In 2009 the mayor promised his programme would treat 200,000 homes with easy energy efficiency measures like low energy lightbulbs, and offer advice and support for more complex things like roof insulation, but the new target is just 55,000 homes – or a mere 1.7% of London’s 3.3 million homes.

At a time of rising energy prices, the Mayor Boris Johnson is helping Londoners cut their fuel bills, with tens of thousands of homes set to be offered a free energy efficiency makeover. Homes in parts of Barking and Dagenham, Hackney, Lewisham and Waltham Forest are the first to receive this opportunity.

The RE:NEW energy efficiency programme is being provided to 55,000 homes in specific areas across the capital between now and May 2012, after a successful trial in nearly 9,000 homes in nine boroughs.

Residents in these trials made savings of up to £154 on their annual energy and water bills but it is estimated savings could be up to £180 a year taking into account recent energy price rises. The trials saved nearly 3,500 tons of CO2, equivalent to 3,000 cars coming off London’s roads.

But Labour’s environment lead Murad said: “RE:NEW is a really good programme and should be rolled out across the whole of London, but the mayor keeps scaling it back.

“We had one of the coldest winters ever last year and fuel bills are rising fast, so the only defence people have is to make their homes more energy efficient.

“London has some of the worst insulated homes in the country and Londoners are already struggling to pay their energy bills. It is clear the mayor has no influence whatsoever on the energy companies who keep putting bills up, but this is one area he could make a real difference.”

The RE:NEW team will be active in selected areas across all London boroughs offering the service. This includes a tailor-made range of energy-reducing devices installed by a trained assessor. The scheme will provide a range of different measures for free such as low energy light bulbs, radiator panels and stand-by switches. It also offers water saving measures.

Where appropriate, more substantial measures, such as loft and cavity wall insulation, will be offered. These will be subsidised for those able to pay and free for those on qualifying benefits helping to tackle fuel poverty.

With 80 per cent of carbon emissions coming from buildings, this service is part of the Mayor’s vision to “retrofit" London to create an energy efficient city, stimulate ‘green-collar’ jobs and help the city become more resilient to rising fuel prices.

RE:NEW is funded by the Mayor and all 32 London boroughs have signed as partners in the scheme, which is being delivered in partnership with London Councils and the Energy Saving Trust. Barking & Dagenham, Hackney and Waltham Forest, with appointed contractor, London Warm Zone, and Lewisham with appointed contracror, Osborne Energy, are the first to roll out RE:NEW.

The focus in these areas will be on providing energy monitors and stand by switches.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “Cutting energy waste at a time of rising costs makes good economic sense and it benefits the environment by reducing CO2. I am determined to make buildings more efficient on an unprecedented scale to create jobs in a low carbon economy. This will save millions off fuel bills and fundamentally improve quality of life for Londoners. RE:NEW is simple, safe and free to access, you’d be crazy not to go for it.”

Philip Sellwood, Chief Executive of the Energy Saving Trust, added: “The most successful energy efficiency programmes taken on area-by-area are those that offer something for everyone and where measures are installed on an individual, tailored basis. RE:NEW fits the bill on all counts – any householder, renting or owning, can benefit, and only the measures that will deliver carbon and bill savings for a given home will be considered. We’re pleased to be a part of it.”

Councillor Catherine West, Chair of London Councils Transport and Environment Committee, said: “Nearly 9,000 Londoners have already benefited from RE:NEW, saving more than 3,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide in the process. But there are many more still to go and we’ll be reaching more than five times as many homes during this next stage.

“Londoners who had their homes treated last year saved around £150 on their fuel bills. These next steps mean that as well as making their homes more environmentally friendly, a number of the capital’s poorest families will be less likely to suffer from fuel poverty next winter. As fuel prices continue to rise, this is more important than ever.’

The RE:NEW offer involves a full home energy survey carried out by a qualified home energy advisor, which takes roughly 90 minutes to do. Residents will then get a tailor-made energy saving report once the visit is complete and have a range of free energy saving measures installed.

