‘Making Music Matter: Music Education Strategy for London 2010-2012′

The fund will offer seed money for partnerships between local authority music services and orchestras in the capital, so that more young Londoners, irrespective of background, can learn to play orchestral instruments, experience working with professional musicians and have access to a wider range of musical traditions, including classical, jazz, folk and world music.

The Mayor said: ‘The ability to play an instrument is one of the most wonderful things in life, whether for pleasure or because you have professional ambitions. In a country that has given so much great talent to the world, we want to ensure a future Lloyd-Webber, the next Elton John, or nascent Lily Allen do not miss their chance to add to the illustrious musical canon that we have produced.’

The Mayor believes that there are too many short-term, one off initiatives in schools and music is often squeezed off the curriculum. And whilst early and free access to music is generally quite good in the capital, access to ongoing and affordable tuition is much more patchy. This means that if parents cannot afford to pay, their children cannot develop their talent. Local authorities are under increasing financial pressures too.

The Mayor continued: ‘This two year-programme is about celebrating and strengthening music education in London. We will encourage long-term, sustainable partnerships and a focus on excellence.’

Ayanna Witter-Johnson is a 24 year old composer, jazz vocalist, cellist and pianist, who took part in the London Symphony Orchestra’s Panufnik Young Composers Scheme and has been Emerging Artist in Residence (EAR) at London’s Southbank Centre, already has a reputation as a musician to watch. In September 2009 she commenced further studies in composition at the Manhattan School of Music and will be working with Serious this summer when she will lead a participation week at Wigmore Hall for 8-13 year old aspiring songwriters, composers, instrumentalists and singers.

Ayanna said: ‘Learning to play an instrument is for me is a daily discovery of my creativity, emotions and my relationship with my environment and others around me. It is a journey that provides me with the discipline to explore ideas and experience the satisfaction of working towards and achieving my goals.

‘Everyone should be given the opportunity to learn an instrument so that they too may imagine a better world and acquire the skills to create and contribute to it. It is also a lifelong journey that can grow according to your pace and participation. There is no right or wrong way to do it. It gives a freedom of expression that reflects our unique qualities and serves to provide a place where we are all welcome. ‘

The Mayor’s Music Education Strategy encompasses several programmes introduced by the Mayor. This includes encouraging people to donate unused instruments under a musical instrument amnesty scheme in 2009, Rhythm of London, which saw over 100 participatory musical events throughout the city in 2009 and the Rhythm of London busking scheme, which involved young musicians playing at Tube stations to win musical instruments and a year’s licence for a coveted TfL busking slot. Details of this year’s Rhythm of London (17-24 April) and the busking scheme will be announced shortly.

The plan also includes the Rhythm of London Handbook and website, first launched in 2009, which will be updated on a regular basis, offering information about musical opportunities for young people, teachers, and the general public. In the longer term, the aim is to integrate with other websites and advisory services, to ensure teachers and schools have clearer, more comprehensive information.

The GLA will be working in partnership with other organisations to develop events and publications for teachers throughout 2010-2012 to support teacher development. The plan will also see an audit of music education provision, analysing trends and gaps across boroughs, age profiles, demographics, and types of funding that are available.

Mark Pemberton, Director, Association of British Orchestras said: ‘The ABO is delighted to support the scheme. Orchestras already work in partnership with schools across the capital, and we look forward to working with the Mayor to extend the reach to every child served by a local music service that wants to grasp the opportunity of working with our finest musicians.’

The GLA’s Music Education Programme is steered by a board comprising representatives and experts from the music education sector and chaired by Karen Brock, Head of Tower Hamlets Arts and Music Education Service and Music Education Council, who said: ‘We welcome the initiatives being proposed and are delighted that the Mayor’s Music Education Fund is seeking to strengthen and deepen the partnerships between music services in the London boroughs and the orchestral and professional sector whilst inspiring more young musicians to make and enjoy their music making across the capital.’

Sir Nicholas Kenyon, Managing Director, Barbican Centre said: ‘The GLA’s initiative in coordinating, highlighting and enhancing London’s great music education offer is really welcome. Our work across the Barbican, Guildhall School and London Symphony Orchestra in partnership with Music Services is enabling young people to realise their talent, and develop a lifelong love of all kinds of music.’

Chief Executive of Southbank Centre, Alan Bishop said: ‘Last year, 60,000 people flocked to the Royal Festival Hall to hear the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, including 4,000 school children who were thrilled by their extraordinary demonstration of what music education can be.

‘We believe in the power of music to give opportunity, and through initiatives such as In Harmony, which brings the joy of learning an instrument to young people in some of the most deprived areas of Lambeth, Southbank Centre tried to help bring music to everyone.’

Moira Sinclair, Executive Director London, Arts Council England added: ‘Arts Council England believes that every child and young person should have high quality music in their life and we are delighted to share the Mayor’s commitment to making this happen. Many of the arts organisations we fund are doing extraordinary work in this area, and we look forward to helping to link their work to that of other partners and for the benefit of young audiences and musicians across the capital.’

Published today, Investing for Recovery – a new deal for London, is a joint report by the GLA Group and London Councils, working in the interests of all 33 London authorities. The report makes clear London’s dominant economic role; heralding the capital as the engine room, driving the UK into recovery, and makes the claim for fairer funding.

