London Assembly MQT – 11 September 2013 14th Mayor’s Report to the Assembly This is my fourteenth report to the Assembly, fulfilling my duty under Section 45 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999. It covers the period 4 July – 28 August 2013. Executive Summary New Hub Airport Proposals On 15 July, I set out a detailed vision for transforming London into the greatest economic powerhouse of the 21st century, with a new airport to complement the new seaport about to open in the Thames Estuary, and new road and rail connections to boost the economy of east London, Kent and Essex. I outlined the details of an extensive, independently peer-reviewed investigation carried out by my team at TfL which concludes that there are three optimal locations for a new airport: on the Isle of Grain in north Kent; at Stansted; or on an artificial island in the middle of the Thames Estuary. I also revealed the enormous potential economic benefits of building a new hub airport, which would be able to support more than 375,000 new jobs by 2050 and add £742 billion to the value of goods and services produced in the UK. TfL to take over key commuter rail routes out of Liverpool Street Station into west Anglia On 2 July, the Government announced its decision to devolve the operation of a number of commuter train services running between Liverpool Street station, six London boroughs and Hertfordshire. As a result of this decision, TfL will take over the West Anglia franchise, .These route run from Liverpool Street station to Enfield Town, Cheshunt (via Seven Sisters) and Chingford, numbering 25 stations in total. Of the 25 stations, TfL will become responsible for 23. It is hoped that TfL will take over services “during 2015” although no date has been fixed. Next two routes to be served by New Bus for London On 6 August, I announced that the third and fourth routes in the capital to be served by the iconic New Bus for London will be the 9 and 390. Following the conversion of route 24 and the forthcoming conversion of route 11, the next two routes will be converted by the end of the year. Next steps to improve rental standards for Londoners On 26 July, I published the final version of my London Rental Standard. The London Rental Standard details 12 core commitments to empower tenants in their dealings with landlords, and both tenants and landlords in their dealings with letting agents. It recognises and promotes good standards in the industry from transparency of fees and protection of deposits, to emergency and urgent repairs response times, as well as landlord and letting agent training and development through professional training courses. Boost to London 2012 Legacy with UK’s largest ski facility in Stratford On 25 July, after joint working, I welcomed ambitious plans by Westfield to build the UK's largest indoor ski facility in Stratford, East London. Westfield Stratford City will submit a planning application to LLDC by the end of the summer for a major leisure attraction on land adjacent to its retail operations, to include London's first indoor ski facility. The new ski centre would be more than double size of other similar UK centres and be comparable with Ski Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The planning application is also expected to include retail, hotel and restaurant opportunities. Ride London Between 3 – 4 August, the inaugural Prudential RideLondon festival of cycling came to the streets of London and Surrey. The weekend was an enormous success, with over 65,000 people participating over the weekend. The festival included the largest mass participant cycling event ever held in the UK and various elite events with some of the world’s top cyclists. Notting Hill Carnival On 25 and 26 August, I again supported London’s Notting Hill Carnival, the largest free street festival of its kind in Europe. This fantastic event featured a broad range of music including masquerade bands, steel pan, soca and calypso. Around 1 million people attended the event over the weekend. Policing and Community Safety Policing Global Cities conference On 8 – 9 July, our first international conference for city leaders and senior police officers, Policing Global Cites, took place at City Hall. It brought together police and civic leaders from 16 global cities across six continents. The Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe and I addressed delegates and welcomed them to London, setting out the approach we are taking to make London safer. Representatives from a range of global cities shared experiences on how best to address the policing challenges that major cities encounter. Topics for discussion included: The pressures and challenges that cities face when they become a key international destination and a focus for major world events; How policing needs to adapt to social change, the growth of cities and keep pace with technological innovation and new crime threats; and How cities from across the globe can work together to tackle organised crime across borders. International “Secure Our Smartphones” Initiative On 7 August, I announced that I have joined forces with the New York State Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman, and San Francisco District Attorney, George Gascón, to support the Secure Our Smartphones (S.O.S.) Initiative. Launched earlier this year, the S.O.S. Initiative is a groundbreaking coalition of prosecutors, police chiefs, attorneys general, state and city comptrollers, and public safety activists, working to encourage the smartphone industry to implement meaningful solutions that will end the international epidemic of violent thefts of mobile communications devices such as smartphones and tablets. The S.O.S Initiative is working to encourage the industry to find technical solutions that will remove the economic value of stolen smartphones, targeting secondary markets and the national epidemic of violent street crimes commonly known as “Apple Picking.” Home Affairs Select Committee On 9 July, as part of a special session on policing in London, I appeared before the Home Affairs Select Committee. The Committee asked questions about undercover policing, the Police and Crime Plan and diversity in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). During the session I discussed the work that MOPAC is conducting to explore the role of an independent ethics panel which could examine and advise on controversial issues that impact on public confidence in policing. Challenging the MPS on performance figures On 11 July, I chaired the quarterly MOPAC Challenge meeting at City Hall. The session focused on recent MPS performance in key areas of crime that matter to Londoners. The meeting also discussed how to reduce delays in the criminal justice process in London. Criminal justice partners from Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service, the Crown Prosecution Service, and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary attended and reported on their work. Croydon Visit On 1 August, my Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime Stephen Greenhalgh visited London Road in Croydon with Steve O’Connell AM to discuss the impact of the 2011 riots and progress on making the final payments under the Riot Damages Act. Stephen met residents and business owners and spoke to the council and representatives of the insurance industry about what more could be done to speed up the final payments, despite the complex nature of these cases. The Challenge of Change On 18 July, my Deputy Mayor Victoria Borwick spoke at the London launch of the report ‘The Challenge of Change – Improving Services for Women involved in Prostitution and Substance Use’. The launch, held at City Hall, was attended by representatives from the voluntary sector, MOPAC, the Probation Service and local authorities. The report, funded by the Pilgrim Trust, examined policy and practice in this area as well as the relationship between substance use and prostitution. Transport New Hub Airport Proposals On 15 July, I set out a detailed vision for transforming London into the greatest economic powerhouse of the 21st century, with a new airport to complement the new seaport about to open in the Thames Estuary, new road and rail connections to boost the economy of east London, Kent and Essex. There is also the opportunity for a new town in west London, housing up to 250,000 people on land currently occupied by Heathrow Airport. Speaking at City Hall, I outlined the details of an extensive, independently peer-reviewed investigation that has been carried out by my team at TfL over the last year into the potential options for new aviation capacity. This demonstrates conclusively that there are three optimal locations for a new airport: on the Isle of Grain in north Kent; at Stansted; or on an artificial island in the middle of the Thames Estuary. I also revealed the enormous potential economic benefits of building a new hub airport, which would be able to support more than 375,000 new jobs by 2050 and add £742 billion to the value of goods and services produced in the UK. Roads Task Force Report sets out plans to deliver 21st century roads and streets In July, my Roads Task Force (RTF) published a report outlining a bold vision for a 21st century road and street network in the capital. Its proposals are designed to ensure the capital will be able to cope with major population growth, support jobs and thousands of new homes, while remaining one of the most vibrant, accessible and competitive world cities. TfL is working with partners, including the London boroughs, developers, businesses and representatives of road users, to build on the improvements seen in the investment in and management of London's roads, streets and public spaces in recent years and to take forward many of the RTF recommendations.