Peter Landman reports on the highlights from the August Newham Council meeting:

• Sir David King, ex-Government Adviser on Climate Change, attended by video as a Newham Partner and came up with a simple solution for all of us to help save the planet – use public transport in place of cars.

• Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz spoke on initiatives to promote the London Living Wage, starting with a disturbing statistic: 40,000 Newham people in work do not receive the London Living Wage. She said 200 people had been helped by the Employment Rights Hub in Stratford and said the London Living Wage is promoted throughout the Royal Docks Enterprise Zone.

• Councillor Sarah Ruiz, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services expressed satisfaction with the redeveloped Care Leavers Service stressing that the Council by law acts as parents of under majority age care leavers. She was particularly pleased that care leavers had designed their own space, the Cove, to meet together.

• Councillor Nate Higgins proposed a motion on the MSG development. He said councillors had been repeatedly outvoted at planning meetings of the London Legacy Development Corporation. He called for London Mayor Sadiq Khan to block the plan. The Council agreed.

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