The report bids for a fairer funding model that takes into consideration London’s high turnover of population, resulting strains on public services, and the capital’s intractable social problems, including poverty levels and insufficient housing.

As part of a joint lobbying campaign, conducted at official and ministerial level, the Mayor wrote to Liam Byrne, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, on 30th October requesting a meeting to discuss the capital’s financial future, but has yet to receive a reply.

Already punching above its weight, with just 12 per cent of the country’s population, London contributes more to the Treasury than any other region; its economy is greater than that of Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and the East Midlands combined. To maintain its position, the capital needs continued investment, but with greater freedom for the boroughs to decide how money is spent.

Boris Johnson said: “I am disappointed that Liam Byrne has not taken up my offer of a meeting. There is no denying that London is the economic engine room of the nation and we need a strong economic alliance between City Hall and Westminster.

“Londoners already do more than their fair share. We pay much more in tax than we get back in public expenditure. We are driving the economy into recovery. Londoners are, on average, 30% more productive than the rest of the UK, plus those who leave take their skills and experiences with them, honed in the world’s business capital.

“London has consistently replenished the Treasury coffers over the last twenty years. What we want is a fair deal, only a fair deal, and will give a great deal back to the nation.”

Chairman of London Councils, Councillor Merrick Cockell said: “London is unique. Not just because of its importance as the country’s capital but because of the mix of challenges our public services face on a daily basis – including an overstretched transport system, overcrowded homes, the dire lack of affordable houses, and large pockets of deprivation.

“This is not a case of us simply calling on the government to give more money to London. It is about investing in the leadership and innovative thinking from boroughs and their partners, including the Mayor, in tackling the problems this city faces head on.

“It is supporting this work with a fair share of funding that will help us support our communities on the long road to recovering from the recession and build for the future. This in turn will have major benefits for the rest of the country.”

Ahead of the Pre-Budget Report (9th December) and in anticipation of future spending reviews and public finance constraints, this report outlines why strong economic growth in the capital benefits the whole country and argues the case for:

- Funding to be maintained by central government for key investments that will help the country as well as the capital, especially Crossrail, the rebuilding of the Underground and skilling our population to compete in a globalised economy.

- Fairer revenue funding to enable London’s leaders to tackle persistent social problems – where London’s needs remain high relative to the country as a whole. London’s population is growing, and will hit 8.1 million by 2016; and the costs of its public services remain higher than the rest of the country by around 20-30 per cent.

- And, in certain areas, changes to the distribution of national funding where London’s social and other needs remain more challenging than in the rest of the country.

A copy of the report can be found here

Investing for Recovery – a new deal for London is a deliverable of the City Charter – a voluntary agreement between the Mayor of London and London Councils. An agreed area for joint action in the City Charter is to campaign for a fairer share of funding and investment in London from central government.

The 2010-2011 Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement was announced on Thursday 26 November, which again saw London boroughs receiving the lowest government grant increase of any region.

The government provides local authorities with an annual grant through the Local Government Finance Settlement. This allocation has a significant impact on the services local authorities provide, council budgets, and council tax levels.

A new pilot scheme – approved by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) London Board chaired by the Mayor – has been set up to explore what immediate steps can be taken to give London’s councils greater control and flexibility over housing decisions. The pilot will also explore a framework which could see boroughs agree to an indicative budget for housing investment from 2011 as part of the next public funding round.

Mayor Johnson: on track to deliver

Croydon, Westminster and Hackney councils have been invited to take part in the pilot, starting from April 2010, as they represent a wide selection of the housing challenges in the capital, from over-crowding to major estate regeneration, and have all developed robust and ambitious investment plans working with the HCA.

The boroughs will spend the year-long pilot working with a steering group, chaired by the Mayor’s Housing Advisor, Richard Blakeway and made up of representatives from several key agencies including London Councils, HCA, Housing Associations and Communities and Local Government, looking at what steps would be needed to create a London-wide delegated delivery programme. Every borough will potentially be offered the opportunity to negotiate a delegated contract for the 2011 investment round.

The pilot is a key part of the Mayor’s ongoing commitment, outlined in his draft London Housing Strategy, to work in partnership with boroughs to deliver more affordable housing in the capital.

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: “We remain on track to deliver a remarkable number of affordable homes over the next few years but we must begin to look now at how we can keep this momentum going into and beyond 2011. London’s councils have a hugely important part to play in helping us achieve the levels of affordable housing this city needs and they are once again leading the way with this superb new pilot.

“By giving boroughs greater autonomy and responsibility over how housing investment in their area, in return for solid commitments on delivery, we should not only see an increase in the number of homes being built but that the right sorts of homes are created, in the areas where they are needed most.”

David Lunts, London Regional Director of the HCA, said:

“The delegated delivery pilot will build on the HCA’s Single Conversation model of working with London boroughs. It will see whether we can go further to help them in their efforts to provide new homes and stronger communities that are tailored to local conditions.”

Cllr Philippa Roe, Westminster Council’s cabinet member for housing, said: “This pilot is an important milestone in paving the way towards giving councils more freedom to deliver affordable housing that meets the needs of their local communities.

“We want to see a system that gives more flexibility to local authorities so they can respond more effectively to the needs of local people.

“We are delighted to have been chosen and hope we can make a significant contribution to forming a blueprint that other local authorities across the capital will follow.”