The survey will also identify whether loft, cavity or solid wall insulation could be installed. If so, the advisor will check for eligibility for national funding from sources such as the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) and Warm Front (a government scheme providing insulation and heating improvements to vulnerable people in fuel poverty) as well as local borough grant schemes.

At the same time as improving energy efficiency, RE:NEW aims to reduce fuel poverty in London and each household will be offered a benefits check to ensure residents are claiming all of the benefits and grants they are entitled to. The London boroughs are responsible for managing RE:NEW locally and are working in partnership with appointed delivery agents who will be conducting the initial home visits and assessments. All advisors will carry clear identification.

RE:NEW is not an ‘on-demand’ service and is being delivered on an area by area basis because trials showed this approach resulted in more cost-effective and higher take up, helping to ensure that the city’s ambitious targets can be met. It has been designed to be as easy as possible for residents.

The aim is to attain the funding to expand the programme to 200,000 homes by the end of 2012 and 1.2 million homes by 2015. This will be subject to additional funding being secured principally through the Government’s ‘Green Deal’. RE:NEW is providing a consistent homes energy efficiency approach across London removing duplications and improving efficiencies, for example in reducing procurement costs.

The Mayor is also working with the Olympic Delivery Authority who are providing over £1m of funding to extend the RE:NEW scheme to additional homes and retrofit up to 12 schools through the Mayor’s RE:FIT programme in four of the Olympic host boroughs. The pioneering new project will help the ODA reach the stretching target to reduce the carbon emissions of the Park by 50 per cent.

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Labour’s environment lead Murad said: "RE:NEW is a really good programme and should be rolled out across the whole of London, but the mayor keeps scaling it back.

We had one of the coldest winters ever last year & fuel bills are rising fast, so the only defence people have is to make their homes more energy efficient.

London has some of the worst insulated homes in the country and Londoners are already struggling to pay their energy bills. It is clear the mayor has no influence whatsoever on the energy companies who keep putting bills up, but this is one area he could make a real difference."

Ends

Notes

RE:NEW scheme.

For further information please contact Alison Marcroft on 0207 983 4363

The Mayor’s Climate Change and Mitigation and Energy strategy set a target of treating 200,000 homes by 2012 under the

The programme started in 2009 and 8,936 homes were treated in trials and demonstration projects.

In May of this year the mayor advised the target was now only 55,000.

There are 3.3 million homes in London (Focus on London data). 200,000 is just 6% of those. 55,000 homes is 1.7%

Murad Qureshi is a London-wide Assembly Member and is Chair of the Assembly’s Environment Committee

meeting with the Palestinian Legislative Council PLC.

On returning from on a delegation to the Gaza of UK parliamentarians recently, through Cairo, Murad Qureshi AM tells us what he saw first hand as the Arab spring enters its summer.  

The trip began in Cairo on the day that a new government with the same limited powers was sworn in as the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Council came under fire from the revolutionaries who refused to leave Tahrir Square.  The trip ended with news that the Hamas authorities in the Gaza strip had executed two men who were convicted of collaboration with Israel; reminding us all that it was as much a war as a siege that had yet to resolved along the Gaza strip.  

In-between, I gathered a number of impressions including the following: When we first entered the Gaza strip, it felt like an open prison which was the description used by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron last year. The Rafah crossing is the only route into the Gaza Strip on the Egyptian side whilst all the points of entry fromIsraelare closed off; therefore the Rafah crossing is a vital link to support the Gaza economy. The movement of goods and aid via the crossing is a vital lifeline for the Palestinians who live in the Gaza strip and who desperately rely on this channel for their basic sustenance.  In recent times, most of us around the world were under the impression that the Arab spring would have opened it up but alas, movement through the crossing is at best slow and if you’re a Palestinian painfully so.  What ever happens, one thing is for certain, that is,Egypt will play a key role in the survival of the Gaza strip through its management of the Rafah crossing. 

