Speaking last night on Channel Four news the Mayor said he wanted to look at ways people who have been in the UK for a “very substantial period” could earn the right to stay and suggested “there might be some sort of financial obligations” that people would need to meet in order to qualify

However the Mayor appears to be at odds with his colleagues on the London Assembly. Last month Conservative Assembly Members voted against a motion calling for irregular migrants “who have been in the UK for many years” to earn UK citizenship.

The motion, proposed by Green Party AM Darren Johnson, called on the Mayor to join the Assembly in urging the UK Government to introduce “a one-off, time-limited, earned regularisation of suitable irregular migrants, many of whom live and work in London, which would allow those who have been in the UK for many years to be admitted to a two-year pathway to citizenship.”

At the time Labour members on the Assembly sought to embarrass the Tory AMs by playing up the fact that the BNP’s Richard Barnbrook had also voted against the motion.

Responding to Labour’s efforts Conservative AM Roger Evans told MayorWatch his group “believe the policy is unworkable without more details and stronger border controls to deal with the inevitable spike of people who would be tempted to follow the regularised migrants.”

Evans’s comments were echoed last night by Immigration Minister Phil Woolas who said the Mayor’s comments “might start with the best of intentions but will lead to more people traffickers making more money and exploiting more vulnerable individuals.”

On Friday Mayor Johnson and Assembly Chair Jennette Arnold hosted the first ever London-wide Citizenship ceremony at City Hall where they awarded a certificate and commemorative gifts to those taking their oath of allegiance.

There was much to be welcomed including some strong rhetoric on creating a “legacy” of higher quality homes and it was clear to all of us who attended that Johnson’s going to be a keen advocate of mixed developments.

The thinking of mixed developments, where affordable housing exists alongside private properties, is that they promote social cohesion and raise the aspirations of the less well off residents. Unfortunately the execution is often flawed.

Stand outside most mixed blocks (most mixed developments seem to be flats) and you can spot the affordable properties - just look for the units without balconies, with less external finishing, robbed of the better views and in less sunlit parts of the development.

Some argue that those paying the full commercial price for a property are entitled to a better deal, but when even a cursory glance at the exterior reveals the occupant’s affluence the whole point of a mixed development is lost.

The Mayor who talks of creating a quality legacy must take early action to stamp out the current practice of visual apartheid.

Twenty councils across England, including Islington and the London Learning Disabilities Partnership which comprises Croydon, Kingston, Merton, Sutton, Richmond, Lambeth, and Wandsworth, will receive up to £260,000 to develop ‘Trailblazers’ housing advice programmes.

The aim of the scheme is to offer personalised advice to people looking for housing, whether to stay in their own homes or secure social and private rented or shared ownership properties.

Housing Minister Iain Wright said the schemes “make sure people are fully informed of their options and able to make the decision that is right for them in their individual circumstances, not someone else’s.”

The West London Housing Partnership, comprising Harrow, Ealing, Hillingdon, Brent, Hounslow, Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea councils and the London Borough of Newham will receive money to develop ‘kick start’ programmes which link housing and employment advice.

Each successful borough or partnership will receive funding over two years starting April 2009.

After the ceremony Mr Johnson said: “As the great grandchild of an immigrant I am extremely proud to welcome the new British citizens from every London borough to the UK. This ceremony is an important way of encouraging them to play a full part in the communities they live in and contribute to their new country.”

“There are huge benefits from immigration for our economy, society and the cultural life of our capital. Just look the amazing range of restaurants in London, they are the best in the world thanks to the incredible innovation and entrepreneurship of immigrants from all corners of the world.”

Before 2004, an oath or affirmation of allegiance was made privately in the presence of a person who had the power to witness oaths and a certificate of registration or naturalisation as a British citizen was then sent to the successful applicant by post. In 2004  the Government introduced citizenship ceremonies.

Ms Arnold commented: “Today’s Citizenship Ceremony has been a wonderful opportunity to recognise the important contribution migrants make to our city as well as welcoming 33 Londoners to British Citizenship.”
“As I migrant from Montserrat I take particular pride in participating in today’s ceremony on behalf of our city as Chair of the London Assembly”

The TravelWatch meeting, which is open to the public, will also hear from Ian Johnston, the Chief Constable of the British Transport Police on its strategic review, and from Jeroen Weimar, TfL’s Chief Operating Officer for Enforcement and Compliance about TfL’s enforcement and compliance policies.

Meeting details
25 November 2008, 10.45 in Committee Rooms 4 and 5, City Hall

The Housing Strategy is Johnson’s biggest housing policy announcement since taking office in May and follows his decision to scrap a London-wide target of 50% of all new homes to be affordable in favour of individually negotiated targets for each of the capital’s boroughs.

Speaking earlier today the Mayor outlined an ambitious plan to invest more than £5bn on a range of schemes including steps to help more families into shared ownership and to buy properties in private developments and make them available for social housing.

A core objective of the strategy is to reduce pressure on council waiting lists, which currently stand at more than 330,000, by helping easily identifiable groups to find other routes to affordable homes.

Delivery of the new strategy will be overseen by the Homes and Communities Agency London Board which is chaired by the Mayor. The board will look across London for examples of ‘best practice’ and effective initiatives at borough level and promote successful schemes.

