News from Dee Doocey at the London Assembly - Christmas 2007

Published on Tue 18th Dec 2007

News from Dee Doocey at the London Assembly - Christmas 2007

In this edition:

1. Olympic wildlife

2. The 'size zero' debate

3. Black Model Forum

4. Police consultation

5. Olympic briefing in January

6. London Development Agency grants

7. Other committee work

8. Get in touch

1. Olympic wildlife

While the press has been concentrating on the Olympic budget, I have been concentrating on Olympic wildlife!

In previous newsletters, I mentioned the cyclists who used to train and race at the Eastway cycle circuit in Newham. This track was forced to close in November 2006, because it was sited within the Olympic Park and the cyclists were promised suitable alternative provision. A venue was finally agreed at Hog Hill, in Redbridge, and was due to open in September 2007. That turned out to be just the start of the problems.

The location was rather popular with the great-crested newt - a highly protected species under both British and European Law. So, no construction work could be started until the newts had been captured and relocated - which can be done only at certain times of the year.

The London Development Agency is responsible for the re-location of Eastway. This body is not noted for its speed but it is really keen on bureaucracy. It missed the last year's newt deadline and so the conservationists were not able to start collecting the newts until August this year. But it was a race against time. When winter set in, only 250 of the estimated 450 newts had been collected. Collection must stop as soon as the night-time temperature drops below 5°C and so now everything is on hold until next March. The plan is that this half of the Hog Hill circuit will be opened in March 2008 and the rest in August 2008. But nothing can be done to hasten this - the law is the law, and the newts reign supreme.

Meanwhile, on the Olympic Park construction site, there is a lot of concern over the future of a large number of feral cats that live there. Reports in the press of 'slaughter' by the Olympic Delivery Authority are certainly not true, but there is equally no doubt that, as the old buildings on the site are demolished, the cats' homes will be destroyed and the animals will disperse in search of food and shelter and will be greatly traumatised.

The Celia Hammond Animal Trust (a local animal charity) has so far rescued 157 cats from the site, but the Trust's access to the Olympic Park has been limited by the Olympic Delivery Authority due to Health & Safety fears. The peak breeding season for cats starts in January, with all the females coming into season, so rounding up these cats is a race against time because it would be a tragedy if there were an explosion of the kitten population in the spring. I have been in contact with both the Celia Hammond Animal Trust and the Olympic Delivery Authority, and I am hopeful that we are near to finding a way round this problem.

2. The 'size zero' debate

After a year of relentless campaigning for a ban on stick thin models on the catwalks of London Fashion Week, I am beginning to see some results. In September, the Model Health Inquiry published its report into the issue and made a number of sound recommendations, including the need for models to have health certificates and a ban on models under the age of 16. But talk is cheap and I was concerned that the London Fashion Council (which runs London Fashion Week) would just "tut tut" and ignore the recommendations. I therefore persuaded the Mayor to halt the London Development Agency's funding of London Fashion Week unless and until these recommendations have been fully implemented.

The London Development Agency has just announced its new funding package for the British Fashion Council, which runs London Fashion Week - of £4.2 million over three years. The announcement includes an action plan by the British Fashion Council to implement the findings of the Model Health Enquiry. My thanks to everyone who has helped in this campaign and let's hope that, as a result, fashion designers will act more responsibly when influencing impressionable young girls.

I have asked the Mayor to make a copy of the funding agreement available and will continue to monitor the implementation of the recommendations

3. Black Model Forum

While I was campaigning against stick thin models, I was contacted by many black and Asian models, who asked if I could do something about widespread racism in the fashion industry.

One in three Londoners is Black or Asian but, if you look at the websites of the top agencies, only a few of their models are non-white. I've spoken to a large number of model agencies and models, and there does seem to be a big problem. I've been told of humiliating experiences, where black models are forced to work for free alongside white models who are getting paid. And where agencies are being told not to send any more black models - because designers allege that they don't fit their clothes because of their body shape, or fashion hairdressers saying they "don't do" black/asian hair.

My initial enquiries suggest there is clearly some racism, but I think there are other factors. So next year I will be hosting a Black Model Forum, bringing together opinion leaders, models, designers and fashion agencies from all communities. The purpose will be to try to understand why black and Asian models find it so hard to break into the fashion industry, and what can be done to change the situation. Fashion can no longer continue to be so unrepresentative of the multicultural world we live in, and it is time that something is done about it. If you have any experience of this or if you would like to get involved, please get in touch.

