Murad Qureshi AM questioned EDF Energy, who will be introducing the highest price rise, directly about the difference between energy prices in France, where customers have seen a two per cent increase, with the 11 per cent rise customers have faced in the UK. 

A fifth of London households are estimated to be in fuel poverty with 10 per cent of their income going towards fuel costs. There are 126,400 households in severe fuel poverty, where fuel costs more than 20 per cent of their basic income. 

London Assembly Labour Group’s Environment spokesman Murad Qureshi said:

"These enormous price rises are pushing thousands of Londoners in to fuel poverty and energy companies should be ashamed of themselves. They are putting profit over the wellbeing of their customers. 

"Every one per cent increase in energy prices sends 40,000 customers in to fuel poverty across the whole of the UK. It is disgraceful that energy companies are holding customers over a barrel like this by putting up prices on mass. 

"On average 3,710 Londoners are dying every year as a result of living in a cold home. People have to make the choice between putting food on the table and heating their home. With rents, fares and bills all going up many Londoners are struggling to keep up. I urge the Government to act quickly to help those people who can’t afford to heat their homes this winter."

　

Ends

Notes

Murad Qureshi is the London Assembly Labour Group’s Environment spokesman.

Watch the Health and Environment Committee here: 

http://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/webcast/healthenvcom081112.asx

Assembly Members Murad Qureshi, Jennette Arnold OBE, Dr Onkar Sahota and Navin Shah signed a joint letter to Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe asking his to reconsider the EDL’s status.

The Met applied to the Secretary of State Theresa May amid fears of public disorder as the EDL prepared to march in Walthamstow for the second time in one month. Members of the EDL have targeted London boroughs where there are a number of different faith groups and non-white communities.

Labour London-wide Assembly Member Murad Qureshi said:

"We call on Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe to brand the EDL as an extremist group. Members of the EDL are disrupting our communities and promoting violence and racist ideology. They are obviously a far-right group, bent on causing as much trouble in our diverse communities as possible.

"It is disgraceful that people such as the EDL who don’t even live in London and have to travel from outside the city are allowed to come to our neighbourhood to promote their evil racist ideology. We must stand together and recognise the EDL for what they are, an extremist far-right group."

Ends

Notes

<dir><dir></dir></dir>

Murad Qureshi is a London-wide Assembly Member.

Jennette Arnold OBE is a London Assembly Member for North East, including Islignton, Hackney and Waltham Forest.

Dr Onkar Sahota is a London Assembly Member for Ealing and Hillingdon.

Navin Shah is a London Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow.

The letter is attached and reads:

"We welcomed the Government’s decision last week to ban the planned EDL march through Waltham Forest and other nearby boroughs. Waltham Forest has become a target for these marches as it is home to a rich tapestry of communities and faiths which these events are designed to attack.

In the past, these marches have been organised and attended by EDL members who have no connection with the local community and they have led to disorder and tension on the streets within a community which otherwise live and work together without trouble or contempt for each other.

In light of past experiences of EDL marches and this recent ban, we urge you to revise the Met’s view about the status of the EDL. We ask this because, back in September 2009, the then Met Police commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson told the MPA that the EDL　"are not viewed as an extreme right wing group in the accepted sense". Last year, it was reported that Adrian Tudway, head of the national domestic extremism unit at Scotland Yard, stated in an email to a Muslim organisation that "in terms of the position with EDL, the original stance stands, they are not extreme right wing as a group" adding "I really think you need to open a direct line of dialogue with them, that might be the best way to engage them and re-direct their activity". These sentiments are not only patronising to London’s Muslim community, they are wholly inconsistent with the EDL’s recent actions and the reaction by the local community to their presence.

The recent arrests by the Met Police and the request to ban the march last week were both based upon intelligence led investigation; it is clear, therefore, that the perception of the EDL as a non right wing organisation is misconceived. This misconception should be put right, and we hope that recent actions by the Met police and the Home Secretary should pave a way forward to restating the Met’s views on the EDL. We believe this is the time to draw a line in the sand from past statements made by or on behalf of the Met on this subject and we seek your reassurance that such statements will not be made under your watch in the future."

