At a conference for Londoners held at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in Westminster on Saturday 12th May Londoners got the chance to discuss some major issues with leading professionals and experts. Here is a flavour of some of the debates and what London's mayor is doing for Londoners.
Tackling Climate Change:what cities can achieve
Expert Mark Watts informed the audience that the argument over what causes climate change is over. It is now widely acknowledged that human activity is responsible for global warming.
All is not doom and gloom however, as experts maintain that it is perfectly feasible for us to cut our C02 emissions by 60% over the next 20 years. We could move from a society of high energy waste to a more efficient one of low waste. London emits 44 million tonnes of Co2 each year which is not as high as New York but is higher than most cities. 38% of this comes from our homes, 33% from businesses and 20% from ground transport.
The success of the Mayor's central London congestion charge in reducing congestion and pollution is now widely recognised across the world, so much so that New York is about to copy it.
4 out of 5 Londoners are concerned about climate change but few are making the necessary changes to protect the world we live in.
So what could we be doing? A few relatively simple steps could reduce our fuel bills by 1/3 and save us 350 pounds per year.
*Turning our thermostats down by 1% can cut 10% off our heating bills.
*Switching to longer lasting energy saving light bulbs can save us 100 each per light bulb over its lifetime.
*And insulating our lofts adequately - which amazingly, 95% of us have still not done!
The Mayor is offering Londoners advice, financial incentives and a flexible service tailored to your particular needs that can include a personal visit and green plan for your own home.
Londoners can take advantage of a special deal via the Mayor's office which allows them to insulate their loft and cavity walls at half the normal price and gives them 100 pounds cash back too! The Mayor is doing his bit. Now its up to us to do our bit. We don't have to reduce the quality of life but we do need to change the way we live. The 2003 heatwave across Europe, and the 35,000 premature deaths (mostly elderly people living in top floor flats) stand as testimony to this.
Poonan Desai, Director, Co-founder of BioRegional and Sustainability Director, BioRegional Quintain Ltd is adamant that green consumerism plus technical fixes will not be enough on their own to save our planet. He maintains that a comprehensive carbon pricing system must be introduced to dampen the inexorable growth in consumption of resources -particularly in aviation. However Carbon offsetting alone is not the complete answer "We must also be saying 'I don't need that stuff!'" he says. "Carbon offsetting is like cheating on your partner and paying someone else to remain celibate!"
London's Transport Journey
Peter Hendy, Commnissioner, Transport for London, informed the audience that for years London Transort had been run by a regime that prioritised minimising costs because of declining numbers of passengers. As a result it had suffered a serious lack of vital investment. However, the strong lead and extra funding from Labour Mayor, Ken Livinstone, has led to significant achievements in recent years. He has managed to raise public transport usage by 5% - which is unprecedented in a world city the size of London and in a society that is rich enough to own so many cars (even if they can't use them effectively).
The Mayor's congestion charge has seen a huge reduction in congestion in the west end and the western extension is proving successful also. In fact, New York's Mayor Bloomberg is so impressed he has proposed a similar scheme for lower Manhatten.
The Mayor has increased the reliability of London's buses and made them safer with the introduction of CCTV. He has achieved a 40% increase in patronage as a result and has brought in bigger buses to cope with the growth. His introduction of free travel for kids is saving families an average of 350 pounds per child per year - an enormous help to most families - and is helping to reduce congestion on roads at school run times. Contrary to what wannabe Tory MP, Angie Bray has been spouting, records confirm that there has not been an increase in bad behaviour on buses as a result.
2/3 of public transport users now use Oyster smart cards and cash use on London's underground and buses is down to 3% and 2% respectively. Journeys are faster and more efficient as a result.
London Underground, which is being modernised under a PPP, is transporting more people than ever - a massive 1 billion people last year. The DLR transported 60 million passengers last year and the extension to London City Airport has been a huge success.
