At last months MQT, l questioned the Mayor about the impact of his fire cuts for Central London.

At the outset l was challenged by the chair of London Fire Brigade James Cleverly AM questioned about how in every 2 minutes the intensity of a  fire can quadruple.  As he attempted to heckle me, I told him that l found it surprising that he didn’t know this as chair of the Fire Authority of London!

I strongly suggest he reads the attached article by a scientist at the Fire Research Station of the exponential curve fo fires in commerical premises of how a fires intensity can double in two minutes. Its a long standing principle that holds as well for domestic fires.

Eventually l informed the Mayor that both the City of Westminster & Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea uanismously agreed motions against the fire cuts in their boroughs. This involves losing both Westminster & Knightsbridge fire stations and an engine at Chelsea Fire Station. This was of course before the London Fire Brigade released details of increased response times for loca wards in London. The statistics reveal that 41 local wards in London will noe fall outside of target response times, due to the Mayor’s decision to cut 12 fire stations, 18 fire engines and 520 firefighters. The wards include Abbey Road, Churchill, Tachbrook, Vincent Square, Warwick and West End in the City of Westminster.

In Warwick the increase is from4.34 to 7.16 minutes; Vincent Square the increase will be 3.54 to 6.14 minutes and Tachbrook increase from 4.29 minutes to 6.33. These increases are all more then 2 minutes. These might not sound alot but a fire as stated already can quadruple in intensity every two minutes. These increases are truly scandalous and no wonder they didn’t release this information sooner.

The public consultations meetings for the respective two boroughs are both next week as outlined below;

 1. Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea public consultation of draft London Safety Plan 5, 10th of June commencing at  7.00pm at Kensington Small Hall, Hornton Street, W8 7NX

 2. City of Westminster, public consultation of draft London Safety Plan 5, 11th June commencing at 7.00pm at Parker Morris Hall, The Abbey Centre, 34 Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3BU

I strongly recommend residents of both the borough of Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea turn up and show their concerns that the Mayor could take such risks with their lives.

At a public meeting in Churchill Gardens Estate last week, we heard first hand how the Lupus Street Crown Post Office (PO) would effect the local community if closed.

The residents of Pimlico would face a 20 minutes’ walk to the nearest alternative post offices in Vauxhall Bridge Road and Ebury Street with no direct bus links. This when the queues at Vauxhall Bridge Road post office are already regularly stretched outside on the pavement. Furthermore the Post Office in Vauxhall Bridge Road does not have access for disabled customers with wheelchairs and the Post Office representatives could not say how much it would cost to do the works.

We also heard from local small businesses as Lupus Street traders use the Post Office banking facilities and if the post office were to close, local businesses would lose this important business facility, as well as having to carry cash some distance to banks elsewhere. Also experience elsewhere shows that when post offices close down surrounding local businesses suffer badly, leading to more empty shops.  It was also established that the use of Lupus Street post office for Council-related transactions is the highest in Westminster and if the post office is closed residents will have nowhere where they can pay their rent and rates or renew their parking permit now that the Council has closed all its One Stop shops.

We had some Post Office representatives as well at the meeting saying that Lupus Street Post Office loses £100,000 a year and  that for every £1 of income it costs the post office £1.84 (although statistics provided by the CWU suggest that the figure is £1.33). Illustrating well the folly in separating the Royal Mail from the Post Office counter service. Nowhere else in the world has this been done where its normal practise for the counters to be subsidied by the delivery operations.  

As my colleague Cllr Paul Dimoldenberg has said, they will be no “passport to Pimlico” for residents if Lupus Street Post office closes as the neighbourhood would lose one of the essential services from the PO counters, the check & send Identity & Passport Service! 

So watch this space, as local residents show us the “Passport to Pimlico” spirit as its acknowledged the PO is the hub of the community.

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Last week l was happy to host the initial findings of Hounslow’s council consultation on the expansion of Heathrow at City Hall.  The consultation “Make Some Noise over Heathrow” was launched on the 15th of April and closed on the 16th of May. The survey was undertaken through a questionaire sent to every household in the borough along with an online form.  

It found residents overwhelmingly against an expanded airport, but also against its closure. As 72 per cent of residents said they are against expansion and also 64 per cent said they did not want to see a new hub airport built if it meant losing Heathrow.  So the Mayor should take note of these initial findings from Hounslow as he stills pursues “Boris Island” in the Thames Estuary.

