Murad joined thousands of people across the country remembering those murdered during genocide by commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) on 27 January. 

HMD, is the time for everyone to remember the millions of people killed in the Holocaust, Nazi Persecution and in subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur  

On HMD we honour the survivors of these genocides and challenge ourselves to use the lessons of their experiences to build a safer, better future.  With atrocities still being committed across the globe – and discrimination, hatred and prejudice still scarring communities in the UK – the need to learn from the past is clear. 

The theme for HMD 2014 is Journeys – we can learn how journeys themselves became part of genocide, and how the journeys undertaken were often experiences of persecution and terror for so many people who suffered in the Holocaust, under Nazi Persecution and in the subsequent genocides. 

Murad has ‘taken a step’ for HMD by making an online pledge, and is encouraging Londoners to do the same by visiting hmd.org.uk. You can share the story of a survivor, pledge to light a candle or attend an HMD activity, or pledge something else that is individual to you.

A report published last week shows that many lower paid residents in Westminster are paying more for the same journeys than better off passengers. People who can’t afford a whole years’ season ticket outlay are hit by higher fare increases and by poorer value for money in the ticket-products they have to buy – pay as you go and weekly or monthly travel cards.  By being unable to afford annual travelcards, weekly travelcard users miss out on saving over £500 a year and spend an extra £1.06 per journey. 

However, the report shows that the vast majority of Londoners are feeling the impact of high and rapidly rising fares in London with 84% of people believing fares are too high, with the young, parents and London’s BAME communities the most concerned. The report, written by Val Shawcross AM, calls on the Mayor to abandon his plan to raise fares above inflation for the next decade and introduce more flexible ticketing options. 

Murad Qureshi AM is backing the report and is calling for:

–          Loyalty Passenger Discounts for regular, long-term Pay as You Go Oyster users

–          An end to above inflation fare rises

–          Fairness for bus passengers, with their fares not rising faster than Tube users

–          More effort should be made to share the cost of travel fairly between weekly, monthly and annual travel card holders;

–          TfL to introduce new tickets, including ‘Early Bird’ discounts; part-time travel cards and a one hour bus ticket 

The proposals will be formally tabled at this week’s Greater London Authority Budget setting meeting. 

Murad Qureshi AM, London wide Labour Assembly Member, said:

“Lower-paid residents in London speak powerfully in the report about how high and rapidly rising fares are an ever increasing burden for them. The report shows that people who cannot afford an annual travel card are being forced to pay up to £500 more each year for their travel around London. 

“Unsurprisingly the survey found that 84% of Londoners believe fares are too high, with parents, the young and London’s black and minority ethnic communities particularly worried. High fares are a real concern for millions of Londoners, under Boris they have risen 18% above inflation eroding take home pay and heaping extra pressure on people already struggling with high housing, food and fuel bills. 

“This year Boris finally relented to pressure and dropped his plan to raise fares above inflation. He needs to continue listening to struggling Londoners and abandon his plan to raise fares above inflation in the future. As chair of Transport for London he must also instruct them to introduce part-time travel cards, early bird fares and a one hour bus ticket. These may seem like small changes but they will make a significant difference to people struggling to afford travel around our city.” 

Ends 

Notes 

1. Murad Qureshi AM is a Labour London wide Assembly Member. 
2. A copy of the report Cost of Living: Fair Fares is here.

The proposals contained within the report will be formally tabled at next week’s GLA Budget Setting Meeting which takes place on Wednesday 29^th January at 10am at City Hall.

The signal box at Edgware Rd which inexplicably explains all the delays

On New Year’s Eve, as Londoners prepared to see in the New Year, TfL announced the termination of the Bombardier signal contract on the sub-surface tube lines.  Back in 2010, TFL said that “It was imperative that we press ahead with the sub-surface upgrade which will see the introduction of new signalling which will be complete along the whole of the sub-surface network by 2018”.  So as we were about to enter the 4^th year of that programme, TFL, dropped a bombshell and tried to convince us that the works could still be achieved on time and within budget. For many this all sounded very disingenuous.

This was the contract that was supposed to improve actual service levels.  Unlike the tube station upgrades and the new trains, whilst welcome, do not actually improve the frequency of the service. It is the signal upgrades that will do that, hence why Tim O’Toole (former Managing Director of London Underground) emphasised to a meeting of the London Assembly Transport Committee, the importance of this contract. Yet the political battle fought by this Mayor to bring these contracts back in-house and out of the controversial Private Public Partnership (PPP) has failed monumentally to produce the results which Londoners deserve.

