03/01/2018 London News

That's all from the BBC News at One

- so it's goodbye from me -

Hello and welcome

to BBC London News.

I'm Alpa Patel.

Homeless families in London claim

they are being pressured to accept

offers of housing outside

of the capital.

BBC London visited one family

who had to spend Christmas

and New Year in a hotel,

because they refused to accept

an offer to move to Southend.

One housing lawyer said the lack

of affordable-social housing

is contributing to the crisis.

Chris Rogers reports.

Since September, this tiny hotel

room has been home to Naomi, her

mother, two sisters and her baby

boy. The family happy living in

hotel rooms like for three years.

The cameraman is on one bed, I am on

the second, you are on the third. I

mean, there is hardly any... Room to

move. I don't know how you live like

this.

We literally live on top of

each other. The only breeding room I

sisters get is when they go to work.

My mother is running around doing

errands. Some days we go out to

work.

There is nowhere to put stuff

away. No storage of clothes? This

East End born and bred family were

offered social housing in Southend.

That's 42 miles away from their

part-time jobs and community.

Right

now, it would get worse, because we

don't have the financial backing, we

don't have the family support that

we need to get back on our feet. If

we have the financial backing behind

it, and the job, the two main thing

is, then no problem, we could go and

move to Southend. There would be no

problem.

More than 2000 families in

temporary accommodation have been

uprooted from their communities

every year. Local authorities are

legally obliged to rehouse homeless

families within or close to their

borough. But increasingly that is

not happening. Do you think the

system is imploding?

Yes. I do. I

think that dramatic steps have to be

taken to create a stock of

affordable social housing. In

London, as well as other parts of

the country. Ordinary people, doing

ordinary jobs, just cannot make ends

meet. That is creating relentless

pressure, pushing people to the

peripheries of London. Pushing

people outside of London. Tearing up

communities, pulling people out of

work, pulling people out of school.

It's just not good enough.

London

councils blame increasing pressure

on funds because of the growing

number of vulnerable families

needing affordable housing. That is

scarce in London. The family now

faces a long court battle, using

legal aid, to force the council to

rehouse them in London.

Now, a bed bug infestation has been

causing some discomfort

at the Palace of Westminster.

That's despite urgent action

to tackle the problem.

One pest control expert says

the outbreak is out of control.

Sarah Harris has the story.

In the corridors of power lurk

parasites, intent on sucking blood

to stay alive.

That's not a metaphor,

for these are the culprits.

Bedbugs.

Happy to live in chairs where humans

stay seated for hours on end,

waiting for an opportunity to bite.

This London pest expert says

an attempt to eradicate the outbreak

from Parliament has failed.

We've had a number of clients

where they've been repeatedly

introducing bedbugs to their home,

we can get it clear for a couple of

weeks, then the problem comes back.

So we started talking to people,

how do you travel to work,

where do you work, where do

you visit on a regular basis?

And a large number of people

were connected with the Houses

of Parliament in Westminster.

Staff in Parliament who suspect

they been bitten have been advised

to refer to the NHS website.

Bedbugs aren't dangerous,

and don't spread diseases,

but can cause itchy red bumps

on the skin.

In a statement, a parliamentary

spokesperson confirmed

that there had been a bed bug

outbreak within the parliamentary

estate in a number of places.

They said an investigation had shown

it had been brought in from outside

and hadn't originated here,

and that appropriate

action is being taken.

They also said they are monitoring

the rest of the estate to make

sure it hasn't spread.

Some companies use heat treatments

to eradicate the bugs.

They also strip back chairs

and sofas to make sure the parasites

haven't made their home

hidden in upholstery.

The problem with chemical

treatments, they say,

is that they don't always work.

I think with any pest species,

there's always going to be some kind

of immunity to whatever chemical

or rodenticide you're

going to use against them.

So, over time, I think you're

going to have to upgrade

to something different.

The size of the Parliamentary State

makes treatment difficult,

on top of any chemical resistance

the bugs have built up.

Some experts say only by making

the parasites a notifiable pest

will they be eradicated long-term.

A row has broken out

after a famous women's-only pool

announced that men transitioning

into women will be

allowed to bathe there.

A spokesperson for the City

of London Corporation -

which runs the Ladies Pond

on Hampstead Heath - confirmed that

men who identify as female

and undergoing transition,

will be allowed to use the pool

and female changing rooms.

But there are concerns

that the ruling could encourage some

people to take advantage.

Storm Eleanor has caused travel

disruption and damage in our region.

Strong winds brought down

trees and power cables.

Well let's get the latest

from our reporter Paul Murphy-Kasp.

Paul, tell us which parts

have been affected.

Compared to the rest of the country,

London has not been too badly

affected so far. The Thames Barrier

has been closed for most of the

morning, to try to prevent any tidal

surges. Some rail services were also

disrupted earlier, Southern,

Thameslink and the Gallic express,

running not as usual to Redhill.

That is now resolved. The latest

problem is that the Woolwich Ferry

has been suspended because of the

wind and high tide. Still some

niggling issues. As for the roads,

through the morning we had a partial

closure of the M25, that has been

sorted. Closer to London, we had a

couple of trees down. There is one

in Stan Moore. The road was closed

all morning, but the council have

cut it out and it is now open again.

In central London, we didn't escape

the wind. This car in Marylebone

felt the full force when stonework

fell from the top of a residential

block. On new Oxford Street, right

in the centre of town, police and

the Fire Brigade had to remove a

hoarding that had come loose.

Some

serious damage, and homes without

power?

About 200 homes lost power

last night on the London and Surrey

border. Homes in the West area of

Woking were affected. Scottish and

Southern actress Eddie Howe been

working very hard through the

morning to fix that. Some homes

still remain without power and that

is likely to be the case until

mid-afternoon. Storm Eleanor may

have swept past London, but we are

definitely feeling the effects.

Thank you very much. Let's take a

look at the weather.

Hello, we've had our first

named storm of the year,

Storm Eleanor brought wind gusts

of 73 mph in Northolt

in West London.

You can see the area of low pressure

associated with the storm here.

Now well out into the North Sea,

but still a squeeze

on the isobars behind it.

Still gusty for a time.

Bright, with some sunshine

through most of the afternoon,

just can't rule out one

or two squally showers.

Still a yellow warning

for The Met Office,

because the winds will still be

gusting or 50 mph for a time.

Temperatures ten, 11 Celsius,

but certainly feeling on the chilly

side in exposure to the breeze.

The wind eventually starts to ease

down through the evening,

but still a notable wind blowing.

Some clear skies at first,

before the cloud starts

to build later in the night.

That will eventually bring

some light and patchy

rain in from the West.

Temperatures not getting much lower

than five or six Celsius.

Certainly a grey, damp start

to the day tomorrow.

There will be some outbreaks

of chiefly light rain,

that will slowly start to ease.

By the afternoon, drier, brighter,

some spells of sunshine.

The wind starting to pick up again,

but not as strong as the wind

we have seen in the last 24 hours.

A mild afternoon tomorrow, 12 or 13

Celsius the top temperature.

As we go into Friday,

it's quite limited picture.

There are areas of

low pressure nearby.

The wind will start to pick

up a little bit again.

There will be some outbreaks of rain

again for a time on Friday.

Never really amounting to much.

As that clears, the weekend

is looking drier,

brighter, but much colder.

A brolly definitely needed.

That's it from us -

Asad Ahmed will be back

at 6:30 this evening.

But for now, enjoy your afternoon.