the government has
0:00:19 > 0:00:22made by raising the cost of becoming a British citizen.
0:00:22 > 0:00:28It's collected more than £800 million over the past six years.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31It can cost eligible applicants - including children born in the UK -
0:00:31 > 0:00:34about £1000 to register.
0:00:34 > 0:00:36But we've learned it only costs the Home Office around
0:00:36 > 0:00:38£300 to process it.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42They've told us the money is reinvested to fund
0:00:42 > 0:00:43the wider immigration system.
0:00:43 > 0:00:45As our Home Affairs Correspondent Nick Beake reports -
0:00:45 > 0:00:49it's left some young Londoners struggling with debt.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51Samson Adiola was born in Nigeria and came to London
0:00:51 > 0:00:58with his family when he was five.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00He was entitled to British citizenship, but never took it.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03But when he turned 18 he decided to apply because
0:01:03 > 0:01:05if he went to university as an international student,
0:01:05 > 0:01:09he'd have to pay much more.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11He then found out that officially becoming British
0:01:11 > 0:01:14would cost nearly £1,000.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17It was very difficult, definitely for my mum,
0:01:17 > 0:01:25having to go around looking at where she could get the money from.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29One of the main places we got help from was the church and they put
0:01:29 > 0:01:32a substantial amount together just to help us out.
0:01:32 > 0:01:37BBC London has learned the cost of processing applications such
0:01:37 > 0:01:41as Samson's was only £260, a quarter of what he was charged.
0:01:41 > 0:01:43It's really kind of upsetting, actually, that they are
0:01:43 > 0:01:48actually doing this.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52And for other people who may not even be able to scrape
0:01:52 > 0:01:57that money together, who are entitled, or have the right
0:01:57 > 0:01:59to British citizenship and who can't put forward the application
0:01:59 > 0:02:00because of the cost.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02It's really frustrating.
0:02:02 > 0:02:04We came for a workshop.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06Some charities which help families gain British citizenship condemned
0:02:06 > 0:02:08the rising Home Office fees.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11To know that you have a right to register as a British citizen,
0:02:11 > 0:02:16Parliament has given you that right and the Secretary of State is trying
0:02:16 > 0:02:19to profiteer and sell the benefit that was given by Parliament as far
0:02:19 > 0:02:20back as 1983.
0:02:20 > 0:02:25It is a complete scandal.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27The Home Office told us it has not been making any profit
0:02:28 > 0:02:29from these rising fees.
0:02:29 > 0:02:34It said any income generated above the actual cost of processing
0:02:34 > 0:02:36an application goes into the budget which helps protect the UK border.
0:02:36 > 0:02:40And so it actually reduces the burden on the taxpayer.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42One thinktank labelled this yet another stealth tax, although it did
0:02:42 > 0:02:44argue that applicants would benefit from British citizenship
0:02:44 > 0:02:47in the long run.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54These people are coming in to become British citizens and I suppose
0:02:54 > 0:02:56they should get used to all these stealth taxes.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00One more big one like this maybe won't hurt if they get the benefit
0:03:00 > 0:03:02of the National Health Service and everything else.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04Ministers stress that for the likes of Samson,
0:03:04 > 0:03:08taking British citizenship is not compulsory.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11But he wanted a guarantee he'd be able to stay here,
0:03:11 > 0:03:13although he now fears others may also struggle
0:03:13 > 0:03:14to pay for that assurance.
0:03:14 > 0:03:20Nick Beake, BBC London News.
0:03:20 > 0:03:2317 - that's the number of people in the capital who've
0:03:23 > 0:03:26lost their lives to knife crime since the start of the year.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29Today in a bid to help tackle the problem -
0:03:29 > 0:03:32the Mayor's promised millions to fund youth services
0:03:32 > 0:03:34in an effort to steer young Londoners away from violence.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37Charlotte Franks reports.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39Some of the Londoners who lost their lives last year
0:03:39 > 0:03:40after being stabbed to death.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42There were 80 victims in total.
0:03:42 > 0:03:52Many were just teenagers.