The Mayor's work with boroughs means it is now easier and safer to walk in London and cycling and walking have increased by over 80%. His instigation of a joined up approach to transport policing with the Met (which did not exist before) has produced positive outcomes and there are now 1,500 police and PCSOs on transport and the proportionate level of crime to passengers remains very small.
Unlike several years years ago, London's population is no longer declining and the expected growth in population over the period 2001-2025 is + 800,000 to a total of 8.3 million people. This poses an enormous challenge for such an aged transport system and the implications for car growth, Co2 emissions and climate change are seriously alarming. The Mayor's transport policies described in his document 'Transport 2025' will be crucial to maintaining a tolerable and sustainable city. His succesful congestion charge and reduction in bus and taxi emissions are already helping to achieve this for Londoners as will his planned introduction of lower emission zones. His unswerving commitment to the common good of all Londoners remains admirable and unique and long may he continue. With his vision and conviction, Ken will continue to push for Crossrail so that Londoners will enjoy the benefits and London's pre-eminence as a world city will continue.
CRIME...GUNS, KNIVES AND GANGSA panel made up of police, the minister for Police and Security and various voluntary groups discussed the priorities for making London a safer place for all at the State of London debate.
"We must stop gangs forming but it will take years as there is no quick solution." said Steve House, the Assistant Metropolitan Police Commissioner at the 'State of London' debate. "In the last few years we have seen the emergence of a subculture of violence and a glorification of guns and knives across youth, but especially in the black community.At the same time people have much quicker and more ready access to firearms." he added.
According to the police, although the Met detects 85-90% of homicides in London, the recent killings and stabbings are much harder to detect or prevent because they are usually prompted by surges of rage and are therefore not logical, so the culprits will not normally be deterred by the fear of punishment.
The issue is very high up the Met's list of priorities however, and they say since they have put a large uniform presence on the streets of hot spots, the violence has dampened down. However, they admit that this is not a longterm solution. What they say is needed, is to prevent the young people from becoming involved in gangs in the first place. They have therefore launched a 5 borough project south of the river Thames to find out how to do this and they are working with local authorities and voluntary groups to devise a formula to pull people out of gang activity.
The Assistant Commissioner went on to say that the attacks are due to a breakdown in society, which is not general or widespread, but affects about 5% of youths. "Many are getting involved at far younger ages than we previously thought possible and many feel pressured to be involved. There are some very serious education and parenting issues." he added.
Rev Obunge, Chief Executive, Peace Alliance, who called for resources for communities to invest in youth services which had been axed under Tory prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, said "It takes a village to raise a child. We are that village and let's raise our children."
During a question and answer session with the audience, a 12 year old boy received a large clap when he stood up and asked the panel who he could turn to for protection when walking home from school. He said, that like many other young people, he constantly feared being assaulted and/or mugged by youths from a neighbouring school on his journey home from school each day and he pleaded for somebody to do something about it.
Decima Francis, President, 'From Boyhood to Manhood',( an organisation which provides services to young black men who are failing in education, involved in high risk behaviour and in danger of educational or social exclusion) said, "We must do something about the way young people feel about London. It is a sad fact that young people no longer feel safe when travelling to school or meeting friends and many reduce their activities as a result. More adults on streets are needed. Who can they turn to for protection? If young people act up on streets or on buses adults are often afraid to tackle them for fear of being stabbed."
The Labour Government has created Safer Neighbourhood Teams for every ward, extra PCSOs and safer schools officers to tackle this problem. One benefit of the SNTs is that they are familiar with the local youth, interact with them and patrol hot spots so that their presence is felt and acts as a deterrent. The police are doing all they can by putting more officers on duty at peak offending times between 2-10pm.
But what emerged strongly from the debate was that this is not just a policing issue. Local authorities, schools and communities must work together - it is up to everyone. Azad Ali, Chair, Muslim Safety Forum, expressed the sentiments of the panel well when he said," In the longterm we need to counter years of individualism in order to recapture community and family values."
