Westminster City Council has recovered more than £160,000 from housing benefit cheats, according to the latest official figures.

From August to October, there were five successful prosecutions for housing benefit fraud and a total of 28 fines and cautions handed out.

• Read more

A 15 year old from St John's Wood will have her award winning logo displayed across the West End from this Friday (27 Nov 2009).

Amy Tyler beat 200 other children in a council run design competition to boost awareness of recycling and help the environment.
Westminster City Council urged youngsters to create a new design illustrating "why it’s good to recycle", and Amy's winning picture is now set to appear on the side of a new recycling truck. 
The brightly coloured design features items which Amy's family tries to recycle every week including drinks cans, newspapers and glass bottles. 
Amy Tyler, said: "I am so happy that I won. I really love drawing and I can't believe that my design is now going to be seen by loads of people in the West End.
"My family and I try to recycle every as much as possible and I used the items we recycle as my inspiration."
The launch of the new truck displaying Amy's design coincides with the council offering all Westminster residents a full recycling service from the council, which allows residents to recycle all paper and cardboard, food tins and drink cans, glass bottles and jars and plastic bottles.
Cllr Danny Chalkley, cabinet member for city management, said: “Young people are some of our best and keenest recyclers and we hope we can use their drive and excitement to enthuse other people and boost recycling rates across the city.
“Our recycling and refuse trucks are seen by millions of people every year, so Amy's designs will have the chance to make quite an impact.”
Scott Edgell, Veolia's contract manager in Westminster, said: "This has been a great way to get children to really think about recycling and the environment and it is fantastic that Amy's striking design is being displayed for all to see on one of our recycling vehicles."
Children aged five to 16 were encouraged to enter the competition, which was split into four age categories: 5-7, 8-10, 11-13 and 14-16.
Winners from each age category will receive a £150 voucher for Hamleys toy store and runners-up will receive vouchers for £80. 
The competition is just one of the ways the council encourages residents to recycle. An entire housing estate has been fitted with award-winning recycling chutes to help residents recycle more. Householders in the Hallfield Estate near Paddington quadrupled their recycling rates after conventional rubbish chutes on blocks of flats were converted to take recycling.
ENDS 

• Read more

Businesses in Bayswater and Victoria are to benefit from a new trade partnership which will nurture and boost the local economy.

Westminster City Council revealed the results of the ballot for the Bayswater Business Improvement District last week (20 November).

• Read more

Veteran British comic actor Leslie Phillips will be the star guest at a glittering tea dance for 1,000 pensioners in Mayfair today (Sunday 22nd November).

Phillips, now in his eighties and one of Britain’s leading international acting legends, will join the pensioners at The Grosvenor House Hotel to enjoy an afternoon of tea and dancing.

• Read more

A family who plagued neighbours with intimidating and anti-social behaviour have been removed and had their home boarded up.

The Metropolitan Police Service, in partnership with Westminster City Council, successfully applied to City of Westminster Magistrates court for a Premises Closure Order for a flat in Pimlico, after receiving hundreds of complaints over several years from neighbours.

• Read more