Mr Singh, Stephen Knight AM and myself experiencing the noise levels over Cranford during out recent site visit

At the heart of the debate over aviation expansion is the balancing act between the demands of business against the negative impact of expansion on the quality of life for residents affected by increasing noise and pollution.

Earlier this month, the Health and Environment Committee visited Cranford, which sits just a mile away from the eastern end of the Heathrow runways.  There, I spoke to a local resident called Mr Singh.  Both Mr Singh and his wife work at Heathrow Airport.  In many respects their future, like the future of many of their neighbours, are tied to the success of the airport. Yet Mr Singh opposes expansion at Heathrow.

The reason is clear – expanding Heathrow would be catastrophic to the quality of life for residents like Mr Singh. If Heathrow were expanded, the interests of local residents would be jettisoned to serve the interests of big business.

The London Assembly Health and Environment Committee’s submission to the Draft Aviation Policy Framework addresses this balancing act.  It seeks to secure jobs at airports like Heathrow but at no additional cost to residents’ quality of life.

It is clear to us on the London Assembly Health and Environment Committee that local environmental problems, such as noise and air pollution, are the primary concerns for Londoners in the aviation debate.

On noise, we need independent oversight of airport noise management, including over the mitigation and compensation measures airports offer to residents. It is not good enough for airports themselves to undertake this responsibility. The consequence of this is a postcode lottery where different operators offer different mitigation schemes with different trigger values and area coverage.

We want the government to address the need for consistency across London.

Studies on air quality, such as the recent report by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, confirm the findings of our previous report Plane Speaking, published in March 2012 on the impact of poor air quality on life expectancy.  The submission reaffirms the recommendations from this previous investigation.

On global environmental issues such as carbon emissions, the committee heard that at best the inclusion of aviation within the European Union Emissions Trading System (EST) is a short term solution. Even if international agreements and technological innovation progress at the desired pace, ETS would require unrealistic cuts in greenhouse gas emissions from life style change and other sectors of economy to make up for the C02 not being cut by the aviation sector.

In this respect, the premise that “we could cover the whole of Surreywith runways and not increase emissions by a single kilogram”, as stated by Tim Yeo MP, Chair of the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee, is out of kilter with the evidence presented by the experts to this committee.

But not only do his comments overestimate the effectiveness of the ETS, they fail to take on board the main concerns Londoners have about aviation – noise and air pollution.

Across <place w:st=”on”><city w:st=”on”>London</city></place>, blue-light services are being threatened:

• The London Fire Brigade is facing steep cuts due to the government cutting the fire budget by 25% – £65million in total

• London Ambulance Service will lose £53million (19%) of it’s budget by 2015/16, resulting in 890 job cuts, of which 560 will be frontline staff

• The Metropolitan Police is being cut by 12% and has already lost 1,777 police officers and 1,800 PCSOs in the past two years

• A&Es will be forced to cater for an extra 120,000 residents on average each. In 2010 there were 32 A&E departments in <city w:st=”on”><place w:st=”on”>London</place></city>, but only 24 would remain under these plans.

London-wide Assembly Member Murad Qureshi who supported the motion said:

“The Mayor must wake up to the effects of these devastating cuts on Londoners’ safety. The closures of police front desks, fire stations and A & E departments will mean various pockets of <place w:st=”on”><city w:st=”on”>London</city></place> could see the safety of residents threatened by longer response times.”

“The Mayor has tried to duck and dive when questioned directly about cuts to the NHS but he has direct responsibility for the fire and police services so has to take responsibility for the closure of fire and police stations and the loss of police officers on his watch. These cuts are going too far and too fast and will inevitably endanger families and communities across the capital”

Ends

Notes

1.      Murad Qureshi is a Londonwide Assembly Member.

2.      The 32 A&E’s served a population of 8.17million Londoners, an average of 255,000 people each. Reducing to 24 A&Es will mean they have to cover 340,000 each, with <city w:st=”on”><place w:st=”on”>London</place></city>’s population due to rise to 9million by 2020. This will increase the number of people each A&E is due to cover to 375,000 residents – an increase of 120,000 for each A&E. This assumes that no further closures take place.

