Compulsory Living Wage would cost London businesses £612m
Posted by GLA Conservatives in News
– This yearly wage bill is equivalent to 32k hospitality jobs in the Capital
– Use small business tax cuts to boost wages without the need for sackings
Making the London Living Wage compulsory would cost London’s businesses £611.8m every year, the equivalent of 32,287 jobs in the hospitality sector.¹
GLA Conservative Tony Arbour, who calculated the figures, is calling for wages to be raised through business rate relief for smaller firms and VAT cuts in the hospitality sector.
GLA Conservative Assembly Member, Tony Arbour, said:
“We need to think practically about how get more Londoners on the Living Wage. It’s an ideal win-win situation for business, employees and the public purse. It puts more cash into people’s pockets and improves working conditions. But forcing firms to sign up to this, especially start-ups and small businesses – such as B&Bs, restaurants and coffee shops – will only hurt them and may even put them out of business. What we need instead are common-sense measures, such as tax cuts, designed to ease the burden on small business whilst boosting pay for employees. First, we need to give business rates relief to small businesses that sign up to the Living Wage. Next, we need to cut VAT in the hospitality sector. I will work with the Mayor of London and lobby the Government, to make sure pay can be boosted without the need for price hikes or sackings. These tax cuts will pay for themselves through reduced dependency on in-work benefits and increased tax-revenues.”
London needs to tap into £94bn oil and gas industry to create 46k jobs
Local geographic area has 4.4bn barrels of shale oil, which could bring £93.7bn to London’s economy
London is on the doorstep of one of the country’s most promising new areas for oil and gas exploration.
There could be £93.7bn of oil within the Weald Basin,1 a geographic region directly south of London, spanning from Kent to Dorset, according to new estimates from GLA Conservative Tony Arbour.
The oil and shale gas industry has the potential to create jobs not only where the wells are located, such as a recent well found in Horse Hill Surrey worth £2 billion, but within Greater London as the industry requires a great deal of support.
Estimates show over 46,000 jobs – such as lorry drivers, geologists and hydraulic technicians – could be sustained throughout the next three decades.2
One person hospitalised by London’s buses every day
London: 86 people have been hospitalised by bus collisions in just three months, working out to one hospitalisation a day.¹
Bosses at Transport for London have released the figures in response to specific recommendations in the report ‘Clear Road Ahead: Bus collisions and the need for transparency’.²
Tony Arbour discusses London's choice with Heathrow Third Runway Referendums
Tony Arbour AM, the London Assembly Member for South West London, has called on Mayor Boris Johnson to support Heathrow Third Runway Referendums. AM Arbour was given Mayor Boris Johnsons support at the September 19th 2012 Mayors Question Time of referendums in every London borough on whether a 3rd runway should be built at Heathrow.
Richmond Council has already announced their intention to hold a referendum and the Mayor made clear that he supported this approach.
Commenting Tony Arbour said: “It is crucial that the Government understands the strength of opposition to allowing Heathrow Airport to build a 3rd runway. I am delighted that the Mayor backed the approach of London boroughs holding referendums on this subject and I’m sure Londoners will be unsurprised to learn that the Mayor confirmed that he would vote ‘No’.”
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MQT Question List: Sept 2012
The following are the questions the GLA Conservatives will be asking at this months Mayor's Question Time (MQT). The MQT will be held on September 19th, so stay tuned for the live coverage starting at 10am, via the groups Twitter stream. There will also be video summaries made by the GLA Conservative Assembly Members after the event via the groups Youtube Channel.
Squatting laws
Question No: 2524 / 2012
Steve O’Connell
Do you welcome the recent law which now makes squatting in residential buildings a criminal offence, allowing police to arrest squatters?
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July MQT Summary
This month MQT (4th July 2012) included some very interesting questions regarding Prioritising investigations, Cleaning up the A12, and Stopping Metal Theft in London. We have compiled three summary videos of these questions, and hope to compile some more video's on the other questions asked to the Mayor by the GLA Conservatives. For the full list of our questions with a short description read our post.
Prioritising investigations
July Mayors Question Time – Question List
On 4th July 2012, the London Assembly will hold it’s monthly Mayor’s Question Time. Assembly Members from all parties will pose question’s to Boris Johnson regarding matters that are important to Londoners.
Below are the oral questions tabled by the GLA Conservative Group for the July Mayors Question Time.
The GLA Conservatives have asked the Mayor to update the Assembly regarding the future of the South London Health Trust, and will ask the Mayor to lobby the Secretary of State and the Department of Health to commit to keeping Queen Mary’s Hospital in operation in Sidcup. This is Bexley’s only hospital and there are plans to create a health campus on the site.
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June 2012 MQT Summary
Today the GLA Conservative Assembly Members Questioned the Mayor on a range of questions from Suburban Rail to Heathrow Expansion. The Mayor agreed with our Members on a great deal of issues, but also this gave our Members a chance to expand London's and their own knowledge of these topics.
This is a MQT Summary in progress as it takes a couple of days for everything to be compiled so check back often or follow the Assembly_Tories on twitter for the latest updates.
Richard Tracey questions Mayor over Suburban Rail control
Richard Tracey AM, GLA Conservative Transport spokesman, today (13 June) pushed the Mayor to renew his efforts to lobby the Government regarding control of the overland rail network. Asking a question at the Mayor's Question Time, Richard asked Boris Johnson to instruct Transport for London to flesh out what a suburban rail network run by City Hall would look like.
Richard said:
"Many commuters who have no other option than to use the overland train routes face a less than satisfactory service. This was demonstrated over the Jubilee weekend when many train operators failed to put on extra services which caused chaos on the network. I fully support the desire of the Mayor to have a stake in the commuter rail lines, so he can make them work for Londoners. He now needs to ensure that Transport for London put forward a clear vision of what timetables will look like, and what improvements may be implemented if the Mayor had control. This would go some way to building support for a TfL run service"
Related Tweets from Assembly_Tories
https://twitter.com/Assembly_Tories/status/212874257716346880
June's Mayor's Question Time – Question List
On 13th June 2012, the London Assembly will hold it’s monthly Mayor’s Question Time. Assembly Members from all parties will pose question’s to Boris Johnson regarding matters that are important to Londoners.
Below are the oral questions tabled by the GLA Conservative Group.
Crime Reduction on Public Transport
Question No: 1534 / 2012
Steve O’Connell
Why is crime on London’s transport network at an 8 year low?
Steve will question the Mayor on his successful fight against crime on the Tube and bus network which has led to a significant drop in crime on these modes of transport.
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- More than 5,000 ppl signed the petition calling fr changes to the current CR2 proposals @KemiBadenoch @WimbledonNews https://t.co/JraHnbumBd
- .@KemiBadenoch receives a petition from @WimbledonNews and local residents opposing Crossrail 2 proposals https://t.co/NxaZBxwhrI
- .@SteveO_Connell says TfL's financial commitment 'is a sign that this plan is being taken seriously' https://t.co/EQf2Sfzlmb
