Dear Petitioner, Thank you for contacting me regarding the petition submitted on the Change.org website about reinstating the Night Tube to help improve women’s safety. I passionately believe that everyone has the right to feel safe travelling everywhere in our city. In recent years the shocking murders of Nicole Smallman, Bibaa Henry, Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa have rightly led to increased scrutiny of the actions being taken to make public spaces – including public transport - safer for women. I want London to be a place in which everyone feels safe moving around any part of the city at any time of the day or night, but we know that too often, women and girls travelling, working or going out at night, do not. Following months of hard work and preparation, the Night Tube is set to return on the Central and Victoria lines on Saturday 27 November 2021. As we approach the busy festive period, the restoration of these lines will provide women, girls and all Londoners and visitors to our capital with a quick, convenient and safe means of travel. The safety and security of all who use the network will always be my primary concern and Transport for London’s (TfL) top priority. Every day there are thousands of dedicated transport staff on the frontline of the network whose role is to support customers. There are also 500 TfL enforcement officers patrolling the entirety of the network in addition to an extensive CCTV network and over 2,500 police and police community support officers. At the start of the COVID-19 crisis, due to a combination of staff shortages and plummeting demand, TfL was forced to suspend Night Tube services to help ensure it could keep London - and its heroic keyworkers - moving safely during the day. Training for Tube drivers also had to be suspended and whilst sufficient drivers are now available on the Central and Victoria lines, training remains to be done on the other Night Tube lines (Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly). This training is now underway and all efforts will be made to return Night Tube services on remaining lines as soon as possible. The return of these lines must also be coordinated with vital upgrades to the Tube network and the necessary engineering closures and timetable changes. While the Night Tube has a clear role to play in helping women feel safer in our city, it is just one of many measures I have introduced. Extensive night bus services continue to run throughout the night with well over 100 routes operating, whilst over 600 organisations have now signed up to my Women’s Night Safety Charter, which aims to make London a place where all women and girls can feel safe at night. Organisations that sign the Charter pledge to: • Design public spaces to ensure they are, and feel, safer for women at night • Train staff to ensure all women who report incidents are believed, and ensure all reports are recorded and responded to • Nominate champions who promote women’s safety at night in that organisation. TfL is a signatory of the Charter and is currently working in collaboration with women’s safety stakeholders to make public spaces safer. Thank you for engaging with this important issue and highlighting the continued need to work together to improve safety for women and girls travelling across the city. Yours sincerely, Sadiq Khan Mayor of London

Dear Petitioner, Thank you for contacting me regarding the petition submitted on the Change.org website about reinstating the Night Tube to help improve women’s safety. I passionately believe that everyone has the right to feel safe travelling everywhere in our city. In recent years the shocking murders of Nicole Smallman, Bibaa Henry, Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa have rightly led to increased scrutiny of the actions being taken to make public spaces – including public transport - safer for women. I want London to be a place in which everyone feels safe moving around any part of the city at any time of the day or night, but we know that too often, women and girls travelling, working or going out at night, do not. Following months of hard work and preparation, the Night Tube is set to return on the Central and Victoria lines on Saturday 27 November 2021. As we approach the busy festive period, the restoration of these lines will provide women, girls and all Londoners and visitors to our capital with a quick, convenient and safe means of travel. The safety and security of all who use the network will always be my primary concern and Transport for London’s (TfL) top priority. Every day there are thousands of dedicated transport staff on the frontline of the network whose role is to support customers. There are also 500 TfL enforcement officers patrolling the entirety of the network in addition to an extensive CCTV network and over 2,500 police and police community support officers. At the start of the COVID-19 crisis, due to a combination of staff shortages and plummeting demand, TfL was forced to suspend Night Tube services to help ensure it could keep London - and its heroic keyworkers - moving safely during the day. Training for Tube drivers also had to be suspended and whilst sufficient drivers are now available on the Central and Victoria lines, training remains to be done on the other Night Tube lines (Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly). This training is now underway and all efforts will be made to return Night Tube services on remaining lines as soon as possible. The return of these lines must also be coordinated with vital upgrades to the Tube network and the necessary engineering closures and timetable changes. While the Night Tube has a clear role to play in helping women feel safer in our city, it is just one of many measures I have introduced. Extensive night bus services continue to run throughout the night with well over 100 routes operating, whilst over 600 organisations have now signed up to my Women’s Night Safety Charter, which aims to make London a place where all women and girls can feel safe at night. Organisations that sign the Charter pledge to: • Design public spaces to ensure they are, and feel, safer for women at night • Train staff to ensure all women who report incidents are believed, and ensure all reports are recorded and responded to • Nominate champions who promote women’s safety at night in that organisation. TfL is a signatory of the Charter and is currently working in collaboration with women’s safety stakeholders to make public spaces safer. Thank you for engaging with this important issue and highlighting the continued need to work together to improve safety for women and girls travelling across the city. Yours sincerely, Sadiq Khan Mayor of London

