Khan accused of cutting affordable housing by two thirds despite £4bn grant March 2, 2021 Sadiq Khan has been accused of not delivering on his affordable housing promise today by proposing to cut City Hall housebuilding by nearly two-thirds, despite receiving a third of the UK’s affordable housing budget. The latest figures reveal the mayor’s 2021-26 housebuilding programme will only build 35,000 new affordable homes using the government’s £4.82bn grant. [...]
Budget 2021: Rishi Sunak to unveil £400m boost for culture and arts March 2, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak will this week provide additional support for Britain’s ailing arts and culture sector as businesses prepare for reopenings in the coming months. In his Budget tomorrow, the chancellor will pledge £408m for museums, theatres and galleries to help them survive until the end of lockdown. Under the government’s plan for lifting coronavirus [...]
Single Covid vaccine is 80 per cent effective in preventing hospitalisations among over-80s March 1, 2021 A single injection of either the Astrazeneca/Oxford jab or the Pfizer/Biontech vaccine is more than 80 per cent effective in preventing hospitalisation among over-80s, the health secretary has announced. Speaking at this evening’s Downing Street press conference, Matt Hancock hailed the new data from Public Health England as “extremely good news,” adding that it may [...]
Budget 2021: Sadiq Khan calls for funding guarantees for new police officers March 1, 2021 Sadiq Khan has called for Wednesday’s Budget to include specific support for London’s boroughs and a guarantee the capital will see funding for 6,000 new police officers. The mayor of London also asked the chancellor in a letter seen by City A.M. to extend a range of Covid support schemes – including the furlough scheme, [...]
Coronavirus: 40-49 year olds next to be offered Covid vaccine February 26, 2021 People aged 40-49 will be the next group to be prioritised for coronavirus vaccine, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has today announced. For phase two of the programme, some had argued that vaccines should be offered on the basis of how much risk different occupations faced. But the body, which advises the [...]
Screenshot: Is Uber nearing the end of the road? February 26, 2021 This week **Media Moment of the Week: Boris’ career coaching **Is Uber nearing the end of the road? **Apple’s merger madness Media Moment of the Week: Boris’ career coaching Social media is a fickle beast, but if there’s one sure-fire way to generate outrage it’s to insult journalists. That’s what Boris Johnson did this week, [...]
London Tories slam Sadiq Khan’s council tax rise in rival budget February 25, 2021 City Hall Tories are calling on Sadiq Khan to scrap an almost 10 per cent rise in his share of council tax bills. In January the Mayor of London announced plans to hike taxes to create an estimated £40m for concessionary travel programmes. “Council tax is a regressive tax but the Government have left us [...]
Soho prepares to party, with al fresco dining back on the menu February 24, 2021 Hopes for a restaurant renaissance over the coming months were given a boost today when Westminster City Council announced its hugely successful – some have argued altogether too successful – al fresco dining scheme will return on 12 April. During the two “false openings” last summer and autumn, Soho became a Mecca for millions of [...]
Shaun Bailey: Mayor’s £70m Good Growth Fund created only 109 jobs since 2017 February 23, 2021 Mayor Sadiq Khan faces criticism from Shaun Bailey over Good Growth Fund which has only produced 109 jobs
UK housing transactions slump in January as lockdown implemented February 23, 2021 UK housing transactions slumped last month due to the impact of national lockdown restrictions, according to the latest figures. HM Revenue and Customs data showed the provisional seasonally adjusted estimate of UK residential transactions in January was 121,640, a drop of 2.4 per cent compared to the previous month. The month-on-month drop is a typical [...]