--- election_year: 2012 party_id: conservative party_name: Conservative Party party_leader: Boris Johnson political_spectrum: centre-right victory: true government_outcome: majority sections: - economy - taxation - health - education - housing - immigration - defence - foreign-policy - environment - transport - law-and-order - welfare - democracy-and-constitution - energy - devolution - science-and-technology - local-government --- # Conservative Party London Mayoral Manifesto 2012 Taking Greater London Forward **BETTER OFF WITH BORIS** * Cutting council tax * More police * Investing in transport * Growing London's economy Boris Johnson Mayoral Manifesto 2012 2 Taking Greater London Forward ## Introduction Dear Londoner, This election comes when we have been going through the toughest times that anyone can remember. The big question is therefore blindingly simple. It is about who has the best plan for the jobs and growth that will help bring prosperity to all. It is about who will deliver the investment from central government that will take London forward. It is about who you can trust to spend that money wisely – and who will be honest with you about where the money is coming from, and how it is spent. I believe my 9 point plan is right for the future of the greatest city on earth. My ambition is to make London ever safer, greener, cleaner and more attractive to live, work and invest in. That means continuing to put more police out on the street. While other police forces have been cut, London now has over a thousand more officers than there were when I was elected. And now we are taking officers out of backroom jobs – and putting 2,000 in Safer Neighbourhood Teams. That is a massive boost to neighbourhood policing. Those extra bodies will help us to continue to drive down crime. Crime overall is down almost 11 per cent in the last four years. The murder rate is down by a quarter. Bus crime is down by a third. I want London to be one of the safest cities on earth – because a safer city is not only a happier city. It is a city that attracts investment and helps us create jobs. And that is why we will continue our extraordinary neo-Victorian programme of investment in transport. The population is growing fast, and will increase by at least a million in the next ten years. Tube and rail passenger numbers are expected to rise by 30 per cent by 2020. We would be mad to rely on the Bakelite fuse boxes and antiquated signalling that is still to be found on the oldest Tube system on earth. We cannot continue to cram our passengers in conditions that are ever hotter and more uncomfortable. Unless we relieve the pressure on the Central Line, it is predicted that rush hour conditions will breach EU rules on the transit of live animals. That is why I fought so hard to rescue Crossrail from the Treasury chopping block. That is why it is utterly vital that we press on with our planned Tube improvements – and why it would be so wrong and so short-sighted to cut those programmes. In the next four years we have a historic chance to automate the Tube. We can move to “driverless” trains – with no loss of safety – as they have done in Paris, Singapore and elsewhere. New technology has helped us to cut delays by 40 per cent in the last four years. I want to go further, and reduce delays by another 30 per cent. We have the technology to do it. Do you want London to be left behind by Paris? I don’t. Do you want us to be held up by trade union barons? I don’t. And it is our transport investments that will unlock growth, jobs and the potential for new homes. Plans are already underway for a new “Blackwall Two” tunnel to relieve cross-river congestion. We are extending the Northern line to Battersea – and we can solve the power station conundrum that has baffled London for 30 years. Across London, from Ealing to Stratford, from Vauxhall to Brent Cross, there are new growth areas with astonishing scope for top-quality development. Croydon and Tottenham – two of the areas worst hit by last year’s riots – are both on the verge of exciting regeneration schemes, and I am determined to drive them forward over the next four years. International investors are already queuing up to stake their claim – and I will make sure the world knows what London has to offer. It is these opportunity areas that will help us to tackle London’s housing crisis – but we will go further. Yes, I am proud that we have defied the sceptics and built a record 52,000 affordable homes over the last four years. Now I intend to create a new agency – Homes for London – that will bring 530 hectares of public land together and make that land available for development. If you add together the transport, housing and regeneration programmes that are already funded – we will create 200,000 jobs over the next four years. But – as far as possible – I want Londoners to be in a position to get these jobs. Too many young Londoners are coming on to the job market without the real skills and aptitude they need. All too often, they are losing out to talented and determined workers from elsewhere. That is why I will substantially expand our apprenticeship scheme. We have helped 54,000 become apprentices in a vast range of professions – and 84 per cent stay on in full-time jobs. Over the next four years we are going to help create another 250,000 apprenticeships; and at a time of high youth unemployment I believe it is among the most important things we can do for our city. We will continue and expand all our programmes that will help young people to get ready for the job market – especially those who are at most risk of missing out. In the next four years, we will step up all the work we are doing through Team London – mentoring, encouraging youth groups of all kinds, boosting grassroots sport, and tackling illiteracy. It is a scandal that so many 11 year olds are still unable properly to read or write. My ambition is to begin to stamp out illiteracy among London’s 11 year olds. That is the first step on the path away from crime and towards a job. And we will help business – especially SMEs – to take on those potential employees. We have set up the London Growth Fund to offer low-cost loans. We will continue with our £221 million programme of investment in high streets and shopping districts – improving the streetscape, planting trees, and helping retailers to face the challenge of the big shopping centres. We will expand the best bike hire scheme on earth. We will continue to improve London’s air quality, and a host of other measures to improve the quality of life for Londoners. We can do all these things because we are managing our budgets responsibly. We have abandoned the grandiose and wasteful approach of the previous mayor. This has allowed me to keep my promises to London over the last four years. * I have delivered a 24 hour Freedom Pass – and we will now make sure that everyone gets it as soon as they turn 60, and we will negotiate to put it on overground rail as well. * I got rid of the Western Extension Zone of the Congestion Charge, because it was imposed in defiance of people’s wishes. * I banned alcohol on public transport and put another 697 uniformed officers on the buses and Tube. * I have got rid of the bendy bus and introduced a new Routemaster-style bus for London, built in Britain, creating jobs in this country, the cleanest new bus in Europe – and each of them costs no more than a current hybrid bus. * I have saved billions in unnecessary expense at TFL, disposed of 23 buildings and 25 per cent of the directors. I have sold two police flats and cut bonuses across the board. It is this relentless efficiency with your money that has allowed me to freeze the Mayoral share of council tax for four years. Now I am promising to cut it by 10 per cent. I believe that in tough times, that is the right approach for London. We simply cannot afford to go back to the waste and inefficiency of the previous regime. This city has a fantastic future. London is still the financial capital of Europe, if not the world. We also have an astonishing array of manufacturing and in the last four years London has seen an explosion of digital start-up companies. It is the global crossroads, the entrepot that unites the BRIC economies – Brazil, Russia, India and China. London continues to be the artistic and cultural capital of the world, and with more top universities and medical research facilities than any other capital. But I want all Londoners to share in that success. That means investing now in the things that will create jobs and growth. The choice is clear this Thursday. It is between a Mayor who invests in our future – not the irresponsible proposals from Ken Livingstone that would put that investment at risk. I know I am best placed to get the funds our city will need. I will use that money well – not waste it on schemes of no economic benefit to London. I want to unite London – not try to divide one group from another. I want to take London forwards – not back to the 1970s. I believe I am best placed to lead London out of recession, to get real and lasting value from the Olympics, and to lengthen our lead as the greatest city on earth. I hope I can count on your vote on Thursday. Boris Johnson 6 Taking Greater London Forward ## My 9 point plan for a Greater London 1. Cutting waste at City Hall – freeing up £3.5 billion for services. 2. I have put £445 back in your pocket by freezing the Mayoral share of council tax over the last 3 years. Now I will cut it by at least 10% if re-elected. 3. Creating 200,000 new jobs over the next four years. 4. Making our streets and homes safer with 1,000 more police on the beat. 5. Restoring 300 acres of green space and planting 20,000 street trees. 6. Investing £221 million to transform local high streets, supporting small businesses. 7. Ensuring a true Olympic legacy – 11,000 new homes and 10,000 new jobs. 8. Reducing Tube delays 30% by 2015. Building Crossrail and orbital rail to link our suburbs. Extending the Bike Hire scheme. 9. Securing a better deal for London from No 10. 8 Taking Greater London Forward ## Growing the London economy Growing economy • Safer London • Value from Olympics • Uniting Londoners • Better schools • More police • Lower council tax • Better transport • Cleaner streets • More jobs • Cutting waste • Supporting older Londoners • Investing in transport • BETTER OFF WITH BORIS Boris Johnson ## Investing in Transport Growing economy • Safer London • Value from Olympics • Uniting Londoners • Better schools • More police • Lower council tax • Better transport • Cleaner streets • More jobs • Cutting waste • Supporting older Londoners • Investing in transport • BETTER OFF WITH BORIS Boris Johnson ## Fighting Crime in London Growing economy • Safer London • Value from Olympics • Uniting Londoners • Better schools • More police • Lower council tax • Better transport • Cleaner streets • More jobs • Cutting waste • Supporting older Londoners • Investing in transport • BETTER OFF WITH BORIS Boris Johnson ## Cutting waste and council tax Growing economy • Safer London • Value from Olympics • Uniting Londoners • Better schools • More police • Lower council tax • Better transport • Cleaner streets • More jobs • Cutting waste • Supporting older Londoners • Investing in transport • BETTER OFF WITH BORIS Boris Johnson ## Supporting older Londoners Growing economy • Safer London • Value from Olympics • Uniting Londoners • Better schools • More police • Lower council tax • Better transport • Cleaner streets • More jobs • Cutting waste • Supporting older Londoners • Investing in transport • BETTER OFF WITH BORIS Boris Johnson ## Value from the Olympics Growing economy • Safer London • Value from Olympics • Uniting Londoners • Better schools • More police • Lower council tax • Better transport • Cleaner streets • More jobs • Cutting waste • Supporting older Londoners • Investing in transport • BETTER OFF WITH BORIS Boris Johnson ## Uniting Londoners Growing economy • Safer London • Value from Olympics • Uniting Londoners • Better schools • More police • Lower council tax • Better transport • Cleaner streets • More jobs • Cutting waste • Supporting older Londoners • Investing in transport • BETTER OFF WITH BORIS Boris Johnson 10 Taking Greater London Forward # Growing # the London # economy **BETTER** **OFF WITH** **BORIS** • Cutting council tax • More police • Investing in transport • Growing London's economy • Boris Johnson Conservatives ## My 9 point plan for a Greater London 1. Cutting waste at City Hall – freeing up £3.5 billion for services. 2. Putting £445 back in your pocket by freezing the Mayoral share of council tax. 3. Creating 200,000 new jobs over the next four years. 4. Making our streets and homes safer with 1,000 more police on the beat. 5. Restoring 300 acres of green space and planting 20,000 street trees. 6. Investing £221 million to transform local high streets, supporting small businesses. 7. Ensuring a true Olympic legacy – 11,000 new homes and 10,000 new jobs. 8. Reducing Tube delays 30% by 2015. Building Crossrail and orbital rail to link our suburbs. Extending the Bike Hire scheme. 9. Securing a better deal for London from No 10. *Growing the London Economy details points 3, 5, 6 and 9 of my 9 point plan for Greater London, explains my plan to grow London’s economy to create jobs, investment and security through business, housing and environmental pledges, in addition to those listed in the 9 point plan for Greater London, and shows how they link in with the whole plan.* 4 Growing the London economy # Contents ## Introduction * 7 ## My Priorities for a Greater London * 9 ## 1. Securing a strong funding settlement for London * 13 ## 2. Growing London’s economy to create jobs * Create 200,000 jobs through City Hall programmes 15 * Lead a campaign for 20,000 part-time jobs to help parents return to work. 17 * Action on apprenticeships 17 * Discounted travel for apprentices 18 * London Living Wage 18 * Training London’s workforce 18 * Annual jobs fair 19 * Tackling entrenched unemployment 19 * Paid internships at City Hall 19 * Free Schools 19 ## 3. Growing London’s economy to drive investment * Supporting small businesses 21 * Regenerating town centres 21 * London Growth Fund 22 * Business Improvement Districts 22 * Parking 23 * Renewed focus on business crime 23 * GLA Group procurement 23 * Congestion Charge 23 * Championing Greater London 24 * Resisting EU interference 24 * Drive international investment 24 * Champion London as a tourist destination 25 * Tech City 25 * Active regeneration 26 * 2012 Games 26 * Science Park 27 * Royal Docks 27 * London Enterprise Panel 28 * Supporting the green economy 28 * Expand RE:NEW 28 * London Green Fund 29 * Mayor’s Low Carbon Prize 29 * Electric cars 29 * Air Quality 29 ## 4. Making London the best big city to live in * Improving our green spaces 31 * More street trees 31 * Pocket Parks 31 * Royal Parks 32 * Combating litter and graffiti with Community Payback 32 * Green volunteering 32 * Protecting back gardens 32 * Promoting home ownership 33 * Extending First Steps 33 * Promoting mortgage guarantee 33 * Improving the private rented sector 33 * Launch London Rental Standards and accredit 100,000 landlords 34 * Campaign against rent controls 34 * Encourage institutional investment 34 * Housing London’s workers 34 * New powers for London 35 * Record number of affordable homes 35 * New design standards 36 * Decent Homes 36 * Empty homes 36 * Rough sleeping 36 * Publish a list of all assets held by the GLA Group and create a single property unit 37 * Community-led development 38 6 Growing the London economy ## Introduction Dear Londoners, This election comes at a critical time. We are going through tough economic times, and Londoners are understandably concerned about their jobs and the cost of living. That is why my priorities over the last four years have been cutting waste and bureaucracy at City Hall and ensuring taxpayer money is put where Londoners want to see it spent. Despite the impact of the economic downturn, London has remained resilient. The employment rate has grown faster in London than anywhere else in the country¹. The capital continues to be the economic engine room of the nation, with Londoners generating around 22 per cent of the UK’s economy (measured by gross value added)². This has been driven not only by the large multinationals located here and our financial services, but also by London’s growing creative and digital industries, its small and medium enterprises, and its sole traders. The millions of people who work in business here have all, in one way or another, contributed to London’s phenomenal success and will contribute to the sustained recovery of the UK economy as a whole. My predecessor had no economic growth plan for London. Ken Livingstone created a London Development Agency that lacked credible systems to create economic growth on a cost-effective basis and wasted millions of pounds³. Instead, he spent more time on flights to Havana and Venezuela than on securing the investment London needs, and more time sniping at and undermining the industries that provide hundreds of thousands of jobs for Londoners than supporting them. I have changed that. Billions have been removed from unnecessary bureaucracy and reinvested in economic growth. This process has created a culture that evaluates investments to provide the best possible results, with value for money driving decisions that will benefit ordinary Londoners. I have stood up relentlessly for the interests of the London economy, combating pointless red tape and crippling taxes, whether they come from Whitehall or Brussels. I have always energetically promoted London internationally. I have secured record investment from No 10 for the capital’s transport network – far better than my predecessor ever could – with more than £20 billion⁴, delivering both the Tube upgrade and Crossrail to create the modern transport network our economy needs, and creating 32,000 jobs in the process⁵. We have also secured the Thameslink upgrade. I have also transformed opportunities for young Londoners. I have already created more than 54,000 apprenticeships⁶ and national figures show that 84 per cent remain in continued employment⁷. I intend to do more and deliver 100,000 new apprenticeships by the end of this year. I have helped the unemployed get back into work through subsidised travel and expanded the London Living Wage⁸. I have reduced business crime⁹, and started to transform great swathes of the capital through the regeneration of the Royal Docks and the Battersea, Nine Elms, Vauxhall area, creating jobs and securing new funding to drive even more growth¹⁰. 1. GLA Economics, *London’s Economy Today*, February 2012, p. 6, 2. ONS, *Regional, sub-regional and local Gross Value Added 2010*, 14 December 2011 3. GLA, *Report of the Mayor’s Forensic Audit Panel*, 15 July 2008 4. HMT, *Comprehensive Spending Review*, 20 October 2010 5. GLA, *Mayor’s Questions: Written Answers*, 14 March 2012 6. Mayor of London, Press Release, *Mayor urges firms to boost apprenticeship opportunities for young Londoners*, 7 February 2012 7. Learning & Skills Council, *The Benefits of Completing an Apprenticeship*, April 2009, p. 30 8. GLA, *A Fairer London: The 2011 Living Wage in London*, 2 May 2011 9. Mayor of London, Press Release, *Mayor welcomes drop in London business crime*, 29 January 2011 10. Boris Johnson, *Mayor’s Questions*, 15 June 2011; GLA, Press Release, *Mayor gives go-ahead to Battersea Power Station redevelopment*, 22 December 2010 Having provided a record number of affordable homes for low and middle income Londoners¹¹, I have also secured major new investment powers on housing. Despite a tough spending round I secured more than £3 billion for housing and regeneration¹², in addition to negotiating the transfer of 530 hectares of land to City Hall¹³ at no cost. I will continue to support London’s green economy, with plans to deliver a total of 20,000 street trees, restoring 300 acres of green space, and retrofitting tens of thousands of homes to reduce household energy bills by an average of £180 a year. I will continue to move London forward, with positive leadership and fresh ideas to bolster London’s premier position as a global city. I will help grow Greater London’s economy, protect existing jobs, create new ones, and boost skills and training. I will safeguard hard-won investment in our transport network, and cut Council Tax. I will establish the London Enterprise Panel across Greater London, and stimulate growth through investment in the Enterprise Zone in the Royal Docks and relief for business rates. I will invest £221 million to transform high streets and support small businesses¹⁴. I will also launch a new London Growth Fund with the £70 million I persuaded the Chancellor to allocate to London in this year’s Budget, supporting businesses to expand and creating thousands of new jobs. I will directly create more than 200,000 jobs for those seeking work, and continue to improve skills by creating on average 1,000 new apprenticeships every week and ensure they benefit from the same travel discounts as full-time students. But above all, I will lobby for a fair deal for London from the Government. It is time to review the funding arrangements for London, to ensure the capital gets back what it deserves. I will therefore set up an independent commission to examine whether it is time to introduce a Barnett style formula for London. We have made progress despite difficult times. At the Mayoral election on 3rd May this progress is at risk. The choice at this election is between taking London backwards, and my plan to ensure we continue to grow our economy, working constructively with the private sector to create jobs, drive investment and make London the best city to live in. Boris Johnson 1. Mayor of London, *The revised London Housing Strategy*, December 2011 2. Mayor of London, Press Release, *Mayor unveils strategy to deliver thousands of new homes and jobs for London*, 13 December 2011 3. GLA, *Proposed Changes to the GLA Establishment Arising from the Devolution Programme*, 29 February 2012 4. Mayor of London, *Mayor’s Questions*, 9 February 2012 # My Priorities for a Greater London ## 1. Securing a strong funding settlement for London - Establish an independent London Funding Commission to examine the case for a Barnett style formula for London. - Lobby the Government to ensure London gets back in funding what it contributes to the national purse. ## 2. Growing London’s economy to create jobs - Create 200,000 direct jobs through City Hall programmes, including: - 32,000 jobs through the Tube upgrade and Crossrail; - 10,000 jobs through a genuine Olympic and Paralympic legacy; - and 104,000 jobs through my housing programmes. - Lead a part-time jobs campaign to help parents return to work. - Action on apprenticeships. Continue working with my Ambassador for Apprentices to: - Extend to apprentices over the age of 18 the same Transport for London travel discounts as students in full time education, with 30 per cent discount on season tickets. - Drive the creation of an average of 1,000 new apprenticeships every week. - Create 4,000 apprenticeships for small and medium-sized London businesses with £6 million secured from the Government. - Work constructively with the private sector to increase to 250 the number of companies offering the London Living Wage. ### Training London’s workforce - Secure private sponsorship to host an annual Mayoral jobs fair and explore launching a targeted London careers advice service. - Offer 100 paid internships in the Greater London Authority (GLA) Group. - Audit the GLA Group estate for 10 surplus buildings which could be used for Free Schools, helping around 5,000 school children; and amend the London Plan to encourage the establishment of more Free Schools. ## 3. Growing London’s economy to drive investment ### Supporting small businesses - Guarantee the £221 million regeneration fund to support small businesses, town centres and high streets. - Launch a new £35 million revolving fund, through the London Growth Fund, to provide low-cost loans to small and medium-sized businesses, using money I have secured from the Government. - Increase the number of Business Improvement Districts to 50 across London, focusing on town centres such as Bromley, Enfield, Richmond and Romford. - Increase by a third the time motorists can park in “Stop and Shop” bays on TfL roads to support local businesses. - Call on each borough to review parking in non-residential, strategic shopping areas to reduce any negative impact on businesses. - Drive a renewed focus on business crime by requiring an Assistant Commissioner at the Metropolitan Police Service to have responsibility for tackling it. - Strengthen the CompeteFor service so it continues to deliver easy access to contract opportunities across the GLA Group for small and medium sized businesses. - Never introduce a London-wide Congestion Charge or a £25 tax on family cars. ## Championing Greater London - Stand up for London’s businesses against EU interference, leading the campaign to resist new taxes and red-tape from Brussels. - Safeguard London’s position as the leading global hub for the financial services industry, and actively support the 640,000 Londoners who work in jobs related to financial services. - Drive international investment and jobs by hosting London House – an international investment showcase to attract business – at City Hall this summer during the 2012 Games; and championing the capital as a tourist destination. - Lobby the Government to devolve the Tech City Investment Organisation to London as part of continued support for the expansion of the capital’s hi-tech economy. ## Active regeneration - Transform East London through development, investment, and better transport links, including overseeing the Mayoral Development Corporation to secure the Olympic Legacy, create 10,000 new jobs, and deliver 11,000 homes on the Olympic Park, including a community-led development at Cobham Manor. - Explore creating a new science institute in the Olympic Park, including lobbying to bring the proposed Cell Therapy Technology and Innovation Centre to the Park. - Deliver the Royal Docks Enterprise Zone, creating thousands of jobs, including more than 9,000 jobs through the development of Silvertown Quays. - Invest £41 million through the new London Enterprise Panel into major regeneration projects. ## Supporting the green economy - Expand RE:NEW to retrofit a further 20,000 homes, saving the average household £180 a year on their energy bills. - Use the £12 million London Green Fund to leverage investment for carbon-reducing measures in residential development. - Promote the Low Carbon Prize to foster and champion new green technology. - Roll out electric cars across London, with 1,300 new charging points by 2013, and increase the GLA fleet of electric vehicles to 1,000. ## 4. Making London the best city to live in ### Improving our green spaces - Guarantee funding to increase the number of street trees planted to 20,000, and use City Hall’s planning powers to require developers to plant more trees. - Invest £6 million to improve 300 acres of green space and work with boroughs to create 100 Pocket Parks across Greater London. - Give local people a direct say on Community Payback to ensure offenders serving community sentences carry out tasks set by Safer Neighbourhood Boards, such as removing graffiti and clearing litter. - Maintain the strong protection of green space and presumption against development of back gardens in the London Plan. ### Promoting home ownership - Boost the First Steps programme of low-cost home ownership to help around 25,000 Londoners through a greater role for First Steps agents, enabling households to switch low-cost home ownership products as their circumstances change, and encouraging providers to develop products which let households convert rent into equity. - Promote to Londoners the Government’s mortgage guarantee scheme which will reduce deposits for 100,000 buyers. ## Improving the private rented sector * Launch the London Rental Standard to create a single accreditation badge for the capital and accredit 100,000 landlords by 2016. * Campaign against rent controls, which will deter investment in housing and drive down the quality of housing stock. * Encourage institutional investment, including reviewing land. ## Housing London’s workers * Create 100,000 jobs through my housing programmes to deliver around 55,000 affordable homes by 2015 for low and middle income workers. * Deliver new homes to new higher space and design standards, including a significant proportion of family-sized housing. * Invest £821 million into improving 45,000 existing council-owned homes. * Ensure empty homes represent no more than 1 per cent of total housing stock, and invest a further £15 million to bring empty homes back into use. * Extend the No Second Night Out initiative to tackle rough sleeping across Greater London. * Publish a list of all assets held by the GLA Group for the public, investors and developers to see. * Establish a single property unit for all land holdings at the GLA Group and a single, cost-effective procurement process for all land holdings to speed up the release of land and reduce bureaucracy with returns being reinvested to the benefit of Londoners. 12 Growing the London economy ## 1. Securing a strong funding settlement for London ### I will: * Establish an independent London Funding Commission to examine the case for a Barnett style formula for London. * Lobby the Government to ensure London gets back in funding what it contributes to the national purse. London is the engine room of Britain’s economy and I want to ensure that London’s place at the heart of a growing economy is secure. As Mayor, over the past four years I have worked hard to ensure that every penny under my control is spent wisely. We inherited a profligate and wasteful situation. Funds were wasted, spent on pet projects and dispensed to cronies; and important areas like transport investment and police did not get the attention they deserved. As Mayor I have worked hard to ensure London lives within its means and acts responsibly. I have shown that, unlike my predecessor, I have been able to work with the Government to get a better deal for London. Where even his own party did not trust him with money, I was able to secure new Tube funding arrangements with the abolition of the PPP for London Underground. Despite the toughest financial situation for generations and a real threat to its funding, I secured in full funding for both the Tube upgrade and Crossrail to connect London from east to west, creating thousands of jobs. These negotiations showed me that we need to look at how Greater London is funded. Although the deals I got were something my predecessor was never able to, they still required me, on behalf of Londoners, to go to the Government to make the case. But the Government has the final say. We have to ensure London is not seen as a cash cow. It is estimated that London can contribute between £14 billion and £19 billion to the rest of the country through a tax export¹⁵. Research by the Centre for Economics and Business Research has also shown that £1 in every 5 earned in London subsidises the rest of the UK, a net subsidy of around 20 per cent¹⁶. London has continued to make a net contribution to the UK even during the economic downturn. It is time to review the funding arrangements for London to ensure that London gets a fair share, recognising its significant contribution to the UK’s economy and tax base. So I will establish an independent London Funding Commission to examine the existing, and propose revised funding arrangements for the capital. I want to make sure that London’s funding sources are put on a secure long term footing, giving the Mayor and the people of London increased certainty. It will examine whether it is time we should keep more of the taxes Londoners pay in London. This will effectively propose a Barnett style formula for London. The London Funding Commission will also monitor revenues raised from the people and businesses of Greater London and review their distribution, use and the comparative financial outcomes for Londoners compared to others in the UK, and providing the data needed to ensure that Greater London gets a fair deal. I will use this to lobby the Government to ensure London gets back in funding what it contributes to the national purse; and that funding is allocated without ring-fencing so that the Mayor can determine how money is spent to match Londoners’ priorities. Other areas have benefited from London’s productivity. It is time there was a Barnett style formula for London. 15 LSE, _London’s Place in the UK Economy_, 2009-10, October 2009 16 CEBR, Forecasting Eye, One pound in five earned in London subsidises the rest of the UK – Northern Ireland, Wales and North East receive more than a fifth of their income as subsidies from outside the region, 13 February 2012 14 Growing the London economy ## 2. Growing London’s economy to create jobs I will: * Create 200,000 direct jobs through City Hall programmes, including: * 32,000 jobs through the Tube upgrade and Crossrail; * 10,000 jobs through a genuine Olympic and Paralympic legacy; * and 104,000 jobs through my housing programmes. * Lead a part-time jobs campaign to help parents return to work. * Action on apprenticeships. Continue working with my Ambassador for Apprentices to: * Extend to apprentices over the age of 18 the same Transport for London travel discounts as students in full time education, with 30 per cent discount on season tickets. * Drive the creation of an average of 1,000 new apprenticeships every week. * Create 4,000 apprenticeships for small and medium-sized London businesses with £6 million secured from the Government. * Work constructively with the private sector to increase to 250 the number of companies offering the London Living Wage. ## Create 200,000 jobs through City Hall programmes My predecessor did not have a credible jobs plan for London. Projects were often hugely wasteful, with Ken Livingstone’s discredited London Development Agency (LDA) focused more on funding special interest groups than supporting economic growth and jobs creation. In 2008 a review of the LDA was conducted by the Forensic Audit Panel which reported that Ken Livingstone’s LDA “misspent” money “on a massive scale”¹⁷. Through sound budget management, I have improved efficiency and saved money so that we can focus on Londoners’ priorities and create more jobs. Employment initiatives including my Economic Recovery Action Plan have helped create and sustain thousands of jobs and businesses, with over 35,000 Londoners supported into training and jobs and 7,250 businesses given intensive support during 2010/11 alone¹⁸. Despite extremely tough economic conditions, employment growth in London remains resilient, growing by an annualised 3.9 per cent in the last available quarter in the capital compared to zero growth in the rest of the UK¹⁹. Private-sector employment is growing but it needs to grow faster still²⁰, and I am committed to helping it do so. Especially now, it is crucial Londoners have positive, constructive leadership to create more jobs and safeguard existing ones. That is why I have focused all of our investment programmes on not just improving London’s transport network and regenerating more deprived parts of the capital, but ensuring the investment protects existing jobs and creates employment opportunities. I will create 200,000 jobs directly through City Hall activities. I will also create even more through indirect activities, such as the planned Northern Line extension into Battersea, which will create 25,000 jobs. These can only be delivered through an innovative investment vehicle I have agreed with No 10²¹. The jobs I will create directly include: * **Crossrail: 14,000 jobs.** Crossrail had been talked about for years when I came into office. After I was elected, public finances were under pressure. There was a very real danger that Crossrail would be sacrificed. I set about making the case for London to the Government and, in 2010, the Prime Minister and the Chancellor agreed to commit the funding. We will now invest £15.9 billion into Crossrail, creating 14,000 new jobs²² in London between 2013 and 2015. ¹⁷ London Evening Standard, *Scandal of LDA’s missing millions*, 16 July 2008 ¹⁸ LDA, *Annual Report & Statement of Accounts 2010/11*, 23 November 2011 ¹⁹ GLA Economics, *London’s Economy Today*, February 2012, p. 6 ²⁰ ONS, *Regional analysis of public sector employment 2011* ²¹ HM Treasury, *Autumn Statement*, 29 November 2011, paragraph A.17, p54 ²² HM Treasury, *Spending Review*, 22 October 2010, p23 ■ **Tube Upgrades: 18,300 jobs.** The overhaul of our Tube network is now well underway. Crucial to this was my action to cancel Labour’s failed Public-Private Partnership (PPP), which wasted millions and delayed vital work – something Ken Livingstone was unable to do. I also persuaded the Government to invest £6 billion in upgrades that will create 18,300 jobs23. The jobs created by the upgrade plan break downs as follows: ■ 2,500 jobs created directly by London Underground (LU). ■ 225 jobs created directly by Tube Lines, which is now part of TfL. ■ A peak of 15,000 jobs created indirectly through the supply chain by LU. ■ 550 jobs created indirectly by Tube Lines, which is now part of TfL. ■ **Housing Programme: approximately 104,000 jobs.** Ken Livingstone was not trusted by his own party to run housing, but I persuaded the Government to let me invest £3 billion to deliver my housing plan. This will see the construction of 55,000 affordable homes by 2015, creating 100,000 new jobs. This is despite the biggest spending squeeze in recent memory and the toughest housing market conditions in years. In addition, I have secured a further £108 million funding package to kick-start building projects across the capital. As part of the Government’s Get Britain Building programme – which will unlock stalled sites with planning permission – the funding will deliver more than 2,700 homes and at least 4,000 jobs in Barnet, Brent, Bromley, Croydon, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Lewisham, Southwark and Wandsworth24. ■ **Greenwich Peninsula: 4,000 jobs.** I have unlocked the Greenwich Peninsula scheme that stalled under Ken Livingstone during the boom years. The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) estimates 4,000 jobs will be created from new development there, which will see 10,000 new homes, 3.5 million square feet of office space and 150 shops and restaurants created25. ■ **Royal Docks Enterprise Zone: 1,500 jobs.** The Royal Docks lay undeveloped for years as Ken Livingstone failed to deliver regeneration, despite a booming economy. By working constructively with the Government I secured an Enterprise Zone for the Royal Docks, which will see low business rates, simplified planning rules and crucial job creation. These include 280 jobs with Siemens. The Enterprise Zone projections show 7,600 to 12,700 permanent jobs could be created in total26, including more than 9,000 jobs on the Silvertown Quays development27. ■ **Foreign Direct Investment: 14,000.** I took the decision to roll three organisations (Think London, Study London and Visit London), which were fragmented under Ken Livingstone, into the one London & Partners, cutting waste and bureaucracy so investment could start reaching more Londoners. The agency, which I created to promote London to international investors, estimates 14,000 jobs will be created through Foreign Direct Investment28. ■ **Olympic legacy: 10,000 jobs.** As a result of the London Olympics, 11,000 new homes are being built which will result in 10,000 jobs. This is thanks to the work of the Olympic Park Legacy Company, which I set up after coming to office having found no concrete legacy plans left behind by Ken Livingstone29. ■ **2008 European Regional Development Fund jobs still being delivered: 4,700 jobs.** This is the number of jobs I have ensured will be delivered from European funding30. ■ **European Regional Development Fund contracted post 2011: 2,300 jobs.** This is the number of jobs I have ensured will be delivered from the next round of European funding31. 23 GLA, Mayor’s Questions: Written Answers, 14 March 2012 24 Mayor of London, Press Release Mayor unveils strategy to deliver thousands of new homes and jobs for London, 13 December 2011 25 Greenwich Peninsula developer’s website 26 Mayor of London, Mayor’s Questions, Appendix A, 14 March 2012 27 The Telegraph, London Mayor Boris Johnson hails £1.2m plan for derelict city area, 17 March 2012 28 GLA, Mayor’s Questions: Written Answers, 14 March 2012, p.118 29 GLA, Mayor’s Questions: Written Answers, 14 March 2012 30 GLA, Mayor’s Questions: Written Answers, 14 March 2012 31 GLA, Mayor’s Questions: Written Answers, 14 March 2012 ## Growing the London economy * **Mayor’s Regeneration Fund:** 3,500 jobs. I set up the Mayor’s Regeneration Fund (MRF) in the aftermath of last summer’s riots to help those areas most affected get back on their feet. 3,000 jobs are associated with the projects funded by the MRF, with a further 500 short-term jobs in Haringey³². * **Outer London Fund:** 700 jobs. These are the jobs that we expect to be created by the development schemes resulting from or unlocked by the Outer London Fund, which I set up when I came into office. This is the first time the GLA has focused funding on the outer boroughs in such a coordinated way after the years of neglect under Ken Livingstone. The Fund is also currently supporting a range of schemes designed to help high streets survive and thrive. High streets employ more than 30,000 people and this investment supports the continuation of those jobs and minimises the risks that may otherwise exist for business in those areas³³. * **Green Jobs:** 4,300 jobs. These will be jobs created as a result of my innovative RE:NEW/RE:FIT programme, which seeks to provide Londoners with affordable home insulation – saving the average household £180 on their energy bills³⁴. ## Lead a campaign for 20,000 part-time jobs to help parents return to work. I will use the unique platform of the Mayoralty to spearhead a campaign to work with the private sector to match those who have the right skills but are unable to do full-time jobs with those firms that need them on a part-time basis. For example, a recent Resolution Foundation report³⁵ revealed that women with young children found it hard to go back into full-time work because it does not offer the flexibility required. Often, women with young children need the flexibility that part-time work provides. The same is true for carers, who have the skills employers want, but need the flexibility of part-time work. Therefore, I will work closely with employers to help identify new part-time jobs and those with the right skills. I will also use £25 million from the new London Growth Fund which I persuaded the Government to fund in the recent Budget, to invest in job and skill creation programmes through the London Enterprise Panel. This is vital to inject confidence in London’s economy and to take small but visible steps to encourage firms to take on new staff and expand initiatives such as apprenticeships. The fund would be set at £25 million and aim to create at least 7,500 jobs by 2015. And I will continue to ensure that in addition to seeking the very best value for taxpayers’ money, every procurement exercise we undertake will also be focused on creating job opportunities, from graduates to the long-term unemployed, at every opportunity. These jobs will be under threat if Ken Livingstone is elected. His plans would take £1.14 billion³⁶ out of the Transport for London budget – not only threatening services but also 32,000 jobs. ## Action on apprenticeships When I arrived at City Hall, London had just 6 per cent of all apprenticeships in the UK³⁷, despite having 12.5 per cent of the population³⁸. Many sectors such as financial and professional services largely ignored apprenticeships. I have campaigned hard to increase apprenticeship opportunities, signing up a host of new businesses to offer modern apprenticeships across all sectors of the London economy. Our success has doubled 32 GLA, Mayor’s Questions: Written Answers, 14 March 2012 33 GLA, Mayor’s Questions: Written Answers, 14 March 2012 34 GLA, Mayor’s Questions: Written Answers, 14 March 2012 35 Resolution Foundation, *The price of motherhood: women and part-time work*, February 2012 36 Mayor of London, Mayor’s Questions, 14 December 2011 37 The Data Service, *Apprenticeship Supplementary Tables: Breakdown by Geography, Equality and Diversity, Framework and Sector Subject Area*, 14 February 2012 38 ONS, *Population Estimates Total Persons for the UK, Constituent Countries and Regions - Mid 1971 to Mid 2010*, December 2011, apprenticeships, with more than 54,470 created in the past 18 months$^{39}$, and widening the range of employers offering them, including employers such as HSBC bank and Microsoft$^{40}$. I am on target to create 100,000 more apprenticeships in London by the end of this year$^{41}$. I will continue to work constructively with London business to generate a further 250,000 apprenticeships by 2016 – this would more than double the current commitment, and mean on average 1,000 new apprenticeships being created every week. I will aim to maintain the current 84 per cent conversion rate to real jobs estimated by the Learning and Skills Council$^{42}$. I will also make it easier for small and medium-sized companies to recruit apprentices through the Government’s £6 million programme to create 4,000 apprenticeships. This entitles small and medium-sized businesses to apply for a £1,500 incentive payment when employing an apprentice aged 16 to 24 as part of a new initiative managed by the National Apprenticeship Service, which I support. ## Discounted travel for apprentices Young people under the age of 18 are entitled to discount travel and, under the 18plus scheme, those aged over 18 in full-time education are entitled to a 30 per cent discount on season tickets through TfL. In recognition of the importance of apprenticeships in helping people into employment and boosting London’s economy, I will extend through the 18plus scheme the same travel discounts to apprentices on recognised schemes over the age of 18 that students in full-time education currently receive. ## London Living Wage The London Living Wage has helped many Londoners and has put over £60 million more in their pockets since 2005$^{43}$. To make sure work pays and to reduce in-work poverty, I have increased and championed the London Living Wage$^{44}$. When I was elected, just 27 companies offered the London Living Wage. Despite London’s difficult economic climate, I have increased that number to over 100, and also increased the wage by a record amount$^{45}$. I have ensured that the London Living Wage is paid across the GLA Group$^{46}$ and is now standard practice across the financial and professional services sector. I will continue to champion the London Living Wage, pushing private and public sector employers to pay at least this level to all of their workers in London, with the aim of increasing the number of companies offering the wage to 250 by the end of my next term. I will also lobby the Government to adopt it across Whitehall. ## Training London’s workforce - Secure private sponsorship to host an annual Mayoral jobs fair and explore launching a targeted London careers advice service. - Offer 100 paid internships in the Greater London Authority (GLA) Group. - Audit the GLA Group estate for 10 surplus buildings which could be used for Free Schools, helping around 5,000 school children – and amend the London Plan to encourage the establishment of more Free Schools. $^{39}$ Mayor of London, Press Release, *Mayor urges firms to boost apprenticeship opportunities for young Londoners*, 7 February 2012 $^{40}$ Apprenticeships, Press Release, *HSBC signs up to Government’s Apprenticeship scheme*, 5 April 2011; GLA, Press Release, Microsoft commits to create 1,000 apprentices in London, 7 February 2011 $^{41}$ Mayor of London, Press Release, Mayor of London aims for 100,000 apprenticeships by 2012, 27 October 2011 $^{42}$ Learning & Skills Council, *The Benefits of Completing an Apprenticeship*, April 2009, p30 $^{43}$ Mayor of London, Press Release, Record rise in London Living Wage puts £5.5 million in pockets of capital’s low paid workers, 2 May 2011 $^{44}$ GLA, A Fairer London: The 2011 Living Wage in London, 2 May 2011 $^{45}$ GLA, A Fairer London: The 2011 Living Wage in London, 2 May 2011, Mayor of London, Press Release, Global giants sign up to pay staff the London Living Wage, 16 November 2010 $^{46}$ GLA, A Fairer London: The 2011 Living Wage in London, 2 May 2011 ## Annual jobs fair It is important to equip school leavers with skills for the workplace. Too many young