Dear Petitioner, I write to let you know the good news that Government plans to scrap free travel for under 18s in London have been defeated, and our children will continue to benefit from free travel. In the latest round of funding discussions, I made clear to the Government that I would not accept their request to scrap free travel for under 18s in return for financial support for Transport for London (TfL). In mid-May, the Government announced a £1.6 billion emergency funding package for TfL. This was necessary because COVID-19 has had a dramatic impact on TfL’s finances, as fares income fell by 90 per cent during the first wave of the pandemic. Ridership is still much lower than usual so there simply has not been enough money coming in to pay for transport services. As part of this package, the Government insisted that free travel should be suspended for under 18s. TfL did further investigatory work with Government into how their proposal would be implemented. It quickly became clear – as City Hall had feared and stated in negotiations – that this change to concessions would be exceedingly complex to introduce and would have a damaging impact on many families and young people across London. I have continually voiced strong opposition to the plans and refused to make this change that would have seen London’s children lose their free travel. On 31 October 2020, Government agreed a second emergency funding package for TfL to 31 March 2021. It replaces the agreement signed in May, and it no longer requires TfL to suspend free travel for under 18s. This is a welcome victory; my objections to these changes – and your campaigning support – has paid off. Free bus travel to school is equivalent to £30 a week for a family with two children. For many families free travel is a lifeline, especially at the moment when finances are stretched more than ever. Scrapping free travel for under 18s would also have had a disproportionate effect on young people from more deprived areas, minority ethnic groups and those with disabilities, as they experience the worst effects of road danger and air pollution. Ministers have made clear that in return for dropping the requirement to cut this concession, they expect London to raise additional income to cover the cost of these concessions. I have reluctantly accepted that I may need to ask all Londoners to pay a bit more to help some of the poorest families. We are now exploring ways to raise the additional income for TfL that is needed, so we can protect these vital concessions. This may include a modest increase in council tax next year, but I know that in many households’ finances are more stretched than ever, so any increase will be as modest as possible. Thank you for making our voice heard on this issue – our campaigning has paid off and free travel for under 18s in London has been saved. Yours sincerely, Sadiq Khan Mayor of London

Dear Petitioner, I write to let you know the good news that Government plans to scrap free travel for under 18s in London have been defeated, and our children will continue to benefit from free travel. In the latest round of funding discussions, I made clear to the Government that I would not accept their request to scrap free travel for under 18s in return for financial support for Transport for London (TfL). In mid-May, the Government announced a £1.6 billion emergency funding package for TfL. This was necessary because COVID-19 has had a dramatic impact on TfL’s finances, as fares income fell by 90 per cent during the first wave of the pandemic. Ridership is still much lower than usual so there simply has not been enough money coming in to pay for transport services. As part of this package, the Government insisted that free travel should be suspended for under 18s. TfL did further investigatory work with Government into how their proposal would be implemented. It quickly became clear – as City Hall had feared and stated in negotiations – that this change to concessions would be exceedingly complex to introduce and would have a damaging impact on many families and young people across London. I have continually voiced strong opposition to the plans and refused to make this change that would have seen London’s children lose their free travel. On 31 October 2020, Government agreed a second emergency funding package for TfL to 31 March 2021. It replaces the agreement signed in May, and it no longer requires TfL to suspend free travel for under 18s. This is a welcome victory; my objections to these changes – and your campaigning support – has paid off. Free bus travel to school is equivalent to £30 a week for a family with two children. For many families free travel is a lifeline, especially at the moment when finances are stretched more than ever. Scrapping free travel for under 18s would also have had a disproportionate effect on young people from more deprived areas, minority ethnic groups and those with disabilities, as they experience the worst effects of road danger and air pollution. Ministers have made clear that in return for dropping the requirement to cut this concession, they expect London to raise additional income to cover the cost of these concessions. I have reluctantly accepted that I may need to ask all Londoners to pay a bit more to help some of the poorest families. We are now exploring ways to raise the additional income for TfL that is needed, so we can protect these vital concessions. This may include a modest increase in council tax next year, but I know that in many households’ finances are more stretched than ever, so any increase will be as modest as possible. Thank you for making our voice heard on this issue – our campaigning has paid off and free travel for under 18s in London has been saved. Yours sincerely, Sadiq Khan Mayor of London