The signal system at Edgware Road has been described as the “arm-pit” of the underground and “a relic from the first days of the network when there was only one line for the whole of London”  These works are an absolute imperative for commuters who use the Circle line, District and Hammersmith & City.  The delays and cancellations at Edgware Road are thanks to a signal box first fitted in 1928.  With its system of levers & pulleys operating a key junction of sub-surface lines, the Edgware Rd signal box is a symbol of the neglect which the tube service and commuters in Central London have had to endure.

The 1928 Edgware Road signal box was earmarked as part of the upgrades to be completed by 2018 resulting in faster and more reliable journeys, delivering around 50 per cent increase in capacity.  Since news about the Bombardier contract, it looks as though we are no closer to achieving these goals.  Furthermore, the need to retender the contract may well increase the cost of the works. TfL maintain there have been no changes to the planned delivery schedule or the budget at present, but “revised costs and delays will not be known until they re-let the contract”.  Bombardier acknowledged that test track demonstrations which were due to take place in August 2013 in order to hit the completion target date of 2018 were unlikely to take place until at least June 2015. Given that the August 2013 ‘key date’ has already been missed and that, according to the recently issued tender notice, the new contract will not start until June 2014, the current delivery plan is optimistic. The tender notice also states an estimated value between £450 million and £600 million, indicating that the cost of the works has increased significantly; this is on top of any costs already incurred with Bombardier of £85 million.

The Bombardier contract fiasco is not only bad for commuters; it also tells us a lot about this Mayor’s inability to manage contracts (remember Barclay’s decision not to review its sponsorship of the bike hire scheme and the controversy surrounding the “discriminatory” cable car sponsorship deal).  It also tells us something about TFL’s priorities for London Underground, because whilst it fails to manage a critical contract which will cut delays and frustration for many commuters, it’s main focus appears to be pushing for a 24 hour tube service on the deep tube lines by 2015. In other words, whilst they upgrade services on much younger nfrastructure, commuters using the sub surface lines have to endure the appalling service being managed by signal boxes dating back to the 1920’s.

l find it hard to believe that the signal upgrade for the long suffering users of the Circle, District & Hammersmith & City lines will be delivered within budget and on time and it was arguably a cynical move on the part of TfL to bury bad news on a day when most people were busy preparing for their New Year celebrations.  But as transport fares across London rose for the sixth year in a row and for each of the last five years fares above inflation, TFL should now come clean about why it took them two and half years to realise they had chosen the wrong contractor and what the real cost of the failed contact has been to Londoners.

A copy of the column is in this week’s West End Extra Forum.

A new report published today shows the pressure London’s Accident and Emergency Departments are facing this winter in treating older people. The report, London’s A&E Crisis: Older People, written by Dr Onkar Sahota AM draws from NHS statistics to highlight the pressures it currently faces. The report shows that: 

• Since November, 2,689 ambulances have waited longer than 30 minutes to transfer patients into an A&E
• As many as 62,000 admissions for Londoners over 65 could have been avoided last year
• In 2013 Londoners spent at least 134,056 days in hospital longer than they needed to, and;
• Last year 29,113 Londoners over 75+ were re-admitted to hospital in an emergency 

Following the report, London wide Labour Assembly Member Murad Qureshi is calling for the government to recognise the impact of cuts on local authorities and the NHS. The report highlights the consequences of inadequate care in the community on hospitals and the pressure placed on A&E. Dr Sahota is calling for a properly joined up and fully integrated health and social care system. 

Murad Qureshi AM, London wide Labour Assembly Member, said:

“The report clearly shows our A&E crisis is fundamentally linked to the crisis in care for older people. London’s councils have seen their funding decimated by this government, and as a result they are unable to cope with our increasingly ageing population. Some estimates show that if no new money or reforms can be secured, councils will simply run out of money by 2020. 

“The Government have handed GPs the poisoned chalice of responsibility after their top-down reorganisation of the NHS, and are seemingly now intent of blaming these pressures solely on the now infamous out-of-hours contract. The reality however is much more complex. It will not be until we have achieved the whole-person approach to health and care services that we will be truly able to tackle the pressures that inadequate care puts on our A&E departments.” 

.

This week transport fares in Hounslow and across London will rise for the sixth year in a row, for each of the last five years fares have risen above inflation. This year the Mayor has claimed that fares will be frozen at inflation. However, analysis of the new fare tables show that Londoners in Zones 1-4 who use weekly, monthly or annual travel cards, will actually be hit with yet another above inflation fare rise. Pay as You Go bus passengers will also see their fares rise above inflation. 

