A six point plan to cut waste and help keep fares down
Posted by GLA Conservatives in Blog
The GLA Conservatives are proposing a costed six point plan for Transport For London (TfL) in response to today’s forthcoming Department of Transport (DfT) funding announcement.
Richard Tracey, Transport spokesman for the GLA Conservatives, said:
“We have put together a comprehensive package of proposals which will help TfL cut waste, save hundreds of millions of pounds, make it a leaner organisation and reduce its dependence on the whims of Central Government.
“At time when budgets are tight, our proposals – accelerating driverless trains, introducing Tube sponsorship, sorting out gold plated pensions, reforming strike laws and introducing flexible ticketing – will ultimately ensure that transport bosses can continue their vital infrastructure upgrades, bear down on fares for Londoners and keep the Capital moving.”
City Hall small business funding should have specific allocation for young entrepreneurs
GLA Conservatives Assembly Member Steve O’Connell will urge the Mayor to make a specific allocation for young entrepreneurs from the London Enterprise Panel’s recently announced £25 million scheme to raise loan finance for small businesses. Recent data has found that 3 in 10 young people hope to work for themselves while only 5.3% actually are self-employed.*
Steve O’Connell said: “With nearly one in four young Londoners unemployed giving young entrepreneurs the support to be self-employed should be a high priority. The Mayor’s apprenticeship program has helped thousands of young Londoners get a valuable first step on the employment ladder and it would be great to see the Mayor put the same focus on self-employment. The Mayors first step should be making sure any future small business funding coming from City Hall has a specific allocation for young entrepreneurs. ”
Calls for Mayor to embrace Street Pastors to combat street crime
Wider promotion of street pastors could lead to 60% reduction in night street crime
Tony Arbour, London Assembly Member for Richmond, Kingston and Hounslow, will today ask the Mayor of London to agree to meet with Street Pastors, to find out more about how their actions have led to dramatic reductions in street crime.
Figures reported in 2009 in Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight, saw reductions in street crime of 60% and 43% respectively, where the Street Pastors were operating.
Three quarters of theft cases 'screened out' by Met
Give victims right to appeal to local safer neighbourhood boards – if police ignore crimes
73% of theft crimes in London are not being investigated by police, according to figures* uncovered by GLA Conservatives Assembly Member Victoria Borwick.
The London data also shows that a quarter (26%) of burglary was screened out by the Met as well as 11% of robbery and 37% of fraud and forgery. Victoria is now calling for victims of crime to be allowed the right to appeal to their local safer neighbourhood boards – groups of local volunteers working with local police which come into existence from 2014 – if the police decide not to investigate their crime.
End of life care: Alarming figures expose London hospitals unable to provide basic information on vulnerable patients
Four in ten health trusts in London cannot provide any information whatsoever on patients over the age of 65 who are being cared for on the Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP).
Data from 21 London health trusts uncovered by Andrew Boff, Leader of the GLA Conservatives, shows:
- 38% of trusts (8) could not say how many patients were on the LCP
- 81% of trusts (17) could not provide the number of patients who were removed from the LCP and/or survived
- 81% of trusts (17) could not give the longest and shortest periods that patients were on the LCP
- 38% of trusts (8) could not provide any of the requested information on patients on the pathway
The figures have been used in a new report, Unheard Voices: The Liverpool Care Pathway, which has exposed a lack of clear, reliable and publically accessible information over how the LCP is applied in hospitals.
Tony Arbour calls for measures to encourage small businesses to take on staff
12th June 2013, Economy Committee, City Hall: Tony Arbour, London Assembly Member and GLA Conservatives spokesman on economic development will today call for a minimum wage holiday for London’s small and micro-businesses. A short exemption of up to six months from the minimum wage could be the catalyst which transforms micro businesses into live enterprises.
It was recently announced that the national minimum wage will be increased by 1.8 per cent in October 2013. This is 50 per cent higher than average wage growth. The decision has been criticised by many business groups, including the Federation of Small Businesses, the IEA and the British Chambers of Commerce.
£136M in public transport sponsorship deals could freeze fares for a year
Zone 1-6 travelcard holder about £90 better off
A package of sponsorship deals across London’s public transport could raise the £136 million¹ required to completely freeze passenger fares for a year – leaving a zone 1-6 travelcard holder an estimated £90² better off. Alternatively, passenger fares could be capped at inflation for the next three years if TfL could raise £204 million³ through sponsorship.
A poll of 531 Londoners shows more than 4 in 5 people in the Capital (82%) support more sponsorship across public transport such as renaming existing tube stations (e.g. Virgin Euston), entire tube lines or bus routes.
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Bearing down on fares through sponsorship
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