Agenda item
Motions
Report of: Executive Director of Secretariat
The Assembly is asked to consider the motions submitted by Assembly Members.
Minutes:
10.1 Darren Johnson AM moved and Caroline Pidgeon AM seconded the following motion:
“This Assembly welcomes the initiative within the Mayor's recent publication, ‘Towards a road safety action plan for London’, that recognises the complexity of the Transport for London Road Network and "considers lower speed limits on these routes". This Assembly agrees with the Mayor that "potential benefits in terms of safety and liveability of town centres needs to be taken into consideration alongside other functions the TLRN performs."
This Assembly calls on the Mayor of London to review speeds on the Transport for London Road Network and to introduce more 20 mph speed limits in response to requests from borough councils, schools, pedestrian groups, and cycling organisations.
The Mayor's junction review and requests from boroughs such as Islington for borough-wide 20 mph zones provide opportunities for more 20 mph speed limits on London's roads. To this end, the Assembly calls on TfL to publish the rationale for retaining the 30mph limit where they decline a request from a local council to reduce it to 20mph, including modelling data and supporting detail.”
10.2 Upon being put to a vote, the motion, namely:
“This Assembly welcomes the initiative within the Mayor's recent publication, ‘Towards a road safety action plan for London’, that recognises the complexity of the Transport for London Road Network and "considers lower speed limits on these routes". This Assembly agrees with the Mayor that "potential benefits in terms of safety and liveability of town centres needs to be taken into consideration alongside other functions the TLRN performs."
This Assembly calls on the Mayor of London to review speeds on the Transport for London Road Network and to introduce more 20 mph speed limits in response to requests from borough councils, schools, pedestrian groups, and cycling organisations.
The Mayor's junction review and requests from boroughs such as Islington for borough-wide 20 mph zones provide opportunities for more 20 mph speed limits on London's roads. To this end, the Assembly calls on TfL to publish the rationale for retaining the 30mph limit where they decline a request from a local council to reduce it to 20mph, including modelling data and supporting detail.”
was agreed (16 votes cast in favour and 6 votes cast against).
10.3 Jenny Jones AM moved and Fiona Twycross AM seconded the following motion:
“This Assembly notes that, of the 136,150 unemployed people in London referred to the Work Programme from June 2011 to July 2012, only 4,800 got sustained jobs. The Assembly is concerned that, on the basis of evidence commissioned or written by the Government, the Work Programme doesn’t appear to work on its own terms, that the benefit sanctions make little different to people taking up opportunities while increasing hardship, and that making work mandatory can backfire by making participants feel punished and resentful.
This Assembly notes that the Mayor had planned to establish an effective performance management framework to monitor how effective the Work Programme was, and, given the programme’s poor performance, regrets that the Mayor dropped these plans.
This Assembly notes with concern that the GLA is a partner in a new mandatory work experience pilot, but that the GLA won’t be applying the proposed performance management framework or the well established Employability Performance Rating system to this pilot. The Assembly is also concerned that the work experience will be mandatory, despite evidence suggesting that voluntary work experience is more effective.
This Assembly therefore calls on the Mayor of London to:
· introduce these safeguards for his mandatory work experience pilot and for the wider Work Programme to protect Londoners
· make his work experience pilot voluntary and allow participants to chose work experience that will most benefit them.”
10.4 Upon being put to a vote, the motion, namely:
“This Assembly notes that, of the 136,150 unemployed people in London referred to the Work Programme from June 2011 to July 2012, only 4,800 got sustained jobs. The Assembly is concerned that, on the basis of evidence commissioned or written by the Government, the Work Programme doesn’t appear to work on its own terms, that the benefit sanctions make little different to people taking up opportunities while increasing hardship, and that making work mandatory can backfire by making participants feel punished and resentful.
This Assembly notes that the Mayor had planned to establish an effective performance management framework to monitor how effective the Work Programme was, and, given the programme’s poor performance, regrets that the Mayor dropped these plans.
This Assembly notes with concern that the GLA is a partner in a new mandatory work experience pilot, but that the GLA won’t be applying the proposed performance management framework or the well established Employability Performance Rating system to this pilot. The Assembly is also concerned that the work experience will be mandatory, despite evidence suggesting that voluntary work experience is more effective.
