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PEOPLE living in the capital have till the end of the month to give their views on how a grants budget of up to £28 million will be spent.
London Councils' consultation into how its grants funding should be prioritised from April 2011 will draw to a close on Friday 29 January.
The organisation, one of the largest funders of the capital's voluntary sector, gives grants to 360 groups across 59 priority areas.
Funded projects include schemes providing counselling to victims of domestic abuse, providing homeless people with secure accommodation and working with young people to prevent them becoming involved in gun crime.
London Councils is urging all Londoners with an interest in the voluntary sector to respond to the consultation so that the funding meets the needs of London's diverse population.
This is especially important in the current economic climate when voluntary services have seen an increase in demand as a consequence of the recession with rises in unemployment, an increase in debt and other related side-effects - like more people suffering from depression.
Chairman of London Councils' Grants Committee, Councillor Lynne Hillan, said: "People need support from voluntary services more than ever in the current financial climate and more responses will mean a more accurate picture of which areas to prioritise.
"Those with an interest in funding the voluntary sector still have a chance to give us their feedback. We urge them to take the time to respond and ensure that these grants provide the maximum benefit for people living in the capital".
Councillor Reg Colwill, Brent Council's Lead Member for Adults, Health and Social Care, said: "Millions of pounds will soon be spent on services that are currently being used by thousands of us and that anyone of us, at anytime, may need to tap into.
"Whether you're a service provider, service user or just someone who wants to voice your opinion - now is your last chance to have your say on how the money should be spent."

A TUITION service, which teaches pupils who are unable to attend school, is celebrating
receiving a 'good' rating in its latest Ofsted inspection.
Brent Educational Tuition Service (BETS), which teaches youngsters not at school because
of medical, social, behavioural or attendance-related issues, was inspected by the
education watchdog in November and was found to be providing 'exemplary care' and 'good
teaching'.
BETS has provided short and long-term education for 116 pupils in all 4 key stages over the last academic year.
An additional 157 youngsters were taught as in-patients at Northwick Park Hospital.
Pupils are each given an individual teaching plan and taught using a mixture of home tuition and classroom-based lessons at the three BETS sites.
The effectiveness of the school's engagement with parents and carers was judged by Ofsted
to be 'outstanding' and the report stated "staff work hard to cultivate supportive relationships and maintain effective communication channels with parents and carers."
The relationship between staff and pupils was described as providing "the bedrock of the
success of the service."
The report goes on to say BETS "is very successful in providing a safe haven for its pupils" who "rightly feel safe in this exceptionally caring environment where the staff give their undivided attention."
John Dowling, headteacher, said: "The report is very gratifying and a reflection of the hard work the staff have put into the last few years. We're very proud of the care and teaching we provide to our pupils."
Rik Boxer, assistant director for achievement and inclusion, said: "For some youngsters BETS is the last chance to get back on track and I'm delighted so many are making such good progress. Staff continually go the extra mile to meet the needs of pupils."

PEOPLE living in the borough are encouraged to come along to the next round of Brent Area Consultative Forums taking place over the next few weeks.
The area consultative forums give local residents the opportunity to discuss, with local councillors and officers from Brent Council, issues that affect them and their families. Representatives from other agencies including the local police also regularly attend. They will be taking place at the following locations:

Wembley Area Consultative Forum, from 7pm, on Tuesday, January 26, at Patidar House, 22 London Road, Wembley . It covers the wards Alperton, Northwick Park, Preston, Sudbury, Tokyngton and Wembley Central.

Kilburn and Kensal Area Consultative Forum, from 7pm, on January 27. It covers the wards Brondesbury Park, Kilburn, Mapesbury and Queens Park. Venue to be confirmed.

Kingsbury and Kenton Area Consultative Forum, from 7pm, on February 2 at Kingsbury High School, Princes Avenue, in Kingsbury. It covers the wards Barnhill, Fryent, Kenton and Queensbury.

During the break officers, speakers and local ward councillors will be present to answer any questions.
For more details on the agenda for these meetings visit the council's website www.brent.gov.uk/consultation or call 020 8937 1055.

The Hindu Council of Brent present 'Cultural Show 2009' with a variety programme of Indian Dances including Classic, Modern and Folk Lore at Brent Town Hall on Saturday 7th November.

The Brent Jazz Orchestra are appearing for the first time at Freddy's (190 Station Road, Harrow, Middx, HA12RH) on Wednesday 4th November from 7.30pm.