Dear Petitioner, The Mayor has rejected the Government’s proposal that the Congestion Charge be extended to the North and South Circular roads in October 2021. This was a condition that the Government tried to impose in return for the second round of emergency Government funding for TfL. This funding was necessary because TfL’s fare income has collapsed due to Covid-19. Under the Government’s proposal, the £15 Congestion Charge would have been extended to the North and South Circular Roads next year, meaning that all journeys across the North and South Circular roads and journeys within that area would have been subject to the charge within operating hours. It would have hit four million more Londoners hard and put economic recovery from Covid-19 at risk before it had begun. The Mayor is pleased that the Government has now backed down from this condition. In the face of continued Covid-19 restrictions, the Mayor has now reached a funding deal to keep tube, bus and other TfL services running until March 2021. Extending the Congestion Charge in this way was only one of several conditions the Government sought to impose in order for TfL to receive the further emergency funding it needs to keep the network running. Others included removing free travel for under-18s and over-60s and increasing fares by more than the previously agreed RPI+1 per cent. These proposals have also been successfully defeated, although it was a condition of the funding that fares would have to go up by RPI+1 in January. Whilst the deal reached is not ideal, the Mayor fought hard against the Government, which was determined to punish Londoners with higher costs for doing the right thing to tackle Covid-19. The only reason TfL needs Government support is because its fares income has almost dried up since March, as people did what was asked of them and stayed at home. It should be noted that the Congestion Charge is different to the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) charge. At present, the ULEZ charge currently applies to the same area as the Congestion Charge in central London and is specifically designed to clean up London’s toxic air and deliver health benefits to Londoners. It is due to be expanded in October of next year to the North and South Circular but the charge will only apply to highly polluting vehicles. TfL modelling shows that only 1 in 5 vehicles will need to pay this charge. This is due to the fact that all other vehicles that travel in this area are compliant with the ULEZ emissions standards. If you want to check whether your vehicle meets the ULEZ standard you can do so using TfL’s vehicle checker. If you are on a low income or are disabled, the Mayor also has a Car and Motorcycle Scrappage scheme, whereby you could receive up to £2000 to scrap your older, polluting vehicle, so that you can purchase a cleaner vehicle and meet the standards or switch to another mode of transport. You can check your eligibility for this scheme on TfL’s scrappage scheme webpage. The ULEZ scheme is specifically designed to clean up London’s toxic air and deliver health benefits to Londoners. I hope this reassures you that the Mayor has succeeded in defeating the Government proposal to extend the £15 Congestion Charge to the North and South Circular roads next year. Yours sincerely Public Liaison Unit Greater London Authority

Dear Petitioner Thank you for the petition submitted on the Change.org website about the changes to the 60+ and Older Person’s Oyster Cards. The Mayor is aware that this policy has an impact on older people who still need to work, especially key workers and those on lower incomes. The decision to temporarily suspend free travel before 9am for Older Person’s Freedom Pass and 60+ Oyster photocard holders on London’s transport network was not taken lightly. The Mayor was required by the Government to bring forward proposals to restrict free travel during peak times for older people as part of the emergency funding agreement that allowed TfL to continue to operate. Unfortunately, this limits any ability to make changes or additional exemptions to the suspension. We fully understand the concerns that have been raised by you and others. This may be of little consolation but those affected are paying for one journey a day, in the morning peak, rather than two. The Mayor fought to limit the changes to the morning peak and was able to achieve a 9am cut off rather than 9.30am. I know these changes will be difficult for some workers, but I hope this shows that the Mayor sought to mitigate the impact as much as possible. Yours sincerely Public Liaison Unit Greater London Authority