This Assembly therefore calls on the Mayor of London to:
· introduce these safeguards for his mandatory work experience pilot and for the wider Work Programme to protect Londoners
· make his work experience pilot voluntary and allow participants to chose work experience that will most benefit them.”
was agreed (15 votes cast in favour and 7 votes cast against.)
10.5 At 12.46pm it was agreed, in accordance with Standing Order 2.9 and by general consensus, to extend the meeting in order to complete the business set out on the agenda for the meeting.
10.6 At 12.46pm, the Deputy Chair, Darren Johnson AM, took the Chair.
10.7 Onkar Sahota AM moved and Jennette Arnold AM seconded the following
motion:
“This Assembly notes the tragic and horrific gang-rape of a young student in Delhi on the 16th of December, which has outraged the Indian Nation and drawn international attention to the global problem of violence against women.
This Assembly notes the strength of feeling of the people of London and supports calls for better policing, victim support, and prosecution of violence against women in India and around the world.
This Assembly therefore calls on the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime and the Metropolitan Police Service to offer support to the Mehra Commission in India in its investigation into policing, victim support, and prosecution of sexual assault.”
10.8 Roger Evans AM moved and Andrew Boff AM seconded the following amendment to the motion:
To add the following before the final paragraph of the motion:
“This Assembly also notes the considerable work carried out in London to improve the service that victims of rape receive. For example, in the last four years the Mayor’s Violence Against Women and Girls strategy has led to an increased number of rape crisis centres so that victims are provided with invaluable support in every part of London. Meanwhile the Met’s Sapphire Unit has become an example of good practice in the UK due to its increasingly victim-focused approach.”
10.9 Upon being put to the vote, the amendment in the name of Roger Evans AM was lost (5 votes in favour and 16 votes against).
10.10 Upon being put to a vote, the motion, namely:
“This Assembly notes the tragic and horrific gang-rape of a young student in Delhi on the 16th of December, which has outraged the Indian Nation and drawn international attention to the global problem of violence against women.
This Assembly notes the strength of feeling of the people of London and supports calls for better policing, victim support, and prosecution of violence against women in India and around the world.
This Assembly therefore calls on the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime and the Metropolitan Police Service to offer support to the Mehra Commission in India in its investigation into policing, victim support, and prosecution of sexual assault.”
was unanimously agreed.
10.11 At 1.14pm, at the conclusion of the consideration of the motion in relation to the gang rape of a student in Delhi, Jennette Arnold AM, resumed the Chair.
10.12 Valerie Shawcross AM moved and Caroline Pidgeon AM seconded the following motion:
“This Assembly notes that the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Stephen Greenhalgh, will be conducting Police and Crime Consultations across London in January and February 2013.
While it may now be too late to rectify the problem of Lambeth and Southwark residents only seeing the Police and Crime Plan on the day of their consultation meetings, steps can still be taken to improve the quality of the consultation for other groups across London. This Assembly therefore calls on the Mayor of London to review the amount of time the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime has allocated to engage with Londoners – just 1 hour per borough – to ensure that a robust and democratic consultation process takes place.”
10.13 Upon being put to a vote, the motion, namely:
“This Assembly notes that the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Stephen Greenhalgh, will be conducting Police and Crime Consultations across London in January and February 2013.
While it may now be too late to rectify the problem of Lambeth and Southwark residents only seeing the Police and Crime Plan on the day of their consultation meetings, steps can still be taken to improve the quality of the consultation for other groups across London. This Assembly therefore calls on the Mayor of London to review the amount of time the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime has allocated to engage with Londoners – just 1 hour per borough – to ensure that a robust and democratic consultation process takes place.”
was agreed (14 votes cast in favour and 4 votes cast against).
10.14 John Biggs AM moved and Tom Copley AM seconded the following motion:
“This Assembly notes that links between the shameful and unlawful practice of blacklisting and Crossrail’s industrial relations manager, Ron Barron, risk tarnishing the integrity of this taxpayer-funded project.
