The Mayor responded to Jenny at today's Mayor's Question Time by saying that he "would look at the figures "and she had "got a result".

Jenny Jones said:

"The Mayor promised to dramatically cut down the number of Met Police press staff and to slash the publicity budget, but both have risen since he was elected. It is ridiculous that the Met is spending more money on its image, whilst cutting borough police budgets by 5% year after year. The Mayor promised to increase frontline police, but one of the main impacts of his policies next year will be to cut the frontline traffic police section by 20 officers, 5 PCSOs and 5 staff. This is the opposite of what Londoners were promised."

Notes to editors

Police and press officers

Q: Should Londoners hold you to account on you manifesto commitment to spend less on MPS press officers and more on police officers?

Manifesto commitment:
"We need to spend less on press officers, and more on police officers. We need to redirect more resources to frontline policing."(Making London Safer, p.5)

"I will release funds that Ken Livingstone has earmarked for MPA advertising and press officers to be spent on approximately 50 extra fully-warranted British Transport Police Officers to patrol the worst stations in outer London."(Making London Safer, p.6)

"By reducing the number of press staff to 50 and halving publicity spend we will redirect £3.1 million from marketing and spin to frontline policing." (Making London Safer, p.16)

Facts:
MPS Dept of Public Affairs:
Spending
07/08 outturn- £5.7m
10/11 budget - £6.8m (nearly 20% increase)
Staffing
07/08 - 73
10/11 - 74

Instead of taking money for transport police from public affairs/ press officers Mayor is taking money from
* Borough Command budgets
* Traffic Unit budget (cut by 10%)
* Income raised from fines levied on uninsured drivers

A crowd of London's leading Green councillors and most hotly tipped candidates today lined up along Millennium Bridge to announce the details of their election pledges to Londoners, and explain why they believe they are on the threshold of a historic new era for the Greens.

With a record 800+ candidates standing across London and a long list of achievements, the Green Party is hoping to woo more voters than ever before in the count down to May 6th.

Speaking on behalf of the group, Cllr Romayne Phoenix, one of three Green councillors representing Brockley ward, said:

"This is an exciting time for the Green Party, and for all Londoners who want to be represented by people they can trust. The pundits have called this a change election, and this is the message coming from the street, and on the doorstep - the public wants change, and it's looking to the Green Party for that.

"Our policies have never been more relevant to the problems London is facing. We cannot go on as we are with shocking levels of inequality, people struggling to keep a roof over their heads, battling against cuts and threats of hospital closures. Across London, Green councillors have been proving that you can stick to your principles and get things done. We ask the questions that no-one else will, expose corruption, and root out waste on councils. Greens are now the party of progressive politics, the only party showing leadership - in not just ideas but action in our communities."

Islington's first Green councillor, Cllr Katie Dawson, added:

"In councils where Greens have been elected, those Green councillors have been seen to be highly effective, punching well above their weight despite not having the backing enjoyed by councillors from the bigger parties. This is because we have the courage of our convictions and are passionate about the things we believe in. Even one Green on a council can have a big effect as I have shown in Islington.

"Green councillors are bold. We have the guts to say what we believe, and people see that as a welcome contrast to the bland rhetoric of the grey parties. Whether it's saving a local sports centre, making roads safer by getting 20mph speed limits or getting apprenticeships to help local school leavers into work, people are seeing the difference that even a handful of Green councillors can make to London. Imagine what we could do with more!"

KHRP and supporters will deliver a signed letter to the headquarters of Turkish bank AKBANK, who, together with GarantiBank, have recently pledged to give financial support to the project, which threatens to devastate the local environment and communities, while continuing to negate international safeguards related to its construction.

Situated 65 km from the border to neighbouring countries Iraq and Syria, its development will create a gigantic reservoir in the Kurdish regions of Southeast Turkey. Around 400 sq km of the as yet largely free-flowing Tigris River and its confluents will be gravely damaged or destroyed and Kurdish territory divided.

Jean, who is KHRP's Advisor on Environmental Rights and has been campaigning to halt the development of the Ilisu Dam since she was elected to European Parliament in 1999, said:

"I am greatly concerned that the Turkish banks AKBANK and GarantiBank have pledged funding to this potentially devastating project and urgently call on them to rethink their positions. If built, the proposed dam will displace up to 78,000 people creating devastating social upheaval completely submerging the historic town of Hasankeyf forever. Being situated on one of most biologically diverse rivers on earth, it will also cause serious environmental harm, health problems and curtail the downstream flow of water to Iraq and Syria.

"The dam is intended to produce hydro-electric power to cover the electricity shortages in Turkey, but there are other ways to meet this need, without destroying the people's lives and the environment.

"These and may other fundamental flaws have prompted strong opposition in the region and yet there has been little public participation, there is an acute shortage of resettlement land and a total failure to protect cultural heritage.

"As these flaws have been exposed, funding from Britain, Germany, Switzerland and Austria has all collapsed and I encourage AKBANK and GarantiBank to take heed of these informed decisions."

Note to Editors

* The protest will be held from 1pm-2.30pm on Monday, March 15, outside AKBANK headquarters, 29 Marylebone Road, London, NW1 5JX.

Jean Lambert is one of eight MEPs representing London and one of two UK Green representatives in the European Parliament. Jean was first elected Green Party Member of the European Parliament for London in the 1999 European elections and was re-elected in 2004 and 2009.

The Kurdish Human Rights Project is an independent, non-political human rights organisation dedicated to the promotion and protection of the human rights of all people in the Kurdish regions. It is a registered charity, founded and based in London.
http://www.khrp.org

"This cut in funding is disappointing news. Car club membership offers real financial benefits to Londoners, especially in times of recession, and now is an ideal opportunity to expand the funding rather than cut it. The fact that 84% of all car club cars in the UK are based in London is precisely because of the sustained levels of investment by Transport for London over the last few years.

"The cut in car club funding is part of a bigger cut in the smarter travel budget which fell from £30 to £22m last year. I don't understand why the Mayor seems to be pulling back on schemes which encourage people to volunteer to cut down on car use."

Over 5.5 million young people in the EU under 25 were unemployed in December 2009, the equivalent to 21.4 percent of all young people. Emilie's draft report, which was produced for the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, calls for a promotion of youth access to the labour market and a strengthening of trainee, internship and apprenticeship status.

As a fellow member of the committee, and a longstanding campaigner for worker's rights, Jean is keen to pledge her support and will join Emilie, 25, in meeting the Young Mayor of Lewisham, Jacob Sakil, at the Civic Suite, Lewisham Town Hall. The pair will then travel to Deptford, where they will be joined by Darren Johnson AM, to discuss youth unemployment with representatives from The Albany arts venue.

Jean said: "Youth unemployment is one of the most acute problems facing Europe today, while Lewisham has one of the highest rates of unemployed under 25s in inner London, so I welcome the opportunity to draw attention to this worrying trend by backing Emilie's comprehensive draft report.

"This chronic problem has far-reaching consequences, from the increase in welfare costs to the erosion of the tax system, with young victims of the recession more at risk of long-term social exclusion and health problems.

"In response to this challenge I strongly support Emilie's call for Member States to work together to produce a coherent strategy of educational, financial, and social policies."

Emilie, who represents the Danish Socialist People's Party (Socialistisk Folkeparti, SF) in the European Parliament, added: "Let's put youth at the top of the political agenda. Let's take up this challenge. Let's turn Generation Lost to Generation Hope."

Note to Editors

Jean Lambert is one of eight MEPs representing London and one of two UK Green representatives in the European Parliament. Jean was first elected Green Party Member of the European Parliament for London in the 1999 European elections and was re-elected in 2004 and 2009.

Emilie Turunen has represented the Danish Socialist People's Party (Socialistisk Folkeparti, SF) in the European Parliament since June 2009. In 2008, Emilie became the national chair of the youth wing of the SF and in the same year was also made a member of the National Executive and Executive Committee of the SF. She graduated with a bachelor degree in social sciences and working life studies from Roskilde University in 2009.

In a concise paperback, commissioned by Biteback publishers ahead of the general election, Shahrar Ali introduces Green Party politics to the general reader. The series of Why Vote books includes titles for each of the main political parties.

Shahrar Ali said, "I aim to tell the general reader why there has never been a more important time to vote Green. I look at what makes us a distinctive and radical force for social and political change. I explain why facing up to the urgency of the climate change challenge requires a Green economic system which promotes quality of life without costing the planet."

