Newsletter Easter 2007

Published on Tue 10th Apr 2007

Newsletter Easter 2007

My work on the London Assembly shows no sign of slowing down - there is always so much to do that it is a constant juggling act. But at last we have the Olympic budget - even if it has taken twenty months to get it!

In this newsletter…

1. Olympic costs - the facts

2. Police calls unanswered

3. An alternative to a life of crime

4. Housing - we need innovative solutions

5. Committee scutinies and reports

6. Get in touch

1. OLYMPIC COSTS - THE FACTS

Recent news about the budget for the 2012 Olympic Games must have left many of you wondering what is going on. If it is any consolation, it has often felt way on the London Assembly, since those responsible would not disclose the full figures.

After twenty months of lobbying, these figures have at last been disclosed, I thought it would be useful for you at this stage to have a brief guide to where we stand.

Ever since London won the bid in 2005, the Mayor has insisted that the cost of the Games was under control. Tessa Jowell's statement on 15th March finally confirmed what we have always suspected - the cost of the Games has rocketed. The most welcome part of Jowell's announcement is that, in future, all the Olympic figures will be independently reviewed by the National Audit Office to restore public confidence in the financial management of the Games.

Two organisations will spend the money:

· The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) will 'build the theatre' - infrastructure, venues, land remediation, etc. The public sector, London taxpayers and the lottery will fund this expenditure.

· The London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG), will 'put on the show' - everything from the opening ceremony to the closing ceremony. This expenditure will be funded by the private sector from ticket and merchandising sales, TV rights and sponsorship.

The total Olympic budget as now approved is £9.3 billion, an increase of £5.9 billion from the original budget of £3.4 billion. This increase includes a contingency of £2.7 billion, and £600 million for security.

Tessa Jowell's statement added that this budget would be funded as follows:

· Government: 64%

· Lottery: 23%

· London: 13%

The London Assembly has summoned Sir Roy McNulty and David Higgins (Chair and Chief Executive of the ODA) to our Olympic Plenary meeting, which will take place on 25th April. This will be the first opportunity we have had to question the Olympic Delivery Authority about its budget. We will make sure we scrutinise every aspect thoroughly.

2. POLICE CALLS UNANSWERED

Half of London's police stations don't answer their phone to non-emergency calls. This was the shock finding from a survey of all 141 police stations in London, which we carried out in March during normal opening hours over a three-week period. The findings appear to support claims made by the Audit Commission that many crimes are going unreported because victims cannot get through to police stations.

The situation was worst in Hammersmith & Fulham and Merton, where we were unable to contact any of the police stations listed on the Met's website. Only four boroughs scored top marks - Barking & Dagenham, Brent, Kingston and Waltham Forest. This situation is a disgrace, particularly since 'Citizen Focus' is one of the Met's top priorities.

I met with police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair last week, to discuss our research and he agreed that what we found is totally unacceptable. The Met are taking this very seriously and are conducting a review of all London boroughs to find out what has gone wrong and how to put it right.

Our research generated a lot of TV and press coverage, and I have been contacted by a number of people who work as civilians in police stations with their own stories. If you have a concern about the service you are receiving from the Met, please get in touch: dee.doocey@london.gov.uk

3. AN ALTERNATIVE TO A LIFE OF CRIME

The recent spate of shootings involving young teenage boys has caused widespread shock. But while many people in the media and politics have indulged in blame or hand wringing, others are already showing how gang culture can be combated successfully.

I recently visited the Boyhood to Manhood Foundation in Peckham, which was an amazing and uplifting experience. The founder, Decima Frances, is doing some inspirational work with boys aged 12 to 19, who have been excluded from school, to try to stop them taking to a life of crime, gangs and drugs. Many have already got convictions for serious crimes and are well known to the police.

The aim is to try and give them a sense of self-worth, and to help them back into mainstream education. Three days a week is devoted to education, and two days to life classes, with topics such as hygiene, sexual relations, guns and gang culture. Each day starts with breakfast - not something the boys get at home! Everything is done in a positive way and the word 'respect' was one that I heard a lot. Without assistance, these boys would have little chance of ever making anything of their lives.

Many of the people working at the Foundation have been through the programme themselves, and know how hard it can be for young boys. This probably explains the Foundation's high success rate at getting these boys back into mainstream education - they have even managed to get a number of their former attendees into university.

Programmes like these should not have to struggle constantly for funding, particularly at a time when the London Development Agency is handing out grants to help people in deprived communities get the skills they need to get a job.

As a result of what I have learned, I have set up an informal meeting which I shall facilitate, between young people from the most deprived areas of London and the Olympic officials who are responsible for providing the skills legacy programme. This will enable both sides to discuss exactly what kind of training programmes are required to really make a difference.

4. HOUSING - WE NEED INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS

With the Mayor about to gain new housing powers, I have embarked on a series of meetings with London charities, to learn firsthand what can be done to alleviate the worst effects of London's housing crisis.

One of the most important issues has been the impact of temporary accommodation on family life and relationships. Barnardo's told me that many of the adults helped by their Families in Temporary Accommodation project experience depression, having been cut off from employment, familiar surroundings and services. In one case, a family was in temporary accommodation for eleven years and moved seven times over that period.

The obvious solution is to get more social housing built in London. However, with the backlog and a projected need far higher than London's planning system can deliver in the short term, it is also important that the Mayor supports innovative solutions that can help people move on today.

I was impressed to hear about Off the Streets and Into Work's Transitional Spaces Project, which combines support and incentives to help people access employment and training and, in the longer-term, private sector accommodation.

Supporting people into education and employment is only part of the solution to meeting the needs of London's homeless, however. I met The Simon Community, which is dealing with some of London's most vulnerable rough sleepers. The Mayor has a huge task ahead of him to assess the holistic needs of London's homeless, including the provision of more supportive housing and a much greater emphasis on helping people to overcome social exclusion.

If you have information about local projects in your area that are providing short-term solutions like those described above, and you'd like to encourage the Mayor to support this best practice, please get in touch: dee.doocey@london.gov.uk

5. COMMITTEE SCRUTINIES AND REPORTS

The committee which I chair on the London Assembly, (Economic Development Culture Sports and Tourism) has recently published two scrutiny reports:

· Incapacity Benefit - a report into the implications for London of the government's plans to reform welfare benefits and in particular Incapacity Benefit. The government believes the majority of people on Incapacity Benefit could rejoin the workforce with the right help and support. This is easier said than done; in London alone, it would affect 300,000 claimants. This report recommends practical steps that could be taken to ease the transition back to work, include job creation, ending discrimination and overcoming the poverty trap.

· Employment and skills legacy - a report into the legacy promised by the 2012 Olympic Games. London's bid promised that the people living in the five 'host' boroughs for the Games, an area that includes some of London's poorest and most deprived communities, would benefit from life-changing economic regeneration. There are both some encouraging news and some very real threats that could jeopardise the promised legacy. These dangers - and our recommendations for tackling each one - are spelt out in this report.

Copies of both reports are available online at:

http://www.london.gov.uk/assembly/reports/econsd.jsp