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• Question by: Caroline Russell
• Meeting date: 07 September 2023

Caroline Russell AM: Thank you, Chair. Good morning, everyone. My question is for Enver Solomon. I met recently with the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants in preparation for this plenary. They told me about the experience of a woman who claimed asylum in the UK, was 33 weeks pregnant and living in asylum accommodation near Gatwick. She was being given food that was unsuitable during pregnancy. She complained about the food to the hotel and medical practitioners from her hospital also spoke to hotel managers saying that the food was unsuitable for her and her baby, but no...

• Question by: Caroline Pidgeon
• Meeting date: 16 March 2023

Caroline Pidgeon MBE AM: I do not mind which person would like to answer. It might be we start with Lyn and move over to Lord Hendy. The transformation of the Olympic Park and Stratford is something to celebrate. It is fantastic. I want to pick up about transport today, surprise, surprise. Stratford Station is estimated to be the seventh busiest Network Rail station in the UK and one of the busiest stations on the TfL network. It is straining to cope with demand, a fragmented layout and the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) in the middle causing a huge bottleneck...

• Question by: Caroline Russell
• Meeting date: 16 March 2023

Caroline Russell AM: Lyn, last time we spoke at the Budget and Performance Committee meeting before Christmas [2022], we established that the LLDC heat network runs on gas. It cannot meet the Mayor’s climate targets and it opens residents up to catastrophic energy bills. We discussed that you somehow have to get rid of all the gas and get heat pumps in to shift all that power to low carbon. I was very glad to hear you tell Assembly Member Cooper just now that Equans has started on the installation of air-source heat pumps. What analysis was done to rule...

• Question by: Caroline Pidgeon
• Meeting date: 09 June 2022

Caroline Pidgeon MBE AM: I am going to talk about something completely different now, although obviously I could talk about Crossrail all morning. As part of London’s recovery, we need to take significant steps to improve the sustainability of transport, particularly in outer London. Mobility hubs are dedicated spaces where public transport options, such as buses, Tubes, trains, trams, shared hire schemes, car clubs, bike hire, a range of other facilities such as click and collect points, electric vehicle charging stations and a café are collocated to enable sustainable low-carbon journeys and reduce private car use. These schemes have been...

• Question by: Caroline Russell
• Meeting date: 09 June 2022

Caroline Russell AM: Commissioner, Crossrail has launched recently. I think we can all agree it is a great railway and it is great that it is fully accessible in the central section, but it should also be accessible to people who need to use a loo. Commissioner, when will you start retrofitting loos into all stations without toilets on the Elizabeth line?

• Question by: Caroline Russell
• Meeting date: 04 March 2021

Caroline Russell AM: My questions are for the Deputy Mayor for Culture Justine Simons and are specifically about issues facing Londoners in creative industries, and the part the culture sector may play in the recovery process. At Tuesday’s Economy Committee meeting [2 March 2021], you talked about the scale of the impact the pandemic has had on London’s creative workers. You highlighted the risk that 150,000 people in the arts may lose their jobs and that £16 billion may be lost from an industry which, before COVID, was worth £58 billion a year to London’s economy. Can you tell me...

• Question by: Caroline Pidgeon
• Meeting date: 04 March 2021

Caroline Pidgeon MBE AM: My first question is for the Deputy Mayor for Culture. London has over 200 museums and 850 galleries and hosts three of the world’s top 10 galleries and museums. This rich offering is a huge draw to London for tourists from both here in the UK and abroad. I was concerned that the Government’s roadmap has museums and galleries in tier 3, meaning they will not be able to open until 17 May [2021] at the earliest. This is because they are being considered as indoor entertainment venues despite having more in common with public buildings...

• Question by: Caroline Pidgeon
• Meeting date: 04 February 2021

Caroline Pidgeon MBE AM: Minister, we know there is much concern over the so-called South African variant. My worry is that these concerns could lead to a noticeable decrease in vaccine take-up. At St George’s Hospital in Tooting yesterday, one in ten people did not turn up for their vaccine. Is this a trend you are noticing in London and what are you doing to assure the public that the vaccines are effective against this variant as well?

• Question by: Caroline Pidgeon
• Meeting date: 04 February 2021

Caroline Pidgeon MBE AM: I would like to start my questions with Martin [Machray]. I would like to ask you about the take-up of the vaccine amongst blind and visually impaired people. Some serious concerns were raised on the [BBC] Radio 4 In Touch programme last week and have been powerfully highlighted by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) relating to the challenges in accessing information and travelling to get the vaccine. In terms of getting the vaccine, I understand why places like the ExCeL centre are being used for vaccinations, but travelling when blind, at the best...

• Question by: Caroline Russell
• Meeting date: 12 January 2021

Caroline Russell AM: Thank you, Chair, and thank you, Martin, for that really clear description of what is happening in our hospitals and to the people working in those hospitals. I want to talk about the vaccination of frontline workers. I do realise that vaccination rollout is in early stages and that we will not know for a few months whether vaccination has any effect on reducing transmission, but yesterday the Government released guidance that said phase two of vaccination may include targeted vaccination of those at high risk of exposure and/or those delivering key public services. This week we...