31st Mayor’s Report to the Assembly MQT – 21 May 2015 This is my thirtieth report to the Assembly, fulfilling my duty under Section 45 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999. It covers the period 12 March until 7 May 2015. Executive Summary Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation Established On 1 April, I officially launched the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC). The Corporation will lead the regeneration of Old Oak Common in west London and will seek to deliver up to 24,000 homes and more than 55,000 jobs. A High Speed 2 and Crossrail Station is also due to be constructed at Old Oak Common by 2026. The new station will be the size of Waterloo, handling 250,000 passengers a day and acting as a super hub between London and the rest of the UK, Europe and the world. Confirmation of World’s first Ultra Low Emission Zone On 26 March, I confirmed the introduction of the world’s first Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), I also welcomed an increased fund of £65 million to help support London taxi drivers’ transition to zero emission capable taxis. Following a positive consultation process, the ULEZ will launch in central London on 7 September 2020, significantly improving air quality and helping to protect the health of Londoners. It will require vehicles travelling in the Congestion Charge Zone of central London to meet new emission standards 24 hours a day, seven days a week or, pay a daily charge. An extra £25 million from Government will be used to provide grants to help taxi drivers cover the cost of upgrading to a greener vehicle. This is in addition to the £40 million I have already committed to assist taxi drivers whose vehicles would be affected by tighter age limits to retire the oldest, most polluting taxis. Delivery of 85,000th affordable home and two announcement of two new Housing Zones On 16 March, I announced that I have now delivered the 85,000th property funded by my affordable housing programme and I also revealed new £50 million funding for two additional Housing Zones in Waltham Forest and Wembley that are set to create thousands of new homes and new jobs. Big Green Fund 2 I have announced that seven green spaces across the capital are to be transformed with funding after thousands of Londoners backed them in the Big Green Poll. Due to the popularity of all seven schemes, I have decided that each should get a share of the £900,000 fund. The confirmed projects are: Firs Farm Wetlands in Enfield Riding the Roding in the borough of Redbridge The Stanmore Marsh Restoration scheme in Harrow Thamesmead Thames Path Transformation in Greenwich The Wetlands to Wetlands Greenway in Hackney Access to Wandle Park in Croydon Roger Evans AM appointed as my new Statutory Deputy Mayor On 25 March, I was delighted to announce the appointment of Roger Evans AM as London’s new Statutory Deputy Mayor, following the decision of Victoria Borwick AM to step down from the role. Roger will take up his new role when his term as Chairman of the London Assembly expires on 13 May 2015. Traceable Liquids On 20 March, I announced the world’s largest roll-out of ‘traceable liquid’ to reduce burglary rates across London. The new ‘Met Trace’ programme will provide 440,000 homes in burglary hotspots across the capital with a free kit containing an invisible traceable liquid, allowing owners to mark their possessions with a unique forensic code. Policing, Crime and Community Safety MPS hits my target to reduce neighbourhood crime and confidence in police performance grows On 23 March, I hailed the hard work of the MPS and urged them to keep up the pressure on London’s criminals as new data showed that they have hit my target of reducing seven key neighbourhood crimes by 20 percent, a year ahead of schedule. The news comes on the same day as results of an annual survey, commissioned by MOPAC reveals that almost two-thirds (64 percent) of the Londoners questioned feel that policing has improved or remained the same since 2010, with 37 percent of BME respondents feeling it had ‘improved considerably or slightly’. In 2013, I set the MPS the challenge to reduce seven key neighbourhood crimes by 20 per cent by 2016. Data shows that they have in fact cut these crimes by 19.8 per cent overall since 2012, with over 80,000 fewer crimes committed on the capital’s streets as a result. They are now on track to exceed my target over the next year. Of the seven key neighbourhood crimes, robbery from a person and burglary have seen the biggest fall, down 23 percent and 44 percent respectively, with burglary at its lowest level since 1979. Passing Out Parade On 13 March, I had the pleasure of attending the MPS passing out parade at the Hendon Peel Centre, marking the completion of the training of more than 200 recruits to become fully warranted police officers. This marked a significant recruitment milestone, with officer numbers reaching a three year high, with more women and BME candidates joining the force than ever before. Since 2008, the proportion of BME officers in the MPS has risen from 8 to 12 per cent of all officers, and more than one in four officers are now female, compared to one in five in 2008. Hendon Peel Centre Topping Out On 13 March, my Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Stephen Greenhalgh, attended the topping out ceremony at the Hendon Peel Centre. This ceremony celebrated a milestone in the building of a new world class training and operational facility for the MPS. The funding of this new building has been met through the release of surplus land. Traceable Liquids On 20 March, I announced the world’s largest roll-out of ‘traceable liquid’ to reduce burglary rates across London. The new ‘Met Trace’ programme will provide 440,000 homes in burglary hotspots across the capital with a free kit containing an invisible traceable liquid, allowing owners to mark their possessions with a unique forensic code. This technology has a significant deterrent effect and it is predicted that the roll-out could prevent over 7,000 residential burglary offences. Transport Confirmation of World’s first Ultra Low Emission Zone On 26 March, I joined the Prime Minister at the London Taxi Company factory in Coventry to confirm the introduction of the world’s first ULEZ, I also welcomed an increased fund of £65 million to help support London taxi drivers’ transition to zero emission capable taxis. Following a positive consultation process, the ULEZ will launch in central London on 7 September 2020, significantly improving air quality and helping to protect the health of Londoners. It will require vehicles travelling in the Congestion Charge Zone of central London to meet new emission standards 24 hours a day, seven days a week or, pay a daily charge. An extra £25 million from Government will be used to provide grants to help taxi drivers cover the cost of upgrading to a greener vehicle. This is in addition to the £40 million I have already committed to assist taxi drivers whose vehicles would be affected by tighter age limits to retire the oldest, most polluting taxis. I have reiterated my commitment that from January 2018 all new taxis and all private hire vehicles under eighteen months old presented for licensing in the capital for the first time should be zero emission capable. Also part of my announcement is the £20 million Taxi scheme announced by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles in April 2014. Local authorities, including London, can now bid for additional funding to help support the adoption of ultra low emission taxis and mini-cabs. This is in addition to £10 million provided in the National Infrastructure Plan to support a new rapid charging network in London for electric vehicles, including taxis. By 2020, in addition to the ULEZ, TfL is committed to ensuring all 300 single decker buses operating in central London are zero emission (e.g. electric) and, all 3,000 double deck buses will be hybrid, including 800 of the New Routemaster. In light of the new funds announced, I have asked TfL to undertake further engagement with the taxi and private hire trade before finalising my plans to change the licensing requirements for these vehicles. The final package of measures is expected to be confirmed in the summer. The announcement follows careful consideration of over 16,000 responses received during the ULEZ consultation from the public, businesses and stakeholders. Seventy nine per cent of respondents said it was ‘important’ or ‘very important’ to tackle poor air quality in London and 58 per cent said they ‘support’ or ‘strongly support’ the introduction of the ULEZ. TfL and I have intentionally confirmed the emission standards over five years in advance of the introduction of the ULEZ in September 2020 to give sufficient warning and preparation time to affected drivers, as well as to accelerate the take up of low emission vehicles and stimulate the low emission vehicle market. Residents living in the ULEZ and vehicles adapted for disabled people will have a three year ‘sunset period’, meaning that they do not need to comply with the emissions standards until September 2023. I also confirmed that vehicles in the 40 year rolling vehicle tax exemption for classic vehicles will be exempt from the ULEZ standards. Major step forward for Crossrail 2 I welcomed the news that the Department for Transport had confirmed the agreement for the safeguarding for Crossrail 2.