Warning: bogus Royal Mail messages by email

Bromley Trading Standards have issued a warning to consumers not to respond to scam emails purporting to be from the Royal Mail.

The messages claim that a parcel has been ‘detained’ by the Royal Mail and asks the recipient to fill out a form. Another message claims you have a tracked item awaiting collection. This email contains a virus that might compromise personal information if the email is opened.

The Royal Mail is aware of these and other scam emails and provide advice at their website www.royalmail.com. Many look bona fides and may use a replica or their official logo. Public Protection and Safety Councillor Tim Stevens warns: “At this time of year we must all be on our guard against fraudsters trying to obtain personal information through clever and carefully prepared emails, texts and letters. Unless you are certain who or where they have come from just ignore or delete the request.” 

The advice issued by the Royal Mail is as follows: 

• Royal Mail will never send you an email asking for credit card numbers or other personal or confidential information.
• Royal Mail will never ask you to enter information on a page that isn’t part of their website.
• Royal Mail will never include attachments unless the email was solicited by you and sent from a recognised member of Royal Mail staff. 

For further advice on scams Trading Standards advise contacting ‘Action Fraud’ on 0300 123 2040 or visit their website at www.actionfraud.police.uk

Changes to local Policing

No doubt you will have all heard about the funding cuts imposed by the Mayor of London on the Metropolitan Police. In total the Met. have been asked to achieve savings of £500M and this has required a detailed review of operational practice. Through our Safer Neighbourhood Panel (SNP) we have been aware of the tremendous amount of work this has entailed for policing in Bromley leading up to the introduction of the new organisation from mid-September. We thought this would be a good opportunity to explain how these changes affect our local Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) and to provide reassurance for our members..

The Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNT) are still in existence, just run in a different format. The Borough has been divided into four Neighbourhoods, each with a dedicated Safer Neighbourhood Policing Team. Our Ward, Plaistow & Sundridge, is part of the North East Neighbourhood with resources shared with our neighbouring wards of Bickley, Bromley Town, Chislehurst, and Mottingham & Chislehurst North.

Inspector Darren Murphy is responsible for the operation of the NE Neighbourhood Team and can allocate resources according to need. This means a greater focus on crime, and solving it. If there were, for example, lots of burglaries on our Ward, police would be sent over here to patrol, gather intelligence, conduct reassurance visits, give security advice and solve crime.

Our local SNT manpower remains unchanged under the supervision of A/Sgt Wayne Page. Sgt Dave Morbin retired at the end of November. To provide continuity within this more flexible working arrangement there will be a dedicated Police Constable, PC Mark Russell, and dedicated PCSO, PSCO Mara Sow who will maintain detailed local knowledge and information flows. The  local Police shop is no longer fully operational and the members of the SNT are required to parade at Bromley Police Station and then be transported to their respective focus of operations.

Our Ward, as part of the Neighbourhood, will be policed for longer hours: On Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays shifts will run until 2 am. This of course should be very beneficial for us all. Patrolling by the SNT will continue to be done on foot and on bikes, the latter meaning that they can get round the Ward, or deal with a situation, more quickly

Currently crime and anti social behaviour on our Ward is very low – largely because our SNT have done a superb job to get it that way – and there is no reason to suppose that will change.

Street Briefings, and local surgeries, will continue to run in the same way so if you are particularly worried about something then either speak to our SNT or Street Representative who will put you in touch with someone who can help. 

You can contact the police in the following ways: 

• If a crime is taking place and you are in immediate danger, always dial 999 
• If you wish to contact the police and it is not an emergency, call 101. Also using this number you can request a visit from a local police officer within 48 hours.
  
• Our local SNT can be contacted by dialling 020 8721 2613.  Although this looks like a landline number you will be transferred to the mobile normally carried by the Dedicated Ward Officer.  However, this mobile will operate only when the team is on duty.
  
• For non-emergency situations you can also visit the Front Counter at Bromley Police Station (next to Bromley South railway station).  It is open 24hrs a day. 

