You are in:

Warning: This is archived material and may be out of date. The Metropolitan Police Authority has been replaced by the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPC).

See the MOPC website for further information.

Mayor's air quality and biodiversity strategies

Report: 6
Date: 22 March 2001
By: Clerk and Commissioner

Summary

The Mayor is formally consulting the MPA on his draft Air Quality and Biodiversity strategies. This report presents the MPS responses to these strategies and seeks the Committee to endorse them as a joint MPA/MPS response.

A. Recommendation

To note, comment upon and endorse the MPS responses to the Mayor's Air Quality and Biodiversity Strategies and to put these forward as a joint MPA/MPS response.

B. Supporting information

1. The Mayor has a statutory duty to prepare and publish Air Quality and Biodiversity strategies. For each of these strategies, the Mayor is required to formally consult the London Assembly and Functional Bodies prior to publishing these for public comment. The MPA has been invited to comment on the strategies. The timetable for comment is from 7 February to 21 March 2001. The public consultation version is to be produced by May. As these strategies do not fall under the remit of the Authority's standing committees, this committee is asked to consider these responses.

2. Informal discussions have been held between the Mayor's Policy and Partnership Directorate and officers in the MPA/MPS on particular aspects of the strategies.

3. MPA officers have collaborated with MPS officers in drafting the responses. However, a process similar to that by which the MPA/MPS deals with Her Majesty's Inspectorate's reports has been adopted, whereby the MPS is asked to respond initially and the MPA considers this response. A joint response would then be forwarded unless significant differences arise.

The air quality strategy

4. The Mayor is striving to improve air quality in London to the point where it poses no risk to health or quality of life. The Mayor's approach has several main facets, primarily dealing with the harmful effects from road traffic:

  • traffic reduction;
  • designating low emission zones and air quality management areas;
  • promoting the cleanest engine technologies;
  • cleaning the emissions of vehicles; and
  • promoting alternative fuels.

5. The proposals contained in the strategy impact upon the MPS/MPA in a number of ways by:

  • encouraging the service to increase its level of enforcement against vehicles with poor emissions;
  • encouraging functional bodies to set a good example in terms of their own vehicle fleet and maintenance practice;
  • encouraging the service to support GLA and borough air quality initiatives and campaigns; and
  • increasing traffic warden patrol activity to deal with traffic congestion and unnecessary idling of stationary vehicles in air quality hotspots on GLA roads.

6. The specific proposals in the air quality strategy and MPS response to these are shown in Appendix 1.

The biodiversity strategy

7. The Mayor's biodiversity strategy aims to protect and enhance the natural habitats of London together with their variety of species.

8. Two proposals specifically seek MPA/MPS support. They concern police enforcement of species protection legislation and for the MPS to maintain and develop its partnership with HM Customs Service to prevent the illegal trade of endangered species in London. The proposals and the MPS response to these are shown in Appendix 2.

The MPA response and considerations for members

9. Members are asked to consider the proposals and responses, to comment upon these and endorse them as appropriate. It is hoped an agreed MPA/MPS response can then be forwarded to the Mayor's Office.

10. In particular, members may wish to comment upon whether any of the Mayor's proposals should be considered for inclusion as policing priorities in forthcoming years and/or whether the activities concerned should be subject to Best Value reviews e.g. roadside emission testing, vehicle fleet management etc. if not already included in the programme.

11. Some initial feedback on these responses has been sought from MPA members representing the MPA at environmental related panels and committees. The feedback received welcomes the positive tone of the response and congratulates the MPS on its work to date in embracing the environmental agenda. It also comments that these strategies aren't likely to be 'high' or 'sustained' priorities for the service given the current resource limitations. However, the feedback suggests there are measures the MPA/MPS could take; these include:

  • further exploration of the proposals being seriously pursued e.g. alternative fuels;
  • where change is happening e.g. vehicle replacement and parking devolution etc, the service should build in strategy requirements at the outset;
  • the MPA examining how it could facilitate joined-up working across London eg: the co-ordination and pooling of resources for roadside emissions tests between different BOCUs and agencies.

12. Members will note the strategies deal with wider quality of life issues and not crime specifically, and so may be seen as secondary policing issues. The Mayor's strategies, including those on waste and transport, will however increasingly demand the MPA and MPS to embrace the environmental agenda. Members may wish to consider how the MPA should approach environmental scrutiny of the MPS generally and which Committee may take this interest.

Forthcoming strategy consultation

This committee should note other Mayoral strategies would be due for consultation in the near future.

Strategy Functional Body Consultation Period
Waste Strategy 5 April to 25 May 2001
Noise Strategy  2 May to 23 June 2001
Energy Strategy 6 June to 23 July 2001

C. Financial implications

If increased activity by the MPS is sought by the Mayor, there will undoubtedly be financial implications, but these cannot be quantified at present.