Councillor Dudley Mead, deputy leader and cabinet member for housing said: “Croydon is excited to be part of this pilot programme, and is ready to rise to the challenge of delivering stretching new targets of affordable homes. We welcome the certainly over long-term investment funding that this scheme will bring, and we are keen to make use of its flexibility to respond quickly and effectively to new development opportunities. With more ability to shape our own housing programme we will be at the forefront of the drive to have control over spending decisions passed down to a local level.”

Steve Douglas, Hackney Council’s Interim Corporate Director for Neighbourhoods and Regeneration, said: “Hackney is among the top-performing London boroughs for affordable housing provision, with 800 new homes delivered last year exceeding our GLA target. We welcome this opportunity to participate in a pilot which should allow greater local flexibility, as local authorities are ideally positioned to take the lead in working with partners for new housing. We would look for the pilot to provide genuine freedoms, and to reduce bureaucracy, not to create another layer. Hackney Council is committed to the regeneration of the borough’s estates, and to providing 21st-century homes for residents.”

During the pilot, the three boroughs will receive support from a steering group made up of representatives from the HCA, the Greater London Authority, the London Development Agency and Communities and Local Government.

The Delegated Delivery Programme Pilot will be steered by a group, chaired by the Mayor’s Housing Advisor, Richard Blakeway and consisting of GLA, HCA, CLG, London Councils, and G15 (housing associations). The role of the steering group will be to decide what exactly will be delegated in 2010/11, the process for extending it to all boroughs, and evaluating the pilot.

HCA London Board

The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) has a London Board, a sub-committee of its main Board, which is chaired by the Mayor. These arrangements are unique to London, reflecting the presence of regional government in the capital, as well as the importance of the Mayor and the London Development Agency (a significant holder of housing land) to delivering the HCA’s overall targets. The HCA London Board brings together the key public sector agencies that deliver housing and regeneration in the capital, to oversee our investments, facilitate cooperation and to ensure a coordinated effort.

Homes and Communities Agency (HCA)

The HCA is the single, national housing and regeneration agency for England. Our role is to create opportunity for people to live in high quality, sustainable places. We provide funding for affordable housing, bring land back into productive use and improve quality of life by raising standards for the physical and social environment.

HCA Single Conversation is the HCA’s business approach. It is the process of dialogue with a local authority (LA), or a group of local authorities where this works better, and partners from the public, private, housing association and voluntary sectors. The Conversation will draw on the long-term, comprehensive priorities set out in the LA’s Sustainable Community Strategy and together join up decision making across the range of housing and regeneration activities and investment programmes.

The Mayor is committed to ending rough sleeping in London by 2012 and in February this year, set up his London Delivery Board, whose first action was to work with 205 of the most entrenched rough sleepers.

The 205 individuals were identified as a priority by the Board as they represent the most difficult homeless group to reach. They have typically been homeless for at least five years, have refused or have been failed by repeated interventions to help them off the streets, and are often affected by a complex set of problems, including drug addiction and mental health issues.

138 long-term rough sleepers are now off the streets and the Board, chaired by the Mayor’s Housing Advisor, Richard Blakeway, plans to help the remaining 67 still on the streets into accommodation by next Spring. It has already started to look at expanding this success to other people affected by sleeping rough in London.

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson said:

“The London Delivery Board’s decision to focus first on those worst affected by homelessness in the capital has been hugely successful. Persuading long-term rough sleepers to come into, and stay in, accommodation is notoriously difficult. So to see just a third remaining on the streets only six months after the board began its work is a tremendous achievement for everyone involved.

“It is completely unacceptable for anyone to end up with only the street for a home in 21st century London. The board is doing a superb job but this is just the beginning of its work. We continue to face the challenge of people arriving onto the streets, often following a combination of financial and personal disasters. What we now need to do is build on this success and redouble efforts to tackle the flow of new rough sleepers and reduce the number of former rough sleepers returning to the street through health and job opportunities.”

Jeremy Swain, Thames Reach Chief Executive, said: “I am delighted that the Delivery Board has encouraged street outreach teams to find new, imaginative ways of helping London’s most vulnerable and chaotic rough sleepers to leave the street behind for good. The teams have risen to the challenge magnificently and we should all celebrate the fact that these men and women, who for years have faced the ignominy of sleeping on cardboard and under thin blankets in shop doorways, are now receiving support and help in hostels and other accommodation. We won’t be satisfied until the final 67 people are also helped off the street, but with the momentum created by the Delivery Board partnership, a 100% success rate is eminently achievable over the coming months.”

Charles Fraser, chief executive of St Mungo’s, London’s largest charity for homeless people, said: “We welcome the emphasis which the Mayor has placed on tackling the “stock” of rough sleepers – those who have been longest on the streets. Progress has been encouraging, and we stand ready to help in whatever way we can to make it last, and indeed to extend it.

“Reducing the numbers is important. Even more crucial, however, is the Government’s commitment to tackling their exceptional rates of ill health and of unemployment, and we hope that a similar level of resource – and sense of urgency – will be applied to make this happen.”

Jim Barber, Assistant Director of Housing at the City of London said: “The City is fully committed to the Mayor’s target to end rough sleeping by 2012. We continue to work very hard, in partnership with our outreach provider Broadway and the Police, with all rough sleepers including the most entrenched. We aim to deliver practical support which will help people turn their lives around rather than simply change their immediate situation. There have been many success stories this year, but we have a lot of work to do to build on this success.”

