Mayor of London Transport Strategy - Consultation Process - How many aware within LB Islington?

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Thank you for your Freedom of Information Act request, received on 15
January 2010. Your request has been processed, and your unique reference
number is 305052. Please make note of this reference number should you
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Kind regards

Andy Lindup

Knowledge Management Officer

Information Governance

Corporate Resources

Islington Council

60 Highbury New Park, London N5 2DJ

Tel: 020 7527 2754

Alternative contact: Kit Good 020 7527 1789

[2]www.islington.gov.uk

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1. mailto:[Islington Borough Council request email]
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4. mailto:[Islington Borough Council request email]
5. http://www.islington.gov.uk/

Dear Ms Black

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REF No:305052

Thank you for your information request, received on 15 January.

You requested information regarding public consultation on the draft
Mayor's Transport Strategy. I have consulted our Strategic Planning and
Regeneration department and can provide the following response.

This draft strategy is the Mayor of London's transport strategy (MTS),
and the London boroughs are merely stakeholders. The council submitted
its own response, which is attached.

In terms of the steps Islington Council took, in addition to those taken
by Transport for London (TfL), to make the public aware of the
consultation on the draft MTS, I can confirm that we were not asked by
the Mayor of London to publicise the consultation on the strategy, and
were not involved with the consultation aside from compiling our own
response to the draft strategy.

Each of your individual questions is addressed below.

(1) What publicity was undertaken across LB Islington by TfL and by LB
Islington?

Islington Council is unaware of the full range of publicity TfL or the
Mayor of London undertook. Islington Council did not directly publicise
this consultation.

(2) What was published that explained the Draft Strategy and the
consultation process and how were these made available?

The Mayor of London and TfL published a range of documents in hard copy
and online, and these can be secured from them and/or their website. The
council did not publish any documents relating to the draft MTS
consultation.

(3) What steps were taken to try to ensure a balanced cross-section of
the public was made aware of the process?

This question is best directed to the Mayor of London and TfL, as
Islington Council is not in a position to advise.

(4) Where were leaflets distributed, and how was this decided? What
analysis suggested this would lead to a fair and balanced distribution
across the community?

This question is best directed to the Mayor of London and TfL, as
Islington Council is not in a position to advise.

(5) What steps were taken to ensure that hard-to-reach sections of the
community, such as those who travel exclusively by private car, were
made aware of the consultation process and encouraged to participate in
it?

This question is best directed to the Mayor of London and TfL, as
Islington Council is not in a position to advise.

(6) What consultation discussions took place between LB Islington and
TfL over how this process would operate? To what extent was the council
consulted over the detail of the consultation, and what views did it
express?

Islington Council was not invited to comment on how the consultation
process itself would be carried out -- we were only invited to comment
on the proposals during the consultation period.

(7a) Is the council happy with the consultation process? Was the council
happy that the online questionnaire was so flagrantly biased? Was the
council happy that responders were allowed to pick as many as they chose
from an uncosted wish-list?

Islington Council raised a number of issues in our response (attached).

(7b) What steps were taken to inform and involve organisations likely to
have an interest?

This question is best directed to the Mayor of London and TfL, as
Islington Council is not in a position to advise.

(8) What programme of meetings was organised? Did Islington Council ask
TfL to attend meetings of the council's Neighbourhood Partnerships, and
how many did receive reports on the consultation from TfL?

Islington Council does not have Neighbourhood Partnerships. The strategy
was not discussed at any of the Area Committees in Islington.
(9) How many meetings took place within LB Islington between TfL and the
council as part of the consultation process? What about with local
groups in LB Islington?

No such meetings tookplace solely between TfL and Islington Council.
However, Islington Council officers did attend a TfL meeting for council
officers to learn more about the draft strategy and how to comment.

(10) What pre-consultation took place with interested parties to ensure
that the process was fair and balanced?

This question is best directed to the Mayor of London and TfL, as
Islington Council is not in a position to advise.

(11) Does the council support a MTS consultation on the Draft Mayor of
London Transport Strategy that offers so little for the driver - private
motorist or professional driver of taxi, minicab, van, lorry or bus? How
important are private drivers in the overall use of transport in
Islington? Has the council expressed concerns over this unfair and
unbalanced aspect of the consultation process?

Islington Council raised a number of issues in our attached response. On
the whole, the response suggests that Islington Council felt that if
anything, the draft strategy was pitched slightly too far in favour of
private motorists, and should be revised to do much more for
pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users.

(12) Does the council support a MTS in which the promotion of cycling
within the draft MTS does not also include warnings on the dangers of
this mode? Does the council support the proposition that a mass switch
to cycling would be beneficial justified, and on what evidence?

The draft MTS is not specifically a road safety strategy, so cannot have
been expected to go to a great deal of detail about the dangers of the
various transport modes. If it had, however, it would have needed to
focus most of its attention on the dangers of car use, including dangers
to car users as well as dangers caused by car users. Islington Council
raised a number of issues around road safety for vulnerable road users
(please see our attached response).

(13) Does the council support a MTS consultation in which costings of
various suggestions were not put forward, so that the public could see
how much tax each would entail?

We believe that the goal of the draft MTS was to set out higher level
objectives. Detailed spending plans are set out within TfL's periodic
business plans.

(14) Does the council support a MTS consultation in which there was no
question on the level of subsidy that each mode should receive?

Islington Council's attached response suggests that support for private
motorists is too high, and support for other road users is not
substantial enough.

(15) Does the council support a MTS consultation in which no question is
asked as to whether the users of a mode should bear all, most, some or
whatever proportion of the costs of providing that mode?

We do not believe that this level of detail would be expected of a
regional transport strategy. However, again, the most heavily subsidised
transport mode has long been the private motor vehicle.

(16) What representations has or will the council make regarding the
consultation process into the Draft MTS as a result of this enquiry or
otherwise?

It is too late for Islington Council to raise any additional issues with
the consultation on the draft MTS.

If you have a complaint about the handling of this information request,
please contact: Jeremy Tuck, Chief Information Officer, Corporate
Resources, 60 Highbury New Park, London, N5 2DJ. Email:
[email address]

Further information is also available from the Information
Commissioner's Office, at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Telephone: 01625 545 700. Web: www.ico.gov.uk

Yours sincerely,

Kit Good
Technology, Records and Information Manager
Technology Solutions Group
Corporate Resources
London Borough of Islington
60 Highbury New Park, N5 2DJ
Tel: 020 7527 1789
[mobile number]
Alternative contact: Andy Lindup 020 7527 2754
http://www.islington.gov.uk

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