Peter Skipp

Chairman, representing LERA on the Plaistow & Sundridge Safer Neighbourhood Panel.

This article was first printed in the Christmas edition of the LERA Newsletter which you should have already received.

Burnt Ash Library Christmas Coffee Morning 12th December

Free Electrical Goods Collection

Bromley now provides a free collection service for electrical goods from houses and flats, for all residents in the borough

How to book a collection

To book a collection, simply call 01795 434114 Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5pm or email bromley@sweeep.co.uk , including your name, address and contact numbers, as well as a list of the electrical items to be collected.

Please note that as is this is a specialist service, appointments can only be made on the bookings hotline or by email.  We expect lines to be busy, particularly in peak periods, so please be patient when booking an appointment.

Collections can be booked for the next available weekday and you’ll be given a morning or afternoon appointment depending on your location.

What happens next

Once confirmed, the collection crew, who will have full identification, will pick up the electrical items direct from inside your house or flat. Electrical items should not be left outside but items will need to be unplugged and ‘ready to go’ and so items like washing machines and freezers will need to be ‘unplumbed’ or defrosted.

If you cannot be at home for a collection, you can leave your items with a neighbour but you have to inform the staff the name and address of the neighbour at the time of booking.

If you need help to get your items to the front door, the collection staff can help. They are fully insured to enter your household to remove large and heavy items, as long as a competent adult always accompanies them.

What we collect

The collection service covers any broken or unwanted items, big or small, which need a plug or battery to work. This service is only available for the collection of electrical items and is separate from our bulky collection service .

Keep warm, safe and well this winter

As wintry weather heads this way, we are sharing NHS advice and information about keeping warm, safe and well this winter.

At this time of year it is particularly important for our vulnerable residents and those at risk of ill health to take good care of them selves, which includes taking steps to avoid falls and slips in icy conditions when getting around can be difficult for everyone.  Home carers visiting elderly and vulnerable residents are also offering advice and information about staying warm, safe and well.   

In the cold weather it is essential to keep warm to stay healthy, especially for the very young, older people and those who have a long term condition. We want everyone to get involved in promoting these important messages at this time of year to help our resident’s keep warm, well and safe and neighbours can also play their part in looking out for someone who might be vulnerable.

The local NHS is also asking Bromley residents to use the right service if they do become ill this winter when there is added pressure on A&E. If it’s not a serious emergency residents should use the other available NHS services.  Visit www.bromleyccg.nhs.uk for further information.

The NHS top tips include:

• Keep your home warm. Your main living room should be between around 18-21C (65-70F) and the rest of the house at a minimum of 16C (61F). You can also use a hot-water bottle or electric blanket (but not both at the same time) to keep warm while you're in bed
• Eat well. Food is a vital source of energy, which helps to keep your body warm. Try to make sure that you have hot meals and drinks regularly throughout the day and keep active in the home if you can
• Wrap up warm, inside and out. Layer your clothing to stay warm and wear shoes with a good grip if you need to go outside. If possible, stay inside during a cold period if you have heart or respiratory problems
• Check on older neighbours or relatives to make sure they're safe and well. Make sure they're warm enough, especially at night, and have stocks of food and medicines so they don't need to go out during very cold weather
• It is not too late to get your flu jab.  You can get free flu jabs to protect against seasonal flu from your GP if you are over 65, pregnant, or have certain medical conditions, live in a residential or nursing home or are the main carer for an older or disabled person.

For lots more advice and information on how to keep warm, safe and well this winter you can visit www.bromley.gov.uk/winter or the NHS Choices website.

Planning Enforcement and Permitted Development

The annual Residents’ Association Planning Seminar was held in the Bromley Council Chamber on Saturday 30th November 2013.

One of the items most likely to affect LERA members involved what building works your neighbour might decide to carry out. From 30 May 2013 the government has made changes to the existing regulations for permitted development that can be carried out without the need for further planning permission. 