Mayor Johnson used this morning’s speech to repeat past calls for a return a better standard of affordable homes and said developers should stop building “homes for hobbits”. City Hall officials say Johnson plans to bring about a revolution in the way homes are thought about and enable families to stay in their homes, moving between renting and owning as circumstances allowed.

The administration is also talking up the creation of a legacy of decent homes which last well into the future and are able to serve the needs of more than a single generation of Londoners.

However it’s understood that despite calls from some on the London Assembly, City Hall  will not be publishing regular updates on borough compliance with their affordable housing targets and this data will only be available on a yearly basis. Johnson dismissed fears that some councils opposed the construction of more affordable homes in their areas and said all boroughs understood their obligations in delivering on the needs and ambitions of local people.

Johnson said the plans announced today “aim to put London on a strong footing for the eventual upturn in the housing market. By enabling ordinary Londoners to move from being subsidisers to being investors in new homes, we will provide timely support to a struggling development sector and can expect a return on our investment in years to come.”

Assembly reaction
Green Party Assembly Member Jenny Jones has claimed that the Mayor’s policies will deliver 5,000 fewer social rented over the next three years.

Jones accused the Mayor of “shifting the focus away from social rented housing and onto homes for middle income earners” and said he was “cutting support for those in greatest need.”

In a statement issued ahead of Mayor Johnson’s speech, LibDem Assembly Leader Mike Tuffrey said: “Not only should the Mayor publish ‘real -time’ data on completion so that we can all see which London boroughs are not serious, but he should not be afraid to use his planning powers to ensure that developments go ahead with enough affordable housing.”

“Fine words won’t build Londoners the homes they need.  Boris Johnson will need to act decisively or his election pledges will be proved worthless.”

In August Mayor Boris Johnson announced he would terminate TfL’s contract with TranSys, a consortium owned by EDS International Ltd, Fujitsu Services Ltd. and WS Atkins Consultants Ltd, in an effort to deliver better value for money.

After the Mayor’s announcement it emerged that the rights to the Oyster brand rested with TranSys, raising the prospect of TfL having to embark on an expensive rebranding exercise.

Under the agreement announced today the brand will be transferred to Transport for London ensuring the capital’s transport authority is more easily able to change contractors in the future.

The new three year contract has been awarded to existing TranSys shareholder Cubic Transportation Systems Limited with some services provided by EDS.

Although TfL aren’t releasing specific figures for commercial reasons, Shashi Verma, TfL’s Director of Fares and Ticketing, says the new deal will “save significant money that TfL will invest in improving transport in the capital.

Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat transport spokesman on the London Assembly, called on Mayor Johnson to “immediately publish the details of the agreement that has been reached - including how much the purchase of the Oyster trademarked name has cost.”

As part of a three year deal, which will see teams from world cities including London, Paris, New York, Sydney, Buenos Aries and Mumbai compete in a three day tournament, organisers World Polo Ltd will provide a lump sum investment of £200,000 plus an additional £50,000 per year.

The park’s grass area is to renovated for the polo and a new long jump pit and shot put area will be built after the tournament in addition to an enlarged grass athletics track. Council bosses say these changes will ensure schools and clubs who currently use the park benefit from improved facilities the whole year round.

Cllr Paul Bristow, Hammersmith & Fulham’s cabinet member for residents’ services, said: “This really is an excellent deal for residents who regularly use Hurlingham Park. We have negotiated hard with World Polo Ltd and are pleased that they have agreed to invest such a large sum of money on our park.”

The competition has also received a warm welcome from local residents. Caroline Scott, 60, of Hurlingham Road, said: “I think this is a terrific idea. People often see polo as an elitist sport but I think it will be really fun and it will make this area known for something.”

The competition will take place from Thursday June 4 to Saturday June 6, 2009. The council will be giving away 100 free tickets for local people and another 250 tickets will be available at a discounted price of £15.

Local considerations
The council has promised that all clubs who may be inconvenienced during the week of polo are rehoused.

A special community event will also be held on Sunday June 7 where local people will be able to learn more about the sport of polo and residents will be able to learn more about the polo festival and the major improvements set for the park at meeting to be held on Wednesday 26 November, from 6pm to 7.30pm at the Hurlingham Park pavilion.

Members of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) will discuss ways the service can achieve Mayor Boris Johnson’s proposed budget of £431.9m (currently
£422.3m for 2008/09) and his direction that they use £15.6m of the Authority’s reserves to fund the budget.

Officials say they have an undertaking from the Mayor that any additional savings which are identified before during the budget setting will be used to reduce the amount taken from reserves.

LFEPA Chairman Brian Coleman, who is also a Conservative member of the London Assembly, said Mayor Johnson’s draft budget “provides sensible management of public funds to provide London with the fire and rescue service which Londoners need and expect.”

Coleman promised that there “will be no cuts to frontline services”.

Last week I needed to catch a bus on an unfamiliar route but when I got to the stop it was closed owing to yards of road works. Some way up the pavement was a temporary bus stop but the design of these things seems totally unaltered from my childhood, they’re still free standing metal ‘lollipops’ with no useful information on them and given the absence of any signage or TfL staff it was impossible to know for certain if my bus was coming to the stop or being diverted.

Almost a week later the road works are still taking place so the ‘temporary’ stop is having a pretty lengthy outing.

Waiting at one of the current temporary stops is like a trip back to an era of public transport I thought we’d left behind.  Is it really impossible to deploy a sturdier stop with a shelter (pretty useful this time of year) and useful route and time of arrival information?