During the official tour, we of course paid a visit to the Palestinian legislative Council.  We were greeted by some of their members where we were told of the number of times the premises had been bombed by the Israeli forces.  WhileIsraelmay still have some difficulty accepting Hamas as the main political grouping running the Gaza strip, it is nonetheless incomprehensible and inexcusable that the democratic institution that represents Palestinians in the Gaza was bombed. Not surprisingly, the resilient character of its citizens has seen it rebuilt so that Palestinians can continue along a democratic road. 

It was harrowing also to learn about the plight of relatives of prisoners inGazawho have not been able to see their loved ones since their imprisonment in Israeli jails.  There are children who have never seen their fathers and who perhaps never will.  The siege has meant little if any Palestinian’s freedom to move between the Gaza or West Bank, let alone toIsrael.  This is where many would have worked making daily trips and the curtailment of this movement for the families is clearly isolating prisoners. 

The current siege is affecting the delivery of desperately needed medical supplies to hospitals like Al Shifa, where the lack of medicines and supplies to equipment like radiographs has meant that no less then 500 more patients have died since the siege began.  Some convoys of medical supplies have been allowed in like the “Miles of Smiles” initiative earlier in the month but it is not enough to plug the huge gap of critical care needed inGaza. 

And finally at our last stop back to Cairo was the Al-Asqa University.  Here, the educational apartheid between academic institutions inIsrael and Palestine was very apparent.  This does not bode well for the future.  Often links between academic institutions are the only thread of cohesion in countries or states existing within political and military adversaries but alas there were no signs that there is any such exchange of thought and views, often critical in maintaining links between states in difficult times.

 All this and many more impressions made me increasingly aware that the two state solution has become just a mirage in the desert sands.  If things are to move forward in the near future, recognition of Palestine is critical. In this respect moves are afoot to get the UN to recognise Palestine this coming Autumn and let us wish it much success.  In the meantime, the Arab spring has yet to forge a permanent change in the fortunes of Palestinians but as spring turns into summer, one starting point can be to open up the Rafah crossing – undoubtedly, the life line for citizens living in the Gaza strip.

Murad Qureshi, who lives in Marylebone, has written a letter to the Mayor of London asking if the inquest findings should prompt one of the stations to be renamed.

There are currently two Edgware Road stations – one on Edgware Road for the Bakerloo line and one on Chapel Street for the Circle, District and Hammersmith & City lines.

Mr Qureshi has previously supported local campaigners who proposed to rename one station Church Street Market and says the “health and safety” concerns highlighted in the inquest show another key reason for a change.

The bombings on July 7, 2005, saw 52 people killed including six when a bomb detonated on a Circle line train just outside Edgware Road station.

The recent inquest stated “a combination of human and computer error” contributed to delays in emergency services reaching the station. The report states the fire brigade was asked to attend the Chapel Street station with a specific reference made to the Circle line.

But when resources were sent to the scene they incorrectly mobilised at the Edgware Road Bakerloo line station.

“It is clear to many that having two Edgware Road tube stations has been very confusing for both users and local residents,” said Mr Qureshi.

“I have always said that renaming one of the stations would make it less confusing and offer the opportunity to emphasise local features in the neighbourhood like Church Street Market.

“When I heard the concerns expressed at the July 7 review, it made me realise there are perfectly sound health and safety reasons for the name change as well.”

The inquest report states the fire brigade has subsequently “taken important steps” to rectify the situation.

In response to Mr Qureshi’s question, Mayor Boris Johnson said: “The coroner’s report acknowledged that the London Fire Brigade (LFB), in conjunction with London Underground, had taken important steps to rectify this issue, including the introduction in the LFB’s computerised mobilising system of a unique reference number system for every Underground station and every tunnel.

“The Coroner also noted that the London Ambulance Service had implemented the same unique reference number system.”

A Transport for London spokesman confirmed there are no plans to rename either station.

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In Sep 2010 the Mayor referred to the hacking scandal as "codswallop"

 In 2008, Johnson won the London mayoral election and one of his manifesto promises to chair the Metropolitan Police and hold it to account. No offence would be too small, he said.

Fast forward to September last year and, as new damning revelations emerged about the conduct of Rupert Murdoch’s newspaper, the Mayor claimed it was, variously, a “song and dance about nothing”, “completely spurious and political” and – in true Boris Johnson style – “a load of codswallop”.