people are leaving school without the prospect of a positive future, leading to unemployment, low skills and the risk of being involved in crime. I will continue my recently launched GLA Youth Programme, co-funded by the European Social Fund, to the value of £10 million47. This will support vulnerable young Londoners aged 14-19 to get into training, employment or further education; particularly those with learning disabilities, ex-offenders, or who have been excluded from school. This programme includes the £3.5 million of funding I have pledged to continue the Daedalus programme to tackle the vicious cycle of youth re-offending. I will also use the London Enterprise Panel to continue the work of the London Employment and Skills Board and use my statutory powers to improve skills and employability in London. I have initiated a range of programmes to support young people through mentoring, structured activities and apprenticeships. Team London also recruits businesses to volunteer staff to work with young people and offer “skills for success”. I will work with major employers and secure sponsorship to host an annual Mayoral jobs fair, with a major online component. I will also explore with the Government devolving a share of the funding of the National Careers Service to London to provide a targeted service that offers careers advice and brokers work experience, mentoring, and volunteering opportunities for all young people. This is an approach I have championed in the three Mayoral academies – based in Enfield and Bexley – where a dedicated member of staff provides targeted support for students identified as at risk of leaving the academies and ending up Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET). ## Tackling entrenched unemployment It is important to help those farthest from the labour market into work and the opportunity to build a life that is not dependant on benefits. That is why I will use City Hall’s procurement process to create at least 600 jobs for the long-term unemployed. I will work with the Government-appointed work provider companies to ensure Londoners have every chance to be work ready when investment plans produce new job opportunities. I will organise regular liaison with those companies to ensure they are aware of job opportunities before they arise and can equip Londoners with the necessary skills to fill them. By working closely with individual boroughs and levering European funds, we can do even more to help those who most need help. ## Paid internships at City Hall I will launch a Mayoral internship scheme, leading by example with 100 openly-advertised, paid internships across the GLA Group open to all Londoners over 18, including those who are in or have just left further or higher education. These Mayoral internships will be at City Hall, TfL, the Metropolitan Police Service and the London Fire Brigade, and will be structured to ensure they are of maximum benefit to those taking part. Interns will be paid the London Living Wage. ## Free Schools London faces a serious shortage of good school places. Over 70,000 new places are needed over the next four years48, with only two thirds of children in London getting their first choice of secondary school49. Yet my predecessor has not commented on the shortage of school places, nor has he said what he will do to help create more school places. Under the Academies Act 2010, the Government has made it possible for new Free Schools to be established by groups of parents, teachers, charities, businesses, universities, trusts, religious or voluntary groups. There is a demand for Free Schools in London, with nine being opened in the capital last year50, and a further 21 47 GLA Website, GLA ESF Youth Programme 2011-13 48 Mayor of London, Mayor’s Questions, 12 October 2011, 2883/2011 49 GLA, Press Release, News from James Cleverly: Calls for action over shortage of school places, 26 March 2009 50 Department for Education, Free Schools that Opened in 2011, 20 January 2012 scheduled to open this year⁵¹. Last September, I opened London’s first Free School⁵² – the West London Free School, based in Hammersmith, championed by Toby Young and local residents. I have successfully lobbied, together with London’s boroughs, for extra Government funding for school places, with an extra £260 million being allocated to the capital⁵³. While Free School groups can apply for this capital funding, many are struggling to find suitable buildings in their area of choice. I will bring forward an early alteration to the London Plan to encourage Free Schools to be set up across London, and help groups overcome any planning obstacles. I will also audit the GLA Group estate for surplus buildings which could be used as Free Schools. This would be implemented using the capital funding the Government has made available for new school places through the Free Schools programme. The result will be more good school places for London – ten school sites could provide places for around 5,000 pupils, assuming a split of eight primary schools and two secondary schools⁵⁴. ⁵¹ Department for Education, *Free Schools opening in 2012 and beyond*, 2 March 2012 ⁵² GLA, *Thirty Fourth Mayor’s Report to the Assembly*, 12 October 2011 ⁵³ London Councils, *London Councils welcomes funding for school places – but warns more is still needed*, 7 November 2011 ⁵⁴ DfE, *DfE: Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics: January 2010*, 13 May 2010 The average London primary school size is 361 pupils (644,630 pupils in 1,786 schools) while the average size of secondary schools in London is 1,081 pupils (406,510 pupils in 376 schools) ## Growing the London economy ## 3. Growing London’s economy to drive investment ### Supporting small businesses I will: * Guarantee the £221 million regeneration fund to support small businesses, town centres and high streets. * Launch a new £35 million revolving fund, through the London Growth Fund, to provide low-cost loans to small and medium-sized businesses, using money I have secured from the Government. * Increase the number of Business Improvement Districts to 50 across London, focusing on town centres such as Bromley, Richmond and Romford. * Increase by a third the time motorists can park in “Stop and Shop” bays on TfL roads to support local businesses. * Call on each borough to review parking in non-residential, strategic shopping areas to reduce any negative impact on businesses. * Drive a renewed focus on business crime by requiring an Assistant Commissioner at the Metropolitan Police Service to have responsibility for tackling it. * Strengthen the CompeteFor service so it continues to deliver easy access to contract opportunities across the GLA Group for small and medium sized businesses. * Never introduce a London-wide Congestion Charge or a £25 tax on family cars. ### Regenerating town centres The high street is the heartbeat of London’s business community and the current economic conditions make it ever more important to support the high street. When I was elected, there was no comprehensive programme to support the high street despite long-term decline in many areas of London. Under my Mayoralty, a total of £221 million is being invested in regeneration across London’s boroughs. This investment will help riot-affected areas, improve high streets, protect existing jobs as well as delivering growth and new jobs. This includes: * **Outer London Fund.** The £50 million Outer London Fund⁵⁵ is a three-year initiative launched in June 2011. It is designed to strengthen the vibrancy and growth of London’s high streets and local areas. * **Regeneration Fund.** The £50 million Regeneration Fund⁵⁶ is designed to help make major long-term improvements to the capital’s town centres and high streets damaged by last summer’s riots. * **London Enterprise Fund.** The £20 million London Enterprise Fund⁵⁷ is designed to fund major regeneration of Tottenham and Croydon, two of the worst hit areas in last summer’s riots. * **External Funding.** A further £57 million from external funding⁵⁸ has been raised in match funding from other private and public-sector partners. This is expected to rise to £60 million once new contracts are signed. * **Growing Places Fund.** London has secured £41 million from the Government’s Growing Places Fund⁵⁹, designed to boost economic growth by getting the required infrastructure built to enable the creation of new homes and jobs and get stalled projects moving again. This fund will be overseen by the London Enterprise Panel. ⁵⁵ Mayor of London, Press Release, Mayor’s Outer London Fund goes live, 13 June 2011 ⁵⁶ GLA Website, Mayor’s regeneration fund,; GLA, Press Release, Mayor to invest £50 million in long term regeneration of capital’s damaged town centres, 11 August 2011 ⁵⁷ Mayor of London, Press Release, £20m to transform Tottenham and Croydon following riots, 17 August 2011 ⁵⁸ Mayor of London, Mayor’ Questions, 22 February 2012 ⁵⁹ London Enterprise Panel, The Growing Places Fund in London, February 2012 In total 75 schemes designed to improve local places⁶⁰ and local economies will be funded, 26 local boroughs will have benefitted from this investment, and none of this would have been possible without my intervention. This includes: * £23 million for Croydon⁶¹, including a support package to attract business, create more space for pedestrians and improve the transport interchange around West Croydon station, and improvements to the main high street. * Over £5 million being invested in Bromley town centre⁶² to help around 500 businesses. * Nearly £2 million being invested in Harrow town centre to improve access and support business, including an empty shops initiative⁶³. * £10.6 million to revitalise Peckham Rye Station and the surrounding area⁶⁴. * £6.85 million into Southall High Street⁶⁵, including transforming a disused heritage building into a restaurant which would see around 1,500 young people trained during the next Mayoral term⁶⁶. I will continue to drive this programme of investment across London, regenerating high streets and economies and making sure that local people benefit from the results. ## London Growth Fund It is critical we continue to stimulate London’s economy. I successfully lobbied the Chancellor ahead of this year’s Budget, and secured £70 million specifically to boost economic growth across the capital⁶⁷. I intend to use some of this funding to help restore confidence in lending to SMEs. This would complement the Government’s scheme by focussing on growing existing companies and increasing the number of jobs in them rather than start-ups. Working with partners such as the Federation of Small Businesses and professional organisations to administer this scheme, I will make available up to £35 million for loans, and will seek to attract private-sector funding to double the size and scope of this fund to £50 million, including the remaining European Regional Development Funds worth £10 million. The fund would provide average loans of around £100,000 for each company, and if successful in attracting other funds, could drive growth for around 500 companies. The funding would be a loan enabling repayments to be used again and again to help more small businesses in London throughout my next term. The fund will be managed on our behalf by private-sector fund managers contracted through the London Enterprise Panel. ## Business Improvement Districts I have supported the expansion of Business Improvement Districts (BIDs). These have been instrumental in upgrading retail areas as well as industrial parks, and there are now around 25 across the capital. Under a BID, which is a private enterprise, local businesses work with the borough council and others, and are balloted on improvements they would like to see within the area to improve trade, such as greater security, cleaning up the local environment, or more promotional activity. Once improvements have been decided on, they are funded through a levy of businesses within the district. A number of BIDs are being created, including Wimbledon, Orpington, and Sutton, and I will support the creation of further BIDs, working with boroughs and businesses to double the number to 50 in the next four years, focusing on town centres such as Bromley, Enfield, Richmond and Romford. 60. GLA Website, Mayor’s regeneration fund; GLA Website, Outer London Fund; GLA Website, Investing in growth 61. Mayor of London, Press Release, Help me make Croydon great again’ Mayor tells investors, 22 November 2011 62. The London Borough of Bromley, Press Release, Market testing underway for plans to improve Bromley Town Centre, 20 February 2012 63. GLA Website, Outer London Fund 64. Mayor of London, Press Release, Mayor investing £177 million to regenerate capital, 17 January 2012, 65. Mayor of London, Press Release, Mayor investing £177 million to regenerate capital, 17 January 2012, 66. Ealing Council, Press Release, Southall cash injection totals nearly £7m, 18 January 2012 67. HM Treasury, Budget 2012, 21 March 2012, p. 42 ## Parking One of the most frequent complaints from businesses large and small is about parking in London. It makes it difficult for them to do their job, increasing costs, or discouraging trade by making it harder and more expensive for customers to visit them. I will call on each borough to review parking in non-residential, strategic shopping areas, to see if it can be managed in a way that reduces any negative impact on businesses. Retailers can suffer if shoppers find it too difficult to park their cars, so I will lead by example by extending the length of time motorists can park at “Stop and Shop” bays – giving them an extra 10 minutes’ free parking on Transport for London roads that go through commercial high streets. The current stopping time is 20 minutes outside restricted hours. ## Renewed focus on business crime When I was elected, there were 109,777 incidences of business crime reported in 2007[^68], contributing to an estimated annual cost of £1.4 billion[^69]. I have cut business crime by 30 per cent to 76,739 in 2011[^70]. I pledged to prioritise tackling business-related crime and, working with the Metropolitan Police Service, we have successfully reduced business-related crime by 3.4 per cent[^71], with a double-digit drop in many boroughs- with Bexley, Greenwich, Enfield, Lewisham and Waltham Forest reporting falls of between 12-15 per cent[^72]. I will ensure this downward trend is maintained and will require an Assistant Commissioner at the Metropolitan Police Service to be given responsibility for leading the fight against business crime. ## GLA Group procurement Many small businesses rely on contracts from the public sector to prosper. We have championed initiatives such as the CompeteFor website[^73] which allows businesses to bid for City Hall contracts and makes the procurement process more accessible for firms of all sizes. Nearly £2 billion of contracts have been offered to businesses[^74] and of those almost 75 per cent have been awarded to small and medium-sized enterprises[^75]. Over 40,000 London companies are now signed up to CompeteFor[^76]. The GLA Group has also helped improve the cash flow of small and medium-sized enterprises through the prompt payment of their invoices, with an average of 86.8 per cent of all valid invoices from SMEs paid within 10 working days[^77]. We will continue to offer this simple and effective system to ensure London’s businesses get a real opportunity to win work without being put off by unnecessary bureaucracy. ## Congestion Charge I promised to consult again on the Western Extension of the Congestion Charge Zone (WEZ). I listened to residents’ views and scrapped it. There has been a negligible impact on congestion and traffic speeds, and a measurable boost to local businesses. I also promised to scrap Ken Livingstone’s £25 a day tax on family vehicles, and I did. To protect London’s businesses and families, I promise never to introduce a London-wide Congestion Charge or a £25 tax on family cars. [^68]: Boris Johnson, *Backing London Business*, 2008, p. 9 [^69]: Boris Johnson, *Backing London Business*, 2008, p. 9 [^70]: Mayor of London, Press Release, *Mayor welcomes drop in London business crime*, 29 January 2012 [^71]: Mayor of London, Press Release, *Mayor welcomes drop in London business crime*, 29 January 2012 [^72]: Mayor of London, Press Release, *Mayor welcomes drop in London business crime*, 29 January 2012 [^73]: CompeteFor Website [^74]: LDA, Press Release, *CompeteFor posts 10,000th chance to strike gold*, 29 November 2011, [^75]: LDA, Press Release, *CompeteFor posts 10,000th chance to strike gold*, 29 November 2011 ; Boris Johnson, *Mayor’s Questions*, 16 November 2011, 3516/2011 [^76]: LDA, *Annual Report & Statement of Accounts 2010/11*, 23 November 2011 [^77]: GLA, *Delivering Responsible Procurement*, February 2012 ## Championing Greater London I will: - Stand up for London’s businesses against EU interference, leading the campaign to resist new taxes and red-tape from Brussels. - Safeguard London’s position as the leading global hub for the financial services industry, and actively support the 640,000 Londoners who work in jobs related to financial services. - Drive international investment and jobs by hosting London House – an international investment showcase to attract business – at City Hall this summer during the 2012 Games and championing the capital as a tourist destination. - Lobby the Government to devolve the Tech City Investment Organisation to London to support the expansion of the capital’s hi-tech economy. ## Resisting EU interference It is the duty of the Mayor to stand up for London’s business, including financial services, which are so critical for the capital’s economic recovery. There are around 640,000 people who depend on financial services78, mostly people on modest means, and they deserve full support from the Mayor. The sector accounts for about 20 per cent of London Gross Value Added, supports a wide range of other industries, such as accounting, and is our primary export to the rest of the world79. I have fought the introduction of a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT)80, which would damage not only the City and its competitiveness with New York, Hong Kong, Singapore and other emerging Asian centres81, but also slow down London’s wider economy and threaten jobs. I have met with the European Commission in Brussels, and repeatedly lobbied the Commission’s President against introducing the FTT82. While prudent reform is necessary and important, the European Commission itself estimates the FTT would cut GDP across the whole EU by between 0.5 and 1.76 per cent83. But that estimate is for the EU as a whole. London is, by far, the biggest financial centre in the EU, so the FTT would hit us far harder. I have also lobbied against the European Commission’s proposals on Solvency II, which will fundamentally change the capital requirements for the insurance industry, to ensure it does not cause European insurers to relocate outside the EU. I will continue to safeguard London’s position as the leading global hub for the financial services industry. And I will continue to resist EU interference, red-tape and taxes which would be deeply damaging to London’s financial services, jobs and competitiveness. ## Drive international investment I will ensure that London remains the global business capital and a magnet for talent and foreign investment by ensuring it is a good place in which to do business and work. I will ensure the world’s top international investors come to London during the 2012 Games, to showcase first-hand the opportunities our city offers, hosting London House at City Hall. It will create opportunities for business and, through London & Partners, we will seize these opportunities to secure the best possible economic legacy for London. I have created a new single focus for promotion of London and the benefits will be evident through new branding and digital promotion. I have also recognised the considerable importance of the creative 78 TheCityUK website, *financial services in the UK, London* 79 Mayor of London, Press Release, *Mayor warns against EU financial tax plans, 28 October 2011* 80 Mayor of London, Press Release, *Mayor warns against EU financial tax plans, 28 October 2011* 81 Boris Johnson, *Mayor’s Questions, 13 July 2011* 82 Mayor of London, Press Release, *Mayor warns against EU financial tax plans, 28 October 2011*; Mayor of London Press Release, “*Non, nein, no!”: Mayor slams new EU financial tax plans, 14 February 2012* 83 Mayor of London, Press Release, *Mayor warns against EU financial tax plans, 28 October 2011* industries, which employ 658,000 people in London⁸⁴ and generate economic activity worth £19 billion⁸⁵. My strategic annual support worth £2.3 million⁸⁶ has helped to grow London’s position as a creative business hub and attract a major increase in inward investment and my support for Film London has helped increase film production spend to £866 million⁸⁷. I will continue to champion these important industries, which also help promote the London brand and drive tourism and retail spend in the capital. ## Champion London as a tourist destination When I was elected, London did not have a coordinated approach to tourism, despite its importance for economic growth. The Olympic and Paralympic Games will attract around 5.5 million visitors a day⁸⁸, and an additional 1.1 million tourists are expected to visit London in the five years after the Games as a result of the 2012 effect⁸⁹. I have established a lasting landmark and major tourist attraction in the Olympic Park, with the ArcelorMittal Orbit, built with the support of private sponsorship, giving some of the best views over the Olympic Park and London from its 115-metre-high viewing platform⁹⁰. I have also established the not-for-profit London & Partners, to showcase the capital as the best city in the world to visit, invest and study in⁹¹. I invested £2 million in the “Only in London” tourism campaign, with economic benefits estimated at £96 million⁹². ## Tech City One of London’s key economic success stories has been the explosive growth of Tech City, an entrepreneurial cluster that has grown up around Shoreditch and Old Street in East London, with the potential to spread to the rest of East London. The number of companies in the area has experienced a threefold increase over the past year. Through my digital strategy I have been working to improve connectivity (from WiFi on the London Underground before the Games, including the delivery of ultra-fast broadband); freeing up London’s data to enable innovation; delivering digital skills to businesses and supporting access to finance and affordable workspaces. I am also ensuring that London benefits from a new £100 million urban broadband fund, announced by the Government, that will see London become a “super-connected city” with 80-100 megabits per second superfast broadband⁹³. At the end of 2011, London & Partners had helped 130 new tech firms set up in London, creating more than 1,300 jobs⁹⁴. Companies such as Google, Cisco, Yammer, Eventbrite and Airbnb have all located in Tech City with our help⁹⁵. The continued success of Tech City and London’s digital economy as a whole is critical to delivering the skills, jobs and new investment London needs to grow. London is emerging as the digital capital of Europe – but if it is to cement its new position as Europe’s digital capital and rival established centres such as New York, global promotion and support must be seamless, coordinated and coherent. This must be undertaken by a single London-based organisation with the right expertise, under the direction of London’s government. I will lobby the Government for the TCIO and the associated budget to be folded into London & Partners as the official promotional organisation for London, to deliver these ambitions under a single banner and direction. 84. GLA website, *Current Issues Note 33: London’s creative industries 2011 update*, 4 October 2011 85. GLA website, *Vision and strategy* 86. Mayor of London, Press Release, *‘Confidence in London just keeps growing’*, says Mayor, 17 February 2012 87. Mayor of London, Press Release, *Mayor of London reaffirms commitment to film industry*, 7 September 2011 88. London & Partners, 2012: *The Facts & The Fun* 89. London & Partners, 2012: *The Facts & The Fun* 90. Boris Johnson, *Mayor’s Questions*, 19 May 2010; GLA website, *The ArcelorMittal Orbit* 91. GLA website, *London & Partners* 92. London & Partners, Press Release, *Only in London campaign generates £100 million in economic benefit for the capital*, 22 January 2010 93. Mayor of London, Press Release, *Mayor welcomes huge boost to capital’s economy*, 29 November 2011 94. London & Partners, Press Release, *London leading the charge in Europe’s digital boom*, 11 November 2011 95. Tech City UK, News, *Tech City Hails Phenomenal Growth*, 10 November 2011 ## Active regeneration I will: * Transform East London through development, investment, and better transport links, including overseeing the Mayoral Development Corporation to secure the Olympic Legacy and create 10,000 new jobs, and delivering 11,000 homes on the Olympic Park, including a community-led development at Cobham Manor. * Explore creating a new science institute in the Olympic Park, including lobbying to bring the proposed Cell Therapy Technology and Innovation Centre to the Park. * Deliver the Royal Docks Enterprise Zone, creating thousands of jobs, including more than 9,000 jobs through the development of Silvertown Quays. * Invest £41 million through the new London Enterprise Panel into major regeneration projects. ## 2012 Games When I was elected, London may have won the 2012 Games, but there was no credible strategy in place to maximise the economic opportunities they offered. I have co-chaired the Olympic Board, which oversees, coordinates and monitors the entire 2012 Games project, and ensured that we harness the Games to deliver a much-needed boost to the capital’s economy. The preparations for the Games have already brought huge and tangible economic benefits to the business community, and have been available to all – not just big business but small and medium-sized firms as well. Including: * 98 per cent of the £5.5 billion worth of Olympic contracts have gone to UK-based companies⁹⁶ with two thirds going to small or medium-sized enterprises⁹⁷. * 1,500 UK firms have won more than £6.3 billion in ODA contracts⁹⁸, with 68 per cent of firms micro-businesses or SMEs⁹⁹. * LOCOG is procuring a further £1 billion worth of goods and services from the open market¹⁰⁰. * Over 10,000 contract opportunities have been made available via CompeteFor¹⁰¹, the brokerage service set up for the Games and now used for many other major projects. * 4 million extra people are expected to visit the UK over the next 4 years¹⁰². The additional spend by visitors to the UK during this period is expected to be £2 billion¹⁰³. As well as supporting jobs and employment: * 25,000 people working on the Olympic Park site itself for at least five days¹⁰⁴. * Over 25,000 previously unemployed Londoners have been helped into jobs as part of the Olympics employment programme, including 457 construction apprenticeships¹⁰⁵. * 46,000 people have worked on the Olympic Park and Village¹⁰⁶. Over 8,500 residents in the 6 host boroughs have worked on the Olympic Park and Village¹⁰⁷. 96 DCMS, *Plans for the Legacy from the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics* 97 DCMS, *Plans for the Legacy from the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics* 98 London2012 Website, *London 2012 Media Fact Pack* 99 ODA, Press Release, *UK businesses grabbing golden London 2012 opportunities*, 9 September 2009 100 London2012 Website, *London 2012 Media Fact Pack* 101 LDA, Press Release, *CompeteFor posts 10,000th chance to strike gold, 29 November 2011,* 102 DCMS, *Government Tourism Policy, March 2011* 103 DCMS, News Release, *£3 million from Olympic budget to boost domestic tourism in 2012 and beyond, 12 September 2011* 104 ODA, *ODA Facts and Figures, p. 1* 105 Mayor of London, *Press release, 24 March 2011* 106 London2012 Website, *London 2012 Media Fact Pack* 107 London2012 Website, *London 2012 Media Fact Pack* I will ensure that the world will see all that London has to offer by upgrading the look and feel of London. The 2012 Games will see £2 billion of investment into London, providing a significant boost to the capital’s economy108. I have used new powers, secured from the Government, to set up a Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC), significantly reducing the number of public bodies involved in the legacy to give it more accountability to the Mayor and ensure efficiencies for the public purse. The MDC will streamline and accelerate the planning system in and around the Olympic Park, to ensure it is developed in line with the wishes of local communities and the strong engagement of the boroughs.109 The MDC will secure a genuine legacy from the 2012 Games, creating 11,000 new homes and an initial 10,000 jobs110. ## Science Park The Olympic Park could provide a focus for London’s science community, and provide a major boost to the capital’s hi-tech economy. This would boost London’s hi-tech economy focusing on science, technology and graduate-level research, to expand the capital’s supply of technologically-skilled workers, with the potential to become a centre of a wider web of collaborations among international, UK and local academic institutions and the private sector to attract inward investment to the area. I will also strongly support the creation of a new science institute in the Olympic Park, lobbying for the proposed Cell Therapy Technology and Innovation Centre to be located in the Olympic Park, as a focus for developing London’s biotechnology sector, and exploring plans for a major new campus on the scale of Michael Bloomberg’s new university in New York City. ## Royal Docks After years of inaction, and despite the tough economic conditions, we have started the process to transform the Royal Docks in Newham111. I persuaded the Government to give the area Enterprise Zone status in the 2011 Budget, and published, together with the Mayor of Newham, a ten-point strategy for the Royal Docks. I have established a new Green Enterprise District, stretching across East London, which aims to attract new investment and develop new lowcarbon skills and technologies112. I have also persuaded electronics giant Siemens to commit to invest £30 million in a new exhibition and conference centre for sustainable technologies, which is expected to attract around 100,000 visitors a year113. I will continue this progress, creating thousands of jobs, including more than 9,000 jobs through the development of the Silvertown Quay site114. This site will see the development of pavilion space for top brands to showcase the future of their products, providing 228,570 square meters of commercial and retail space and generating an estimated £3 billion of additional economic benefits for London. And I have secured private sponsorship to support a new cable car spanning the Thames to take visitors between the Royal Docks to the Greenwich Peninsula. 108 GLA, Press Release, Games accelerate rebirth of east London, 4 July 2011 109 Mayor of London, Press Release, Mayor consults on development corporation to drive Olympic Park legacy, 7 February 2011 110 GLA, 100 Great things about the Games, p34; GLA, Press Release, Will the Olympic Park deliver the environmental legacy promised?, 23 May 2011 111 Mayor of London, Press Release, London and Newham Mayors make Royal Docks revival a top priority, 28 July 2010 112 Mayor of London, Press Release, Mayor unveils £30m plans to kick-start London’s ‘Green Enterprise District’, 27 May 2010 113 Mayor of London, Press Release, Mayor unveils £30m plans to kick-start London’s ‘Green Enterprise District’, 27 May 2010 114 The Telegraph, London Mayor Boris Johnson hails £1.2m plan for derelict city area, 17 March 2012 ## London Enterprise Panel I have created a London Enterprise Panel¹¹⁵ to capitalise on the benefits of the Enterprise Zone for the Royal Docks in Newham. This means new businesses locating there during the term of the current Parliament will benefit from reduced business rates for five years and, most importantly, the business rates collected from those newly established businesses in the zone will be retained by London’s recently created London Enterprise Panel for the next 25 years. This will create an ongoing economic development fund which can be re-invested in promoting economic growth elsewhere in the capital or be levered to provide a bigger fund for investment in jobs and growth. I have also secured £41 million for the London Enterprise Panel to help boost economic growth by getting the required infrastructure built to enable the creation of new jobs and homes and getting stalled projects moving again¹¹⁶. The London Enterprise Panel will also be responsible for administering the London Growth Fund. ## Supporting the green economy I will: - Expand RE:NEW to retrofit a further 20,000 homes, saving the average household £180 a year on their energy bills. - Use the £12 million London Green Fund to leverage investment for carbon-reducing measures in residential development. - Promote the Low Carbon Prize to foster and champion new green technology. - Roll out electric cars across London with 1,300 new charging points by 2013, and increase the GLA fleet of electric vehicles to 1,000. ## Expand RE:NEW Climate change is one of the most serious challenges we face, so I committed in the London Plan to reducing carbon emissions by 60 per cent by 2025. Tackling climate change not only improves our environment and air quality, it also has significant economic benefits. An estimated 14,000 jobs could be created in London annually, as part of £721 million of low-carbon economic activity each year, promoting retrofitting and cleaner transport¹¹⁷. I have implemented a range of programmes to help reduce emissions in London, from public buildings and private homes, which have also reduced household energy bills by around £180 for those who participated in the schemes, and energy bills for the GLA Group of around £1.3 million a year¹¹⁸ – helping to return some of the money spent on the scheme and minimise the cost for taxpayers. These schemes also create employment for 4,300 people¹¹⁹. The schemes include: - RE:NEW which helps people adopt simple energy efficiency measures for free such as loft insulation, to reduce carbon emissions from existing homes in London, help residents save money on their energy bills and create “green” jobs. By the end of March, 55,000 homes will have been helped¹²⁰, saving tens of thousands tons of carbon and households an average of £180 a year on their fuel bills¹²¹. 115 GLA Website, *About the London Enterprise Panel* 116 GLA Website, *London Enterprise Panel* 117 Mayor of London, Press Release, *Student inventors can help make London greener with Mayor’s £20,000 Low Carbon Prize*, 24 November 2011 118 Mayor of London, Press Release, *400 public buildings set to be given an energy efficiency makeover saving millions off energy bills*, 25 January 2012 119 Mayor of London, *Mayor’s Questions, Appendix A*, 14 March 2012 120 GLA Website, *RE:NEW FAQs* 121 Mayor of London, Press Release, *Mayor helps Londoners in every borough save money off their home fuel bills*, 13 December 2011 * RE:FIT is aimed at getting public bodies in London reduce their carbon footprint, through measures such as heat-recovery systems, photovoltaic cells, insulation, draught-proofing, and lighting upgrades. So far, 42 buildings have been retro-fitted, delivering 5,000 tons of carbon emissions reductions122 and an average 28 per cent reduction in energy consumption123. This will deliver an estimated annual energy saving worth £2.3 million124. The Fire Brigade’s carbon emissions were cut by 20 per cent LFB125. If re-elected, I will continue to roll out RE: FIT, with an immediate target of a further 58 GLA Group buildings. At least 140 organisations have already shown interest in the model to date, with 200 buildings set to be retrofitted126. * A £3 million RE:CONNECT programme has created ten Low Carbon Zones across London127, which are on track to deliver a 20.12 per cent CO2 reduction by 2012. The London Heat Map has also been launched, as well as London-wide borough engagement in decentralised energy, generating dozens of new localised energy proposals. ## London Green Fund I have made improving carbon emissions from new builds a priority, with energy efficiency measures central to my new Housing Design Guide and the London Plan. I will continue this drive to reduce carbon emissions, save on energy bills, and create green jobs. I will retrofit a further 20,000 homes through RE:NEW, with a further £3 million from the GLA budget, and explore using £12 million from the London Green Fund to leverage several million pounds, including potential contributions from the European Investment Bank, to create a major programme to reduce carbon emissions through residential development. ## Mayor’s Low Carbon Prize It is important for City Hall to show positive leadership, and to foster innovative in green technology, I have introduced the Mayor’s prize for new research into low carbon technology. The £20,000 prize is targeted at students, without cost to the public purse. ## Electric cars I have promoted London as the electric car capital of the world, launching Source London, the UK’s first citywide electric vehicle charging point network and membership scheme. There are currently over 250 publicly accessible charging points in the network128. I will go further to create 1,300 charging points by 2013, giving Londoners more electric charge points than petrol stations, and increase the number of electric vehicles in the GLA fleet to 1,000. ## Air Quality While London’s air is no longer clogged with the industrial effluent that caused its infamous pea-soupers, there is still a need for robust and sustained action to improve London’s air. That is why in December 2010, I published an Air Quality Strategy to cut emissions from London’s transport network, homes and workplaces, including129: 1. Mayor of London, Press Release, Mayor declares London is ‘retrofit ready’ and ripe for investment to make millions of buildings energy efficient, 22 June 2011 2. GLA Website, Making London’s public sector buildings more energy efficient 3. Boris Johnson, Mayor’s Questions, 22 February 2012, 0743/2012 4. GLA, Unlocking public value – Responsible Procurement Progress Report, December 2010, p. 25 5. Mayor of London, Press Release, Fire stations, hospitals and universities in line for energy makeover following £2.7m cash boost, 25 March 2011 6. GLA Website, Successes so far 7. Source London Website, Existing charge point schemes 8. GLA, Cleaning the air: The Mayor’s Air Quality Strategy, December 2010 * Strengthened the London-wide Low Emission Zone. * An increasing number of buses running on hybrid engines and a New Bus for London which is around 50 per cent more fuel efficient¹³⁰ than a conventional diesel bus. There are proposals in my transport manifesto, *Investing in Transport*, to introduce 600 more buses. * Smoothing traffic flow to reduce fumes. * Promoting zero-emitting electric vehicles such as electric vehicles. * New investment into cycling, including my new, recently extended, Cycle Hire scheme with proposals in my manifesto *Investing in Transport* to explore expanding the scheme to town centres in outer London. But we are determined to go further. Through my strong relations with Government, I have secured £5 million to create a Clean Air Fund for London to improve air quality in hotspots¹³¹. This fund will¹³²: * Target reducing pollution at the worst hotspots for particulate matter (PM10). * Reduce idling through improved signage and infrastructure, targeted interventions with specific vehicles such as taxis and coaches, awareness raising activities and enforcement. * Installing Diesel Particulate Filters (DPFs) on buses travelling along hotspot locations, such as Upper Thames Street, Marylebone Road and Park Lane. I will continue to champion improvements to London’s air quality, and work constructively with the Government on the issue. I will continue a 100 per cent congestion charge discount for low emission vehicles so that there is a real financial incentive for Londoners to drive the cleanest vehicles available and work with the new London Health Improvement Board to engage the health service in addressing poor air quality. 130 Mayor of London, Press Release, *Mayor heralds the arrival of the new bus for London*, 16 December 2011 131 Department for Transport, Press Release, *£5m to tackle transport emissions in London*, 4 April 2011 132 Mayor of London, *Mayor answers to London*, 18 May 2011 ## Growing the London economy ## 4. Making London the best big city to live in ### Improving our green spaces I will: - Guarantee funding to increase the number of street trees planted to 20,000, and use City Hall’s planning powers to require developers to plant more trees. - Invest £6 million to improve 300 acres of green space and work with boroughs to create 100 Pocket Parks across Greater London. - Give local people a direct say on Community Payback to ensure offenders serving community sentences carry out tasks set by Safer Neighbourhood Boards, such as removing graffiti and clearing litter. - Maintain the strong protection of green space and presumption against development of back gardens in the London Plan. ### More street trees It is crucial we improve London’s local environment, to make neighbourhoods attractive places to live, work and invest. While Ken Livingstone and his officials spent time and taxpayers’ money jetting around the world, including £37,000 on first-class tickets to Havana, key aspects of our local environment were neglected. Under my predecessor, a third of boroughs saw a decline in the number of street trees^133. I promised to scrap Ken Livingstone’s propaganda newspaper, “The Londoner”, which cost taxpayers £2.8 million a year^134, and instead invested in measures to improve London’s street environment. I planted the 10,000th street tree earlier this year^135 – fulfilling my pledge to plant 10,000 street trees within four years. Working with the Forestry Commission, we have planted street trees in more than 40 areas in 29 boroughs^136 and, through my RE:LEAF programme, I have planted a total of 100,000 new trees since 2008^137, including 30,000 trees to create new woodlands^138. I will deliver 20,000 street trees and have allocated £6 million in the GLA budget for this purpose. I will prioritise funding for boroughs who offer match funding. ### Pocket Parks I launched Help a London Park, providing £6 million to help more than ten parks, with the public able to vote for their park to make them cleaner, safer, greener and better places to visit and enjoy. Ten parks received £400,000 each^139, including Brent River Park in Ealing, Crane Valley Park In Richmond and Hounslow, Dollis Valley Green Walk in Barnet, Fairlop Waters Country Park in Redbridge, Parish Wood Park in Bexley and Wandle Park in Croydon. The Mayor’s Premier Park, a prize of £2 million, was awarded to Burgess Park in Southwark. This has enabled Burgess Park to undergo a major renovation, match-funded by the borough council, as part of plans to regenerate the Aylesbury estate. ^133 GLA, Chainsaw massacre: A review of London’s street trees, May 2007, p4 ^134 Mayor of London, Mayor’s Questions, 12 December 2007, 2971/2007 ^135 Mayor of London, Press Release, Boris marks delivery of his trees and parks promises by planting 10,000th street tree, 14 February 2012 ^136 GLA, Press Release, Boris marks delivery of his trees and parks promises by planting 10,000th street tree, 14 February 2012 ^137 Mayor of London, Press Release, 14 February 2012; GLA, Press Release, Boris marks delivery of his trees and parks promises by planting 10,000th street tree, 14 February 2012 ^138 Mayor of London, Press Release, 14 February 2012; GLA, Press Release, Boris marks delivery of his trees and parks promises by planting 10,000th street tree, 14 February 2012 ^139 GLA Website, Help a London Park In total, I am delivering improvements to 300 acres of green space, and will continue this by working with boroughs and community groups to establish 100 Pocket Parks, similar to those which grace Paris, to create more green space for families to play and relax in. ## Royal Parks Londoners benefit from a number of high-profile Royal Parks, such as Green Park and Hyde Park. I will ensure that the Royal Parks are not ruined by commercial exploitation, using the new powers the Government has granted to appoint the board of the Royal Parks Agency. ## Combating litter and graffiti with Community Payback Neighbourhoods can be blighted by litter and graffiti. No grime should be tolerated, and I will work with local authorities to wipe it from the face of London. Under Ken Livingstone, there was a 14 per cent rise in fly-tipping incidents, with a total of over 500,000 incidents dealt with by the boroughs in 2007-08$^{140}$ – at a total cost of around £20 million. In contrast, I have cut fly-tipping every year and in 2010-11 there were fewer than 250,000 incidents$^{141}$. I also tackled litter, launching the “Love Clean London” mobile phone app in March 2011 to engage Londoners and reduce litter and associated costs. I supported the Capital Clean-up campaign, which aims to make London cleaner and greener for 2012 by coordinating events from litter-picks to education activities across the capital. An estimated 2,820 volunteers took part in more than 200 events across 25 boroughs during the 2011 campaign$^{142}$. I will ensure that offenders serving community sentences are fully deployed to tackle these problems under the Community Payback scheme. The Earn Your Travel Back scheme has seen more than 3,000 young people earn travel costs through a range of activities$^{143}$ with environmental charities such as the London Wildlife Trust. ## Green volunteering I promised to encourage City Hall staff to do one day a year volunteering for a green charity. I have given all GLA staff three days a year leave for volunteering activities, and my senior team of advisors and directors has led by example by helping with a variety of activities during volunteering week every June, and will continue to do so. ## Protecting back gardens Under the last Labour government, gardens were classified as brownfield space and had no specific protection in Ken Livingstone’s London Plan. As a consequence, back gardens were disappearing in favour of development. Under my predecessor, in 2006 alone, over a thousand London gardens were used for new build projects$^{144}$. I promised to strengthen the protection of green spaces, and have done so. The new London Plan published in 2011 committed to protecting the green belt and other open spaces and private residential gardens are no longer classed as “previously developed land”, with the new London Plan enabling boroughs to introduce a presumption against development on back gardens or other private residential gardens in their Local Development Frameworks. I will retain the strong protections now afforded back gardens and other green space, and continue the presumption against development of back gardens, as part of the London Plan. 1. DEFRA, *Fly tipping official statistics* 2. DEFRA, *Fly tipping official statistics* 3. GLA, Capital Clean-up, *Campaign Newsletter*, November 2011 4. Mayor of London, *Mayor’s Questions*, 14 December 2011, 4040/2011 5. London Assembly Environment Committee, *Garden Grabbing Update*, 11 October 2007, p. 2 ## Promoting home ownership I will: - Boost the First Steps programme of low-cost home ownership to help around 25,000 Londoners through a greater role for First Steps agents, enabling households to switch low-cost home ownership products as their circumstances change, and encouraging providers to develop products which let households convert rent into equity. - Promote to Londoners the Government’s mortgage guarantee scheme which will reduce deposits for 100,000 buyers. ## Extending First Steps Low-cost home ownership is critical to help low and modest income Londoners on to the property ladder in an affordable way. I promised to launch the First Steps housing programme to help first-time buyers, and by April 2011 we had helped around 25,000 people buy their first home$^{145}$. I will boost this scheme in this investment round to help a further 25,000 Londoners through the delivery of more than 18,000 First Steps homes$^{146}$. I will extend this successful programme of low-cost home ownership by giving a greater role to First Steps agents, exploring the possibility of promoting affordable home ownership through high street agents and enabling households to switch low-cost ownership products as their circumstances change, and continuing to ensure that all receipts are