Mike Kehoe, Chief Planner for Bromley, talked about Planning Enforcement and Permitted Development Rights. He explained the steps Bromley take if there is a query about a possible breach of Planning control. There is an aim to resolve these without issuing formal action;  90% of queries are found to be permitted development leaving the remaining 10% to require Enforcement Action. In 2013 63 such actions were taken which is more than any other neighbouring authority. He mentioned permitted development for the special case of schools, particularly Free Schools. At the moment there are no plans to open such a school within the Links Estate.

The main part of his talk was about changes for house rear extensions which apply for three years only. It means that building work allowed under previous permitted development regulations to be doubled. Developers still need to conform with Building Regulations. A one or two storey extension can be built across the back of a house to a maximum height of 4 metres. For detached houses the extension can be 8 metres deep and for semi-detached or terraced houses it can reach 6 metres measured from the original rear wall. 

More details are available at http://www.bromley.gov.uk/info/200074/planning/923/permitted_development

If your neighbours are building an extension which you feel might have a deleterious effect on your property you may first wish to discuss it with them. You can also search the Bromley website to see if they have applied for planning permission at https://searchapplications.bromley.gov.uk/onlineapplications/ You need only enter your street name to see all applications that have been submitted since January 1983. It also says whether they are pending consideration, have been allowed or been refused. If you wish to complain or comment about a neighbours development there is more advice at http://www.bromley.gov.uk/info/485/planning_applications

Would you like to be part of a Bromley School Governor Team?

School and academy governors in England form one of the  largest volunteer groups in the country and as part of a governing body team they complement and enhance school leadership by providing support and challenge, ensure all statutory duties are met, appoint the head teacher and hold the school to account for the impact of its work on improving outcomes for all pupils.

Roles and responsibilities

Governors work as a team. They are responsible for making sure the school provides a good quality education for all pupils. Raising educational standards in school is a key priority. This has the best chance of happening when there are high expectations of what pupils can achieve.
Governors promote effective ways of teaching and learning when setting the school aims and policies. They do this together with the head teacher, who is responsible for the day-to-day management of the school.
Head teachers are recruited and selected by governors - and most head teachers choose to be governors themselves.

 Governing bodies are accountable to parents, the local community and the Local Authority or the Trustees. Appointments are for three or four years. The governing body's main role is to help raise pupils' standards of achievement.

The Governing Body:

• is accountable for the performance of the school to parents and the wider community
• plans the school's future direction 
• selects the head teacher 
• makes decisions on the school's budget and staffing including the performance management policy 
• makes sure the agreed Curriculum is well taught
• decides how the school can encourage pupils' spiritual, moral and cultural development 
• makes sure the school provides for all pupils including those with special needs.

Governors are at the heart of how a school operates. It's important they get things right. How they do their job effects the interests of pupils, staff and the reputation of the school in the community. Governors support and challenge head teachers by gathering views, asking questions and discussing what's best for the school. They are not there to rubber stamp decisions. They have to be prepared to give and take advice and must be loyal to decisions taken by the governing body as a whole. As long as they act within the law and take appropriate advice, governors are protected from any financial liability for the decisions they take.

Becoming a governor

School Governors play a vital part in the success of our schools they ensure our children get the best from their time in school. Being a school governor is demanding but rewarding.  Schools are keen to attract people in the community to become governors; people who can bring energy and experience and can contribute to the strategic leadership of a school.

Governors need to have time to dedicate to their role, to be prepared to make challenging decisions, act with the very best of intentions and confidentially at all times, and to make sure their decisions are followed up.  Governors work as a team and play an important role in making sure the school provides a good quality of education. An enhanced and rewarding training programme is available for governors in Bromley.

Every school must have a governing body. The membership will vary according to the type of school. Each governing body may consist of any of the following roles:

• Parent Governors - elected by and from parents of registered pupils at the school. 
• Community Governors - are appointed by the governing body from the local community.
• Staff Governors - elected by teaching and support staff at the school.
• Foundation Governors - appointed representatives from the church or charitable trust.
• Local Authority (LA) Governors -  are appointed by the local authority. Academies can still elect to have an LA Governor,

An application form is available at this link apply to become an School Governor.