Jenny Jones, Green London Assembly Member, said, "Shahrar has produced a great read that will inform and inspire in equal quantities. He faithfully describes what is right and what is wrong about politics and pushes the Green alternative at every page. Shahrar connects Greens with the likes of Rosa Parks and her refusal to give in to a racist request on a bus in 1955 Alabama."

Jenny Jones continued: "Shahrar powerfully reasons why the pursuit of short-term goals, through politics or war, produces more harm than good. 'Why Vote Green' will be invaluable for the general reader searching to vote for a radical political party fit for the scale and urgency of the problems faced by humanity today."

Shahrar Ali continued: "Greens promote a just society that cares for the most vulnerable in society, our future children and other creatures. In Why Vote Green, I expose the double standards of foreign invasions and the harms of this government's anti-terror legislation. We must fight for what we believe in and vote Green!"

Notes to Editors

1. 'Why Vote Green' is one of a series of books commissioned by Biteback publishers ahead of the 2010 general election. Other titles in the series, all out this week, introduce the policies of the Conservatives, Labour, Lib Dems, Plaid Cymru and SNP. There is also a title asking Why Vote? in general. For series titles see http://www.bitebackpublishing.com/

2. Dr Shahrar Ali will be speaking at a public meeting on Tuesday 2 March at 7.30pm in Willesden Green Library Centre. Shahrar will talk about the need for humans to face up to the climate change challenge on both a local and global scale through radical social and political action. The event, entitled "After Copenhagen: How do we fight Climate Change?", is organised by the Campaign Against Climate Change and is open to all.

3. 'Why Vote Green' is not the offical Green Party manifesto but is an account of Green Party politics from the point of view of a general election candidate and is available from Amazon and Waterstones bookstores.

From 1 March grounds maintenance workers in Lewisham's parks will be paid at least £7.60 an hour, lifting them out of the poverty pay trap.

It represents the first step in a fundamental shake-up of pay levels for those providing outsourced council services.

Lewisham Green Party councillors had waged a near two-year campaign for the fair-pay guarantee, beginning with a May 2008 motion which won cross-party support.

It called for companies providing out-sourced council services to pay employees at least the London Living Wage - higher than the national minimum wage, which is too low to make ends meet in the capital.

The resulting policy is unprecedented in London. It means companies competing for contracts are asked to provide two bids, with one priced to include fair pay for employees. The council can then, if it is prepared to fund the cost, choose the higher-cost, fair-pay deal.

Workers employed directly by the council already receive at least the London Living Wage, but contract workers have enjoyed no such guarantee.

Green Party Group leader Cllr Darren Johnson said:

"From now on when you are enjoying one of Lewisham's parks, you will know those working to maintain it for you are not paid poverty wages.

"Greens began this fight for fair pay almost two years ago. Now historically low-paid workers and their families will finally see the result in their pay slips.

"The current minimum to get by in London is £7.60 an hour, so this contract is a blow against the working poverty trap too many families find themselves in.

"This is a milestone, not an end to our campaign. We want the same fair deal for the caterers, cleaners and carers the council and community depend upon, and we will fight on for that investment."

The London Living Wage is the amount calculated by the GLA's Low Pay Unit as the minimum needed to escape poverty in London, and is periodically updated to reflect changing costs of living.

The unique fair-pay contract for grounds maintenance across the borough, awarded to Glendale, begins on 1 March and will last for 10 years.

As contracts for other outsourced services expire and have to be retendered, other low-paid workers will benefit from a living wage if the council decides to put the money in, meaning the grounds maintenance pay deal should not be a one-off.

The Green Party Group said council officers should be commended for working hard to make the policy work.

They added that they wanted to see the policy extended to the council's local public sector partners such as Lewisham Hospital.

The targets for household recycling proposed by the London Mayor in his new draft Municipal Waste Strategy fall well short of those recommended in January 2010 by a Parliamentary Select Committee. Whereas the Select Committee proposed a target of 60% of municipal waste to be recycled by 2020, the Mayor is proposing a target of only 50% by the same date. Lewisham Councillor and Chair of the London Assembly, Darren Johnson, will be recommending the Mayor sets higher targets.

Darren Johnson commented:
"The Mayor should be setting ambitious targets that at the very least reflect current thinking. He should focus his efforts on the boroughs that are performing badly".