reinvested into new affordable housing. I will also explore “rent to save” schemes that enable people to build equity through their rent payments. This would enable Londoners who are currently locked out of home ownership to gain equity in their home without the need for a mortgage or deposit and provide landlords with tenants who have a long-term commitment to the home in which they live. ## Promoting mortgage guarantee The Government has announced a new mortgage guarantee scheme to help up to 100,000 households$^{147}$, reduce the amount purchasers require for a deposit. The scheme, which applies to new-build purchases, means people only need a 5 per cent deposit, with a combination of house builder and Government indemnities providing up to 9 per cent more$^{148}$. I have worked closely with the Government on this scheme, and ensured London fully benefits – for example, with the inclusion of flats as well as houses in the scheme. I will work with lenders and smaller house-builders in London to ensure the scheme is taken up, and promote it through my new First Steps agents. ## Improving the private rented sector I will: - Launch the London Rental Standard to create a single accreditation badge for the capital and accredit 100,000 landlords by 2016. - Campaign against rent controls, which will deter investment in housing and drive down the quality of housing stock. - Encourage institutional investment, including reviewing land. 145 GLA, *The Revised London Housing Strategy*, December 2011, Appendix One, based on 1.5 persons per home from CORE data. 146 GLA, *The Revised London Housing Strategy*, December 2011, Appendix One, based on 1.5 persons per home from CORE data. 147 DCLG, Press Release, *Industry support grows for NewBuy Guarantee*, 12 March 2012, 148 Department of Communities and Local Government, Press Release, *New Build Indemnity Scheme*, 21 November 2011 ## Launch London Rental Standards and accredit 100,000 landlords London’s private rented sector is home for a diverse range of Londoners, with around one in five London households privately renting their home. I am committed to promoting an attractive and vibrant private rented sector that caters for all needs. I have doubled the number of accredited landlords to help improve day-to-day management in the sector and enhance protection for tenants’ deposits, and I have launched London’s first Rents Map to allow the public access to information on rents to ensure they are being charged a fair price. Working in partnership with landlords, agents and accrediting bodies, I will improve the quality of privately rented homes and landlords by launching a single badge to replace the current confusing plethora of quality marks for landlords issued by a bewildering range of accrediting organisations. This should help set common standards across London for landlords and for letting and management agents; increase consumer recognition and choice; encourage more landlords and agents in the capital to seek accreditation with incentives to become accredited, such as discounts on repair services and access to funding to raise environmental standards; and help expose the small number of rogue landlords blighting the reputation of the sector. I will aim to accredit 100,000 landlords by 2016. ## Campaign against rent controls I will resist rent controls, which evidence shows can drive away investment and reduce the quantity and quality of privately rented housing stock. Where rent controls have been tried, they have limited the supply of rented homes, by reducing the incentives for landlords and so pushing up prices still more¹⁴⁹. Indeed, once rent controls were abolished in England in 1988, the long term decline in the number of private rented homes in the UK reversed and the sector has been increasing ever since¹⁵⁰. Instead, I will focus on increasing supply and improving quality in the sector by encouraging investment and extending landlord accreditation. ## Encourage institutional investment There is continued interest in “build to let” models in London, entailing long-term institutional investment. There are already examples of this happening, with proposals being developed by a long list of organisations, ranging from major international institutions to innovative start-ups. The Government has also sought to encourage institutional investment into residential development. I will work with the Government to build the right environment and explore incentives to unlock institutional investment in London. I will also review whether any landholdings transferring to City Hall would be suitable to stimulate such an investment. ## Housing London’s workers I will: * Create 100,000 jobs through my housing programmes to deliver around 55,000 affordable homes by 2015 for low and middle income workers. * Deliver new homes to new higher space and design standards, including a significant proportion of family-sized housing. * Invest £821 million into improving 45,000 existing council-owned homes. * Ensure empty homes represent no more than 1 per cent of total housing stock, and invest a further £15 million to bring empty homes back into use. * Extend the No Second Night Out initiative to tackle rough sleeping across Greater London. * Publish a list of all assets held by the GLA Group for the public, investors and developers to see. * Establish a single property unit for all land holdings at the GLA Group and a single, cost-effective ¹⁴⁹ HM Treasury, _Investment in the UK private rented sector_, February 2010, paragraph 5.2, p21 ¹⁵⁰ HM Treasury, _Investment in the UK private rented sector_, February 2010, paragraph 5.3, p21 procurement process for all land holdings to speed up the release of land and reduce bureaucracy with returns being reinvested to the benefit of Londoners. ## New powers for London The previous Labour government did not trust Ken Livingstone with housing. But I have persuaded No 10 to increase substantially the powers of City Hall to tackle London’s housing challenges, boost economic growth and provide affordable housing for low and medium income Londoners. I have published London’s first statutory housing strategy, setting London-wide housing policy to tackle challenges of supply and acute need, and persuaded the Government to lift the prevention imposed by the previous Labour government to stop City Hall investing in housing. I have agreed with the Government to devolve the programmes, assets and staff of the London Homes and Communities Agency to City Hall at no cost and, despite one of the toughest spending rounds in history, secured a £3 billion funding settlement151. These powers will be exercised within City Hall rather than through a Functional Body, to make housing directly accountable to the Mayor. I will fully utilise these new powers to the benefit of London, to deliver agreed programmes including new affordable homes and upgrading existing council-owned homes. I will also work closely with the new regulator to ensure that London’s assets are protected for London, and with a wide range of partners across the sector and the Government to fully utilise City Hall and boroughs’ new powers to ensure London continues to deliver affordable homes for low and middle-income Londoners. ## Record number of affordable homes Using my new powers and investment, I will continue to drive the delivery of affordable housing to ensure low and middle income Londoners can live close to their place of work, with City Hall on course to deliver almost 100,000 affordable homes during the current and previous investment rounds, 2008-2011 and 2011-2015152. I scrapped Ken Livingstone’s 50 per cent target for social housing, which had delivered an average of just 32 per cent in the three years before I was elected153, and was often ignored by Ken Livingstone himself when making planning decisions. I replaced this failed target with a pledge to deliver 50,000 affordable homes in my first term – a record for City Hall’s history. Despite the toughest economic conditions since the 1930s, I have beaten this target, with around 52,000 net new affordable homes funded through the Homes and Communities Agency, whose London board I chaired154. This includes the most family-sized affordable homes for a decade, as part of our efforts through my new London Overcrowding Board, to reduce overcrowding for vulnerable families. I have also secured £108 million to unlock stalled sites with planning permission to support construction and provide new homes for Londoners155. The funding has the potential to create more than 2,700 homes and thousands of jobs156 in Barnet, Brent, Bromley, Enfield, Hackney, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Lewisham, Wandsworth, Southwark, Croydon and Haringey. The new housing powers I have secured will make the Mayor directly accountable for housing investment, and enable me to align investment more closely with my statutory policy powers and other parts of the GLA Group, notably economic regeneration and the infrastructure investment of TfL. I have agreed with the Government a housing programme which will deliver around 55,000 affordable completions157 in the 2011-2015 investment round at a range of rents. 151. GLA, Press Release, Mayor unveils strategy to deliver thousands of new homes and jobs for London, 13 December 2011 152. GLA, Press Release, Mayor unveils strategy to deliver thousands of new homes and jobs for London, 13 December 2011 153. GLA, London Plan Annual Monitoring Report 5, February 2009, p. 33, Table 16 154. GLA Website, An ambitious vision for housing in London GLA, Press Release, Mayor secures more than £100 million to boost house building, jobs and construction across London, 19 March 2012 155. GLA, Press Release, Mayor secures more than £100 million to boost house building, jobs and construction across London, 19 March 2012 156. GLA, Mayor’s Questions: Written Answers, 14 March 2012 157. GLA, The Revised London Housing Strategy, December 2011, p. 43 ## New design standards It is essential that design quality in new homes enhances and extends London’s proud architectural heritage and delivers higher design standards for all. I have sought to end the era of poorly designed, cramped homes, and renew the capital’s traditions of design excellence with more space for children to play and people to live and work at home by introducing higher standards through the London Plan, including the Parker Morris plus 10 per cent space standard. I have also simplified standards for the industry by reducing a plethora of around 300 design codes from various bodies to prioritise around 80 core codes. I will continue to champion better designed schemes, and ensure my new standards will apply to all new housing in London, with all new homes expected to meet all the baseline standards and encouraged to meet the good practice standards, and all new homes that are in receipt of public funding meeting the new standards in full. ## Decent Homes It is important we continue to improve existing council-owned stock to ensure it is fit for the future. Since 2008, more than 68,809 council-owned homes have been improved158, with works such as new windows and kitchens. I will work with boroughs to improve a further 45,000 council-owned homes, having secured £821 million, just over half the national pot, as part of the transfer of responsibilities to City Hall159. ## Empty homes Empty homes are a scandalous waste of housing stock, blighting communities, creating a magnet for crime and driving away investment. When I was elected, City Hall had little focus on bringing empty homes back into use. Working with a range of partners, I have led a determined effort to reduce the number of empty homes in London. Despite tough economic conditions which could mean more stock is left empty, I have reduced the empty homes to the lowest proportion of housing stock since the 1970s.160 I promised a Boston-style audit of all empty stock to identify buildings that could be brought back into use and, working with boroughs, I have completed the audit and published the results161. I also allocated, as promised, £60 million to bring 4,145 empty homes back into use162. I will continue to tackle the scandal of empty housing, renewing that pledge that no more than 1 per cent of stock should be empty for six months, and maintaining the empty homes audit. I will also sign contracts with the boroughs and providers to allocate a further £15 million to bring empty houses back into use, and ensure that community groups in London benefit from the £30 million the Government has made available for empty homes163. I will also support the Government’s efforts to criminalise squatting. ## Rough sleeping Before I was elected, City Hall did little to tackle one of the most acute housing challenge in the capital: rough sleeping. I set up the London Delivery Board, along with boroughs, the voluntary sector and other agencies, to meet the challenge to end rough sleeping, and will continue to pursue this goal. 1. Mayor of London, Press Release, *Mayor secures more than £800m to improve thousands of council homes across the capital*, 17 February 2011 2. GLA, *The Revised London Housing Strategy*, December 2011, p. 43 3. GLA, *London Empty Homes Audit*, 10 January 2012 4. Mayor of London, *Mayor answers to London*, Question number 3538/2011 5. Department for Communities and Local Government, Press Release, *New strategy to deliver homes and strengthen the economy*, 21 November 2011 6. NSNO Website, LATEST FACTS I have secured investment and launched a range of initiatives to ensure that, by the end of 2012, no one should be living on the street, and no one who arrives on the street should spend a second night sleeping rough. This includes our “205” project, which has helped three-quarters of London’s most entrenched rough sleepers off the streets, including someone who had spent over 40 years sleeping rough, and the flagship No Second Night Out project which has helped nearly 800 people avoid spending a second night sleeping rough in just under a year¹⁶⁴. This year I will expand No Second Night Out, and establish a second hub which enables outreach to be done indoors rather than on the streets. I will also work to ensure that the new London Health Improvement Board works with health commissioners to improve the outcomes for homeless people. ## Publish a list of all assets held by the GLA Group and create a single property unit I am committed to bringing forward surplus public land for development, to create jobs and stimulate economic growth. I have persuaded the Government to transfer over 530 hectares to City Hall as part of the Localism Act 2011¹⁶⁵. It makes the GLA one of the largest owners of public land in London, with the transfer of the investment powers and assets of the London Homes and Communities Agency, London Development Agency, and some of the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation to the GLA on 1 April 2012. This complements the landholdings of other parts of the GLA Group, including Transport for London and the Olympic Park under the new Mayoral Development Corporation. I have prioritised the development of surplus public land for housing and regeneration, including: - The regeneration of the Royal Docks in Newham, including creating more than 9,000 jobs through the Silvertown Quays development¹⁶⁶. - Unlocking stalled schemes such as Greenwich Peninsula, creating over 4,000 jobs¹⁶⁷. - The release of surplus sites like St Clements and Queen Elizabeth Hospital, both in Tower Hamlets and Newington Butts in Southwark and Silvertown Way in Newham currently being taken to the market¹⁶⁸. I will continue this release of surplus public land within my control to boost growth and create thousands of homes and jobs, with the capital receipts being reinvested to the benefit of all Londoners. I will also ensure the Mayor’s Office, working closely with boroughs and other partners, takes the lead on developing proposals for the delivery of future phases of major developments, such as Barking Riverside and Greenwich Peninsula. To accelerate the release of public land in a cost-effective way, I will procure a London Development Panel, in partnership with boroughs and other public land-holders, a framework panel from which developers for sites can be selected without necessitating a separate, costly and time-consuming procurement exercise having to be undertaken. I will also establish a single property unit for all of the land holdings in the GLA Group, to streamline management and speed up the procurement of those sites. I will also publish and maintain a list of all land holdings in the GLA Group and encourage other public-sector land-holders in London to do the same. ¹⁶⁴ GLA, *Proposed Changes to the GLA Establishment Arising from the Devolution Programme*, 29 February 2012, item 4.4.3, p. 4 ¹⁶⁵ Daily Telegraph, *London Mayor Boris Johnson hails £1.2m plan for derelict city area*, 17 March 2012 ¹⁶⁶ Mayor of London, Press Release, *Mayor and Communities Secretary announce major regeneration and jobs for Greenwich Peninsula*, 18 January 2012 ¹⁶⁷ Mayor of London, Press Release, *Mayor and Communities Secretary announce major regeneration and jobs for Greenwich Peninsula*, 18 January 2012 ¹⁶⁸ Mayor of London, Press Release, *Mayor accelerates delivery of public land to provide more homes*, 28 October 2011 ## Community-led development I am committed to engaging the community in development, from the design, procurement and long-term management of major developments in London. I have ensured the St Clements site in Tower Hamlets will create the UK’s first urban Community Land Trust (CLT), and my new Mayoral Development Corporation for the Olympic Legacy will also continue the process to create a CLT within the Chobham Manor site on the Olympic Park. I will require developers to set out their community development credentials as part of the application process for the new London Development Panel. # Investing in Transport ## BETTER OFF WITH BORIS * Cutting council tax * More police * Investing in transport * Growing London's economy * Boosting economy Boris Johnson Conservatives ## My 9 point plan for a Greater London 1. Cutting waste at City Hall – freeing up £3.5 billion for services. 2. Putting £445 back in your pocket by freezing the Mayoral share of council tax. 3. Creating 200,000 new jobs over the next four years. 4. Making our streets and homes safer with 1,000 more police on the beat. 5. Restoring 300 acres of green space and planting 20,000 street trees. 6. Investing £221 million to transform local high streets, supporting small businesses. 7. Ensuring a true Olympic legacy – 11,000 new homes and 10,000 new jobs. 8. Reducing Tube delays 30% by 2015. Building Crossrail and orbital rail to link our suburbs. Extending the Bike Hire scheme. 9. Securing a better deal for London from No 10. *Investing in Transport details points 8 and 9 of my 9 point plan for Greater London, explains my transport pledges in addition to those listed in the 9 point plan for Greater London, and shows how they link in with the whole plan.* 4 Investing in Transport ## **Introduction** 7 ## **My priorities for a Greater London** 9 ## **21st Century Tube** 13 ### **Paving the way to driverless trains** 15 ### **Industrial relations** 16 ### **Cutting delays by a further 30 per cent** 16 ### **Crossrail 2/High Speed Rail 2** 18 ### **A more accessible network** 18 ## **Honesty over fares** 19 ### **Cutting waste at TfL** 19 ### **Honesty and transparency on fares policy** 19 ### **Protect and extend the Freedom Pass** 20 ### **Contactless payments** 20 ### **Courtesy Card** 21 ## **Improving and expanding suburban rail** 23 ### **Raising standards on suburban rail** 23 ### **Expansion to outer London** 25 ## **Protecting the bus network** 27 ### **New Bus for London** 27 ### **Improving the bus network** 27 ### **Oxford Street** 28 ### **A more accessible bus network** 28 ## **Investing in the road network** 29 ### **Congestion Busting Plan** 29 ### **Roads Blackspot Fund** 30 ### **London Roads Task Force** 30 ### **Lane Rental** 31 ### **Rapid response to road accidents** 31 ### **Traffic lights** 31 ### **Congestion charge** 32 ### **Pedestrians and the public realm** 32 ### **Parking** 32 ### **Tackle rickshaws** 32 ### **Taxis and a ‘Cabbie Cabinet’** 33 ### **Dartford Crossing** 33 ### **Silvertown crossing** 33 ## **Promoting cycling** 35 ### **Expanding Cycle Hire** 35 ### **Cycle Safety** 35 ### **Cycle Superhighway** 36 ### **World Cycle Festival** 36 ## **Improving river travel** 37 ### **Making the most of the Thames** 37 ### **Ferry Service** 37 ### **Pedestrian crossings** 37 ### **Dartford Crossing** 38 ## **Boosting aviation capacity** 39 6 Investing in Transport ## Introduction Dear Londoner This election comes at a critical time. Londoners are going through tough times and the choices we make now will determine whether our city remains world-class or declines. A world-class city should have a world-class transport system that is safe, efficient, economical and reliable. A transport system that uses modern technology to meet the changing needs of Londoners. There are now approaching 3.5 billion passenger journeys annually on our buses and Tube trains¹ – equivalent to half the global population – which means we simply must keep investing in our network to keep up with demand. In 2008, I inherited a creaking public transport system that had for years been starved of investment. Labour’s scheme to pay private companies to upgrade the tube – the Public Private Partnership (PPP) – had become mired in delay and failure to deliver. One of the private companies collapsed into administration, with millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money wasted², while the other comprehensively failed to deliver the Jubilee line upgrade when they said they would. Londoners were also subjected to successive fare hikes by my predecessor, despite two election promises that they would not increase³. And he left the finances in chaos, with tens of millions of taxpayers’ pounds wasted designing unpopular projects that he had no money to deliver⁴. That was the mess I had to turn around when I came into office. I ended the waste and secured a far better deal out of No. 10 than my predecessor ever could, including securing £22 billion to deliver Crossrail and the Tube upgrades⁵, creating 32,000 jobs⁶. I scrapped Labour’s unworkable PPP, bringing the failing Jubilee and Northern line upgrades under my own control. I have restored TfL’s finances through a stable and predictable fares policy, combined with a programme of efficiencies that has seen costs cut in every part of TfL. As a result, the Jubilee and Victoria line upgrades are now complete, the Northern line upgrade is proceeding to plan and the upgrade of the District, Metropolitan, Circle and Hammersmith and City lines has started⁷. Recently the Crossrail tunnel boring machines have embarked on their subterranean course⁸. And these vital improvements are being delivered on budget. The benefits of this hard work and investment are already being seen. Delays have been cut by 40 per cent⁹ since I was elected and stations are being transformed: King’s Cross and Green Park are complete. Victoria, Tottenham Court Road and Bond Street are in hand and I am working on plans for major improvements to Bank station¹⁰. New trains have recently been introduced on the Victoria line and the first of 190 new air-conditioned trains¹¹ have started to arrive on the Metropolitan line¹². When these have been rolled out to the Circle, District and Hammersmith and City lines, there will be air conditioning on 40 per cent of the Tube¹³. 1. TfL, *Business Plan 2011/12-2014/15*, p. 11 2. House of Commons, Transport Select Committee, *Update on the London Underground and the public-private (PPP) partnership arrangements*, 26 March 2010 3. Ken Livingstone, *Ken 4 London*, 2000, p. 8; Ken Livingstone, *You can’t say that*, October 2011 4. GLA, *Boris Johnson’s Speech to London Assembly*, 25 January 2012 5. HM Treasury *Spending Review 2010*, 20 October 2010 6. GLA Website, *Mayor’s Questions*, 9 February 2012 7. TfL Website, *Tube Upgrade Plan* 8. Crossrail, Press Release, *Giant tunnel boring machines ready to start Crossrail dig*, 13 March 2012 9. GLA, *Boris Johnson’s Speech to London Assembly*, 25 January 2012 10. TfL Website, *Tube Upgrade Plan* 11. TfL Press Release, *New trains mark progress on the Victoria line*, 02 August 2011 12. TfL Website, *Tube Upgrade Plan* 13. TfL, Press Release, *First ever air-conditioned Tube train is now in passenger service*, 2 August 2010 The network is now much safer. Crime is down by 20 per cent on the Tube and 30 per cent on the bus network¹⁴ thanks to my policy of banning alcohol and introducing 697 more police¹⁵. And, as I pledged I would, I scrapped the bendy buses and am delivering a New Bus for London, with world-class fuel-efficiency, elegant looks and an open platform at the rear¹⁶. But there is more to do. I feel like a man who has built half a bridge. I can see the other side and what needs to be done. I will cut delays on the Tube by a further 30 per cent by harnessing new technology and introducing new working practices to ensure problems are fixed urgently. I have maintained free or discounted fares for the most vulnerable, including the Freedom Pass for older people, which I extended to 24 hours, and for disabled people¹⁷. If elected I will go further and reverse the last Labour Government’s decision to stop Londoners getting their Freedom Pass at 60. Londoners should no longer be held to ransom by union barons. I will pave the way to the first driverless (although not unmanned) trains within a decade by accelerating a programme to introduce automation on the Tube. I will also ensure that TfL never orders a new train for London Underground with an old fashioned driver cab. I will seek a fresh mandate from Londoners at this election to argue our case for a minimum turnout rule which will prevent irresponsible union leaders calling strikes with a minority of supporters, disrupting hard-working Londoners and undermining the capital’s economy. I also have plans to improve rail services for Londoners who live in the suburbs. I will support the extension of the Docklands Light Railway to Bromley, and I am calling on the Government to allow the Mayor to start taking over suburban rail services, so we can tackle overcrowding, make stations safer and hold down fares. And I recognise, unlike my predecessor, that London’s transport is not just about rail, tube and buses, but about our roads too. I will launch a Congestion Busting Plan, including funding for immediate improvements to London’s worst congestion hotspots. I will use the income from Lane Rental, which will tackle road works, to ease the congestion they cause. And I will enact the first comprehensive review of the road network for a generation, with detailed plans to end London’s worst congestion points – seeking improvements for drivers, bus passengers and cyclists. I will also expand our hugely successful Cycle Hire scheme to many new parts of Greater London. We have made progress despite difficult times. But at the Mayoral Election on 3ʳᵈ May this progress is at risk. The choice at this election is between investment in our transport system - or cuts in investment at the worst possible time. Boris Johnson 14 GLA, Press Release, *Mayor highlights drop in crime across public transport network*, 21 February 2011 15 Mayor of London, *Written Answers*, 14 March 2012, 931/2012 16 TfL Press Release, *First passengers jump aboard the new bus for London*, 27 February 2012 17 GLA Website, *Mayor’s Questions*, 17 December 2008 ## 8 Investing in Transport ## My priorities for a Greater London ## 21st Century Tube: Investing in London Underground * Protect investment in transport infrastructure to complete the upgrade of the Northern line and maintain momentum in delivering the upgrade of the Circle, Metropolitan, District and Hammersmith and City lines to support London’s economy and transform the network. I will not cut £1.14 billion from transport funding and put the upgrades at risk. * Cut delays on the Tube by a further 30 per cent through my delay-busting plan. * Ensure Crossrail stays on track, on time and on budget, bringing 1.5 million people within a 45 minute commute of the existing major employment centres of the West End, the City and Canary Wharf. * Introduce Automatic Train Control on 48 per cent of London Underground rolling stock by the end of 2014, paving the way for the first driverless train within a decade. * Insist that funding for Crossrail 2 from Chelsea to Hackney is part of the HS2 link. * Secure from Government changes in Britain’s strike laws to introduce 50% minimum turnout on ballots. ## Honesty over fares * Ensure transparency and honesty over fares policy. * Protect the 24-hour Freedom Pass and ensure that it is available on TfL services to all Londoners from age 60. * Lobby the Train Operating Companies to extend the Freedom Pass for use on suburban rail before 9.30am. * Guarantee concessionary fares for the elderly, young, job seekers and injured veterans. * Introduce contactless ‘wave and pay’ style payments on the transport network, allowing passengers to pay with their credit cards and mobile phones. * Introduce a Courtesy Card to require those under 16s who benefit from free travel on the buses to treat other travellers with respect. ## Improving and expanding suburban rail * Lobby the government to devolve rail franchising powers to the Mayor so that TfL can specify the standards to be achieved by private Train Operating Companies: this will allow me to hold down fares; aim for a minimum frequency of service of four trains an hour on local services; improve the conditions of rundown suburban rail stations and improve safety, with more station staff and CCTV. * Work to extend the DLR from Lewisham to Bromley. * Aim to develop a Tramlink extension to Crystal Palace. - Work with Network Rail on proposals for longer trains and increased capacity on the suburban network at stations on routes in and around London. ## Protecting the bus network - Protect the network in full from Ken Livingstone’s plans to take £1.14 billion out of the transport budget, especially the suburban bus services on which so many people rely. - Roll out the New Bus for London with 600 vehicles on London’s streets by the end of my term in 2016 as existing buses are decommissioned; and at no more cost than an existing hybrid bus. - Roll out countdown machines to give people more real-time arrival information and improve passengers’ journeys. - Continue to ensure that ramps on buses should always work and more bus stops are accessible. ## Investing in the road network - Launch a Congestion Busting Plan to: * establish a £50 million Roads Blackspot Fund to relieve congestion at key locations in London; * establish the London Roads Task Force to propose long-term proposals to tackle London’s most notorious roads, including locations such as Hammersmith Flyover, Purley Way, Wandsworth Town Centre, Euston Road, Archway, and Kings Cross; * introduce Lane Rental to tackle road works and expand the ‘Report It’ system to potholes; * expand the role of the Metropolitan Police’s traffic police to keep traffic moving, including reopening roads faster after accidents; and continue to review the phasing of traffic lights to improve conditions for all road users. - Direct money from Lane Rental to reduce the congestion caused by road works. - Promote more shared space improvements to our public realm. - Call on each borough to review parking in non-residential, strategic shopping areas to reduce any negative impact on businesses. - Crack down on dangerous rickshaws. - Set up a ‘Cabbie Cabinet’. - Expand pedestrian countdown to continue to make crossings safer. - Drive forward a new road tunnel under the river between Greenwich Peninsula and Silvertown. - Lobby the Government for those living in Havering and Bexley to receive the same discounts on the Dartford Crossing as residents in Dartford and Thurrock. - Never introduce a London-wide Congestion Charge or a £25 tax on family cars. ## Promoting cycling - Expand Cycle Hire to West and East, and explore expansion to parts of South London and town centres in outer London, including Bromley, Croydon, Hounslow, Kingston, Richmond, and Romford town centres. - Improve cycle safety by reviewing the 500 cycle accident hotspots. - Triple the number of cycle super-highways. - Host a world-class cycling festival at the Olympic Park. ## Improving river travel - Launch a new car ferry service at Thamesmead to Gallions Reach. - Examine the feasibility of a new pedestrian river crossing between Vauxhall and Chelsea bridges. - Aim to double the capacity of river travel on the Thames by 2020 by creating new piers and increasing capacity to 12 million travellers a year. ## Boosting aviation capacity - Protect the jobs and wider economic prosperity created by the global connections with suppliers and markets that Heathrow provides. - Continue to oppose a third runway at Heathrow and oppose any changes in operation that measurably harm local people. - Fight for a reduction in night flights and to ban the oldest, noisiest aircraft from Heathrow’s densely populated flight paths. - Lobby for an increase in London’s aviation capacity through the development of a new hub airport. 12 Investing in Transport ## 21st Century Tube I will: * Protect investment in transport infrastructure to complete the upgrade of the Northern line and maintain momentum in delivering the upgrade of the Circle, Metropolitan, District and Hammersmith and City lines to support London’s economy and transform the network. I will not cut £1.14 billion from transport funding. * Cut delays on the Tube by a further 30 per cent through my delay-busting plan. * Ensure Crossrail stays on track, on time and on budget, bringing 1.5 million people within 45 minutes commute of the existing major employment centres of the West End, the City and Canary Wharf. * Introduce Automatic Train Control on 48 per cent of London Underground rolling stock by the end of 2014, paving the way for the first driverless train within a decade. * Insist that funding for Crossrail 2 from Chelsea to Hackney is part of the HS2 link. * Secure from Government changes in Britain’s strike laws to introduce 50% minimum turnout on ballots. Despite the most challenging spending round for generations, I have secured record investment for London’s transport network. This will see £6 billion¹⁸ invested into upgrading the Tube, creating 18,000 jobs¹⁹, and £15.9 billion to deliver Crossrail²⁰, creating 14,000 jobs²¹. I scrapped Labour’s failed Public Private Partnership and the necessary upgrades are now being delivered under my control, on time and on budget. After years of under-investment, the capital is now benefiting from the transport investment it needs to remain competitive and grow the economy. The benefits of this investment already include a 40 per cent fall in delays on the Tube since 2008²²; and the upgrades will increase overall Tube capacity by 30 per cent²³. Londoners’ experience of the Tube is being transformed, with an increase in the frequency of the service making journeys quicker and leading to reductions in overcrowding, further reduction in delays, and improved safety. In particular: * Capacity on the Victoria line has increased by 21 per cent, meaning that when the new timetable is introduced in early 2013, the line will be able to carry an additional 10,000 passengers per hour at peak time compared with before the upgrade. Passengers will also see a 16 per cent reduction in journey time²⁴. * Jubilee Line capacity has increased by 33 per cent, providing more frequent trains and a 22 per cent reduction in journey time. The line is now able to carry an additional 12,500 passengers per hour at peak 18 HM Treasury Spending Review 2010, 20 October 2010 19 TfL, London Underground Factsheet, January 2012 20 Crossrail, Press Release, Crossrail Business Rates Supplement initial Prospectus published - GLA release 21 HM Treasury Spending Review 2010, 20 October 2010 22 GLA, Boris Johnson’s Speech to London Assembly, 25 January 2012 23 TfL, Business Plan 2011/12-2014/15, p. 6 24 TfL Website, Tube Upgrade Plan time compared with before the upgrade²⁵. * New air-conditioned trains for the Circle, Hammersmith and City, Metropolitan and District Lines are being delivered and work on new signalling and track has started²⁶, delivering over 20 per cent increases in capacity from 24 per cent on the District Line²⁷ to 65 per cent on the Hammersmith and City²⁸ and Circle lines²⁹. * The overstretched Docklands Light Railway has seen its capacity increased by 50 per cent by adding an extra carriage to trains³⁰. * The East London line has been opened ahead of time and on budget, and by the end of this year the last section of London’s new orbital railway will be open³¹. * Many stations which were too small to cope with growing passenger numbers, and in a state of disrepair, have been upgraded, including King’s Cross, quadrupling its size, and step-free access for wheelchair users has been opened at Green Park³². This progress is critical for London’s economy, and with the government investment that I have secured there is a fantastic opportunity to complete the transformation of our network. The objective of the Tube upgrades is to increase the capacity of the network by 30 per cent by making the most of the lines we already have. New trains, modern signalling and the latest track technology will work together to allow longer trains to go faster and more frequently, carrying 70,000 more passengers per hour³³, especially in the peak periods when we need to get to and from work. The upgrade of London Underground is one of the most complex engineering projects in Europe, especially as it has to be carried out on an operating railway. But it is necessary, not only because of disastrous under-investment in the past, but also because London’s population is expected to grow and we will have more people needing to get around³⁴. My programme for continuing to improve the tube includes³⁵: * Completion of the Northern line upgrade, delivering a 20 per cent increase in peak time capacity. * Completion of major station upgrades at Tottenham Court Road, Bond Street and Paddington. * Pushing forward work on the upgrade of the Bakerloo and Piccadilly lines and on a major congestion relief scheme at Bank. * Continuing the District, Circle, Hammersmith and City and Metropolitan line upgrades, which will all have new, air-conditioned trains and increased capacity - from 24 per cent on the District line to 65 per cent on the Hammersmith and City and Circle lines within four years. * Extending the Northern Line from Kennington through to Nine Elms and Battersea, catalysing the redevelopment of this prime area of central London, and delivering 25,000 new jobs and 16,000 new homes³⁶. * Continuing the upgrade of Victoria station, to be completed within six years. It is therefore critical that this hard work and investment so far is not squandered. The huge investment in London’s transport network is matched by unprecedented plans to cut waste at Transport for London. A savings target of £7.6 billion has been set to be achieved by 2017³⁷. However, Ken Livingstone’s plans would take £1.14 billion³⁸ out of the transport budget and his dependence on the unions means he would not be able to continue my programme of cutting waste and inefficiency. 25 TfL Website, Tube Upgrade Plan 26 TfL Website, Tube Upgrade Plan 27 TfL Website, Tube Upgrade Plan 28 TfL Website, Tube Upgrade Plan 29 TfL Website, Tube Upgrade Plan 30 TfL, Business Plan 2011/2012-2014/2015, p. 10 31 GLA, Boris Johnson’s Speech to London Assembly, 25 January 2012; Mayor of London, Press Release, *First step to completion of orbital Overground network*, 16 February 2012 32 Mayor Boris Johnson, *My Progress Report to Londoners*, March 2012 33 TfL Website, Tube Upgrade Plan 34 GLA Intelligence Update, *2010 Round Demographic Projections using the 2009 SHLAA*, February 2011 35 TfL, Business Plan 2011/12-2014/15 36 GLA, Press Release, *Mayor gives go ahead to Battersea Power Station Redevelopment*, 22 November 2010 37 TfL, Business Plan 2011/12-2014/15 38 Mayor of London, *Mayor’s Questions*, 14 December 2011 Indeed, he is responsible for most of the waste and inefficiency I inherited and there is no doubt that he would either jeopardise the Tube upgrades or would have to slash local bus services (and possibly do both) to cover his self-inflicted loss. Analysis by TfL reveals how London’s transport system would be wrecked³⁹: - It would threaten Safer Transport Teams, which have been doubled and have delivered a 30 per cent reduction in bus crime⁴⁰. - The delay for years of the upgrade of the Bakerloo and Piccadilly lines, affecting residents in half of London’s boroughs, from Ealing to Hackney, and Hounslow to Southwark. This delay would leave in place a control machine for the Bakerloo line which was installed in the 1950s and still uses a system of paper hole-punches to regulate the service, leading to more delays and disruption for passengers. - The indefinite delay of the Bank station upgrade, which accounts for over 45 million journeys each year, leading to more overcrowding and more station closures. - The delay for at least a decade of the upgrade of the Metropolitan, Circle, Hammersmith and City, and District lines, affecting Londoners from Richmond to Barking and Dagenham, and from Hillingdon to Wandsworth - this would leave in place a signal box first installed at Edgware Road in 1926. Londoners would not see the value of current investments realised, and would no longer benefit from hard won investment to deliver new trains and more frequent services. It would mean the everyday problems that cause delays would take much longer to fix and our tube system would suffer as a result. Alternatively, Ken Livingstone could make up the shortfall by slashing bus services. Night buses and less well used services in the suburbs would probably be the first to go, but even the busiest routes would need to be thinned out, with insufficient capacity available to carry all passengers in the peak. This would mean long waits at bus-stops as overcrowded buses went by without stopping to pick up passengers trying to get to and from work. That would be a disaster and I will not put the transport system at risk. ## Paving the way to driverless trains Londoners want a Tube system that takes advantage of modern technology for improving capacity, reliability and safety. Automatic Train Control (ATC) allows trains to run closer together at higher overall speeds, increasing capacity on the line. It also allows us to move closer to driverless (although not unmanned) trains within a decade. By the end of 2014, I will ensure that 48 per cent of the total rolling stock on the London Underground network has ATC, including: - Jubilee line (9.5 per cent of the network rolling stock total) - Central line (14.4 per cent) - Northern line (17.3 per cent) - Victoria line (7 per cent) ATC is a pre-requisite for driverless trains. Having driverless trains, as recently introduced in Paris on their Line 1, would lead to cost savings and reliability gains. It will also, over time, make the system cheaper to run and cheaper to use. Under my leadership, TfL will rapidly establish a timetable for introducing the first driverless trains to become operational on the London Underground network within a decade. I will also ensure that TfL never again order a new train for London Underground with an old-fashioned driver cab – it is time to invest in new technology for London. Moving to automation on this scale will make the tube more reliable, because the system will be smarter. It will also reduce the bargaining power of the union bosses intent on bringing London to a halt. But driverless does not mean unmanned. Safety will still be our primary concern, and every train will always have a staff member on board to assist customers as they do on the DLR. 39 Mayor of London, Mayor’s Questions, 14 December 2011 40 TfL, Crime and anti Social Behaviour Statistical Bulletin ## Industrial relations The underground network is too often disrupted by reckless union action. Union bosses cannot be allowed to hold London to ransom in pursuit of unjustified claims. I will continue to lobby No. 10 to change Britain’s strike laws to introduce a minimum turnout, so that strikes can only go ahead when at least 50 per cent of all eligible union workers participate in the ballot. Hard-working Londoners are sick of Bob Crow holding the entire capital to ransom, calling unnecessary strikes and wreaking havoc on London’s economy. And it’s clear more and more ordinary union members are sick of it, too, with fewer turning out. London depends on its valued LU staff, the vast majority of whom are dedicated to keeping London moving. Britain’s leading business groups, the Confederation of British Industry and London First, which represents major businesses in London, as well as expert commentators, all support my position on a minimum turnout rule⁴¹. This election will give me a fresh mandate to secure legislation from No. 10 to introduce the minimum turnout rule. ## Cutting delays by a further 30 per cent The London Underground is now more reliable than at any time in its history, with a reduction in delays of almost 40 per cent since I was elected⁴². It is important to take London forward - not just with a modernised Tube system with new signalling, track and stations, but also to change working practices to minimise disruption to passengers and improve services. I will build on our success so far, by implementing a plan to reduce Tube delays by a further 30 per cent. The plan is the most comprehensive in TfL’s history to predict and prevent failures and improve the response to, and recovery from, failures so as to minimise disruption to the network. A range of new techniques will be introduced, including new technology for advanced signal monitoring and Automated Track Monitoring Systems, to identify earlier any potential defects and allow maintenance activities to be planned without disruption to passengers, using British Transport Police to escort London Underground engineers to serious incidents, enabling them to travel under the same ‘Blue Light’ conditions used by emergency services, and weekly ‘war rooms’ to monitor and coordinate staff activities. None of this would be possible under Ken Livingstone’s plans to take £1.14 billion out of the transport budget. My plan to achieve this includes: - Create a new London Underground Control Centre by the end of 2013, to ensure that whenever there are serious delays, incidents are resolved more quickly. - Increased medical training - London Underground should enhance the medical training for BTP officers on the Tube so that they can offer increased support to the London Ambulance service in dealing with passenger illness quickly and restoring services. The trial that is being developed includes an additional 20 LU-funded officers and new response vehicles that will enable the officers with enhanced medical training to get to incidents swiftly. - ‘Blue lighting’ spares -The British Transport Police are providing a ‘blue light’ escort to get London Underground engineers to incidents more quickly. - Motorbikes for spares delivery - A trial motorbike service to carry spare parts to any incidents on the network has begun with the aim of reducing the time it takes to repair faults. ⁴¹ CBI, Press Release, *CBI comments on public sector strikes*, 24 November 2011 ⁴² TfL, Press Release, *Tube set to post most reliable performance figures for a decade*, 2 March 2012 * Right spare, right place, right time - Spare parts are being stocked at common failure locations so that technicians can go there and fix a fault immediately, without having to head to pick up spares at a depot first. * New approach to incident response – Engineers and operational staff are being brought together into a single command and control room to speed up the response to incidents and oversee all aspects of the operation of the network on a real time basis. * Co-ordinating the response and dedicated staff - Deploying specialised and experienced Network Incident Response Managers who will take over coordinating London Underground’s incident response from the start of April. Recruit dedicated staff to improve train reliability at five key locations on the network (Hammersmith, Brixton, Aldgate, Morden and Stratford). * Rollout of automatic track monitoring - Advanced signal monitoring technology and Automated Track Monitoring Systems are being trialled, allowing engineers to spot problems before they affect services and focus their maintenance efforts in the most effective way. * Remote monitoring of equipment - Through sensors and CCTV of signalling, pumps and drainage, which means London Underground can spot a problem early and fix it faster. * More off site testing - Jubilee Line passengers suffered disruption during the upgrade delivered under the Public Private Partnership due to a failure to test the systems sufficiently offline. For the Northern Line upgrade vast amounts of testing will be done on simulators which exactly replicate the line to iron out issues before the live system is introduced. * Listening to the grassroots - London Underground is putting in changes to significantly improve how it engages frontline staff, who can often provide the most creative solutions to problems. * Weekly ‘war rooms’ for every line - Top management for each line meet weekly and discuss the top 5 problems on that line and how to address them. * Accelerating pace, greater focus - In the past a problem has taken months to be identified and a solution taken even longer to be put in place. An example of the new focus has been the identification of a problem where passenger emergency alarms on numerous lines cause lots of delays due to accidental activation. The war rooms have identified it as a systematic issue and work is now underway to install covers on passenger emergency alarms to reduce accidental activations on the lines most affected by them before the Games. Work is well underway on the Victoria line and is already showing positive results. The Northern, Jubilee and Piccadilly lines are also being addressed, and plans are in development to roll this out across the network. * Reliability focus to generate new ideas - £50 million has already been identified for reliability projects over the next few years, which are being developed, implemented and tracked to ensure they produce real improvements for passengers. I have begun to implement parts of this plan, and the successful results are starting to be seen. This plan is a critical part of the modernisation of the Tube. I will continue to take London forward with the major investment in the Tube upgrade, and will not risk a return to old rolling stock, outdated equipment, and ancient working practices of the past. Despite the tightest spending round in generations, we have secured funding to deliver Crossrail in full, as scheduled by 2018. This means £15.9 billion injected into the project, creating 14,000 jobs43. Crossrail is essential for the economic success of London. It will dramatically improve transport in London, increasing the overall rail capacity in London by 10 per cent and bringing 1.5 million people within 45 minutes commute of the existing major employment centres of the West End, the City and Canary Wharf44. It is critical to supporting the growth of the financial and business services sectors in central London and in the Isle of Dogs, where there is market demand for additional development capacity, and will provide much-needed additional transport capacity to the West End. I will ensure Crossrail is delivered on time and on budget, and that we optimise the major regeneration opportunities presented around new Crossrail stations. 