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

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.

The Met is proposing to reduce the number of Borough Commanders or “top cops” across the whole ofLondonfrom 32 to 25.  The diagram above which has come from the Met themselves, shows which boroughs could be paired up in order to bring the numbers down to 25.  For example in Central London, Hammersmith & Fulham and RBKC may be merged as may Hounslow & Hillingdon in theWest Londonsuburbs.  Yet, oddly, when the Mayor was questioned about this very subject at Mayor’s Question Time yesterday by my colleagues Joanne McCartney and Andrew Dismore, he quickly dismissed the suggestion of these mergers.

So watch this space to see who will determine the command structure in the Met police, the Mayor or the Met?  Only time will tell?

To view Joanne McCartney questioning the Mayor on this issue – view Mayor’s Qustion Time dated 17th October 2012 at 1hr 15 minutes at  http://www.london.gov.uk/who-runs-london/the-london-assembly/webcasts

Policing of the Royal Parks was handed to the Metropolitan Police in 2004.

The Royal Parks include Hyde Park, <placename w:st=”on”>Regents</placename> <placetype w:st=”on”>Park</placetype> and St James’s Park ““ all of which have seen a steady rise in reported crime over the last four years, with <place w:st=”on”>Hyde Park</place> having the highest number of reported crimes of all six Royal Parks.  

The steepest rises in reported crime across the Royal Parks have been:

• Drug offences have risen from 942 reported crimes in 2008 to 1086 in 2011

• Theft and handling offences rose from 481 in 2008 to 781 last year

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

“The Royal Parks are an essential green space in central <city w:st=”on”><place w:st=”on”>London</place></city> and this is a shocking rise in reported crime over the last four years in these well-visited and well-used parks. I have written to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner and asked him to investigate why reported crime is rising in these areas.

“I feel this should be taken extremely seriously as Hyde Park, <place w:st=”on”><placename w:st=”on”>Regents</placename> <placetype w:st=”on”>Park</placetype></place> and St James’s Park are tourist hotspots and we need to make sure visitors, as well as local residents feel safe when they’re visiting these areas.

Ends

Notes

1.      Murad Qureshi is a London-wide Assembly Member.

2.      The figures were obtained from a reply to Mayor’s question: http://mqt.london.gov.uk/mqt/public/question.do?id=42692

A recent review by the King’s Fund pointed to growing concerns about how the £20 billion productivity challenge will affect the NHS, which must be delivered by 2015. There is already growing pressure on patient care with the number of patients waiting longer then four hours in A&E at its highest point since 2004/5, increased trolley waits in A&E, waiting times for operations, and pressure from emergency admissions. Over 4,000 nurses have been lost in the NHS since the coalition government took over.

Londoners are also facing increased demand on other emergency services:

• 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 London Fire Brigade is likely facing the loss of up to 30 stations, 30 appliances and hundreds of firefighters in light of £65million of cuts it must make this year and next year

• The Metropolitan Police have already lost 1,777 police officers and 1,800 PCSOs in the past two years. With a £540million budget black-hole this will increase

Local Assembly Member Murad Qureshi AM, said:

 “We face unprecedented cuts to the provision of our health care in North West London. The closure of these A&Es will undoubtedly have a knock-on effect on the A&E departments that will remain open and it will stretch resources and staff especially when the capital’s population is increasing. This will mean that by 2020 the remaining A&Es will have to cover an extra 120,000 residents each. This is yet more evidence of how patients are paying the price for the Government’s mismanagement of our NHS.

“This is not about politics, but about ensuring that we are preserving the NHS as an institution to pass on to the next generation. Londoners face being caught in a pincer of far fewer A&Es and a shrunken ambulance service. Across <city w:st=”on”><place w:st=”on”>London</place></city> we are seeing local residents campaign against these proposals, yet the Mayor of London is nowhere to be seen. He says that it’s nothing to do with him, but that hasn’t stopped him repeatedly campaigning to reduce the top rate of tax for the very richest.”

Ends

Notes

1.      Murad Qureshi AM is a London Wide 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 <place w:st=”on”><city w:st=”on”>London</city></place>’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.      North West London is currently in the following stages of restructuring: Shaping a healthier future.  Consultation closed 8th October on plans to restructure facilities at nine hospitals so only 5 would in future provide full A&E, emergency surgery, maternity and inpatient paediatric services.

 

At last weeks London Assembly Police & Crime Committee, we heard about some alarming increases in theft from the person during part of the Olympic period across London.  This is commonly known as pickpocketing.  You can see from the diagram above large swathes of London marked  in red representing an increase of more than 10 per cent.  The map shows the chnage in theft from the person in each borough comparing June-August 2011 with June-August 2012.

So while generally crime is down, there appears to be a growing trend in theft from the person when we compare figures with the previous year.  Part of this period is duing the Olympics but the figures don’t apply to games time exclusively.  We’ll have to wait until the results of the rest of the London 2012 Games period, to see if this trend is consistent.   In some boroughs, the large percentage changes derive  from a  low base in the previous year, nonetheless,  it’s a worrying indicator and one we should keep an eye on whilst crime across all the catagories appears to be down.    