Dear Petitioner Thank you for the petition submitted on the change.org website about Transport for London’s (TfL) proposals for land at Finchley Central. TfL is working with Barnet Council and listening to local community groups and members of the public to understand their aspirations for the site. Your petition includes an image of the scheme’s massing, which I understand you have based on Taylor Wimpey’s very early plans. These plans showcased a viable scheme which served as a basis for discussion during the beginning of the community consultation. Proposals have evolved since they were first released in June 2019 following feedback from the community. The most recent proposals include significant reductions in the height and width of the tallest building. In addition, the recent plans also showed retention of some of the car parking. Taylor Wimpey and TfL are continuing to revise the designs in response to the feedback from the January 2020 consultation. They intend to submit a planning application later this year and will remain in contact with the local community to ensure that stakeholders have an opportunity to provide their feedback As part of their planning application, TfL and Taylor Wimpey will make significant investment in local infrastructure, providing a new access to the station off the high street, improving Nether Street junction and delivering other community benefits such as a new pocket park. In addition to this, the development will deliver Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) revenues, and Section 106 contributions which will help further support local services and infrastructure. The development team will be discussing how this money can be spent on local services to support their development as well as the local area more generally. I know that TfL and Taylor Wimpey are committed to producing designs that respond to the concerns of the local community while also providing community benefits. Yours sincerely Public Liaison Unit Greater London Authority

Dear Petitioner Thank you for the petition submitted on the Change.org website asking the Mayor to stop high speed car chases in London. Your request was sent to the Mayor’s Office for Police and Crime (MOPAC). My apologies in the delay in getting back to you. I would like to extend my deepest condolences to you and your friend’s family on your loss in this tragic incident. It is important that officers are accountable for their actions and when an incident such as this occurs the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) will open an investigation. This investigation is independent and must run its course. We are therefore unable to comment further on this specific investigation at the current time. However, I can confirm that a man has been charged with three offences in relation to this fatal road traffic collision. This includes failing to stop at the scene of a road traffic collision, dangerous driving, and causing death by dangerous driving. Metropolitan Police Service (MPS)pursuit officers are trained to an extremely high standard. The police work within national guidelines issued by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and only suitably trained officers in appropriately equipped vehicles can engage in pursuit activity. All pursuits are managed by trained staff in MPS Command and Control Centres to assist in risk management. We all want offenders brought to justice as quickly as possible, but when they attempt to evade the police at high speed in vehicles, officers must make difficult decisions quickly about whether pursuing the offender is the appropriate course of action In making their decisions pursuit officers and incident managers must ask if a pursuit is necessary, balanced against the threat, risk and harm for which the subject driver is being (or about to be) pursued. This decision is not taken lightly, and it must always be justified and proportionate. Thank you for writing to the Mayor about this critical issue. I hope that this response provides you with some reassurance that these issues are taken extremely seriously. Yours sincerely Public Liaison Unit Greater London Authority

Dear Petitioner Thank you for the petition submitted on the Change.org website about advertising things that are bad for your health, in particular vaping products. The Mayor of London and Greater London Authority work with partners across London to reduce smoking as it is a major cause of illness and premature death. Available evidence shows that vaping is less harmful than smoking, so we do need to strike a balance to help people know about safer alternatives, while not promoting these products to children. The health impacts of advertising is something we take seriously and currently adverts for vape products are not allowed on London Underground. We will continue to take account of the health impacts of adverts on the sites where we have a role. Yours sincerely Public Liaison Unit Greater London Authority

