• New figures show number of people dying early in London because of poor air quality now over twenty times higher than number killed in road accidents1
• Labour’s environment spokesman on the London Assembly calls on Mayor Boris Johnson to take urgent action and stop “sleep-walking” through a public health disaster.

Labour London Assembly member, Murad Qureshi, has labelled Boris Johnson’s plans to improve the quality of London’s air as not fit for purpose. Responding to a consultation on the proposals, which closed this week, Murad Qureshi urged Boris Johnson to save lives by:

• Stopping plans to cut the size of the congestion charge zone in half
• Dropping his opposition to charging polluting vans and minibuses from driving into Greater London from October
• Reinstating six-monthly inspections of black cabs

Over the longer term, the Mayor should consider a range of measures. These include:

• Targeted “low emission zones” to cut traffic in pollution hot-spots
• Improve information for Londoners on local air quality levels – via text message alerts, for example
• Introduce a vehicle retrofitting subsidy scheme
• Improve transport to Heathrow airport as new figures show three-quarters of toxic nitrogen oxide pollution in the local area could be caused by road vehicles2

Problems identified with the Mayor’s plans include:

• By the Mayor’s own admission, they won’t bring London’s air within European legal limits3
• Not enough emphasis on the serious health impact of London’s poor air (the damage to children’s lungs is not mentioned until page 114)4
• Over-reliance on funding from central government but no indication of where this money will come from and no desire to lobby for it5 
• Not enough to encourage a reduction in the number of car journeys taken in London
• Only 300 low emission “hybrid” buses out of a 7,000 strong fleet will be in service by 2012 (just 4% of all London buses)6
• Over emphasis on cost-cutting and financial barriers to action and not enough emphasis on the savings to the NHS, individuals and businesses that would be brought about by improved air quality

London was singled out this summer as having the worst air pollution in Europe and for breaching legal limits for dangerous airborne particles. The UK government faces a £300m fine from the European Commission if London’s air is not improved.7 The Mayor of London published research recently which found that over 4,000 people in the city could be dying early because of the dire state of the air they breathe.

As well as cutting Londoners’ lives short by an average of two years, poor air quality also stunts the growth of children’s lungs and leads to increased rates of asthma.8

Speaking at City Hall as he submitted the response to the Mayor’s proposals, Labour’s environment spokesman on the London Assembly, Murad Qureshi, said:

“We know that far more people die because of the invisible, silent killer that is our poor air than are killed by speeding cars yet there is nothing in the Mayor’s plans to suggest he appreciates the scale of this problem or has even the slightest inclination to tackle it. Thousands are dying early unnecessarily every year; in some parts of our city one in five children already suffers with asthma; and the state of our air is so bad it is stunting the growth of our young people’s lungs. There cannot be many greater, more urgent causes a Mayor can take on yet Boris Johnson seems intent on sleep-walking through it.

“There are practical, realistic solutions to these problems that a Mayor who had the desire to do so could implement. But by sitting back and allowing it to get worse on his watch all he is doing is making tougher, more draconian measures likely in years to come.”

• Boris Johnson’s plan to scrap the Western Extension of the Congestion Charge (WEZ) will halve the Congestion Charge zone in size
• TfL predict losing between £55m and £70m of revenue if WEZ is scrapped – money that could be invested in public transport or keeping fares down9
• TfL predict an 8 per cent increase in traffic and pollution if the WEZ is scrapped10
• Boris Johnson suspended the next phase of London’s Low Emission Zone. The third phase was due to come into force this October and would have meant the most polluting vans and minibuses would be charged £100 a day to drive into Greater London.