Cllr Philippa Roe, Westminster Council’s cabinet member for housing, said: “Long-term rough sleepers often have very complex needs and these figures show that a joined up approach across London is working.

“Working with our partners, we aim to help people off the streets as quickly as possible and into accommodation, where they can start to get their lives back on track with access to healthcare, specialist support and employment advice.

“While we know that in the current economic it won’t be easy we will continue to work hard to further reduce the rough sleeping population and focus our resources on those who are hardest to reach. We will also continue to focus on preventing those who are new to the streets from becoming entrenched rough sleepers.”

Leslie Morphy, Chief Executive of Crisis, said: “The London Delivery Board and the local authorities and agencies working with it have made a good start. Everybody who is helped off the streets is a life improved and it is particularly important to see some of those who have been sleeping rough the longest with the greatest needs being helped to come in off the streets. The task now is to ensure that those individuals are given all the support and opportunities they need to move away from homelessness for good. And for all of us involved in the Delivery Board we now need to bring the same focus and joined-up approach to tackling the big challenges that remain so we really are in a position to end rough sleeping for good.”

The London Delivery Board brings together for the first time key stakeholders who are all committed to ending rough sleeping the capital. The board has workstreams focusing on skills and employment, health, migrant rough sleeping, voluntary sector issues, policing and borough issues.

The Mayor’s commitment to end rough sleeping, outlined in his draft London Housing Strategy, takes forward the vision of the national strategy to bring rough sleeping to an end.

The following organisations have representatives on the London Delivery Board: City of London, City of Westminster, Communities and Local Government, Crisis, Jobcentre Plus, Greater London Authority, Homeless Link, LB Camden, LB Hammersmith and Fulham, LB Kensington and Chelsea, LB Southwark, LB Tower Hamlets, LB Lambeth, London Development Agency, Mayor’s Office, Metropolitan Police, Ministry of Justice, NHS London, St Mungo’s, Thames Reach, United Kingdom Borders Agency, National Offender Management Service – plus LB Brent, Department of Work and Pensions

The government’s rough sleeping strategy ‘No One Left out –Communities ending rough sleeping’ was published by Communities and Local Government in November 2008 and can be found at www.communities.gov.uk

Official counts suggest that there are 250 rough sleepers on London streets on any one night and that over the course of a year 3,500 people will sleep rough in the capital. Records tell us that roughly 87 per cent of people contacted by outreach teams are male and many have problems relating to drugs (41 per cent), alcohol (49 per cent) and mental health (35 per cent) with around a quarter having a combination of these problems. People who have been in prison or the care system are over represented.

The number of rough sleepers on London’s streets rose by 15 per cent in 2008/09 when the approximately 3,500 people were recorded as sleeping rough on the capital’s streets – almost half of the national total. However almost 60 per cent of those who were new rough sleepers with more than half only being seen once on the streets. This reflects the success of organisations working in the capital at turning people around and helping them get off the streets quickly and reconnect with their old lives.

Straw and Johnson: new youth crime intiative

A pioneering project dedicated to making London safer by helping young offenders turn their backs on crime was launched today by Justice Secretary Jack Straw and the Mayor of London Boris Johnson.

The Heron Unit is the UK’s first dedicated resettlement unit for 15 – 17 year olds who have demonstrated a commitment to changing their criminal pasts.

It is a key part of the Mayor’s youth plan ‘Time for Action’ and helps to deliver the Government’s £100 million Youth Crime Action Plan. The establishment of Heron has been delivered through the London Criminal Justice Board (CJB), a partnership which brings together criminal justice agencies in London and the Mayor’s office.

Offenders referred to the Heron Unit, located inside Feltham Young Offenders Institution (YOI), will be placed on a programme designed to tackle their offending behaviour. This includes one-to-one help in finding somewhere to live; getting important life skills and finding a job. They will be prepared to make a positive contribution to their local communities when they leave custody.

At the launch today the Justice Secretary and the Mayor toured the Heron Unit and spoke to some of the young people about their experiences.

Justice Secretary Jack Straw said: “I am delighted that so soon after launching the Youth Crime Action Plan, the Government and our partners have been able to launch this initiative. It is a further step forward in the innovative approach to tackling crime which we have introduced.

“This specialist unit will get young offenders out of the cycle of crime. By dealing with the reasons they offend while they’re inside, we will keep making the community safer on the outside. We know what works – this approach is based what we’ve learned cutting crime by more than a third in the last 12 years.

“That achievement is thanks to the hard work of police, prisons, councils, youth offending teams and other frontline services. This is a great example of that joint effort and I know everyone wants to continue building on what has already been done.”

Mayor Boris Johnson said: “Heron Wing is the smarter approach needed to reduce reoffending. The intensive support at Heron will provide real alternatives for young offenders and there will be no room for excuses or falling back into casual criminality. In short, the life tools and strong steer they need to get firmly back on the right track.

“I am proud that 12 months after launching my youth plan we have now delivered a young offenders unit that is equipped to help teenagers turn their backs on crime forever.”

Andrew Morley, Chief Executive of the London CJB, which is coordinating the initiative, said: “This programme demonstrates what is possible when partners coalesce around a common objective. By working together we can specifically target these youngsters, put them through a rigorous programme designed to challenge their offending behaviour and support them to resettle back into their communities.