0:03:53 > 0:03:59For 19-year-old Gabriel knife crime is
0:03:59 > 0:04:01For 19-year-old Gabrielle knife crime is
0:04:01 > 0:04:02an issue very close to home.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05Not long ago one of my close friends on
0:04:05 > 0:04:06his way home outside the hospital got stabbed
0:04:06 > 0:04:08in his face and in the
0:04:08 > 0:04:09back of his leg.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12When I was on my way to the hospital to see him I was
0:04:12 > 0:04:13so scared.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15I didn't know what to expect.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18There has been a 23% increase in knife crime across the capital.
0:04:18 > 0:04:20Today, the Mayor met young people at a centre in
0:04:20 > 0:04:23Bermondsey where he announced he'll be investing £45 million over the
0:04:23 > 0:04:25next three years into youth services, in the hope it
0:04:25 > 0:04:27will help tackle the issue.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31Having a youth centre gives young people a place to go.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33So, they're not on the streets like getting influences from maybe
0:04:34 > 0:04:35bad places.
0:04:35 > 0:04:37People have the option to come here and people have the option
0:04:37 > 0:04:40to have a safe zone to go if they need it.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43The money will come from a combination of council tax and
0:04:43 > 0:04:44business rates.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47But the news comes just a day after a warning that Met
0:04:47 > 0:04:49Police officer numbers could drop to as low as 27,000.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51Does it make sense to be spending £45 million on
0:04:51 > 0:04:55projects like this when we've just heard police numbers are going to be
0:04:55 > 0:04:56reduced in London?
0:04:56 > 0:04:58I'm not going to apologise for investing in young people.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01I think this is an investment for the future.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03What I'm doing is investing in policing as well.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05We've had the biggest roll-out of body-worn videos in the
0:05:06 > 0:05:13world last year.
0:05:13 > 0:05:14Across London.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16I announced additional sums to the police last week.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18We've also ring fenced some of that was
0:05:18 > 0:05:20dealing with knife crime.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22In their fight against knife crime the
0:05:22 > 0:05:24Metropolitan Police carried out dawn raids this morning across
0:05:24 > 0:05:26Westminster to confiscate knives and target repeat
0:05:26 > 0:05:27knife crime offenders.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29This is about keeping our young people safe during half term and
0:05:33 > 0:05:35that's the focus of this week's activity for us.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37A lot of young people and children are off school
0:05:37 > 0:05:39and it's about keeping them safe.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41But workers here in Bermondsey say the answer to solving knife crime
0:05:41 > 0:05:45begins at grass roots level with outreach programme
0:05:45 > 0:05:47begins at grass roots level with outreach programmes
0:05:47 > 0:05:48key to their success.
0:05:48 > 0:05:49Charlotte Franks, BBC London News.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53Ayshea Buksh has got more on this - so how will this work in practice?
0:05:53 > 0:05:57Charities and youth groups will have to bid for the money and they will
0:05:57 > 0:06:01receive a grant. The £45 billion fund will be available over three
0:06:01 > 0:06:05years, so 15 million each year, but this isn't just about knife crime,
0:06:05 > 0:06:09the mayor already has a £7 million knife crime strategy that he's
0:06:09 > 0:06:13invested in. What City Hall says is they want to look at communities
0:06:13 > 0:06:18where the cuts to the youth services, they say, were the most
0:06:18 > 0:06:22severe and also what will be central to any successful bid is a focus on
0:06:22 > 0:06:27sport, culture, citizenship, education and volunteering.You have
0:06:27 > 0:06:31spoken to youth charities. What are they saying to you about this?
0:06:31 > 0:06:34That's right, this will be welcomed undoubtedly by grassroots
0:06:34 > 0:06:38organisations and I spoke to an incredible youth project in Hackney
0:06:38 > 0:06:41earlier this evening and they say that while three years is great,
0:06:41 > 0:06:44five years would be better because they want to have a really good
0:06:44 > 0:06:48chunk of a young person's adolescence to be able to work with
0:06:48 > 0:06:51them. Let's not forget, out of London youth services are also under
0:06:51 > 0:06:56extreme pressure as well. Sian Berry from the London Assembly says this
0:06:56 > 0:07:00is great and she hopes this will start to repair some of the damage
0:07:00 > 0:07:04that youth services across London have suffered.OK, Ayshea Buksh,
0:07:04 > 0:07:07thank you.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11Parents of up to 70 pupils have been told they'll have to find new places
0:07:11 > 0:07:13for their children this September.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16It's after a free school in West London - which has only been
0:07:16 > 0:07:18open for three years - is to close.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21Emma North has the story.