"Unless the Mayor provides a clear plan of action, the boroughs that currently have the worst recycling rates stand to be hit hardest with fines resulting from not being able to divert waste from landfill. These fines will ultimately be passed onto the council tax payer".

Notes to editors
1. The Mayor's draft Municipal Waste Management Strategy, Jan 2010 http://legacy.london.gov.uk/mayor/environment/waste/docs/draft-mun-waste-strategy-jan2010.pdf The targets for recycling/composting of at least 45% by 2015, 50% by 2020, and 60% by 2031 of household waste.
2. House of Commons, Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, Waste Strategy for England 2007 - third report of session 2009-10 Volume 1, Jan 2010 http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/environment__food_and_rural_affairs/efrawastestrategy.cfm This select committee is recommending that DEFRA should raise its recycling targets to 50% by 2015 and 60% by 2020 of household waste.

Today the Mayor launched the public consultation of his climate change adaptation strategy, asking for the feedback on what London can do to cope with more extreme weather. However, Darren Johnson is concerned that the focus should have been on the Assembly consultation draft of his climate change mitigation strategy, also launched today, which he feels does not do enough to try and fight future climate change.

Darren Johnson said:

"Adapting to climate change is extremely important. But, even more important is the need to reduce our carbon emissions to prevent further climate change. The Mayor's strategy to fight climate change commits the Mayor to achieving less than half of what the previous Mayor's plans did, and only a third of what is needed to reach his target of a 60% cut in emissions by 2025.

"The current Mayor is relying too heavily on government action, and shying away from making cuts himself. Furthermore, with the government's current policies added in, the Mayor's plans still come up short of achieving the 60% cut by 2025 in London.

"He has buried the news on the same day as launching the adaptation strategy, but the fact is the Mayor is not doing anywhere near enough to fight climate change in the capital".

Notes to editors

The Mayor's Climate Change Mitigation Strategy commits him to cutting 9.2m tonnes of CO2 per year by 2025. Ken Livingstone's Climate Change Action Plan committed the Mayor to cutting 19.6m tonnes of CO2 per year by 2025.

The current strategy places more reliance on the government's commitments to decarbonising the energy supplied through the national grid, which are more ambitious now than in 2007 (when the previous Mayor's plans were published).

"The police have alienated young people, photographers, tourists and ethnic minorities with their unlawful use of stop and search in recent years. With the world watching, will they go for gold in the bad Olympics policing competition?

"If these powers haven't been scrapped by 2012, the police have to use them carefully following intelligence. A six week mass clampdown would undermine years of work to improve community relations and safety.

"The Mayor agrees that we need to review the legislation, but under his watch the police are planning a massive expansion of these unlawful powers. He should show some leadership and press for a much more proportionate approach to stop and search at the Olympics."

Notes to editors

The Mayor's answer to Jenny Jones' question on the ECHR ruling is as follows:

Stop and search (2)

Question No: 14 / 2010, Jenny Jones

In light of the ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that the indiscriminate use of section 44 anti-terrorism stop and search powers are illegal, do you think the Government's decision to appeal best serves the liberties and interests of Londoners?

Answer from the Mayor:

The Government needs to ensure that anti-terrorism powers are used proportionately and only for counter-terrorism related purposes.

The Met has already reviewed the use of Section 44 powers (see response to MQ15/2010). Rather than appealing, I ask Government to work with Parliament on reviewing the current legislation.

Mr Bakht, who has been running successful small businesses in Whitechapel and Brick Lane for the past twelve years, says: "Only Green policies can revive our high streets, create new jobs and offer protection against the harsh winds of recession. Roman Road and Bethnal Green markets would be priorities, as well as more investment in the 2012 Games with decent jobs for local people."

Looking to the Next Generation, suffering high levels of youth unemployment and mired in debt, Farid Bakht continues: "We need to defend young people against the savage cuts to education and train them for jobs in the emerging Green industries and abolish student tuition fees.

"It's time to heal the polarisation of communities and bring unity to the area. Greens can do this by offering a fresh, more democratic alternative to the unjust policies of the major parties and give people more of a say in the decisions affecting their lives."

Farid Bakht has a high profile role within the Green Party as International Coordinator on its National Executive Committee . He was born in Hackney, to a mother from the Basque country in Spain, and a father from Sylhet in Bangladesh. He is married and has a nine-year old daughter.