43 HM Treasury Spending Review 2010, 20 October 2010 44 Crossrail, Press Release, Crossrail issues rolling stock and depot tender, 28 February 2012 ## Crossrail 2/High Speed Rail 2 It is important to plan now for the next major transport infrastructure to boost the economy in London after Crossrail. I secured a record transport investment from No 10 and will do so again – an investment package for jobs and growth far greater than anything Ken Livingstone could negotiate with the Government. The first priority for investment is Crossrail 2, otherwise known as the Chelsea to Hackney line. I want to relieve pressure on London Underground and National Rail through the development of a further Crossrail link between Northeast and Southwest London. It is a condition of my support for High Speed Rail 2 that government help us finance Crossrail 2, to relieve pressure on Euston station, which is essential to HS2, and where crucial parts of the Tube are already overwhelmed with passengers. I will also ask the new London Infrastructure Fund to harness pension fund and other institutional investment to support the project. I am in favour of high speed rail but we need to look closely at the business case. I am also fighting hard for more to protect West London residents. We won an important success with the tunnel between Northolt and Ruislip but more needs to be done. However, the new line comes with a cost in terms of its effects on people whose homes it passes near to. I have successfully persuaded Government to amend the proposal by building a 2.75-mile tunnel to reduce disruption for local residents between Northolt and Ruislip45, but I will continue to lobby government for improvements to HS2 to lessen the impact on West London residents. ## A more accessible network Crossrail, together with the Tube upgrade, will also mean tens of thousands of step free journeys every day on the network, significantly helping disabled travellers and parents with buggies. During tough economic times we have kept as much of the step free programme going as we can, with the aim of half the rail network being step-free by the end of this decade46. I have increased the number of step-free Tube stations, with 65 stations to be step-free by the Olympics47. Step-free access has been provided at key interchange stations, including King’s Cross St. Pancras, which has 10 new lifts48. Step-free access work will continue at Victoria, Tottenham Court Road, Liverpool Street and Bond Street and others49. This is in tandem with major redevelopment work to increase capacity and relieve congestion. 45 House of Commons Hansard, 10 January 2012, Col. 25 46 TfL, Taking forward the Mayor’s Transport Strategy Accessibility Implementation Plan, March 2012 47 TfL, Press Release, King’s Cross St. Pancras Tube station is step-free with 10 new lifts, 27 September 2010 48 TfL, Press Release, King’s Cross St. Pancras Tube station is step-free with 10 new lifts, 27 September 2010 49 TfL, Press Release, King’s Cross St. Pancras Tube station is step-free with 10 new lifts, 27 September 2010 ## Honesty over fares I will: * Ensure transparency and honesty over fares policy. * Protect the 24-hour Freedom Pass and ensure that it is available on TfL services to all Londoners from age 60. * Lobby the Train Operating Companies to extend the Freedom Pass for use on suburban rail before 9.30am. * Guarantee concessionary fares for the elderly, young, job seekers and injured veterans. * Introduce contactless ‘wave and pay’ style payments on the transport network, allowing passengers to pay with their credit cards and mobile phones. * Introduce a Courtesy Card to require those under 16s who benefit from free travel on the buses treat other travellers with respect. ## Cutting waste at TfL When I was elected, TfL was an inefficient organisation that did not deliver value for those paying fares. I have undertaken a major overhaul of the organisation to deliver greater efficiencies and drive out waste. This will deliver £4.6 billion in savings by 2015 as part of an even more ambitious £7.6 billion savings target⁵⁰. These savings include a 25 per cent reduction in directors at TfL, which now has, on a like-for-like basis, 3,500 fewer staff than when I inherited it from my predecessor⁵¹. We have also vacated 23 buildings, and cut back room operating costs, such as IT, by 20 per cent⁵². TfL is moving record numbers of people more reliably than at any time in its history, with around 24 million journeys a day on the network, while simultaneously delivering the biggest programme of transport modernisation for generations. This means every penny is now committed to delivering a 21st Century, modernised network for Londoners. ## Honesty and transparency on fares policy Londoners need transparency and honesty about London’s fares policy. Under eight years of Ken Livingstone, Londoners were subjected to record-breaking fare increases after being promised fares would either be frozen or kept low. In 2000, 2004 and 2008, Ken Livingstone promised lower fares, without any intention or plan to deliver them - and 2012 is no different. In 2000, Londoners were promised by Ken Livingstone that bus and Tube fares would be frozen “in real terms for four years”⁵³. Despite this, by 2004, Livingstone had broken this promise. Single bus fares outside central London were hiked by 43 per cent, cash Tube fares by up to 25 per cent, and weekly bus passes ⁵⁰ TfL, Business Plan 2011/12-2014/15 ⁵¹ GLA, Boris Johnson’s Speech to London Assembly, 25 January 2012 ⁵² GLA, Boris Johnson’s Speech to London Assembly, 25 January 2012 ⁵³ Ken Livingstone, Ken 4 London, 2000, p. 8 outside central London by 26.6 per cent54. Ken Livingstone himself admits in his recent memoirs: ‘I decided to increase the fares before the 2004 election.’55 In 2003, Londoners were then promised by Ken Livingstone that fare increases would be held to “no more than the rate of inflation”56. Yet in September 2004, just months after the election, he announced that fares would rise by inflation +1 per cent on the Tube and inflation +10 per cent on the buses57. He recently admitted he broke this promise too; ‘[The Government was] giving me power to borrow £2.9 billion from the bond markets without further reference to government. No local authority had been given this freedom before, but the sting in the tail was that I would have to increase the fares to service the debt. **This meant breaking my promise not to raise fares faster than inflation**, but given my contempt for Wilson and Callaghan - who cut investment rather than raise taxes - I took the deal.’58 In 2007, Londoners were again promised by Ken Livingstone that he would “freeze Tube fares in real terms in 2009”59. Yet just six days before the pledge was made, Ken Livingstone agreed a package that would see bus fares increase by inflation +2 per cent and Tube fares by inflation +1 per cent if he won re-election60. Londoners deserve honesty and openness over fare setting. My approach will ensure that fares will be lower in the long term. Short term fare cuts invariably lead to fare hikes in the aftermath. I reject the economics of the loan shark. I understand the importance for Londoners of keeping transport fares as good value as possible. That is why this year I secured £130 million from the Government, to fund a cut of 1 per cent in planned fare rises61. I promise to be honest and transparent about fares setting, and by cutting waste at TfL my approach will keep fares low in the long term. I will ensure every penny from fares will be invested into improving the network for all of London. ## Protect and extend the Freedom Pass It is also vital that we protect concessions for those who need them. That is why I extended the Freedom Pass to 24 hours a day to make travel easier for older Londoners. If elected, I will protect the full 24-hour Freedom Pass and will lobby hard for the private Train Operating Companies to offer a similar peak-time concession to Freedom Pass holders. And I shall reverse the last Labour Government’s decision to raise the age of eligibility for the Freedom Pass to 65 so that Londoners travel free when they turn 60. I will also guarantee concessionary travel for injured veteran soldiers, which I introduced in 2009, for young people, students and those seeking work, as now. ## Contactless payments The modernisation programme for the underground is not just about new tracks and trains; it is about harnessing the latest technologies and reforming management to improve efficiency and make London Underground genuinely customer focussed. The changes will make it a genuinely world class Tube for a world-class city. I will introduce contactless payments, enabling Londoners and visitors to simply wave and pay their credit cards or debit cards to travel on the buses and underground. I will start its introduction on the bus network in June this year as a means of paying cash fares. I will launch contactless payment with Pay As You Go and weekly capping on the Tube and other rail services towards the end of 2013 and aim to launch season tickets in early 2014. Contactless payment will be more convenient for passengers. There will be no need to get a 54. Telegraph, Blog, Ken Livingstone: those fares promises in full, 3 January 2012; TfL, Press Release, New Year, New Fares, 2 January 2004; TfL, Report, 29 October 2003, p. 5, Agenda 5 55. Ken Livingstone, You Can’t Say That, October 2011, p 491 56. GLA, 34th Mayor’s Report to London Assembly, 2003 57. London Legacy Website, Press Release, New fares policy will secure £3bn investment in transport, 21 October 2004 58. Ken Livingstone, You Can’t Say That, October 2011,pp. 496-497, emphasis added 59. London Legacy Website, Questions to the Mayor - Written Answers, 12 December 2007 60. TfL, Board Meeting, 6 December 2007, p. 4 61. GLA, Press Release, Mayor welcomes huge boost to capital’s economy, 29 November 2011 separate card for travel, and no need to top up. Oyster accounts will be fully accessible online. If customers are charged the wrong amount at any time, or need to be refunded, this new system will make it easy through a simple online transfer. This means that we can make sure that any customers owed a refund can get it quickly and conveniently. Contactless payment will not only be more convenient for passengers – it will also contribute to TfL’s efficiency, since the cost of collection will be lower than with Oyster. ## Courtesy Card At present, under-16s can travel for free on the buses in London with a ZIP card. This is an important concession which I am committed to continuing, and has provided welcome financial relief to parents across London. However, there are still problems with a minority of under-16s who abuse their privilege. My predecessor ignored crime on the transport system, particularly on buses. As a result, there was an increase of violent crime on buses by 9 per cent between 2004/5 and 2007/8⁶². I pledged to tackle anti-social behaviour and have reduced crime on buses, which has fallen overall by 30 per cent⁶³, with a drop in violent crime of 19 per cent⁶⁴. I also kept my pledge to introduce ‘Earn Your Travel Back’ (EYTB), enabling young people who have their free travel withdrawn for bad behaviour to earn their ZIP card back by volunteering in community activities. By December 2011, 3,019 had completed EYTB⁶⁵. I will continue this scheme, making it even more targeted and effective at changing behaviour, and working through Team London to get more young people to volunteer in worthwhile activities. I will strengthen the existing behaviour code by making it an explicit condition of free travel that under -16s give up their seats for older people, especially pensioners and behave courteously to their fellow passengers. I will publish a three-point Courtesy Code on the back of each ZIP card which will remind card holders that they must: * Give up their seat to an older, pregnant or disabled person. * Be polite and not use offensive or threatening language. * Be courteous to fellow passengers: for instance, not playing music out loud on a mobile phone. This Courtesy Code will complement TfL’s existing Behaviour Code, which every ZIP card holder has to observe, and any young person found breaching the Courtesy Code will have their free travel withdrawn. I will also operate a ‘two strikes and out’ policy, where individuals are only able to earn their travel back once before the card is removed permanently for a second offence. 62 TfL, Crime and Anti Social Behaviour Statistical Bulletin, Q1 07/08, Table 2.1; Ibid.Q1 08/09, Table 2.1 63 TfL, Crime Statistics Bulletin, Q2 11/12; GLA, Press Release, Mayor highlights drop in crime across public transport network, 21 February 2011 64 GLA, Press Release, Mayor highlights drop in crime across public transport network, 21 February 2011 65 GLA, Mayor’s Questions, 14 December 2011. 22 Investing in Transport ## Improving and expanding suburban rail ### I will: * Lobby the government to devolve rail franchising powers to the Mayor so that TfL can specify the standards to be achieved by private Train Operating Companies. This will allow me to: * hold down fares; * aim for a minimum frequency of service of four trains an hour on local services; * improve the conditions of rundown suburban rail stations and improve safety, with more station staff and CCTV. * Work to extend the DLR from Lewisham to Bromley. * Aim to develop a Tramlink extension to Crystal Palace. * Work with Network Rail on proposals for longer trains and increased capacity on the suburban network at stations on routes in and around London. ## Raising standards on suburban rail In many parts of London, particularly in the south, commuters are dependent on suburban rail networks to get into the centre. Many of the busiest commuter lines end just outside the GLA area, and although the overwhelming majority of journeys are entirely within London, the lines are completely controlled by national government. The passenger satisfaction on these nationalised rail lines is far below the level on London Overground, where TfL has been able to raise standards⁶⁶. Under my predecessor, suburban rail was overlooked. I have worked constructively with the Train Operating Companies to improve services for suburban commuters. I have now held three annual Train Operating Summits with train companies⁶⁷. These have resulted in agreements on key areas including improving customer information, improving and station standards, increasing the frequency of services, simplifying the fares structure for London Underground and National Rail, and planning for future growth⁶⁸. This has led to the successful roll out of Oyster card readers with the result that millions of Londoners not only have that convenience but also cheaper Oyster fares. I will take London forward by championing a better service for suburban rail users. I am asking the Department for Transport to devolve responsibility for rail franchises to City Hall, making the Mayor of London the signatory on rail franchises where the overwhelming majority of journeys are made in London. This will enable TfL to raise standards on suburban rail as it has done on London Overground, ensuring stations are staffed, trains are longer and more frequent, that ticket machines are more user-friendly, and that real-time train information is more useful. This would ensure the suburban rail network is better co-ordinated with the rest of the London transport network, particularly at interchanges. TfL officials believe, and I agree, 66. TfL, Press Release, London Overground passenger satisfaction soars following investment in capacity, trains and stations, 26 January 2012 67. Association of Trade Operating Companies, Mayor brings London’s rail industry together to get set for the Games, 27 February 2012 68. Mayor of London, Mayor’s Questions, 24 February 2010 that a further benefit will be the ability to hold down fares on the suburban rail network. In the next four years, six London-area franchises come up for renewal. TfL has identified the franchise currently operated by Southeastern to Hayes, Dartford and Sevenoaks and the West Anglia services from Liverpool Street to Chingford, Enfield Lock and Enfield Town as priorities for devolution when those franchises come up for renewal in 2014. If TfL were the franchising authority (as it is for London Overground) there would be a clear set of service standards which eventually I would like to see apply to rail franchises across the capital, including: - More frequent services — a turn up and go frequency of at least four trains an hour throughout the week. - Passenger security — improved security with networked CCTV and help points at all stations, plus improved lighting and more stations gated to reduce antisocial behaviour. - Overhaul of 100 stations — refurbishment and deep cleaning of over 100 stations in Greater London, bringing them up to London Overground standards. - More staffing — a visible staff presence across the network throughout the day, offering proactive assistance to customers. - Better customer information — visual and public address systems providing real time service information supported by the best and most comprehensive online and mobile enabled journey planning system anywhere in the world. - Cycle parking — high quality cycle parking facilities to promote cycling as a means of access to stations. In addition, I have also secured the Government’s agreement for TfL to work with Network Rail on proposals for longer trains and increased capacity at stations on the suburban network on routes in and around London. TfL has identified 17 stations (Barking, Bromley South, Charing Cross, Clapham Junction, Fenchurch Street, Finsbury Park, Herne Hill, Marylebone, Orpington, Peckham Rye, Putney, Surbiton, Sutton, Tulse Hill, Victoria, Waterloo East and Wimbledon) with significant congestion problems with the best case for some works to enhance capacity with smaller scale works to remove pinch-points. TfL has also identified routes suitable for these capacity improvements and frequency enhancements, including: ### Lengthening: - South Eastern services from the Kent coast to Victoria from 8 to 12 cars, providing an additional 16 vehicles. - South Western trains serving London Waterloo via Wimbledon, Kingston, Putney and Richmond from 8 to 10 carriages. - All peak fast trains from Surbiton to London Waterloo to 12 cars. - Windsor via Putney and Richmond services from London Waterloo. - Selected Essex Thameside services from 8 to 12 cars, providing up to an additional 80 vehicles. - Electrify Gospel Oak to Barking, permitting the introduction of eight 4 car electric units, replacing eight 2 car diesel units. - Peak South Eastern services from the Kent coast to Victoria from 8 to 12 cars, providing an additional 16 vehicles. - Half hourly Southern service on the West London Line from 4 to 8 cars, providing 28 additional vehicles. - London Overground West London Line and North London Line from 4 cars to 5. - Southern services on the Brighton Main Line up to 12 cars. - Half hourly Southern service on the West London Line from 4 to 8 cars, providing 28 additional vehicles. ## More frequent trains: - Additional 2 trains per hour on the peak service between Crystal Palace and Dalston Junction. - Additional 2 trains per hour on the off peak all stations service between Bromley South and Victoria with stops in selected peak services at Peckham Rye and Denmark Hill. - West Anglia Main Line improvements to provide 4 trains per hour from Enfield to Stratford, providing 12 additional vehicles ## Expansion to outer London Although we have one of the most extensive underground train systems in the world, there are many parts of London – particularly south of the Thames – that are ill-served by the network, or indeed not served at all. This is why I completed the East London line, and am building the New South London Line to link the East London Line with Clapham Junction by the end of this year, so creating a new orbital railway for London. I will go further, developing a series of extensions of the underground, the Overground and DLR rail networks to reach out to new parts of London. Specifically: - Increase the capacity of the East London line by upgrading it to 5 carriage trains by 2014. - Work to extend the DLR from Lewisham to Bromley, followed by a tram from Beckenham to make an orbital rail loop. - Develop a Tramlink extension to Crystal Palace. 26 Investing in Transport ## Protecting the bus network ### I will: - Protect the network in full from Ken Livingstone’s plans to take £1.14 billion out of the transport budget, especially the suburban bus services on which so many people rely. - Roll out the New Bus for London with 600 vehicles on London’s streets by the end of my term in 2016 as existing buses are decommissioned and at no more cost than an existing hybrid bus. - Roll out countdown machines to give people more real-time arrival information and improve passengers’ journeys. - Continue to ensure that ramps on buses should always work and more bus stops are accessible. ## New Bus for London I promised to remove the dangerous and ineffective bendy-bus introduced by my predecessor onto London’s streets, and have done so, removing the last one in December 2011⁶⁹. I also promised a New Bus for London, and delivered it. In just two years, the idea of new bus inspired by the design of the Routemaster has gone from drawing board to London’s streets, with prototype buses operating on route 38 from Victoria to Hackney⁷⁰. The New Bus is a symbol of London’s dynamism, and something all Londoners can be proud of. It is the first new bus designed specifically for London’s streets for fifty years, and incorporates the most innovative and cutting edge hybrid technology, making it the most environmentally friendly bus of its kind. Crucially, it has been designed so that the rear door can stay open while in motion, allowing passengers to hop on and off. I will expand the New Bus across London with 600 new buses operating on the streets by the end of my second term as Mayor. I will do this in a cost effective way, by replacing existing buses as they are decommissioned with the New Bus. I will also ensure that each New Bus does not cost more to put on the streets than an existing hybrid bus. ## Improving the bus network The last four years have witnessed significant improvements to the bus network, operating over 18 million more kilometres since I was elected⁷¹, with new routes (such as the 324 from Stanmore to Brent Cross and the 395 from Harrow to Greenford), and route extensions (such as the 132 extension from Eltham to North Greenwich and the S3 extension to Malden Manor)⁷². These help with reducing delays and increasing the passenger journeys by more than 100 million⁷³. 69 GLA, Press Release, *Final bending buses banished from the streets of London*, 9 December 2011 70 GLA, Press Release, *First passengers jump aboard the new bus in London*, 27 February 2012 71 TfL Website, Annual Report and Statements of Accounts, p.11, 2010/11 72 TfL, *Bus service changes May 2008 – January 2012* 73 TfL Website, Annual Report and Statements of Accounts, p.11, 2010/11 I have introduced an increase in CCTV to make journeys safer and more transport police, and the result has seen a 30 per cent drop in crime on the bus network74. I will continue to invest in the bus network, and guarantee bus services are maintained at their existing level. I will roll out Countdown signs at bus stops, particularly in outer London, to keep passengers better informed. Countdown was launched in October last year and provides real-time bus departure information via bus stop signs, the TfL website and SMS for all 19,500 bus stops across London. I am well on the way to upgrading 2,000 bus stop signs as part of this process and will increase the total number of signs to 2,500, with the extra 500 being added at the busiest bus stops75. In addition, I have made data freely available to smartphone app developers with iBus enabling people to access real-time arrival information for their stop. ## Oxford Street Oxford Street is one of London’s major tourist attractions, but the number of bus routes operating on the street can be a major frustration for pedestrians and other motorists. I have already reduced the number of buses operating on Oxford Street by up to 20 per cent76, and will maintain this. I will continue to work actively with Westminster City Council and others as we develop new plans to ensure Oxford Street retains its status as a world-class shopping destination. ## A more accessible bus network All of London’s 8,500 buses are low floor and fitted with wheelchair ramps77. And we introduced a more rigorous training regime to make sure bus drivers should always deploy the ramps, with regular inspections at bus depots to ensure the ramps work and that they are checked whilst in service. I will ensure we continue to keep up a rigid inspection regime. I have not only doubled the number of accessible bus stops since 200878, I am proposing to increase the number of accessible bus stops further from 58 per cent79 to 70 per cent by the end of the 2012/13 financial year to ensure that all Londoners can use bus services on which they rely. I will also review the bus drivers’ “Red Book”, and work with bus operators to continuously improve standards of service on the buses I will also continue to support door-to-door services like Dial A Ride, which has had a further 39 bespoke low-floor minibuses entered into the fleet and the highest number of trips since the service began in the 1980s, with more than 1.3 million trips during the last financial year.80 74 MOPC, Monthly Report: Police and Crime Committee, 8 March 2012 Comparing 45 months of Ken Livingstone (August 2004 – April 2008) with 45 months of Boris Johnson (May 2008 – January 2012) 75 TfL Website, Live bus arrivals 76 GLA, *Streets Ahead: Relieving Congestion*, 2010 77 TfL Website, Buses 78 TfL, *Taking forward the Mayor’s Transport Strategy Accessibility Implementation Plan*, March 2012 79 GLA, *Mayors Questions*, December 2011 80 TfL, Annual Report and Statements of Accounts, 2010/11 ## Investing in the road network I will: - Launch a Congestion Busting Plan to: * establish a £50 million Roads Blackspot Fund to relieve congestion at key locations in London; * establish the London Roads Task Force to propose long-term proposals to tackle London’s most notorious roads, including locations such as Hammersmith Flyover, Purley Way, Wandsworth Town Centre, Euston Road, Archway, and Kings Cross; * introduce Lane Rental to tackle road works and expand ‘Report It’ system to potholes; * expand the role of the Metropolitan Police’s traffic police to keep traffic moving, including reopening roads faster after accidents; and continue to review the phasing of traffic lights to improve conditions for all road users. - Promote more shared space improvements to our public realm. - Call on each borough to review parking in non-residential, strategic shopping areas, to reduce any negative impact on businesses. - Crack down on dangerous rickshaws. - Set up a ‘Cabbie Cabinet’. - Expand pedestrian countdown to continue to make crossings safer. - Push on with a new road tunnel under the river between Greenwich Peninsula and Silvertown. - Lobby for those living in Havering and Bexley to receive the same discounts on the Dartford Crossing as residents in Dartford and Thurrock. - Never introduce a London-wide Congestion Charge or a £25 tax on family cars. ## Congestion Busting Plan London is rightly seen as one of the world’s leading cities, attracting people and companies from all over the world to visit, live and do business here. Our capital is fantastically positioned to keep and build on this status. A key part of that is making London’s transport network work to support our city, and our roads are an essential part of that. For all of these reasons, London deserves a road network that isn’t just a relic of 1950s and 1960s urban planning, but a road system that is fit for the 21st century. The vast majority of journeys in London are done by road, whether by bus, car, bike, motorcycle, taxi or on foot - around 80 per cent of the 24.5 million journeys each day⁸¹. Trip patterns have changed a lot too - on some links in central London today there are more cyclists than cars, while in outer London the car is by far the most common form of transport. Yet the road system has been neglected for decades, with little investment, leading to too many competing demands for limited road space and congested roads. London’s roads are essential arteries for Londoners and for London’s businesses. And yet London is responsible for about a fifth of the UK’s congestion, which TfL estimates costs the UK economy at least £2 billion a year⁸². The solution is not an ever more draconian war on motorists as pursued by my predecessor, with increased taxes, penalties and other restrictions. Instead, it is the responsibility of the Mayor to ensure that traffic keeps flowing and ensure improvements for all users, whether motorists, pedestrians, or cyclists, and that means investing in the road network just as we do in the rail and Tube networks. There has been virtually no investment in significantly improving the operation of the road network for more than half a century. During this time the number of people in London has soared and more and more demands have been placed on the road network. The road network is as important a part of transport in London as the Underground network, and should not be starved of investment. I commit to investing £450 million in London’s roads during the next Mayoral term⁸³. As part of this, I will launch London’s first comprehensive Congestion Busting Plan, tackling everything from London’s worst roads blackspots to individual traffic lights. The Plan will include: ## Roads Blackspot Fund I will commit £50 million⁸⁴ to enable immediate action to relieve the worst congestion blackspots in London, with priority being given to those roads which cause the worst delays and blight the communities who live around them. The Fund will take the type of approach illustrated, for example, in the recent redesign of Henlys Corner. Improvements will include: - Redesigning roads to improve traffic flow. - Optimising traffic signals. - Removing unnecessary street clutter and improving the surrounding urban realm. - Improving conditions for vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists. Henlys Corner is a busy junction on the A406 North Circular Road which has been redesigned using new, innovative approaches to using the road space. This has helped to cut queue lengths dramatically (3-5 times shorter on the approaches) and improve journey times for the 94,000 vehicles passing through the junction every day⁸⁵. Less congestion also means lower pollution, improving the environment for local residents. By separating traffic more clearly, cyclists are can pass through the junction more safely than before, and at the same time, new crossings have made it possible for pedestrians to cross the road safely for the first time. ## London Roads Task Force I will establish a London Roads Task Force, which will report to me within six months of the Mayoral election. This will be the first major strategic review of its kind of London’s roads for a generation. It will put together proposals for long-term improvements to the road network. This will include looking at how we could redesign gyratories and congestion blackspots, make journeys on London’s roads more reliable, and continue to make London’s roads safe for all users. It will also look at how London’s roads could better serve local communities as places at the heart of London’s many neighbourhoods. It will aim to help transform the urban realm, cut pollution and ease congestion. ⁸¹ TfL, Travel in London Report 4, p. 28 ⁸² GLA, Press Release, Mayor marks completion of improvements that have transformed Henlys Corner, 13 January 2012 ⁸³ TfL Business Plan 2011/12-2014/15, p. 71, Table 10 ⁸⁴ TfL Business Plan 2011/12-2014/15, p. 71, Table 10, Better Routes and Places ⁸⁵ GLA, Press Release, Mayor marks completion of improvements that have transformed Henlys Corner, 13 January 2012 ## Lane Rental I will use the new powers which I have secured to introduce Lane Rental to tackle road works. Road works are a major contributor to congestion in London, but before I arrived at City Hall, no attempt had been made to control them. Over 100 companies have the right to dig up London’s roads86, and they were not co-ordinating their work, had no incentive to do their work as quickly as possible, nor to carry out the work when the roads are least busy. Having persuaded the Government to grant London new powers, I introduced a permit scheme for road works, putting pressure on the utilities companies to be less disruptive. It has been a great success. In its first year of operation, with 18 boroughs on board alongside TfL, the scheme reduced road works by 17 per cent in the areas where it operated and saved London 150,000 days of street works in just twelve months. Since then a further seven of London’s 32 boroughs are signed up, with the rest coming on board shortly, so we can expect to see even greater reductions in time wasted on unnecessarily prolonged road works87. I want to go further. I have agreed with Ministers to allow London to pioneer a new Lane Rental scheme, which will make companies pay up to £2,500 a day for digging up roads during busy periods88 – this will give them a big financial incentive to co-ordinate their road works, and to complete them as quickly as possible at a time of day that causes least disruption. This will become a formidable weapon in the war on road works. Through the Committee on Lane Rental convened by TfL, I will use the proceeds from lane rental to reduce disruption and other adverse effects of road works, including potholes created by any road works. TfL officials expect this fund to be around £6 million each year89. I will make it easier for drivers to complain about unattended road works through the new ‘Report It’ system, including developing a mobile phone app for motorists to report road works, and will use London’s traffic PCSOs to report and impose fines on companies if their road works over-run. ## Rapid response to road accidents Road accidents can cause major disruption. Often it can take too long to reopen the road network. I will explore new technology to more quickly assess accident scenes, including new lasers that scan the site of an accident in 3D to help police to more quickly complete their survey of the scene. This would enable the Met Police to open roads more rapidly to keep London moving, with the aim of halving the average time taken to reopen roads after an incident. ## Traffic lights I will roll out innovative technology to improve the phasing of traffic lights. I promised to review traffic lights, and since being elected have reviewed the phasing of 2,650 traffic lights since 2009, which has cut delays by 8 per cent on average90 and nearly 20 per cent in some locations91. More than 40 per cent of traffic signals across London now ‘self regulate’92 through innovative technology known as Split Cycle Offset Optimisation Technique (SCOOT) which allows traffic signals to detect vehicles passing along a road and work together to amend their signal timings on a second by second basis. I will continue review the phasing of the remaining lights during the next four years and trial SCOOT for pedestrians to detect large groups of people at pedestrian crossings and amend traffic signal timings to allow them to quickly move through areas of London. 86 GLA Website, Lane rental 87 London Councils, London Permit Scheme: First Year Evaluation Report, 27 May 2011, p. 6 88 DfT, Press Release, Green light for pioneering scheme to tackle rush hour road works disruption, 6 March 2012 89 TfL 90 TfL Website, Suggested signal removal list, February 2012 ; TfL, Press Release, Transport for London Londoners to face fewer delays at traffic signals, 1 July 2010; TfL, Press Release, Mayor announces innovative technology is helping traffic flow more smoothly and cut disruption, 19 March 2012 91 TfL, Press Release, Mayor announces innovative technology is helping traffic flow more smoothly and cut disruption, 19 March 2012 92 TfL, Press Release, Mayor announces innovative technology is helping traffic flow more smoothly and cut disruption, 19 March 2012 ## Congestion charge I promised to consult again on the Western Extension of the Congestion Charge Zone (WEZ). I listened to residents’ views and scrapped it. There has been a negligible impact on congestion and traffic speeds, and a noticeable boost to local businesses⁹³. I also promised to scrap Ken Livingstone’s £25 a day tax on family vehicles, and I did. To protect London’s businesses and families, I commit to never introduce a London-wide Congestion Charge or a £25 tax on family cars. I have also introduced AutoPay for the Congestion Charge which means no registered driver should have to pay a fine⁹⁴. ## Pedestrians and the public realm Since I was elected, London has been leading the country in innovative road schemes ensuring pedestrians get a better deal on the roads, making it easier and safer for them. I installed the “X” diagonal pedestrian crossings at Oxford Circus, unravelled the one-way gyratory system along Piccadilly, and have supported the shared use of Exhibition Road⁹⁵. This gives pedestrians and drivers equal rights of way, which evidence shows reduces accidents as it discourages speeding, and encourages road users taking more responsibility for their risks. The capital has too many guardrails, restricting the movement of pedestrians and also presenting a hazard for cyclists. I have removed 63 kilometres of guardrails along pavements⁹⁶, making it easier and safer for pedestrians to cross, and stripped out other unnecessary street clutter. I will continue to work with the boroughs to push forward shared space schemes and scrap guardrails and promote this approach on new developments through the London Plan⁹⁷. After successful trials, I will introduce Pedestrian Countdown to around 200 locations across the capital⁹⁸. ## Parking One of the biggest complaints from businesses large and small is about parking in London making it difficult for them to do their job, increasing costs, or by making it difficult for customers to get to them. I will call on each borough to review parking in non-residential, strategic shopping areas, to see if it can be managed in a way that reduces any negative impact on businesses. Retailers can suffer if shoppers find it too difficult to park their cars, so I will lead by example by extending the length of time motorists can park at ‘Stop and Shop’ bays - giving them an extra 10 minutes free parking on Transport for London roads that go through commercial high streets. The current stopping time is 20 minutes. ## Tackle rickshaws Rickshaws, or pedicabs, have proliferated in central London in recent years. Unregulated, often uninsured, usually over-priced and frequently dangerous, they have attracted increasing complaints from other road users about their behaviour and about the many close misses that have nearly costs lives. The Mayor does not have the powers to ban them, but I am already using the powers I do have to crack down on badly conducted rickshaws in London. I will do so increasingly in partnership with other agencies, such as the UK Border Agency and HM Revenue and Customs. 93. TfL, Press Release, *Mayor confirms removal of Congestion Charge Western Extension Zone by Christmas and introduction of CC Auto Pay in New Year*, 20 October 2010 94. TfL, Press Release, *Auto pay hits the mark*, 16 September 2011 95. TfL, Press Release, *Mayor agrees extra £10m TfL funding for Exhibition Road project*, 16 January 2009 96. TfL, *Surface Transport Panel*, 11 May 2011 97. GLA, *The London Plan*, July 2011 98. TfL Website, *Pedestrian Countdown at traffic signals* ## Taxis and a ‘Cabbie Cabinet’ I have fulfilled my promise at the last election to put representatives of black taxis and private hire vehicles on the board of TfL. I have clamped down on illegal minicabs, doubling the number police dedicated to stamping them out99. I will maintain this, and explore with TfL how we can better listen to cabbies who are on the street and see specific examples of touting, and respond more rapidly to those concerns. I also commit to cracking down further on illegal minicab operations, including implementing tighter standards for licensing new minicab offices to ensure they are aboveboard. I will also strongly protect the two-tier regulatory system which distinguishes between private hire vehicles and taxis. I know that taxi drivers also want their voices to be heard directly so I will set up a ‘Cabbie Cabinet’ - a forum for taxi drivers which I will meet with once a year. I am concerned about the fact that ranks around London are continually under threat and will ask TfL to produce a ‘ranks plan’ that will protect existing ranks as far as possible and identify new ones. I will also ask TfL to produce a Suburban Action Plan to identify and address the specific concerns of yellow badge holders. Many taxi drivers are also rightly concerned that everything is being done to allow them to do their job during the 2012 Games this summer. That is why I rejected my predecessor’s plans which would have seen 240km dedicated to Games Lanes100, and negotiated a reduction to 75km101, down two thirds. I have worked hard to find opportunities for taxis to make use of Games Lanes on the Olympic Route Network at certain times and have set up a range of dedicated communications channels to make sure they are fully informed. The Games are a great opportunity for London’s cabbies to show the city at its best and I am determined to help them to do that. I have also insisted on a number of concessions, specifically for taxis to use turns along the network that were initially banned for all traffic except buses. Locations where additional flexibility for taxis has already been agreed include: * The northbound nearside Games Lane on Gloucester Place (north of Marylebone Road). * Lisson Grove (northbound) right turn in to St John’s Wood Road (eastbound) – taxis will have access to the northbound offside Games Lane on Lisson Grove to make this right turn. * Right turn from Marylebone Road at Balcombe Street to provide access into Marylebone railway station. ## Dartford Crossing I killed off my predecessor’s proposal for a Thames Gateway Bridge because of the damaging impact it would have had on Bexley, and I will not resuscitate it. Instead, I will continue to call on the Government for residents within Greater London who live close to the Dartford Crossing – notably those living in Bexley and Havering - to be given the same discount on the Dartford toll as residents of Dartford and Thurrock. ## Silvertown crossing I will also seek powers to construct a new Blackwall relief crossing, a road tunnel that will cross from Greenwich Peninsula to Silvertown, near the Royal Docks, and which will be completed within ten years. The government has committed to explore the case for using the Planning Act to streamline planning for proposed additional river crossings in East London. 99 TfL Website, _Touting and associated dangers_ 100 London 2012, _Theme 14: Transport_ 101 London 2012, _Update on 2012 transport to Transport Committee, 3 January 2012_ 34 Investing in Transport ## **Promoting cycling** **I will:** * Expand cycle hire to West and East and explore expansion to parts of South London and town centres in outer London, including Bromley, Croydon, Hounslow, Kingston, Richmond, and Romford town centres. * Improve cycle safety by reviewing the 50 cycle accident hotspots. * Triple the number of cycle super-highways. * Host a world class cycling festival at the Olympic Park. ## Expanding Cycle Hire I promised the world’s best Cycle Hire scheme, and have delivered it. At the same time I reduced the cost to taxpayers by securing £50 million of private investment. London has over 8,000 hire bikes, and 15,000 docking points, operating across the capital from Notting Hill Gate to Wapping and from Regent’s Park to Kennington. Over 10 million hires have been made¹⁰². I have now expanded the scheme eastwards in time for the Olympics and to the west and south-west of London, encapsulating Shoreditch, Tower Hamlets, Canary Wharf, Bethnal Green, Bow, Mile End, Poplar, Wandsworth, Hammersmith, Fulham, Lambeth and Kensington. I will explore expanding the scheme further into outer London town centres, with a capacity study of six major town centres - Bromley, Croydon, Hounslow, Kingston, Richmond, and Romford - to be conducted and the results published by the end of the year. ## Cycle Safety It is critical that we make cycling safer in London. There has been a massive growth in the number of cyclists in the capital. The amount of cycle traffic on the Cycle Superhighways went up 70 per cent in 2010¹⁰³. While we have done a huge amount to promote cycling in London and to make cycling safer, including the Superhighways and Cycling Safety Action Plan, it is important we do more to remodel dangerous junctions and blackspots. I have instructed TfL to review 500 junctions its road network to prioritise the roads in most need of change and outline what changes are needed.¹⁰⁴ Improvements and redesign has already been undertaken at places like Bow and Henlys Corner, and I have secured an additional £15 million funding to tackle difficult junctions¹⁰⁵. 