He should also acknowledge Hounslow is the borough most affected by Heathrow in terms of noise and the economy and the finding reflect this well. Its certainly the borough most affected by noise from the airport, lying directly under both main apprach paths from East to West, and also by noise on easterly take-offs.

Qualititively the results of Hounslow consultation are also more signficant as its ask its residents 11 questions in all rather then the two in the referendums undertaken in neighbouring West London boroughs of Hillingdon & Richmond.  So for example it tells us an overwhelming majority, some 83 per cent, were in favour of night flight bans between 11pm and 7am.  And a even higher percentage of 94 per cent wanted better noise insulation for schools and residents living under the flight path.

Interestingly it also found that air pollution and high levels of pollution was an issue for 70 per cent of  residents. Something for both the Council & the London Assembly to take note off and act on their behalf.

So its clear to me that Hounslow residents don’t want a bigger Heathrow but a better one.

Public meetings for fire service cuts in London

The London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority is holding two public consultations in Kensington and Westminster next week to discuss proposal to close Knightsbridge and 11 other fire stations, cut 18 fire engines and lose 520 firefighters. The public meetings are taking place on 10 June in Kensington and 11 June in Westminster and London wide Assembly Member Murad Qureshi is urging residents to attend.

The Draft Fifth London Safety Plan was launched at the beginning of March. Residents can also contribute to the consultation through the Fire Authority website, where more details are available: http://london-fire.gov.uk/lsp5 until 17 June.

The London Fire Brigade released details recently of increased response times for local wards in London. The statistics reveal that 41 local wards in London will now fall outside of the target response time, due to the Mayor’s decision to cut 12 fire stations, 18 fire engines and 520 firefighters. The wards include Brompton in Kensington & Chelsea which will see an increase from 4.37mins to 6.27mins – an increase of 1.50mins.

Westminster will see increases in response times in Abbey Road (5.58 – 6.36) 38secs increase; Churchill (5.27-6.51) 1.24mins increase; Tachbrook (4.29-6.33) 2.04mins increase; Vincent Square (3.54-6.14) 2.20mins increase; Warwick (4.34-7.16) 2.42mins increase; and West End (5.44-6.16) 32secs increase.

Labour London wide Assembly Member Murad Qureshi said:

“It is vital that residents take part in this consultation about the proposal to close Knightsbridge fire station in Kensington and Chelsea, which will affect response times in much of central London and make sure that their voice is heard. We believe that the Mayor is cutting too far, too fast and is hitting the frontline.

“The increases in response times show how flawed the Mayor’s Draft Fire Plan is.  The borough response times in the London Safety Plan hide these ward increases, which are disgraceful. These figures clearly show that the Mayor has been misleading Londoners, his cuts will mean that people across our city will have to wait significantly longer for a fire engine to arrive in the event of an emergency.

“We are deeply concerned that the cuts will jeopardise the safety and security of Londoners, all for the dubious benefit of a penny a day off the Council Tax. But we want to hear from Londoners about their views during this consultation and what they think. I strongly urge residents to attend the meetings and I look forward to seeing them there.”

Ends

Notes

1. Murad Qureshi is a London wide Assembly Member.
2. The consultation on the Draft Fifth London Safety Plan ends at 5pm on 17 June 2013. Members of the public can have their say by visiting www.london-fire.gov.uk/lsp5, calling 0800 9888 569, by writing to the London Fire Brigade at 169 Union Street, London, SE1 0LL or by attending public meetings in London Boroughs, details of which will soon be available.
3. The fire stations listed for closure are: Belsize in Camden; Bow in Tower Hamlets; Clapham in Lambeth; Clerkenwell in Islington; Downham in Lewisham; Kingsland in Hackney; Knightsbridge in Kensington & Chelsea; New Cross in Lewisham; Silvertown in Newham; Southwark; Westminster; and Woolwich in Greenwich.
4. The following stations will lose one of their two fire engines: Chelsea, Chingford, Hayes, Leyton, Leytonstone, Peckham and Whitechapel.
5. A ward breakdown can be found here: http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/Documents/ward-impacts.pdf
   1. Kensington and Chelsea’s public meeting is on Monday, 10 June, 7-9pm in the Kensington Small Hall, Hornton Street, W8 7NX.

Westminster’s public meeting is on Tuesday, 11 June 7-9pm at the Paker Morris Hall, The Abbey Centre, 34 Great Smith St, London SW1P 3BU.

Are bus services in London up to scratch? 