"The Mayor made a clear commitment to Londoners in his election manifesto to personally take charge of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA). Those of us with experience of the MPA knew immediately that he had made a promise he could never live up to. But Boris made crime the number one issue of the election and his chairing the MPA was the number one pledge in the crime section of his manifesto.

"In Boris Johnson's manifesto, the following commitment was first on the list for crime:
"Provide strong leadership: by taking responsibility and chairing the Metropolitan Police Authority and using my influence to tear up red tape and needless form-filling, so we can get more police out on the streets"

"As expected, he has now gone back on his word, realising that being both Mayor and chair of the MPA is just too much for one person to do properly when both are steep learning experiences. It was an ill thought out promise, and one that showed his lack of knowledge about what being Mayor and Chair of the MPA would involve.

"It's obvious he has worked hard at being Mayor, although his politics-by-press-release style infuriates me because it makes him so much less accountable than Ken, but he never did much to absorb the role of MPA Chair. So, quite honestly, I don't believe it will make that much difference to police accountability or the lives of Londoners.

"The London Mayor's deputy, Kit Malthouse, has been doing the hard work of running the MPA show behind the scenes whilst the Mayor just turned up to chair the meetings or meet the Commissioner occasionally. To suggest, as Kit has, that there was ‘heavy lifting' in the first two years, which Boris had to do and did do, is laughable, ludicrous, absurd, preposterous and any other word that means farcical.

"Meanwhile, most of the responses to major controversy, such as the G20 demonstrations and the Worboys rape case, came from individual members of the Metropolitan Police Authority rather than by Boris or Kit. It is always worth remembering that the Mayor doesn't have a guaranteed majority on the MPA and Kit will need to maintain the Mayor's good track record of keeping a cross party consensus to make the authority work.

"Here at City Hall we've noticed that the London Mayor has been stretched to cope with the job of Mayor. It's a big job, especially for someone who has never really run anything of this kind, like a council or a ministry. And this is despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of the projects which Boris is 'delivering' were inherited from the previous Mayor, i.e. Crossrail, East London Line Extension, Tube upgrade and even the ideas on cycle hire and cycling superhighways.

"He has dumped large numbers of new projects by declaring them to be unfunded and left a vacuum in Transport for London's plans for coping with congestion on the roads and overcrowding on public transport. London is a growing city and if the Mayor hopes to fill the gap between the growing demand for transport and the supply of new capacity with more people cycling, then he must reverse his cut to cycle lanes in outer London and make the roads safer.

"Boris has also stood down as chair of the London Waste and Recycling Board amidst criticisms that he is not delivering on environmental action. The Mayor has failed to keep any of his own launch dates for environmental action plans. This may have something to do with around three quarters of Ken's excellent environment team leaving City Hall as Boris drastically cut the number of staff and delayed key actions, like banning polluting white vans from London. The public consultation on tackling air pollution will be out for public consultation when Boris is celebrating two years as Mayor. We have yet to see a first draft of his plans to tackle climate change and meet the ambitious target of a 60% cut by 2025 which he (also) inherited from Ken.

"Ken increased council tax during most of his years as Mayor in order to increase police numbers by over 8,000 and create a system of safer neighbourhood teams in every area of London. This Mayor has frozen the council tax precept for the second year running and he has cut £millions from the Met Police budget. The Met are facing difficult times ahead, with budgets being cut in all areas. Therefore, the Chair of the MPA needs to take the time to understand this complex organisation to provide effective leadership. Boris Johnson has not really been involved from the beginning and perhaps feels it is time to stop pretending.

"One last interesting factor is that Boris' admitting he can't do both roles blows a hole in Tory plans for elected Mayors who control the police. Other Mayors, in other cities, do manage both roles, but I'd be willing to bet they are experienced politicians who have worked hard to know their remit, not amateurs doing an apprenticeship on the job.

"What do the Tories think of Boris' move? Did he clear it with anyone? Did he assess what it would do to the Tory policy?

"Perhaps it would have been best to tough it out, stick at the MPA meetings, keep his promise. He doesn't want to be thought lightweight, does he?"

"The Mayor made a clear commitment to Londoners in his election manifesto to personally take charge of the Police Authority. He has now gone back on his word, realising that being both Mayor and chair of the MPA is just too much for one person to do properly. It was an ill thought out promise, and one that showed his lack of experience.