Ends

Notes

1. There were 184 fatalities caused by road traffic collisions during 2009 (http://bit.ly/94fGRH). An Institute of Occupational Medicine report commissioned by the Mayor and published in June 2009 estimated that 4,267 deaths in London could be attributed to the city’s air quality (http://bit.ly/aPu8GF)

2. A report presented to the Heathrow Airport Consultative Committee (Air quality impact of no flights, 15/4/10 to 20/4/10) found that nitrogen oxide “concentrations due to background and road emissions were far larger [than those due to aircraft and other airport activities] at all sites; between 73 and 84% (depending on the site).”
3. P.8, Mayor’s draft air quality strategy, says: “The Government’s modelling shows that by the maximum time limit of the extension, 2011, Greater London is the only region in the country that is at risk of not meeting the limit value” (http://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/MAQSPublicConsultationStrategy.pdf)

4. P.114, Mayor’s draft air quality strategy

5. e.g. P.16, Mayor’s draft air quality strategy says “Significant investment in air quality improvement measures is required by central Government to reduce concentrations in London and other urban areas across the country.” P.54 says: “The Mayor believes that the Government needs to do more.”

6. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/2019.aspx

7. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jun/25/london-air-pollution-europe

8. Oral and written evidence from Prof. Frank Kelly, King’s College London, February 2009, to Assembly Environment
Committee

9. Mayoral answer to the London Assembly (15 October 2008) http://mqt.london.gov.uk/mqt/public/question.do?id=23419

10. Draft Revised Mayors Transport Strategy Integrated Impact Assessment, Appendix E – Report on Removal of WEZ.

Late last Friday afternoon, we were informed by officers that BNP Assembly Member, Richard Barnbrook was resigning the whip at the London Assembly. It also stated that he will now sit as an independent member on the London Assembly while he has not resigned from the the BNP Party.

As per usual we are seeing the BNP self-destruct when gaining public office. In his case he was the organiser in the last local elections in Barking & Dagenham which they lost 51 to nil. So much for his organising abilities.  

And quite what he means about resigning from the whip when he is the only member of the BNP on the London Assembly probably reflects badly on his intelligence. This is also probably linked to leadership challenges within the BNP. The party is clearly unravelling and we are seeing the first signs of this in London.

The month of fasting is upon us, but can we all agree when Eid ul Fitr is, at the end of the month of Ramadan?

Now, l hope this is not too much to ask, but I’ve always been very confused about the end of the month of fasting.  If nothing else, it would certainly help many of us book leave from work and plan for our family time and celebration commitments.  It seems to me, that various groups and mosques insist on taking a different view on which day it should fall, resulting in a difference of up to 48 hours; so, as often is the case, you have one half of London celebrating on one day, and another part on the following day!  Given the Muslim calendar is a straight lunar one, you’d have thought, it would, and should be a straight forward process to agree a unified “end” date. But alas, this is not the case.

In the UK we have the ICOUK ( Islamic Crescent Moon Observation for the UK ) dealing with this very issue. They suggest the crux of the problem is that we can only sight the crescent moon (hilal) from the UK for only a few months of the year.  For the remaining months, we are dependent on sightings from other parts of the world.  That’s precisely what happened this year for the start of Ramadan. The hilal of Ramadan could not be sighted in the UK or East of our shores, so, not surprisingly, some started on the 10th and others on the 11th of August (depending from which part of the world the sighting is chosen).  This is getting more complicated then l first thought! The only consolation is that it’s a lot less confusing then the reasoning behind why Easter always appears to move around in the calendar, and this is neither solar nor lunar! 

In this respect, l like the way in which the Turkish community agree when Eid should fall, before the month of fasting begins.  This then avoids the reliance on various sightings of the hilal crescent in different parts of the world and the consequent confusion and debate.   This year, (I’m led to believe from reliable sources), for some reason, it’s been more straightforward then in past years, as it’s certain that we’ll be united in having Eid ul Fitr on the 10th of Sept. I say, unity is always a good thing, so more consensus please in the coming years!

WHAT’S guaranteed to upset a “Boris Bike” user almost as much as a flat tyre and a sky dark with rain clouds? 

Finding that their nearest docking station is… er… not there.

Transport for London’s official cycle hire scheme maps show locations where you can pick up and drop off the two-wheeled vehicles. But at two sites in Westminster, docking stations marked on the map are nowhere to be seen, leading to huge confusion.

Murad Qureshi, Labour London Assembly member, says the two locations, which are on either side of the Marylebone flyover near Paddington would be perfect for docking stations. 

