This afternoon the assembly met to confirm the appointment of Cllr Daniel Moylan as the statutory deputy chairman of TfL.
Daniel was elected to Kensington & Chelsea Council in 1990, where he rose to become deputy leader. The council appointed him to the London wide Transport & Environment Committee (TEC) which he has chaired for many years. Daniel therefore had a lot of experience to draw upon when he took questions from assembly members.
Role and Responsibilities
TfL will now have two deputy chairman (the other being Christopher Garnett, and the chairman being the mayor). As the Statutory Deputy Daniel will chair board meetings when the mayor cannot be present. He also sees his role as improving relationships, particularly between TfL and assembly members, and TfL and the boroughs. He will use his experience to provide leadership on surface transport and street scene issues, complementing Chris Garnett's rail experience. Finace Chairman, Peter Anderson, will lead on budget formation and the increasingly vigilant hunt for savings.
Daniel will also be reviewing the structure of committees reporting to the board, including the delegation of financial responsibilities, and making recommendations to strengthen the structure.
Conflict
Daniel allayed the committee's concerns about conflicts of interest, pointing out that he has now resigned not just as chairman of the TEC, but from the committee itself. His portfolio at Kensington & Chelsea has been reduced, removing transport and placing TfL related planning matters at arm's length.
Daniel is keen not to become a TfL glove puppet, retaining his right to criticise services when necessary. As an example, he referred to the Circle Line as being like the railway service in Harry Potter - sometimes you see it, sometimes you don't. As I recall the Hogwarts Express was more punctual and actually left without Harry on one occasion.
Conclusion
The assembly concluded - cross party - that this is a good appointment we were happy to support. We are however asking Boris to clarify the exact responsibilities of the role.
Daniel was elected to Kensington & Chelsea Council in 1990, where he rose to become deputy leader. The council appointed him to the London wide Transport & Environment Committee (TEC) which he has chaired for many years. Daniel therefore had a lot of experience to draw upon when he took questions from assembly members.
Role and Responsibilities
TfL will now have two deputy chairman (the other being Christopher Garnett, and the chairman being the mayor). As the Statutory Deputy Daniel will chair board meetings when the mayor cannot be present. He also sees his role as improving relationships, particularly between TfL and assembly members, and TfL and the boroughs. He will use his experience to provide leadership on surface transport and street scene issues, complementing Chris Garnett's rail experience. Finace Chairman, Peter Anderson, will lead on budget formation and the increasingly vigilant hunt for savings.
Daniel will also be reviewing the structure of committees reporting to the board, including the delegation of financial responsibilities, and making recommendations to strengthen the structure.
Conflict
Daniel allayed the committee's concerns about conflicts of interest, pointing out that he has now resigned not just as chairman of the TEC, but from the committee itself. His portfolio at Kensington & Chelsea has been reduced, removing transport and placing TfL related planning matters at arm's length.
Daniel is keen not to become a TfL glove puppet, retaining his right to criticise services when necessary. As an example, he referred to the Circle Line as being like the railway service in Harry Potter - sometimes you see it, sometimes you don't. As I recall the Hogwarts Express was more punctual and actually left without Harry on one occasion.
Conclusion
The assembly concluded - cross party - that this is a good appointment we were happy to support. We are however asking Boris to clarify the exact responsibilities of the role.
5 comments:
Roger,
I'm rather surprised you haven't blogged on Boris's new & innovative initiative on drug awareness.
The Boris Guide to Drugs
Good to see fresh thinking in the Conservative Party
Rog, I use my blog - mostly - to inform readers about my activities at City Hall.
I don't aim to provide a clearing house for opponents' propaganda efforts - no matter how amusing...
And I wouldn't usually comment on drugs anyway, as I'm basically a libertarian and believe people should be free to get on with their lives, as long as it doesn't harm others.
Aw, come on Roger. I write nasty blogs about Boris & the rest of you all the time. I never post them here normally unless they're relevant to your posts, but surely you have to admit this one is funny and would probably even make Boris smile.
I suspect if he doesn't win the next mayoral election, it won't be because of this blog.
I suspect it is quite relevant to your works at the GLA as I've counted over 50 hits on this page from the GLA IP address on my stat counter.
Anyway, apologies if you feel it's misused the blog, I'll be more circumspect in future. I thought you'd just have a giggle though.
I didn't intend that response to sound hostile or stuffy - just answering your original query...
Roger,
As far as I'm concerned you seem to have a policy of posting any reasonable comment and that's good enough for me. I think a few other political blogs would benefit from the same policy, but that's another story for another day
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