102 GLA, Press Release, Major expansion of Mayor’s cycle hire scheme goes live, 8 March 2012 103 TfL, Cycling Revolution London: End of Year Review 2010, 2010 104 TfL, Press Release, TfL confirms priority junctions for cycle safety review, 7 February 2012 105 HM Treasury, Budget 2012, 21 March 2012, p. 40 ## My Cycling Safety Action Plan is:106 * Providing additional funding to boost the provision and effectiveness of cycle training in advance of the launch of the Cycle Hire Scheme and Cycle Superhighways. * Developing an awareness-raising campaign targeted specifically at improving safety between HGVs and cyclists. * Working with the Police to tackle irresponsible road user behaviour. * Working with the London Criminal Justice Board to strengthen criminal justice procedures for dealing with cyclist deaths and serious injuries. * Delivering safer infrastructure for cyclists, including the first two cycle superhighways, which will trial new safety features such as Trixi mirrors. * Researching the potential for piloting cyclists being able to turn left at red traffic lights, and the potential for a ‘cycling safety code of conduct’. * Distributing safety mirrors to fleet operators and working with the industry to avoid deliveries at peak times, especially on roads with high cycle flows. * Working with bike retailers and manufacturers to provide safety messages at the point of sale. ## Cycle Superhighway I am committed to London being the most cycle-friendly city in the world. During my Mayoralty, we have taken many steps to boost cycling, including launching SkyRide and laying down the four cycle super-highways107. I will triple the number of cycle superhighways to twelve by the end of 2015108. I will also investigate the potential for an East-West cycle superhighway. ## World Cycle Festival London will also host a world-class, two day cycling event in 2013, the first major event at the Olympic Park after the Games, with the potential to attract 200,000 visitors from outside the capital to London and generating tens of millions of pounds in economic benefit109. 106 TfL, Cycle Safety Action Plan 107 TfL Website, Barclays Super Highways 108 TfL Website, Barclays Cycle Superhighways / Routes & maps 109 GLA, Press Release, Mayor announces world class cycling festival, January 2012 ## Improving river travel I will: - Launch a new car ferry service at Thamesmead to Gallions Reach. - Examine the feasibility of a new pedestrian river crossing between Vauxhall and Chelsea bridges. - Aim to double the capacity of river travel on the Thames by 2020 by creating new piers and increasing capacity to 12 million travellers a year. ## Making the most of the Thames The Thames is not just beautiful, but also a highway through the heart of our city. I have introduced Oyster cards on the Thames Clipper service to make it easier for passengers to use it. I believe this great natural resource of London could be used more, either for travel or pleasure. We need to learn from other cities that have successfully improved the use of their rivers. I will set out a 10 year vision for the river by the end of this year, with the aim of doubling the capacity of river travel by 2020. This will enable up to 12 million travellers a year, with improved pier management to free up additional capacity by getting boats away more quickly and charging for overstaying. I will also roll out automatic payment on the river properly as part of new wave and pay and improve signage significantly around key central London piers so more people can see and therefore use the river services. The shortage of river crossings east of Tower Bridge means that the north and south banks of the Thames can feel a world apart. Making it easier to cross between south east London and north east London will be a huge economic benefit to the city, by making it easier for businesses on the opposite sides of the Thames to trade. The Blackwall Tunnel and Woolwich car ferry are overstretched. I am building a cable car crossing - largely funded by sponsorship - from the Greenwich Peninsula to the Royal Docks, which will not be just an exciting tourist attraction, but will enable around two million people a year to cross between the O2 Centre and ExCeL exhibition centre, contributing to regeneration and jobs in the Royal Docks¹¹⁰. ### Ferry Service I will launch a new car ferry service from Thamesmead to Gallions Reach, to replace the ageing Woolwich ferry. ### Pedestrian crossings The Millennium Bridge crossing between St Paul’s Cathedral and Tate Modern has proved far more successful than the most optimistic forecasts, with over 4 million people crossing every year, demonstrating the demand for pedestrian crossings. I will examine whether there is demand for a new pedestrian river crossing, potentially between Vauxhall and Chelsea bridges as part of the Vauxhall Nine Elms development at Battersea, financed out of private funds. ## Dartford Crossing I killed off my predecessor’s proposal for a Thames Gateway Bridge because of the damaging impact it would have had on Bexley, and I will not resuscitate it. Instead, I will ask for residents within the GLA who live close to the Dartford Crossing – notably those living in Bexley and Havering - to be given the same discount on the Dartford toll as residents of Dartford and Thurrock. # Boosting aviation capacity ### I will: * Protect the jobs and wider economic prosperity created by the global connections with suppliers and markets that Heathrow provides. * Continue to oppose a third runway at Heathrow and oppose any changes in operation that measurably harm local people. * Fight for a reduction in night flights and to ban the oldest, noisiest aircraft from Heathrow’s densely populated flight paths. * Lobby for an increase in London’s aviation capacity through the development of a new hub airport. London is a top-ranking global city that thrives on its trade and connections with the rest of world. As the capital city of an island-nation, London’s people and businesses depend on air travel to get to where they need to be and for their suppliers and customers to be able to get here easily. But London’s main airport, Heathrow, is full. London needs to continue to attract tourists, investment and job creators – this will not happen if, as is increasingly the case, visitors find it easier to get to Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt than they do London. All these cities have invested in better air links to growing overseas markets than we have. Heathrow, along with the thousands of people who work there, does a magnificent job in very constrained circumstances. It directly employs 76,000 people at the airport and supports another 180,000 jobs¹¹¹ and I will do all I can to safeguard those jobs and the prosperity that comes with them. But noise from flight paths blights the lives of too many Londoners and I oppose any further expansion at Heathrow – that would not be right for the people who live near it. I have also consistently lobbied for fewer night flights to reduce the impact of interrupted sleep. I will continue to make that case and also lobby to ban older, noisier planes from Heathrow. Modern planes make far less noise than old planes and an aircraft noise restriction would bring a dramatic quality of life improvement for people in west London. Instead, London needs a new, modern hub airport to be built, serving London, the wider south east, and the nation at large¹¹². A new airport, constructed to the east of London, would contribute hugely to the regeneration of east London and by positioning flight paths over the Thames Estuary and the North Sea, the number of people affected by noise could be cut dramatically. Londoners and London businesses need the capacity to generate more prosperity, more jobs and more growth. A new modern airport financed, built and run by the private sector and designed to handle 21st Century aviation demand would make a powerful contribution to that capacity. I will do all I can to make it a reality by working with the Government, neighbouring authorities and major investors. --- 111 Frontier Economics, *Connecting for growth: the role of Britain’s hub airport in economic recovery*, September 2011 112 Mayor of London, Press Release, *Mayor says new hub airport vital for London and UK’s future prosperity and growth*, 18 January 2011 ## Fighting Crime in London **BETTER OFF WITH BORIS** * Cutting council tax * More police * Investing in transport * Growing London's economy Boris Johnson Conservatives # My 9 point plan for a Greater London 1. Cutting waste at City Hall – freeing up £3.5 billion for services. 2. Putting £445 back in your pocket by freezing the Mayoral share of council tax. 3. Creating 200,000 new jobs over the next four years. 4. Making our streets and homes safer with 1,000 more police on the beat. 5. Restoring 300 acres of green space and planting 20,000 street trees. 6. Investing £221 million to transform local high streets, supporting small businesses. 7. Ensuring a true Olympic legacy – 11,000 new homes and 10,000 new jobs. 8. Reducing Tube delays 30% by 2015. Building Crossrail and orbital rail to link our suburbs. Extending the Bike Hire scheme. 9. Securing a better deal for London from No 10. Fighting Crime in London details point 4 of my 9 point plan for Greater London, explains my crime fighting pledges in addition to those listed in the 9 point plan for Greater London, and shows how they link in with the whole plan. 4 Fighting Crime in London # Contents ## Introduction 7 ## My priorities for a Greater London 9 ## Strengthening the Force 11 ### Transparency on crime figures and police numbers 11 ### Increasing time on the beat 12 ### Strength in depth – a Force that looks more like London 13 ### Safer Neighbourhood Teams 13 ### Special Constables 13 ### 2012 Games 13 ### Confronting gangs 14 ### Weapon dogs 14 ### Harnessing technology 14 ## Giving victims a greater voice 15 ### Safer Neighbourhood Boards 15 ### Community Payback 15 ### Sentencing Unit for London 16 ### Tough sentencing for knife crime 16 ### Crime reporting app 16 ## A safer London for women 17 ### Transport crime 17 ### Courtesy Card 18 ### Rape crisis centres 18 ### Domestic violence 18 ### Harmful cultural practices 19 ## Smarter solutions to alcohol and drug crime 21 ### A smarter approach to alcohol and crime 21 ### Compulsory sobriety 21 ### Drug crime 22 ## Helping London’s vulnerable young people 23 ### Leadership Clubs 23 ### Daedalus 23 ### Employment opportunities 24 ### Uniformed groups 24 ### Mentoring 24 6 Fighting Crime in London # Introduction Dear Londoner, The first duty of the Mayor is to protect Londoners. When I was elected, I inherited a police force in need of strong leadership, where officers were tied to their desks by unnecessary paperwork. Twenty-seven teenagers had been murdered in 2007¹, but the response from City Hall was weak. Violent crime had increased, drug crime had more than doubled², and public disorder offences on the Tube had increased by 521 per cent³. I promised to work to turn things around. By bringing fresh leadership to the Metropolitan Police Service, working with all London’s boroughs, and Londoners whatever their background and politics, I have put more police on the streets, brought down crime significantly, made a start on tackling the seemingly intractable problems of reoffending and youth crime, and made London the safest it has been for many years. Comparing my term against that of my predecessor, total crime has been cut by 10.8 per cent⁴. Murders have decreased by 25.9 per cent⁵, the lowest rate since 1978⁶. Youth violence has decreased by 13.8 per cent⁷, with the number of youth murders almost halving⁸. Robberies are down by 16.3 per cent⁹. And bus crime has fallen by 30 per cent¹⁰ since I put 697 extra police on our Tube and buses¹¹, and introduced a ban on alcohol on the Transport for London network. Through careful management of the Met’s budget during a time of unprecedented economic conditions, I have ensured that London increases and maintains the number of fully warranted police officers. There are now 1,000 extra warranted officers on London’s streets compared to when I was elected. And I have encouraged single patrols, adding thousands of extra patrols every year¹². This has been done without increasing the Mayor’s share of Council Tax. London now has four Rape Crisis Centres¹³, and the Met have taken over 11,000 knives off the streets¹⁴. For all this hard work, last year’s riots show the full scale of the challenges we still face. In particular, urgent attention needs to be given to our youth justice system. The most striking statistic was that the vast majority of rioters were a product of the criminal justice system¹⁵, a system which it would appear for decades has achieved little either in terms of deterrence or rehabilitation. More action is required. So I now pledge to commit to more targeted programmes, aimed at helping London’s vulnerable young people steer away from a life of crime. Over these last four years we have strengthened the arm of the Mayor. I regularly meet with the Home Secretary and Home Office ministers, and my strong relationship with Government has not only secured £90 million extra funding to keep police officers high¹⁶, but also persuaded Ministers to significantly strengthen the Mayor’s powers on policing under the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011. Through the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, I am now able to set police priorities and fully hold the Met Commissioner to account. I believe that the police should target the crimes that most concern Londoners, including serious 1. GLA Website, *Time for action on youth violence* 2. MPS Website, *Crime Figures 2000-2008* 3. British Transport Police, *Statistical Bulletin 2002/03 – 2007/08*. Using 2001-02 and 2007-08 figures 4. MPS statistics, Comparing 44 months of Ken Livingstone September 2004 – April 2008 with 44 months of Boris Johnson May 2008 - December 2011 5. MOPC, *Monthly Report: Police and Crime Committee, 8 March 2012* 6. GLA, *Press Release*, 22 September 2010 7. GLA Website, *Reporting on crime* 8. GLA Website, *‘Time for action on youth violence’* 9. MPS statistics, Comparing 44 months of Ken Livingstone September 2004 – April 2008 with 44 months of Boris Johnson May 2008 10. MOPC, *Monthly Report: Police and Crime Committee, 8 March 2012* 11. Mayor of London, *Written Answers*, 14 March 2012 12. Mayor of London, *Minutes (Draft), Mayor’s Question Time*, 22 February 2012, 767/2012 13. GLA, *Press Release, Mayor to quadruple Rape Crisis services in London*, 8 March 2010 14. GLA, *Press Release, Mayor helps bid to rid streets of knives at weapons disposal bin*, 3 February 2011 15. BBC *News Online*, 15 September 2011 16. GLA, *Press Release*, 1 February 2012 youth violence; robbery, burglary and drug dealing in every borough; getting tough on gangs and tackling re-offending rates. I will take London forward by further strengthening the police and driving a renewed focus on street policing to ensure the capital is one of the safest cities in the world to work and live. I will continue to increase the number of special constables by giving them a rebate on their Council Tax. I will strengthen the role of Safer Neighbourhood Teams by giving Londoners a greater say over policing in their area through new Safer Neighbourhood Boards. I will continue to take violence against women seriously, through a new London-wide domestic violence service. I will tackle binge drinking in outer London town centres, send a strong message on sentencing with a new Sentencing Unit for London, and reduce reoffending through a significant expansion of mentoring and rehabilitation centres. And I will continue to work with partners to fight crime in London through my London Crime Reduction Board. And of course all of this is to be set against the backdrop of the biggest policing operation in living memory with the Olympic and Paralympic Games, alongside the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. I will work closely with the Commissioner and his team to ensure we achieve the twin tasks of keeping the city safe and securing the 2012 Games. We have made progress despite difficult times. At the Mayoral election on 3rd May this progress is at risk. The choice at this election is between taking London backwards, and my plan to ensure we have the resources to maintain the extra 1,000 police officers I have put on the streets, so that London is not just safer, but also feels safer. Boris Johnson ## My priorities for a Greater London ## Strengthening the Force - Drive a renewed focus on street policing: - Work with the Commissioner to boost Safer Neighbourhood Teams, with an additional 2,000 police, including adding up to three Police Officers and three Specials to every Team. - Double the number of Special Constables to 10,000. - Offer, for the first time in Greater London, a 50 per cent rebate on the Mayor’s share of Council Tax to Special Constables. - Extend ‘buy one get one free’ police officer scheme for borough councils. - Maintain the extra 1,000 police officers I have put on the streets. - Publish monthly comparable crime figures and police numbers for every borough to ensure transparency and accountability of the Force. - Lobby for legislation to allow me to introduce a direct entry scheme to the Met. - Make more significant progress towards a force that looks more like London. - Personally oversee plans to deliver a safe and secure 2012 Olympic Games. - Guarantee to continue funding for the new Trident Gangs Command for my entire term. - Double the size of the Met’s Status Dogs Unit; and seek tougher sentences for those using dogs as weapons in Greater London. ## Giving victims a greater voice - Establish Safer Neighbourhood Boards in every borough giving local Londoners and victims a greater voice. - Give local people a direct say in Community Payback. - Create a £1 million a year local crime prevention fund for Safer Neighbourhood Board projects. - Establish a new Sentencing Unit for London with a focus on violence, especially knife crime. - Develop a crime reporting smartphone app. ## A safer London for women - Maintain funding for the extra police on the transport network for my second term, which is at risk from Ken Livingstone’s plan to take £1.14 billion out of the transport budget. - Continue funding for the 50 extra British Transport Police on the overland rail network and negotiate to bring them under a new “London Command”. - Introduce a Courtesy Card to require those under 16s who benefit from free travel on the buses to treat other travellers with respect. - Launch a pan-London domestic violence service. - Guarantee funding for London’s four Rape Crisis Centres for my entire term. - Establish a task force to confront female genital mutilation and other harmful cultural practices, including so-called “witchcraft” killings. ## Smarter solutions to alcohol and drug crime - Introduce “Compulsory Sobriety” for drunken offenders. - Establish a Strategic Licensing Unit to work with boroughs to sort out problem premises. - Introduce a programme of intensive testing and supervision for drug offenders. ## Helping London’s vulnerable young people - Launch 25 Leadership Clubs in secondary schools as part of our work to tackle the underlying causes of last year’s riots. - Drive forward the Daedalus Programme with enhanced resettlement for young offenders, and develop new employment programmes. - Work with the Met to double again the number of police cadets. - Recruit 1,000 volunteers to help up to 10,000 young adults through uniformed groups. - Continue mentoring programmes to help 1,000 vulnerable boys aged 10-16, and to improve literacy amongst young Londoners. ## Strengthening the Force I will: - Drive a renewed focus on street policing: - Work with the Commissioner to boost Safer Neighbourhood Teams, with an additional 2,000 police, including adding up to three Police Officers and three Specials to every Team. - Double the number of Special Constables to 10,000. - Offer, for the first time in Greater London, a 50 per cent rebate on the Mayor’s share of Council Tax to Special Constables. - Extend ‘buy one get one free’ police officer scheme for borough councils. - Maintain the extra 1,000 police officers I have put on the streets. - Publish monthly comparable crime figures and police numbers for every borough to ensure transparency and accountability of the Force. - Lobby for legislation to allow me to introduce a direct entry scheme to the Met. - Make more significant progress towards a force that looks more like London. - Personally oversee plans to deliver a safe and secure 2012 Olympic Games. - Guarantee to continue funding for the new Trident Gangs Command for my entire term. - Double the size of the Met’s Status Dogs Unit; and seek tougher sentences for those using dogs as weapons in Greater London. When I was elected, London had serious problems with crime. Today, London is on the way to being one of the safest big cities in the world. Londoners elected me to cut crime, and I have worked hard to successfully drive crime down. Specifically, comparing my term against that of my predecessor: - Total crime has been cut by 10.8 per cent. This includes the most serious offences such as murder, which has decreased by 25.9 per cent – the lowest rate since 1978¹⁷. - Youth violence has decreased by 13.8 per cent, with the number of youth murders halving¹⁸. - Robberies are down by 16.3 per cent¹⁹. - Robbery on public transport’ is down 46.5 per cent; crime on buses has fallen by 30 per cent and crime on the Tube has fallen by 20 per cent²⁰. But the problems I inherited had been years in the making. In particular the horrendous problems of knife and gang crime had been allowed to take root in London’s streets for many years. We have made progress, and we are working to change this culture. ## Transparency on crime figures and police numbers My predecessor did not take serious steps to reduce crime, particularly the types of crime that concern Londoners most. Violent crime under Ken Livingstone was up 11.2 per cent between 2000-01 and 2007-08²¹. 17 MOPC, Monthly Report: Police and Crime Committee, 8 March 2012 18 GLA Website, Reporting on crime; GLA Website, ‘Time for action on youth violence’ 19 GLA Website, Reporting on crime 20 GLA, Press Release, Mayor highlights drop in crime across public transport network, 21 February 2011 21 MPS, Crime Mapping: Data tables, 2000-2008 Drug crime up 202 per cent²², actual bodily harm up 84 per cent²³, harassment up 89 per cent²⁴. Between 2001-02 and 2007-08, public disorder offences on the Tube went up 521 per cent while violent crime on the Tube went up by 56 per cent²⁵. Most shockingly of all, despite widespread concern about a growing culture of knives, violence and gangs, knife crime was such a low priority that it wasn’t even measured until the final year of Ken Livingstone’s eight-year term²⁶. I set to work straight away to cut crime and strengthen London’s crime-fighting capability. I increased the Force with more Police Officers, more PCSOs and more Special Constables, and I began to refocus the police on what matters to Londoners. Since I was elected, I have put 697 extra police²⁷ on the buses and Tube. These extra resources, better management and renewed focus on the things that matter have meant I have been able to cut crime. Comparing the 45 months prior to the 2008 election with the following 45 months shows that I have cut crime by 10.8 per cent from 3,486,028 offences to 3,110,245. I have cut violence against the person by 9.7 per cent, murder by 25.9 per cent and robbery by 16.3 per cent. My record of cutting crime throughout my Mayoralty also shows when comparing my annual crime figures with 2007-08, the last year before I became Mayor. I cut total crime in 2008-09, in 2009-10 and again in 2010-11. I have also cut violence against the person, burglary and robbery compared to 2007-08, although the trends within individual categories has not been as smooth as the overall trend in total crime. Unlike my predecessor, I take honesty, openness and transparency seriously. I will publish comparable crime figures and police numbers for each borough with totals for all of London monthly on the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime website. ## Increasing time on the beat Since I was elected, the number of police officers has increased; the number of patrols has increased by thousands²⁸; and we have sought to prioritise the amount of time officers spend on the street. Using my strengthened powers with the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, my priority is to maintain police numbers. There are 1,000 more fully warranted police officers on London’s streets at the end of this term than I inherited. My strong relationship with the Government has secured an extra £90 million to ensure police numbers remain high²⁹. I will maintain the extra 1,000 police I have put on the street throughout my second term. To harness the support of local authorities, I also launched a ‘buy one get one free’ offer, where I match their spending on extra police offers in their area³⁰. Twelve boroughs (Brent, Camden, Ealing, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith & Fulham, Harrow, Lewisham, Newham, Redbridge and Waltham Forest) have taken up that opportunity to increase police numbers, and I will continue this offer to increase police numbers further and crucially allow councils to co-decide their function. I have supported the introduction of single patrolling which has meant that there will be hundreds of thousands more visible police patrols every year. And I have sought to cut the amount of police bureaucracy to enable police to spend more time on the street than behind a desk. 22 MPS, Crime Mapping: Data tables, 2000-2008 23 MPS, Crime Mapping: Data tables, 2000-2008 24 MPS, Crime Mapping: Data tables, 2000-2008 25 British Transport Police, Statistical Bulletin 2002/03 – 2007/08 26 Home Office, Offences recorded by the police in England and Wales by offence and police force area from 1990 to 2010/11, 26 August 2011 27 Mayor of London, Mayors Questions Written Answers, 931/2012, 14 March 2012 28 Mayor of London, Minutes (Draft), Mayor’s Question Time, 22 February 2012, 767/2012 29 GLA, Twenty Ninth Mayor’s Report to the Assembly, 23 March 2011, p. 2 30 GLA, Twenty Ninth Mayor’s Report to the Assembly, 23 March 2011, p. 2 I will also hold the Commissioner to his stated objective of spending at least two days a month with the entire force focused on a major crime fighting initiative, including using Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) and executing warrants for known offenders. ## Strength in depth – a Force that looks more like London True strength is about more than just numbers. For the Met to be at its strongest, it must reflect, and be fully accepted by, the population it seeks to serve. When I arrived at City Hall it is fair to say that internal tensions over race issues in particular were high at the Met. I have sought to defuse or resolve these tensions and draw all parties together into a constructive coalition to change the look and feel of the workforce at Scotland Yard. And there is still much work to do. In my second term, we will review progress and help the Commissioner to completely redraw the Met’s diversity strategy setting a renewed course for the future. We will also take advantage of the opportunities presented by the Winsor review and, with the Commissioners agreement, work to introduce a direct entry scheme, allowing older people with differing skills to join the Met and accelerate to an appropriate rank. ## Safer Neighbourhood Teams Safer Neighbourhood Teams have made a huge contribution to cutting crime in London and making people feel safer in all of London’s 624 wards. I have also given some Sergeants more responsibility to strengthen the response of their teams around the ward boundaries. But I want to go further to help Safer Neighbourhood Teams do even more to combat crime. I will work with the Commissioner to boost Safer Neighbourhood Teams, with an additional 2,000 police, including adding up to three Police Officers and three Specials to every Team. This extra capacity means that the team can focus more on solving and preventing crime, dealing with anti-social behaviour and critically giving a greater sense of territorial ownership and control to Londoners. ## Special Constables Special Constables are an invaluable part of the fight against crime, which is why I have driven recruitment to more than double the number on London’s streets from 2,500³¹ when I was elected, to over 5,479 as of October 2011³². They are also a vital link between the police and the public, strengthening the consent and support on which the police rely. In recognition of their valuable service, members of the public who serve as Special Constables in London already get free travel³³. I want to go further, and will give Special Constables a 50 per cent rebate on the Mayor’s share of Council Tax. This would save the average household in a Band D property over £600 over the lifetime of my next Mayoral term. I will encourage boroughs to match this, potentially increasing this saving to an average of over £1,200 over the lifetime of the next Mayoral term. I will aim to double the current number of Special Constables further to 10,000. Their remit will be to work in the evenings, on the transport network and with Safer Neighbourhood Teams. ## 2012 Games The challenge the Met faces in securing the Olympic and Paralympic Games cannot be underestimated. Years of work and planning have gone into the immense operation which will keep London safe during 31 MPA Archive Website, MPS Police officer, staff and PCSO numbers 32 MPA Archive Website, MPS Police officer, staff and PCSO numbers 33 GLA Website, Could you be a Special? the Games. I will work closely with the Commissioner and his team to ensure London is prepared for all eventualities and to achieve the twin tasks of keeping the city safe and securing the 2012 Games. ## Confronting gangs It is estimated around 5,000 people are involved with up to 250 often violent gangs in the capital³⁴. The presence of these organised groups in some neighbourhoods often brings extreme violence and criminality and has a corrosive effect on some young people, entrenching an anti-work and anti-achievement culture. That is why the Commissioner and I have launched the Trident Gangs Command of 1,000 warranted officers and a budget of £60 million. The Command is targeting all of London’s gangs, but prioritising the 62 most violent groups of young men who are responsible for two-thirds of gang-related crime. So far Trident has conducted over 300 raids³⁵ across 19 boroughs, arrested over 500 people³⁶. Officers seized items including 1kg of heroin, cocaine, firearms and large quantities of cash amongst other contraband. But this assertive enforcement comes hand in hand with the opportunity to exit a life of violence and crime, and I will continue to work with my partners on the London Crime Reduction Board, most importantly London’s boroughs, to provide the avenues to success that reformed gang members need. ## Weapon dogs The menace of dangerous dogs is one that troubles many parts of London. Three years ago we established a Status Dogs Unit at the Met³⁷ which has taken around 3,000 dogs off the streets³⁸. I will continue to lobby the Government for changes in the law so that owners who groom dogs as weapon dogs receive the same length of sentence as someone illegally carrying a knife. And I will provide the Commissioner with funding to double the number of specialist officers on the squad. ## Harnessing technology I will make sure that London is a world leader in crime fighting techniques, and that our officers have access to the most advanced technologies to help them in the war on crime. We must ensure that the basic IT infrastructure of the Met is significantly modernised, both to save money and increase productivity, and there are some specific crime fighting technologies that we must use more. I will ensure Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) is used across all London to help identify and track down the vehicles of criminals, which has proved of particular use against burglars. Ensuring strong protections against misuse, I will extend this approach by requiring Transport for London (TfL) and the Metropolitan Police Service to assume joint responsibility for TfL’s ANPR camera system which is used for the operation of the Congestion Charge and the Low Emission Zone. This would give the Met straightforward access, with an explicit purpose for crime prevention and detection. In order to safeguard our civil liberties, this will be accompanied by a public awareness campaign to ensure the processing of personal data is fair and lawful; and measures to guard against the possibility of it becoming part of a ‘surveillance state’. As I outlined in my *Investing in Transport* manifesto chapter, road accidents can cause major disruption. Often it can take too long to reopen the road network. I will explore new technology to more quickly assess accident scenes, including new lasers that scan the site of an accident in 3D to help police to more quickly complete their survey of the scene. This would enable the police to open roads more rapidly to keep London moving, with the aim of halving the average time taken to re-open roads after an incident. 34 GLA, Press Release, Met launches major crack down on gang crime, 8 February 2012 35 BBC News Online, More than 200 held as Met Police crack down on gangs, 8 February 2012 36 MPS, Press Release, Met Police makes 515 gang-related arrests, 15 February 2012 37 GLA, Press Release, Dog attack victims join Deputy Mayor to pledge for urgent action on dangerous dogs, 25 August 2010 38 Metropolitan Police Service, ‘*Dangerous Dogs Seizure and Disposal*’ statistics ## Giving victims a greater voice ### I will: - Establish Safer Neighbourhood Boards in every borough giving local Londoners and victims a greater voice. - Give local people a direct say in Community Payback. - Create a £1 million a year local crime prevention fund for Safer Neighbourhood Board projects. - Establish a new Sentencing Unit for London with a focus on violence, especially knife crime. - Develop a crime reporting smartphone app. ## Safer Neighbourhood Boards It is important the police focus on the priorities of local communities, and one of the clearest ways of achieving this is to enable neighbourhoods to set policing priorities. I have already made the police more accountable to communities, by introducing crime mapping – publishing detailed information on crimes at street level, opening up local policing to residents, and transforming the accountability of the Met³⁹. This means that every Londoner can now easily find information about crime in their neighbourhood online. I will launch a new Safer Neighbourhood Board in every borough, to establish policing priorities for each neighbourhood and fulfil important responsibilities. This will involve amalgamation of the current Community Police Engagement Group structure with the Met’s Independent Advisory Group community engagement structure to avoid duplication, with members of these boards sitting on them for a maximum of three years and we will reserve places for councillors and young people on each board. These measures will ensure both a regular refresh of opinions, strong linkage with the boroughs and a wide diversity of views. I will give each board a number of responsibilities; specifically a new duty to hear and monitor complaints from victims of crime and to monitor crime performance and community confidence in their area. They will also be required to monitor levels of complaints about borough-based police officers from the public and undertake the role of “Independent Custody Visitors”, responsible for visiting local offenders post-arrest⁴⁰. Specifically they will have a duty to ensure that all wards have a ward panel of residents as a sounding board for the newly expanded Safer Neighbourhood Teams. I will prioritise £1 million saved by this amalgamation into a borough problem-solving fund, from which the new boards can bid for crime prevention projects in their area. I will also require the new boards to play a significant role in Community Payback. ## Community Payback When offenders are convicted, justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done. With the support of national government, I will ensure that more offenders serving community sentences are visibly doing tasks that improve their neighbourhoods such as clearing roadside litter, cleaning up graffiti, or planting trees as part of a “Community Payback” scheme. To ensure that offenders are doing work that is of value to the public, I will work with the probation service to empower the new Safer Neighbourhood Boards to set the tasks that offenders from their borough should ³⁹ Metropolitan Police Service Website, *Crime Mapping* ⁴⁰ Archived Metropolitan Police Authority Website, *Independent Custody Visitors* undertake as payback to the neighbourhood for their crimes, after specifically canvassing the views of victims. ## Sentencing Unit for London It is important that people have confidence in sentencing, and that sentences work both as a deterrent, and to offer justice for victims. It is also important therefore that the Mayor constructively influences sentencing policy. Sentencing guidelines are currently set to achieve national consistency. However, crime patterns are regional, and what may be a deterrent in Lancaster could have little affect in London. I also believe that there are too many people going to prison on short sentences, which just make them more likely to offend. By contrast those convicted of serious violence spend too little time in gaol. It is time to put sense into sentencing. I want a sentencing approach in London that embraces quality not quantity. I want more imaginative and innovative disposals for those currently subject to short sentences, for example my ‘Compulsory Sobriety’ project. And I want longer custodial sentences for those who perpetrate violence, especially gang violence, and for persistent robbers and burglars. I will therefore establish a new Sentencing Unit for London, within the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, with the tasks of: * Closely monitoring sentencing by court and offence. * Ensuring that all opportunities to influence sentencing post-conviction, but prior to sentence, are taken, such as community and victim impact statements, and sentencing recommendations by London Probation. * Systematically and formally objecting, using powers available to all citizens under the Criminal Justice Act 1988[^41], to sentences that I believe are too lenient. I will also engage with the National Sentencing Council to achieve the best outcomes for London. ## Tough sentencing for knife crime I have long advocated stronger sentencing to deter knife crime, including custodial sentences for those carrying a knife. Operation Blunt 2 has taken around 11,000 knives off the streets[^42], but still there are too many young people are walking around armed. I strongly support the Government’s policy of gaoling people carrying knives, and welcome the fact that it accepted proposals that the policy should apply to people under the age of 18, as well as those over 18. The wide use of knife arches will continue until incidences of knife crime reduce significantly. ## Crime reporting app Now we will go further and develop a crime-reporting app for smartphones, allowing the public to immediately report crimes using their smartphone, including pictures and footage, and making it faster and easier to report crimes. I have delivered my pledge to roll out a new 101 non-emergency service available in London, which has now been rolled out by the Government across England and Wales, providing members of the public with an easy way to report less urgent crime[^43]. [^41]: Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Review of Sentencing Order 2006) [^42]: GLA, Press Release, _Mayor helps bid to rid streets of knives at weapons disposal bin_, 3 February 2011 [^43]: Direct Gov Website, Reporting non-emergency crimes using 101 # A safer London for women I will: * Maintain funding for the extra police on the transport network for my entire second term, which is at risk from Ken Livingstone’s plan to take £1.14 billion out of the transport budget. * Continue funding for 50 extra British Transport Police on the overland rail network and negotiate to bring them under a new “London Command”. * Introduce a Courtesy Card to require those under 16s who benefit from free travel on the buses to treat other travellers with respect. * Guarantee funding for London’s four Rape Crisis Centres for my entire term. * Launch a pan-London domestic violence service. * Establish a task force to confront female genital mutilation and other harmful cultural practices, including so-called “witchcraft” killings. While the extra police presence has made London safer for everyone, it has especially benefitted women, particularly on public transport where we have seen a significant increase in police presence. We have also had a serious crack down on illegal minicabs. Under my Mayoralty, London became the first major city in the world to launch a comprehensive Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) strategy which has drawn together a coalition of those committed to eradicating all forms of violence against women and received positive recognition by the United Nations. But there is still much more to do. Female victims in this city are still too common and while I will continue with my established strategy there are some other areas of concern that need to be addressed. ## Transport crime Under my predecessor, crime on public transport, in particular buses, was rising substantially. On London Underground, public disorder offences on the tube increased by 521 per cent, violent crime by 56 per cent, and drug crime 128 per cent between 2001/2 and 2007/8⁴⁴. On the bus network, violence on buses increased by 9 per cent between 2004/5 and 2007/8⁴⁵. Since I was elected, I have put 697 extra police⁴⁶ on the buses and Tube and banned alcohol⁴⁷. This has helped to cut bus crime by 30 per cent, with violence on buses falling by 21 per cent⁴⁸ and Tube crime cut by 20 per cent⁴⁹. I have also cracked down on illegal minicabs – doubling the team dedicated to tackling the problem⁵⁰ and making 1,300 arrests in 2010/11⁵¹. I will maintain the funding for the extra police I have put on the transport network for my whole second term, which is at risk from Ken Livingstone’s plan to take £1.14 billion out of London’s transport budget⁵². I will also continue to prioritise a strong police presence on public transport, including continuing my funding for 50 extra British Transport Police on the overland rail network. 44 British Transport Police, Statistical Bulletin 2002/03– 2007/08. Using 2001-02 and 2007-08 figures 45 TfL, Crime and Antisocial Behaviour Statistics Bulletin, Q1 2007/08 and Q1 2008/09 46 Mayor of London, Mayors Questions Written Answers, 931/2012, 14 March 2012 47 GLA, Press Release, Mayor highlights drop in crime across public transport network, 21 February 2011 48 TfL, Crime Antisocial Behaviour Statistics Bulletin, Q2 2010/2011 and Q2 2011/12 49 GLA, Press Release, Mayor highlights drop in crime across public transport network, 21 February 2011 50 GLA, Press Release, Met launches major crack down on gang crime, 8 February 2012 51 TfL, Press Release, Safer Travel at Night: Over 1,300 drivers arrested last year as part of crackdown on unbooked ‘minicabs’, 23 May 2011 52 Mayor of London, Mayor’s Questions, 14 December 2011 I will lobby for a single “London Command” for the British Transport Police. As Mayor, I am also asking the Department for Transport to devolve responsibility for suburban London rail franchises to City Hall, and as part of this I will ensure that every station where responsibility is transferred is staffed to make it safer. ## Courtesy Card I announced in my *Investing in Transport* manifesto, that I will strengthen the existing behaviour code by making it an explicit condition of free travel that under - 16s give up their seats for older people, especially pensioners and behave courteously to their fellow passengers. I will publish a three-point Courtesy Code on the back of each ZIP card which will remind card holders that they must: - Give up their seat to an older, pregnant or disabled person. - Be polite and not use offensive or threatening language. - Be courteous to fellow passengers: for instance, not playing music out loud on a mobile phone. This Courtesy Code will complement TfL’s existing Behaviour Code, which every ZIP card holder has to observe, and any young person found breaching the Courtesy Code will have their free travel withdrawn. I will also operate a ‘two strikes and out’ policy, where individuals are only able to “Earn Your Travel Back” (EYTB) once before the card is removed permanently for a second offence. EYTB, which I promised to introduce at the last election, has so far enabled 3,019 young people who have their free travel withdrawn for bad behaviour to earn their ZIP card back by volunteering in community activities⁵³. ## Rape crisis centres In 2008, our capital city had only one Rape Crisis Centre, which was struggling financially. I moved swiftly to ensure its on-going financial stability. As part of my long-term plan, three new Rape Crisis Centres opened in London in 2010, making four in total based in North, South, East and West London⁵⁴ to help women across London. The four centres have helped 15,882 victims of sexual abuse with support, counselling and therapies in 2010- 2011 alone⁵⁵. I will guarantee funding to maintain all four centres for the entirety of my next term. ## Domestic violence It is vital that those who perpetrate domestic violence are brought to justice. However, too many trials fail because the victim does not feel able to carry the complaint through and too many victims feel isolated and unsupported. Independent Domestic Violence Advocates (IDVAs) perform a vital function across the city in supporting victims and helping them through the difficult criminal justice process. At the moment it is mainly the boroughs that commission IDVAs but they do so in a piecemeal and expensive way that does not give consistent pan-London coverage. Any reduction in the number of IDVAs would lead to an increase in the number of unsuccessful trials, which not only increases cost for the police and Crown Prosecution Service, but also means justice is not done. I will therefore work with the police, boroughs, National Health Service, Home Office and the Crown Prosecution Service, to commission and fund a pan London domestic violence service and maintain the number of IDVAs. All these organisations have an interest and indeed a duty to collaborate in protecting women (and some men) from domestic abuse. 53 GLA, Mayor’s Questions 4040/2011, 14 December 2011. 54 GLA, Press Release, *Mayor to quadruple Rape Crisis services in London*, 8 March 2010 55 Mayor of London, Press Release, *Mayor’s Rape Crisis centres helping over 15,000 women*, 25 November 2011 ## Harmful cultural practices There has been an alarming rise in female genital mutilation in London over the last decade. Too many women are presenting at our maternity wards with signs of having been mutilated. My Violence Against Women and Girls Board has been examining this problem, and other harmful cultural practices for the last couple of years. I will therefore require the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime to draw together the Police, the National Health Service, the Home Office, parliamentarians and appropriate community organisations to design and implement a new assertive programme to combat these evils. I will also ask them to look at the pattern of so-called “witchcraft” killings of children and “honour” crimes and formulate a preventative plan to this revolting abhorrence. 