“We are confident that this approach, developed on the basis of evidence and experience, is the one most likely to stop them returning to crime, and which in turn will help make London safer.”

Schools Minister Vernon Coaker said: “Resettlement units like the Heron centre will help young offenders rebuild their lives by giving them access to training and support so that they can gain important life skills, learn about responsibility and discipline and find a job when they leave custody. This is vital to prevent re-offending and to help young people break out of the cycle of crime.

“Through the Youth Crime Action Plan we are getting tough on the minority of young people committing offences, as well as intervening earlier to prevent young people being drawn into criminal activity and anti-social behaviour in the first place. We have put more money into family intervention projects which are successfully targeting the most vulnerable children and families, setting them clear rules and punishments, and confronting and challenging them to change their behaviour.”

The SportAccord Convention will see over 1,500 of the world’s top sporting officials and business people from more than 60 countries come to the capital for the six-day event. The convention will initially contribute over £3m to the London economy. However, it is expected to be worth many more millions through contracts for new businesses and more major events coming to the capital and the UK beyond 2012.

Hosting SportAccord is a key milestone in delivering the capital’s long-term aims to position London and the UK as the world’s leading city and country in the business of sport. With the 2012 London Games around the corner, the convention is a unique opportunity for the capital and the UK to showcase British expertise and increase its market share in the US$111 billion global sports business industry.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “This is a truly fantastic opportunity for the capital. Delivering a legacy for London after the Games is crucially important and SportAccord will now play a significant role in helping us achieve this. Sport is at the heart of this great city and I am looking forward to welcoming all sports leaders, IOC members and Olympic bidding cities to London in 2011 to give them a taste of what’s in store for 2012 and after.”

Olympic Minister Tessa Jowell - keynote speaker

Tessa Jowell, Olympics Minister and speaker at the 2012 Games Sport Business Summit today, said: “The SportAccord Convention is an excellent opportunity for UK businesses to showcase their expertise gained from working on London 2012 to key players in the international event supplier sector. With preparations for the London Games reaching fever pitch in 2011, SportAccord will be a vital forum for British companies looking to capitalise on the business benefits of 2012 and take their experience overseas.”

Hein Verbruggen, Chairman of SportAccord Convention commented, “Our constituents comprise the top leadership in all areas of international sport and have a vested interest in any city that is hosting an Olympic Games and other top-level sporting events. With London preparing to welcome the world for the Games in 2012, there is no better time for the SportAccord Convention to come here and witness the final preparations taking place in your city. We look forward to working with our colleagues here over the coming year and a half, and to together creating an event which will show the world what a wonderful host city London will be – for the SportAccord Convention, the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and future major sports events in the city.”

The bid to bring this prestigious sport’s convention was co-ordinated by the Events for London team at Visit London and has been heavily supported and funded by a number of the UK’s sporting and business bodies. Those bodies include the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) whose key role is to build Britain’s capabilities to compete in the global economy. The government’s sporting body UKSport has also proactively supported the bid as well as the Greater London Authority (GLA), LOCOG, UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), the London Development Agency (LDA), VisitBritain, and Events for London.

The convention is a unique annual event organised by the International Sports Movement. It will be attended the top officials from the Olympic and non-Olympic International Federations of sport, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board, rights holders of major sports events, media, sponsors and other commercial businesses in the global sports industry. The six-day gathering from 3rd – 8th April will be the first time the convention is hosted in the UK and will be held in the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, London.

• The SportAccord Convention is a unique annual event owned by the International Sports Movement, gathering all the top officials of the Olympic and non-Olympic International Federations of sport, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board, rights holders of major sports events, media, sponsors and other commercial businesses in the global sports industry.
• The first SportAccord Convention was held in Madrid in 2003. Each city to be successful in hosting the Convention has to provide an itinerary of engaging events and activities, which allows the attendees to experience the culture and hospitality of that city.
• London follows on from previous host cities including Beijing, which also hosted SportAccord in the year before the 2008 summer Olympics. Other previous host cities include Dubai, Denver, Lausanne and Olympic cities Seoul and Athens.
• The Events for London coordinated and spearheaded the overall bid. The team was created in 2007 by the Mayor’s office to attract and bid for new major events to London.

SportAccord Convention

The SportAccord Convention is a 6-day gathering of 1500 leading representatives from international sport. The annual convention is held in a different country each year and encompasses the Congress and General Assemblies of over 100 international sports federations and their related associations. Its mission is to offer the sports community a powerful opportunity to come together on a global scale, in an exclusive and authoritative networking environment, to build relationships, share knowledge and develop ideas.

The SportAccord Convention comprises networking activities and a select series of high-level conference sessions centered on a comprehensive exhibition, which showcases over 80 organisations. The event attracts a global audience of about 1,500 delegates from 60 countries around the world, representing 500 different organisations, including 85 cities and national event bodies, consultants, lawyers and a wide range of companies, as well as media covering the event.

Owned by SportAccord/GAISF (General Association of International Sports Federations), ASOIF (Association of Summer Olympic International Federations) and AIOWF (Association of International Olympic Winter Sports Federations), the SportAccord Convention encompasses the annual Congress and General Assembly of each of these association, while also offering the sports community a powerful opportunity to come together in an exclusive and authoritative networking environment to build relationships, exchange knowledge and develop ideas. These three associations have a collective membership of over 100 international sports federations who turn own and manage over 1000 international sports events in over 100 different sports disciplines. The International Olympic Committee have organised the spring meetings of the IOC Executive Board at each convention to date. In addition to its Executive Board Meeting, the IOC also hold their annual joint meetings with SportAccord/GAISF, ASOIF and AIOWF during the Sportaccord annual gathering.

Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS)

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is building a dynamic and competitive UK economy by: creating the conditions for business success; promoting innovation, enterprise and science; and giving everyone the skills and opportunities to succeed. To achieve this it will foster world-class universities and promote an open global economy. BIS – Investing in our future.

We're already on track to deliver 50,000 affordable homes, says Mayor

More than 30,000 new homes could be created in the capital by freeing up under-used land owned by the Greater London Authority (GLA). The announcement was made by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson today (November 3rd) as he challenged London’s developers and investors to help rethink the future delivery of affordable housing.

Speaking at his Housing Investment Summit the Mayor called on the key players present to match his commitment and put forward innovative and cost-effective measures to maximise delivery on any potential developments on GLA land. He wants London to show the rest of the UK that it is possible to secure the building of new homes in the face of reduced public spending. He has asked for an audit of land owned across the GLA family, including Transport for London, the London Development Agency and the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, to identify potential development sites.

The Mayor is currently spending over a £1bn a year to maintain the construction of new homes in London through the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and has pioneered the KickStart programme spending £144m to unlock major regeneration schemes including the Aylesbury Estate, Kings Cross and Woodbury Down. In March he launched the FirstSteps product which helps first time buyers to get on the housing ladder and remains on track to deliver 50,000 affordable homes. Today’s summit is focused on the delivery of affordable homes after the current round of funding ends in 2011.

The scheme proposed today would see the GLA act as a shareholder in any new development with future profits re-invested into affordable housing in the capital. The Mayor hopes the offer will inject confidence into the sector, help to get new housing schemes off the ground and attract institutional and other investors to housing developments in the capital.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said:

“ We’re already on track to deliver 50,000 affordable homes which will benefit thousands of Londoners but this success cannot be an excuse to take our foot off the pedal. We have to set our sights to the future and start working now to deliver the next 50,000 and the 50,000 after that.

“The GLA is sitting on hundreds of potential housing sites that could be used to build more than 32,000 new homes and I know we’re not alone. London’s councils, private institutions and HCA can all do the same but the cost and red tape involved is suffocating.

“I want to change this. To do this we need innovative ideas that will reshape how we invest, build and deliver affordable homes in London and in return I’ll put my land where my mouth is and show London is leading the way on delivering affordable homes for 2011 and beyond.”

Sir Bob Kerslake, chief executive of the HCA said:

“Today’s focus on pragmatism, flexibility and innovation echoes the approach of the HCA and its London Board to sustain development in London.

“To benefit from the opportunities that the shift in market conditions has created, it is important that new arrangements use investment over a longer term and deliver wider benefits for communities. Through the Housing Finance Group and the Public Land Initiative the HCA has highlighted its commitment to using public and private investment to overcome current challenges and create future, affordable opportunities.

“I am glad that the HCA was able to support today’s event and continue the debate over which models will deliver the homes we need.”

Stuart Fraser, Chairman of the City of London Corporation’s Policy & Resources Committee said:

“The financial crisis has severely impacted the funding models used to deliver housing projects particularly in London, but affordable housing remains a crucial issue for our city. I hope this summit will provide a chance for both the public and private sectors to come together to consider innovative solutions for the financing of new homes and housing regeneration here in the capital.

“Despite the economic downturn, London is still a world leading international financial centre. I hope that the talent and experience of those who work in the financial and professional services industry coupled with the expertise and knowledge of those in the public sector, will enable us to find the right answers to the complex issue of housing finance.”

The Mayor also announced that proposals were being explored at the London Development Agency (LDA) to set up a London-wide housing company. The new company would aim to reduce the cost for boroughs and other public land-holders to bring land forward for development.

The Mayor will be inviting proposals from institutional investors to use GLA land for housing. A new steering group with representatives from all the GLA’s functional bodies is being set up to go through any submissions. Headed by Richard Blakeway, the Mayor’s Housing Advisor, first results are expected early in the New Year.

The capital’s developers and housing investors are facing numerous problems in moving forward with London’s housing supply. These include difficulties in raising finances to build, falling house prices and land values making many housing schemes no longer viable, and expected funding cuts from central Government. The Mayor has recognised that there is a pressing need to look for ways to use the limited public sector investment more effectively and for more imaginative means of bringing in private financial resources to invest in new homes in the capital.

The Mayor will be using the results of today’s meeting to prepare a submission, ready for any new Government, setting out what is needed to assist him to maintain the delivery of London’s housing pipeline in the face of limited public sector resources in the next spending round.

The Mayor is responsible for drafting a statutory housing strategy for London and for directing the use of London’s housing resources and making recommendations to central government on investment issues in London.

Held in partnership with City of London Corporation and the Homes and Communities Agency the Summit was an opportunity for leading figures in. London’s housing industry – senior representatives from national government, local government, governmental agencies, private and public sector developers, housing consultants and commentators, leading law firms and banks and other financial institutions – to discuss how to maintain the delivery of affordable homes in the face of turbulent housing market conditions and an anticipated reduction in public subsidy.

