A shop owner in Barking and Dagenham has been fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £1,375 costs for illegally selling a cigarette to an underage person.

 

Mr Rahil Raval, 46, director of Rose Lane Convenience Store, Rose Lane RM6 5NR sold a single cigarette, outside of its packaging, to a person under the age of 18.

 

The offence took place on 30 May 2018 during a routine test purchase exercise by Council Trading Standards officers. Cigarettes were stored in a visible tin container with “single cigarettes = £1” written on the side.

A secondary school in Dagenham welcomed Nick Gibb MP, Minister of State for Schools, last Thursday. 

Mr Gibb visited All Saints Catholic School after being invited along last year and was impressed by their teacher training provision and the rich curriculum on offer. 

During the tour of the school, the Minister answered questions from Year 12 students who are studying Crime and Punishment in the UK, and also met other pupils at break time.

Students from Eastbury Community School have been looking towards the future as they attended a careers fair last week.

According to the school, the evening was a ‘huge’ success with over 400 young people from Years 10 to 13 and their parents attending the event. 

The fair provided a fantastic opportunity for Year 11 students to sign up for colleges while sixth form pupils were able to network with universities and employers to find out a little more about what career choices are available to them in the future.

The rainbow flag was flown over Barking Town Hall at 10am on Monday 4 February to mark LGBT History Month. 

The first time it was celebrated, was in 2005 to raise awareness of, and combat prejudice against the LGBT community while celebrating its achievement and diversity.

A letting agent in Barking and Dagenham has been fined £4,000 for failing to publish the correct fees they charge tenants and landlords. 

Atco Estates, of 704 Green Lane, Dagenham RM8 1YX also failed to provide information about their membership of a Client Money Protection and Redress scheme. 

Letting agents must display their fees and other relevant information online and in their branches so prospective tenants and landlords know exactly what they’re paying from the outset when entering into a rental agreement.  

Barking and Dagenham councillors voted unanimously at a full council Assembly meeting on Wednesday 30 January, to join councils across the country in adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism.

The motion was put forward by the Cllr Saima Ashraf, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Community Leadership and Engagement.

The motion reads:

This council expresses alarm at the rise in antisemitism in recent years across the UK.

Eastbury Manor House is set to re-open its doors to the public after a short break for the winter, with a Valentine’s Day event on Thursday 14 February.

Barking’s picturesque Elizabethan gentry house will be hosting a romantic three course meal in the unique setting of the 16th century Grade I listed building.

Barking and Dagenham Council’s fight against fly-tipping continues with the 12th episode of its CCTV Appeal.

The Crimewatch-style web series features footage of people dumping rubbish in the borough and allows residents to help the council to find, catch and fine enviro-criminals.

A Barking and Dagenham school has been chosen to take part in an arts education project with the National Gallery.

 

Credit Suisse and the National Gallery, who run the project, will be working students from All Saints Catholic School in Dagenham, to develop their interpretative analytical skills and knowledge by looking and talking about paintings.

 

The Dagenham school is one of five schools in London selected to take part in the initiative that aims to engage young people who wouldn’t normally take up art or visit an art gallery.

A Barking and Dagenham sixth form has been rated the fifth best comprehensive for progress in the country, according to the Government’s latest performance tables.  

Eastbury Community School sixth form has been recognised as one of the top providers in England in the official school progress reports released earlier this month. The progress figures show that the Barking sixth form is not only the second best in London, but its progress scores are higher than the many independent schools in the country.