20 Fighting Crime in London ## Smarter solutions to alcohol and drug crime I will: - Introduce “Compulsory Sobriety” for drunken offenders. - Establish a Strategic Licensing Unit to work with boroughs to sort out problem premises. - Introduce a new programme of intensive testing and supervision for drug offenders. London has a far worse problem with alcohol than England as a whole, with 11.7 alcohol related crimes for every 1,000 people compared to a national average of 7.656. In particular, we have the highest rate of alcohol-related violent crimes and sexual offences in the UK. Problem drinking can lead to domestic violence. Often it results in anti-social behaviour on the streets, with law-abiding citizens feeling threatened. Although much of the offending is relatively minor, it can be prolific with high reoffending rates, and young binge drinkers are responsible for a disproportionate amount of crime. ## A smarter approach to alcohol and crime When I was elected, I immediately banned drinking alcohol on public transport, which helped lead to the dramatic reduction in crime on Tubes and buses. I will ensure that existing laws banning the sale of alcohol to people who are drunk and to children under 18 are rigorously enforced. The Met have already launched Operation Condor, a pan-London licensing operation cracking down on premises which sell alcohol and knives illegally, and who are failing to comply with the conditions of their licence. I will guarantee funding for at least one such operation each and every month of my term and will ask the Commissioner to make maximum use of the increased number of Police Cadets in test purchase operations. I will also establish a Strategic Licencing Unit at the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime with the task of monitoring alcohol crime by gathering new data from the London Ambulance Service and A&E departments while maintaining patient confidentiality, and then identifying problem premises, working with local authorities, police and residents to close them down. London will learn from a pilot in Cardiff, which showed that sharing data between hospitals and police enabled the police to cut the number of violent incidents including fistfights and stabbings by over 40 per cent57. ## Compulsory sobriety At present, those convicted of alcohol-related crime often get punishments such as community orders that do little help to address the underlying cause or treatment that is ineffectual. I want to reverse the current approach of mandating treatment and merely hoping for sobriety, by enforcing sobriety and then offering treatment if needed. In the United States, sobriety testing for offenders convicted of alcohol-related crimes has been hugely successful in reducing alcohol related crime58. I believe we need to learn from this experience and I have secured funding from the Government to pilot sobriety testing which will see offenders fitting with tags, which are fitted to the ankle, measure air and 56 Local Alcohol Profile for England, Local Authority Alcohol Indicators 57 British Medical Journal Website, Effectiveness of anonymised information sharing and use in health service, police, and local government partnership for preventing violence related injury: experimental study and time series analysis, 16 June 2011 58 Alcohol Monitoring Systems Inc, South Dakota 24/7 Sobriety Project Credited with Lowering Jail Populations, 2009 perspiration emissions from the skin every 30 minutes⁵⁹. Blood alcohol levels as low as 0.02 per cent can be detected, and the tags can then transmit that information to a base monitoring station. If someone is found not to be sober, the police will arrest them and usually the court will decide an offender will spend a night in custody before restarting the scheme. Following my intensive campaign, the Government has agreed to legislate to compel an offender to attend a testing centre twice a day to be tested. The rigour and certainty of the consequence of testing has resulted in very positive compliance rates in the US and has also resulted in a fall in other offences. ## Drug crime Research has shown that among people who have been arrested, those who have admitted to having a drug addiction are more likely to have also admitted previously committing robbery and burglaries than those who do not⁶⁰. Keeping them off drugs is key to stopping them offending. London can learn how to do this better from the United States and in particular from the HOPE probation programme in Hawaii. This approach sees defendants clearly warned that if they violate the rules of the scheme, they go to gaol. Defendants are required to call a hotline each weekday morning to find out if they must take a drug test that day. Random drug testing occurs at least once a week for the first two months. If probationers test positive, they are arrested immediately. If they fail to appear for the test or violate other terms of probation, warrants for their arrest are issued immediately. Once they are apprehended, a probation modification hearing is held 48 hours later, and violators are typically sentenced to a short gaol term. The gaol time may increase for subsequent violations and repeat offenders are often ordered into residential treatment. Evaluation results indicate the program is highly successful at reducing drug use and crime, even among difficult populations such as methamphetamine abusers and domestic violence offenders⁶¹. I will seek to pilot this approach in London with a portion of the Drug Intervention Programme money that has now been secured for the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime from the Home Office⁶². 59 GLA, Press Release, *Mayor welcomes new approach to alcohol related crime in London – but says more is needed*, 10 February 2012; BBC Website, *US-style alcohol tests to be used for problem drinkers*, 10 February 2012 60 UK Drug Policy Commission, *Reducing Drug Use, Reducing Reoffending: Are programmes for problem drug-using offenders in the UK supported by the evidence?* - March 2008 61 Friends of Project HOPE Website, *About HOPE Probation* 62 MOPC, *Monthly Report: Police and Crime Committee*, 8 March 2012 ## Helping London’s vulnerable young people I will: * Launch 25 Leadership Clubs in secondary schools as part of our work to tackle the underlying causes of last year’s riots. * Drive forward the Daedalus Programme with enhanced resettlement for young offenders, and develop new employment programmes. * Work with the Met to double again the number of police cadets. * Recruit 1,000 volunteers to help up to 10,000 young adults through uniformed groups. * Continue mentoring programmes to help 1,000 vulnerable boys aged 10-16, and to improve literacy amongst young Londoners. Last year’s riots in London involved many young people who had also struggled at school. Fully 66 per cent of the 10-17 year olds charged have Special Educational Needs⁶³, while 93 per cent of the 2,467 people arrested by the Met either held previous convictions or had been arrested for an offence prior to the riots⁶⁴. We therefore need to improve their sense of discipline, achievement and aspiration if we are to deal with the root causes of the events last summer. ### Leadership Clubs I will commit £1.6 million to create 25 ‘Leadership Clubs’ in secondary schools. These will aim to instil discipline and improve the motivation of highly disruptive pupils through challenging mental and physical activities. The programme will help over 1,000 pupils who were particularly affected by the riots last year and have high levels of youth crime and unemployment. As well as character building, the clubs will provide lessons in literacy and numeracy so that children stay engaged at school and do not fall behind. ### Daedalus When I became Mayor, City Hall was doing little to reduce reoffending. To ensure those incarcerated in their youth are more likely to rehabilitate rather than embark on a career of crime, I worked with partners to set up the Heron wing at Feltham Young Offenders’ Institution as part of my Daedalus programme. The recent evaluation indicates that re-offending rates have been reduced to 41 per cent⁶⁵. I will continue to build on the scheme, committing £3.5 million to the programme to continue the enhanced resettlement of young offenders in London. I will also instruct the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime to review what can be learnt from the Daedalus approach to youth crime and what can be applied to tackling repeat offending among adults. It will consider how police data on repeat offending could be used more productively and how it can work more effectively with other organisations that deal with other problems commonly faced by repeat offenders such as mental health, housing, and drug and alcohol abuse. 63 Ministry of Justice, *Statistical bulletin on the public disorder of 6th to 9th August 2011 – October update*, 24 October 2011, p. 5 64 Home Office, *An overview of recorded crime and arrests resulting from disorder events in August 2011*, October 2011 65 GLA, Press Release, *Mayor pumps £3.5m into cutting youth re-offending as ‘pioneering’ prison project delivers promising results*, 1 March 2012 ## Employment opportunities Employment is one of the best guarantees that an offender won’t commit more crimes, with reoffending rates falling by three-quarters if someone with a previous conviction is helped into a job. The overwhelming majority of offenders find it difficult to get work because of their criminal record. Land Securities London Employment Strategy supports the Mayor’s Young Offenders programme and ran a pilot this year at its London developments. Already eight out of twelve people have sustained employment, four of whom are undertaking further education (level 2 NVQ in construction). Land Securities is continuing the successful programme. Schemes like this, supporting the Mayor’s Young Offenders programme, are making a real difference to young lives and drawing people away from a life of crime. I want to go further. Many companies have led trailblazing schemes to help offenders get work, such as National Grid and Timpson, the shoe repair company where 4 per cent of employees are ex-offenders and which operates a training centre in a prison66. While Daedalus already supports resettlement brokers to help offenders find work, we need a culture change among companies to make it easier for offenders to be gainfully employed. Using my constructive relationship with the City and Business in the Community, I will launch a programme to get as many London employers as possible to help offenders in London to lead productive lives. ## Uniformed groups There are many young people in London who would benefit from more contact with the uniform groups such as guides and the cadets. These groups provide structured and enjoyable activities which build young people’s self-confidence and self-respect - and they have been shown to be particularly effective at supporting those at risk of antisocial or criminal behaviour. I will continue to recruit 1,000 more adult volunteers67, helping more than 8,000 more young people. I have also doubled the number of Police Cadets since 2008, with around 1,000 more young Londoners now benefitting from the discipline and self-respect that the Volunteer Police Cadets instil in their cadets. I will work with the Met to double again the number of Police Cadets to 4,000. ## Mentoring Since 2008, I have supported a wide range of volunteering activities which increase our sense of community and improve our shared experience of life in London. Based on the successful Cities of Service model, developed by Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York, and now operational in 100 other US cities, I have set up Team London. The purpose of the programme is to focus effort in areas where volunteering is likely to have the most impact and to set clear objectives to measure progress. I have committed £2.6 million, which has been matched by philanthropic support, to projects which support young people to reduce crime and improve community cohesion. This includes supporting reading mentors in schools to tackle the scourge of illiteracy68. It also includes my mentoring programme for young black boys, who are over-represented both as perpetrators and victims of crime, with a disproportionate number of young black people affected by serious youth violence. For example, 86 per cent of gang members in London are of black Caribbean ethnicity compared to Liverpool where 93 per cent are white69. The average age for a first conviction is just 15 years old and 98 per cent of gang members are male. I will continue recruiting adult mentors for 1,000 at-risk boys aged 10-16. --- 66 Ministry of Justice Website, Press Release, *Timpson works with prisons to turn around lives*, 18 January 2011 67 GLA Website, *Team London* 68 Team London website 69 Home Office, *Monitoring Data from the Tackling Gangs Action Programme*, May 2008 Cutting waste and council tax BETTER OFF WITH BORIS (Cutting council tax • More police • Investing in transport • Growing London's economy) Boris Johnson Conservatives # My 9 point plan for a Greater London 1. Cutting waste at City Hall – freeing up £3.5 billion for services. 2. I have put £445 back in your pocket by freezing the Mayoral share of council tax over the last 3 years. Now I will cut it by 10% if re-elected. 3. Creating 200,000 new jobs over the next four years. 4. Making our streets and homes safer with 1,000 more police on the beat. 5. Restoring 300 acres of green space and planting 20,000 street trees. 6. Investing £221 million to transform local high streets, supporting small businesses. 7. Ensuring a true Olympic legacy – 11,000 new homes and 10,000 new jobs. 8. Reducing Tube delays 30% by 2015. Building Crossrail and orbital rail to link our suburbs. Extending the Bike Hire scheme. 9. Securing a better deal for London from No 10. *Cutting costs and council tax details points 1 and 2 of my 9 point plan for Greater London, explains my cutting waste and council tax pledges in addition to those listed in the 9 point plan for Greater London, and shows how they link in with the whole plan.* ## Cutting waste and council tax ## Contents * Introduction 7 * My Priorities for a Greater London 9 * Cutting costs 11 * Responsible finances 11 * War on waste 11 * Shared services 12 * Publish a list of all GLA Group assets and create a single property unit 12 * Abolishing Ken Livingstone’s London Development Agency 13 * Cutting council tax 15 * A four year commitment 15 * Itemising the precept 15 * Special Constables 15 * An accountable administration 17 * Progress on my pledges 17 * A Cabbies’ Cabinet 19 * Safer Neighbourhood Boards 19 * Community Payback 19 6 Cutting waste and council tax ## Introduction Dear Londoner, This election comes at a critical time. We are going through tough economic times, and Londoners are understandably concerned about their jobs and the cost of living. This is why my priorities over the last four years have been cutting waste and bureaucracy at City Hall and ensuring London taxpayer money is put where you want to see it spent. Every pound of Londoners’ money is precious, and should be spent in a clear, open and honest way on their priorities – creating jobs and making London safer. When I was elected the entire City Hall budget was chaotic. My determination to end the waste and mismanagement of the previous Mayor has freed up the money to pay for a strong plan for London’s future. We are putting that money where Londoners want to see it spent, in spite of the very difficult financial circumstances. Ken Livingstone presided over a discredited regime that squandered taxpayers’ money on self-publicity¹, his jaunts to Cuba and Venezuela², and accusations of cronyism. This tarnished the reputation of London and resulted in Londoners having little trust in the Mayoralty. I have worked hard to change that culture, stamping out waste and bringing transparency to spending. I have cut £2 billion of waste across the GLA Group to free up investment for Londoners’ priorities³, including putting 1,000 more police on London’s streets⁴, working to create over 200,000 jobs⁵, investing in the modernisation of the transport network⁶, and above all, holding down council tax. I do not believe the Mayor should cost Londoners a penny more than necessary. Even in tough times, under my Mayoralty we have frozen the Mayor’s share of council tax every year and this year cut it⁷ – putting an average of £445 into the pockets of Londoners⁸. This is in contrast to the 152 per cent hike in council tax by my predecessor - £964 from every average Band D household⁹. My financial prudence has also helped us secure a better deal from No 10, something which my predecessor would never have delivered. I have secured for City Hall £27.7 million from the Government for cutting the Mayor’s share of council tax this year on top of the £92.8 million awarded for freezing the precept previously¹⁰ – a total over £120 million to invest in services for Londoners. 1. GLA, Statement of Accounts 2000/01 – 2007/08, (2000/01, 2001/02, 2002/03, 2003/04, 2004/05, 2005/06, 2006/07, 2007/08); TfL, Annual Report and Statement of Accounts 2003-2008; LDA Archive Website, Annual Report and Statement of Accounts 2001-2008; MPA, Joint Annual Reports of the MPS and MPA 2002-2008; MPS, Annual Report 2001-2002; GLA, Mayor’s Question Time, 1994/2006, 13 September 2006 2. London Assembly, Mayor’s Questions, 21 March 2007; London Assembly, Mayor’s Questions, 15 November 2006; BBC News Online, Mayor’s foreign trip was ‘modest’, 14 November 2006 3. GLA, Final Draft Consolidated Budget 2012-13: Explanation of Proposals, 1 February 2012 4. GLA, Mayor’s Final Draft Consolidated Budget 2012-13, para 5.2, p. 7 5. Affordable housing: 104,000 (GLA, Mayor’s Questions: Written Answers, 14 March 2012); Tube upgrades: 18,300 (GLA, Mayor’s Questions: Written Answers, 14 March 2012); Crossrail: 14,000 (HMT, Spending Review, 22 October 2010, p.23); Olympic jobs: 10,000 (GLA, Mayor’s Questions: Written Answers, 14 March 2012); Royal Docks Enterprise Zone: 1,500 (GLA, Mayor’s Questions: Written Answers, 14 March 2012); European Regional Development Fund (post 2011): 2,300 (GLA, Mayor’s Questions: Written Answers, 14 March 2012); European Regional Development Fund (2008) still in delivery: 4,700 (GLA, Mayor’s Questions: Written Answers, 14 March 2012); Greenwich Peninsula: 4,000 (Greenwich Peninsula Developer’s Website); Mayor Regeneration Fund: 3,000 (GLA, Mayor’s Questions: Written Answers, 14 March 2012); Mayor Regeneration Fund (temporary construction jobs): 500 (GLA, Mayor’s Questions: Written Answers, 14 March 2012); Northern Line Extension: 25,000 (HM Treasury, Autumn Statement, 29 November 2011); Outer London Fund: 700 (GLA, Mayor’s Questions: Written Answers, 14 March 2012); Green Jobs: 4,300 (GLA, Mayor’s Questions: Written Answers, 14 March 2012); EBPU Part Time jobs: 20,000 (GLA, Mayor’s Questions: Written Answers, 14 March 2012); Foreign Direct Investment: 14,000 (GLA, Mayor’s Questions: Written Answers, 14 March 2012) 6. HM Treasury, **Comprehensive Spending Review**, 20 October 2010 7. GLA, ‘Mayor cuts his shares of council tax’¹, February 2012 8. GLA, ‘Mayor cuts his shares of council tax’, 1 February 2012. £445 based on an average 12.58 per cent council tax increase as occurred in Ken Livingstone’s eight years as Mayor of London from a base figure of £310. Annual Figures can be found at GLA Website, ‘Budget archive’ 9. GLA, Press Release, Mayor cuts his share of the council tax, 1 February 2012 10. GLA, Press Release, Mayor rewarded for four years of financial prudence, 22 December 2011 I have also led the way in openness and transparency, publishing every spending decision at City Hall over £500¹¹ and holding more Public Question Times than my predecessor¹². In my four years, I have held almost twice as many public meetings as my predecessor held in 8 years¹³. In addition, I frequently meet with Londoners from all walks of life. And by respecting locally elected councillors we have also rebuilt the strained relationship between the Mayoralty and the boroughs, and this stronger partnership is now delivering more for Londoners on their priorities. I want to take London forward, to deliver even greater value and even more transparency for Londoners. Every pledge that I have made in this election is fully costed. So I will save a further £1.5 billion across the GLA Group in the coming year, bringing total savings since I was elected to £3.5 billion¹⁴ – freeing money for services by cutting waste, including at Transport for London to help me to keep fares low in the long term, without wrecking the urgently needed modernisation of the network. These savings and others mean that I will cut the Mayor’s share of council tax for every Londoner by at least 10 per cent over the next four years. This will be phased over the next four years, with a guaranteed cut every year. And so Londoners can see exactly how this is spent, I will for the first time publish an itemised breakdown to show Londoners where the Mayor’s share of council tax is spent; and will call on boroughs to do the same. I am also determined to continue with the culture of transparency and openness I have introduced at City Hall. I will publish even more data on London Datastore so Londoners can see my progress on meeting my pledges. All GLA Group spending over £250, and the expenses of all senior staff, not just advisers, will be itemised online for the first time. As your council tax bills show, we have made progress despite difficult times. At the Mayoral election on 3rd May this progress is at risk. The choice at this election is between taking London backwards to the years of waste and division or to go forward with my plan to cut council tax, cut waste, and make sure that every penny of public money is spent on Londoners priorities to make London the best big city to live in. Boris Johnson 11. GLA Website, ‘Expenditure over £500’ 12. GLA Website, ‘People’s Question Time’; Talk London Website; GLA Website, Mayor’s consultation meetings; GLA Website, Community Conversations – previous events; The Guardian, Reading the Riots launches Community Conversations, 8 February 2012; GLA Website, Frequently Asked Question; Boris Johnson, 2008 Manifesto: Making London’s Mayor Accountable, available at The Guardian’s website 13. GLA Website, ‘People’s Question Time’; Talk London Website; GLA Website, Mayor’s consultation meetings; GLA Website, Community Conversations – previous events; The Guardian, Reading the Riots launches Community Conversations, 8 February 2012 GLA Website, Frequently Asked Questions; Boris Johnson, 2008 Manifesto: Making London’s Mayor Accountable, available at The Guardian’s website 14. GLA, Final Draft Consolidated Budget 2012-13: Explanation of Proposals, 1 February 2012, p. 117 ## Cutting waste and council tax ## My Priorities for a Greater London ### Cutting costs - Overhaul the GLA Group finances to achieve even better value for money for Londoners. - Cut waste to save a further £1.5 billion across the GLA Group next year, bringing total savings to £3.5 billion since 2008. - Establish a collaborative procurement process for the GLA Group which together with other shared service initiatives will result in cumulative savings worth £600 million by the end of the next Mayoral term. - Publish online a list of all assets held by the GLA Group for the public, investors and developers to see and create a single property unit. - Publish the expenses of all senior staff as well as Mayoral advisors. - Publish details of all spending over £250 across the GLA Group. ### Cutting council tax - Cut the Mayor’s share of council tax for every Londoner by at least 10 per cent phased over my next term. - Guarantee a cut in the Mayor’s share of council tax every year. - Publish an itemised breakdown to show Londoners where the Mayor’s share of council tax is spent; and call on boroughs to do the same. - Offer, for the first time in Greater London, a 50 per cent rebate on the Mayor’s share of council tax to Special Constables; and call on boroughs to do the same. ### An accountable administration - Boost London Datastore to make the Mayoralty even more transparent and give Londoners access to more information on how I am meeting my pledges. - Host a Mayoral Twitter Time every month and send a monthly email update to Londoners as another way to ensure accountability. - Continue to hold, and listen to, consultations on the issues that matter to Londoners. - Work to further strengthen relations with boroughs of all political colours through the London Congress. - Set up a Cabbies’ Cabinet as a forum to hear the views of taxi drivers. - Establish Safer Neighbourhood Boards in every borough, giving local Londoners and victims a greater voice; and give local people a direct say in Community Payback. 10 Cutting waste and council tax ## Cutting costs I will: * Overhaul the GLA Group finances to achieve even better value for money for Londoners. * Cut waste to save a further £1.5 billion across the GLA Group next year, bringing total savings to £3.5 billion since 2008. * Establish a collaborative procurement process for the GLA Group which together with other shared service initiatives will result in cumulative savings worth £600 million by the end of the next Mayoral term. * Publish online a list of all assets held by the GLA Group for the public, investors and developers to see and create a single property unit. * Publish the expenses of all senior staff as well as Mayoral advisors. * Publish details of all spending over £250 across the GLA Group. ## Responsible finances When I was elected Londoners had lost confidence in the ability of City Hall to manage taxpayers’ money effectively. The wage bill at Transport for London (TfL) had doubled, salaries at City Hall had tripled, and my predecessor thought nothing of spending tens of thousands on vanity jaunts overseas. Londoners were forced to pay for all this with a 152 per cent increase in the Mayor’s share of council tax¹⁵, costing the average London household in a Band D property £964¹⁶. In contrast, my financial prudence has helped us secure a better deal from No 10, something my predecessor could not have delivered. City Hall has been awarded £27.7 million from the Government for cutting the Mayor’s share of council tax precept this year¹⁷ on top of the £98.2 million awarded for freezing the precept previously¹⁸ – a total of over £120 million to invest in services for Londoners. ## War on waste This council tax cut has been possible because of our careful and prudent management of City Hall’s finances. Under my predecessor, there was a culture of waste in City Hall that urgently required reform. Ken Livingstone thought nothing of spending £36,000 on first class tickets to Havana¹⁹, £10,000 on a subscription to the *The Morning Star*²⁰, or £2.8 million a year on a propaganda sheet called *The Londoner*²¹. I have overturned this culture of waste and cronyism and replaced it with an administration that respects taxpayers’ money and has led the way in transparency and openness. I have taken the lead by publishing online, spending decisions over £500 by City Hall and TfL²², making sure Londoners can see where their money is spent. The register of interests of Mayoral advisers and the corporate management team at City 15 GLA, Press Release, Mayor cuts his share of the council tax, 1 February 2012 16 Cumulative impact of increases between 2000/01 and 2007/08, using the Band D average. Figures from GLA Website, ‘Budget archive’. A full consolidated table of data can be found at London Borough of Newham, ‘Agenda item 10 council Tax 2012’, 28 February 2011, p. 12 17 GLA, Press Release, Mayor rewarded for four years of financial prudence, 22 December 2011 18 GLA, Press Release, Mayor rewarded for four years of financial prudence, 22 December 2011 19 BBC News Online, Mayor’s foreign trip was ‘modest’, 14 November 2006, Boris Johnson, *Mayor’s Questions*, 22 February 2012 20 Iain Dale’s Dairy, *EXCLUSIVE: Boris’s First Act as Mayor…*, 9 May 2008 21 Mayor of London, *Mayor’s Questions*, 12 December 2007, 2971/2007 22 GLA Website, ‘Expenditure over £500’ Hall are also published online, as well as the expenses of Mayoral advisers23, ensuring my administration is accountable and transparent. So far, I have made savings of £2 billion across the GLA Group since I was elected24, including ruthlessly cutting waste at TfL with a 25 per cent reduction in TfL staff, which now has 3,500 fewer staff25 and 23 vacated buildings26. It is these savings that have allowed us to cut council tax and concentrate scarce resources on the priorities of Londoners, including 1,000 extra police officers on London’s streets27; the desperately needed modernisation of the transport network; and a range of programmes to create over 200,000 jobs28. I will maintain transparency, and extend the publication of expenses to all senior staff within the GLA Group and all expenditure over £250 across the GLA Group. I will also continue to cut waste across the GLA Group, delivering a further £1.5 billion of savings next year, bringing the total waste cut across the GLA group to £3.5 billion29 – freeing up even more money for services and Londoners’ priorities. ## Shared services The scale of the GLA Group should enable us to deliver greater savings to the public purse by procuring goods and services together. I have already started this process, identifying savings of at least £235 million by 2013/14, through collaborative procurement and shared services. This is over halfway towards the target set in my budget. To drive cost efficiencies further, I will direct that all procurement functions in the GLA Group are combined into one collaborative function. This will replace the current situation where each part of the GLA is focused on its own procurement rather than capitalising on volume discounts and reducing transaction costs through collaboration. Wherever possible I will combine similar functions across the GLA and I will also encourage private sector involvement in the delivery of back office services through outsourcing in London and joint ventures. My budget already sets a cumulative savings target of £450 million by the end of 2013/1430. I will boost this target, with an additional £150 million to be saved by the end of 2015/16, amounting to a cumulative saving of £600 million by the end of my next term. ## Publish a list of all GLA Group assets and create a single property unit As part of the Government’s localism agenda, I have persuaded it to transfer over 530 hectares to City Hall31. It makes the GLA one of the largest owners of public land in London, with the transfer of the investment powers and assets of the London Homes and Communities Agency, London Development Agency, and part of the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation to the GLA on 1 April 2012. This complements the landholdings of other parts of the GLA Group, including TfL. I have prioritised the development of surplus public land for housing and regeneration, including: * Regenerating the Royal Docks in Newham, including creating more than 9,000 jobs through the Silvertown Quays development32. * Unlocking stalled schemes such as Greenwich Peninsula, creating over 4,000 jobs33. * Releasing surplus sites like St Clements and Queen Elizabeth Hospital, both in Tower Hamlets, Newington Butts in Southwark and Silvertown Way in Newham which are currently being taken to the market34. 23 GLA Website, Mayoral team 24 GLA, Final Draft Consolidated Budget 2012-13: Explanation of Proposals, 1 February 2012, p. 117 25 Mayor of London, Boris Johnson’s speech to London Assembly, 25 January 2012 26 Mayor of London, Boris Johnson’s speech to London Assembly, 25 January 2012 27 GLA, The Mayor’s Consultation Budget, 22 December 2011, p.27 28 GLA, Mayor’s Questions: Written Answers, 14 March 2012 29 GLA, Final Draft Consolidated Budget 2012-13: Explanation of Proposals, 1 February 2012, p. 117 30 GLA, Final Draft Consolidated Budget 2012-13: Explanation of Proposals, 1 February 2012, p. 117 31 GLA, Proposed Changes to the GLA Establishment Arising from the Devolution Programme, 29 February 2012, item 4.4.3, p4 32 Mayor of London, Press Release, Chelsfield ‘pavilion’ plans win race to transform Royal Docks and create over 9,000 new jobs, 18 March 2012 33 Mayor of London, Press Release, Mayor and Communities Secretary announce major regeneration and jobs for Greenwich Peninsula, 18 January 2012 34 Mayor of London, Press Release, Mayor and Communities Secretary announce major regeneration and jobs for Greenwich Peninsula, 18 January 2012 I will continue this release of surplus public land within my control to boost growth and create thousands of homes and jobs, with the capital receipts being reinvested to the benefit of all Londoners. I will also ensure the Mayor’s Office, working closely with boroughs and other partners, takes the lead in developing proposals for the delivery of future phases of major developments, such as Barking Riverside and Greenwich Peninsula. To accelerate the release of public land in a cost-effective way, I will establish a London Development Panel, in partnership with boroughs and other public land-holders, a framework panel from which developers for sites can be selected without necessitating a separate, costly and time-consuming procurement exercise having to be undertaken. I will also establish a single property unit for land holdings in the GLA Group, to streamline management and speed up the procurement of those sites. I will also publish and maintain a list of all land holdings in the GLA Group and encourage other public-sector land-holders in London to do the same. ## Abolishing Ken Livingstone’s London Development Agency Ken Livingstone’s London Development Agency (LDA) was a completely discredited organisation, plagued by accusations of cronyism and visibly squandering taxpayers’ money³⁵. In 2008 I launched an immediate independent audit, which concluded that Ken Livingstone’s LDA had misspent ‘tens of millions’ of pounds on a ‘massive scale’ with little evidence of promoting growth or job creation³⁶. When I was elected, I completely overhauled the LDA, replacing the board³⁷ and immediately introducing transparent and auditable processes for funding projects to deliver better value for money³⁸. To save taxpayers more money, I agreed with the Government that legislation should be introduced to transfer the LDA and its functions for economic growth and regeneration to City Hall. I also agreed with the Government to transfer the assets and functions of the London Homes and Communities Agency to the GLA at no cost, to increase the Mayor’s powers on housing, and devolve funding directly to the Mayor³⁹. These reforms took place on 1st April 2012. Instead of establishing a separate functional body, I will operate these functions efficiently within the GLA. The merger has already saved the taxpayer the equivalent of around £30 million on staffing costs a year⁴⁰. 35 Evening Standard, London Mayor 2012: Who will fix London’s housing? Scandal of LDA’s missing millions, 16 July 2008; GLA, Report of the Mayor’s Forensic Audit Panel, 15 July 2008, p. 9 36 GLA, Press Release, Report of the Mayor’s Forensic Audit Panel, 15 July 2008 37 LDA Archive Website, Press Release, LDA confirms new Chief Executive, 31 May 2011; LDA Archive Website, Press Release, LDA Leadership sets new direction, 16 July 2008; LDA Archive Website, Press Release, LDA review on track to restore public confidence, 25 June 2008 38 LDA Archive Website, Press Release, London Development Agency ready for the challenges ahead, 18 March 2009 39 GLA, Press Release, Mayor accelerates delivery of public land to provide more homes, 28 October 2011 40 Mayor of London, Mayor’s Questions, 9 February 2012 ## 14 Cutting waste and council tax ## Cutting council tax I will: - Cut the Mayor’s share of council tax for every Londoner by at least 10 per cent phased over my next term. - Guarantee a cut in the Mayor’s share of council tax every year. - Publish an itemised breakdown to show Londoners where the Mayor’s share of council tax is spent; and call on boroughs to do the same. - Offer, for the first time in Greater London, a 50 per cent rebate on the Mayor’s share of council tax to Special Constables; and call on boroughs to do the same. ## A four year commitment In tough times, I have managed to turn things around. This has enabled me to freeze the Mayor’s share of council tax – the precept – for my first three years, and cut it this year, putting an average of £445 back in Londoners’ pockets41. I have gone further in my most recent budget, by cutting my share of council tax by 1 per cent for 2012/1342. This is the first time in history that the Mayor’s share of council tax has been cut43, and sets a clear direction of travel to reverse years of inefficiency and tax burden on hard-working Londoners. I will go even further in my next term. If I am elected, I will cut my share of council tax by at least 10 per cent during the next four years. This will be phased over the next four years, with a guaranteed cut every year. I will achieve this through a new efficiencies programme across the GLA Group, including a major programme of extending shared services and a collaborative procurement process across the GLA Group. ## Itemising the precept It is important Londoners can see how their money is spent. In addition to publishing all spending decisions, I will itemise how the Mayor’s share of council tax is spent. I already set out in City Hall’s budget the share of the precept which each functional body receives. I will go further by itemising how and on what the precept is spent by City Hall and publish the details in my annual budget. I will also call on all boroughs to do the same. Each and every Londoner should be able to see exactly where the layers of London government spend their taxes. 41 GLA, ‘Mayor cuts his shares of council tax’, 1 February 2012. £445 based on an average 12.58 per cent council tax increase as occurred in Ken Livingstone’s eight years as Mayor of London from a base figure of £310. Annual Figures can be found at GLA Website, *‘Budget archive’* 42 GLA, ‘Mayor cuts his shares of council tax’, 1 February 2012 43 GLA, ‘Mayor cuts his shares of council tax’, 1 February 2012 ## Special Constables Special Constables are an invaluable part of the fight against crime, which is why I have driven recruitment to more than double the number on London’s streets from 2,500⁴⁴ when I was elected, to over 5,479 as of October 2011⁴⁵. They are also a vital link between the police and the public, strengthening the support on which the police rely. In recognition of their valuable service, members of the public who serve as Special Constables in London already get free travel⁴⁶. I want to go further, and will give Special Constables a 50 per cent rebate on the Mayor’s share of council tax. This would save the average household in a Band D property over £600 over the lifetime of my next Mayoral term. I will encourage boroughs to match this, potentially increasing this saving to an average of over £1,200 over the lifetime of the next Mayoral term. 44 MPA Archive Website, MPS Police officer, staff and PCSO numbers (annual) 45 MPA Archive Website, MPS Police officer, staff and PCSO numbers (rolling) 46 GLA Website, Could you be a Special? ## An accountable administration ### I will: * Boost London Datastore to make the Mayoralty even more transparent and give Londoners access to more information on how I am meeting my pledges. * Host a Mayoral Twitter Time every month and send a monthly email update to Londoners as another way to ensure accountability. * Continue to hold, and listen to, consultations on the issues that matter to Londoners. * Work to further strengthen relations with boroughs of all political colours through the London Congress. * Set up a Cabbies’ Cabinet as a forum to hear the views of taxi drivers. * Establish Safer Neighbourhood Boards in every borough giving local Londoners and victims a greater voice; and give local people a direct say in Community Payback. ## Progress on my pledges Unlike my predecessor, I take honesty and transparency seriously. I have increased openness about performance of City Hall programmes, launching the London Datastore which enables members of the public to access GLA and other public bodies’ data, which is not usually released47. The information is free to access. It includes more than 200 sets of data from the performance of London Underground to planning decisions. I have also launched Crime Mapping48 which enables Londoners to see what offences have been committed on their street and in their area. I will continue to put information on the London Datastore website so that Londoners can see how programmes are performing and to help drive delivery. This will show our progress towards meeting my pledges, such as creating 250,000 apprentices, doubling the number of special constables to 10,000, and retrofitting a further 20,000 homes with energy saving measures. We will encourage more partners to use this data to create smartphone apps for people to more easily access it. I will also continue to publish comparable crime figures and police numbers for each borough with totals for all of London released monthly on the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime website. I have not only sought to increase trust in City Hall’s finances, with greater transparency over spending to stamp out waste, but I have also sought to make City Hall more accountable to Londoners. My predecessor was a Zone 1 Mayor with little interest in the Outer London boroughs. In his second term, Ken Livingstone spent more time in Havana than Havering and failed to make a single visit to the borough of Hammersmith and Fulham49. I promised to be more accountable to Londoners. Between November 2008 and November 2011 I held 7 People’s Question Times. In addition, other platforms have been created to work alongside People’s Question Times, such as the 3 Talk London events and the 9 Mayor’s Consultation meetings on specific issues 47 GLA, Press Release, London leading the new information age, 19 April 2010 48 MPS, Metropolitan Police Crime Mapping; The Guardian, Police launch online neighbourhood crime maps, 6 January 2009 49 BBC News Online, Mayor’s foreign trip was ‘modest’, 14 November 2006; GLA, Mayor’s Report to the Assembly, May 2004 – April 2008 important to Londoners held so far. As Mayor, therefore, I have held 24 meetings inviting my constituents to question me. This is more in 4 years than the 16 which Ken Livingstone held in his two terms in office⁵⁰. I want to go further to make the Mayor more accountable to Londoners. One addition I will make, is to hold a monthly Mayor’s Twitter Time for people to question me directly online. And I will send a monthly email update to Londoners as another way to ensure accountability. ## Listen to consultations Ken Livingstone has a track record of ignoring the views of Londoners. I pledged to do things differently and listen to Londoners, including public consultations which help shape policy. In 2005, 63 per cent of residents and 72 per cent of businesses objected to the Western Extension Zone (WEZ) of the Congestion Charge⁵¹. My predecessor ignored the consultation, and extended the Congestion Charge westwards. I promised to re-open consultation and abide by its result. I did and when the majority of respondents opposed the scheme we abolished the WEZ at Christmas 2010⁵². I will continue to consult on a wide range of issues, and listen to the responses. ## Strengthen relations with boroughs The last four years has not only seen a significant improvement in the relationship between City Hall and the Government, it has also seen a stronger, more constructive relationship with London’s borough councils. When I was elected the relationship between borough councils and City Hall was dreadful. Ken Livingstone’s approach was to criticise, bully and berate boroughs who did not always follow his policies, and strip away their powers where he could. A borough council’s first responsibility is to its local residents, and sometimes what is good for a local area may differ from the strategic direction set by City Hall. I pledged to improve the relationship between the Mayor and boroughs, and work with local councillors not against them. For example, I have worked closely with Newham borough council to develop a vision for the Royal Docks regeneration and with Haringey and Croydon following last summer’s riots. I have also devolved £145 million from TfL to local boroughs, through Local Implementation Plans, to enable them to make local transport improvements to benefit their residents⁵³. And I have set up, with London Councils, the Congress of Leaders where all 33 boroughs meet twice a year with the Mayor to agree where we can work together for the benefit of all Londoners⁵⁴. Since I became Mayor, working with the boroughs, recycling rates have increased from 25 per cent in 2007/8 to 32 per cent in 2010/11⁵⁵. I will continue to work with the boroughs and the London Waste and Recycling Board to achieve our twin aims of increasing recycling and keeping council tax low. I also pledge to continue this overall constructive approach of working with London’s boroughs to ensure we deliver real change for Londoners. --- ⁵⁰ GLA Website, ‘People’s Question Time’; Talk London Website; GLA Website, Mayor’s consultation meetings; GLA Website, Community Conversations – previous events; The Guardian, Reading the Riots launches Community Conversations, 8 February 2012 GLA Website, Frequently Asked Questions; Boris Johnson, 2008 Manifesto: Making London’s Mayor Accountable, available at The Guardian’s webs ⁵¹ BBC News Online, Congestion charge zone to expand, 30 September 2005 ⁵² TfL, Press Release, Mayor confirms removal of Congestion Charge Western Extension Zone by Christmas and introduction of CC Auto Pay in New Year, 20 October 2010 ⁵³ TfL, TfL Annual Report 2011, p.55 ⁵⁴ GLA, Press Release, Mayor’s vision for better focused GLA with more say and more power on key London issues, 15 June 2010; London Councils website, Congress of Leaders, accessed on 7 March 2012 ⁵⁵ DEFRA, Houshold Waste Recycling Rates, 4 November 2011 ## A Cabbies’ Cabinet I have fulfilled my promise from the last election to put representatives of black taxis and private hire vehicles on the board of TfL⁵⁶. I will maintain this, and explore with TfL how we can better listen to cabbies, who are on the street and see specific examples of touting, and respond more rapidly to those concerns. I know that taxi drivers also want their voices to be heard directly so I will set up a Cabbies’ Cabinet - a forum for taxi drivers which I will meet with once a year. ## Safer Neighbourhood Boards It is important the police focus on the priorities of local communities, and one of the clearest ways of achieving this is to enable neighbourhoods to set policing priorities. I have already made the police more accountable to communities by introducing crime mapping⁵⁷ – publishing detailed information on crimes at street level, opening up local policing to residents, and transforming the accountability of the Met. This means that every Londoner can now easily find information about crime in their neighbourhood online. I will launch a new Safer Neighbourhood Board in every borough, to establish policing priorities for each neighbourhood and fulfil important responsibilities. This will involve amalgamation of the current Community Police Engagement Group structure with the Met’s Independent Advisory Group community engagement structure to avoid duplication, with members of these boards sitting on them for a maximum of three years and we will reserve places for councillors and young people on each board. These measures will ensure both a regular refresh of opinions, strong linkage with the boroughs and a wide diversity of views. I will give each board a number of responsibilities; specifically a new duty to hear and monitor complaints from victims of crime and to monitor crime performance and community confidence in their area. They will also be required to monitor levels of complaints about borough-based police officers from the public and undertake the role of “Independent Custody Visitors”, responsible for visiting local offenders post-arrest. Specifically they will have a duty to ensure that all wards have a ward panel of residents as a sounding board for the newly expanded Safer Neighbourhood Teams. I will prioritise £1 million saved by this amalgamation into a borough problem-solving fund, from which the new boards can bid for crime prevention projects in their area. I will also require the new boards to play a significant role in Community Payback. ## Community Payback When offenders are convicted, justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done. With the support of the Government, I will ensure that more offenders serving community sentences are visibly doing tasks that improve their neighbourhoods such as clearing roadside litter, cleaning up graffiti, or planting trees as part of a Community Payback scheme. To ensure that offenders are doing work that is of value to the public, I will work with the probation service to empower the new Safer Neighbourhood Boards to set the tasks that offenders from their borough should undertake as payback to the neighbourhood for their crimes, after specifically canvassing the views of victims. ⁵⁶ GLA Website, Board members ⁵⁷ MPS, Metropolitan Police Crime Mapping Supporting older Londoners BETTER OFF WITH BORIS • Cutting council tax • More police • Investing in transport • Growing London's economy • Boris Johnson Conservatives # My 9 point plan for a Greater London 1. Cutting waste at City Hall – freeing up £3.5 billion for services. 2. Putting £445 back in your pocket by freezing the Mayoral share of council tax. 3. Creating 200,000 new jobs over the next four years. 4. Making our streets and homes safer with 1,000 more police on the beat. 5. Restoring 300 acres of green space and planting 20,000 street trees. 6. Investing £221 million to transform local high streets, supporting small businesses. 7. Ensuring a true Olympic legacy – 11,000 new homes and 10,000 new jobs. 8. Reducing Tube delays 30% by 2015. Building Crossrail and orbital rail to link our suburbs. Extending the Bike Hire scheme. 