Councillors United

Last Wednesday saw a rare example of councillors uniting across the political divide to save the local accident and emergency unit. The Health Service proposal to close the unit at King Georges Hospital in Redbridge and to move the service to Romford's new Queen's Hospital has been debated for several years.

At Redbridge there is great concern about the loss of the borough's accident and emergency unit. Ambulances will take longer to get to Queen's Hospital and where accident victims are involved, time is vital. Visitors will also struggle if they don't have access to a car, as public transport to Queen's is poor in some parts of Redbridge. In some cases a two stage bus journey via Romford town centre will be unavoidable.

There is cross party opposition at Redbridge Council and on Wednesday two councillors, Bellwood and Walker, made up a delegation to Havering, urging the council to join them.

In Havering there will also be problems, because the new hospital is struggling to manage the number of patients it already serves. Lack of capacity has been an ongoing problem and there is also a shortage of visitor parking, despite the council's insistence that more places be provided when the hospital was built. Havering has many elderly people who need to use the already stretched hospital.

Furthermore, other health services have also been moved to Queen's creating more pressure on the hospital. I was surprised when my own doctor's surgery stopped taking blood samples and referred me to the hospital - being a busy person, I haven't had time to attend, and I wonder how many other patients have missed out on care in similar circumstances.

The Redbridge delegation were delighted when Havering councillors lined up to support them. I denounced the proposal as a diabolical plan that will harm the residents of both boroughs and more widely in East London and Essex. Labour leader Cllr Keith Darvill worried that the plan was risky in current circumstances. Independent Residents Association councillor Jeff Tucker pledged to leaflet his Rainham ward in support of the campaign and to bring his megaphone to any protests. Conservative Cabinet Member Cllr Robert Benham had already attended one protest march and he commended the cross party support he witnessed. Streetcare Boss Cllr Barry Tebbutt voiced his concern that the Queen's site would need substantial extra building to accommodate parking and services. Opposition Leader Cllr Clarence Barrett pledged the support of his Residents association Group.

After a passionate debate - which featured several members discussing their own experiences with the health service - the council unanimously approved the following motion:

This council agrees to oppose the withdrawal of services from King Georges Hospital to the detriment of health care for the residents of Havering, to protect and improve services at the Queen's Hospital, and requests cabinet to examine the implications of these proposals and to send a delegation of members of the council consisting of at least one representative of each political group to meet with the all party group of councillors of the London Borough of Redbridge to work with them.

A protest rally is planned for 8th April when many political leaders from both boroughs will line up to voice their opposition.

Business Management Committee

This morning the committee of senior members who oversee the scrutiny function met. The main business was to take evidence from Deputy Mayor Richard Barnes, who presented the annual equality report.


Equalities

In an era when much needed front line services are under threat, it may seem strange that the equality agenda is still such a high priority. At City Hall we have been seeking to mainstream equalities practices within existing management structures, thereby dispensing with much of the specialist equalities team that grew up during the Livingstone years. In 2008 there were 22 diversity officers and this number was rapidly halved to 11 after Boris came to power. Subsequently staff turnover has reduced this number to five. At LFEPA Brian Coleman has removed all the diversity officers.

Yet there has been much useful work. Richard Barnes is particularly proud of 'Diversity Works', a scheme to help businesses harness the benefits of a diverse workforce and supplier base. The innovative scheme is being taken on by the devolved Welsh and Scottish governments and plans are in train to apply it at a national level, possibly culminating in an industry standard similar to the respected 'Investors in People'.


Audit

As Chairman of the Audit Panel, I supported a proposal to use MPA auditors at City Hall in future. This would provide an annual saving of £24k from the current contract and is a good example of sharing services across the GLA to make savings. The MPA audit team currently do a good job on the police service and have qualified staff who work to CIPFA best practice.

An audit plan will now be agreed by the audit panel on 8th March, providing 350 days of cover, and this will be reviewed in the middle of next year.


Civil Contingency Arrangements

With the mayor taking on responsibility for resilience and civil contingency, it was agreed that our committee would take on the responsibility of scrutinising this aspect of his work, on a temporary basis. The impending abolition of the MPA will lead to a reorganisation of Assembly functions and at this point the resilience work will be allocated permanently to a more appropriate committee.


GLA Staffing Changes

In 2008 GLA staff levels stood at 701. Under Boris, the number fell to 582 by September 2009, but it has drifted back up to 623 since then. Although the reorganisation has achieved significant savings, the committee agreed to carry out a review of this downsizing to get a clear picture of the organisation before the effects of the impending localism legislation.

With staff turnover down to 8%, City Hall is clearly a much more attractive place to work.

Mayor's Questions - Opposition Get Their Act Together

This morning saw the first Mayor's Question Time of 2011. For once the three left wing groups had decided to work together on a common theme - 'the Mayor has misled Londoners'. Perhaps we will see more of this cooperation as the year progresses. The public gallery was also much thinner than usual.


Airport Capacity

The 'progressives' led off with the mayor's recent declaration that London needed more air capacity because there were more flights to China from Paris and Frankfurt. Labour accused Boris of providing misleading figures and a slightly torrid argument about the number of planes between China and London ensued - the crux seemed to be whether Hong Kong was included in the total.

There was broad agreement that Heathrow expansion was beyond the pale, but nods of approval were given to using Manston or building a new Thames Estuary airport, with Stansted, Gatwick and Luton getting mentioned too. Wherever is designated, there will be much local opposition which I suspect means that expansion won't be happening.

Conservative, Andrew Boff spelt out his worries about expansion at City Airport, following the unfavourable court decision earlier this month. Residents are concerned about the increase in flights and consequent noise and pollution in East London.


Cycling

Green, Jenny Jones, had another go about cycling. Given the almost religious zeal which animates Boris on this topic, it is perhaps not the best point to attack - this time she was accusing him of underspending the budget. Andrew Boff made the point that after cycling to work almost on his own for many years, he was now accompanied by many new bike users of all shapes, sizes and ages. So more cyclists, lower spending, sounds good to me. Clearly Jenny knows the price of everything and the value of nothing, as they say...


GLA Pay

With pay for AMs and senior staff frozen this year, Labour's Len Duvall asked if Boris was satisfied with pay rates at City Hall. This gave the Mayor a good opportunity to highlight the decrease in the payroll from Livingstone's £27 million to the new slimline £19 million. In the bad old days 52 people were earning over £80k per year and now this was reduced to just 32 people.


Main Line Railways

Lib Dem Caroline Pidgeon set out to blame Boris for problems on the main line railways, which seems a bit unfair as they are the only part of London's transport network that he doesn't control. She felt there should be more staffed stations and urged the mayor to demand control of the network, within the boundaries of Greater London.

Boris said he was seeking greater involvement in the award of franchises to operators and lauded his success in getting them to accept Oyster pay as you go

Conservative James Cleverly warned of so called 'railheading' during the Olympics, as travellers from outside London parked up in the suburbs to use the transport network. Cheaper tickets for travel to the games would alleviate the problem. Dick Tracey suggested park and ride schemes based on brown field development sites for the duration of the Olympics.


