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GREATER LONDON AUTHORITY London Assembly Inter-Meeting Questions Report No: 8 Subject: Inter Meeting Questions Report of: Executive Director Of Secretariat Question Status Asked before 27/03/2002 and answered since 44 / 2002 - Budget Process Victor Anderson Sent To 29-Jan-2002 65 Working Days Since Sent To Mayor Will the Mayor add a new procedure to the budget process in future, whereby he consults the Assembly each January as to the view it takes at that point concerning the proposals with expenditure implications made in Assembly scrutiny reports during the preceding year? . The Mayor Answered 29-Apr-2002 The views of the Assembly concerning the proposals, with expenditure implications, made in its scrutiny reports would be very welcome. The budget process does, of course, already include consultation with the Assembly as part of the budget consultation exercise in late December/early January, and it may be appropriate for the Budget Committee to specifically cover this issue in its response. However to be of value it assumes that the Assembly scrutiny reports include robust costing information. . 47 / 2002 - Budget Victor Anderson Sent To 01-Feb-2002 62 Working Days Since Sent To Mayor What would be the estimated saving, by comparison with the draft budget, over the next year, from adopting the Assembly's policy of a vacancy rate of 1.5%? . The Mayor Answered 29-Apr-2002 The increased vacancy rate of 1.5% would deliver £0.1m in 2002/03. . 1 48 / 2002 - SDS/ draft budget Victor Anderson Sent To 01-Feb-2002 62 Working Days Since Sent To Mayor How does the Mayor interpret the line on the SDS in the notes to the Assembly's amendment on the draft budget? What would be the estimated saving, by comparison with the draft budget, over the next year from adopting this policy? . The Mayor Answered 29-Apr-2002 The Assembly’s amendments suggests that the cost of the SDS, particularly the Examination in public, should be “evened out” across financial years. Officers are currently examining ways in which this could be achieved, potentially by drawing money from reserves in 2002/03 and paying it back in the subsequent years. Whilst this could perhaps be a way of smoothing the expenditure pattern slightly, it only provides limited scope and it does not alter the total cost of the SDS. . 49 / 2002 - GLA Core Budget Victor Anderson Sent To 01-Feb-2002 62 Working Days Since Sent To Mayor What would be the total saving from adopting all of the policies in the Assembly's amendment listed under the heading of "GLA Core Budget", with the exception of the City Hall item, and how does this compare with the Assembly's figure of "at least £2m" for total reductions in the Core GLA draft budget? . The Mayor Answered 29-Apr-2002 The total saving arising from the Assembly’s list is £1.9m before SDS and City Hall. If an assumption is made that SDS costs can be reduced by £0.1m by moving costs between financial years, then they do total £2m. However, the proposal to make such substantial reductions in key priority areas such as environment, external relations, and housing are not accepted. In addition, there is a commitment to communicating and consulting with Londoners and any reductions in this part of the budget would make this difficult. . 50 / 2002 - Core GLA - restructuring Victor Anderson Sent To 01-Feb-2002 62 Working Days Since Sent To Mayor Has the Mayor received any proposals from Assembly Members concerning the restructuring of staff in the Core GLA in order to help achieve the savings proposed in the Assembly's amendment with the minimum damage to strategy implementation? . The Mayor Answered 29-Apr-2002 I am not aware of any proposals from the Assembly about restructuring in order to achieve savings. The draft budget does however include proposals to restructure and achieve efficiencies. 2 . 51 / 2002 - Low Emission Zone Victor Anderson Sent To 01-Feb-2002 62 Working Days Since Sent To Mayor What would be the impact of the Assembly amendment on the Low Emission Zone feasibility study? What representations has the Mayor received from Assembly Members regarding expenditure on this study? . The Mayor Answered 29-Apr-2002 The Assembly proposals suggest that all the growth around the Environmental strategies, including nine new posts and additional resources for research and Low Emission Zones should be deleted. Clearly this would have far reaching implications and would limit the Authority’s capacity to implement the strategies. Indeed throughout the budget scrutiny process, external stakeholders have commented on the need for the GLA to move from strategy development to implementation and to be seen to deliver Officers are currently examining the potential to contribute to Low Emission zones from this year’s budget and to reduce the bid for extra resources next year. 3 126 / 2002 Angie Bray . - Bus Routes with increased ridership Sent To 27-Feb-2002 44 Working Days Since Sent To Mayor Will the Mayor please explain which bus routes have seen the increased ridership, at what hours and on what days? . The Mayor Answered 29-Apr-2002 Growth in bus ridership has been widespread and general across the network, not limited to specific routes: 2000/1 (millions) 2001/2 (millions) All travel on bus routes that enter zone 1: 548m 579m (+5.7%) All travel on bus routes that do not enter zone 1: 806m 851m (+5.6%) 1430m (+5.6%) Total 1354m Growth has occurred at all times and 96% of the total is on day services. The largest proportional increases are at weekends and at night: Weekdays Saturdays Sundays/Bank Holidays Nights +54m +10m +9m +3m (+5%) (+6%) (+9%) (+20%) These figures are based on the provisional results for 2001/2. Underpinning this increased ridership has been an increase in service levels. London Buses has ambitious proposals for further expansion across the network and recently published a consultation document on its plans for Inner London. The bus network is actively managed to ensure it continues to meet users' needs and there are more than 400 changes per year, ranging from new schedules to significant alterations in route structures and expansion into currently-unserved areas. Service alterations and expansion are one of many factors which influence bus patronage levels. Others include: fares levels and changes in employment, population and consumer spending patterns. . 94 / 2001 - Ice Skating Rinks Tony Arbour Sent To 0 Working Days Since Sent To Mayor Does the Mayor believe that ice skating rinks should be an important and vital part of London’s leisure facilities? . The Mayor No Answer Date Ice skating is a popular pastime, involving people of all ages, and not in any way exclusive to particular groups. This was illustrated most clearly by the queues of people waiting to 4 skate on the rink in the square of Somerset House over the Christmas period. However, many rinks have closed down, due to high maintenance costs. I will ask the Cultural Strategy Group to look at how they can integrate ice skating rinks into their work. 5