9. Securing a better deal for London from No 10. Supporting older Londoners details how points 4, 5 and 6 of my 9 point plan for Greater London will help Londoners aged 60 and over. ## Supporting older Londoners ## Contents - Introduction (7) - My priorities for a Greater London (9) - Helping older Londoners get around (11) - Protect and extend the Freedom Pass (11) - Courtesy Card (11) - Making more stations step free (12) - Making the bus network more accessible (12) - Dial a Ride (12) - Roads Blackspot Fund (13) - Pedestrians and the public realm (13) - Making London safer (15) - Putting more police on the street (15) - Safer Neighbourhood Teams (15) - Safer Neighbourhood Boards (15) - Community Payback (16) - Cutting crime on public transport (16) - A smarter approach to alcohol and crime (17) - Compulsory sobriety (17) - Making London a better place to live (19) - Keeping council tax low (19) - Making housing more adaptable for older people (19) - Retrofitting (19) - Pocket Parks (20) - Combating litter and graffiti with Community Payback (20) - Protecting back gardens (20) - Securing London’s future (21) - Empowering older Londoners (23) - ‘Know Your Rights’ (23) - Regenerating town centres (23) - London Growth Fund (24) - Business Improvement Districts (24) - Volunteering (25) - Diamond Jubilee (25) ## 6 Supporting older Londoners ## Introduction Dear Londoner, This election comes at a critical time. Londoners are going through tough times and the choices we make now will determine whether our city remains world-class or declines. I’m proud that London is a fantastically diverse city, boasting not just a great cultural and ethnic mix but also a great mix of ages. London is neither a ‘young’ city nor a retirement town. It defies such descriptions, with a significant older population living alongside a younger one, contributing a huge amount from the capital’s culture and economy. There are over 1.2 million people in London who are aged 60 and over, and this proportion is expected to grow fast over the next 20 years¹. The number of people over 65 is projected to increase by 34 per cent (nearly 300,000) to reach 1.17 million by 2031². The biggest concern for older Londoners is to ensuring their home and neighbourhood is safe and their environment a pleasant place to live. That is why I have worked hard to cut waste and make sure public funding is spent on Londoners priorities, including putting a 1,000 extra police officers on London’s streets since 2008³ leading to a 10 per cent cut in overall crime⁴ and 30 per cent on the bus network⁵; scrapping my predecessor’s propaganda newspaper ‘The Londoner’⁶ and investing the savings on planting 10,000 street trees⁷; and protecting and extending the Freedom Pass to 24 hours⁸. But there is more to do. I feel like a man who has built half a bridge. I can see the other side and what needs to be done. I will reverse the decision by the previous Labour government to raise the age for which people were eligible for the Freedom Pass and ensure every Londoner aged 60 has one, from 1st September 2012. I will also lobby the suburban rail companies to allow its use before 9.30am. I will protect the roll out of step free stations as part of the Tube upgrade from Ken Livingstone’s plans to take £1.14 billion out of the transport budget. And I will give older Londoners a greater voice in neighbourhood policing through new Safer Neighbourhood Boards with substantial increases to Safer Neighbourhood Teams in every ward in Greater London. But above all, I will continue to keep the Mayor’s share of council tax low, which has put an average of £445 back in Londoner’s pockets since I was elected. This shows we have made progress despite difficult times. At the Mayoral election on 3rd May this progress is at risk. The choice at this election is between taking London backwards and fresh-thinking and optimism for London’s future. Boris Johnson 1. _ONS, Estimated resident population mid 2010 by single year of age and sex, 30 June 2011_ 2. _The Mayor of London, The London Plan, July 2011_ 3. _GLA, The Mayor’s Consultation Budget, 22 December 2011, p.1_ 4. _MOPC, Monthly Report: Police and Crime Committee, 8 March 2012. Comparing 45 months of Ken Livingstone (August 2004 – April 2008) with 45 months of Boris Johnson (May 2008 – January 2012). August 2004-April 2008 TNO was 3,486,028. In May 2008-January 2012 it was 3,110,245._ 5. _MOPC, Monthly Report: Police and Crime Committee, 8 March 2012. Comparing 45 months of Ken Livingstone (August 2004 – April 2008) with 45 months of Boris Johnson (May 2008 – January 2012). August 2004-April 2008 Bus related crime was 136,207. May 2008 to January 2012 Bus related crime was 91,545._ 6. _Mayor of London, Mayor’s Questions, 12 December 2007_ 7. _GLA, Press Release, 14 February 2012, link_ 8. _GLA Website, Mayor’s Questions, 17 December 2008_ 8 Supporting older Londoners # My priorities for a Greater London ## Helping older Londoners get around - Protect the 24-hour Freedom Pass and ensure that it is available on Transport for London services to all Londoners from age 60, from 1st September 2012. - Lobby the Train Operating Companies to extend the Freedom Pass for use on suburban rail before 9.30am. - Introduce a Courtesy Card to require those under 16s who benefit from free travel on the buses to treat other travellers with respect. - Protect the expansion of step free stations as part of the Tube upgrade from Ken Livingstone’s plans to take £1.14 billion out of the transport budget. - Expand accessible bus stops to 70 per cent of the network and review the “Red Book” for bus drivers to ensure passengers get the best service. - Secure the future of door-to-door services like Dial a Ride. - Promote more shared space improvements to our public realm to make London’s streets safer and more accessible for older Londoners. ## Making London safer - Maintain funding for the extra police on the transport network for my entire second term, which is at risk from Ken Livingstone’s plan to take £1.14 billion out of the transport budget. - Continue funding for 50 extra British Transport Police on the overland rail network and negotiate to bring them under a new “London Command”. - Combat alcohol-fuelled crime through the introduction of “Compulsory Sobriety” for drunken offenders, and establish a Strategic Licensing Unit to work with boroughs to sort out problem premises. ## Making London a better place to live - Keep the Mayor’s share of council tax low. - Prioritise households over the age of 60 for the RE:NEW programme to help the average household save £180 a year on their energy bills. - Invest £6 million to improve 300 acres of green space and work with boroughs to create 100 Pocket Parks across Greater London. - Maintain the strong protection of green space and presumption against development of back gardens in the London Plan. - Deliver 1,800 supported homes using my new housing investment powers, and ensure that all new homes are built to Lifetime Home standards. - Boost the First Steps programme of low-cost home ownership to help around 25,000 Londoners in this investment round through promoting to Londoners the Government’s mortgage guarantee scheme, which will reduce deposits for 100,000 buyers. - Take action on apprenticeships by driving the creation of an average of 1,000 new apprenticeships every week, and extending to apprentices over the age of 18 the same Transport for London travel discounts as students in full time education, with 30 per cent discount on season tickets. ## Empowering older Londoners - Support ‘Know Your Rights’ campaign to ensure Londoners receive full entitlements. - Give local people a direct say on Community Payback to ensure offenders serving community sentences carry out tasks set by Safer Neighbourhood Boards, such as removing graffiti and clearing litter. - Invest £221 million to transform local high streets, supporting small businesses. - Promote volunteering programmes that help older Londoners, such the Team London scheme to help more than 600 people aged over 60 to learn and improve their IT skills. - Work with partners to encourage well over 1,000 street parties across Greater London to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee to help reduce the social isolation some older people can feel by fostering a sense of neighbourliness. 10 Supporting older Londoners ## Helping older Londoners get around * Protect the 24-hour Freedom Pass and ensure that it is available on Transport for London services to all Londoners from age 60, from 1st September 2012. * Lobby the Train Operating Companies to extend the Freedom Pass for use on suburban rail before 9.30am. * Introduce a Courtesy Card to require those under 16s who benefit from free travel on the buses to treat other travellers with respect. * Protect the expansion of step free stations as part of the Tube upgrade from Ken Livingstone’s plans to take £1.14 billion out of the transport budget. * Expand accessible bus stops to 70 per cent of the network and review the “Red Book” for bus drivers to ensure passengers get the best service. * Secure the future of door-to-door services like Dial a Ride. * Promote more shared space improvements to our public realm to make London’s streets safer and more accessible for older Londoners. ## Protect and extend the Freedom Pass It is vital that we protect concessions for those who need them and have worked hard and paid into the system all their life. That is why I extended the Freedom Pass to 24 hours a day on the Transport for London (TfL) network to make travel easier for older Londoners⁹. If elected, I will protect the full 24-hour Freedom Pass and will lobby hard for the private Train Operating Companies to offer a similar peak-time concession to Freedom Pass holders. And I will reverse the last Labour Government’s decision to raise the age of eligibility for the Freedom Pass to 65 so that Londoners travel free when they turn 60, from 1st September 2012. I will also guarantee concessionary travel for injured veteran soldiers, which I introduced in 2009¹⁰. ## Courtesy Card I have sought to make travelling in London a more pleasant experience. That is why one of my first actions was to ban alcohol on the Tube and buses¹¹. I want to widen this approach to the behaviour of young people in receipt of free travel. At present, under-16s can travel for free on the buses in London with a ZIP card. This is an important concession which I am committed to continuing, and has provided welcome financial relief to parents across London. But it is important that this concession comes with clear conditions. So I will strengthen the existing behaviour code by making it an explicit condition of free travel that under-16s give up their seats for older people, especially pensioners, and behave courteously to their fellow passengers. I will publish a three-point Courtesy Code on the back of each ZIP card which will remind card holders that they must: * Give up their seat to an older, pregnant or disabled person. * Be polite and not use offensive or threatening language. * Be courteous to fellow passengers: for instance, not playing music out loud on a mobile phone. This Courtesy Code will complement TfL’s existing Behaviour Code, which every ZIP card holder has to observe, and any young person found breaching the Courtesy Code will have their free travel withdrawn. I will also operate a ‘two strikes and out’ policy, where individuals are only able to earn their travel back once before the card is removed permanently for a second offence. 9 GLA Website, Mayor’s Questions, 17 December 2008 10 GLA, Mayor’s Questions, 16 July 2008 11 BBC News Online, 7 May 2008 ## Making more stations step free It is vital that we make our transport network more accessible. Despite the most challenging spending round for generations, I have secured record investment for London’s transport network which will see the Tube upgrade and Crossrail delivered in full. This will mean tens of thousands of step free journeys every day on the network, significantly helping older travellers. My aim is for half the rail network to be step free by the end of this decade.12 I have increased the number of step free Tube stations, with 65 stations to be step-free by the 2012 Games.13 Step-free access has been provided at key interchange stations, including King’s Cross St. Pancras, which has 10 new lifts.14 And step free access work will continue at Victoria, Tottenham Court Road, Liverpool Street and Bond Street and others.15 In contrast, Ken Livingstone’s plans would take £1.14 billion out of the transport budget would put this major investment programme at risk. ## Making the bus network more accessible I will also continue to ensure that the bus network, and not just London Underground, is more accessible. Ramps on buses should always work and more bus stops should be accessible so that older Londoners can use the bus network as easily as possible. I have doubled the number of accessible bus stops since 200816, and all of London’s 8,500 buses are low floor and fitted with wheelchair ramps.17 We have also introduced a more rigorous training regime to make sure bus drivers should always deploy the ramps, with regular inspections at bus depots to ensure the ramps work and that they are checked whilst in service. I will ensure we continue to keep up a rigid inspection regime. I want to go further, so I am proposing to increase the number of accessible bus stops further from 58 per cent18 to 70 per cent by the end of the 2012/13 financial year to ensure that all Londoners can use bus services on which they rely. It is vital that bus drivers are aware of the needs of older people using London’s buses. I will review the bus drivers’ “Red Book”, and work with bus operators to continuously improve standards of service on the buses, so that older people get the best possible service using London’s buses. ## Dial a Ride Under Ken Livingstone, the quality of Dial a Ride declined as costs soared, with the cost per passenger doubling19. I recognise the importance of Dial a Ride and other door to door services to help Londoners get around. I have introduced a further 39 bespoke low-floor minibuses entered into the fleet and the highest number of trips since the service began in the 1980s, with more than 1.3 million trips during the 2010/11 financial year20. I will continue to support Dial A Ride. 12. TfL, Taking forward the Mayor’s Transport Strategy Accessibility Implementation Plan, March 2012 13. TfL, Press Release, King’s Cross St. Pancras Tube station is step-free with 10 new lifts, 27 September 2010 14. Ibid. 15. Ibid. 16. TfL, Taking forward the Mayor’s Transport Strategy Accessibility Implementation Plan, March 2012 17. TfL, Buses 18. GLA, Mayors Questions, December 2011 19. TfL, Travel in London Report 4, 2011, p. 174 20. TfL, Annual Report and Statements of Accounts, 2010/11 ## Roads Blackspot Fund I will commit £50 million to enable immediate action to relieve the worst congestion blackspots in London²¹, with priority being given to those roads which cause the worst delays and blight the communities who live around them. The Fund will take the type of approach illustrated, for example, in the recent redesign of Henlys Corner. Improvements will include: * Redesigning roads to improve traffic flow. * Optimising traffic signals. * Removing unnecessary street clutter and improving the surrounding urban realm. * Improving conditions for vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists. Less congestion also means lower pollution, improving the environment for local residents. By separating traffic more clearly, cyclists will be able to pass through the junctions more safely than before, and new crossings will make it possible for pedestrians to cross the road more safely. ## Pedestrians and the public realm Since I was elected, London has been leading the country in innovative road schemes ensuring pedestrians get a better deal on the roads, making it easier and safer for them. I installed the “X” diagonal pedestrian crossings at Oxford Circus, unravelled the one-way gyratory system along Piccadilly, and have supported the shared use of Exhibition Road. This gives pedestrians and drivers equal rights of way, which evidence shows reduces accidents as it discourages speeding, and encourages road users to take more responsibility for their risks. The capital has too many guardrails, restricting the movement of pedestrians and also presenting a hazard for cyclists. I have removed a substantial number of guardrails along pavements²², making it easier and safer for pedestrians to cross, and stripped out other unnecessary street clutter. I will continue to work with the boroughs to push forward shared space schemes and scrap guardrails and promote this approach on new developments through the London Plan. 21 TfL Business Plan 2011/12-2014/15, p. 71, Table 10, Better Routes and Places 22 TfL, Surface Transport Panel, 11 May 2011 14 Supporting older Londoners ## Making London safer - Maintain funding for the extra police on the transport network for my entire second term, which is at risk from Ken Livingstone’s plan to take £1.14 billion out of the transport budget. - Continue funding for 50 extra British Transport Police on the overland rail network and negotiate to bring them under a new “London Command”. - Combat alcohol-fuelled crime through the introduction of “Compulsory Sobriety” for drunken offenders, and establish a Strategic Licensing Unit to work with boroughs to sort out problem premises. ## Putting more police on the street It is the first duty of the Mayor to ensure Londoners are safer, and feel safer, in their homes and neighbourhood. When I was elected, London had serious problems with crime. Today, London is on the way to being one of the safest big cities in the world. Londoners elected me to cut crime, and I have worked hard to successfully drive crime down. Specifically, comparing my term against that of my predecessor: - Total crime has been cut by 10.8 per cent.²³ This includes the most serious offences such as murder, which has decreased by 25.9 per cent – the lowest rate since 1978.²⁴ - Youth violence has decreased by 13.8 per cent, with the number of youth murders halving.²⁵ - Robberies are down by 16.3 per cent.²⁶ - Robbery on public transport’ is down 46.5 per cent; crime on buses has fallen by 30 per cent²⁷ and crime on the Tube has fallen by 20 per cent.²⁸ Using my strengthened powers with the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, my priority is to maintain police numbers. There are 1,000 more fully warranted police officers on London’s streets at the end of this term than I inherited.²⁹ My strong relationship with the Government has secured an extra £90 million to ensure police numbers remain high.³⁰ I will maintain the extra 1,000 police I have put on the street throughout my second term.³¹ ## Safer Neighbourhood Teams I also want to boost neighbourhood policing. Safer Neighbourhood Teams have made a huge contribution to cutting crime in London and making people feel safer in all of London’s 624 wards. I have also given some Sergeants more responsibility to strengthen the response of their teams around the ward boundaries. But I want to go further to help Safer Neighbourhood Teams do even more to combat crime. I will work with the Commissioner to boost Safer Neighbourhood Teams, with an additional 2,000 police, including adding up to three Police Officers and three Specials to every Team. This extra capacity means that the team can focus more on solving and preventing crime, dealing with antisocial behaviour and critically giving a greater sense of territorial ownership and control to Londoners. ## Safer Neighbourhood Boards It is important the police focus on the priorities of local communities, and one of the clearest ways of achieving this is to enable neighbourhoods to set policing priorities. I will launch a new Safer Neighbourhood Board in every borough, to establish policing priorities for each neighbourhood and fulfil important responsibilities. 23 MOPC, *Monthly Report: Police and Crime Committee*, 8 March 2012. Comparing 45 months of Ken Livingstone (August 2004 – April 2008) with 45 months of Boris Johnson (May 2008 – January 2012). August 2004-April 2008 TNO was 3,486,028. In May 2008-January 2012 it was 3,110,245. 24 Ibid. August 2004-April 2008 Homicide was 645. May 2008- January 2012 it was 478. 25 MOPC Statistics. Youth Violence in 2008: 21,004; Youth Violence in 2011: 18,110. 26 Ibid. August 2004-April 2008 Robbery was 157,344. May 2008-January 2012 it was 131,634. 27 TfL, *Crime and Anti Social Behaviour Statistical Bulletin, Q2 11/12*, Table 2.1 28 TfL, *Press Release*, 21 February 2011 29 GLA, *The Mayor’s Consultation Budget*, 22 December 2011, p.1 30 GLA, *Mayor’s Final Budget 2011-12*; *Evening Standard*, 30 January 2012 31 Boris Johnson, *Crime Manifesto*, 2 April 2012 This will involve amalgamation of the current Community Police Engagement Group structure with the Met’s Independent Advisory Group community engagement structure to avoid duplication, with members of these boards sitting on them for a maximum of three years and we will reserve places for councillors and young people on each board. These measures will ensure both a regular refresh of opinions, strong linkage with the boroughs and a wide diversity of views. I will give each board a number of responsibilities; specifically a new duty to hear and monitor complaints from victims of crime and to monitor crime performance and community confidence in their area. They will also be required to monitor levels of complaints about borough-based police officers from the public and undertake the role of “Independent Custody Visitors”, responsible for visiting local offenders post-arrest. Specifically they will have a duty to ensure that all wards have a ward panel of residents as a sounding board for the newly expanded Safer Neighbourhood Teams. I will prioritise £1 million saved by this amalgamation into a borough problem-solving fund, from which the new boards can bid for crime prevention projects in their area. I will also require the new boards to play a significant role in Community Payback. ## Community Payback When offenders are convicted, justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done. With the support of the Government, I will ensure that more offenders serving community sentences are visibly doing tasks that improve their neighbourhoods such as clearing roadside litter, cleaning up graffiti, or planting trees as part of a “Community Payback” scheme. To ensure that offenders are doing work that is of value to the public, I will work with the probation service to empower the new Safer Neighbourhood Boards to set the tasks that offenders from their borough should undertake as payback to the neighbourhood for their crimes, after specifically canvassing the views of victims. This should include cleaning up graffiti and litter as set out later in this manifesto. ## Cutting crime on public transport Under my predecessor, crime on public transport, in particular buses, was rising substantially. On London Underground, public disorder offences on the tube increased by 521 per cent, violent crime by 56 per cent, and drug crime 128 per cent between 2001/2 and 2007/8³². On the bus network, violence on buses increased by 9 per cent between 2004/5 and 2007/8³³. Since I was elected, I have put 697 extra police on the buses and Tube³⁴ and have banned alcohol³⁵. This has helped to cut bus crime by 30 per cent, with violence on buses falling by 21 per cent and Tube crime cut by 20 per cent³⁶. I have also cracked down on illegal minicabs – doubling the team dedicated to tackling the problem and making 1,300 arrests in 2010/11³⁷. I will maintain the funding for the extra police I have put on the transport network for my whole second term, which is at risk from Ken Livingstone’s plan to take £1.14 billion out of London’s transport budget³⁸. I will also continue to prioritise a strong police presence on public transport, including continuing my funding for 50 extra British Transport Police on the overland rail network. I will lobby for a single “London Command” for the British Transport Police. As Mayor, I am also asking the Department for Transport to devolve responsibility for suburban London rail franchises to City Hall, and as part of this I will ensure that every station where responsibility is transferred is staffed to make it safer. 32 British Transport Police, *Statistical Bulletin 2002/03 – 2007/08* 33 Transport for London, *Crime and anti social behaviour statistics bulletin Q1 07/08, Table 2.1; Ibid. Q1 08/09, Table 2.1)* 34 Boris Johnson, *Mayor’s Questions*, 14 March 2012 35 BBC News Online, 7 May 2008 36 GLA, *Press Release*, 21 February 2011; MOPC, *Monthly Report: Police and Crime Committee*, 8 March 2012. Comparing 45 months of Ken Livingstone (August 2004 – April 2008) with 44 months of Boris Johnson (May 2008 – January 2012). August 2004-April 2008 Bus related crime was 136,207. May 2008 to January 2012 Bus related crime was 91,545. 37 TfL, *Press Release, Safer Travel at Night: Over 1,300 drivers arrested last year as part of crackdown on unbooked ‘minicabs’*, 23 May 2011 38 Mayor of London, *Mayor’s Questions*, 14 December 2011 ## A smarter approach to alcohol and crime London has a far worse problem with alcohol than England as a whole, with 11.7 alcohol related crimes for every 1,000 people compared to a national average of 7.6^39. In particular, we have the highest rate of alcohol-related violent crimes and sexual offences in the UK. Problem drinking can lead to domestic violence. Often it results in anti-social behaviour on the streets, with law-abiding citizens feeling threatened. Although much of the offending is relatively minor, it can be prolific with high reoffending rates, and young binge drinkers are responsible for a disproportionate amount of crime. When I was elected, I immediately banned drinking alcohol on public transport, which helped lead to the dramatic reduction in crime on tubes and buses. I will ensure that existing laws banning the sale of alcohol to people who are drunk and to children under 18 are rigorously enforced. I will also establish a Strategic Licencing Unit at the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime with the task of monitoring alcohol crime by gathering new data from the London Ambulance Service and A&E departments while maintaining patient confidentiality, and then identifying problem premises, working with local authorities, police and residents to close them down. London will learn from a pilot in Cardiff, which showed that sharing data between hospitals and police enabled the police to cut the number of violent incidents including fistfights and stabbings by over 40 per cent^40. ## Compulsory sobriety At present, those convicted of alcohol-related crime often get punishments such as community orders that do little help to address the underlying cause or treatment that is ineffectual. I want to reverse the current approach of mandating treatment and merely hoping for sobriety, by enforcing sobriety and then offering treatment if needed. In the United States sobriety testing for offenders convicted of alcohol-related crimes has been hugely successful in reducing alcohol related crime, with repeat drink driving being halved over two years, a reduction in domestic violence and a fall in the prison population of approximately 14 per cent^41. I believe we need to learn from this experience and I have secured funding from the Government to pilot sobriety testing which will see offenders fitting with tags, which are fitted to the ankle, measure air and perspiration emissions from the skin every 30 minutes^42. Blood alcohol levels as low as 0.02 per cent can be detected, and the tags can then transmit that information to a base monitoring station. If someone is found not to be sober, the police will arrest them and usually the court will decide an offender will spend a night in custody before restarting the scheme. Following my intensive campaign, the Government has agreed to legislate to compel an offender to attend a testing centre twice a day to be tested. The rigour and certainty of the consequence of testing has resulted in very positive compliance rates in the US and has also resulted in a fall in other offences. For instance, although some individuals were testing for drinking and driving, it has also led to a fall in domestic violence an offence on which we must make progress also using this scheme. 39 Local Alcohol Profile for England, Local Authority Alcohol Indicators 40 British Medical Journal Website, Effectiveness of anonymised information sharing and use in health service, police, and local government partnership for preventing violence related injury: experimental study and time series analysis, 16 June 2011 41 Alcohol Monitoring Systems Inc, South Dakota 24/7 Sobriety Project Credited with Lowering Jail Populations, 2009 42 GLA, Press Release, Mayor welcomes new approach to alcohol related crime in London – but says more is needed, 10 February 2012; BBC Website, US-style alcohol tests to be used for problem drinkers, 10 February 2012 18 Supporting older Londoners ## Making London a better place to live * Keep the Mayor’s share of Council tax low. * Prioritise households over the age of 60 for the RE:NEW programme to help the average household save £180 a year on their energy bills. * Invest £6 million to improve 300 acres of green space and work with boroughs to create 100 Pocket Parks across Greater London. * Maintain the strong protection of green space and presumption against development of back gardens in the London Plan. * Deliver 1,800 supported homes using my new housing investment powers, and ensure that all new homes are built to Lifetime Home standards. * Boost the First Steps programme of low-cost home ownership to help around 25,000 Londoners in this investment round through promoting to Londoners the Government’s mortgage guarantee scheme which will reduce deposits for 100,000 buyers. * Take action on apprenticeships by driving the creation of an average of 1,000 new apprenticeships every week, and extending to apprentices over the age of 18 the same Transport for London travel discounts as students in full time education, with 30 per cent discount on season tickets. ## Keeping council tax low Under Ken Livingstone, Londoners were subjected to huge hikes in their council tax through the Mayor’s precept. Ken Livingstone increased the Mayor’s share of council tax by 152 per cent during his eight years in office. By cutting waste and making City Hall more efficient, I have frozen council tax for the last four years – saving the average Londoner in a Band D property £445 a year– and I will continue to do so. ## Making housing more adaptable for older people As Londoners live longer, it is critical that the needs of older Londoners are reflected in the homes we build and also provide specifically adapted, supported accommodation for older people. Under my direction, the Homes and Communities Agency, whose London board I chaired, 2,395 new supported homes were delivered by April 2011 – almost double the target I set.43 And with the introduction of new design and space standards, I have promoted designing out crime, ensured both the London Housing Design Guide and London Plan specify that all new homes should be built to Lifetime Homes standards, and at least ten per cent should be wheelchair accessible. Using my new housing powers which came into effect on 1 April 2012, I will deliver 1,800 supported homes in this investment round to meet the needs of older and vulnerable Londoners44. I will also see that all new homes are built to Lifetime Homes standards and that one in ten should be wheelchair accessible.45 ## Retrofitting The rising cost of energy bills means that straightforward carbon reduction measures not only protect the environment and support London’s economy, they can also significantly reduce household bills. That is why I launched RE:NEW, which helps people adopt simple energy efficiency measures for free such as loft insulation, to reduce carbon emissions from existing homes in London, help residents save money on their energy bills and create “green” jobs. By the end of March, 55,000 homes had been helped,46 saving tens of thousands tons of carbon and households around £180 a year on their fuel bills.47 I will continue this drive by extending the programme to retrofit a further 20,000 homes through RE:NEW, with a further £3 million from the GLA budget. I will prioritise households over the age of 60 for the scheme. 43 GLA, The Revised London Housing Strategy, December 2011 44 GLA, The Revised London Housing Strategy, December 2011 45 GLA Website, Housing Support 46 GLA Website, RE:NEW FAQs 47 Mayor of London, Press Release, Mayor helps Londoners in every borough save money off their home fuel bills, 13 December 2011 ## Pocket Parks It is crucial we improve London’s local environment, to make neighbourhoods attractive places to live. While Ken Livingstone and his officials spent time and taxpayers’ money jetting around the world, including £37,000 on first-class tickets to Havana, key aspects of our local environment were neglected. That is why I launched Help a London Park, providing £6 million to help more than ten parks, with the public able to vote for their park to make them cleaner, safer, greener and better places to visit and enjoy. Ten parks received £400,000 each,48 including Brent River Park in Ealing, Crane Valley Park in Richmond and Hounslow, Dollis Valley Green Walk in Barnet, Fairlop Waters Country Park in Redbridge, Parish Wood Park in Bexley and Wandle Park in Croydon. The Mayor’s Premier Park, a prize of £2 million, was awarded to Burgess Park in Southwark. This has enabled Burgess Park to undergo a major renovation, match-funded by the borough council, as part of plans to regenerate the Aylesbury estate. In total, I am delivering improvements to 300 acres of green space,49 and will continue this by working with boroughs and community groups to establish 100 Pocket Parks, similar to those which grace Paris, to create more green space for families to play and relax in. ## Combating litter and graffiti with Community Payback Neighbourhoods can be blighted by litter and graffiti. No grime should be tolerated, and I will work with local authorities to wipe it from the face of London. Under Ken Livingstone, there was a 14 per cent rise in flytipping incidents, with a total of over 500,000 incidents dealt with by the boroughs in 2007-0850 – at a total cost of around £20 million. In contrast, I have cut fly-tipping every year and in 2010-11 there were fewer than 250,000 incidents.51 I have supported the Capital Clean-up campaign, which aims to make London cleaner and greener for 2012 by coordinating events from litter-picks to education activities across the capital. An estimated 2,820 volunteers took part in more than 200 events across 25 boroughs during the 2011 campaign.52 I will ensure that offenders serving community sentences are fully deployed to tackle these problems under the Community Payback scheme. The Earn Your Travel Back scheme has seen more than 3,000 young people earn travel costs through a range of activities with environmental charities such as the London Wildlife Trust.53 ## Protecting back gardens Under the last Labour government, gardens were classified as brownfield space and had no specific protection in Ken Livingstone’s London Plan. As a consequence, back gardens were disappearing in favour of development. Under my predecessor, in 2006 alone, over a thousand London gardens were used for new build projects.54 I promised to strengthen the protection of green spaces, and have done so. The new London Plan published in 2011 committed to protecting the green belt and other open spaces and private residential gardens are no longer classed as “previously developed land”, with the new London Plan enabling boroughs to introduce a presumption against development on back gardens or other private residential gardens in their Local Development Frameworks. I will retain the strong protections now afforded back gardens and other green space, and continue the presumption against development of back gardens, as part of the London Plan. 48 GLA Website, *Help a London Park* 49 GLA Press Release, 14 February 2012 50 DEFRA, Fly tipping official statistics 51 DEFRA, Fly tipping official statistics 52 GLA, Capital Clean-up, *Campaign Newsletter*, November 2011 53 Mayor of London, *Mayor’s Questions*, 14 December 2011, 4040/2011 54 London Assembly Environment Committee, *Garden Grabbing Update*, 11 October 2007, p. 2 # Securing London’s future It is important for London’s future, and our economy, that we ensure future generations can afford to live and work in the capital. Many Londoners are concerned about the cost of living, and whether their sons and daughters will be able to afford a home or secure a job. Low-cost home ownership is critical to help low and modest income Londoners on to the property ladder in an affordable way. I promised to launch the First Steps housing programme to help first-time buyers, and by April 2011 we had helped around 25,000 people buy their first home.⁵⁵ Together with promoting to Londoners the Government’s mortgage guarantee scheme which will reduce deposits for 100,000 households, I will boost First Steps in this investment round to help a further 25,000 Londoners through the delivery of more than 18,000 First Steps homes.⁵⁶ I have also transformed opportunities for young Londoners. I have already created more than 54,000 apprenticeships⁵⁷ and national figures show that 84 per cent remain in continued employment.⁵⁸ I intend to do more and deliver 100,000 new apprenticeships by the end of this year. Yet when I arrived at City Hall, London had just 6 per cent of all apprenticeships in the UK,⁵⁹ with many sectors such as financial and professional services largely ignoring apprenticeships. Over the last four years, I have campaigned hard to increase apprenticeship opportunities, signing up a host of new businesses to offer modern apprenticeships across all sectors of the London economy. I will continue to work constructively with London business to generate a further 250,000 apprenticeships by 2016 – this would more than double the current commitment, and mean on average 1,000 new apprenticeships being created every week. I will aim to maintain the current 84 per cent conversion rate to real jobs estimated by the Learning and Skills Council.⁶⁰ I will also extend the discounted travel benefits which full-time students receive to apprentices on recognised schemes, a discount worth 30 per cent on TfL season tickets. 55 GLA, *The Revised London Housing Strategy*, December 2011, Appendix One, based on 1.5 persons per home from CORE data. 56 GLA, *The Revised London Housing Strategy*, December 2011, Appendix One, based on 1.5 persons per home from CORE data. 57 Mayor of London, Press Release, *Mayor urges firms to boost apprenticeship opportunities for young Londoners*, 7 February 2012 58 Learning & Skills Council, *The Benefits of Completing an Apprenticeship*, April 2009, p30 59 ONS, *Population Estimates Total Persons for the UK, Constituent Countries and Regions - Mid 1971 to Mid 2010*, December 2011, 60 Learning & Skills Council, *The Benefits of Completing an Apprenticeship*, April 2009, p30 22 Supporting older Londoners ## Empowering older Londoners - Support ‘Know Your Rights’ campaign to ensure Londoners receive full entitlements. - Give local people a direct say on Community Payback to ensure offenders serving community sentences carry out tasks set by Safer Neighbourhood Boards, such as removing graffiti and clearing litter. - Invest £221 million to transform local high streets, supporting small businesses. - Promote volunteering programmes that help older Londoners, such the Team London scheme to help more than 600 people aged over 60 to learn and improve their IT skills. - Work with partners to encourage well over 1,000 street parties across Greater London to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee to help reduce the social isolation some older people can feel by fostering a sense of neighbourliness. ### ‘Know Your Rights’ I want to ensure older Londoners, who have worked hard and contributed, get back what they are entitled to from the Government. I promised at the last election to launch a ‘Know Your Rights’ campaign, and did so last year in partnership with Age UK, Citizens Advice Bureau and benefit and debt advice agencies.61 This has helped raise awareness of the support available to vulnerable Londoners from the Government, including Council tax relief and support to pay energy bills in the winter. There are a wide range of benefits for older people. Pensioners across London are benefitting from the biggest ever rise to the state pension this year, meaning they will be £5.30 better off every week,62 as well as free eye tests, the winter fuel allowance, and the cold weather payment.63 I will continue to support the ‘Know Your Rights’ campaign to ensure London’s 1 million older people receive in full what they are entitled to. ## Regenerating town centres The high street is the heartbeat of London’s business community and the current economic conditions make it ever more important to support the high street. When I was elected, there was no comprehensive programme to support the high street despite long-term decline in many areas of London. Under my Mayoralty, a total of £221 million is being invested in regeneration across London’s boroughs. This investment will help riot-affected areas, improve high streets, protect existing jobs as well as delivering growth and new jobs. This includes: - Outer London Fund. The £50 million Outer London Fund64 is a three-year initiative launched in June 2011. It is designed to strengthen the vibrancy and growth of London’s high streets and local areas. - Regeneration Fund. The £50 million Regeneration Fund65 is designed to help make major long-term improvements to the capital’s town centres and high streets damaged by last summer’s riots. - London Enterprise Fund. The £20 million London Enterprise Fund66 is designed to fund major regeneration of Tottenham and Croydon, two of the worst hit areas in last summer’s riots. - External Funding. A further £57 million from external funding67 has been raised in match funding from other private and public-sector partners. This is expected to rise to £60 million once new contracts are signed. - Growing Places Fund. London has secured £41 million from the Government’s Growing Places Fund68, designed to boost economic growth by getting the required infrastructure built to enable the creation of new homes and jobs and get stalled projects moving again. This fund will be overseen by the London Enterprise Panel. 61 GLA website, Older People; GLA, Mayor’s Questions, 14 December 2011 62 George Osborne, Budget Statement, 21 March 2012 63 David Cameron, Hansard, 1 February 2012 64 Mayor of London, Press Release, Mayor’s Outer London Fund goes live, 13 June 2011 65 GLA Website, Mayor’s regeneration fund,; GLA, Press Release, Mayor to invest £50 million in long term regeneration of capital’s damaged town centres, 11 August 2011 66 Mayor of London, Press Release, £20m to transform Tottenham and Croydon following riots, 17 August 2011 67 Mayor of London, Mayor's Questions, 22 February 2012 68 London Enterprise Panel, The Growing Places Fund in London, February 2012 In total 75 schemes designed to improve local places⁶⁹ and local economies will be funded, 26 local boroughs will have benefitted from this investment, and none of this would have been possible without my intervention. This includes: * £23 million for Croydon⁷⁰, including a support package to attract business, create more space for pedestrians and improve the transport interchange around West Croydon station, and improvements to the main high street. * Over £5 million being invested in Bromley town centre⁷¹ to help around 500 businesses. * Nearly £2 million being invested in Harrow town centre to improve access and support business, including an empty shops initiative⁷². * £10.6 million to revitalise Peckham Rye Station and the surrounding area⁷³. * £6.85 million into Southall High Street⁷⁴, including transforming a disused heritage building into a restaurant which would see around 1,500 young people trained during the next Mayoral term⁷⁵. I will continue to drive this programme of investment across London, regenerating high streets and economies and making sure that local people benefit from the results. ## London Growth Fund It is critical we continue to stimulate London’s economy. I successfully lobbied the Chancellor ahead of this year’s Budget, and secured £70 million specifically to boost economic growth across the capital⁷⁶. I intend to use some of this funding to help restore confidence in lending to SMEs. This would complement the Government’s scheme by focussing on growing existing companies and increasing the number of jobs in them rather than start-ups. Working with partners such as the Federation of Small Businesses and professional organisations to administer this scheme, I will make available up to £35 million for loans, and will seek to attract private-sector funding to double the size and scope of this fund to £50 million, including the remaining European Regional Development Funds worth £10 million. The fund would provide average loans of around £100,000 for each company, and if successful in attracting other funds, could drive growth for around 500 companies. The funding would be a loan enabling repayments to be used again and again to help more small businesses in London throughout my next term. The fund will be managed on our behalf by private-sector fund managers contracted through the London Enterprise Panel. ## Business Improvement Districts I have supported the expansion of business improvement districts (BIDs). These have been instrumental in upgrading retail areas as well as industrial parks, and there are now around 25 across the capital. Under a BID, which is a private enterprise, local businesses work with the borough council and others, and are balloted on improvements they would like to see within the area to improve trade, such as greater security, cleaning up the local environment, or more promotional activity. Once improvements have been decided on, they are funded through a levy of businesses within the district. A number of BIDs are being created, including Wimbledon, Orpington, and Sutton, and I will support the creation of further BIDs, working with boroughs and businesses to double the number to 50 in the next four years, focusing on town centres such as Bromley, Enfield, Richmond and Romford. ⁶⁹ GLA Website, Mayor’s regeneration fund; GLA Website, Outer London Fund; GLA Website, Investing in growth ⁷⁰ Mayor of London, Press Release, Help me make Croydon great again’ Mayor tells investors, 22 November 2011 ⁷¹ The London Borough of Bromley, Press Release, Market testing underway for plans to improve Bromley Town Centre, 20 February 2012 ⁷² GLA Website, Outer London Fund ⁷³ Mayor of London, Press Release, Mayor investing £177 million to regenerate capital, 17 January 2012, ⁷⁴ Mayor of London, Press Release, Mayor investing £177 million to regenerate capital, 17 January 2012, ⁷⁵ Ealing Council, Press Release, Southall cash injection totals nearly £7m, 18 January 2012 ⁷⁶ HM Treasury, Budget 2012, 21 March 2012, p. 42 ## Volunteering Since 2008, I have supported a wide range of volunteering activities which increase our sense of community and improve our shared experience of life in London. Based on the successful Cities of Service model, developed by Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York, and now operational in 100 other US cities, I have set up Team London. The purpose of the programme is to focus effort in areas where volunteering is likely to have the most impact and to set clear objectives to measure progress. I have committed £2.6 million, which has been matched by philanthropic support, to projects which support young people to reduce crime and improve community cohesion. This includes supporting the successful current scheme to help over 600 people aged over 60 to learn and improve their IT skills⁷⁷. Over the last year, through my Team London programme, City Hall has provided funding for more than 600 people aged over 60 to gain or improve IT skills with help from young volunteers aged 16-18. This has given people the opportunity to learn how to use email and Skype to access online information on local services and keep in touch with their family. ## Diamond Jubilee The number of people living alone in London has doubled since the 1970s and is expected to triple by 2020⁷⁸. It is therefore important we reduce the sense of isolation and loneliness that some older people can feel living in London. There are a number of ways the Mayor can help to do this. I have been determined to foster a greater sense of community by appointing a Street Party Ambassador and through my support of the Big Lunch, which has hosted a number of successful events to help bring communities together and foster a sense of neighbourliness, including street parties for the Royal Wedding. I want to continue to champion this great work. This year I will strongly support the Big Jubilee Lunch to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. I will work with partners to encourage well over 1,000 street parties across Greater London to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee, presenting a fantastic opportunity for neighbours to come together and support older people who might otherwise spend the time alone. 