3.      The motion passed on Wednesday 24 October read:

“This Assembly believes that the safety and security of Londoners is being put at risk as a result of cuts to emergency services being pushed through by the Mayor and the Coalition Government to the key emergency services ““ the Metropolitan Police Service, the London Fire Brigade alongside the London Ambulance Service and the city’s Accident & Emergency Departments.

The Assembly believes that the cuts are going too far and too fast and that the many millions of pounds being taken from the budgets of the NHS, the Metropolitan Police Service and the London Fire Brigade will inevitably endanger families and communities across the capital.

This Assembly believes that the cuts, from these various budget streams, are being carried out without strategic consideration of their aggregate effects on Londoners’ safety or the geography of blue light coverage. The closures of police front desks, fire stations and A & E departments will mean various pockets of <city w:st=”on”><place w:st=”on”>London</place></city> could see the safety of residents threatened by longer response times.

This Assembly recognises the strategic, metropolitan perspective of the Mayor of <city w:st=”on”><place w:st=”on”>London</place></city> and Greater London Authority and challenges his acceptance of these cuts as an economic necessity, with little information or regard for the safety consequences. This Assembly calls on the Mayor to commission strategic research into the formation of blue light black holes, to stand up for Londoners against the cuts being imposed by the Coalition Government and to reconsider and abandon his own draconian cuts to the emergency services on which we rely to keep Londoners safe.”

The webcast for the London Assembly meeting where the motion was passed on Wednesday 24 October 2012 can be watched here: http://www.london.gov.uk/who-runs-london/the-london-assembly/webcasts

For more information please contact Research and Support Officer Nikki Salih, on 020 7983 4400. Number not for publication.

Westminster fire station in Greycoat Place, Pimlico, is one of 17 fire stations earmarked for closure on a list leaked to the BBC.

Paddington station in Harrow Road and Soho station in Shaftesbury Avenue escaped the list, but union leaders warned the closure would jeopardise response times and fire cover across Westminster.

The borough’s firefighters last year attended more than 5,200 false alarms – greater than anywhere else in the capital – more than 1,000 fires and more than 1,800 other incidents, making it one of the most testing boroughs in London.

Fire Brigade Union regional secretary Paul Embery said: “Everyone should be concerned, even if it isn’t your local fire station that is closing down.

“They can say that the first fire engine will still be on the scene within six minutes but that is misleading, because when you need back-up, you’ll need to call in engines from other stations nearby.

“People need to understand that these proposals jeopordise the safety of everyone.

“It’s an old cliché, but in a fire seconds count; the difference between dying from smoke inhalation and living comes down to a few seconds.

“You can’t shut down so many fire stations, and make so many firefighters redundant, without putting lives at risk.”

A London Fire Brigade (LFB) spokesman told the Wood&Vale that Westminster fire station did not have a specific patch, but would respond to calls across the borough depending on need. If it was to close, the nearest extra support would come from Euston, Belsize Park and West Hampstead stations.

London Assembly member Murad Qureshi said: “In such a densely populated borough, which holds the biggest leisure and licensing areas in the country, there is a very unique need and we must have adequate cover.

“Not only should we be concerned for those living in Pimlico and Victoria, but everyone in Westminster should worry.”

The leak comes as the Brigade have been asked by Mayor of London Boris Johnson to save £64.8million over the next two years.

An LFB spokesman said: “Like virtually every other public service, the Brigade is facing the need to make savings. There is a target for these savings but the full details will not be known until at least December, when the government announces its grant to the Brigade.

“We expect to be able to maintain our current target response times. No decisions about any possible fire station closures have yet been taken. Before they are, there will be a full public consultation.”

Click here to view article

New proposed parliamentary constituency taking most of Westminster North with it & carves up Paddington

At last, we got to see the Boundary Commission’s final proposals for the whole of London.  With an electorate totalling 5,266,904, it is proposed that the current number of constituencies is reduced from 73 to 68.  The implications of these proposals are not insignificant and will inevitably alter the political complexion of parliamentary seats.  For example, some constituencies like Westminster North will get wiped off the the political map altogether, making it highly unlikely we’ll have a Labour MP in this part of the City of Westminster representing Paddington essentially.