"The Met are facing difficult times ahead, with budgets being cut in all areas. The chair of the MPA needs to take the time to understand this complex organisation to provide effective leadership. Boris Johnson has not really been involved from the beginning and perhaps feels it is time to stop pretending".

Notes to editors

In Boris Johnson's manifesto, the following commitment was first on the list for crime:

"Provide strong leadership: by taking responsibility and chairing the Metropolitan Police Authority and using my influence to tear up red tape and needless form-filling, so we can get more police out on the streets."

Shane Collins said: "The Reverend Sharpton comes from Harlem, the spiritual home of Marcus Garvey. His message of keeping economic power in the community is more relevant than ever today - with the corporate takeover of much of our lives. This message has been taken up by Transition Town, as exemplified by the Brixton Pound which I was proud to present to the Reverend Sharpton."

"Voter registration among the black community is only 45% in younger age groups, similar to the black youth unemployment rate. There is a connection. Black and green people have the power to change the results in the local and general elections but only if registered and voting.

"So remember Rosa Parks, honour Nelson Mandela, take heart from President Obama and register to vote by contacting your Town Hall or www.electoralcommission.org.uk. Remember racists register and racists vote."

For elections on 6th May the deadline to register is 20th April.

Quotes from Rev Sharpton speech

"How you define yourself is how you confine yourself. You have all this technology, Facebook, Twitter, Blackberry's. And you can't get ten black Britons to go and vote?

"At a time when we can elect Presidents, there is no excuse for us to be sitting down and not doing anything, and avoid recognising that it's a new time."

"Having consistently raised this issue in recent years, I was pleased to see the Mayor finally put a clear statement against garden grabbing in his London Plan. But London's suburbs will remain under threat so long as their gardens are classified as brownfield land ripe for development.

"I think of brownfield as ex-industrial land, not a back garden. If the Government wants to protect gardens it needs to re-classify them as gardens or greenfield."

Whilst London boroughs have the powers to reject development on back gardens, they struggle to do so unless they clearly state a presumption against this development in their planning policy. Even then, the pressure to meet housing targets and to develop on brownfield land can work against defending back gardens.

Betting chain Ladbrokes are offering odds of 12/1 on Green candidate Darren Johnson snatching the seat from sitting MP and current favourite, Labour's Joan Ruddock.

At the last general election, the Greens were outsiders at 100/1. This time around, odds have been dramatically slashed, leaving the Greens second behind Labour, with the Liberal Democrats at just 33/1 and the Conservatives the outsiders at 100/1.

Darren Johnson AM, Brockley councillor and Green parliamentary candidate for Lewisham Deptford, said:

"The shortening of the odds on a Green win reflects the desire for change on the part of Lewisham's voters. Many people are fed up with Labour and see no good reason to back the other major parties. If you've had enough of Labour and you want Lewisham to have a fresh, positive and green voice in Westminster, the best thing you can do is vote Green."

The Green Party's popularity in Lewisham Deptford has been steadily increasing. In the 2006 local elections, 2008 London Assembly elections and the 2009 European elections Greens came second to Labour in the constituency, well ahead of both the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives.

Following the introduction of the Welfare Reform Act last November, the government has introduced new testing of all those on incapacity benefit to find out whether they are genuinely unable to work, and then place them on the new ESA (Employment and Support Allowance), where payments vary according to levels of disability or illness.

A spokesperson from Carer Watch commented:

"People with schizophrenia and bi-polar disorder have been our focus up to recently, but now we are seeing cases of people with severe physical illness and limited time to live being required to go through back-to-work hoops. It's absolutely appalling."

Green Party Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Vauxhall, Joseph Healy, said:

"I recently visited a disabled woman who works in a Job Centre Plus for the DWP and she told me that their office was full of claimants, some of whom had only months to live, because of the ridiculous rule that anyone with over 6 months left had to come in and sign once every few months. She said that their offices were clogged up with people clearly unable to work and desperately ill because of government red tape.

"As a disabled person myself, who is also a recipient of the Disability Living Allowance, I realise the importance of these benefits for people living with long term conditions. Living with a long term illness or disability is difficult enough without having to feel stigmatised also.

"Now all we can do is fight to get this law changed so that seriously sick people once again get the care and respect from the Department of Work and Pensions that they deserve."