Banksters

Labour's John Biggs attacked the mayor for suggesting that banks might leave the country - after all, they hadn't gone had they? Had Boris been excessively alarmist? John tried at one point to draw a distinction between moral and immoral banks - a very grey and subjective area. For someone who represents the Square Mile and Canary Wharf, John doesn't exactly ooze enthusiasm about their main businesses.

I pointed out that these institutions (moral or immoral) employ many more people than just the highly paid experts we always hear about. Furthermore, they provide essential custom for small businesses that spring up in the shadow of their gleaming towers. Apart from some vague talk about manufacturing, the progressives had failed to articulate an alternative business model to sustain the capital if the financial sector did decamp to Zurich.


Environment

Boris was on the receiving end of a lecture from Lib Dem Mike Tuffrey about reducing the CO2 output at City Hall. The figures were still being calculated but the Mayor expected to have come close to reducing emissions by 10% during 2010. James Cleverly suggested that staff could help by turning off their computer terminals at night - on the 6th floor, which houses the Conservative Group 95% of computers were turned off. On the 7th floor, the home of Labour, Lib Dems, Greens and the Climate Change Fan Club, only 93% were turned off - another case of the progressives preaching rather than practising.


Tube Strikes

Chairman Dee Doocey followed the example of transport chair Val Shawcross, clamping down on Conservative attempts to raise the strike issue again. They seem very keen not to discuss union militancy, possibly because Livingstone is supported by the unions. Unfortunately for travelling Londoners, the matter just won't go away...

And this afternoon we saw the results of the 'progressives' efforts in a brief Evening Standard piece, evidently based on a joint press release which gave credit to Labour, Lib Dems and Greens, without naming any individual member. The article mentioned several matters which were not even raised during debate, indicating that the release had been drafted and sent out before the meeting took place. The intended message was 'Boris misleads Londoners' but the real message is 'Vote Labour, Green or Lib Dem if you want Livingstone back'.

Upminster Depot

2009 marked the fiftieth anniversary of the London Underground depot at Upminster. Situated at the most Eastern extremity of the network, this is where the District Line trains are stabled overnight. There are also workshops for routine maintenance and more complicated repair jobs.

On Friday morning I joined local councillor Clarence Barrett and local residents for a visit to the depot, to hear about their plans for the next 50 years.

S Stock Trains and the District Line Upgrade

The new trains are already in operation on the Metropolitan Line, and will be introduced on the District Line in the run up to 2014. The 191 trains will have better CCTV coverage, more standing space and a lower floor to reduce the step up from the platform and make boarding easier. Most importantly they will all be seven cars long, reducing overcrowding. A new signalling system will enable more trains to run, improving the frequency and reliability of the service.

More and bigger trains mean that the depot will have to be enlarged. At Upminster this can be achieved within the existing site, with extra sidings being added on the north side of the site. Work will begin in the summer and should be completed by March 2012.

For the homes backing on to this part of the depot, there will be disturbance whilst the work is taking place and the clearance of an overgrown area will leave them with uninterrupted views of trains and the maintenance shed at the bottom of their gardens. Whilst the residents accept that the project will benefit the whole of London, so it must go ahead, we all want to mitigate the impact and preserve this pleasant middle class neighbourhood.

So the visit focused on ways to preserve some of the more mature trees that have grown up along the boundary, whilst planting new trees which will - in time - grow to fill up any gaps.

Security

Unfortunately the railway are engaged in what could be described as a war with idiots who try to break in and daub graffiti on the trains. Not only does this cost London Underground thousands of pounds every year to clean up, it also places the graffiti morons themselves at risk. Moving trains and live rails are dangerous and tragedies do happen.

So a 2.8m steel fence with narrow mesh that cannot be climbed and a roll of razor wire along the top is now needed along the boundary of the depot. This needs to be set back from any trees and needs to be still higher where sheds and outbuildings in the gardens could be used to climb over. The fence will be a further intrusion on the scene and the best that can be done is to paint it green so that it doesn't stand out too much.

Wildlife

The overgrown area has become a have for wildlife, including nesting birds, squirrels and even a couple of urban foxes. Adders are reputed to live there - I wore strong boots and knee length socks, just in case - and a survey is being carried out to ascertain numbers. An adjacent area will be left overgrown and the animals encouraged to move there before work begins.

This House Believes...

Yesterday's Assembly meeting did not conclude when transport questions finished. Often motions are placed on the agenda for debate and this time there were five of them:

Dangerous Dogs

Conservative Steve O'Connell proposed a motion calling for more action to tackle the growing problem of dangerous dogs, particularly legislation outlawing so called 'weapon dogs' in the same way that guns and knives are controlled. The proliferation of unpleasant mastiffs is noticeable across London and Steve's constituency saw a very nasty death with a dog involved recently. This dog, whilst clearly dangerous, was not one of the breeds currently prohibited. The motion was approved unanimously.

GLA Pay Freeze

In accordance with government policy and reflecting the current economic challenges, pay is to be frozen for members and staff. The Green's Darren Johnson proposed exempting the small number of staff on Grade 3 or below from the freeze, again in line with government policy. He was supported by the Liberal Democrats and given that the total cost would be only £50,000 the rest of the Assembly agreed. Nobody wants to disadvantage the poorest employees during these difficult times.

So far, so consensual - but things were about to get more interesting.

Olympic Legacy

Lib Dem, Dee Doocey vacated that chair so that she could propose a motion demanding public sector funding for new developments in the Olympic Park, to encourage a more mixed community. The Conservatives opposed this motion, with Olympic spokesman Andrew Boff explaining that the existing £9.3 billion should be sufficient to lift anywhere off its knees. As a resident of Hackney he wanted the East End to be dynamic and self sufficient, rather than continuing to need public subsidies once the games left town. The motion was approved with support from Greens, Labour and Independent Richard Barnbrook.

Although nobody could say where the money would come from...

New Year Sponsorship

This year the free travel home was provided courtesy of consumer credit firm Wonga.com . There has been a lot of controversy about this sponsorship deal, although the complainers weren't rushing to stump up the money themselves. Labour's Jennette Arnold proposed a motion attacking the mayor and calling for a code of ethics to be applied to advertising and sponsorship deals.

Attacking Boris is par for the course and naturally we opposed them, but the suggested 'code of ethics' is potentially more worrying. For who is to judge what is acceptable? I know that lots of Labour and Green politicians think they are uniquely equipped to provide such guidance - indeed in some cases it's what lights their candle and motivates them to seek election - but do we really want politicians as arbiters of good taste?

I gave my team a free vote - and three members, Gareth Bacon, Victoria Borwick and Brian Coleman, chose to abstain. Conservative James Cleverly used his background in financial services to pick the flawed motion to pieces, but it was approved in the end by the Labour, Green and Lib Dem members.

