My report from City Hall – May 2012
No.1: 5th May to 4th June 2012
As it is now just a month since I was elected as the London Assembly member for Barnet and Camden, I thought you might like to have the first of what I plan to be a new series of reports from City Hall about what I have been doing, including in the constituency, together with a few more general observations.
Please feel free to forward this email on to any other local residents or neighbours who you think might be interested in it. If they would like to receive their own copy in the future, they should email me at info@andrewdismore.org.uk, with their address in Barnet or Camden.
Introduction
As you would expect, much of the last month has been spent in getting my office organised at City Hall. The good news was that I got a room pretty quickly, the bad news has been my battles with the rather outdated IT system and poor wireless coverage there, to enable me to work as efficiently as I would like. Slowly getting there!
Adam Langleben is working at City Hall as my assistant on a temporary basis, managing incoming correspondence, casework and my diary: adam.langleben@london.gov.uk
I have received many good wishes since the election – and also requests for meetings and visits- about 100 altogether, and although I am working through them, it will take time to get round everyone.
Committees at City Hall
At the Assembly AGM, I was elected chair of the Economy Committee: after our initial future planning meeting, our first meeting proper will be on 20th June at 2pm when we will be questioning the Deputy Mayor for Business and Enterprise Kit Malthouse. In July, we will be holding an inquiry into the importance of and any barriers to economic growth due to broadband and wireless capacity in London.
I have also been appointed to the Transport Committee, the Budget and Performance Committee, and to be a member of the Fire Authority. At the initial meeting of the Budget Committee, I raised particular concerns over the depletion of the Fire Authority reserves over the last two years, due to the Mayor’s decisions to move money from fire to policing; and the risks associated with the AssetCo contract for maintenance of the vehicle fleet.
Mayor’s Question Time
The first Mayor’s Question Time was held on 23rd May. I questioned the Mayor on future police numbers; on youth unemployment; and on the proposal for a minute’s silence at the Olympics to commemorate the murdered Israeli participants at the Munich Olympics of 1972.
I also asked a range of written questions: regrettably the answers were not very useful – to read the transcript of the entire meeting, click here. You can also watch the webcasts here.
Press releases
I have sent out a number of press releases, with varying degrees of attention from the local papers. You can access the wording by clicking the links:
Mayor Johnson cannot say why he left HS2 impact n Camden out of his manifesto
Dismore to visit local Fire Stations
Dismore Raises Police Numbers at Mayor’s Question Time
Dismore Raises Youth Unemployment at Mayor’s Question Time
Dismore uses first Mayor’s question time to raise minute’s silence at London Olympics
Dismore demands parking action after meeting Finchley traders
Dismore to chair London Assembly’s Economy Committee
Meetings and Visits
Of course, there have been lots of meetings at City Hall, getting to know committee and research staff and so on, but it would be boring to list all those!
Around City Hall, I launched the Chinese Information and Advice Hub for the Olympics (I have a long association with the Chinese community from when I was an MP). I also met with both the Fire Commissioner and the Fire Brigades Union regional officials (separately), in preparation for taking up my role on the Fire Authority.
On the same basis, I started a programme of visits to the Fire Stations in Barnet and Camden: I plan to call on them all over the next few weeks. I began with Hendon and West Hampstead – while I was at Hendon, both stations were called out to the same fire on the North Circular: I went with them to observe the operation.
I attended the AGMs of both Camden and Barnet Councils.
I wanted to catch up with local campaigns, too, so I visited Oakhill Park (at risk of privatised use, from Barnet Council) and the Pinkham Way area, where the plans for a new waste plant are vigorously opposed, a position I support.
I attended an excellent briefing for Ampthill St residents on the HS2 campaign: the slides were very helpful and can be seen here.
I also visited the exhibition on the Stonegrove regeneration in Edgware (serious design concerns), and Barnet Museum (under threat from the Council, who want to charge the charity which runs the museum an outrageously high rent for the building).
I went to the Mill Hill Preservation Society Summer meeting, where I met up with many old friends from my MP days – and many of the same issues to address!; and the Highgate Neighbourhood Forum inaugural meeting.
Age UK Barnet had a reception for the very interesting project they ran (as part of a London wide initiative) to get 6th formers helping elderly residents to learn how to use IT and the internet: this project, which is very cost effective, has run out of funding, and I want to see what I can do to help.
Finchley traders are having a very hard time, as a result of Barnet Council’s policies, especially on parking: I met with them at Cafe Buzz in North Finchley, to see what we can do to help.
I attended a Sunday service at St James’s Greek Orthodox Church.
Henly’s Corner has been very problematical. The recent reconfiguration of the junction has created other problems, especially for cyclists, so I have visited the location with Barnet Cycling Campaign to see the issues at first hand.
Stanley Road Playing Fields are also under challenge from possible development, so I visited again to hear from campaigners who want to keep the fields, and to support their efforts.
I met with leaders of Grahame Park’s Muslim community.
And finally, I attended the Broadfields Estate fun day for the Royal Jubilee.
And very finally
Congratulations to Andreas Ioannides, who has just won the Brunswick Park Ward by election and has become Barnet’s newest Labour Councillor.
I spent quite a lot of time campaigning in the election at weekends and evenings and I have no doubt that the message from the election is clear, as it was from my own election and the one in East Finchley just a couple of weeks before: it is time for Barnet Council to have a major change of direction.
Best regards
Andrew Dismore