77 Team London website http://www.london.gov.uk/teamlondon 78 http://www.london.gov.uk/media/press_releases_mayoral/boris-and-bab%E2%80%99s-big-lunch-bash # Value from the Olympics BETTER OFF WITH BORIS * Cutting council tax * More police * Investing in transport * Growing London's economy Boris Johnson Conservatives ## My 9 point plan for a Greater London 1. Cutting waste at City Hall – freeing up £3.5 billion for services. 2. Putting £445 back in your pocket by freezing the Mayoral share of council tax. 3. Creating 200,000 new jobs over the next four years. 4. Making our streets and homes safer with 1,000 more police on the beat. 5. Restoring 300 acres of green space and planting 20,000 street trees. 6. Investing £221 million to transform local high streets, supporting small businesses. 7. Ensuring a true Olympic legacy - 11,000 new homes and 10,000 new jobs. 8. Reducing Tube delays 30% by 2015. Building Crossrail and orbital rail to link our suburbs. Extending the Bike Hire scheme. 9. Securing a better deal for London from No 10. *Value from the Olympics details point 7 of my plan for Greater London, explains my Olympic Games pledges in addition to those listed in the 9 point plan for Greater London, and shows how they link-in with the whole plan.* 4 Value from the Olympics ## Introduction Dear Londoner, This election comes at a critical time. Londoners are going through tough times but the Olympic and Paralympic Games present a huge opportunity to grow our economy. The choices we make now will determine whether we fully grasp this opportunity or squander it. This year the capital will experience a summer like no other. London will become the first city in history to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games three times1. It is also the first host city in history to finish building the Olympic stadium a year early – not just ahead of time, but under budget2. The Olympic and Paralympic Games are about far more than just six weeks of amazing sport. I have worked to ensure they will lead to lasting economic, social and sporting benefits for London. I have ensured that these are the first Games where a host city has been building-in the legacy from the beginning. However, seven years ago we may have won the Games but there was a real risk the opportunity they present would be squandered. Costs had quadrupled. There was no legacy plan. Taxpayers’ money was being wasted on unnecessary venues which would have become white elephants, while great venues across the capital were being under utilised or ignored. It was clear that there was no serious consideration of how to manage the huge influx of people expected for the Games and to minimise the disruption for ordinary Londoners. I have worked with the Olympic authorities to turn this around. I have co-chaired the Olympic Board, overseeing the entire project. I promised to keep costs low, and the Games will not cost London council taxpayers a penny more than pledged3. I scrapped plans for unnecessary new venues and used existing venues across the capital, saving tens of millions of pounds and ensuring all parts of London feel part of the Games4. I have put in place a credible legacy plan, creating thousands of jobs and ensuring a major economic boost to the capital5. I have ensured the Olympic travel plans minimise disruption for Londoners and have greatly reduced the amount of Games Lanes. I will go further: I will guarantee that the Olympic Legacy does not cost Londoners a penny more on their council tax. I will also ensure absolute transparency as the legacy plans transfer to the Mayor, requiring all expenditure to be published so Londoners know how money is being spent. I will make sure that after the closing ceremony all Londoners continue to benefit from the hard work and investment of the last four years. That is why, using new powers secured from the Government, I have set up a new Mayoral Development Corporation to take responsibility for the Olympic Park. This will reduce the number of bodies involved, bringing focus and safeguarding the economic legacy of the Games by implementing our detailed plans to build 11,000 new homes and create 10,000 new jobs. I will use my good strong relations with the business community to make use of London’s great talent and expertise. 1. International Olympic Committee, Factsheet, *The Games of the Olympiad*, January 2010 2. GLA Website, *Why the London Olympics mean business*, 18 February 2011 3. Mayor of London, Press Release, *Mayor delivers on unprecedented second freeze in City Hall’s share of council tax*, 10 February 2010 4. GLA, Mayor Questions, 14 November 2009 5. Mayor of London, Press Release, *Mayor announces £20m programme to get London’s unemployed into Olympic jobs*, 17 March 2010 the Games venues⁶ with strong interest in taking on some of the venues, including the Olympic Stadium. And I will explore creating a new science institute in the Olympic Park to boost London’s hi-tech economy, including lobbying for the proposed Cell Therapy Technology and Innovation Centre to be located there. We have made progress despite difficult times. At the Mayoral election on 3rd May this progress is at risk. The choice at this election is between a plan to ensure a true Olympic legacy that keeps costs low and putting the legacy at risk by cutting investment and damaging the city’s international reputation. Boris Johnson 6 GLA, *Olympic Park Legacy Corporation*, February 2011 ## 6 Value from the Olympics ## My Priorities for a Greater London ## Delivering the Games on budget - Ensure value for money for Londoners from the events and legacy this year: * Deliver the 2012 Games on time and on budget. * Ensure that the Olympic legacy does not cost London taxpayers a penny more in council tax. - Publish our legacy expenditure so Londoners can see how it is spent. - Constructively lead London’s relations with international partners this summer to bring new investment and jobs to our city: * Work with our tourism industry to capitalise on the high profile of summer 2012 for longer lasting campaigns. * Host London House – an international investment showcase to attract business – at City Hall. - Provide an Olympics for all Londoners: * Expand grassroots sporting legacy through £30 million programme benefitting over 250,000 Londoners. * Oversee London Ambassadors programme with over 8,000 volunteers and ensure their continued engagement in volunteering programmes. * Upgrade the ‘Look and Feel’ of London with £50,000 already provided to every borough to ensure the capital looks its best for the Games. - Enthuse young Londoners with a successful Games: * Guarantee 125,000 school children get Olympic and Paralympic tickets. * Work with the Government to deliver a successful National Schools Championship for London schools. - Keep London moving during the Games, and open the Olympic Route Network to taxi drivers and other motorists. ## Delivering an economic legacy - Transform East London through development, investment, and better transport links, including: * Oversee the Mayoral Development Corporation to secure the Olympic Legacy and create 10,000 new jobs. * Deliver 11,000 homes on the Olympic Park, including a community-led development at Cobham Manor. - Ensure the Olympic Stadium is commercially viable with naming rights, concerts and sports facilities before the Games start in July 2012. * Explore creating a new science institute in the Olympic Park, including lobbying to bring the proposed Cell Therapy Technology and Innovation Centre to the Park. * Manage London’s finances responsibly, including selling Olympic venues to ensure we pay back the debt. * Ensure all Londoners can benefit from new affordable housing at East Village. ## Delivering the Olympics on budget I will: * Ensure Greater London benefits from the events and legacy this year: * Deliver the 2012 Games on time and on budget. * Ensure that the Olympic Legacy does not cost London taxpayers a penny more in council tax. * Publish our legacy expenditure so Londoners can see how it is spent. * Constructively lead London’s relations with international partners this summer to bring new investment and jobs to our city: * Work with our tourism industry to capitalise on the high profile of summer 2012 for longer lasting campaigns. * Host London House – an international investment showcase to attract business – at City Hall. * Provide an Olympics for all Londoners: * Expand grassroots sporting legacy through £30 million programme benefitting over 250,000 Londoners. * Oversee London Ambassadors programme with over 8,000 volunteers and ensure their continued engagement in volunteering programmes. * Upgrade the ‘Look and Feel’ of London with £50,000 already provided to every borough to ensure the capital looks its best for the Games. * Enthuse young Londoners with a successful Games: * Guarantee 125,000 school children get Olympic and Paralympic tickets. * Work with the Government to deliver a successful National Schools Championship for London schools. * Keep London moving during the Games, and open the Olympic Route Network to taxi drivers and other motorists. ## Getting the Games back on track Londoners have invested in the Games; I promise to ensure Greater London benefits from the events and legacy this year. In 2008, there was a real risk that the fantastic opportunity offered by the Olympic and Paralympic Games would be squandered. There was no concrete legacy plan, costs had quadrupled, and money was being poured into unnecessary venues. My predecessor promised in July 2005 that the Games would cost £2.375 billion⁷, only for the budget to nearly quadruple by March 2007 to £9.325 billion⁸. Yet just a few months earlier, in December 2006, Ken Livingstone told BBC Radio 4’s *The World at One*, that ‘talk about £10 billion is rubbish’⁹. As soon as I became Mayor in 2008 I began working with my team to turn things around. We halted soaring costs, stopped building unnecessary venues, and put in place a proper plan to create a lasting economic and sporting legacy. In these difficult economic times, the 2012 Games will now show off this city as the best big city on earth. 7 GLA legacy website, *The Olympic Games bid explained* 8 Public Accounts Committee, *The budget for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games*, 31 March 2008, p. 3 9 Daily Mail, *Olympics will make profit claims London’s mayor*, 28 December 2006 I have co-chaired the Olympic Board, which oversees, coordinates and monitors the entire 2012 Games project. This has delivered: * The Olympic stadium on time and under budget$^{10}$. The Stadium in Stratford was completed in March 2011, taking just 1,000 working days$^{11}$. * Savings worth millions by using existing facilities, including scrapping the proposal for a £25 million Gymnastics and Badminton venue in Greenwich which had no legacy benefits. I have ensured that existing facilities at Wembley Arena are used instead, saving taxpayers £20 million$^{12}$. * A lasting landmark and major tourist attraction in the Olympic Park - the ArcelorMittal Orbit. Built with the support of private sponsorship it boasts spectacular views over the Olympic Park and London from its 115 metre high viewing platform$^{13}$. * A transformed East London through development, investment and improved transport links, with expansion and upgrades to Stratford station, the DLR, London Overground and river services. In these crucial last few months, I will continue to personally lead on the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and ensure they are delivered on time and on budget. I will also publish all legacy expenditure so that Londoners can see how it is spent. ## Keeping down the cost to Londoners I pledged that the 2012 Games would not cost Londoners a penny more in their council tax than had been previously agreed, and I have delivered on that pledge$^{14}$. I have frozen my share of council tax for three consecutive years and cut it this year. This includes the £20 precept for a Band D property that is levied for the Olympic Games. This equates to 38 pence a week for the average London home$^{15}$. Under my leadership, the cost to every London taxpayer of the Games has not risen and will remain 38 pence a week$^{16}$ for a Band D property. I will ensure there is no increase to the London council tax payer after the Olympics. ## Constructively lead London’s relations with international partners this summer to bring new investment and jobs to our city It is vital that London and Londoners are represented positively at the Olympics – Britain’s biggest moment in the global spotlight for decades. I will work constructively to showcase our city to international businesses and investors. ## International Investors It is critical we use the Games to showcase London as the best big city in the world to invest in, but we must do so without squandering taxpayers money on unnecessary gimmicks. When I was elected, one of my first acts was to reduce the extravagance of the London presence in Beijing for the last Olympics and Paralympic 10 GLA. *Press Release, Why the London Olympics mean business*,18 February 2011 11 London 2012, *Press Release, Olympic Stadium construction complete, 29 March 2011; The Evening Standard, An Olympic effort: 80,000-seat stadium is declared finished*, 29 March 2011 12 GLA, *Mayor Questions*, 14 November 2009 13 GLA, *Press Release, Anish Kapoor to design iconic visitor attraction for Olympic Park*, 31 March 2010 14 Mayor of London, *Press Release, Mayor delivers on unprecedented second freeze in City Hall’s share of council tax*, 10 February 2010 15 Mayor of London, *Mayor’s Background Statement in support of his Draft Consolidated Budget for 2011-12, 2011*, p. 6 16 GLA, *The Greater London Authority Consolidated Budget and Component Budgets for 2011-12, February 2011*, p. 68 Games. I reduced the £4 million cost of the London delegation by over a quarter¹⁷– not by reducing the quality of London’s offer but by reducing the vanity costs, such as 18 of Gordon Ramsay’s chefs who were to be flown out to provide food for those working in the business area¹⁸. I instructed that the proposal was redesigned to create London House as a place designed to do business and stimulate investment. This summer I will host London House at City Hall itself, ensure the world’s top international investors come to London during the Games, and show them first-hand the opportunities our city offers. It will create fantastic opportunities for business and will help to deliver the best possible economic legacy for London. ## Grassroots sport: an Olympics for all Londoners I committed to creating a sporting legacy and have funded sports projects in every London borough. I have set out my ambitions in ‘A Sporting Future for London’ and established the London Community Sports Board, chaired by Kate Hoey MP, which brings together a range of sporting groups to promote facilities, skills and participation. I have provided £15.5 million for grassroots sport¹⁹. This has been match funded, providing well over £30 million and benefiting over 250,000 Londoners²⁰. The funding includes the Freesport project which has provided grants of up to £1,500 to around 300 local sports clubs²¹ across the capital. Successful projects include freestyle gymnastics in Hounslow, family badminton in Barnet, and cricket coaching in Kennington. ## London Ambassadors I want to ensure that London looks its best for the millions of visitors who will come to the capital, and the billions around the globe who will watch the Games broadcast. This is more than just delivering an unforgettable Games from the Opening to the Closing Ceremony. This is about the “look and feel” of every corner of the capital itself – whether the Host Boroughs, the West End, or the whole of Greater London. That is why I will make sure visitors have a fantastic welcome to London through our London Ambassadors programme. This comprises 8,000 host volunteers welcoming people from the point at which they arrive in the capital to the Olympic Park²². And I will make best use of the opportunities presented by the 90 official training camps, based across the capital for athletes, to bring local business opportunities, and by attracting huge numbers of people to enjoy the games establishing Olympic Live Sites in Victoria Park, Hyde Park, and Trafalgar Square. But once the Games finish, I don’t want to lose the skills, experience and dedication of those who have volunteered to be London Ambassadors. So I will offer every Ambassador the opportunity to become engaged in volunteering activities through Team London, from helping young people with reading through to cleaning and greening the capital. I will also explore whether we can repeat the London Ambassadors project for other sporting events the capital will host in the future. 17. GLA, Press Release, Mayor chairs his first Olympic Board meeting and reveals London’s plans for Beijing Games, 12 June 2008; Evening Standard, Boris cuts £1m off cost of Beijing Games trip, 15 March 2008 18. GLA, Press Release, Mayor chairs his first Olympic Board meeting and reveals London’s plans for Beijing Games, 12 June 2008 19. Mayor of London, A Sporting future for London report, April 2009, p. 9 20. Mayor of London, A Sporting future for London report, April 2009, p. 9 21. Mayor of London, Press Release, Mayor gives community sports facilities a boost with £1m cash injection, 23 November 2011 22. Mayor of London, Press Release, Mayor begins search for London Ambassadors, 27 July 2010 BBC Sport Online, London unveils “fantastic” 2012 Olympics plans, 29 March 2010 ## Look and Feel As part of our efforts to make London look its best for the Games, I have started a major programme to improve the look and feel23 of the whole capital. It is critical the world will see all that London has to offer by improving the look and feel of London. So I have given £50,000 to every London borough to spend on dressing their area so that all Londoners, including those in Greater London, will feel involved in the 2012 Games24. And we will continue working with businesses, creative organisations, hotel groups, boroughs and London & Partners, London’s international promotional agency. We are planning a summer like no other, building on the momentum of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee to welcome the world for the Games. That is why I am giving every school in London a Union flag to mark the Queen’s Jubilee, and demonstrate our pride in the capital. Across London we are working to create a party atmosphere with flags, banners, light displays and installations using some famous landmarks, like Big Ben. I also want to leave a physical legacy that will benefit Londoners in the future and I have secured substantial sponsorship to upgrade the lighting of Tower Bridge in central London25 to create a spectacular display of colour for the Games. There will also be a fully accessible walkway along the South Bank for disabled users, and improvements to the public realm in east London, including “High Street 2012”. And I am introducing other schemes, such as the “Love Clean London”, application launched in March 2011, to engage Londoners in reducing litter and helping clean up the capital26. I will also continue to work with the Government to put on the Cultural Olympiad, to showcase London’s creativity. ## Enthuse young Londoners It is particularly important that the 2012 Games engage young Londoners. I promised that 125,000 London school children would get tickets to the Olympic and Paralympic Games27. I launched the “Get Set” programme, delivering 125,000 tickets to children aged between 10-18 years old, at London schools covering 92 per cent of London’s school children – at no cost to the children, the schools or the taxpayer28. This includes: - around 23,000 tickets for events in the Olympic Park, including the Stadium for track and field sports, and the Aquatics Centre; - 18,500 tickets for events across London including Beach Volleyball at Horseguards Parade and Archery at Lord’s Cricket Ground; - more than 5,500 tickets for sports at venues on the outskirts of the capital, including rowing at Eton Dorney; - The remaining 60,000 tickets will give youngsters access to the 2012 Paralympics Games athletics events being held in the Olympic Stadium29. I will also work with the Government to ensure a successful National Schools Championship for London schools. I will explore what more can be done for amateur sports clubs across the capital to get involved, in particular if they work with local school children and vulnerable young Londoners, to ensure they benefit from the discipline and motivation that sport can offer. 23. Mayor of London, Press Release, London to get dressed for 2012 Games, 31 May 2011 24. Mayor of London, Press Release, Eco-makeover of iconic Tower Bridge gets ‘green light’, 8 November 2011 25. Mayor of London Press Release, Mayor launches assault on ‘grime-crime’ ahead of Olympic year, March 2011. 26. Mayor of London, Press Release, One in eight London schoolchildren to get free tickets to 2012 Games,15 October 2010 27. Mayor of London, Press Release, Get Set for a summer like no other - Mayor and Seb Coe announce 2012 ticket windfall for London’s schools, 2 February 2012 28. Mayor of London, Press Release, Mayor calls on London’s schools to make one last push and ‘Get Set’ for the Games, 6 December 2011 29. GLA, legacy website, The 2012 Olympic Games and transport ## Keep London moving during the Games I am acutely aware of the concerns some Londoners have about the potential impact of the 2012 Games on their everyday travel plans. I have worked hard with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) to minimise disruption for Londoners, and have instructed Transport for London to put in place detailed planning. This includes operating a “blue light” system on the London Underground, to get repairs fixed as quickly as possible using the emergency services to transport spare parts and engineers to the repair site. ## Olympic Route Network In response to the frustration expressed by Londoners, I have sought to minimise and open-up the Olympic Route Network (ORN), the so-called Olympic Lanes, which are used by athletes and Olympic officials during the Games. I inherited a proposal from Ken Livingstone which would have seen 240 kilometres dedicated to Games lanes^30^, and have negotiated 75 kilometres^31^ - a third of what it would have been under my predecessor. The ORN is restricted to just 1 per cent of London’s road network^32^, and I have encouraged officials to use public transport at every possible opportunity. Furthermore, following recent negotiations with LOCOG, I will also ensure the ORN will be opened up to ordinary motorists during times of low use^33^ – reportedly the first time in the history of the Games this will have happened. Many taxi drivers are also rightly concerned that everything is being done to allow them to do their job during the 2012 Games this summer. I have worked hard to find opportunities for them to make use of the ORN at certain times and have set up a range of dedicated communications channels to make sure they are fully informed. The Games are a great opportunity for London’s cabbies to help show the city at its best and I am determined to help them do that. I have insisted on a number of concessions, specifically for taxis to use turns along the network that were initially banned for all traffic except buses. Locations where additional flexibility for taxis has already been agreed include: * The northbound nearside Games Lane on Gloucester Place (north of Marylebone Road). * Lisson Grove (northbound) right turn in to St John’s Wood Road (eastbound) – taxis will have access to the northbound offside Games Lane on Lisson Grove to make this right turn. * Right turn from Marylebone Road at Balcombe Street to provide access into Marylebone Station. ## Olympic security A key responsibilty for the Mayor is to deliver a safer Olympic Games. Through my strengthened powers with the Mayor’s Office of Policing and Crime, I will oversee the biggest policing operation in living memory with the Olympic and Paralympic Games. I will work closely with the Commissioner and his team to ensure we achieve the twin tasks of keeping the city safe and securing the 2012 Games. 30 Letter from Hugh Sumner, ODA to Caroline Pigeon, Transport Committee, 3 January 2012 31 DCMS Select Committee, Written evidence submitted by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (OLY 04), London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, 13 February 2012 32 Mayor of London, *Mayor’s Questions*, 22 February 2012, 0753/2012 33 Parliament Website, *Written evidence submitted by VisitBritain to Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee*, January 2010 14 Value from the Olympics ## Delivering an economic legacy I will: - Transform East London through development; investment; and better transport links, including: * Oversee the Mayoral Development Corporation to secure the Olympic Legacy and create 10,000 new jobs. * Deliver 11,000 homes on the Olympic Park, including a community-led development at Cobham Manor. * Ensure the Olympic Stadium is commercially viable with naming rights, concerts and sports facilities. * Explore creating a new science institute in the Olympic Park. * Lobby the Government for the proposed Cell Therapy Technology and Innovation Centre to be based in the Park. - Manage London’s finances responsibly, including selling the site to ensure we pay back the debt. - Ensure all Londoners can benefit from new affordable housing at East Village. When I was elected, there was a real risk that the fantastic opportunities provided by the 2012 Games to deliver widespread economic benefits would be squandered. There were no legacy plans in place for the Olympic Park. Working hard together with the Government, boroughs, and the Olympic Delivery Authority we have now put together a strong and credible legacy plan, which will realise the full potential of the investment which has gone into the Park and deliver a lasting, major economic boost for Londoners. ## Mayoral Development Corporation To guarantee that legacy, using new powers which I persuaded the Government to give City Hall, I have set up a Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC), which will come into being on 1 April 2012. The MDC significantly reduces the number of public bodies involved in delivering the legacy, relieving costs on the public purse, bringing focus and making it more accountable to the Mayor and Londoners. The MDC also streamlines and accelerates the planning system in and around the Olympic Park, to ensure it is developed in-line with the wishes of local communities and the strong engagement of the boroughs. I will also ensure absolute transparency over the legacy costs by requiring the MDC to publish all expenditure, so that Londoners know how money is spent, including the expenses of staff, and seek to make efficiencies where possible. ## Boosting London’s economy The preparations for the Games have already brought significant economic benefits to the business community, and have been available to all – not just big business but small and medium sized firms as well. This boost is something which all Londoners can benefit from, whether a taxi driver or a coffee shop owner. It is estimated that the Games will provide a sustained economic boost worth £5.1 billion by 2015, and I am determined to harness those benefits for the capital, during which time the world’s attention will be focused on London as never before. Our plans will help facilitate an additional £1.6 billion34 worth of extra positive media coverage for Britain and are predicted to bring a £750 million consumer spending boost35, with 5.5 million day-visitors during the Games themselves and nearly 300,000 staying overseas visitors, primarily in London. 34 Visa Europe, A Golden Opportunity: London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games expenditure and economic impact, p. 2 35 DCMS, Plans for the Legacy from the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, December 2010 The construction of the venues and creation of the Olympic Park has generated significant contracts for businesses, large and small, with UK companies now well placed to export their knowledge and skills abroad to secure more work, as well as providing major employment opportunities for people across London, particularly within the Host Boroughs. These opportunities include: * 98 per cent of the £5.5 billion worth of Olympic contracts have gone to UK-based companies³⁶ with two thirds going to small or medium sized enterprises³⁷. * 1,500 UK firms have won over £6.3 billion of ODA contracts³⁸, with 68 per cent of firms micro-businesses or SMEs³⁹. * LOCOG is procuring a further £1 billion worth of goods and services from the open market⁴⁰. * Over 10,000 contract opportunities have been made available via CompeteFor⁴¹, the brokerage service set up for the Games and now used for many other major projects. * 4 million extra people are expected to visit the UK over the next 4 years⁴². The additional spend by visitors to the UK during these 4 years is expected to be £2 billion⁴³. As well as supporting jobs and employment: * 25,000 people working on the Olympic Park site itself for more than five days⁴⁴. * Over 25,000 previously unemployed Londoners have been assisted into jobs as part of the Olympics employment programme, including 457 construction apprenticeships⁴⁵. * 46,000 people have worked on the Olympic Park and Village⁴⁶. Over 8,500 residents in the 6 Host Boroughs have worked on the Olympic Park and Village⁴⁷. ## Olympic Park The Olympic Park itself has gone through an astounding transformation. Two million tonnes of soil have been cleared, electricity pylons put underground, rivers and waterways cleaned and restored. Four thousand semi-mature trees have been planted, over 300,000 wetland plants bedded, and more than ten football fields worth of nectar-rich annual and perennial meadows designed and sown to flower during the Games. And not only will it provide a backdrop for the Games, but also a new green space afterwards for people and wildlife living in and around the area to enjoy. Not since Georgian England has London seen such an ambitious and comprehensive vision for a new district. Five new neighbourhoods with up to 11,000 new homes will be created around the Park⁴⁸, each with its own distinct character – with modern squares and terraces, riverside living, a mix of apartments and houses, all close to the facilities communities need to develop and grow. Around 40 per cent will be family-sized homes⁴⁹, and will be in addition to the 2,818 homes from the Athletes’ Village⁵⁰. There will be eleven new schools and nurseries and three health centres. 36. DCMS, _Plans for the Legacy from the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics_, December 2010 37. London2012 Website, _London 2012 Media Fact Pack_ 38. ODA, Press Release, _UK businesses grabbing golden London 2012 opportunities_, 9 September 2009 39. London2012 Website, _London 2012 Media Fact Pack_ 40. LDA, Press Release, _CompeteFor posts 10,000th chance to strike gold_, 29 November 2011 41. DCMS, _Government Tourism Policy_, March 2011, p. 4 42. DCMS, _Government Tourism Policy_, March 2011, p. 4 43. ODA, _ODA Facts and Figures_, p. 1 44. London2012 Website, _London 2012 Media Fact Pack_ 45. London2012 Website, _London 2012 Media Fact Pack_ 46. London2012 Website, _London 2012 Media Fact Pack_ 47. Mayor of London, Press Release, _Mayor announces world class cycling festival_, 26 Jan 2012 48. Olympic Park Legacy Company website, _Homes_ 49. Olympic Delivery Authority, _Olympic Village London Preliminary Information Memorandum_, September 2010 50. BBC Website, _Westfield Stratford City shopping centre opens_, 13 September 2011 ## Value from the Olympics The development of the 500 acres of the Olympic park and the surrounding area is the biggest regeneration project for London for the next 25 years. Londoners are already benefitting from the opening of the Westfield shopping centre at Stratford which has created over 8500 permanent jobs⁵¹ – reportedly the largest urban shopping centre in Europe. It is bringing a major area of East London back to life, providing a boost for the London economy. I have helped oversee the sale of the Athletes’ Village, now called East Village, and negotiated a deal to see that a proportion of the homes for social rent are made available to households across the whole of London, and am supporting plans to bring forward the Cobham Manor site to develop thousands of homes and an initial 10,000 jobs, including part of the site to be a community-led development through a Community Land Trust⁵². After the Games, along with a legacy of world class sporting facilities in the main stadium, the Velodrome, Aquatics Centre and main indoor arena, the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park will undergo another transformation. It will become a real centre, with thousands of new homes, new businesses, new jobs and a new visitor attraction in the ArcelorMittal Orbit that will draw people to come to the area and see the changes in east London for themselves. The 2012 Games will leave a lasting transport legacy, with improvements to Stratford station, the DLR, London Overground and river services. There will also be a lasting tourism legacy, with an extra 1.1 million tourists expected to visit London in the five years after the games as a result of the Games effect⁵³. ## Olympic venues I have helped to enhance the commercial viability of the Stadium, which will offer naming rights, concerts and sports facilities, and will use my constructive relationship with the business community to guarantee it is a future success, with a competition seeking users of the Olympic Stadium launched last December and closing last week. I will ensure through responsible management of the finances that the Stadium’s future is set before the Games begin. The Athlete’s Village has already been sold, and we are ensuring that the fantastic venues we have created as part of the Games have uses after the Closing ceremony, without being a burden on the taxpayer, whether the Aquatics Centre or the media centres. For example, the OLPC has already shortlisted three bidders who want to be the long-term tenant of the Press and Broadcast Centres, with the bids ranging from a cloud computing centre, a research lab and digital hub, a sports-led mixed-use ‘village’ and technology centre, and a dedicated fashion centre that would be a world-class destination for wholesalers, buyers and the creative industries. I have also supported Britain’s successful bid to host the World Athletics Championship at the Olympic Stadium in 2017 – the first time Britain has hosted the championship, which is one of the world’s largest competitions after the football World Cup and Olympic and Paralympic Games itself. ## Boosting London’s hi-tech economy The Olympic Park could provide a focus for London’s science community, and provide a major boost to the capital’s hi-tech economy. This would boost London’s hi-tech economy focusing on science, technology and graduate-level research, to expand the capital’s supply of technologically-skilled workers, with the potential to become a centre of a wider web of collaborations among international, UK and local academic institutions and the private sector to attract inward investment to the area. I will also strongly support the creation of a new science institute in the Olympic Park, lobbying for the proposed Cell Therapy Technology and Innovation Centre to be located in the Olympic Park, as a focus for developing London’s biotechnology sector, and exploring plans for a major new campus on the scale of Michael Bloomberg’s new university in New York City. 51 GLA, Mayors Questions, 0393/2012, 22 February 2012 52 London & Partners, 2012, *The Facts and the Fun* 53 Mayor of London, Press Release, *Mayor unveils £30m plans to kick-start London’s ‘Green Enterprise District’*, 27 May 2010 ## Transforming East London The impact of the 2012 Games is not restricted to the Olympic Park itself. Its affect will be felt much more broadly, across the whole of East London, with an arc of opportunity that runs down to Silvertown and the Royal Docks to say nothing of the impetus it gives developments across the whole of London. After years of inaction and lost opportunity, we are now seeing the area surrounding the Olympic Park come alive. In spite of the tough economic conditions, the pace of change is accelerating. I have persuaded the Government to give the area Enterprise Zone status in the 2011 Budget. I have established a new Green Enterprise District, stretching across East London, which aims to attract new investment and develop new low-carbon skills and technologies⁵⁴. I have also persuaded electronics giant Siemens to invest £30 million in a new exhibition and conference centre for sustainable technologies, which is expected to attract around 100,000 visitors a year⁵⁵. And I have secured private sponsorship to support a new cable car spanning the Thames to take visitors between the Royal Docks to the Greenwich Peninsula. I will continue this progress, creating thousands of jobs, including more than 9,000 jobs through the development of the Silvertown Quay site⁵⁶. This site will see the development of pavillion space for top brands to showcase the future of their products, providing 228,570 square meters of commercial and retail space and generating an estimated £3 billion of additional economic benefits for Greater London. 54 Mayor of London, Press Release, *Mayor unveils £30m plans to kick-start London’s ‘Green Enterprise District’*, 27 May 2010 55 The Telegraph, *London Mayor Boris Johnson hails £1.2m plan for derelict city area*, 17 March 2012 56 The Telegraph, *London Mayor Boris Johnson hails £1.2m plan for derelict city area*, 17 March 2012 # Uniting Londoners **BETTER OFF WITH BORIS** * Cutting council tax * More police * Investing in transport * Growing London's economy Boris Johnson Conservatives # My 9 point plan for a Greater London 1. Cutting waste at City Hall – freeing up £3.5 billion for services. 2. I have put £445 back in your pocket by freezing the Mayoral share of council tax over the last 3 years. Now I will cut it by 10% if re-elected. 3. Creating 200,000 new jobs over the next four years. 4. Making our streets and homes safer with 1,000 more police on the beat. 5. Restoring 300 acres of green space and planting 20,000 street trees. 6. Investing £221 million to transform local high streets, supporting small businesses. 7. Ensuring a true Olympic legacy – 11,000 new homes and 10,000 new jobs. 8. Reducing Tube delays 30% by 2015. Building Crossrail and orbital rail to link our suburbs. Extending the Bike Hire scheme. 9. Securing a better deal for London from No 10. 4 Uniting Londoners ## Introduction Dear Londoner, I am proud that London is a fantastically diverse city, boasting not just a great cultural and ethnic mix but also a great mix of ages too. Londoners from all backgrounds contribute a huge amount to the capital’s culture and economy. London is one city, with all Londoners, regardless of their age, sexuality, religion, gender or race, able to benefit from the progress London has made over the past four years. It is therefore crucial that the capital has a Mayor who can represent and unite all Londoners, rather than divide communities and play them off against one another. I recognise that there may be aspects of all policies that are particularly important for individual communities, and specific challenges which need addressing. I also believe that fundamentally most Londoners share the same hopes and aspirations, and it is the responsibility of the Mayor to make progress on these priorities. And that is what my 9 Point Plan for a Greater London aims to do. I have put 1,000 extra police officers on London’s streets, persuaded the Government to invest in the modernisation of the transport network with Crossrail and the tube upgrade, and supported the creation of growth with fully costed and deliverable plans for 200,000 new jobs if I am re-elected¹. And in every aspect of the Mayoralty, and every pledge I make, where there is a specific challenge or issue that needs addressing, whether cracking down on hate crimes or making the transport network more accessible to disabled Londoners, I am determined to ensure that City Hall delivers. We have made progress despite tough economic times. At the Mayoral election on 3rd May this progress is at risk. The choice at this election is between taking London backwards to the years of division with a Mayor who tries to play off one group against another for narrow psephological reasons, or to go forward with my plan for uniting Londoners. Boris Johnson 1 GLA, *The Mayor’s Consultation Budget*, 22 December 2011, p.1, HMT, *Comprehensive Spending Review*, 20 October 2010, TfL, *London Underground Factsheet*, January 2012, HMT, *Spending Review*, 22 October 2010, HMT, *Autumn Statement*, 29 November 2011 6 Uniting Londoners ## Creating 200,000 new jobs over the next four years. ### When supporting jobs and economic growth, I will: - Support women back into work by leading a part-time jobs campaign to help parents return to work to create 20,000 part time jobs and exploring how City Hall can support child care provision across the capital. - Support young people into employment with more action on apprenticeships, driving the creation of an average of 1,000 new apprenticeships in London every week. - Extend to apprentices on recognised schemes over the age of 18 the same TfL travel discounts as students in full time education receive, as well as guaranteeing free travel for under 16s and discounted travel for students in full time education. - Help younger Londoners onto the housing ladder by boosting my First Steps programme of low-cost home ownership to help around 25,000 buyers². - Promote to Londoners the Government’s mortgage guarantee scheme which will reduce deposits for 100,000 household³. - Ensure City Hall continues to be a tolerant and diverse workplace, with its workforce reflecting the diversity of London itself, and enter it into Stonewall’s Employers’ Index, at no cost to the public purse⁴. For further details of how creating jobs and apprenticeships will benefit Londoners from every community, please see my *Growing the London economy manifesto*. ## Making our streets and homes safer with 1,000 more police on the beat. ### When tackling crime and overseeing the Metropolitan Police, I will: - Encourage the Met Commissioner’s plans to recruit more ethnic minority Londoners into the force as fully warranted officers, PCSOs, and Special Constables. - Offer, for the first time in Greater London, a 50 per cent rebate on the Mayor’s share of council tax to Special Constables; and call on boroughs to do the same. - Make significant progress towards a force that looks more like London, including lobbying for legislation to allow me to introduce a direct entry scheme to the Met. - Establish Safer Neighbourhood Boards in every borough giving local Londoners and victims a greater voice in setting the priorities for their area policing. - Ensure the Met continues to crack down on hate crimes and homophobic crimes. - Guarantee there remains at least one designated LGBT liaison police officer in every borough, to ensure they are able to deal with homophobic instances sensitively. 2 GLA, London Housing Strategy, December 2011 3 DCLG Press Release, Industry support grows for NewBuy Guarantee, 12 March 2012 4 Pink News, 14 April 2012 - Support women by guaranteeing funding for London’s four Rape Crisis Centres for my entire term⁵. - Launch a pan-London domestic violence service. - Establish a task force to confront female genital mutilation and other harmful cultural practices, including so-called “witchcraft” killings⁶. - Support young people at risk of drifting into gang culture by recruiting 1,000 volunteers to help up to 10,000 young adults through uniformed groups. - Launch 25 Leadership Clubs in secondary schools as part of our work to tackle the underlying causes of last year’s riots. - Work with the Met to double again the 1,000 police cadets in London⁷. - Continue mentoring programmes to help 1,000 vulnerable boys aged 10-16⁸. For further details of how making our streets safer will benefit Londoners from every community, please see my *Fighting Crime in London* manifesto. ## Reducing Tube delays 30% by 2015. ## Building Crossrail and orbital rail to link ## our suburbs. Extending the Bike Hire ## scheme. ### When investing in transport, I will: - Help older Londoners by protecting the 24-hour Freedom Pass and reverse the decision by the previous Labour government to raise the age for which people were eligible, by making it available on Transport for London services to all Londoners from age 60 from 1st September 2012. - Expand step free stations to help disabled Londoners as part of the tube upgrade, expand accessible bus stops to 70 per cent of the network, and protect these upgrades from Ken Livingstone’s plans to take £1.14 billion out of the transport budget⁹. - I know that crime and the fear of crime can have the greatest impact on older Londoners and women. That’s why I will make transport even safer by maintaining funding for the extra police on the transport network for my entire second term which has led to a 30 per cent fall in crime on the Tube¹⁰. For further details of how modernising our transport network will benefit Londoners from every community, please see my *Investing in Transport* manifesto. 5 GLA Press Release, Rape Crisis Centres helping over 1500 women, 25 November 2011 6 GLA, *The way forward*, 8 March 2010 7 Metropolitan Police, *Police Cadets* 8 GLA Website, *Team London* 9 GLA Website, *Transforming the Tube* 10 Mayor of London, *Mayor’s Questions Written Answers 931/2012*, 14 March 2012, Mayor of London Press Release, Mayor highlights crime drop across public transport, 21 Feb 2011 ## 8 Uniting Londoners ## Ensuring a true Olympic legacy – 11,000 new homes and 10,000 new jobs. ### When delivering the Olympics, I will: - Provide an Olympics for all Londoners: - Expand grassroots sporting legacy through £30 million programme benefitting over 250,000 Londoners¹¹. - Oversee London Ambassadors programme with up to 8,000 volunteers and ensure their continued engagement in volunteering programmes¹². - Upgrade the ‘Look and Feel’ of London with £50,000 already provided to every borough to ensure the capital looks its best for the Games¹³. - Enthuse young Londoners with a successful Games: - Guarantee 125,000 school children get Olympic and Paralympic tickets. - Work with the Government to deliver a successful National Schools Championship for London schools. For further details of how delivering a strong Olympic legacy will benefit Londoners from every community, please see my *Value from the Olympics* manifesto. ## Making London the best big city to live in - Guarantee funding to increase the number of street trees planted to 20,000, and use City Hall’s planning powers to require developers to plant more trees. - Invest £6 million to improve 300 acres of green space and work with boroughs to create 100 Pocket Parks across Greater London. - All Londoners are a part of one city, so I will not tolerate any form of bullying whether in the workplace, schools or elsewhere; and call on boroughs to be vigilant about this. - I will continue to support projects like the FIT DVD to secondary schools as a resource to combat homophobic bullying¹⁴. - I will continue to support events like Pride, and ensure the LGBT community are part of the Cultural Olympiad. 11 Mayor of London, *A Sporting future for London report*, April 2009 12 Direct Gov, *Volunteering at the Games* 13 GLA Press Release, *London to get dressed for 2012 Games*, 31 May 2011 14 GLA, *Ending homophobic bullying*, Stonewall, *FIT The Movie* ## Taking ## Greater ## London ## Forward **BETTER** OFF WITH **BORIS** Cutting council tax • More police • Investing in transport • Growing London's economy Conservatives Promoted and printed by Ian Sanderson on behalf of The Conservative Party, both of 30 Millbank, London SW1P 4DP.