Tube Strikes

Conservative Dick Tracey tabled an urgent motion condemning ASLEF for their threat to strike on the day of the Royal Wedding. To debate this at such short notice we needed the Assembly's agreement, but this was not forthcoming. Labour, Green and Lib Dem members voted not to accept the motion for debate.

At this point the meeting ended.

Transport Questions

This morning Boris and transport commissioner Peter Hendy appeared before the full Assembly to take questions. Each of the groups had one lead question and this time my team went first:

Transparency

We led off by asking what was being done to increase transparency at TfL, an organisation that has historically been more of a closed book than most public authorities. Boris vowed that every invoice over £500 would be published on line by the end of January. He also claimed that TfL dealt with over 2,000 questions and 2,500 pieces of correspondence from Assembly Members every year. With only 25 members this sounds like a lot, but over a year it is only two queries per week and I am sure that my office is responsible for its share. I asked how many of these were reminders because TfL had failed to respond adequately and Mr Hendy undertook to provide a breakdown by subject area.

Peter felt that TfL provided a very good service compared to his time running a private bus operator in Northampton where letters from politicians had not been treated as a priority, indeed had not been responded to at all quite often.

We highlighted the lack of political representation on the board of TfL and suggested that the Mayor appoint some Assembly Members to create greater accountability. He promised to consider this wise advice...

Cycling

Next came the Greens, praising cycle superhighways and the cycle hire scheme, but claiming that Ken should get the credit. Jenny Jones claims to be standing for the mayoralty herself but all her efforts go into boosting the Livingstone campaign - hardly surprising as she was Ken's deputy mayor for a year.

I asked why cycle superhighway number 2, originally intended to run out to Ilford, was now being terminated at the Bow Flyover. Newham Council have objected to running the highway through their borough, thus preventing it reaching Redbridge. Boris promised to review the decision with TfL and committed himself to encouraging cycling in outer London boroughs like Redbridge.

Value For Money

The Labour Group - managing their time effectively for once - used a broad question about value to raise public transport performance issues.

Their first concern was the recent safety scare on Metroline buses, reported in the Evening Standard. Peter Hendy reassured the Assembly that the story was exaggerated and the worrying statistics were the result of over zealous inspections by one individual.

Next Val Shawcross complained about ongoing maintenance work and the delays and line closures on the Underground. Peter Hendy placed a lot of the blame on Gordon Brown's PPP, claiming that the new Victoria Line trains had not been run in properly before they started service, resulting in delays when the doors jammed open in some cases. On the Jubilee Line resignalling work had fallen behind schedule, leading to the current poor service. More bad news was expected on the sub surface network as the tracks would need to be reconfigured to run longer trains. All this work will improve reliability and capacity but the disruption continues to be considerable.

For a bit of light relief we asked Peter about Livingstone's record, and he confirmed that he had advised against a fares freeze before the election. Subsequent large increases were necessary to make up the budget shortfall.

Boris Buses

The Lib Dems were less than enthusiastic about the new buses, which are due to take to London's streets later this year. Green Member Darren Johnson went further, saying that he was pleased the Routemaster had gone, and that he didn't see why the capital needed a special bus design.

Boris promised that we would all welcome the new 'Routemaster for the 21st Century' with its disabled access, clean engine and iconic design. I was pleased to hear that the trend to remove seats to create space for buggies and wheelchairs had stopped - with TfL admitting that most mobility impaired passengers needed seats. Jennette Arnold made a telling point about the existing wheelchair ramps not working, citing one case where 23 buses on one route had failed to provide access. The mayor promised to review the case and ensure the ramps were available in future.

The session was both entertaining and informative, Boris was very confident and sure of himself throughout, with Peter Hendy providing detailed responses when needed. They took performance concerns seriously and promised improvements - within the constraints of operating a complex network in a large metropolis. This was a reassuring session.

Evening Standard Poll

It turns out that the prospect of trains without drivers has not left passengers "filled with dread" as one comment on the last thread suggested.

Tonight we have the result of a poll in the Evening Standard. The question was:

Would you be comfortable using automated Tubes with no driver?

The response:

YES 67%

NO 33%

So, approval of the Mayor's comments by more than two to one.

Boris at the Mansion House

Last night saw the annual dinner for London Government, hosted by the Lord Mayor at the Mansion House. Boris was the main speaker and he treated the star studded audience to an entertaining and informative progress report. Gone are the days when Ken used to turn up and drone his way through an economics lecture prepared by his staff - Boris appears far more relaxed in this environment.

In amongst the anecdotes and plugs for the City, his comments on London Underground caught my attention:

When the Jubilee works are complete there will be three lines in London, the Jubilee, Victoria and Central which will operate on an automated system and it is a fact - though not a widely known fact - that as we speak most of the Jubilee Line currently operates under automatic train operation, from Stratford to Neasden.

In other words the driving of the train is done by computer rather than manually. Of course there will still need to be someone aboard the train, just as every DLR train is staffed but thanks to the advanced signalling being installed it is also a fact that anyone in this room could in a matter of weeks acquire the qualifications necessary to supervise an underground train and the huge potential implications of that change will be obvious to everyone.

So I say to our colleagues in the trade union leadership that I respect and understand the vital role of unions in a free society to secure the best terms and conditions for their members but I hope they will recognise that the patience of Londoners is not endless and that they should abandon the recent pattern of pointless strikes and work with us to use this settlement to improve the Tube, to modernise the service and the best way to achieve a happy and contented workforce on the Tube is not just to have excellent pay and conditions but above all the satisfaction of providing an ever better service and that is what we are going to achieve with 33 per cent increase in capacity.

Last year my colleague Dick Tracey presented a report which concluded that London could introduce driverless trains in much the same way that other cities around the world have. The Mayor's team were not exactly supportive of the idea, but we plugged away, seeking to persuade them. Far more effective than our efforts has been the behaviour of the Tube unions. TfL know what to expect from the RMT under Bob Crow and prepared to grit their teeth and run the best service possible in difficult circumstances, but I think it was ASLEF's Boxing Day strike and their threat to disrupt the Royal Wedding that finally convinced Boris to look again at the proposals. Londoners are sick of the disruption and they will welcome the Mayor's words.

Releafing Redbridge

This morning I was with Boris, planting trees in the Roding Valley. We were welcomed by the Mayor of Redbridge, deputy leader Cllr Ian Bond (lib dem), and around a hundred volunteers as well as assorted journalists.

RE:LEAF London is the Mayor's new campaign which aims to encourage businesses and individuals to plant more trees across the capital, 'bringing the village to the city', as Boris puts it. This week 10,000 new trees are being planted in East London, many by volunteers from News International.

Experts from Trees For Cities made sure we were safely kitted out with gloves - wouldn't want to get a splinter or a nasty prick - before issuing spades and demonstrating how to plant a sapling. For apartment dwellers like myself this was a new experience but Boris went for it like an experienced pro.

I paused for breath to be photographed with local Conservative councillors Paul Canal and Robin Turbefield, behind the Trees for Cities banner.