The fares are calculated using July’s inflation level, which was 3.1%. The above inflation rises for 2014 include: 

–       Bus and Tram Pay as You Go – up 3.6% to £1.45 – a 55p rise since 2008

–       PAYG TfL Rail Services Zone 1 – up 4.8% to £2.20

–       Zone 1-2 monthly travel card – up 3.3% to £120.60

–       Zone 1-3 monthly travel card – up 3.4% to £141.40

–       Zone 1-4 annual travel card – up 3.2% to £1800 

In his budget the Mayor is planning on cutting his share of the council tax by 1.3%, or 1.1pence a day for a Band D Household. This will save the average London household just £4 a year. A Zone 1-4 Annual Travelcard was £1,744 last year, but from today will be £1,800. This means a couple in Harrow, Croydon or Redbridge who work in central London will be £122 out of pocket each year. 

Murad Qureshi AM, London wide Labour Assembly Member, said:

“Today many people in our borough will be hit with yet another inflation-busting fare rise. Boris has claimed he is freezing the fares at inflation, but this simply isn’t true – and many passengers will see this first hand from today. He is saving people £4 a year on their council tax but is taking vastly more from them in higher transport fares. As Chair of TfL he really needs to do a better job of helping Londoners struggling with the cost of living crisis hitting our city. 

“Boris is in a position to actually help people who are struggling, but yet again many fares are going up above inflation. We’ve tried to find out from TfL how many people this will affect, but they have not released the information to us. Rather than taking action to help people who are struggling with living in the most expensive city in the world, the Mayor has wasted millions on his vanity projects.”

Ends 

Notes 

1.    Murad Qureshi is a Labour London wide Assembly Member 

2.    London was ranked as the most expensive city in the world this week, see:http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/london-comes-top-in-study-of-the-worlds-most-expensive-cities-to-live-in-9042233.html 

3.    The new fares tables can be found at:http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/media/newscentre/29288.aspx

London Borough of Brent is the only Frack Free Zone in London

As the Prime Minister attempts to induce councils into fracking by letting them keep more tax revenue if they let energy giants drill for shale gas, it is worth wondering if fracking is possible in London at all.

There have been media reports that a company has been given permission to frack in Croydon. The company has been granted a petroleum exploration development license (PEDL) covering 400 square kilometres of south London, Surrey and Kent. The area covered under the license is 10km north to south and 40km east to west, and within greater London covers the Malden area of Kingston Upon Thames, the southern part of the borough of Merton, and large parts of Sutton, Croydon and Bromley. The company is currently exploring in Kent, with a site at Knockholt, inside the M25 near Sevenoaks, the closest to the capital.  The PEDL started in 2008 and runs until July 2014. Northdown Energy Limited is the said company, a small Wimbledon-based company, holds the licence and works in partnership with an American drilling company with fracking operations in America.

Any specific exploration works in any given location also require planning permission from the local minerals planning authority, which in London is the relevant borough.  It does not appear that any London boroughs have been approached for permission.  Permission for each site is also required from the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC), which consults the Environment Agency (EA) and the Health and Safety Executive.  Additional assessments and monitoring are required if the exploratory work is to include fracking.

If the exploration were to indicate that gas or oil production was possible, further permissions from the local authority, DECC and EA would be required for the necessary drilling, fracking or other works. Indications from Sutton council are that London’s geology is not thought to be suitable for fracking.

More generally, the Mayor has been reported as supporting fracking in London in principle.  He told the Times in July  ‘if reserves of shale can be exploited in London we should leave no stone unturned, or unfracked, in the cause of keeping the lights on’. However the 2020 Vision document expresses the belief that there is no oil or shale gas in London.

Furthermore, Thames Water when in front of the Environment Committee of the London Assembly  and asked about it all given the industrial process of fracking would involve a lot of water has stated;

New research has for the first time revealed that at least 36% of homes sold through Right to Buy in London are now let by private landlords, with 31% in Westminster.  The information was released in a new report released today From Right to Buy to Buy to Let. 

Today’s report highlights the financial cost to taxpayers and local authorities of the Right to Buy, including increased welfare spending due to the higher Housing Benefit payments being paid to tenants in ex-council homes that are now charged at market rates. In some London boroughs, average Housing Benefit claims are as much as £100 a week – £5,200 a year – higher for private sector tenants than for council tenants. 