To illustrate just how widespread blacklisting in the construction industry is, in February 2009 the Information Commissioner’s officials raided the offices of ‘The Consulting Association’, a firm operating a blacklist containing the names of thousands of construction workers. Balfour Beatty, Carillion, Amec, Skanska, Taylor Woodrow, Sir Robert McAlpine (the Olympic Stadium contractor), and over thirty other construction companies used the Consulting Association database, which contained information about construction workers’ personal relationships, trade union activity, and employment history. The Observer reported on 29 July 2012 that “records suggest McAlpine alone spent £28,000 on checks”, and that “Eighty-six men are suing Sir Robert McAlpine for £17m in lost earnings”.
The Observer later reported on 2 December 2012 that “Ron Barron…cross-checked job applicants against a secret list of workers to be barred from the industry…introduced the use of the blacklist at his former employer, the construction firm CB&I, and referred to it more than 900 times in 2007 alone.”.
This Assembly notes that the Chief Executive of the London Legacy Development Corporation has partially addressed concerns about the issue of blacklisting on the Olympic Park and other ODA projects. However, the Assembly awaits with interest the response of the Information Commissioner’s Office regarding whether any ODA Tier 1 contractors carried out checks through the Consulting Association.
Given Dennis Hone’s “regret” that concerns regarding blacklisting on the Olympics have been raised after project completion, this Assembly calls upon the Mayor to provide evidence of steps taken to ensure that no blacklisting is, or has, taken place on Crossrail, a project that London taxpayers and the GLA, via TfL, are heavily invested in.
Crossrail is currently London’s biggest infrastructure project, costing £15billion, and it is deeply concerning that 28 workers were allegedly removed from this project after safety issues were raised. Given these concerns, the Assembly also calls on the Mayor to disassociate himself from such practices and, in addition, emphasise that every employee must be protected in raising health and safety concerns without fear of reprisals.”
10.14 Upon being put to a vote, the motion, namely:
“This Assembly notes that links between the shameful and unlawful practice of blacklisting and Crossrail’s industrial relations manager, Ron Barron, risk tarnishing the integrity of this taxpayer-funded project.
To illustrate just how widespread blacklisting in the construction industry is, in February 2009 the Information Commissioner’s officials raided the offices of ‘The Consulting Association’, a firm operating a blacklist containing the names of thousands of construction workers. Balfour Beatty, Carillion, Amec, Skanska, Taylor Woodrow, Sir Robert McAlpine (the Olympic Stadium contractor), and over thirty other construction companies used the Consulting Association database, which contained information about construction workers’ personal relationships, trade union activity, and employment history. The Observer reported on 29 July 2012 that “records suggest McAlpine alone spent £28,000 on checks”, and that “Eighty-six men are suing Sir Robert McAlpine for £17m in lost earnings”.
The Observer later reported on 2 December 2012 that “Ron Barron…cross-checked job applicants against a secret list of workers to be barred from the industry…introduced the use of the blacklist at his former employer, the construction firm CB&I, and referred to it more than 900 times in 2007 alone.”.
This Assembly notes that the Chief Executive of the London Legacy Development Corporation has partially addressed concerns about the issue of blacklisting on the Olympic Park and other ODA projects. However, the Assembly awaits with interest the response of the Information Commissioner’s Office regarding whether any ODA Tier 1 contractors carried out checks through the Consulting Association.
Given Dennis Hone’s “regret” that concerns regarding blacklisting on the Olympics have been raised after project completion, this Assembly calls upon the Mayor to provide evidence of steps taken to ensure that no blacklisting is, or has, taken place on Crossrail, a project that London taxpayers and the GLA, via TfL, are heavily invested in.
Crossrail is currently London’s biggest infrastructure project, costing £15billion, and it is deeply concerning that 28 workers were allegedly removed from this project after safety issues were raised. Given these concerns, the Assembly also calls on the Mayor to disassociate himself from such practices and, in addition, emphasise that every employee must be protected in raising health and safety concerns without fear of reprisals.”
was agreed (14 votes cast in favour and 3 votes cast against).
Supporting documents: