The Mayor today welcomed new Metropolitan Police Service recruits as he visited trainees in Richmond set to become fully warranted police officers, which will boost London’s policing strength to 32,320 by the end of March 2012. EndsThe centre is one of five regional MPS learning centres and students par

Action is needed to prevent London parents being locked out of employment because of ‘eye-wateringly high’^[1]  childcare costs, a new report^[2] from the London Assembly says today.

Tackling childcare affordability by the Assembly’s Health and Public Services Committee, says childcare costs in the capital are up to a third higher than elsewhere in the UK^[3] - an average of £119 a week for a child under two years old. 

London Assembly Members will tomorrow question Mayor of London Boris Johnson for two and a half hours.

Subjects for questioning include:

• London Living Wage for the 2012 Games
• Gathering of information for the BackBoris2012 website
• Cycle safety on London’s roads
• Tackling youth and gang crime in London

The meeting will also consider the wording of a Loyal Address to be delivered by the Greater London Authority to The Queen on the occasion of Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee.

The London Assembly Transport Committee will tomorrow question rail chiefs about progress on Crossrail^[1] and other major projects and upgrades intended to improve rail services and boost capacity.

From 10am: Crossrail

Committee Members will question the following guests about issues including: timescales and risks; procurement and supplier capacity; the impact of construction work on local residents and businesses; apprenticeships and the skills legacy; and the challenges of linking Crossrail to existing services:

Public meetings and report launches coming up next week:

Tuesday 21 February 2012
Crossrail + future rail projects
Transport Committee – 10am in the Chamber

From 10am – Crossrail
The Committee will question the following guests about progress on the Crossrail project:

Unnecessary secrecy risks jeopardising public confidence in the ticketing arrangements for the 2012 Games, a new report^[1] from the London Assembly warns today.

Sold Out?, is the result of a two-year-long campaign by the Assembly’s Economy, Culture and Sport (ECS) Committee to get answers from the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) about the ticketing process for the Games.

 Local London Assembly member John Biggs today called for a tax on bankers’ bonuses to fund work placements for unemployed 16-24 year olds to prevent another ‘lost generation’. The call follows a 97 per cent rise in the number of young people out of work for over six months in Newham

 According to January’s unemployment figures, released on Wednesday, there are now 235,177 people looking for work in London and 975 in Newham. This is an increase of 9.5% and 11.7% respectively in the last year alone.

Local London Assembly member John Biggs today called for a tax on bankers’ bonuses to fund work placements for unemployed 16-24 year olds to prevent another ‘lost generation’. The call follows a 106.7 per cent rise in the number of young people out of work for over six months in Tower Hamlets.

 According to January’s unemployment figures, released on Wednesday, there are now 235,177 people looking for work in London and 11,156 in Tower Hamlets. This is an increase of 9.5% and 9.7% respectively in the last year alone.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, today announced his plans to invest more than £2.7 million to help rejuvenate two key town centres in Hillingdon and drive economic growth and jobs.

Hillingdon Council will use the Mayor's significant investment to deliver vital improvements in the Ruislip Manor and Northwood Hills areas, as part of his programme of improving town centres across the capital to ensure they remain viable, prosperous and competitive.

Local London Assembly member John Biggs today called on Mayor Boris Johnson to get a grip on increasing crime on Tower Hamlets' buses as the latest figures show a 51.61% rise in the last nine months

 The latest figures released by Transport for London show that across London robbery on buses has increased by an average of 18.2%. At the same time figures released by the Metropolitan Police reveal that up to half of the officers who are supposed to police the London transport network are not even in post.

London Assembly Member and Chair of Environment Committee Murad Qureshi today slammed Mayor Boris Johnson for failing to meet his own paltry targets on insulating Londoner’s homes.

The criticism follows an announcement from the Mayor that only 40,000 properties have received insulation as part of the RE:NEW scheme. Originally 200,000 properties were to be retro-fitted, the Mayor then reduced this target to 55,000 by March 2012 and now it emerges that only 40,000 have been completed.