The new trees will greatly enhance this part of the borough and will help to soak up ground water in an area that suffered badly from flooding just a few years ago.

Budget Latest

This morning Boris gave evidence to the budget committee in a follow up from last weeks excellent session. Like Simon Milton he began by pointing out that for once, under the new government, London had received a better settlement than many other parts of the country. Against a background of cross the board reductions London had shouldered a 16% cut whereas the national average was 17%. The Mayor also expected further announcements in the coming days which would herald more money from government.

As usual, I pressed him to freeze the council tax precept not just this year, but in 2012/13 as well, leaving a 0% increase over his full term of office. Like Simon Milton, Boris refused to be drawn but he did point out that the freeze so far equated overall to a 6% cut, a welcome contrast to his predecessor who raised the precept by 153% during his term of office!

The Banks

As demonstrated on the last thread, whilst irrelevant to the detailed budget process, The Banks are very important to The Left, who try to use them as cover for their own fiscal irresponsibility. Len Duval suggested the Boris was wrong to defend bankers who could have been taxed more to fund London's budget. Leaving aside the very real possibility that London wouldn't even have seen a lot of the money, Boris emphasised the importance of the financial sector to the capital. Until an alternative source of employment and revenue is created, he is keen to protect what we do have.

Transport

Boris is particularly proud that tough lobbying has secured all the money needed for Crossrail, the Tube upgrades, and to protect concessionary fares including the vital 24hr Freedom Pass. The fare increases are unpopular but he reminded us that fares had risen by more than inflation under the previous Mayor too. He stated that the fares package would eliminate the black hole left in TfL's budget by Livingstone's decision to delay his fares package until after the election. The abolition of the zone 2-6 travelcard had been controversial but only 6,000 journeys - of a total 3.5 million - were made using these cards and in most cases Oyster pay as you go would provide a cost effective alternative.

I asked if upgrades to the main line stations in Havering and Redbridge were included in the Crossrail budget. Making the stations safer and more accessible is essential, but Boris pointed out that Network Rail were funding this part of the project. It is to be hoped that they won't be penny pinching here.

And John Biggs revealed that, despite living close to the centre of town, he hadn't ridden a bike in years. What a missed opportunity - we could all have been riding 'Biggs Bikes'...

Policing

The Mayor was pleased that crime continued to fall, despite the recession, and particularly on public transport. He was committed to driving down crime even further and to increasing police visibility on the beat. The recruitment freeze has led to a fall in police numbers but even so, Boris was confident that there would still be between 32 and 33 thousand fully warranted officers in the force in 2012 - more than the number he inherited from Ken. Again, some further announcements - he referred to them as 'sleek rabbits out of hats' - would be made during the budget process, and he intended also to protect PCSO numbers.

Asked about police overtime, the Mayor stated that the unpredictability of demonstrations and other disorder made it difficult to commit to a lower figure. Darren Johnson reported that only 7% of overtime was incurred policing public order situations, so there should be other ways it can be controlled. Boris promised to investigate further. I told the Mayor that abstraction of police officers from outer London to cover these events should be done as sparingly as possible.

Next Stages

The budget - and associated sleek rabbits - will now go on to be debated by the Assembly in February. A two thirds majority is needed to amend the proposals so changes will need to command cross party support. The next budget committee meeting takes place on 3rd March.

Budget Scrutiny

Today the budget committee took evidence from all the functional bodies and deputy mayor, Sir Simon Milton, in preparation for the impending budget settlement. This year the budget is set against the backdrop of essential cuts introduced by the government to recover the parlous financial situation left by the outgoing Labour government. For once, London fared better than many other parts of the country, having suffered the worst settlement for three successive years under the previous administration.


Overall Picture

Sir Simon confirmed that the council tax precept would be frozen once again, and spoke of his aspiration to achieve a freeze again in 2012/13.

For this year LFEPA had achieved particularly good savings enabling the transfer of £20 million from their budget to provide extra cash for the MPA where government grant had been less generous.

£23 million from government - council tax freeze specific grant - will be used to preserve some of the LDA's functions following abolition. Of this, £14 million will be supporting a new body - Promote London - which brings together the work of three existing bodies - Visit London, Think London and Study London. Together with economies of scale, Promote London will also seek private sponsorship to fund much of its work.

The London Skills and Employment Board is losing its powers to government and is unlikely to continue in such a vacuum.


Metropolitan Police Authority

The MPA is seeking to make further savings in what Deputy Mayor Kit Malthouse described as 'inanimate objects', whilst preserving its front line capacity.

By March 2011 they expect that 1,181 officers will have left the police service but these losses will be offset by deploying 550 officers currently in administrative roles - Operation Herald - and increased single patrolling. In London 800 officers are now on single patrol every day and there must be scope to continue to roll out this practice in all but the most challenging urban environments. Safer Neighbourhood Teams would be preserved although the supervision structure was being reviewed.

The disposal of properties would continue, particularly of old police stations which were no longer suitable for purpose. More services would be delivered from town centre and shopping parade locations, providing a more welcoming environment for victims and witnesses, whilst basing officers in the most populated areas.

Kit declared that he was more concerned by the cuts being implemented by local authorities. He stressed the importance of effective child protection and community safety services without which the police will struggle.

Deputy Commissioner Tim Godwin reassured the committee that the Metropolitan Police would be able to handle demonstrations and consequent public disorder, if necessary by abstracting officers from boroughs to police these events.


London Fire And Emergency Planning Authority

The committee congratulated Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson on his recognition in the New Year Honours List - he has been made a CBE. He assured us that whilst 121 administrative posts would be cut, there would be no cut in front line services.

The London Fire Brigade had received a good grant settlement, doing better than many rural brigades - Warwickshire was facing the closure of eight fire stations. Chairman Brian Coleman put this down to assiduous lobbying of government by himself and senior officers, and also to the previous experience of Fire Minister Bob Neill as chairman of the old LFCDA. It is good to have a minister who actually understands the needs of the capital.


Transport For London

Commissioner Peter Hendy was the only witness to turn up without other officers to support him. Peter is usually well briefed and doesn't need people whispering answers to him.

TfL's four year grant settlement fell short of previous expectations, leaving a funding gap of £2.17 billion, but Peter was confident that this could be bridged. Firstly there would be further efficiency savings, including 'Project Horizon', a wholesale restructuring of the organisation to strip out inefficiencies and over management - this was expected to achieve savings of up to 20% of the admin budget.

Peter also expected to over achieve on income from fares, following the latest increases. Numbers using the Tube particularly have boomed as the London economy recovers, to the point that once again there is no effective peak hour on London Underground. Peter was not being drawn on the level of this surplus, only saying that he expected it to reach several hundreds of millions.

TfL staff were awarded a 4.2% pay increase in 2010/11 as part of a package designed to cover two to three years. Peter was keen to honour the deal - notwithstanding the disagreement with ASLEF which caused the strike on Boxing Day - but after this period he could not rule out a pay freeze, already experienced by many elsewhere in the public sector.