The report also highlights that local authorities are now frequently forced to rent former homes back at higher market rates in order to discharge their statutory homelessness duties. 

The report calls for urgent action to reform Right to Buy to alleviate some of the worst excesses caused by the policy in its current form. 

The report’s recommendations include: 

• Mandatory covenants on all Right to Buy properties so they cannot be let through the private rented sector.
• The current system of discounts should be abolished.
• A new system should be introduced whereby local authorities retain an equity stake in any property sold.
• Local authorities should have a ‘right not to sell’ if it is not in the community interest to do so or if they believe it would harm their housing operations.
• Replacement homes built with Right to Buy receipts should mirror the rent, size and tenure specifications of the home sold 

Murad Qureshi AM, Labour London wide Assembly Member, said:

“The report shows for the first time that Right to Buy, a policy ostensibly about helping aspiring home owners, has led to tens-of-thousands of London’s former council homes being rented out by private landlords. In Westminster the report shows that at least 31% of former council properties sold under right to buy are now rented out privately. This has helped to fuel the increase in the housing benefit bill, heaped more pressure on local authority waiting lists and led to more Londoners being forced into the under-regulated private rented sector. 

“This shows that Right to Buy is poor value for money to taxpayers. Not only did they pay to build the home in the first place, they then subsidised the considerable discounts offered to tenants and then missed out on the rental income that would have covered the build costs. Now, we have the indignity of London boroughs renting back their former council homes at higher market rent levels, once again costing taxpayers through the nose. 

“Right to Buy has played a central role in causing and exacerbating the current housing crisis. Future governments must recognise that the right of a council tenant to buy their home at a discount, subsidised by other taxpayers, cannot be at the expense of the right of the vast majority of people to have a decent, affordable home to live in.” 

Physical conditions in London’s private rented sector are worse than any other tenure of housing, while complaints against private sector landlords have increased by 47% since 2008. Median private sector rents increased by 12% in 2011 and 9% in 2012. 

Ends

 Notes 

1.  Murad Qureshi AM is a Labour London wide Assembly Member 

2. A copy of the report, From Right to Buy to Buy to Let is attached. 

3 . Freedom of Information requests made to council found that of the 8,910 leaseholder properties where the council owns the freehold, 2,762 were likely to be rented out by private individuals or companies. Because councils do not maintain records of homes where the freehold has been sold, this study has used the leaseholder information as a data pool to calculate an overall proportion of former council homes now rented by private landlords. Because there is no statutory requirement on landlords to register an away address with the local authority, this figure is likely to be an underestimate. 

4. Reference for the above data on physical conditions in London’s private rented sector is taken from: ‘Rent reform: Making London’s private rented sector fit for purpose’, London Assembly Housing and Regeneration Committee, June 2013:http://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Rent%20Reforms%20-%20Making%20the%20Private%20Rented%20Sector%20Fit%20for%20Purpose%20Final.pdf

Closing encore at Hampstead Threatre for Drawing lines

After attending the play of ” Drawing the line” at the Hampstead Theatre directed by Howard Davies & written by Howard Brenton, l’ve been thinking about my own family history that got caught up in the drawing the of the ill-fated line otherwise known as the Radcliffe line that would divide the Indian sub-continent forever more.

But first the play itself. It tells the story of the drawing of the Radcliffe line once it was agreed the British Raj will finally quit India in 1947 very well and without favour to any particular historical interpretation on the events.

It illustrates well how the personalities of Nehru,Jinnah,Gandhi Mountbatten & Attle influenced events at this critical stage for the Indian sub-continent. And playfully dealt with the Nehru’s romance with the Viceroy’s wife at the end of the empire while clearly suggesting it may explain the rushed job that partition became.

The script is well written and the acting all round makes the points well and fully to the audience. It provides a new vehicle of teaching people what a momentous event partition was for all on the Indian sub-continent and has huge educational value, so l am glad it is available on a live feed for those unable to see it and in other parts of the world to watch as well.

It sheds light on the choice between Calcutta & Chittagong well for the Eastern part of Pakistan and Bengal, an often neglected part of the story. For Bengali’s its a reminder of who actually determined that choice. Certainly not Bengali’s whether Hindu or Muslim!

As for the subject itself, the creation of religious states are problematic anyway but to create one with two bits some 1500 miles away from each other ( and a large state India in between) was asking for even more problems.

