Agenda item

Written updates from the Deputy Leader / Cabinet Member for Business, Culture and Heritage (to follow), the Cabinet Member for City Highways (to follow) and the Cabinet Member for Planning and Public Realm.

Question And Answer session at the meeting with the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Business, Culture and Heritage, Councillor Robert Davis MBE DL.

4.1       The Committee received written updates from the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Business, Culture and Heritage, the Cabinet Member for City Highways and the Cabinet Member for Planning and Public Realm on significant matters within their portfolios.  

4.2       The Chairman welcomed Councillor Robert Davis MBE DL, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Business, Culture and Heritage to the meeting.  Also in attendance were Greg Ward, Director of Economy, Graham King, Head of WEP Place Programme and Daniella Bonfanti, Private Secretary to Councillor Davis.

4.3       The Committee put questions to and received responses from Councillor Davis on a number of matters that were relevant to his portfolio.  These included the following topics:

·           City of Sculpture – what was the process for determining which sculptures were commissioned?  Councillor Davis replied that the City of Sculpture programme was a project he had started in the period leading up to the London Olympics.  It had been successful so it had been decided to continue it.  The project was cost neutral except for one officer’s time who co-ordinated it as part of an overall role.  Galleries and sculptors were encouraged by Councillor Davis / the Council to offer sculptures that were large enough to be seen from the street but at safe locations, such as Danse Gwenedour by Bushra Fakhoury at Marble Arch.  The sculptures were in the main loaned for a temporary period to Westminster at the galleries’ or the sculptors’ own expense.  The only permanent sculpture was the ‘Still Water’ horse’s head sculpture in Marble Arch.  Councillor Davis added that if a Member knew of a gallery or sculptor who could provide a piece and also an appropriate location for it, they should get in touch with him.

Councillor Davis was also asked whether the City of Sculpture programme was advertised.  He replied that it was promoted and the artists/galleries knew about it.  The Committee recommended that the Council’s Communications department provide another feature on this topic, including in the arts press.  

·           Employment – Further information was requested on the Westminster Employment Service.  The Cabinet Member advised that Mr Ward, Director of Economy, had put together teams who were working on both short term and long term employment for residents.  In 2016 190 people had been found employment and so far in 2017, 452 people had been found employment.  Recruit London had a partnership with Westminster and other London boroughs and was training and placing out of work residents into jobs across Central London.  The staff of Recruit London worked in the offices of the Business Improvement Districts (‘BIDs’).  The BIDs not only provided workspace but also access to their database of contacts.  There would be further communications from the Council on how out of work residents were being found employment in Westminster.

It was queried whether the employment initiatives were effective in the areas with the greatest deprivation in the borough.  Councillor Davis advised that Mr Ward and his teams were indeed helping long term unemployed get into work in deprived areas.  Mr Ward provided the information that there were a number of strands of activity being taken forward.  He referred to the new Apprenticeship Levy which recognised apprentices at many different levels and ages.  He stated that very recently an apprentice had been employed by the Council for a broadband project who is forty years old and has been unemployed long term.  Mr Ward informed the Committee that his team had co-invested with Children’s Services in an apprenticeship post in order to assist children, particularly those who are underperforming and might achieve more through such a scheme than via the academic route.  His team had also co-invested with Children’s Services in a post that advises children who are taken into care in order to assist them in understanding the opportunities which exist in employment and housing.  Mr Ward added that his team was absolutely determined to use the Apprenticeship Levy in order to assist more people from deprived areas.    

Mr Ward also advised the Committee that the long term unemployed that the front line coaches worked with had to be unemployed for at least a year.  Many were referred by the Department for Work and Pensions and they often had real barriers to employment.  The coaches worked intensively with them, including in Harrow Road and Church Street in order that they would become ‘job ready’.  It was only when they were job ready that the long term unemployed were sent via Recruit London to employers.  It was a long process but one that was working well.  Councillor Davis made the point that this project had only been in place for approximately eighteen months.  The financing had all been obtained from external sources.  It was recommended to Councillor Davis that there were volunteer mentors put in place for those who had now found employment but required some initial support.  

Councillor Davis was asked whether there would be a focus on employment in the hospitality industry.  He stated that he had been speaking to a number of restaurateurs and hoteliers and had been made aware of their need for young talent to be developed, in particular waiters.  It had been decided to develop through the Sir Simon Milton Foundation a hospitality school training young people from Westminster to be waiters.  A business case was being prepared and a site had been found.  Discussions had been taking place with Kingsway College to run the academic course and with sponsors to finance the school.

·           City Hall refurbishment – Would there be ‘hot desking’ at staff locations whilst City Hall was being refurbished?  Would there be breakout areas where staff could sit and have meetings?  Councillor Davis replied that there would be hot desking and some breakout areas both whilst and after City Hall was being refurbished.  The impact of the hot desking would continue to be reviewed.  

·           Councillor Davis was asked about a recent story in newspapers about Formula One cars in Westminster.  He informed Members of the Committee that the event was being held in Trafalgar Square (which is the responsibility of the Greater London Authority) on 12 July.  There would be no cars racing.  It was a showcase with marquees and cars on display.  Formula One drivers would be interviewed during the event.  The cars would be permitted to drive down part of Whitehall at a low speed.  The drivers would not be permitted to drive close to The Cenotaph.    