Both non-existent stations are marked on the official hard copy map that TfL has been distributing to “Boris Bike” users for the past two weeks. In the online map only one appears.

TfL cannot explain why the stations are marked on the map.

Mr Qureshi said: “The locations are at a major juncture that people can get to by car, foot, bus or Tube. TfL would have no problem getting approval to put stations there as there would be unlikely to be any complaints. I don’t know why the docking stations haven’t materialised. 

“I’m sure they would be better used than the ones in St John’s Wood.”

Although broadly supportive of the scheme, Mr Qureshi said he thought it would have been better if the resources allocated towards setting it up had been targeted to poorer areas of London or to areas where public transport is sparse, rather than merely to central London, which already has good public transport links.

He told West End Extra: “This is a colourful scheme but it will only benefit a small number of people in central London.”

A TfL spokesperson said local authorities, in this case the city council, had final responsibility for deciding whether a docking station goes ahead – but they did not explain why incorrect information had been included in TfL maps. 

The spokesperson said: “Planning consent was granted by Westminster Council in December 2009 and February 2010 for the two proposed docking stations adjacent to the Marylebone flyover, subject to certain conditions being met. These include installing improved CCTV coverage and dropped kerbs to improve safety for cyclists. TfL is keen to progress this application and is liaising with the council to seek a solution that would allow work on these sites to go ahead.”

Rosemarie MacQueen, Westminster’s head of planning, said: “We have been incredibly supportive of the mayor’s bike hire scheme, granting permission for more than 150 bike stands across the city, as we see it as an important way of tackling the highly covered issues of climate change and a way of introducing more environmentally friendly transport into the city.

“We have supported by far the vast majority of the applications but we imposed conditions on the Marylebone flyover bike stands for safety reasons. 

We asked for better lighting to be provided under the archway as well as CCTV and guard rails which should enable cyclists to come and go easily from the site, especially at night.”

View the full article at:

http://www.westendextra.com/news/2010/aug/confused-you-will-be-if-want-find-a%E2%80%98boris-bike%E2%80%99-marylebone-flyover

Westminster is acting against minicab company Addison Lee after it provided about 16,000 free cigarette bins for smokers outside pubs and restaurants.

In a test case, the Tory-run authority claims that it has broken planning laws by advertising itself on the Adbins, placed at seven sites in the Marylebone conservation area.

But the minicab firm – Europe’s largest with 2,400 vehicles – says it is being "bullied" by an over-bureaucratic council. It calls Westminster’s action perverse, coming as it does after a council crackdown on smokers that involved handing out £80 on-the-spot fines to people seen discarding cigarette butts.

Addison Lee chairman John Griffin told the Standard he hoped to call Mayor Boris Johnson as a witness when the case goes before City of Westminster magistrates on September 29. The hearing was postponed this week.

His company began giving pubs and restaurants the metal bins, at a cost to Addison Lee of about £50 each to buy and maintain, after England’s smoking ban was introduced in 2007. They are fixed to walls in external smoking areas and enable smokers to dispose of cigarettes without littering.

A further 5,000 bins are planned. Some featured an advert for the taxi company, but the latest ones do not because, it says, the post-pub trade is not its target market.

Mr Griffin said: "There is a law now which requires businesses to make receptacles available so people don’t throw cigarette butts on the floor. As part of our attempt to help people to comply, we supply these bins at zero cost to them. Westminster are trying to say we need planning permission.

"But whenever we put the bin up, we get the permission of the restaurant. If the restaurant needs planning permission, that’s a matter for them."

Mr Griffin added: "He [Boris] has said the Adbins are a commendable effort to keep London tidy. In the meantime, Westminster have decided they want to bully us. Nobody else is bothered about it."

Murad Qureshi, a Labour London Assembly member, said: "This is daft action by the City of Westminster, considering most of the cigarette butts would have ended up on the streets."

