Search questions

• Question by: Siân Berry
• Meeting date: 07 September 2023

Siân Berry AM: Thank you very much, Chair. My first question is to Hannah Boylan from the GLA Migration Team. Like my colleague, Caroline [Russell AM], I also met with the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, who raised a separate issue about asylum seekers living in Home Office asylum accommodation. The guidance from the Home Office says that category 2 health hazards should be made safe within 24 hours and fixed within five days, but I have heard countless examples of Migrant Help - which Caroline [Russell AM] discussed earlier - failing to respond to complaints and help...

• 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: Siân Berry
• Meeting date: 16 March 2023

Siân Berry AM: Thank you very much, Chair. My question is to Lyn to begin with. I want to ask about the issue with changing the housing tenures in planning applications. One of the residents has raised concerns with me about developers applying to change the planning permission they have for residential development into student accommodation. It is plot N16 in East Village. It is Get Living. They plan to replace 188 homes with 520 student beds. Included in those 188 homes in the existing planning application, we would lose 31 three-bedroom family homes. Also, you have loads of student...

• Question by: Siân Berry
• Meeting date: 16 March 2023

Siân Berry AM: Thank you very much, Chair, and my question is to David. I am sorry to say that I have witnessed from you what I think is quite a poor attitude to community engagement. I have been copied in to this letter, also to you, from Professor Jennifer Robinson, who is Professor of Human Geography at University College London (UCL) and I agree with a lot of what it says. The professor raises concerns about the approach by OPDC to community engagement and says there is a need for the organisation to “repair relations” with community groups, including...

• Question by: Siân Berry
• Meeting date: 09 June 2022

Siân Berry AM: Just briefly, I just want to say at the start that I have already had lots of constituents get in touch about huge concerns they have about cuts to the buses. That consultation is vital, and I will be encouraging many Londoners to respond. But today, for my questions, I am going to focus on fares and the cost of living and put my first question to the Mayor. I am really concerned about the impact of the cost of living crisis on people who depend on using public transport. A Royal College of Nursing survey in...

• 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 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: Siân Berry
• Meeting date: 04 February 2021

Siân Berry AM: Thank you very much, Chair. I want to start with Martin Machray if that is all right. I know that we have just discussed the fact that London has been behind in vaccinating the over-80s and the fact that there are differences between boroughs. It has, I think, been hard for both you and us to get up-to-date, detailed, borough-by-borough data collated at a London level, and I just wanted to check what your progress was on making that data available to us so that we can keep an eye on things on a more day-to-day basis...

• Question by: Siân Berry
• Meeting date: 04 February 2021

Siân Berry AM: Thank you for coming here, Minister. I have been looking at particularly the £23 million that was allocated by the Government to local authorities and charities last week on 25 January [2020]. This is money for the Community Champions to give vaccine advice and boost the take-up. Looking at the list, it seems that some of the boroughs within London who have not received money are some of the boroughs that have some of the highest populations of minority ethnic groups, in terms of numbers, and some of the most deprived boroughs. I can see Enfield, Croydon...

• 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?