·           Broadband – The Economy Team had been successful in securing a European Regional Development Fund bid to deliver a three year Connect Westminster Programme.  Businesses (local SMEs and micro businesses in particular) would be given support to connect to superfast or ultrafast broadband.  The Committee wished to know whether this would be affected by Brexit.  Mr Ward advised that Central Government had said it would honour European grants which are approved prior to 2020. 

·           Westminster Business Unit – Are the four Business Information Points located at libraries throughout the City being publicised?  Councillor Davis replied that having taken on the portfolio, it was his intention that the BIPs would be promoted more via the Council’s Communications department so that more people would access the service.  The Chairman suggested that Councillor Davis/Communications look at promoting the service at the LGA Conference in July.

4.4      Graham King provided an update to the Committee on Crossrail and the Baker Street and Gloucester Place Two Way project.  He stated that Crossrail was approximately 80% completed.  The costing was within the funding envelope of £15bn.  It was still due to opened fully to the public in December 2018. Crossrail branded trains would be seen later this year out of Liverpool Street and Paddington.  There still needed to be completion of the stations.  They needed to accommodate trains which could take up to 1500 people.  Twenty four trains would operate per hour.  MTR, who now run the London Overground and had vast experience from running the rapid transit railway system of Hong Kong, had been appointed to operate the Crossrail service.  It was yet to be confirmed whether the trains would be running through the night.

4.5      Mr King stated that the principal works on the London underground stations at Paddington, Tottenham Court Road and Bond Street were almost completed.  Some of those services, such as at Tottenham Court Road, were already being brought into use.  The Council was currently working on delivering with Crossrail a number of public realm schemes around the station sites prior to December 2018. 

4.6      Mr King was asked whether the Heathrow Express would continue to run.  He replied that the premium service would continue to operate separately.  The Heathrow Connect service had been fully incorporated into the national railway timetable.

4.7      Mr King advised in respect of the Baker Street and Gloucester Place Two Way project that the last formal round of consultation had been completed.  The scheme had been designed to be flexible and an important element, due to its complexity, was to have an implementation and monitoring strategy.  It would be kept under review.  Transport for London (‘TfL’) remained wholly committed to the scheme and to the financing that they had previously committed to it.  Mr King stated that a Cabinet Member report on the consultation responses and other recent developments, including relating to the Route 13 Corridor bus consultation carried out by TfL, was ready to be submitted for approval.  Subject to final approval, it was proposed to start the project in July 2017.  The works would take approximately 18 months.  Mr King thanked the Members who had been involved with the Environment Committee which had held a meeting at the University of Westminster campus in Marylebone Road in 2015.  This he believed had assisted in clarifying the different views of people in respect of the Project.  Mr King and his team had been able to ensure that the views of those who had responded to the proposals were represented for the Two Way Scheme and also in relation to the Oxford Street Public Realm Improvement Scheme.  It had been possible to communicate to TfL the need for more sensitive modelling of traffic impacts.

4.8      Mr King explained that there is a co-ordination system in place to tie up the major London projects affecting the central area.  This looked at what their impacts are (including on the utilities), when and who does what.  This involved City of Westminster, TfL and London Borough of Camden.

4.9      Mr King was asked how the schemes would potentially link in with the Mayor’s consultation on Oxford Street and also potentially the Tottenham Court Road Two Way Scheme.  He replied that the background work on traffic modelling was important.  Traffic modelling work for Oxford Street was produced by the Council’s own consultants who were involved with Baker Street Two Way and they were working in partnership with TfL.  TfL’s consultation exercise ‘on the transformation of Oxford Street’ concluded on 18 June 2017.

4.10    Concerns were expressed that works continued to be delayed due to other major schemes taking place.  An example was that the traffic lights crossing scheme at Wigmore Street was being delayed because TfL were currently carrying out the Oxford Street consultation exercise.  Previously it had been delayed by the Baker Street Two Way scheme.  Mr King replied that there was a public commitment from the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and City Council to bring forward practical options for Oxford Street later this year and it was recognised by them that Wigmore Street must be carefully looked at.  This was based partly on experience of the Baker Street Two Way scheme.  The Oxford Street and Baker Street schemes involved the same consultants and some of the same officers.  It was necessary to ensure that pedestrian pressure from Oxford Street was not passed on to adjacent streets, thereby making these crossings more dangerous or pressurised.  The commitment from the City Council was that Oxford Street was treated as a district for the purposes of the scheme and not just a street so it could take into account matters in adjacent areas. 

4.11    Councillor Scarborough asked a question in relation to Councillor Chalkley’s Cabinet Member Update.  The Update had advised that the Parking Service had introduced dedicated ‘Air Quality Champions’ to specifically engage with motorists on the issue of engine idling.  The first two Marshals had been deployed in the Low Emission Neighbourhood, Marylebone (F Zone) from 25 April.  Councillor Scarborough asked how many penalty notices had been issued to date.

4.12   ACTION: The following action arose:

            That a response be sought from Councillor Chalkley on how many penalty notices had been issued to date by ‘Air Quality Champions’ (Councillor Danny Chalkley, Cabinet Member for City Highways and Joe Penny, Cabinet Officer) and the answer circulated to the Committee.

4.13    RESOLVED:

That the contents of the Cabinet Member Updates be noted.