4. Police consultation

The Metropolitan Police have just started 'consulting' on their plans for the future of police stations across London. These plans set out proposals for the future location of safer neighbourhood teams, custody centres, patrol facilities, front counters and office accommodation for each borough. The plans also include proposals to close a number of police stations where these are no longer 'fit for purpose'. The closure of police stations is a contentious issue but the Met has given an assurance that no police station will be closed until the replacement is operational.

A 20 page 'Asset Management Plan' has been produced for nearly every borough, and can be accessed through the Metropolitan Police Authority website: www.mpa.gov.uk (then click on MPS Asset Management Plans). These plans purport to consult the public on a range of issues (buried within the 20-page text), but it's more of a public information exercise than consultation. The Plans were not advertised, there were no proposals to hold public meetings to discuss them, there was no feedback form provided or a freepost address, and no closing date for the consultation.

Following complaints from me, the Met has now written to all borough commanders informing them that they must hold a public meeting, ensure that the public meeting is advertised in the local press and provide a freepost address. They are also finalising a response form, which will be included at the back of the Asset Management Plan together with the final date for consultations to be received.

There is no doubt that some of the police stations due to close are just not fit for purpose but, although I believe that smaller police units will provide a better interface for the public, I have concerns about the technology aspects of moving from a few central locations to a large number of locations and the challenges this will bring. We must embrace technological advances, not return to police officers recording crime on pieces of paper. I have yet to be convinced that the technology ramifications of this plan have been properly considered.

I would be interested to hear what you think of the Asset Management Plan for your area.

5. Olympic briefing in January

On 15th January, my committee (the Economic Development, Culture, Sport and Tourism Committee) will have a briefing followed by a question-and-answer session, on two key aspects of the Olympics - security, and the cultural Olympiad. The meeting will take place at City Hall, starting at 10:00.

Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur from the Metropolitan Police, who is the Security Co-ordinator for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, will be explaining the plans for the security aspects of the Games. This is an enormous task, because there are more than 25 organisations involved, as well as the Olympic authorities.

Tarique's presentation will be followed by a presentation on the Cultural Olympiad by Bill Morris, the Director of Culture, Ceremonies and Education at LOCOG (the organising committee for the Games). Bill will take us through his plans for the cultural Olympiad for the Games - which officially begins when Beijing hands over to London in August and September 2008.

It should be an interesting session and, since all our meetings are open to the public, why not come along? You will be very welcome. There will also be an opportunity for you to submit a question if you wish. If you would like to know more details, please email me at dee.doocey@london.gov.uk.

6. London Development Agency grants

Since last April, the London Assembly (Economic Development, Culture, Sport and Tourism) has been scrutinising the London Development Agency's funding of cultural projects - worth around £70 million of taxpayers' money over the last four years. We wanted to test their processes for grant giving, to ensure that the public is getting value for money, and that there are strict controls over their decisions.

There were 61 such projects, and we picked the six largest to examine in depth. To ensure that the committee's investigation was seen to be completely impartial, we commissioned Deloitte to look at information provided by the London Development Agency on these projects. Deloitte's examination confirmed the committee's initial findings - that in some cases there was no clear reason why a project had been funded, there was no breakdown of the spending, and no monitoring and evaluation of the outcomes.

The committee produced its report in November, recommending a number of changes to the way the London Development Agency gave and monitored grants. The CEO of London Development Agency, having initially accepted the majority of our recommendations, then inexplicably changed his mind and said that further information existed (on the six projects we were examining), and that this would materially change the committee's conclusions. So we are now looking at this new information and I will let you know what we find. There is a lot of taxpayer's money involved so it is important to establish how this is being spent.

7. Other Economic Development, Culture, Sport and Tourism committee work

The future of markets in London - in October the committee held a public meeting at Toynbee Hall in the East End, the first time a meeting has taken place outside City Hall. A large number of market traders from across London came to question representatives from the London Development Agency, the Metropolitan Police, and Transport for London - there was standing room only! It was a huge success, with a real buzz in the room, and I felt that the committee had truly engaged with Londoners who felt passionately about their livelihoods. The report on markets will be published in the New Year, but I hope to continue to hold public meetings away from City Hall - to truly involve Londoners in what we do.

The diversion of Lottery money to pay for the Olympics - nearly £2.2 billion is coming from the Lottery to pay for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and this will have an impact on the arts, community sports, and charities in London. We want to know what impact this will have in London, and a few weeks ago we quizzed the Lottery Distributors, and some recipients of their funding. The committee made it clear that unless funding for local arts, sports and charities was protected, then the Olympics will have failed in one of its fundamental objectives. This must be avoided at all costs, and our recommendations will reflect the importance of local community sport and arts.