Westminster declined to comment

With the beginning of the season almost upon us with Sunday’s curtain raiser Community Shield match at Wembley, I’ve noticed some premiership clubs in London ( Spurs, Arsenal and West Ham) have already banned the vuvuzela, the plastic trumpet which made the buzzy noise in the background of many of the games during the successful World Cup in South Africa. This is very unfortunate.

Now, l confess that l didn’t particularly take to them at the beginning of the World Cup when I was watching the first matches of the tournament on TV from London, but while l was out there, from the quarter finals onwards, for the last two weeks, l took to them when I was at the Stadiums.  I found they were not so hard on the ear, even when people were blowing their vuvuzela next to me!  Indeed, l welcome this africanisation of football, not just the vuvuzela but also the makoya ( Football Fan Helmet ) because they are part of the legacy of the first world cup on African soil.  Their inclusion is a continuation of the trend from previous World Cups that brought us the Mexican wave from the 1986 tournament. 

Furthermore, it’s not going to help our World Cup bid for 2018 and 2022 this autumn if we are seen to be party poopers, particularly by the African FIFA members.  So it’s good to see that the FA have not banned the vuvuzela from this season’s curtain raiser at Wembley between Chelsea and Man United this coming Sunday.  This is in keeping with the best traditions of the FA, as l am sure they never banned the rattle during the 1950s!

And most of those who do live in the city are resident in outer boroughs.

It has raised concerns about the low number of police living among the communities they serve in inner-city areas.

Karen Buck, the Labour MP for Westminster North who raised the issue, said she knew of one officer who commuted from the Isle of Wight.

Of 33,105 Met officers, 16,766 (50.6 per cent) live in a London borough and 16,339 live elsewhere.

The most popular boroughs for police include Kingston, where 1,814 officers live, Bexley, (1,754), Bromley (1,303) and Croydon (1,118).

But only 64 live in Westminster, 41 in Islington, 24 in Southwark and 15 in Kensington and Chelsea.

The figures emerged in a answer to a question to Mayor Boris Johnson by Labour London Assembly member Murad Qureshi and Ms Buck.

An exodus is thought to have started in the early part of the decade when the Government introduced free rail travel for officers within 70 miles of the capital. The move followed complaints that police could not afford housing costs in London.

Ms Buck said: "We need to keep a balance between a desire to reward officers and a desire to encourage people to live in or near communities they serve. I am not sure we have the balance right now."

Details of where the officers live outside London were not revealed in the Mayor’s reply. But Ms Buck said she knew of one who came from the Isle of Wight, and anecdotal cases of others travelling from counties such as Wiltshire and Berkshire.

In his response, Mr Johnson said: "The important point for community safety is where police officers are deployed, not where they sleep."

Policing expert Tony Travers, of the London School of Economics, said: "There are clear consequences. Off-duty police are much more likely to be on the street in outer boroughs or Kent and Hertfordshire than in Camden or Kensington. That must have an impact on the likelihood of crime being stopped at an early stage."

And most of those who do live in the city are resident in outer boroughs.

It has raised concerns about the low number of police living among the communities they serve in inner-city areas.

Karen Buck, the Labour MP for Westminster North who raised the issue, said she knew of one officer who commuted from the Isle of Wight.

Of 33,105 Met officers, 16,766 (50.6 per cent) live in a London borough and 16,339 live elsewhere.

The most popular boroughs for police include Kingston, where 1,814 officers live, Bexley, (1,754), Bromley (1,303) and Croydon (1,118).

But only 64 live in Westminster, 41 in Islington, 24 in Southwark and 15 in Kensington and Chelsea.

The figures emerged in a answer to a question to Mayor Boris Johnson by Labour London Assembly member Murad Qureshi and Ms Buck.

An exodus is thought to have started in the early part of the decade when the Government introduced free rail travel for officers within 70 miles of the capital. The move followed complaints that police could not afford housing costs in London.

Ms Buck said: "We need to keep a balance between a desire to reward officers and a desire to encourage people to live in or near communities they serve. I am not sure we have the balance right now."

Details of where the officers live outside London were not revealed in the Mayor’s reply. But Ms Buck said she knew of one who came from the Isle of Wight, and anecdotal cases of others travelling from counties such as Wiltshire and Berkshire.