Round Up

All in all this was an informative meeting which covered a good deal of ground. The committee reconvenes on Tuesday when we will be questioning the Mayor about his political priorities.

New Year in London

This morning I decided to go into town to watch the New Year Parade. The journey proved to be more epic than usual, with the main line terminating at Seven Kings, so it was the 86 bus to Stratford, then the Jubilee Line to Westminster.

This year the parade started in Piccadilly, and progressed via Trafalgar Square and Whitehall to its conclusion in the shadow of Big Ben. There were the usual American marching bands and smiling cheerleaders - a welcome sign of the special relationship - and floating inflatable figures were back, by public demand. London boroughs provided floats and I managed to get a snap of the Havering entry, as well as catching the Mayor of Redbridge leaning from the top deck of a red bus. The biggest cheer was reserved for standard bearers from the Royal British Legion.

A wonderful way to start 2011, it got me thinking of the challenges that lie ahead. This is the year when David Cameron promises most of the 'heavy lifting' will be done, and no doubt the capital will see more protests and strikes in reaction to essential measures to bring the national debt back under control. Continuing work on London Underground will disrupt services, and we all hope for a more reliable network when the engineers move on. The referendum on AV will prove a political headache for both sides I suspect - I will be voting No.

But there will be high points too. In 2011 London will be leading the country out of recession, buoyed in the short term by the excitement of a Royal Wedding, and looking forward to the 2012 Olympics, as the huge site in the Lea Valley nears completion. More trees will be planted around town, the popular bike hire scheme will be extended and the final bendy bus will meander off to the dustbin of history. There is much to look forward too...

Reselection Meeting

Last night forty people braved the snow and ice to attend my reselection meeting in Romford.

It began with a fifteen minute report back in which I covered my work in the last two years. Highlights included the opening of the new fire station at Gallows Corner - the first new fire station to be built in London for 20 years. I also talked about the success of Fairlop Waters in the Mayor's 'Trees for London' public vote, and the visit from William Torbitt primary school, which saw the children deliver 300 votes to City Hall.

On a policy note, I highlighted our continuing opposition to the proposals for an illegal immigrant amnesty, and our lobbying for legislation to control the turbulent industrial relations on the Tube. I talked about the changes to the London Plan, particularly the move away from large blocks of tiny flats, and the decision to remove arbitrary targets for travellers pitches in each borough.

Then we had thirty minutes of questions from an interested and engaged audience. Business people and charity groups wanted the costly low emission zone timetable delayed again. There were requests for Boris to do yet more to help cyclists, and local councillors demanded greater freedom from TfL dictat. We discussed the phasing out of bendy buses and there was much relief to hear that the infamous number 25 would be 'debendified' over the summer of 2011, and all would be gone by the election.

I left the room during the vote, which was a secret ballot. The numbers were not revealed but I'm told that I was reselected by an overwhelming majority. That means that almost all of the group have successfully completed the reselection process and soon we will be moving on to choosing and ranking the top up list. Only 18 months to the election...

Mayor's Question Time - November Fireworks

A solid Question Time yesterday with Boris enjoying his usual friendly reception from a packed public gallery. Present in the front row - shades of El Cid once again - was Ken Livingstone, along with his long time ally Simon Fletcher. Ken was wearing a darker suit than usual, always a sign that he wants to be taken seriously, and Boris responded by swerving to the left as he faced robust questions from all sides - including the Conservative Group.


Taxation

Labour members are enjoying an extended break from all that tedious 'New' stuff that won them power three times in a row. They started by asking what was most harmful to London - tax evasion or benefit fraud. Personally I find both types of law breaking unacceptable but it was clear where Labour's sympathies lie.

It took Deputy Mayor Richard Barnes to point out that the real threat to London's economy was presented by the higher taxes favoured by the previous government and the previous mayor. I piled in on the back of this, asking Boris to freeze the council tax precept for the coming year. He was pretty coy in his response, pointing out that I ask that question every year, and he refuses to commit himself ahead of time, every year. He might have added that has also frozen the precept every year too, but this was left unsaid - an encouraging implication rather than a commitment.


Transport For London

Caroline Pidgeon kicked off a wide ranging debate about safety on the Tube and TfL's management style. Boris pointed out that London Underground was safer than ever with only one accidental fatality every two years, a much better record than even ten years ago. Recent performance has been poor, calling LU's project management into question, but passengers should not be needlessly alarmed about the safety of the network.

I asked for a change of culture at TfL with an end to the secrecy and opaque committee structure. Boris seemed to think things were fine, but I would like to see TfL's transparency conform to the standards we rightly expect of local authorities and the other GLA functional bodies. This is work in progress but I have hopes that the government will address these concerns in their impending legislative programme.


Local Enterprise Partnerships

Boris is keen on promoting a London wide LEP (although the word 'local' seems inappropriate for such a body). Members lined up to make the case for LEPs based on better defined and smaller areas, which the mayor has so far refused to support.

I feel that a Thames Gateway LEP might be one way of holding together the best parts of the work done in East London and the Essex fringe, an area that still needs inward investment. Dick Tracey made a strong case for Nine Elms, and Steve O'Connell introduced us to the 'coast to coast' partnership which has seen Croydon working with neighbouring authorities outside London. This outward looking approach may prove to be the way forward for the 'doughnut boroughs' providing greater synergy than a rather clumsy London wide partnership promises.


Housing Benefit

The debate about the proposed housing benefit cap rumbled on, with Boris coming close to repeating his social cleansing remarks. Tony Arbour waded in on the side of the deserving workers who contributed to the capital's economy as opposed to the recipients of benefits who contributed less - but the argument is more nuanced than that.

Calls to preserve 'mixed communities' are about twenty years too late, because the middle classes and professionals were driven from whole areas of Central London by rising property prices long ago. Streets where millionaires and the very poorest live side by side are no more 'mixed communities' than Downton Abbey. Using the benefit system to preserve this state of affairs represents very poor value for money and it is perverse to expect taxpayers to fund accommodation that they could not afford for themselves. The availability of benefit funded tenants also fuels the market, driving rents higher, beyond the means of most people.

Of course there need to be transitional arrangements to ease the pain, but the plan to cap housing benefit is absolutely right. It should have been done years ago.

Questions at Camden

Tuesday night saw the latest Peoples' Question Time at the rather impressive Camden Centre at Kings Cross. A unique set of circumstances saw controversial local member Brian Coleman chairing a meeting in an inner city borough in the midst of bitter Tube and Fire Brigade strikes. Conflict seemed likely and after the meeting at Brixton, where items were thrown at the platform, security was tight.

There was also a strong turnout from Assembly Members, with only Labour's Nicky Gavron giving her apologies. Protesters with banners and vuvuzelas gathered noisily outside and former BNP Member Richard Barnbrook had a nasty encounter with left wing extremists, fortunately broken up by police before anyone got hurt.