D. Background papers

  • The Mayor's Draft Biodiversity Strategy
  • The Mayor's Draft Air Quality Strategy

E. Contact details

The authors of this report are Jude Sequeira, MPA and Sue Merchant, MPS.

For information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

Appendix 1: The MPS response to the Mayor's draft air quality strategy

Issue Proposed response
Proposal 7: a feasibility study on Low Emission Zones, their practicality, enforceability, benefits and costs No response needed at this stage although the MPS will need to understand, if and when proposals are developed, the nature of enforcement and whether there are any implications for the MPS. The MPS would be happy to be involved in early discussions of these issues.
Proposal 8: providing support to those boroughs that want to carry out roadside vehicle emission testing. The Mayor will work with the MPA and MPS to provide increased police support for this.
(Legislation to allow local authorities to do this in Air Quality Management Areas is expected to be in place from April 2002)		 The MPS currently provides two officers on three days a week to assist with emission testing in Westminster (as a pilot). Extending this to all 32 boroughs on this scale would be a huge resource commitment. The MPS would, in principle, find it difficult to provide increased police support given the existing pressures on and competing priorities of the Service. It may be that using occasional random checking campaigns would be a more cost-effective way to ensure compliance. There are clear links to the Mayor's draft transport strategy here. In particular, the proposal in that strategy to decriminalise the enforcement of red routes has implications for the Traffic Warden service. Discussions are underway with TfL but are at a very early stage. As long as the Traffic Warden Service remains under MPS control, without responsibility for enforcing red routes (and also given the power to stop vehicles), there would be staff resources freed up which could, in principle, support such an initiative.
Proposal 9: the Mayor will enforce idling vehicle legislation through traffic wardens on the TfL Road Network and will also encourage London boroughs to enforce this legislation through their traffic wardens (parking attendants?) It is accepted that MPS traffic wardens could carry out this function on the TfLRN as part of their normal duties. However, this again will depend on what happens to the service as a result of the Mayor's transport strategy. It should be noted that currently traffic wardens have no legal authority to enforce idling vehicle legislation and the wardens would need some training if they were given these powers.
Proposal 23: the MPS will evaluate new technologies to reduce exhaust emissions when replacing vehicles and seek to reduce exhaust emissions from the rest of the operational vehicles. The MPS supports this proposal. It is already exploring the latest technology diesel engines, dual fuel petrol/LPG vehicles (for dispatch purposes), and electric vehicles. It also intends to take into account exhaust emissions when selecting new vehicles for purchase. In particular, some 900 vehicles will be replaced this year and will then meet the 2003 Euro IV level standard. Also one third of the armed response fleet will be replaced with the latest BMW diesel engine. A database showing emission levels of all currently produced vehicles has been introduced and will be consulted to select the 'greenest' option wherever possible. All bulk fuel will now be of the low sulphur type.
Proposal 24: the Mayor will set targets for cleaner vehicles in the MPS. (Timescale: target setting completed by August 2001) The MPS supports this proposal in principle and expects to meet suggested targets now under discussion through its ongoing vehicle replacement programme, assuming that there are no changes to future budget profiles.
Proposal 40: the Mayor will work with the MPA to improve traffic enforcement of illegal parking especially at congestion hotspots, such as town centres in the rush hour, to improve traffic flow and thereby reduce emissions. (Timescale: ongoing and additional from December 2002) The MPS will be increasingly using intelligence to identify hotspots and thereby target enforcement activity more effectively, and will, within existing resources, continue to try to act swiftly to remove spontaneous obstructions. However much parking enforcement is the responsibility of London borough parking attendants and continuing liaison between TfL and the boroughs will be necessary to align priorities.
General Comment The MPA/MPS welcome the Mayor's draft strategy and support its aspirations to make London a healthier and better place to live, particularly for MPA/MPS staff. There are clear links between this strategy and the Mayor's draft transport strategy, notably in terms of traffic reduction and taking measures to maintain steady vehicle speeds. There are also interdependencies in terms of service provision. For instance, the effects of the transport strategy on decriminalising enforcement will have implications for the future of the traffic warden service and potentially, on the MPS' ability to respond to the air quality strategy.

Appendix 2: The MPS response to the Mayor's draft biodiversity strategy

Issue Proposed response
Proposal 8: the Mayor will encourage the MPA to ensure that species protection legislation is inforced in London, working in conjunction with English nature The MPS Wildlife Crime Unit currently assists in the enforcement of species protection legislation. It works with a variety of agencies (including the RSPCA and English Nature) to raise communities' awareness of wildlife issues and to advise contractors on cases of wildlife disturbance. The Wildlife Crime Unit will be transferred to Specialist Operations department in April 2001 in order to strengthen intelligence links across the MPS and also nationally.
Proposal 55: the Mayor will encourage the MPA to work with HM Customs and others to develop an effective programme to prevent the illegal trade in endangered species and species products within London The MPS Wildlife Crime Unit will continue to work with partners to bring pressure to bear on this high value illegal trade.

Send an e-mail linking to this page

Feedback