In his response, Mr Johnson said: "The important point for community safety is where police officers are deployed, not where they sleep."

Policing expert Tony Travers, of the London School of Economics, said: "There are clear consequences. Off-duty police are much more likely to be on the street in outer boroughs or Kent and Hertfordshire than in Camden or Kensington. That must have an impact on the likelihood of crime being stopped at an early stage."

I always listen for news of the August monsoon rains with trepidation, as it usually means floods in the north-east of the Indian sub-continent, in the Bay of Bengal, and hence in Bangladesh.  This year, for the first time I can remember, it’s hit the north-west of the sub-continent in Pakistan, along the Indus river in the north-west, the Punjab province and is soon to hit Sindh province. It’s the biggest natural disaster Pakistan has faced since independence, with more then three million people already affected, and where do you think President Zardari is?  Well, he and his family are here in London, having first enjoyed a few days in Paris, and will probably be around till the end of the forthcoming weekend, after attending a rally in Birmingham to launch his son’s political career.  This says a lot about his priorities.  When his country needs some firm leadership, particularly from a civilian government rather than the army, he is in London plotting his son’s political future under the joint dynasty of the Bhuttos and Zardari.  President Zardari was of course married to the late Benazir Bhutto.  l wonder what the people of Sind will make of this, the stronghold of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) which is the President’s political party, and which many observers from aboard regard as a possession of the Bhutto clan – so much so that it should really be called the BPP, or Bhutto’s People’s Party.  Normally, the landed gentry of Sind look out for their ethnic brothers and sisters, and the President will no doubt go to them to install his son into political office, but if he’s still on our shores visiting his properties as well as launching his son’s career while the floods hit Sind, I’m not sure the masses will be so keen on them any more.  The best thing that could happen here is if nobody bothers turning up to this rally in Birmingham. That should get the message through to them in very clear terms how badly out of kilter they are from public opinion in both Pakistan and the UK.  Surely, a Bhutto would never have made such a mistake?

In the meantime, the views expressed by David Cameron last week in India, of all places (Pakistan’s presumed eternal foe) have become less significant (though largely substantiated) if you consider the activities of the ISI* in the Pakistan army, and any verbal clash President Zardari may have with him on this by the end of the working week will pale into insignificance, as ordinary Pakistanis suffer again under the hands of their political masters.  It will be those who help them in their hour of need who will get their future support, not those who are plotting their family’s future monopoly of political power in Pakistan from the other side of the world.  

*The Inter-Services Intelligence or ISI is the largest of three intelligence agencies in Pakistan

Putting the key in for the first time

Well, it was a revelation to be able to cycle around the local neighbourhoods like St Johns Wood, Marylebone and Paddington over the weekend and go to see relatives in Kensington through Hyde Park, but the reality is this cycle hire option doesn’t exist for most Londoners living in the suburbs and it can get expensive very quickly.

For those of us who live in West Central London, the Barclays Cycle hire scheme allows us an additional option to take journeys we would normally do by foot, bus and tube as we go about our daily lives like going to the post office, bank and leisure facilities, but when l really could have done with a bike was when I went to a wedding on Sunday night in Syon Park & to get there from Syon Lane rail station, l fell back on walking again! Thus it will have to be expanded greatly into the suburbs if it is actually going to make a real difference to the vast majority of Londoners lives who may want to use the bikes to make trips to the local train station.

The cost of the scheme will exclude many potential users, as it costs £45 for the annual subscription, for which you need a credit card, then it’s a further £3 for the key. Admittedly the first half hour is free, but after that it gets very expensive rather too quickly; and it falls down on convenience by not being Oyster compatible yet.

Finally, it still has teething problems; some of it’s cycle stations are not even built yet, for example the one in front of Paddington Green Police station, some cycle stations are not releasing their bikes, as I found out today at Frampton St station on the Edgware Road, and e-mail messages of free travel on Saturday have not materialised as TfL state this only applied for the first day of its operations.

So we still have some way to go before it becomes an integral part of Londoners’ lives.