In May 2009 the Mayor pledged to halve severe overcrowding in London’s social housing sector by 2016, the first city in the UK to make this commitment, together with proposals to deliver more family-sized affordable housing.

The Mayor’s First Steps Housing programme is aimed at improving the intermediate housing offer for Londoners. The programme will bring forward new products including the Up2U scheme launched earlier this year. It is also looking at ways to simplify the applications process and make the system easier for first time buyers to understand. ‘The Mayor is consulting on increasing the threshold from £60,000 to £74,000 for households with dependants in London, reflecting the higher cost of family housing in the capital.

Boris is still waving the flag

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, and the Mayor of Vancouver, Gregor Robertson, met at City Hall today to discuss and share ideas about the Olympics, climate change and the challenges faced by big cities in a global economy.

Boris Johnson heard Mr Robertson’s ideas for reducing road traffic by 30 per cent in Vancouver during the Winter Games in 2010 as well as exploring ideas for future partnerships between the two cities to deliver carbon reduction initiatives and developing clean and green environmental technologies.

Boris Johnson said:‘This is just a start of the friendship between London and Vancouver. I believe we will learn much from each other’s experiences of managing major sporting events and the challenges of running large cities in the 21st Century. I look forward to visiting Vancouver when they host the XXI Olympic Winter Games in February. It will be a fantastic opportunity to build on the ideas we have discussed today and to see first hand how they have managed such a high profile and complex operation’.

Mayor Johnson also thanked Mayor Robertson and his office for their help during a recent visit to Vancouver by the GLA’s Olympics team. The visit was a great success and the 2012 Team at the GLA gained invaluable insights from Vancouver’s experience of hosting the Games.

Gregor Robertson said:‘It was great to sit down and talk with Mayor Johnson, another big-city Mayor who has taken up the challenge of becoming the world’s greenest city. I expect our cities will be comparing notes on our environmental initiatives in the years to come.

’As well, with the Summer Olympics arriving in London in 2012, both of our cities have a lot to share in terms of what it takes to prepare for the Games. I wish Mayor Johnson and the London Organising Committee the best of luck preparing for 2012 – they’ve got a big challenge, but I know they’re up to it.’

4000 news trees for London

Twenty boroughs are set to benefit from up to 4000 new street trees, thanks to funding from the Mayor of London.

During his election the Mayor pledged efficiency savings would be ploughed into 10,000 street trees to improve Londoners’ quality of life. This is the second round of planting, building on the award of cash for the 1500 trees planted in ten boroughs earlier this year. Londoners say that improvements to their local environment help to make their communities better places to live, and these trees are being planted by boroughs, community groups or charities who applied for funds from the Mayor’s tree programme.

The Mayor, Boris Johnson, said: ‘Trees are wonderful additions to our communities helping to make neighbourhoods more pleasant. I am thrilled with the success of this programme in planting these trees in the areas that will benefit most.’

The second batch of trees will be planted between November and spring next year, with financial grants offered to organisations to plant trees in 20 boroughs (these figures are estimates subject to further planning work such as consultations with local people and council permissions ): Brent (70), Bexley (196), Barnet (114), Barking and Dagenham (379), Bromley (208), Enfield (257), Ealing (202), Harrow (400), Hillingdon (88), Hammersmith and Fulham (192), Hounslow (310), Haringey (150), Merton (207), Lewisham (355), Lambeth (237), Tower Hamlets (170), Redbridge (100), Sutton (183), Richmond (40) and Waltham Forest (100). The boroughs and organisations which have been awarded the funding will now be speaking to members of the public who registered interest online about having a tree in their street to assess the suitability of these locations.

Winning bids for this round include:

· Hillingdon Council who is working with Blue Sky Development and Regeneration, a not for profit company that gives young people newly released from prison the opportunity to help the local borough plant trees.

· Hammersmith and Fulham borough have been working closely with the Brackenbury Residents Association who will help to water and maintain the trees once they have been planted.

London is a very green city compared to other world cities, two-thirds of the capital’s land area is green spaces and water and the Mayor’s street tree and parks programmes are helping to make London greener still, which benefits both Londoners’ quality of life as well as helping tackle issues such as climate change. About 1.75 million Londoners live in areas that are further than 1km from an area of space of containing nature and/or wildlife – this has been factor in choosing which are the areas are being given priority for street trees. Street trees offer a range of benefits including attracting wildlife, providing shade, helping improve local air quality and reducing flood risk.

The Mayor’s street tree programme is managed by the Forestry Commission and is an expansion of their existing London Tree and Woodland Grant Scheme. The Forestry Commission is working in partnership with the environmental charity Groundwork London to manage the scheme. Detailed guidance on how to bid for funding for street trees is available from www.ltwgs.org The third phase of funding will start in April 2010.

The Mayor’s trees programme is being funded by efficiency measures which includes significant cost savings by the scrapping of the Londoner, a newspaper distributed to three million homes across Greater London by the previous administration.

The Mayor wants the new trees to be planted in 40 residential areas where few street trees exist and which would most benefit from them. It is expected that successful locations within these areas will benefit from around 100-400 new street trees over the Mayor’s four-year term.

The eligible areas were selected by a panel of tree experts including: Trees for Cities, the London Tree Officers Association, the Forestry Commission, Greenspace

Information for Greater London, the Greater London Authority, the London Development Agency, Transport for London, London Councils, the Tree Council and Natural England.