It is odd how some of these proposals have come about in a process which was supposed to be totally transparent.  For example, the original proposal was to link the City of Londonwith Islington.  In the now final stages of the proposals, what’s transpired is a suggestion is to link the City Of Londonwith the City of Westminster again.  As a result, labour held wards like Westbourne in the City of Westminster find themselves in the new seat of Cities of London & Westminster and Queens Park & Harrow Wards could be absorbed by into a new  Kensington seat! .  The remaining  5 wards on and off the Edgware Rd find themselves in Camden Town & Regents Park as shown in the map above.  This is how the present seat of Westminster North gets carved up and disappears completely.

These changes will only happen if the Lib Dems agree to them as part of the coalition agreement. Reports suggest that they won’t agree to sign up to the proposed boundary changes because the Tories have failed to deliver on the Lord’s reforms. That said, there is still the chance of a trade-off in relation to the issue of state party funding.  Given how much little funding the Lib Dem party receives, this might just persuade them to rubber stamp these changes which will be at the expense of losing unique nuggets like a Labour Parliamentary seat in Westminster representing Paddington.  If this is a political reality its a shame for the future of local democracy.

Police ask Teresa May to stop the planned EDL march this weekend

This weekend will see thousands of Muslim families come together, dress up in their best clothes, spend time together and eat together to commemorate “Qurbani” (the practice of sacrificing an animal performed to mark the end of the holy Hajj pilgrimage, the celebration known as Eid ul Adha).  Many donate the meat from the animal to the poor in what translates into a global humanitarian effort by Muslims to reach out to those who most need their help.

The sentiments behind this weekend’s celebrations cannot be further then those which the far right English Defence League want to express in yet another planned march through Waltham Forest and Islington following their march through Walthamstow on the 1st of September.  Only last weekend, 53 EDL supporters were arrested at various locations on their way in to London after an intelligence operation suggested they were planning a surprise protest outside a mosque in east London.  They plan to march again this Saturday (27th October), but following a series of letters from the leader of Waltham Forest Council, Chris Robbins, to the Home Secretary, the Mayor of London and the Chair of the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee, the Metropolitan Police have now sought to ban the group marching in these areas.

Prior to EDL’s previous march in Walthamstow on 1 September, the Borough Council attempted to secure a ban, but in a statement explained the Home Secretary had not responded to its request and that the police would not prevent the march unless they think there is a serious threat to public order. At that time, the Borough Council appealed to residents to stay away from the march and any counter demonstrations “to avoid trouble”. Opponents of the march blocked its route, with a local newspaper claiming opponents outnumbered its 300 marchers by ten to one.  At the first march, missiles were thrown and 20 people were arrested.  The backdrop for this last march makes the timing of this second planned march even more sinister; it also shines a spot light on the real motives behind these marches through an area where they have been through in the past on a weekend which has religious and cultural significance for the thousands of Muslims who live in the area.  The EDL’s motives can only be to provoke tension and hatred amongst a community which will want to be free to move around their area with their families and friends to celebrate this religious holiday.  This is not only despicable but it’s also a bleak reminder of the workings of the EDL and how they will stop at nothing in their quest to stir up racial and religious tensions within local communities.

In his letter to the Teresa May, Chris Robbins stated “Following the public disorder that ensued on 1 September there is an overwhelming risk that a second march will erupt into violence.  Knowingly putting our borough’s residents in harms way is not an option”   To the Mayor, he wrote “We believe that these plans are tantamount to the harassment of our community…..whilst we agree that everyone has a right to protest, this latest stand by people with no connection to the borough is an abuse of this right” and to the Chair of the Police and Crime, he wrote “Our residents feel besieged by the ongoing target of our borough”  These are powerful words from a council leader who has lived in East London all his life and is, therefore clearly in tune with the dynamics of his borough.

I am relieved that the police have taken the action to seek a ban for the planned march but ultimately, it is the Home Secretary alone who can stop these racist thugs in their tracks and ban them from marching through our peaceful and diverse community during a weekend designed to cause maximum offence and disruption.

http://www.easterneye.eu/news.html?groupId=7&newsId=1133

Assembly Member Murad Qureshi asked the Mayor if he had made any representations to the on the impact on Londoners of cuts to the London Ambulance Service?

The Mayor refused to commit his support despite his direct role in the London Health Improvement Board and health inequalities in the capital.