 The London Assembly has launched an in-depth investigation into bus services in London as passenger numbers rise and investment into bus services has flat-lined. London wide Assembly Member Murad Qureshi AM wants residents in Westminster to share their experiences of bus travel in London to improve and strengthen the service offered by Transport for London.

London’s population grew by one million between 2001 and 2011 and is expected to continue to rise at the same rate over the next 10 years. TfL saw an estimated 49.5million journeys made between 28 April and 4 May on London buses, half of all bus journeys made in the rest of England combined.

London wide Assembly Member Murad Qureshi AM said:

“Transport for London recently celebrated a record-breaking week for the number of bus journeys made in one week yet the Mayor is already considering slashing the annual bus subsidy. Investment to improve and expand bus services has flat-lined under Boris and as London’s population is growing at a rate equivalent to two full buses each day, we need to find out how Londoners will travel around the capital and what their opinions of bus services are.

“Residents can share their good and bad experiences by filling in a short survey on bus services in London. We need bus users help to ensure the London Assembly puts forward strong recommendations to the Mayor on how we can make bus services in London suit the needs of the people that use them.

“TfL’s business plan does not provide for expansion of the bus network, and unless plans are secured to deal with extra passengers, London buses run the risk of entering a period of decline.”

Ends

Notes

1. Murad Qureshi AM is a Labour London wide Assembly Member.
2. Details of bus services in London survey and public meeting can be found here: http://www.london.gov.uk/get-involved/events/bus-services-in-london-public-meeting
3. A public meeting will be held on 6 June at City Hall

Westminster’s most deprived area hit hardest by Mayor’s fire cuts

New analysis has revealed that Church Street Ward will be hardest hit by the Mayor of London’s proposed cuts to the London Fire Brigade with a 7 second increase in the time it takes for the first fire engine to attend an incident.

Of the 100 most deprived wards in London, 76 of them will have an increase in the time it takes for the first fire engine to arrive, and 82 of them will see an increase in the time for the second fire engine to arrive at an incident. London wide Assembly Member Murad Qureshi AM questioned Boris Johnson at today’s Mayor’s Question Time. The Mayor is proposing to close Westminster fire station and a public consultation is currently underway and will run until 17^th June 2013.

In Westminster the following areas will see an increase in attendance times:

• Church Street will see an increase of 7 seconds for the first fire engine and 7 seconds for the second engine
• Queens Park will see an increase of 7 seconds for the first fire engine and 5  seconds for the second engine
• Westbourne will see an increase of 6 seconds for the first fire engine and 5 seconds for the second engine

London wide Labour Assembly Member Murad Qureshi AM said:

“This research shows that it is the poorest residents in Westminster who will be hit hardest by the Mayor’s reckless cuts to our frontline fire service. The London Fire Brigade’s own plan admits there is a link between fire and deprivation. The increase in attendance times for Church Street, Queens Park and Westbourne are truly scandalous and will put the poorest residents at greater risk. All because the Mayor wants to cut the council tax by a penny a day.

“I urge residents to speak up and respond to the Mayor’s consultation and tell him what they think. The public consultation meeting in Westminster will be held on the 11^th of June. His plan to close Westminster fire station as well as 11 others across London, axe 18 fire engines and cut 520 firefighters are simply unacceptable.

“We presented him with a fully costed plan to keep them all open, but he has chosen to ignore us. While these increases in response times might appear small, across our city every second counts and can be the difference between life and death. It is more urgent than ever that Londoners tell the Mayor what they think. The Mayor might be prepared to take a risk with Londoners’ safety, but we are not. He must take Londoners for complete fools if he thinks he can get away with this.”

Ends

Notes

1. Murad Qureshi AM is a Labour London wide Assembly Member.
2. The attached table details the 100 most deprived wards in London and the increase in attendance times for first and second fire engines and can be found here: http://cityhalllabour.org/londons-most-deprived-areas-hit-hardest-by-mayors-fire-cuts/
3. Source for deprivation statistics: http://data.london.gov.uk/datastore/package/indices-deprivation-2010  and source for fire engine attendance times: http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/Documents/ward-impacts.pdf
4. Mayor’s Question Time took place today at City Hall. A webcast can be watched here: http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor-assembly/london-assembly/webcasts

My old school as it is today

It is not often my old school Quintin Kynaston (QK) is in the news, unfortunately in this instance for the wrong reasons with financial irregularities hanging over the headteacher’s head, Jo Shuter. These irregularities were outlined in full in the Department of Education investigative Report  into QK Academy as it’s known now.  It does not make for pleasant reading at all for her but more importantly for the governers having to manage this mess and the pupils who are losing out.