Inside, the hall was far from full but people had travelled from across London, defying the Tube strike which came into effect during the evening. I spotted guests from Brent, Barnet, Croydon, Lewisham and Waltham Forest, and no doubt there were plenty more.

We opened with speeches from the Mayor - denouncing the strike - and Chair, Dee Doocey, which were politely applauded. Then we were into the questions.


Policing

A difficult subject at previous meetings, there was less anger in the debate this time. People voiced their worries over potential cuts in police numbers and Deputy Mayor Kit Malthouse was forced to give reassurances that popular neighbourhood teams would be retained. There were questions about the use of 'stop and search' powers and Boris explained that he understood the sensitivities in the capital, and that he would ensure that such measures would be applied with care and courtesy. However, in two years stop and search had recovered over 10,000 knives from young people, no doubt saving lives and contributing to the decline in the murder rate. Some inconvenience was a price worth paying for saving lives.


Transport

This section provoked a wide and passionate debate. RMT official Steve Headley loudly presented his case from the floor, but the applause for his rhetoric was mixed. Other speakers were angered by the repeated strikes. One man said that the strikes were no problem compared to weekend engineering works which were far more effective when it came to shutting the network down - at least in Brent.

A woman from the West end accused Boris of reneging on his promise to abolish the congestion charge Western Extension, whilst another man complained that its abolition would increase pollution. Boris stated clearly that the zone would be shut down on 24 December - a welcome and overdue Christmas present for Londoners.

An older man thanked Boris for protecting the Freedom Pass but another person claimed that it was going to be means tested. The Mayor confirmed that there was no truth to this rumour.

John Biggs was tired of the upbeat atmosphere and he interjected, accusing Boris of achieving little and breaking promises. It was a discordant little contribution which attracted the first booing of the night.


Environment

On to environment and other stuff like housing and planning. Questions covered air pollution, overcrowding and controversial planning decisions.

We had all prepared to discuss the housing benefit cap, but it took Labour AM Navin Shah to raise it and the audience were more intrigued by the Mayor's spat with David Cameron and what that revealed about their relationship. One person leapt to his feet to ask if Boris would be the next Prime Minister, after Cameron's first term. The Mayor made a clear denial but there was some audience support for the idea of PM Boris.

A Labour councillor raised the 'superlab' research centre planned for Kings Cross. The Mayor's planning responsibilities meant he was not allowed to comment but Members were able to air their views. Brian Coleman was against, claiming that the proposal was out of character for the area and more housing was what was really needed. Jennette Arnold was in favour - a sticky wicket with the local protesters - but she raised the debate to talk about the medical advances that the laboratory would provide, and at the end of a passionate speech she received widespread applause.


Olympics and Any Other Business

The people of Camden were not convinced that 2012 would provide them with any benefit, a view which is widely held outside the immediate Olympic area. But the games won't be cancelled so an upbeat response is really the only option and Boris does this well. I had my moment of fame - you usually only get one contribution at these meetings - talking about Olympic transport plans which are comprehensive for public transport (as long as strikes can be avoided) but not so good for road travel with large swathes of lanes cordoned off for 'The Olympic Family'.

There was no mention of the Fire Strike and the mood was calm throughout the evening, with nobody getting thrown out, unlike previous meetings. There was the traditional rush to the platform by people wanting to meet Boris as the meeting ended.

Meanwhile someone approached me to ask who the 'MC' was, because he had handled the meeting so well. Brian Coleman will be pleased with the way this went and I suspect that his approval rating from the audience will be quite high when the end of meeting survey is broken down. The best score so far was achieved by James Cleverly in Bromley (88%) with Navin Shah getting the wooden spoon (36%) from the Harrow audience.

And despite the difficulties of mid term, government cuts and industrial strife, Boris still has 'what it takes' to win. Next year Question Time will be coming to Havering, providing an interesting 'doughnut test' in the final months before the 2012 election.

Hainault War Memorial

This afternoon I attended the dedication of a new war memorial in Hainault. The memorial is situated in Manford Way, opposite the shops. Also there were Lee Scott MP, the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Redbridge, the leader of the council and a number of local councillors.

For long serving Hainault Cllr Ted Griffin, this was a particularly proud moment because he has been campaigning for a memorial for several years. Following the dedication, there were two minutes of silence and wreaths were laid. The rain did not dampen spirits and the event attracted quite a large crowd.

City Hall Austerity

On Thursday the budget committee received an update from Nicholas Griffin, the Mayor's budget advisor, who was appointed earlier this year and has embarked on a raft of projects designed to get better value from the administration.

Since July there has been much progress:

Working with Westminster City Council, who pioneered this approach, we are seeking to reduce the number of IT hardware and software suppliers contracted across the GLA family. This can be quite challenging as each functional body has evolved its own systems over time, but streamlining suppliers will make it easier for departments to work together as well as allowing economies of scale. A similar approach is being pursued by Croydon and Waltham Forest councils.

Internal audit functions will be combined for the different bodies, reducing the number of auditors and allowing more economies of scale. One beneficial consequence will be to create a standard approach to audit reports across the Greater London Authority, with more transparency and democratic oversight.

The real possibility of sharing buildings to reduce estates costs is also being pursued. Space created by staff cuts at City Hall will be used to house staff currently working in other buildings which will then become surplus. The emergency services are looking at sharing new buildings, a forerunner being the site at Harold Hill where a new fire station and police base coexist. Combined fire and ambulance stations are also being considered. A new GLA wide buildings database will enable better use of space.

A 20% savings target has been set for procurement of services and supplies. There will also be more sharing of payroll services and committee support across the GLA.

Political Groups are not immune in the Age of Austerity and a paper was presented to declare savings achieved in each group's administrative support during the year. We have made a substantial contribution, with the Conservative Group underspending the budget by £189,000, roughly £17,000 for each of our eleven members.

Policing Budget - The Investigation Continues

This morning the budget committee took evidence from Bob Quick, the former chief constable of Surrey and assistant commissioner at the Met. A while ago Bob had problems when his confidential papers were photographed by journalists in Downing Street, so it was good to see that he had obtained an opaque file holder for today's session, and his evidence was also detailed and useful.


Years of Plenty

Questioned about the period of growth which has led to the Met having the largest workforce in its history, Mr Quick acknowledged that in addition to the demands of neighbourhood policing there had also been growth in homicide investigators and counter terrorism officers. These were needed to respond to the new challenges and threats facing London. There were also more officers supporting partnership working with local authorities, which produced varying results in different areas.

With this growth came an increase in monitoring, management and inspection, which Mr Quick viewed as less welcome. Figures supplied by Professor Marian FitzGerald - who gave robust evidence at our last meeting - demonstrated that a 28% increase in police constables had been accompanied by a 49% increase in police sergeants and a 34% increase in inspectors and higher ranks, so the growth in managers appeared disproportionate. Mr Quick agreed and he predicted that a retreat from the previous target driven culture would lead to less demand for managers. He also agreed that it was worth considering combining specialist teams and reducing the number of borough command units to achieve savings in management and bureaucracy.

