City Matters 134

CITYMATTERS.LONDON
13 October - 09 November 2021 | Page 3
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TfL funding gap needs
£1.7bn Government plug
TFL requires an additional £1.7 billion of
emergency Government funding to keep
London’s transport network running until
2023, according to a new document, writes
Joe Talora, Local Democracy Reporter.
The figure was quoted in TfL’s submission
to the Chancellor’s spending review, which
sets the Government’s capital budgets for
the next four years.
While £1.7 billion of emergency funding
will be required for the next two financial
years, TfL has outlined how a “modest”
Government investment from then
on could help support country-wide
economic recovery while contributing to
climate and levelling-up goals.
The document sent by TfL ahead of
the spending review outlines how an
additional £1 billion to £1.5 billion a year
from the Government would allow TfL to
move forward with projects such as the
modernisation of signaling on the Picadilly
Line and the electrification of London
buses.
This could support up to 3,000 green
jobs across the UK, according to TfL. TfL
Commissioner Andy Byford has said that
London “stands ready and willing to work
with the Government” to ensure a strong
economic recovery from the pandemic.
Byford said: “We are playing a central
role in the economic recovery of London
and the UK; supporting people as they
return to London’s workplaces, businesses,
educational institutions, retail and culture,
and delivering vital infrastructure and
services that support new homes and jobs.
“Frequent, reliable and green public
transport is key to a sustainable recovery
from the pandemic.
“Public transport investment in London
contributes directly to the Government’s
aims around an infrastructure-led recovery,
supported by shovel-ready projects and
levelling up.
“Fifty-five pence in every pound invested
into maintaining and modernising London
Underground is invested in companies
outside of London through our extensive
supply chain. With long term government
Emergency funding
investment over the coming years, we will
be able to make significant strides towards
meeting all of our shared ambitions.
London’s economic recovery and that of
the wider UK are inextricably linked – and
London’s recovery is, in turn, dependent
on the efficiency of the transport system.”
But as part of its plans to achieve financial
sustainability by 2023, TfL has revealed
that plans for a Greater London Boundary
Charge are still on the table.
The proposed toll would charge
motorists £3.50 for driving into London
from outside the capital, rising to £5.50 for
more polluting vehicles.
The charge is being suggested as a
way of raising the £500 million of yearly
revenue that TfL requires, with Transport
Secretary Grant Shapps having shot down
Sadiq Khan’s request to have control over
Vehicle Excise Duty raised in London.
Earlier this year, representatives from all
parties on the London Assembly signed a
letter calling on the Transport Secretary to
devolve Vehicle Excise Duty to London.
It’s always the time
to talk mental health
HOW often do you tell people that you’re
fine... when perhaps, you’re not? writes
Catherine McGuinness, City of London
Policy Chair.
Some people go onto auto-pilot as they
tackle their daily routine. Smiling all the time
or, at least, wearing a blank face to cover
up their true feelings. According to mental
health charity Mind, one in four of us in the
UK will experience a mental health problem
each year, with one in six of people in
England suffering from anxiety or depression
in any given week.
And let me be very clear: there is no
shame in admitting to yourself that your
mental health is suffering, and certainly
not in telling someone that you are not
feeling well. Our mental health is fluid and it
fluctuates, in the same way that our physical
health does.
The Mental Health Foundation puts it very
well: “You may bounce back from a setback,
while someone else may feel weighed down
by it for a long time. Your mental health… can
change as circumstances change and you
move through different stages of your life.”
The foundation has been championing
World Mental Health Day, taking as its theme
‘Mental Health in an Unequal World’.
Inequalities have a huge impact on the
likelihood that someone will experience
poor mental health, as well as its severity.
According to Government statistics,
some groups of people who were already
more at risk of experiencing poor mental
health prior to the pandemic – such as
women and young adults – were more
likely than the general population to suffer
from deteriorating symptoms during the
pandemic. And as we know, the pandemic
caused huge disruption to the provision of
health and social care services.
For our part, the City of London
Corporation is helping workers, residents
and students in the Square Mile to access
support. For example, our Business Healthy
network (businesshealthy.org) offers free
resources, information, and signposting on
mental health and wellbeing City firms to
share with their workforce.
There are plenty of other resources – most
of them, free - that are accessible via the
City Corporation’s ‘Mental Health’ webpage
(cityoflondon.gov.uk/releasethepressure),
including the much lauded and awardwinning
Dragon Café in the City.
Described recently by one library user
as “vital” during their “incredibly stressful”
working from home routine, I find this
type of feedback hugely encouraging and
testament to the hard work and dedication
of the libraries’ staff.
And I would argue that returning to the
physical workplace can have a positive
effect on people’s mental health, as well
as team morale, creativity and networking
opportunities. After nearly a year-and-a-half
of working from home, doesn’t it feel good
to be back in a shared space with colleagues
that you haven’t seen in the flesh for so long?
We are talking increasingly more about
our mental health these days, but the stigma
remains, and that prevents others from
opening up. My colleagues will continue
to support those in need and of course,
organisations like Samaritans (116 123) and
Good Thinking continue to do sterling work.
Whether it’s to a stranger, a colleague,
family member, or a friend, talking about
how you are feeling can be very helpful.