 

A recent review by the King’s Fund pointed to growing concerns about how the £20 billion productivity challenge will affect the NHS, which must be delivered by 2015. There is already growing pressure on patient care with the number of patients waiting longer then four hours in A&E at its highest point since 2004/5, increased trolley waits in A&E, waiting times for operations, and pressure from emergency admissions. Over 4,000 nurses have been lost in the NHS since the coalition government took over.

Londoners are also facing increased demand on other emergency services:

• 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 London Fire Brigade is likely facing the loss of up to 30 stations, 30 appliances and hundreds of firefighters in light of £65million of cuts it must make this year and next year

• The Metropolitan Police have already lost 1,777 police officers and 1,800 PCSOs in the past two years. With a £540million budget black-hole this will increase

Local Assembly Member Murad Qureshi AM, said:

 “We face unprecedented cuts to the provision of our health care in North West London. The closure of these A&Es will undoubtedly have a knock-on effect on the A&E departments that will remain open and it will stretch resources and staff especially when the capital’s population is increasing. This will mean that by 2020 the remaining A&Es will have to cover an extra 120,000 residents each. This is yet more evidence of how patients are paying the price for the Government’s mismanagement of our NHS.

“This is not about politics, but about ensuring that we are preserving the NHS as an institution to pass on to the next generation. Londoners face being caught in a pincer of far fewer A&Es and a shrunken ambulance service. Across <city w:st=”on”><place w:st=”on”>London</place></city> we are seeing local residents campaign against these proposals, yet the Mayor of London is nowhere to be seen. He says that it’s nothing to do with him, but that hasn’t stopped him repeatedly campaigning to reduce the top rate of tax for the very richest.”

Ends

Notes

1.      Murad Qureshi AM is a London Wide 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 <place w:st=”on”><city w:st=”on”>London</city></place>’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.      North West London is currently in the following stages of restructuring: Shaping a healthier future.  Consultation closed 8th October on plans to restructure facilities at nine hospitals so only 5 would in future provide full A&E, emergency surgery, maternity and inpatient paediatric services.

Last weekend in the 60 seconds slot of the London part of the Sunday Politics Show, it highlighted the £ 1 million costs so far incurred for the policing outside the Ecuadorian embassy where Julain Assange is holed up. I like to think my written MQTon this very question was the source of the figure.

More importantly l trust Londoners will not be having to pay the bill for the additional policing then is normally in front of the  embassies in Central London. The Home Minister on the programme responded by saying he has yet to receive the bill. Quite honestly l think the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) should pick up the bill having recreated the circumstances for the seige in Knightsbridge in the first place. Who ever does pick up the tab, lets hope its not Londoners.

The London Assembly’s Environment Committee prides itself on being ahead of the curve. In December, the committee’s report on ‘Plugging the Energy Gap’ warned of a looming energy crisis – not just in London but across the United Kingdom.

The report concluded that in the medium term the UK faced a short fall in capacity for energy production soon due to the planned decommissioning of old nuclear power plants, growing energy demand and the long time scales involved in replacing power facilities.

The report argued that:

“To meet its energy needs and to reduce carbon emissions, the UK needs to invest hugely in energy infrastructure – an estimated £200 billion over the next decade.

This view was confirmed last week when Ofgem’s published its ‘Electricity Capacity Assessment’, which sets out the energy challenges facing the country.

It warned:

“The high level of spare capacity in the GB electricity market is set to end quite rapidly over the next few years… The impacts of replacing older coal and oil power stations under EU environmental legislation together with changes to the generation mix over the next decade pose new challenges to security of supply. Recent developments have strengthened this view. Indeed, power stations ‘opted out’ under the LCPD are using up their running hours faster than expected: most LCPD opted out plant will come off the system well before the 2015 deadline…”

The report continues:

“There will be a significant reduction in electricity supplies from coal and oil plants over the period, primarily driven by closures required by European environmental legislation. Reflecting this, estimated margins decline from around 14% this year to just over 4% by 2015/2016.”

The report is saying that, with all things staying as they are, spare capacity for energy production is likely to decline from 14 per cent as it is now, to just 4 per cent in 2015/16.

 It is important to note that this estimate assumes there will be no increase in imports from Europe before  2015 (which is unlikely). Actual spare capacity is therefore likely to be higher than 4 per cent (the report estimates that spare capacity will be between 9 and 20 per cent if European imports increase).

This report should be a spur for the government to expand energy capacity in the UK. The question is how we do this?

The answer is not more coal and oil fired power plants that choke our environment. The answer is to increase supply through expanding cleaner energy production and reducing demand through expanding building efficiency.

As the Environment Committee report agreed:

“Major investment needs include improving energy efficiency in Britain’s homes and other energy users, and new low-carbon electricity generating capacity to replace aging and polluting power stations. The vast majority of the investment will need to come from the private sector, but public policies will need to play a role in identifying opportunities and providing incentives to the market.”

 In particular, this means:

• Increasing government support to get district heating schemes in the ground through subsidies and planning incentives.
• Getting the Green Deal right and hugely expanding the number of buildings of all types retrofitted.
• Investing in renewable energy and in the green industries.

The government must act now to secure a future for the UK that balances both energy demand and the need to avoid climate change.

The stakes are far too high for the issue to be kicked into the long grass.