A move away from geographically based management to specialist functions had been shown to achieve savings in Norfolk, Surrey and Warwickshire, however the effect on customer satisfaction had not yet been measured. The committee also felt that these county forces were not comparable to London.


Civilianisation

Mr Quick became the latest expert witness to request a move away from simple police officer numbers as a measurement of effectiveness. Measurement of the work undertaken by officers showed that it could be classified as:

60% routine tasks - which is not to say unimportant, including custody processing and taking witness statements. Much of this work could be done by civilians, but public confidence could suffer.

28% bureaucracy - completing paperwork, providing statistics. A single support office assigned to a squad of police could free up a great deal of police time by doing this work for the whole squad.

12% Policing - which must be done by a warranted officer, for example attending court and interviewing suspects. This is where police resources should be focused.

But wide ranging changes to working practices faced formidable obstacles, including legislative barriers and public concerns. These could only be overcome by a consensual approach, securing agreement from the officers and the community they are there to protect.

Conference Day Two

Monday was a day of London and transport debates, appropriate on the day of the second in Bob Crow's series of Autumn Tube strikes.

Boris at the Conference

The morning kicked off with a debate on transport and skills in the main hall. Two years ago a smaller chamber was used for most of the conference but this year there is increased demand so the larger Symphony Hall with its four tiers of seating is being used. Philip Hammond and Theresa Villiers announced transport policies including an extended commitment to build the new high speed railway beyond Birmingham, eventually aiming to connect Manchester and Leeds with London. The ministerial panel were also noticeably supportive when an audience member asked for measures to curb the power of the transport unions.

A session with Boris followed and the hall was predictably packed. Hordes of photographers descended on the front of the stage and I had to make do with my own pictures of Boris on the big screen above the stage, rather than the real thing. The great man began his speech with a condemnation of the politically motivated strikes which struck a chord with his audience. He then went on to make his case for defending spending on London's infrastructure, and it is to be hoped that George Osborne was listening from backstage.

No doubt mindful of the commuters struggling into work then returning home to watch his performance on the late news, Boris provided less of the usual humour in what was a hard hitting speech.

Motor Manufacturers and Traders Lunch

I don't usually do conference lunches, wishing to avoid the wrath of my personal trainer when I return to London, but I made this one exception this week. I found myself seated with representatives from Toyota, Honda and London Taxis International. The conversation focused on the development of electric cars and hybrid vehicles which they hoped would maintain our love affair with the car into the future, whilst hugely reducing the carbon footprint of motoring.

The development of plug in points for electric cars is likely to be a restraint on use in much the same way as a lack of filling stations limits the take up of alternative fuels. I suggested that electric cars could be charged at home, using the mains supply and it turns out that this solution is being considered. Range remains a problem for battery powered cars, but in London most journeys are over short distances, making them a good option for the capital.

The man from LTI told me that their vehicles are now being manufactured in China for use in their own cities. You can get a traditional black cab on the streets of Beijing.

London Reception

With Boris and his team returning to the city, I was left to speak to the London fringe meeting sponsored by Four Communications. I don't often get to step out of the 'shadow of Boris', and I took the opportunity to update delegates on the results of the strike which union leaders predicted would 'paralyse London':

40% of services ran as planned.

Only the Circle Line had no services.

The Hammersmith & City, Victoria, Waterloo & City and Northern Lines ran a full service.

DLR - with driverless trains - and buses were unaffected.

Boris Bike usage was up by 25%.

We were grateful to the volunteers who helped to run the underground and to the workers who defied their union bosses and turned up for work in greater numbers than during the previous strike, and we hoped the Mayor could find some way of rewarding their loyalty to London.

Conference Day One

Sunday at the Conservative Conference here in Birmingham saw me address the Thames Gateway fringe meeting, then attend a reception hosted by Women 2 Win.


Thames Gateway

I shared a platform with Thames Gateway Minister (and old Assembly colleague) Bob Neill and Adam Marshall who represented the British Cambers of Commerce.

There was concern that the impending cuts might damage plans to regenerate the Gateway, and I put in a strong plug for Crossrail, the DLR extension to Dagenham Dock and 12 car trains on the C2C Fenchurch Street line. I also pointed out that the current decision not to stop Eurostar services at Stratford meant that the station hardly merited the title 'Stratford International'. It is inevitable that some projects will be delayed or scaled down in the current climate.

On a more positive note, there is now an opportunity to streamline the confusing hierarchy of public bodies currently administering the area. Bob suggested that the current situation looks rather like the wiring diagram for an Exocet missile when put on paper - with the difference that a missile is designed to go somewhere swiftly... Streamlining would make it easier for businesses to invest.

We also wanted an end to restrictive planning regulations that mitigate in favour of large blocks of tiny flats. I told Bob that we need 'buy to live, not buy to let'. For his part the minister was keen to involve local councillors more in planning decisions and he announced a welcome initiative to repeal the laws of predetermination that currently prevent councillors deciding on an application that they have campaigned on in the past.


Women 2 Win

Hosted by Theresa May this reception provided a welcome opportunity for me to catch up with some of the candidates I coached before the election. These included Karen Bradley, now the MP for Staffordshire Moorlands, and Louise Bagshawe, the MP for Corby, as well as Norsheen Bhatti who fought a difficult seat in Stoke and found the experience really motivating.

There were lots of women who are still looking for seats and with the decision to reopen the candidates' list again, there is plenty of potential for newcomers. W2W are also keen to help women with public appointments to boards and quangos, so there are still many opportunities for members to follow in the footsteps of Amanda Sater who was recently appointed to the MPA.

Boris Visits Gants Hill

Friday saw the long awaited opening of the new Gants Hill Roundabout. Work at the site has disrupted traffic flow for over a year and there have been some frustrating delays for businesses and residents. Boris turned out in the rain to declare the roundabout open. He was welcomed by Deputy Mayor Cllr Ruth Clark and chairman of the local business forum, John Clark.

A crowd of onlookers turned out to see the mayor and one person quipped that it had taken longer to rework the roundabout than to build the Colosseum in Rome. Boris predicted that the roundabout would be safer than the Colosseum...

Then it was on to Fairlop Waters where money from the Mayor's tree fund has been used to improve the park, providing not only trees but climbing boulders as well. Boris was photographed with the boulders and with local schoolchildren. He also took a moment to be interviewed by LBC, condemning the totally unnecessary tube strikes planned for Sunday and Monday.

Finally, Boris was joined by Seb Coe and Kate Hoey at Redbridge Sports Centre where he met more local children and handed over a contribution from the Olympic fund to enable more sporting activities for young people in Redbridge. The media became very excited when Boris and Seb took part in an impromptu badminton game, but Boris acquitted himself well and didn't drop any shuttles.

Austerity Policing

With the Met facing a period of belt tightening, Thursday's budget committee convened to take evidence from academics and former senior officers. Providing their take on policing in the age of austerity were professors Betsy Stanko and Marion Fitzgerald, Dr Tim Brain who was formerly chief constable of Gloucestershire and Bernard Hogan-Howe, a former chief constable of Merseyside and now Her Majesty's Inspector of Policing for London. A strong line up with strong opinions.