Dear Petitioner Thank you for the petition submitted on the Change.org website about keeping children safe in Bexleyheath and Welling. After the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) identified the rise in robberies in the Bexleyheath area they increased daily patrols. These patrols used officers from Safer Neighbourhood Teams, plain clothes officers from the robbery investigation team, and officers dedicated to tackling violent crime. As a result of proactive work and investigations, three individuals were arrested and have been charged with fifteen offences. Since this, levels of robberies have returned closer to those previously seen, and the MPS will continue to respond to any offences identified. Tackling knife crime in London is the Mayor’s first priority. Knife crime and crimes using violence have no place on our streets, and progress tackling these will come from a combination of tough enforcement by the police and interventions to help people make better life choices and turn away from crime. The Mayor’s Office for Policing And Crime (MOPAC) published a tough Knife Crime Strategy for London in June 2017. This sets out the actions the Mayor has put in place to tackle knife crime across London and you can see the full strategy on MOPAC’s website: www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/mopac_knife_crime_strategy_june_2017.pdf. A lot of progress has been made in the delivery of the strategy and for the first time, every London borough now has a bespoke local violence reduction plan created in partnership with the police. To respond to the increase in knife crime, the Mayor has established a Violent Crime Task Force (VCTF) and is providing £15 million annually to support its operation. The task force enables the Metropolitan Police Service to be even more proactive on the streets of the capital, bearing down on violent crime and serious criminality. Violence is still at very serious levels, but between the launch of the VCTF in April 2018 and 21 February 2020, the command has carried out 14,181 weapons sweeps, recovered 1,514 knives, 999 offensive weapons and arrested 8,722 suspects. Over the same period, wider activity across the MPS targeting violence has seen 68,003 weapon sweeps carried out, 5,036 knives recovered along with 2,458 offensive weapons. However, Government funding cuts have had a serious impact on the safety of London and the whole country over the last decade. As a result of these Government cuts, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has had to deliver £850 million in savings since 2013-14, resulting in officer numbers falling to a 15 year low in mid-2018. Between 2011/12 and 2018/19, 46 per cent of funding for London’s youth services was withdrawn. While Ministers have finally started to partially reverse cuts to the police, their proposals for increased funding still do not cover the number of police officers lost since 2010. Moreover, the Government has failed to reverse its devastating cuts to schools, youth services and local councils, all of which play a vital role in tackling the complex underlying causes of crime. The Mayor has already taken the difficult decision to increase council tax to help pay for 1,300 more police officers, and in February launched an additional £55.5m package to tackle the root causes of crime by reducing school exclusions, providing more mentors for young people creating more positive opportunities for disadvantaged young Londoners. This means that more than £100m will be invested by the Mayor in tacking violence this year. However, it is vital that the Government steps up to fully reverse its cuts to all of the agencies and organisations that play a part in tackling crime and the causes of crime. The Mayor continues to press the Government to do so. Understanding the importance of intervention and diversionary activities, the Mayor has also invested in preventative work to tackle the underlying causes of violence, and has committed £6.8 million to fund the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU). The VRU includes specialists in health, youth and social services to lead a long-term public health approach to tackle the causes of violent crime. The VRU looks to build on the success seen in Glasgow from using a similar method, scaling this up from a city with a population of 600,000 people to a capital with nearly 9 million. The Mayor has invested over £6 million in two schemes to support people in escaping the violence and exploitation associated with gangs. In order to help young Londoners turn their backs on criminal gangs, the Mayor has invested £3 million in the London Gang Exit service. Since 2016 the programme has been supporting young people at significant risk of harm from gang activity to access safe and stable housing, benefit from specialist support and one-to-one mentoring, and helping them into employment, education or training. The Mayor has also invested £3 million in a three-year Rescue and Response programme to work to better understand, target, and respond to County Lines, the drugs networks which operate across the country, exploiting young and vulnerable Londoners and driving gang-related violence. In November 2017 the Mayor launched his ongoing social media campaign, LondonNeedsYouAlive #LNYA, which raises awareness of the consequences of knife crime and provides reassurance and advice for people who are concerned about someone’s involvement in knife crime. A toolkit for schools, colleges, community groups, parents and others has been developed to make use of the campaign’s materials. For more details, please visit: www.london.gov.uk/london-needs-you-alive. To support longer-term interventions, the Mayor funds the Young Londoners Fund to help London’s children and young adults, and particularly those at risk of getting caught up in crime, make the most of our amazing city. The Mayor’s investment of £70 million into the Young Londoners Fund enables children and young people to fulfil their potential, through a range of education, sport and cultural activities. This funding is in addition to £2.8 million which has been allocated to support 43 grassroots, community-led, anti-knife crime projects across the capital. For more information on the Young Londoner’s Fund please visit www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/education-and-youth/young-londoners/mayors-young-londoners-fund Taken together, this short-term enforcement by the police and long-term activity across services will deliver a relentless focus on tackling knife crime and violence across the capital. I hope that this provides you with some reassurance that the Mayor is committed to making London an even safer place for everyone. Yours sincerely Public Liaison Unit Greater London Authority