When he was asked by Labour members of the London Assembly what assurances he had sought from Assistant Commander John Yates about the initial inquiry into phone hacking, the Mayor said he had asked for none. He insisted that he was completely satisfied with the police investigation and said he had not spoken to any senior Met officers about the issue.

Knowing what we know now, this is truly astounding. The man elected on a platform of holding the police properly to account asked no questions at all about the biggest scandal to engulf the Met a since Sir William Macpherson’s report into the events surrounding the murder of Stephen Lawrence

So why did this issue not get the attention from the Mayor and his team that it so clearly merited? A look at his diary might provide some answers.

In his three years at City Hall, Boris Johnson has had nine lunches and meetings with senior News International figures – including Rupert and James Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks. He attended a News International board meeting just last month. Meanwhile, he has dismissed concerns about Rupert Murdoch’s influence on British public life as “rants”.

It’s now that the scandal that has engulfed the Murdoch empire and the Met is not going away. David Cameron is on the back foot. As more and more is revealed, the Prime Minister’s decision to bring former News of the World editor Andy Coulson into Downing Street at the heart of government as his director of communications raises serious questions about Cameron’s judgement. We know that Cameron was warned by the editor of The Guardian and others that Coulson was a liability and that there were more damaging revelations to come. Cameron either chose to ignore these warnings or was persuaded not to act on them .

It’s not just Cameron’s judgement under scrutiny. Initially Boris Johnson dismissed The Guardian’s stories about the News of the World’s behaviour as “codswallop”. He decided not to ask any probing questions of the Met despite chairing the body that holds the force to account. He joked in the £250,000-ayear column which he writes for the Daily Telegraph that celebrities who haven’t been bugged would be sacking their agents and tried to deflect attention onto other news organisations.

The extent of Murdoch’s corrupting influence on this country is becoming increasingly clear.

Questions must to be asked about why the London Mayor was so quick to dismiss the allegations against Murdoch. Boris Johnson’s decision may come back to haunt him.

In 2008, Johnson won the London mayoral election and one of his manifesto promises to chair the Metropolitan Police and hold it to account. No offence would be too small, he said.

Fast forward to September last year and, as new damning revelations emerged about the conduct of Rupert Murdoch’s newspaper, the Mayor claimed it was, variously, a “song and dance about nothing”, “completely spurious and political” and – in true Boris Johnson style – “a load of codswallop”.

When he was asked by Labour members of the London Assembly what assurances he had sought from Assistant Commander John Yates about the initial inquiry into phone hacking, the Mayor said he had asked for none. He insisted that he was completely satisfied with the police investigation and said he had not spoken to any senior Met officers about the issue.

Knowing what we know now, this is truly astounding. The man elected on a platform of holding the police properly to account asked no questions at all about the biggest scandal to engulf the Met a since Sir William Macpherson’s report into the events surrounding the murder of Stephen Lawrence

So why did this issue not get the attention from the Mayor and his team that it so clearly merited? A look at his diary might provide some answers.

In his three years at City Hall, Boris Johnson has had nine lunches and meetings with senior News International figures – including Rupert and James Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks. He attended a News International board meeting just last month. Meanwhile, he has dismissed concerns about Rupert Murdoch’s influence on British public life as “rants”.

It’s now that the scandal that has engulfed the Murdoch empire and the Met is not going away. David Cameron is on the back foot. As more and more is revealed, the Prime Minister’s decision to bring former News of the World editor Andy Coulson into Downing Street at the heart of government as his director of communications raises serious questions about Cameron’s judgement. We know that Cameron was warned by the editor of The Guardian and others that Coulson was a liability and that there were more damaging revelations to come. Cameron either chose to ignore these warnings or was persuaded not to act on them .

It’s not just Cameron’s judgement under scrutiny. Initially Boris Johnson dismissed The Guardian’s stories about the News of the World’s behaviour as “codswallop”. He decided not to ask any probing questions of the Met despite chairing the body that holds the force to account. He joked in the £250,000-ayear column which he writes for the Daily Telegraph that celebrities who haven’t been bugged would be sacking their agents and tried to deflect attention onto other news organisations.

