In part two of Operation CeCe, Barking and Dagenham Council’s Trading Standards Team have removed over 17,000 illicit cigarettes and tobacco being sold in local shops.



Operation CeCe is a London Wide Tobacco project funded by HM Revenue and Customs. The initiative supports the council’s boroughwide Tobacco Control Strategy, which aims to disrupt the supply of underage and illegal tobacco.

Pupils in year 5 at James Cambell Primary School in Dagenham presented an assembly to their parents and special guest Councillor Edna Fergus, Her Worshipful, The Mayor of Barking and Dagenham, to celebrate Black History Month.

 

The children told the story of how attitudes to race in sport have changed over time and explained how taking the knee has become a powerful symbol. They also spoke of the discrimination that black footballers and tennis players have faced and celebrated their great achievements.

 

Several businesses in Barking and Dagenham have been presented with certificates to show that they have agreed to abide by the terms of the London Responsible Retailer Agreement and will sell and store knives legally and safely. 



14 businesses originally signed up to the agreement earlier this year but following test purchases set by the council’s Trading Standards officers, three businesses failed.



The purpose of the agreement is to promote the responsible selling of knives and to prevent people under the age of 18 from acquiring them.

Next week is London Trading Standards Week and Barking and Dagenham Council will be marking the week by running several targeted operations throughout the week.

London Trading Standards Week runs from Monday 18 October to Friday 22 October and each day focuses on something different from scams to the sales of knives to young people.

Today sees the launch of an exciting new pop-up shop designed to help local young people learn new skills and sell their products within the community.

The initiative has been created by young adults from Barking and Dagenham through the Every One Every Day initiative and the Kickstart Programme. Kickstart is part of the Government-backed programme designed to provide paid employment opportunities to young adults between 16 and 24 years old on universal credit.

ix parks across Barking and Dagenham have once again been recognised as some of the best in the country, after being named in the Keep Britain Tidy Green Flag Awards for 2021.

Barking Park, Beam Parklands, Eastbrookend Country Park, Greatfields Park, Mayesbrook Park, and St. Chad's Park joined 444 other green spaces from across the capital to be granted the prestigious award.

We’re delighted that once again the parks and green spaces in our borough have been recognised as being among the best in the country

In a planned operation by Barking and Dagenham Council’s Trading Standards team, officers raided several businesses in the borough and seized over 12,000 illicit cigarettes.



The team were participating in the first day of Operation CeCe, a London Wide Tobacco project funded by HMRC (in full). The initiative supports the council’s boroughwide Tobacco Control Strategy, which aims to disrupt the supply of underage and illegal tobacco.

Earlier this year, Barking and Dagenham Council held an online Women’s Safety Survey, so that women could highlight areas in the borough where they felt unsafe.



The survey was conducted following the tragic death of Sarah Everard in March and women were able to either drop pins on locations across the borough where they the feel unsafe, complete an anonymous form highlighting areas where they don’t feel safe and share ideas on how women could feel more safer in the borough.

Create London in partnership with Barking and Dagenham Council unveiled special celebratory plaques across the 100-year-old Becontree Estate on Thursday 7 October. 

Funded by the council, Create London commissioned artist Leonor Antunes to design and produce these commemorative plaques, as part of the council’s Becontree Forever programme celebrating the estate’s centenary. The plaques celebrate famous former residents from Becontree’s history as well as the important contribution of current residents to be sited on houses and public buildings across the estate.

Barking and Dagenham is fast becoming the go-to destination for film and video production, and a recently launched advertising campaign for Expo 2020 Dubai starring Hollywood A-lister Chris Hemsworth demonstrates the exciting production facilities on offer in the east London borough.



The location of the production within Dagenham was secured and managed by Film lbbd, the borough’s film service, which attracts and facilitates filming productions across the area and has cultivated a booming film industry across Barking and Dagenham.