Editors notes

Profile of Joseph Healy

Joseph Healy is Lambeth Green Party's Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the Vauxhall constituency at the General Election.

He has worked for the last four years as director of a disability charity in Brixton campaigning for better accessible transport for disabled people and is himself disabled. He currently works for Lambeth's main disability organisation, Disability Advice Service Lambeth on a part time basis.

Joseph was a pioneer in the LGBT rights movement in the Irish Republic in the 70s and early 80s and has campaigned strongly in London on issues connected with HIV and health. He is also Vice Chair of Patients Forum Ambulance Services (London) Ltd and has been very involved for a number of years in efforts to strengthen public and patient involvement in the NHS, as well as combating the ever increasing trend to privatise the health service.

He is Co-Convenor of Green Left, the eco-socialist, anti-capitalist platform within the Green Party. He is also the Green Party's delegate to the Stop the War coalition and an active anti-war campaigner.

He is an active trade unionist and was a member of UNITE as well as being a delegate to Southwark Trades Council. He is now a member of UNISON.

She has also submitted a parliamentary written question asking the European Commission to clarify what steps have been taken by Member States towards this end. Almost a year ago President Obama set a deadline ofthe 22nd January 2010 for its closure.

Jean Lambert MEP, who took part in the demonstration, commented:

"President Obama is not alone in believing that the very existence of Guantanamo is a recruiting device for violent extremists with a variety of goals. Why is the United States seemingly so intent on prolonging this injustice when it does not make their country safer?"

"The existence of Guantanamo has been used by oppressive regimes to justify their own denial of human rights such as arbitrary detention for long periods, the use of inhumane and degrading treatment and torture, and trials that are not worthy of the name. The US, with the assistance of the EU, needs to lead the way in the closure of Guantanamo and in securing a just settlement for the detainees to prove that it can live up to its rhetoric on human rights and democracy."

"I have asked the European Commission to clarify any steps which have been taken by EU Member States to assist in the closure of Guantanamo by agreeing to receive former detainees. It would be in the best interests of those individuals, and in our collective interest, to help heal the festering wound that is Guantanamo and restore the rule of law based on respect for human rights. I hope we do not have to return to the US Embassy to protest the ninth anniversary of the centre next year. Guantanamo must close!"

NOTE TO EDITORS
(1) The demonstration was organisted by the London Guantánamo Campaign, which campaigns for justice for all prisoners at Guantánamo bay, for the closure of this and other secret prisons, and an end to the practice of extraordinary rendition.

There are currently just under 200 prisoners held at Guantánamo Bay, including two British residents. Approximately 50 prisoners are due for release once suitable countries are found to accommodate them. Around two dozen prisoners are likely to face trial in the US mainland.

Concerns have been expressed as to the likelihood of any prisoners receiving a fair trial after eight years of arbitrary detention and the likelihood of much of the evidence being tainted by torture and other illegal methods of obtaining it.

‘Cultivating the Capital: Food growing and the planning system in London'[1], by the London Assembly's Planning and Housing Committee, highlights the need for amendments to the London Plan and local authority planning policies to encourage food growing in London.

Despite being a sprawling urban metropolis, Greater London is home to almost 500 farms. The capital currently produces more than 8,000 tonnes of fruit and vegetables, including grapes, aubergines, potatoes, cauliflowers and cabbages as well as around 27 tonnes of honey, meat, milk and eggs.

But London could produce so much more; the report found that much of the "agricultural" land around London - around 15 per cent of the capital's total area, mostly in the Green Belt - is not actively farmed.

The report calls on the Mayor to make specific amendments to the London Plan to remove barriers to the viability of farms and highlight food growing as a particularly desirable use in the Green Belt, giving it the same weight as is other uses that are permitted there like outdoor recreation.

The Mayor should also integrate urban agriculture into waste, water and energy policies and empower boroughs to encourage growing spaces on housing developments, rooftops and vacant land.

Green Party Member of the London Assembly and Chair of the Planning and Housing Committee, Jenny Jones, said:
"The publication of the Government's food strategy demonstrates that sustainably produced food is an issue of major concern for the UK.

"With the right policy interventions, the capital could produce so much more of its own food.

"More self-sufficiency means better food security. Why continue to rely on huge quantities of food flown in from thousands of miles away when the capital has the potential to reap the health, social and economic benefits of locally grown produce?"