0:07:21 > 0:07:22A half-term get-together, a chance to have fun
0:07:22 > 0:07:24and see your friends.
0:07:24 > 0:07:29But at the end of this year, this group will split up.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32Their primary school, Floreat Brentford, is closing.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35When I found out that my school was closing, I was speechless.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39The only word I said was, why?
0:07:39 > 0:07:45I miss my friends and I miss my teachers also.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48Theirs is a so-called free school, it's paid for by the government
0:07:48 > 0:07:51but run by a group called the Floreat trust.
0:07:51 > 0:07:56Floreat say they They have to close the school because they can't find
0:07:56 > 0:07:57it a permanent home.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59And as a result, they can't make the finances work.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02Some parents aren't convinced.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04This was where it was all meant to be.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06We have been fighting with planning permission, with the borough,
0:08:06 > 0:08:08the Department for Education and Floreat Trust for
0:08:08 > 0:08:10the last three years.
0:08:10 > 0:08:15This car park was earmarked for the new school but a planning
0:08:15 > 0:08:18application never went in and now there are claims that the children
0:08:18 > 0:08:23are caught up in an entirely political row.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26I think they have been a financial guinea pig in all of this.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29It was a business opportunity they tried to make work.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31They have decided that it hasn't, so they shut it down.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34The trust are blaming the Council, the Council are blaming
0:08:34 > 0:08:35the Department for Education.
0:08:35 > 0:08:43We have no idea where blame lies, but at the end
0:08:43 > 0:08:46of the day it is our children that are suffering.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48No one from Floreat would be interviewed today,
0:08:48 > 0:08:52but they said a statement.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55We showed this to Hounslow Council.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59This is outrageous, factually incorrect.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01Had this planning application been submitted, do you think it
0:09:01 > 0:09:03would have been approved?
0:09:03 > 0:09:06Subject to the planning committee approval, yes, because it had
0:09:06 > 0:09:08the support of the council.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10So, were you surprised when the application
0:09:10 > 0:09:12form didn't come in?
0:09:12 > 0:09:14Yes, we were expecting it January or February.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17So why are the arguments flying?
0:09:17 > 0:09:19Free schools have often been the source of bitter
0:09:19 > 0:09:21political battles.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24It's been very interesting watching the free schools programme,
0:09:24 > 0:09:27to see such a mundane aspect, you might say, trying to find
0:09:27 > 0:09:31premises that are suitable to have a school being
0:09:31 > 0:09:32such an obstacle.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35This is a story that simply hasn't gone away.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37Government, which has a big interest in making this look successful
0:09:37 > 0:09:40and be successful as a programme, hasn't been able
0:09:40 > 0:09:44to help solve the problem better.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47The parents have been promised meetings with both
0:09:47 > 0:09:49the governors and the council, but whatever the reason
0:09:49 > 0:09:51for the school's closure, these pupils seem more keen
0:09:51 > 0:09:55on playing proper games and less on playing politics.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58Time for the weather now - so I'll say goodnight
0:09:58 > 0:09:59and it's over to Phil Avery.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06How is it looking?
0:10:09 > 0:10:13Not great today, I will have two Buck up otherwise you will have my
0:10:13 > 0:10:18job, lots of leaden skies, a loss to the tourism board of Bromley, it
0:10:18 > 0:10:23looks like that through my window and I suspect 3 euros, that is going
0:10:23 > 0:10:28away to the east, beginning today, and as a consequence, after all it
0:10:28 > 0:10:32is mid-February, the temperatures will dip away and we will scrape the
0:10:32 > 0:10:35car is first up but there will be some sunshine away from the remnants
0:10:35 > 0:10:39of the cloud in the east to start the day.. Before that by that
0:10:39 > 0:10:42because we are going to end up losing the sunshine from the west by
0:10:42 > 0:10:47the latter part of the morning and in the early part of the afternoon
0:10:47 > 0:10:52at some point I think we will see a bit of rain. It will stay dry in the
0:10:52 > 0:10:56east, temperatures five, six, seven, 8 degrees, something of that order,
0:10:56 > 0:10:59I would have thought, and I leave you with a look at the weekend,
0:10:59 > 0:11:02which looks to be just a bit warmer, double-figure