St Nicholas Prep School in Kingsbury took an active part in the World's Biggest Coffee morning in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. The attendance was excellent and we raised a total of £182.91.

ROBBERIES and burglaries go up during the Diwali, Halloween and firework celebrations so Brent Police is urging people to be more vigilant.
Last year's figures indicate that the borough experienced an increase in robberies and burglaries in October and November. Therefore, as a precaution, extra police activity has been planned this year under the codename Operation Brevis.
The operation started on Saturday (Oct 10) and is set to run until the end of November.
Chief Inspector Mike Hill, from Brent Police, is leading the operation. He said: "Brent is currently experiencing an increase of both personal robbery and residential burglary in a year on year comparison with last year.
"Together with our partners, we are deploying many extra tactics over the festival period as analysis has shown that these offences increase further during the Diwali, Halloween and Fireworks celebrations. This coincides with the clocks going back on October 25 increasing the hours of darkness, which provides criminals with more opportunities.
"Police do not want to stop individuals taking part in the celebrations and enjoying themselves. Our aim is to provide a presence to protect and reassure the law-abiding majority, and to deter the small number of individuals who use the opportunity to commit crimes."
For information on the Metropolitan Police Service crime prevention advice go to www.met.police.uk

To me, the most stupid thing I've heard recently is the rush to stick a price tag on a plastic bag at my local supermarket.
They claim it is to make shoppers buy more expensive bags which are curiously named, "Bags for Life"!
Whose life, I ask, mine or the darn shop's life?
They can't fool me, this is not really a concern for reducing the use of the bags, but rather a cute way to make money.
There is a frighteningly easy way to ensure used bags do not end up in landfill.
If the shop puts its name on the bag and then charges the person 10p to purchase it, wouldn't it be a very simple task to advertise that they would pay 5p per bag to anybody who brings one into their place.
Like in the 'good old days' of yore when there was a deposit on bottles, children would delight in collecting as many bottles/bags as they could carry to supplement their pocket money.
Turn bags into valued commodities and they would completely disappear from all the rubbish bins
Plus, the darn shops would have spend some of our precious cash which we paid them for the blooming bag in the first place, in disposing of the offensive item.
When, many, many years ago I was a young lad, my Mum would pack me off on a shopping trip with a string bag in my pocket.
Shopkeepers in those days wouldn't ever dream of giving you anything to carry your purchases home with you.
Simplest way to get rid of the plastic bags is just to stop supplying them.
I have tried, unsuccessful, I hasten to say, to buy one of those string bags of my childhood.
Anybody out there in the internet world know where I can get one?

Wembley Central Safer Neighbourhoods Team

Sgt Terry Harris
PC Karl Spour
PC Nav Soden
PCSO Maz Niyazi
PCSO Laura Goldie
PCSO Sunil Patel
PCSO Rajvinder Sahota
PCSO Roy Treeby
PCSO Alex Hopkins

Wembley Police Station, 603 Harrow Road, Wembley, HAO 2HH

Phone: 020 8721 2019 / 07843 291101

Sudbury Safer Neighbourhoods Team

Sgt Jane Lee
PC Jes Broughton
PC Jo Coad
PCSO liaqat Hussain
PCSO Simon Ingledew
PCSO Sharmila Samji

Wembley Police Station, 603 Harrow Road, Wembley, HA0 2HH

Phone: 020 8721 2965 / 07920 233756

These contact details should not be used for any communication that might require an emergency response. In an emergency you should dial 999.

Brent Council

Tel: 020 8937 1200

Email: customer.services@brent.gov.uk

Brent House One Stop local office
349-357 High Road, Wembley, HA9 6BZ
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, (Closed from 1pm to 5pm on the last Thursday of the month) and Saturday, 9am to 1pm.

Brent Town Hall One Stop local office
Forty Lane, Wembley, HA9 9HD
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

Harlesden One Stop local office
Challenge House, 1-2 Bank Buildings, High Street, London, NW10 4LT
Opening Hours: Monday to Thursday, 9am to 5pm, and Friday, 9am to 1pm.

Willesden One Stop local office
Willesden Green Library Centre, 95 High Road, NW10 2SF
Opening Hours: Monday to Tuesday, 9am to 5pm, Wednesday, 9am to 1pm, and Thursday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.