Sheffield Council has announced that funding has been found to build an additional 500 council houses in Sheffield on top of 1000 new homes already planned to be built by 2020. Azz Mohammed reports for Sheffield Live!
Sheffield Council has announced that funding has been found to build an additional 500 council houses in Sheffield on top of 1000 new homes already planned to be built by 2020. Azz Mohammed reports for Sheffield Live!
An Iraqi student in Sheffield has spoken of the distress he faced whilst he was detained by the Home Office at Morton Hall detention centre. Ahmed Sedeeq, an atheist who came to the UK in 2011, told Sheffield Live! “detention is not a picnic” and living an uncertain life is distressing. Ahmed was detained and threatened with deportation by UK border officers on 18 December 2017 but released a week later after more than 11,000 signed a petition asking the Home Office and The University of Sheffield to let him continue his studies.
With patients being held in ambulances and in corridors in emergency wards, Sheffield Live! sought out public comment on the NHS crisis. Azz Mohammed reports for Sheffield Live!
Vote counting has begun in the West African state of Liberia in the run-off presidential election between Vice-President Joseph Boakai and former international footballer George Opon Weah. Former chairman for the Liberian Association of Sheffield, Prince Taylor, told Sheffield Live! many Liberians in the diaspora are hopeful there will be a peaceful transition of power in the country. Turnout was low in the boxing day polls but the result is expected to lead to the first smooth transfer of power in 73 years. Mr Weah, 51, won the first round, but did not secure the required 50 per cent of the vote for an outright victory. Legal challenges delayed the vote to replace Mrs Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who is Africa’s first elected female president. Baillor Jalloh reports.
Icy conditions have led to a spike in complaints about newly resurfaced pavements which are proving to be especially slippery due to the tarmac used. A Streets Ahead spokesperson told Sheffield Live! “Although a rough surface can sometimes be advantageous during periods of snow and ice, we do have to maintain footways in order to ensure that, at any point in the year, they do not provide a trip hazard and they are compliant with national standards. The surfaces we apply are smoother than the old surfaces but they are standard materials which are used extensively across the country.” Baillor Jalloh reports.
Tree campaigners have dismissed Sheffield Council’s claim that it will cost around half a million pounds to save the war memorial trees on Western Road. A Council report has assessed the financial impact of retaining the Western Road trees and making surrounding road and pavements safe, funds which the Council says would require it to re-prioritise spending on core services such as adult social care. However campaigners say the price is grossly inflated. Baillor Jalloh reports for Sheffield Live!
A Sheffield Council supported project has been granted additional funding to help unemployed people back to work by combining physical activity with access to opportunities to improve employability. Walking For Purpose operates alongside community partners who provide access to training workshops and employment guidance. Job seekers are met at a local venue from where staff will walk with them to community-based support centres. Sheffield Live! reporter Baillor Jalloh spoke to project manager Tom Hughes and cabinet member for culture, parks and leisure Councillor Mary Lea.
Refugee support group the DEWA Project are partnering with mental health practitioners and solicitors to assist women asylum seekers who have suffered sexual or domestic violence. The Home Office Gender Asylum Plan has recognised that woman asylum seekers should be provided with access to trauma counselling and asylum rights information and should not have to relate their story in front of their children or to a male interviewers or interpreter. Azz Mohammed reports for Sheffield Live!
The chancellor Phillip Hammond announced an extra £2.8 billion for the NHS and a rise in the national living wage. Sheffield Live! Reporter Azz Mohammed spoke to University of Sheffield economics lecturer Dr Jonathan Perraton.
Sheffield Council are set to launch a thirteen week consultation on a new landlord licensing scheme to improve the safety and standard of privately rented homes and how they are managed. The proposals are to include a selective licensing scheme for sections of London Road, Abbeydale Road and Chesterfield Road, after inspections found three in four rented properties in the area had safety issues that were exposing people to serious risk. The council will be asking local landlords, residents, tenants and businesses to comment on the proposals which would affect around 1,000 homes in a four mile stretch. The consultation opens on 27 November and runs for an eight week period. Baillot Jalloh reports for Sheffield Live!