The final locations of street tree planting will be subject to local consultation and assessment of suitability.

The London regional office of Forestry Commission works in partnership with a range of national, regional and local bodies to promote and secure the benefits which trees and woodlands offer to London. These benefits include a place for recreation, a place to observe wildlife, a source of woodland products and a contribution to the landscape whether this is in local woodlands or in parks and residential streets.

As a charity, Groundwork London works alongside local communities, public bodies, private companies and other voluntary sector organisations to support communities in need. They have more than twenty-five years’ experience of delivering bespoke projects that use the environment as a catalyst for building a more sustainable future. Last year alone Groundwork London delivered almost 700 projects across the capital, helping improve the quality of people’s lives, their prospects and potential and the places where they live, work and play.

Areas which do not lie within a priority area may be eligible for a grant from the Forestry Commission who provide grants to support tree planting in other streets, open spaces, schools and woodland through their Community Grant. More information can be found at www.ltwgs.org

The last remaining major development area in central London is to be transformed into a brand new district for the capital, with 16,000 new homes, up to 25,000 new jobs and major new transport links, the Mayor Boris Johnson announced today.

Over the next two decades and beyond, nearly 200 hectares of derelict and under used land in the Nine Elms area, stretching from Vauxhall to Battersea Power Station, will be regenerated into new communities, with green open spaces. New proposed transport links include a pedestrian and cycle bridge linking Nine Elms to Pimlico across the river and an extension to the Northern Line.

The plans are published in a new planning framework for Nine Elms which also proposes:

• permitting tall buildings on the site where they are appropriate and do not compromise the setting of the Palace of Westminster
• a new park for residents accommodating a range of uses including allotments linking to the food economy at New Covent Garden
• new pedestrian and cycle networks
• better designed homes and communities bringing relief to an area suffering from multiple levels of deprivation
• a decentralised energy network connecting to other existing and planned district heating networks at Pimlico, Whitehall and Westminster

The framework acknowledges that both the proposal to relocate the U.S. Embassy to Nine Elms, and the redevelopment of Battersea Power Station and New Covent Garden Market are key to successful regeneration of the area. However, it also underlines the importance of a private sector-led extension of the Northern Line from Kennington to Battersea via Nine Elms to provide the missing public transport link to the site.

To support this, the Mayor has made clear in revised supplementary guidance to the London Plan on Crossrail contributions that office development in Vauxhall and Nine Elms will not be covered by these policies and exempt from the levy. Instead, contributions are likely to be sought from all new developments towards funding of the Northern Line Extension.

The revised Crossrail guidance also includes measures to boost development in London by providing an incentive for work to start on new schemes. It proposes a 20% discount on the Crossrail levy for new office developments, along the project’s route, which are granted planning permission and start work during the three year period after the new policy is formally published next Summer.

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson said:

‘This vision represents the final piece of the jigsaw that completes the central area of London. Although we are currently in a downturn, the area as it stands will, in the coming decades, deliver a substantial number of new homes and new jobs. The regeneration of Vauxhall and Nine Elms now is hugely significant in allowing us to support the economic growth of the whole of the capital, and, with the other major regeneration projects like the Olympic Park and Kings Cross taking shape, the prosperity and the role of our great city in the world is assured.

‘More than that, this neglected area which for years has failed to fulfil its potential, and is disconnected from surrounding neighbourhoods, will become a thriving new quarter for living, leisure and business and an easily accessible destination for Londoners and visitors.”

The plans and policies for the site are detailed in the Vauxhall and Nine Elms Battersea Opportunity Area Planning Framework. Copies can be downloaded from http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/planning/oapf-nine-elms/index.jsp

The London Plan identifies Opportunity Areas of brownfield land in London which can accommodate significant numbers of new homes and jobs. The Vauxhall and Nine Elms Opportunity Area is 195 hectares of prime development land centrally located on the south bank of the Thames and connects to the other Opportunity Areas around Waterloo, Bankside and London Bridge.

The Vauxhall and Nine Elms Opportunities Area Planning Framework has been led by the Greater London Authority, in partnership with the London Development Agency, Transport for London, Lambeth and Wandsworth Councils and English Heritage supported by key stakeholders including the major landowners in the area. Private sector funding has been a key factor in getting the project off the ground.

A key strand of work which has informed the planning framework is a major transport study undertaken in collaboration with Transport for London – partly funded by landowners on the site. The study recommends the private sector led Northern Line Extension from Kennington to Nine Elms and Battersea Power Station, not only increases public transport accessibility and capacity across the OA but is also the only scheme which is likely to deliver the range of CAZ uses which the London Plan seeks to deliver in this part of central London.

The Mayor has published draft alterations to the London Plan to enable use of the planning system to raise funds towards the cost of Crossrail through planning obligations (or “section 106 agreements”). These changes, and supporting guidance setting out the details of the proposed system, were published for public consultation in May 2009, and will be subject to an examination in public (EiP) in December 2009. This is a formal detailed examination of the policy, conducted by an independent panel which will make recommendations to the Mayor. The revised guidance takes account of comments made during public consultation, and has been issued today to support discussions at the EiP. These new policies are outlined in Draft Supplementary Planning Guidance – Use of Planning Obligations in the funding of Crossrail.