Alongside specific amendments to the London Plan and borough planning policies[2], recommendations in the report cover:

Removing barriers to commercial viability

Commercial growers who contributed to the Committee's investigation spoke of the challenges they face to keep their operations viable, including pressure from housing development and ‘land banking'. Some had found plans to modernise or diversify, like opening a farm shop on site, blocked by current Green Belt or planning policies. These should be revised. 

Encouraging more farmers markets and distribution channels
There are currently five wholesale food markets in London[3], together representing 20 per cent of the total supply of fresh meat, fish, fruit and vegetable supplies to London and the South East, but the report identifies a need for planning policies to encourage more distribution hubs.  

Tackling crime on farms
Crime adds up to 15 per cent to urban farmers' costs compared with rural counterparts. The report calls on the Metropolitan Police Authority to properly record farm-related crime so the issue can be assessed and tackled.

Assessment of further available sites for food growing
The report commends the Mayor's Capital Growth programme, which promotes the creation of local community growing spaces, and calls for an assessment of sites owned by the Greater London Authority to see if any are suitable for food growing. Boroughs should do the same for their existing and brownfield sites.

A full list of recommendations is on page 53 of the report. The Mayor and the London Food Board are asked to respond to the recommendations made.

Notes for editors:
1. The report: ‘Cultivating the Capital: Food growing and the planning system in London' is available at: http://www.london.gov.uk/assembly/reports/plansd.jsp2. Specific amendments to the London Plan and borough planning policies:
-The Mayor should include in the London Plan reference to Green Belt Policy (PPG2). To better support the objectives of the London Food Strategy, Draft policy 7.16 (Green Belt) should specifically state that food growing is one of the most beneficial land uses in the Green Belt. Draft policy 7.16 should also include a requirement for boroughs to give added weight to food growing as one of the most productive activities in the Green Belt when preparing policies for their Local Development Frameworks.
- Through draft policy 7.22 Boroughs should incorporate urban agriculture in Local Development Frameworks as a desirable urban activity. The Mayor should add to policy 7.22 under ‘LDF Preparation' that food growing is one of the most productive land uses in the Green Belt.
- The London Plan should specifically support the potential for farmers markets in the public realm and in particular public squares and large open public spaces. The proposed Town Centre SPG (due by 2011) should include detailed guidance regarding farmers markets and distribution networks for locally grown food.
- The Mayor should amend draft London Plan Policy 5.21 (Contaminated land) to include food growing in raised beds or skips on potentially contaminated sites as a feasible temporary alternative to the often expensive remediation of contaminated soil.
- The Mayor should through the London Plan encourage the temporary use of vacant public and private land for urban agriculture and encourage Boroughs to include relevant policies in their LDFs. 
- The Mayor should integrate urban agriculture into waste, water and energy policies in the London Plan and link these with the expanded draft policy 7.22. The Mayor should also integrate urban agriculture into waste, water and energy strategies (at GLA and Borough level).
- The Mayor should ensure the London Plan contains stronger links with existing policies of the London Food Strategy relevant to planning matters.
3. Billingsgate, New Covent Garden, Smithfield, Spitalfields and Western International
4. The report will be considered for formal agreement by the Planning and Housing Committee on 14 January.
5. Jenny Jones AM, Chair of the Planning and Housing Committee, is available for interview. See contact details below.
6. As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.

Responding to the London Mayor's consultation budget proposals for 2010/11, Darren Johnson said:

"I will seek a reverse of this year's fare rises on the buses by urging the Assembly to support an amendment to the mayor's budget. The Mayor's budget proposals will mean less money raised from car drivers, whilst public transport users are paying more.

 "I want to see the Mayor protecting the poorer Londoners by freezing bus fares and making those who pollute more, pay more. The Mayor claims that he has to increase bus fares whilst cutting bus services in order to fill a financial black hole, but a large part the deficit is created by for vanity projects such as scrapping bendy buses and dropping charges designed to discourage polluting cars".

Notes to editors
1. £75m is raise from the 2010 increase in bus fares.
2. Darren's amendment is likely to feature: £40m from emissions charge; £20m from cancelling abolition of western extension of CC (assuming Dec 2010); £5m saved on physical works removal if no abolition of extension; £10m bringing forward CC increase.