What is really perpexing is that if you’re going to create new states why not on the basis of ethnic & linguistic as well as geographical considerations ( access to the sea, air & water )? Surely these should be considered as much as religious affiliation. But alas the political deal was such and the FCO acceptance of a Muslim state, such considerations were not given the airing warranted. Not surprising in some ways as Radcliffe had been given six weeks to complete this task without any background in the matter.

As for the immediate result of it all the communal violence as Independence was declared on the 15th of August 1947, its often forgotten that the boundaries themselves were not declared till 2 days after the declaration of independence. This certainly didn’t help matters as people wondered what side of the line they were and whether to move as a result, adding no doubt to the overall confusion and the heavy death toll. Certainly not a way to have the curtain go down on the British empire in the Indian sub-continent.

You can still watch on this live feed below, and l highly recommend watching it over the next 72 hours that its still open after the final closing of the curtains last night.

http://www.theguardian.com/stage/interactive/2014/jan/10/live-stream-drawing-the-line-howard-brenton

I look forward to having a discussion over its production and contents soon.

The Clean Air in London Campaign confirmed today (9th January) that the London Air Quality Network’s air pollution sensor in Oxford Street reported a breach of the nitrogen dioxide hourly legal limit for the whole of 2014 in the first five days. This is the first London monitoring station to breach this limit so far this year. 

Murad Qureshi AM, London Assembly Labour Group Environment spokesperson, said: 

“It is appalling that just five days into the New Year the hourly legal limit for nitrogen dioxide on one of our busiest roads has already been exceeded. Air pollution is a known killer causing over 4,000 premature deaths every year. 

Londoners don’t appreciate that simply taking a stroll down one of London’s premier thoroughfares could have a serious impact on their health. The Mayor needs to face up to the scale of the problem and take steps now to reduce air pollution quickly” 

Ends 

Notes

1. Murad Qureshi is a London-wide Assembly Member.
2. 5th January readings: http://www.londonair.org.uk/london/asp/advstatsvariousresults.asp?site1=WM6&site2=WA7&site3=&site4=&stattype=xcreadings&xvalue=200&zunits=ugm3&startdate=01-01-2014&enddate=05-01-2014&submit=View&period=hourly&species=NO2 

4th January readings:

http://www.londonair.org.uk/london/asp/advstatsvariousresults.asp?site1=WM6&site2=WA7&site3=&site4=&stattype=xcreadings&xvalue=200&zunits=ugm3&startdate=01-01-2014&enddate=04-01-2014&submit=View&period=hourly&species=NO2 

1. Legal limits : http://ec.europa.eu/environment/air/quality/standards.htm 
2. Quick guide and laws in place since 1999 to be complied with by 2010 etc -http://cleanairinlondon.org/news/quick-guide-to-air-pollution/ 

World Health Organisation guidelines –

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs313/en/

Murad Qureshi AM joined local residents and campaigners this morning (Thursday) to oppose Boris’ Johnson’s cuts to the London Fire Brigade. The protest took place at Westminster Fire Station at 8.30am. The cuts took effect from 9am, meaning that across London there are now 10 fewer fire stations, 14 fewer fire engines and 552 fewer firefighters than yesterday.  

The stations axed are Belsize, Bow, Clerkenwell, Downham, Kingsland, Knightsbridge, Silvertown, Southwark, Westminster and Woolwich in addition the second fire engine was cut from Chingford, Hayes, Leyton, Leystonstone, Peckham and Whitechapel. 

The cuts follow a lengthy campaign to stop the Mayor’s plans which originally included over 18 fire stations and 32 fire engines. The cuts are being made to fund Boris Johnson’s penny a day cut to his share of the council tax for each household. Last year the Mayor was presented with fully costed proposals to maintain the current level of provision but this was ignored. 

Murad Qureshi AM, London wide Labour Assembly Member, said:

“Today’s demonstration shows the strength of feeling amongst the local community against these cuts. Boris Johnson’s decision to close these stations and axe the fire engines and firefighters will lead to significantly increased response times to incidents across London. In some areas it will now take nearly two minutes longer for a fire engine to arrive on scene, every second counts. This morning also gave us the chance to say thank you to the firefighters who have put their lives on the line to keep our local area safe. They are heroes and deserve to be applauded for their dedication and professionalism.

“Boris has not listened to local residents and is forcing these cuts through. In response to his consultation 94% of Londoners said they do not support his plans. Today’s cuts are a grim new year’s present, he hasn’t even bothered to come down and say thank you to any of the firefighters this morning. He should be ashamed of himself.”