Caroline's news

Speaking to politics.co.uk about the continued use by Transport for London of Personal Service Companies to pay employees - a practice which the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee has said "generates suspicions of complicity in tax avoidance" and "fails to meet the standards expected of public officials" - Caroline Pidgeon commented:

"It is time the mayor got to grips with this issue and instructed TfL to adopt the same rules that apply to civil servants across all government departments and agencies.

Caroline Pidgeon AM, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on the Mayor’s refusal at today’s Mayor's Question Time to accept a full and independent audit of the procurement process for the design of the Garden Bridge, said:

"Through extensive investigation led by Architect Journal a number of serious issues have arisen about how Heatherwick Studio was awarded the contract for the design of the proposed bridge. It really is odd in the extreme that companies with far greater expertise in designing bridges were marked down on the criteria of ‘relevant design experience’.

"When a former chairman of the Royal Institute of British Architects procurement reform group states that serious questions remain about the selection process you would expect the Mayor of London to directly address the issues of concern.

Caroline Pidgeon AM, Liberal Democrat London Assembly transport spokesperson, commenting on today’s report by the House of Commons Transport Committee on river crossings, said:

“Far from being forward looking this report is based on ideas dating back to the 1970s.

“I think it is bitterly disappointing that the report totally overlooks the need for improved public transport links across the Thames, such as extending the London Overground across the Thames beyond Barking Riverside.

Caroline Pidgeon AM joined Vince Cable MP speaking at a rally organised by HACAN against expansion at Heathrow on Tuesday 3rd March.

"Given that there are 725,000 people affected by noise from Heathrow – no other airport in Europe comes close to this figure. AND a new runway would mean an additional 150,000 people under the flight path. It is simply unthinkable that a third runway could be built at Heathrow" commented Caroline.

Other key messages from Caroline's speech include:

"Existing capacity in the south east must be used more effectively. In summer 2012, 47% of runway slots at Stansted weren’t used, 51% at Luton, and 12% at Gatwick. Instead of a new runway at Heathrow, we should be prioritising improved rail links to the airports that already have spare capacity. It’s good to see that the line to Stansted will be four-tracked in the not too distant future."

"Even at Heathrow, though it is full, we know the terminals can handle a further 20 million passengers a year. Heathrow could look to shift to more long-haul flights or larger aircraft to increase passengers."

Caroline Pidgeon AM and Stephen Knight AM visited the Lee Tunnel in East London to see first hand the engineering works that have created this tunnel which will take sewage from the River Lee area to Beckton to the sewage treatment works. In time once the proposed Thames Tideway Tunnel is built this will connect to the Lee Tunnel.