As this saga continues it appears the school has become the Jo Shuter show when it should really be all about just QK & its pupils.

She clearly doesn’t have much of a clue as the chief financial accounting officer having mixed her personal finances with that of the school in such a way as to doubt her motives.  She earned between £170,000-175,000 in  2012 ( thats alot more then the Mayor ) according to the annual accounts of QK, yet astonishly saw fit  to pass almost £7,000 spent on her celebration of her 50th birthday party through the school and then only to repay then a year later!

Moreover the new structures in academies put more emphasis on financial skills then the actual teaching itself, as the schools become considered as much  a business unit  as places of learning.

So l am left to conclude that the Jo Shuter show continues at QK, increasingly at the expense of school and its pupils.

As a Church Street resident l have patiently waited for ballot papers to arrive on estate regeneration plans but have still not had them in the post even with the extended deadline.  As the extended deadline passes l have been deprived of my vote in this matter.

It was rumoured that Ballot papers have not arrived at the homes of many Church Street residents three days after voting started on Westminster City Council’s Church Street estate regeneration proposals. That is voting started on Wednesday 8^th May, and was open for a week till Tuesday 14^th May. Over the weekend l had heard ballot papers have not arrived at  Loddon, Cherwell, Wytham and Wey Houses, Old Church St Estate and other residents at Eastlake House and Lisson Green report not having received theirs either even though the vote has started.

It really is a great shame that things could not have been done to time, especially given the publicity beforehand.  It does cast a shadow and raises questions over the whole voting process.

As Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg has said

“If the Council can’t even organise a simple Yes/No vote, how do they expect us to believe they can deliver a complicated regeneration project? After all the hard work and effort put into this project by so many Church Street residents it is scandalous that the Council has failed to get ballot papers to residents in time for the vote.”

I was most concerned about the loss of the Cosway St site. It had an existing educational use which would have been very helpful in accommodating the much needed additional primary school places need for the growing population of the ward. Both Gateway & Christ Church Primary Schools in the ward have expanded into their playgrounds to accommodate the new bigger intakes but we still more space is needed.

Moreover l think there were other more important estate regeneration priorities in the neighbourhood like getting rid of the 200 flats of slum housing in Miles Building, just off the Edgware Rd inside the Ward.  This has been allowed to continue for far too long and has long been forgotten by the council. It is surprising that such housing still exists at the beginning of the 21st century.

But alas l have been deprived of my vote to register such concerns.

With Hounslow LCC at Market Place, Brentford

Last Saturday l joined a group of cyclists in Hounslow for a ride around Brentford, Isleworth & Old Deer Park.  It not only gave me an appreciation of the roads of Brentford & Isleworth but also its history of maritime activities with its docks. Furthermore its place in Roman history with its claim to Julius Csear landing on its shores rather then some other part of West London!

l brought along a Brompton bike to do the tour. As Brentford is the home of the bike, l thought its the bike l should be seen on during this ride  

So well done to London Cycling Campaign (LCC) in Hounslow for organising such an event and l look forward to other trips. As well as them promoting cycling for all  across the borough; improving the cycling infrastucture in the borough; and promoting better relations between other road users as well.

Since his re-election last May Boris Johnson has cut over 1,300 police officers ““ despite promising an extra 1,000. The latest drop in police numbers comes at a time when the Mayor and government are considering buying water cannons for the police.

London wide Assembly Member, Murad Qureshi AM, said:

“These latest figures are deeply concerning. Not only have we lost 259 police officers in Westminster but nearly 3000 have been cut across London since May 2010. The vast majority of these officers have been lost from the borough’s police teams. Hollowing out the frontline like this cannot continue.

“Instead of cutting the police budget by 20 per cent and buying water cannons the government and Mayor should be properly resourcing the police. These cuts are completely unacceptable. Boris’ latest policing plan claims that it will put more police into the boroughs and on the streets, the evidence tells a very different story. The Mayor and the Government’s cuts are too far, too fast.”

Ends

Notes

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

See  attached  with link to “Raw” data , then Police Officer and staff numbers, by staff type, detailing the number of police officers in London and by borough for 2010 and 2013.

3.    In September 2012 Boris Johnson said at Mayor’s Question Time: “I do think that it is important to keep Police numbers high”¦It is something that not everybody necessarily agrees with me about.  A lot of people say that the numbers themselves do not matter.  I think that they do matter.  I think that it is important that we keep them at or around 32,000.”