The Mayor was challenged over his failure to speak up for the NHS in <place w:st=”on”><city w:st=”on”>London</city></place> and protect A&E departments from closure. Despite repeatedly campaigning for tax cuts for millionaires the Mayor has refused to lobby government to keep A&E units open as he says it is outside of his remit.

The London Ambulance Service is losing £53 million ““ 19% of its budget by 2015/16. The current plans are to cut 890 of the 5,000 jobs at the LAS, of which 560 will be frontline staff. This will likely be achieved by natural turnover, which will lead to many posts being unfilled. Last year the LAS dealt with 1.6 million calls in <city w:st=”on”><place w:st=”on”>London</place></city>.

The Mayor of London was also challenged on:

·         The London Fire Brigade is facing the loss of up to 30 stations, 30 appliances and hundreds of firefighters

Local <place w:st=”on”><city w:st=”on”>London</city></place> Assembly Member, Murad Qureshi, said:

“While the A&Es are being cut, no provisions have been made for the vast increase in ambulance journeys which will undoubtedly be made. It’s only a matter of time when these cuts take hold that tragedies will happen.

We are dismayed by the way the mayor has disenfranchised the residents and stakeholders in <city w:st=”on”>London</city> on the matter of NHS changes and A&E closures in <place w:st=”on”><city w:st=”on”>London</city></place>. At Mayor’s Question Time Boris denied any responsibility or support for the hundreds and thousands of residents who are campaigning and genuinely concerned about the closure of the A&Es in their area.

“<city w:st=”on”><place w:st=”on”>London</place></city>’s emergency services are facing a crisis, the police, fire brigade, ambulance and A&E departments are all being cut back. This will leave <city w:st=”on”><place w:st=”on”>London</place></city> with less blue-light coverage. At a time when <city w:st=”on”><place w:st=”on”>London</place></city>’s emergency services are already stretched this simply does not make sense. <city w:st=”on”><place w:st=”on”>London</place></city>’s population is also forecast to grow to 9 million people – how will the emergency services cope?

“Our emergency services and their dedicated staff do a fantastic job keeping us safe and helping us when we are at our most vulnerable. The government are cutting too far and too fast, fundamentally undermining the emergency services ability to do their job. It’s time that the Mayor stood up for Londoners and got a better deal from central government.”

Ends

Notes

1. Murad Qureshi is a London-wide Assembly Member and City Hall spokesperson for Health.  

2. You can watch Mayor’s Question Time from Wednesday 17 October 2012 here http://www.london.gov.uk/who-runs-london/the-london-assembly/webcasts

3. Photo attached available for use. Murad Qureshi AM with Save Our Hospital demonstrators outside City Hall on Wednesday 17 October 2012.

EndsNotes

The effects of water penetration onto platform 5 at Baker Street from Marylebone Rd

At this morning’s Transport Committee meeting, once again I felt compelled to raise the chronic neglect of the oldest part of the tube system which lays between Paddington & Farringdon.  Again, this is being ignored during the line upgrade works being undertaken by London Underground.  Previously I’d brought up the signal box at Edgware Road which dates back to the 1920’s and still controls amazingly one of the biggest junctions on the tube map, as well as the control centre at Earls Court using technology from the 1950’s to manage all the District line trains passing through the station.  This time I spoke about the state of disrepair on platform 5 in Baker Street where oddly, there are boards attesting to the history of the line.  Water penetration from the Marylebone Road above the platforms is clearly causing damage internally to the station and will not have escaped the notice of the many passengers of the tube that make their changes in the network at this point.

 My concern is simply that the oldest part of the tube has been neglected during the line upgrades while works on much newer lines like the Victoria line opened in 1970 and the Jubilee extension have had a lot more attention by London Underground both within the PPP and outside of it.  Surely inventory checks of all the stations would have picked up the condition of the tracks, signals and platforms on this part of the Circle and Hammersmith & City lines?  

The first underground line in the world between Paddington & Farringdon will reach reach its 150th anniversary next year since its first opening on 24th May 1862.  Given the state of disrepair of platform 5 in Baker Street, it’s not surprising that we heard very little about this milestone with little or no publicity up and till now. Let’s hope it’s not allowed to get much worse before the sub-surface line upgrades eventually come round to this part the tube system in London.