The extent of Murdoch’s corrupting influence on this country is becoming increasingly clear.

Questions must to be asked about why the London Mayor was so quick to dismiss the allegations against Murdoch. Boris Johnson’s decision may come back to haunt him.

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Richard’s Barnes comments about Irish builders has kicked up quite a furore and rightly so, as well-paid bureaucrats think that it is somehow ok to encourage out-dated prejudices at the expense of any builder who happens to be Irish. There are good and bad builders of every nationality and I am in no doubt that the lack of overt racial or cultural distinction between the English and Irish somehow makes them and other white minority groups a target for racist and derogatory remarks like those made by the Deputy Mayor at last week’s meeting of the Transport Committee.

If you look at the Deputy Mayor’s “spin” page headed “Equality and Diversity”, the story takes on even more of a sharp, most would say ironic edge. In it, he mentions how he is now the champion of one of the Mayor’s policy documents Equal Life Chances For All and the author of a GLA equality framework Equal Life Choices For All. What, I wonder does this say about the Mayor’s choice of personnel for key posts in his office?

Amongst other pledges, the Deputy Mayor promises to:

• Ensure that all communities are supported in the economic downturn – I take it that either the economic downturn is now up or he didn’t mean to include the Irish!
• Embed equality at the heart of business and corporate planning – We can safely conclude this does not extend to the building trade!
• Provide practical solutions that effectively tackle inequality – here’s a suggestion, say “sorry”
• Support the development across the London economy of diverse markets, workforces and suppliers – presumably to the exclusion of Irish builders!

No more jokes Deputy Mayor, time to say sorry

Richard Barnes, who earns just over £96,000 a year, made his "throwaway" remark last week at a transport committee meeting.

Mr Barnes, who is responsible for Mr Johnson’s social justice policies, has previously spoken about how he and the Mayor are "determined to make a difference in addressing inequalities".

The Conservative made the comments at City Hall on July 14 in a discussion about the High Speed 2 rail project.

Asking about the cost of redeveloping Euston station, Mr Barnes said: "Are they like most Irish builders … saying it’s going to be roughly that [he licked his finger as if checking the wind direction]. Are we working on estimates?"

Labour Assembly member Murad Qureshi, who was at the meeting, said: "I was taken aback by the comment. Given the huge contribution made by the Irish in building London, this is particularly offensive.

"What is even more shocking, is that he made these comments as the Mayor’s lead on equality and diversity policies. He should make an unreserved apology to the Irish in London."

He added: "He’s been pretty exemplary on the subject of equality other than this. He has to accept that someone in his position making a comment like this is not acceptable."

Mr Barnes said: "If anyone was offended I will turn around and apologise but no offence was intended and I’m sure none of my Irish friends would find it offensive. It was a throwaway line. We’ve all had builders."

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The proposals would allow both runways to be used simultaneously for either arrivals or departures as a way to cut delays and cancellations when airport operations are disrupted by poor weather or other problems.

The campaign to persuade Transport for London (TfL) not to amalgamate the 312 and 412 services has been taken up by London Assembly member Murad Qureshi.

Mr Qureshi asked the mayor to review the situation, which he claimed would lead to more overcrowding and a reduced service for people living near Croydon Bus Garage, in Brighton Road.

The TfL proposals involve withdrawing the 412 route, which serves Purley, Sanderstead and Selsdon.

The 312 route, which runs from the bus garage to Norwood Junction via East Croydon station, would no longer serve the garage.

Instead, it would divert on the journey from Norwood Junction at the Swan and Sugar Loaf pub in South Croydon and follow the 412 route to Sanderstead, Selsdon and then on to Purley.

Opponents to the changes have organised a petition to TfL, urging a rethink.

The petition claims the 312 is the only bus during the peak hours on which people living near the bus garage can guarantee to find a place.

In reply to Mr Qureshi’s request, the mayor said TfL was considering feedback from residents and would write to them "once a final decision is made."

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