London's recovery starts with you

The homeless/drug  issue is a mental health need. There need to be robust plans and resources in place to address this to support he voluntary sector which has suffered  greatly in fundraising opportunities during this pandemic.

To help with drug adductions & mental illness. We also need local safe places for all people to go,  all the many different demographics who will benefit from making and sustaining their connections with each other, more multi use, free of charge local community centres  (so travel is not required)

I agree with the 4 points "there is no return to rough sleeping" etc but the areas of focus don't quite fit. Maybe focussing on decent housing, education, training and job opportunities are part of another discussion, but they're vital - they give a person a personal safety net before the need for a community safety net. Government and local services most definitely should be improved,available, easy to understand and access but also seen as a last resort. Develop and encourage personal resilience, pride in the area and themselves and create opportunities for them to improve and grow and then a safety net becomes what its meant to be - it will catch people quickly and efficiently if and when they fall.

We need to learn from the good things that came out of lockdown. For two months it was blissful being able to walk around the town centre (mainly Ilford in my case) without seeing any signs of homelessness, begging, or drug dealing. This has all returned. Two incidents. Outside a public convenience, outside which bedding had been laid down, a young woman came out of the toilets and threw a load of rubbish over the park fence before returning to the toilets. My wife was waiting at a bus stop and was approached by a man muttering about drugs before putting his unmasked face right up to hers demanding a pound. She stepped back saying, "Please". The man turned and placed his hands on an elderly lady who hit him with her stick spraying his milkshake over them both. I highlight these incidents as after a few months respite, the return to normality is quite shocking. I realise there is a funding issue and taking the destitute and desperate off the street can be a case of sweeping the problem under the carpet. However, i think we have shown that taking the homeless and low level anti-social behaviour off the street is a realisable dream.

Ensuring that there is good quality advice free at the point of use with regards to debt management, personal finances and savings is potentially very important given the rise in unemployment including among communities which may have limited experience of unemployment and dealing with sudden, major, change. 

There is an important step that could be made, for the benefit of the less-well-off at the same time as benefiting the environment. That step wold be to make energy consumption the sole determinant of one's bill, rather than the current practice of charging every consumer, even the minor ones, a fee for being connected to the power network, or water for that matter.

Keep the kWh charge low for the modest amount of power that modest users actually use. Then increase the rate above a certain threshhold, so that major users pay more per kWh above the modest amount. Using that method of charging would be helping those on modest incomes, and would call upon the wealthy to pay an increased rate. Even those with substantial incomes would start to reallize that they could save money by diminishing their consumption, which is surely what the City of London wants.

Public debt is expected to be between 102 and 108% of GDP by 2025, it is absolutely cloud cuckoo land to imagine that there is money to spend on additional redistributive programmes when there isn't money to take when the economy is smaller than it once was. The UK struggles to pay for its health and education system, old age pensions, law and order and defence, and the welfare system as it stands.

London's biggest structural problem is housing supply, which is primarily due to a mix of unending demand to live in London (and seek housing paid for in part by others) and local authorities constraining growth in supply, in particular through retention of the Green Belt on the scale that it is. 

Hard to disagree with the stated aims but clearly driven by the politics of envy.  not sure what this has to do with Covid and how the mayor is going to tackle the huge loss of office-related income (business rates and small businesses supported by commuters).  No one seems to want to work in Lodnon anymore

Personally I am a fan of a universal basic income which can be topped up through different means such as work, running businesses and volunteering. I also agree that the perception is that Londoners are wealthy has to be tackled. London may offer great growth opportunities but it comes also at a great risk for those who chose London to try and better themselves.

I believe the current crisis will make those who arrived last year to London to start living here particularly vulnerable in addition to those who tend to rang highly on these risk list (single parents, older people with little pension income, people with disabilities). Any plan need to ensure that these people are not forgotten and that opportunities are shared equally.

I applaud the initiative.

One of the issues I have seen as I travel round the country is the view that Londoners are much better off than they are. They see higher salaries and are envious of the transport system but do not appreciate the higher costs of housing and food. They have no idea of the impact of noise, smells and pollution on our health or the isolation Londoners have.

Community can be an alien concept for Londoners. Meeting places for community groups disappear or become increasingly expensive. The sense of community that evolved with lockdown is something that needs to be bottled and saved! 

My organisation Townswomen's Guilds does stirling work supporting women across the UK, providing education and leisure opportunities, mutual support and fun, but finds it impossible to operate in inner London where I know we could make a difference. 

Wouldn't it be marvellous if we could as a city, become a model of equal opportunity and fairness?

In addition to  that  being suggested, I would like to encourage the continuation of the kindness and  willingness to help in a non-discriminatory way by our volunteers.     Sometimes  those tasked with delivering services get off-hand or dismissive..  I am not suggesting it is easy, but perhaps there might be a stated aim towards a more people-based set of services.   Perhaps more how, than what.

To tackle this agenda you have to start with affordable housing, preferably within walking distance of a suitable place of work, or large enough to facilitate work from home.

As work patterns change, so will the demand for housing from more affluent people, presenting a fresh opportunity to address the housing needs of the least well off.

Yes, it'd be sensible to have a workable system, in place, to help those suffering 'anti-COVID19' issues, but also poverty, or homelessness .... -But, for  those a bit older (=age 75+), should not enforced 'social distance' operate more...? -As well as their ready, daytime places to go, could they not also be encouraged to engage in things with more progressive use, for themselves, & their local communities...? As if more of us were engaged in social/community affairs, would that not reinforce more of the potentials of more parts of this important, big city...? (-Not that other similar metropolises, in North-Eastern/-Western parts of the U.K. might not benefit similarly, from similar things...).

Most people understand or have access to help in getting benefits (rights and entitlements) and there are numerous charities which help so I'd  boost debt management support - especially information about avoiding high-cost debt and loans as sharks prey on vulnerable people.

Local initiatives are most effective as people can fall through the gaps in national or regional ones.

Essential is protection for our Green spaces, the only places for the millions lacking gardens. Well researched evidence proves the vast economic plus multiple value & benefits to local communities and wider society aswell as improvement to air quality. Also businesses within and near to green areas have increased footfall. Our NHS receives vast economic benefit. Your own Transport & Environment & Health Inequalities Strategies are clear on the benefits. The proliferation of tall developments do not approach our housing dearth and cause irreparable damage to green spaces, such as the Canada Water Masterplan, & immense monoliths to capitalism must be curtailed, many are completely out of sync with the neighborhood buildings: 38 floors next to 3 & 6 floors homes!!! 

This has to go through access to emergency housing. Especially for young Londoners with little or no support network. Life can be unpredictable and in the current environment being destitute can be a downward spiral. Let's create a well-advertised, charitable scheme for developers to grant access to allocated empty flats and easy online access for candidates. On a similar note, London needs specific housing protections with serious consequences for landlords who refuse to comply. Let's keep in mind the end of a regular tenancy is the direct cause to the majority of homelessness in our city. There is simply no way we can expand and protect tenant rights and prevent homelessness without limiting the landlord's freedom to increase rent and evict. Most European countries already have these protections in place and enjoy a more stable and balanced access to accommodation. To do this we need a dedicated, well advertised London landlord abuse hotline providing legal advice and access to legal aid. Finally, access to Santander bicycles has to be made affordable, in line with Velib pricing in Paris (i.e. yearly/monthly/weekly subscription fee granting 30 mins of free riding per trip). This is the only way to make London truly cycle-friendly and bring the critical mass out on the streets to push progress forward.