Murad on his travels
THIS MONTH
On the 9th of February I chaired a meeting of the Environment Committee which examined the Mayor's Draft Waste Management Strategy and considered ways of improving London's recycling rates. I have also taken up the Mayor's closure of the GLA's offices in Delhi and Mumbai, which I believe is damaging to London's interests in such an important developing economy as India. On the 15th of February I joined a demonstration outside the Department for International Development opposing climate change aid to Bangladesh being channelled through the World Bank.
LAST MONTH
After a brief respite over the holiday period, with the start of the new year it was back to business. On Monday 4th January I joined campaigners at Victoria station to protest against fare rises on London transport. On the 5th I met representatives of the RMT London Taxi Branch here at City Hall to discuss issues affecting the capital's cab trade. And the Jewish Chronicle reported on my efforts to persuade Chelsea FC to take action against antisemitic chanting at Stamford Bridge.
On Tuesday 12th January I joined the Crossrail All Party Parliamentary Group for a tour of the planned Crossrail route, to study the construction projects that are underway between Paddington and Canary Wharf. From Wednesday to Thursday I was away from London on an Environment Committee visit to the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, where we discussed Scotland's energy and climate change policies with representatives of the Scottish Government. On Saturday 16th I was at Baden Powell House in Queen's Gate SW7 where Nurul Islam Nahid, the Bangladesh Education Minister, and Frank Dobson MP presented the Bangladesh High Commission's educational achievement awards. Later that day I attended the Ilm Day awards for young Muslim achievers at the Hilton Metropole in Edgware Road.
On Monday 18th January, I was at our family home to see a Home Action Survey carried out by an advisor from the Energy Saving Trust. In the evening, in my capacity as chair of the London Assembly Environment Committee, I was on the platform at the Mayor's public consultation meeting at the Kenneth More Theatre in Ilford where we answered questions from local people about environmental issues affecting the capital.
At Mayor's Question Time on the 27th of January the London Assembly questioned Boris Johnson on his draft budget for 2010-11.
On the 31st of January I spoke at a discussion event at the Redbridge Institute in Gants Hill organised by Sonia Klein, entitled "Climate change: can we make a difference at the local level?"
At the end of the month the London Assembly Environment Committee published its report Flights of Fancy, which warned that key safeguards set by the government to limit the environmental impact of a third runway at Heathrow may not be fit for purpose.
Murad Qureshi AM, London-wide Assembly Member