At 33,000 warranted officers plus 5,000 PCSOs, the Met is now a larger force than at any time in its history. The period from 2000 has seen unprecedented growth from a base of 26,000 officers, built on an injection of cash that is just not sustainable any longer. The key question is how to reduce resources without allowing crime to rise.


Policing Priorities

The introduction of neighbourhood policing has created a visible presence with PCs and PCSOs patrolling even the smaller shopping centres and residential areas. They rarely encounter crimes in progress but there is a deterrent effect and the sight of uniformed officers reduces the fear of crime. Fear of Crime is significant because it discourages people, particularly women and older people, from venturing out of their homes and in the worst cases effectively imprisons them behind closed doors.

However the attachment of teams to council wards led to some inefficient allocation of resources. Some wards are very quiet, with low crime, but they still get a - not very busy - neighbourhood team. And many ward boundaries run down high streets, creating an impractical division between the policing teams on each side of the street.

An alternative is being explored in Manchester. There crime mapping - which we have in London - is used to identify 'hot spots' and teams of officers are focused on these locations. Clearly this is better use of resources but it runs the danger of displacing crime to other locations. Possible 'hot spots' include town centres, problem estates and transport nodes.

Bernard Hogan-Howe made the obvious point that policing should follow the people, targeting stations during commuting time and town centres in the evening, particularly on Fridays and Saturdays.

During his time at Merseyside Mr Hogan-Howe identified his key priorities as improving detection rates, reducing anti social behaviour, and improving the telephone interface with the public. The last of these, providing a quick response to emergency calls and a swift answer to non emergency calls, meant that the provision of police stations could be reviewed. Having an effective switchboard was a cost effective alternative to providing staffed front desks which saw less use as technology improved.

He also felt that there should be more single patrolling by officers in low risk areas, stating "If a PC can't walk alone in a area then who can?". The practice of PCSOs patrolling in groups of up to eight also needed to end.


Priorities for Savings

The obvious areas were suggested - overtime is too high in London, the MPA reserves are higher than necessary, back office functions have also grown since 2000 and need to be streamlined.

Economies of scale were also possible. At present every London borough has its own commander and HQ, but is that necessary? Councils are looking at sharing services across boundaries and the police could do the same. There are also a large number of specialist units, for example the wildlife crime unit, the antiques crime unit, etc. These are important but they could be combined to some extent, making savings on support services.

Bureaucracy had also ballooned since 1997, with demands for statistics and targets to achieve. Forms have to be completed when tasers, CS spray and even breathalysers are used - are these all still necessary? And what about the infamous stop and search forms that officers are required to complete? It was acknowledged that the Met had made good progress in reducing costs in its finance and IT departments but other parts of the organisation had room to be more efficient.

One thing the witnesses did agree on was that it is all but impossible to produce a credible measurement of front line policing effectiveness. Crime levels are affected by many other factors and lower level measurements may be accurate but lack relevance. The committee's search for a simple way of measuring policing is starting to look like the quest for the Holy Grail.

Yes He Will !

Boris has finally announced that he will contest the 2012 Mayoral Elections.

He states that his priorities are cutting crime, protecting our valuable green space, improving public transport and building more affordable housing.

Personally, I am delighted that he has chosen to stand again. Much has been achieved since his election in 2008 but much remains to be done, with long term challenges including bringing London safely through the recession, securing Crossrail and successfully hosting the 2012 Olympics. These simply cannot be achieved in a single four year term.

Boris will be a champion for our city and a critical friend for the new coalition government, ready to promote London's needs without resorting to damaging confrontation.

Boris also has a unique appeal that applies both to conservative minded suburban voters and to the trendy residents of Inner London. This broad coalition of support is a complete contrast to the divisive and harmful politics of his predecessor.

Supporters can join the campaign at www.Backboris2012.com .

Sign of the Times at Havering-atte-Bower

Boris was on good form when he visited Havering-atte-Bower to unveil the village sign on the green. He was greeted by members of the village conservation society as well as staff and patients from the nearby St Francis Hospice.

After a short introduction from local MP Andrew Rosindell, the Mayor tugged the cord to reveal the new sign which was designed and purchased by the local society. As a token of thanks the villagers presented him with a painting of the royal palace which once stood here.

There followed a swift walkabout in nearby Collier Row to meet local residents and shopkeepers, who as always were delighted to welcome our celebrity Mayor.

Havering Show

The annual Havering Show is running today and tomorrow. This afternoon I paid a visit along with the Mayor, Cllr Pam Light.

Entry is free and large numbers of visitors enjoyed the local food and the somewhat changeable weather. There is a large funfair with exciting rides and an arena featuring shows of horsemanship and - unusually - camel racing.

The show also incorporates our environment fair, Planet Havering, which provides advice on recycling and saving energy, and features presentations from council departments. Incorporating this event into the main show has saved money of course, but it has also widened its influence beyond the 'converted' who used to attend Planet Havering, exposing a wider audience to advice on living a greener lifestyle.

Finally, there are many local charities including the new Havering Museum, the Upminster Windmill preservation society, and the St Francis Hospice. They were offering a slim chance to win a car by rolling seven 6s on seven dice. Nobody had won when we arrived but the Mayor was optimistic and had a go...

The Hospice also signed me up to their excellent 'Sponsor a Nurse' scheme, which they are currently promoting. For just £3 a month supporters can sign up to keep this valuable local facility working for people in Havering, Redbridge, Brentwood and Barking & Dagenham. I visited the hospice a couple of years ago and was most impressed with the standard of care they offer. Details of the 'Sponsor a Nurse' initiative are available at http://www.sfh.org.uk/ .

Redbridge Skyride

The weather was excellent for today's Skyride, which provided a car free circuit linking the new cycle track to Barkingside High Street, passing the Dick Turpin and Fairlop Waters Country Park. Over 5,000 cyclists from around London came together to explore the more rural parts of Redbridge at the Sky sponsored event. Participants included Olympic competition level riders, families, participants in fancy dress and even a few local politicians.

The event was led off by Kulveer Ranger, representing the Mayor, and he was followed by local MP - and transport PPS - Lee Scott, Council Leader Keith Prince, with his Lib Dem deputy Ian Bond. Dressed as I was in an unsuitable jacket and unusual blue socks, I soon found myself trailing behind on a bike which the organisers kindly loaned to me for the day. My personal training finally carried the day as I dug deep into my reserves and struggled back up the hill to the cycle track for a welcome bottle of water and sausage in a roll.

Also present was the mayor of Redbridge, Jim O'Shea, with his team of volunteers collecting for his charity. I made sure they got my loose change before I set off, thus lightening the load for the journey ahead.

This was the second of three Skyride events to be held over the summer months. The final event will take place on 5th September in Central London. Details can be found at http://www.goskyride.com/ .