BBC report on money pledged for riot aid

This report from Andrew Bomford from BBC Radio 4′s PM Programme makes depressing reading:
Riot aid left unclaimed while another fund fails to pay

“Most of the government money pledged to help small businesses after the riots is unlikely to be paid out, according to a BBC assessment of claims.

“Some £20m was allocated to the High Street Support Scheme, but businesses have been slow to claim the money through local authorities.

“Separately, the BBC has learnt that a government fund has paid out a tiny fraction of the £250m allocated. [read more]

Bomford also reports that “There has also been a low take-up in other riot hit areas. Croydon Council has paid out £882,000 from a possible £2m.”

Read the report in full here.

Croydon’s Local Independent Review Panel

Croydon has set up a Local Independent Review Panel to look into the riots in Croydon on 8th August.

The panel of five people is being chaired by William Barnett QC and will submit its findings to the national Riots Communities and Victims Panel.

Anyone can contact the Croydon Panel to contribute – the terms of reference are as follows:
1. To contribute local evidence to the National Communities and Victims Panel.
2. To examine why the civil disturbances/riots took place in Croydon, to record and place on the record what happened and how the various regional and local agencies responded.
3. To assemble written and oral information, review and sift relevant data.
4. To provide a summary of lessons to be learnt for the avoidance of a recurrence.
5. To make public the findings of the review and any recommendations.
6. The time frame for completion of the work of the Panel is up to five months.

Email: localreview@croydon.gov.uk
or send your letter to The Secretary, Croydon Independent Local Review Panel, 5th floor, Taberner House, Park Lane, Croydon CR9 3BT

Submissions must arrive by Monday, 10 October, 2011, in order to be considered by the Panel.

You can also submit your evidence and views direct to the National Communities and Victims Panel – click here for details.

Croydon Open Assembly, 25th September

The Weatherill Society, Croydon Communities Consortium and Croydon Minster are holding a Croydon Open Assembly at Croydon Minster on Sunday 25th September.

The aim is to focus on the future: “What do we, as Croydon people, need to do to make our town a better, safer and prouder place and reduce the likelihood of future disturbance?”

Date/time: Sunday 25th September, 3pm – 5pm
Venue: Croydon Minster, Church Street, Croydon CR0 1RN

All are welcome – let’s make sure that London Road residents, traders and businesses are well represented.

Riots Communities and Victims Panel calls for evidence

The Riots Communities and Victims Panel has set up its website and put out a ‘national call for evidence’ to help understand the causes of the riots in August.

From week beginning the 19th September, the panel will travel around the country to meet people and hear their views face to face. Letters are being sent to communities and organisations across the country to ask people to come forward with their views.

But you don’t have to wait to be invited: you can email or write and post your views directly to the Panel. Darra Singh, Chair of the Riots Communities and Victims Panel, said: “We want to talk to the residents, shop keepers, parents, young people, council workers, youth leaders, faith organisations, ‘riot wombles’ – this is a panel for the people. So today we’re making a national call for evidence. We want people to write, email and talk directly to us so that everyone has the chance to have their voice heard.”

Send your views by email to: riotspanel@communities.gsi.gov.uk
or by post to: Riots Panel, 6th Floor, Eland House, Bressenden Place, London SW1E 5DU.

Let us know if you are invited to a face to face meeting with the Panel – we will also put an update on this website once we know the Panel’s schedule.

Topics to be looked at by the Panel:
~ the motivation for a small minority of people to take part in riots;
~ why the riots happened in some areas and not others;
~ how key public services engaged with communities before, during and after the riots;
~ what motivated local people to come together to take civic action to resist riots in their area or to clean up after riots had taken place;
~ how communities can be made more socially and economically resilient in the future, in order to prevent future problems; and
~ what they think could have been done differently to prevent or manage the riots.

Grassroots Communities and Victims Panel

The Grassroots Communities and Victims Panel has been created by the Deputy Prime Minister to listen to the views of those affected by the recent riots – residents, shopkeepers, parents, young people and others.

The terms of reference state that “the Panel will give those affected the opportunity to voice their opinions on the factors which communities believe led to the loss of public order and rioting in their areas”.

The topics listed are as follows:
~ why the riots happened in some areas and not others,
~ what drove a small minority to take part in the riots, and their individual and collective motivations and characteristics,
~ why most people did not take part,
~ how key public services engaged with communities before, during and after the riots,
~ what motivated local people to come together to take civic action to resist riots in their area or to clean up after riots had taken place,
~ how communities can be made more socially and economically resilient in the future, in order to prevent these occurrences happening again, and
~ what they think could have been done differently to prevent or manage the riots

The terms of reference state that “The panel will identify and manage a process for engaging with communities and victims at the grassroots level to ensure that they are given a chance to have their say on their experiences before, during, and after the riots.”

If you want to put forward your views or suggestions on any of the points listed, get in touch with your local community group, Croydon Council or Croydon Voluntary Action as soon as possible. Click here for links to their websites.

You can also get in touch with us.

Your Croydon Your Say: Supporting Croydon’s Recovery

Your Croydon Your Say: Supporting Croydon’s Recovery
A series of “Question Time” meetings for anyone affected by the riots, organised by Croydon Council and the Police where people can talk about the disturbances, and about working together on Croydon’s recovery.

Meetings will take place across the borough in September and October. There are two meetings near London Road:

Thurs 8th September – 6.30pm – 8.30pm
Croydon and District Masonic Hall, 73 Oakfield Road, Croydon CR0 2UX

Tues 11th October – 7.30pm – 9.00pm
Christ Church, Sumner Road, Croydon CR0 3LJ
NB: this is one of the wider Question Time meetings already scheduled

If you can’t get to those above, there are other meetings (in Norbury, Thornton Heath, Purley, South Croydon etc). See the full list on the poster (right).

For more information, see here and here on the Council website.

Croydon Council One Stop Shop at the CVA Resource Centre

Croydon Council has opened a temporary One Stop shop for anyone affected by the riots at the CVA Resource Centre in London Road.

It is open from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday and will continue at least until early October.

Click here for more details on the Croydon Council website.