4A. Mayor's Report 2009
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Item 4 London Assembly MQT – 9 September 2009 Thirteenth Mayor’s Report to the Assembly This is my Thirteenth report to the Assembly, fulfilling my duty under Section 45 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999. It covers the period 2 July to 26 August 2009. Executive Summary Cycle Fridays A series of bike convoys led by experienced riders will be on hand to guide novice commuter cyclists into central London each Friday in a new initiative dubbed ‘Cycle Fridays’. Doubling of rape crisis provision On 3 August, I announced the doubling of rape crisis provision in the capital with proposals to open a new rape crisis centre and additional funding for the existing Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre in Croydon. £12m boost for affordable childcare in London announced A key part of my Economic Recovery Action Plan for London, the £12m will help more than 2,000 low-income families across 10 London boroughs access job opportunities by providing parents with low-cost, flexible childcare over the next two years. New employment website for London's graduates Since its launch on 21 July, the site has had 4,000 visits and nearly 22,000 pages have been viewed. It has been welcomed by students across London and the UK, as well as by business groups and London firms looking to recruit talented graduates. Equal Life Chances for All On 30 July, I launched Equal Life Chances for All, my new equality framework which heralds a new approach to equality and inclusion in London, relevant for 21st century urban living. Plans for over 750 new east London homes On 2 July, I approved plans that will see over 750 new homes, plus commercial and leisure facilities, built next to the Thames Barrier in Newham. The proposed development -‘Barrier Park East’ - will transform this former industrial site into a vibrant east London neighbourhood, bringing new life to a long neglected corner of the capital. 1 Section 60 Response Response to the London Assembly on its Section 60 request on GLA group environment spend Given that all the recommendations bar two in the Assembly’s scrutiny report on GLA group environment spend are predicated on my re-introducing an annual report detailing such expenditure, I am providing a composite response which tackles all those recommendations together. At the end of this response I comment on the other two recommendations – one of which relates to the LDA environment programme and the other to GLA staff numbers. The decision I took last year to discontinue the annual report on environment spend was based on a desire to mainstream environmental expenditure within the GLA group and not to treat environmental programmes in isolation from all other programmes – programmes which could be regarded as the GLA group’s “core business”. This was precisely because I wish to see all programmes contribute to environmental improvements and not just those labelled as “environmental”. I am sure the Assembly appreciates that much of the work of TfL and the LDA contributes to making environmental improvements to London. I would not want to be seen to somehow restrict those efforts just to certain programmes. For example, so much of TfL’s work – and a high proportion of its budget – is dedicated to achieving a modal shift in transport use in the capital. Much of this work would not normally be classified as directly environmental spend although its impact does bring about huge environmental improvements. I would of course welcome the Assembly’s views on the sort of key performance indicators that should be included in our future monitoring work. I know we all agree that the main measure should always be CO2 emission reductions (and the value for money associated with achieving them) it would be beneficial to open up a dialogue about what should be tracked beyond that. You will be aware that my environment direction of travel statement has recently been released and that it commits the Mayoralty to reporting on progress made in achieving environmental objectives. We are all acutely aware that we are entering an era of austerity in public finance. The statement therefore seeks to pinpoint those areas in which we can get greatest return on our investment. You will not be surprised to hear that my environment adviser and I are absolutely focused on those areas in which we can make the biggest difference and our work with the LDA on its energy programmes testifies to that commitment and is a critically important workstream going forward. Finally, I would like to address the two recommendations that do not involve re-introducing an annual report on environmental spend: • On the LDA environment programme, we are making strenuous efforts to ensure that the LDA environmental budget is not only fully spent but that there is a staffing capacity in place to deliver the programme to greatest effect. A recruitment exercise has been conducted for certain key environment posts at the LDA and that will provide the capacity required. • On the GLA environment team, Assembly Members will be aware that the restructuring proposals were revised by the Chief Executive to take account of the comments that both they and I fed in to the consultation process. The Director of Development & Environment is leading on getting the new team in place and I am confident that it will emerge in the autumn better equipped for future challenges. 2 Policing and Community Safety Doubling of rape crisis provision in London On 3 August, I announced the doubling of rape crisis provision in the capital with proposals to open a new rape crisis centre and additional funding for the existing Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre in Croydon. I will make £375,000 available over the next three years to part-fund a new rape crisis centre in West London in conjunction with Ealing Council, the final location for this centre will be announced later. Croydon's rape crisis centre will receive £260,000 to expand its helpline and increase prevention work with young people. This enhances coverage in the south of London and establishes a service in the west and marks further progress on my commitment to increase the total number of centers for rape crisis provision from one to four. Work continues to identify suitable provision for the north and east. Consultation on ‘The Way Forward’ The consultation for ‘The Way Forward: A call for action to end violence against women’ closed on 20 July and work is currently underway to review the feedback from the responses received. The views received on the overall document and individual objectives within it will be looked at. We will consider feedback on any omissions from the document on other areas, which needed to be included within the strategy and identify assistance from the groups to gather existing good practice and offers of assistance for any of the proposals. A summary consultation report will be available by early October. The consultation attracted a total of 407 responses. 355 were from the online survey and 5 focus groups sessions. An additional 52 written responses were received from individuals, practitioners and partner organisations. Findings from this report will inform the long-term strategy to eradicate violence against women, which will be launched in autumn. Mobile phone operators asked to 'hang up on prostitution' On 18 August, my Deputy Mayor for Policing, Kit Malthouse, called on all major mobile phone operators to work with my office, the police and voluntary groups to help crack down on prostitution and human trafficking ahead of the London 2012 Games. Criminal gangs who control prostitution in the capital often advertise their services using cards, containing mobile phone numbers, placed in phone boxes across central London. I want to see an agreement reached between mobile phone operators and the police that would see these numbers taken out of use as soon as they are identified, cutting off a key source of income for these gangs. Major sporting events are often linked to an upsurge in demand for prostitution, which in turn fuels human trafficking. At the Athens Olympics the number of known human trafficking victims almost doubled and I have made tackling prostitution and trafficking ahead of 2012 a key part of my violence against women strategy, ‘The Way Forward’, launched for consultation in April 2009. 3 Transport Commuters swap to bikes for Cycle Fridays A series of bike convoys led by experienced riders will be on hand to guide novice commuter cyclists into central London each Friday in a new Transport for London and GLA initiative dubbed ‘Cycle Fridays’. For eight weeks the rides will depart at 8am from six different locations around the capital, providing a useful service for riders who need a little extra support to start cycling to work. The first Cycle Friday will take place on Friday 14 August, and will continue every Friday until 2 October. Those joining the rides will be greeted by ride marshals from the London Cycling Campaign and will be given a basic bike check and relevant TfL cycle maps before getting on the road. Additional drop-off points can be agreed so that riders can get as close to their destination as possible. The initiative is part of a summer of cycling in capital, designed to boost the numbers going by bike. There has been a nine per cent increase in those pedalling on London’s major roads over the last year, but TfL and I are seeking to go further – aiming at a 400 per cent increase by 2025. First bendy buses meet their Waterloo On 24 July, my election pledge to banish bendy buses from the capital took a big step forwards as the articulated juggernauts completed their final day of service on Route 507.