New time management technique (see Saturday) in disarray due to desire to read Sunday papers and prepare brief for ITV who are picking me up at 11am. Succumb to croissants and papers so that only one of my three ‘planned’ hours prior to pick up survives. I am off to do the very last ever programme of ITV’s ‘The Week’ on congestion charging.

I am taken into make-up where Nick Ferrari (I would love a surname like Ferrari!) is being done. I ask to see his teeth – now legendary for their brilliant whiteness – so much so that it is rumoured you no longer need light, you just ask Nick to smile! He seems pretty jolly and gives me a private view of his pearly whites. They are completely perfect and shining bright in an American sort of a way.

But more generally at the studios there are mumblings and rumblings of unhappiness as ITV is cutting back – or more accurately – cutting out coverage of regional politics. The decline of coverage has gone from not that long ago 15 hours per week, to now – none after today. Taken together with the shift at London Tonight to become a more ‘magazine’ format – the relentless march of dumbing down continues.

While I am there, one of the newscasters grabs me and asks if I will do a news slot on the doubling of fines for fare dodgers. I am delighted – as this is one of the policies I pushed at the GLA. As ever, Ken was disparaging when I first mooted it publicly – and is now adopting it. He has done that with so many transport ideas I just don’t know how he will manage without me!

Back home to continue with rigorous timetable!

Crack of dawn birthday celebrations on Tuesday for my youngest daughter – 16 today – and a GCSE exam too. So not fair! And I won’t be home until after 10pm as a vote is expected in Parliament then.

At the Commons I go into the chamber for the day’s questions. Today is questions to the Minister for Scotland. Clearly this is not a subject close to the heart of my constituency – but I am trying to see how you get to speak or ask a question.

The apparently random bobbing up and down by members in the Chamber seems to bear no or little relationship to getting called. Actually, that’s not quite true – you do have to stand to indicate you wish to be called and to be called – but that can mean that if a debate starts at 3.30pm you have to stand up after every speech right to the end of the debate (which can be around 9.30pm) – and you still may not get called.

But questions are different. You are notified if one of your oral questions is accepted and it is put on the Order Paper – in order! The Speaker calls your name and you stand up and say ‘Question 3 Mr Speaker’. The Minister then answers and then you are allowed one supplementary – but then others can bob up and down on your question and Mr Speaker may call them. How or why Mr Speaker chooses a supplicant – at this point I have no idea.

We are informed that although we were supposed to stay until 10pm for a vote – this is not going to happen now. So I go to the Press Gallery reception for new MPs and chat up the media. Clearly a good idea as when I rise on Wednesday morning there is a message left at around 6.30am to call Sky news about the Violent Crime Bill.

I arrived at the second Kurdish Womens’ Festival where I had been invited to speak. Kurdish women have had an interesting trajectory and in their struggles have put top of their agenda equality among men and women – as well as the issue of rights in the lands where they live – Iran, Syria, Armenia, Turkey, etc.

Interesting – because the role of women in the Middle East (as elsewhere) is traditionally about home and family, but where there is a struggle, where there is displacement, where women have taken up arms – then the position of women is changed. It was a bit the same (though not truly comparable) after the Second World War here. Women who had taken over vital jobs on the home front were not so content to go back to the solely homemaking role thereafter.

Anyway – it isn’t only the women. The men are proud and celebrate it too. The festival was pretty lively and at first we listened to a great band – beautiful, beautiful singer. And then there was dancing. I did my best. Ibrahim Dogus extended his hand as the line of dancing went past my chair – and up I got. No choice. It’s what I never was able to do at family weddings – join in. So what my mother couldn’t make me do – the Kurdish Womens’ Festival succeeded in.

Then I gave a little speech – which was translated as I went – and did a TV interview for Kurdish TV in Belgium. And that was that. So interesting – how a diaspora moves from flight, to establishing the necessary food and roof over head and work, to education and careers. And my message to them was to take part in the political governance of the land – be that at council, parliamentary or any institutional level.

Surgery all day Friday and half of Saturday. So many people want to come to my surgery that I am just trying – by doing emergency levels of surgeries – to get through the surge that all new MPs experience. I suspect that the normal demand level will be clearer by the summer break – and I can then work out a schedule to accommodate that level.

Launched the London Assembly’s Parking Enforcement Report.

Having sweated blood over this one – I have been waiting to launch the report safely before leaving the Assembly. I do media from 6.30am to around 2pm – and off it goes.

I am really pleased with this piece of work. Whilst it won’t change overnight some of the unfair practises that go on in parking enforcement in London it has already begun to reign in some of the worst practises.

The main findings and recommendations are to do with stopping confusion – such as poor signs or simply stupid and confusing parking regulations – and we ask for common sense to be applied in parking regs – i.e. not four different rules on one street and stuff like that. The problem isn’t just between boroughs – but within boroughs – and sometimes in one street. We recognised that you cannot have a one size fits all across London. There are just too many different local situations – but it can be soooooooo much better than it is.

Also – the whole system rests on the public doing the work to rectify the situation if they are issued with a ‘wrong’ ticket. Rather than have simple rules that well-trained parking attendants can apply fairly – they don’t seem to really mind about wrongly issued tickets. One fifth of representations by motorists to councils are granted and two thirds that go onto appeals process are found in favour of motorist. I think it is this that drives the public mad.

The Transport Committee is also recommending a variation in penalty charge to reflect the seriousness or otherwise of the ‘offence’.

I suppose (and I don’t want to go into the whole report here – it is worth a read) the most controversial bit of the parking issue is the public’s belief that tickets are a way of raking in revenue rather than the stated purpose of parking regulation and enforcement – which is to improve road safety and traffic flow.

We (the Transport Committee) were threatened with legal action by the Association of London Government in the middle of one of the evidence sessions if we were to come out with findings in our report which stated or inferred that revenue raising was the purpose of regulation and enforcement. Such practise would be illegal.

We didn’t receive explicit evidence of this. The nearest we could get was the witnesses to the first session (including the CEO of NCP) stating that councils put the expected revenue into their budget projections. Whilst entirely natural – and the ALG said based on experience – the witnesses clearly thought this dictated a degree of expectation about revenue which if reduced in any way might jeopardise a council’s budget – well that was my interpretation.

But no explicit evidence that would stand up in court. However, I do believe that under the new Freedom of Information Act there will be revealed a whole raft of things that various individuals or groups – incensed by perceived ‘unfairness’ – are currently pursuing.

One thing we did receive late on was a scanned version of what looked like a contract between a company operating the parking enforcement for a borough and their parking attendants which clearly states that for increased revenue they will be given Argos vouchers and states targets for tickets.

Just announcing this investigation brought in its wake changes by councils – my hope is that this continues and that parking enforcement becomes something that people feel happy complying with because it is administered fairly and openly.

In the afternoon, I had a meeting with the Chief Executive of Haringey Council. I go to the CE’s new office in their new building – River Park House. It is my first visit and looks a good working environment. This is important – and I think giving staff decent conditions to work in produces better services, so I don’t begrudge them their new building.

We go through my ‘issues’ which include: Red Gables, school places, the replacement of the childrens’ play equipment at Campsbourne and Hornsey Town Hall.

Shock horror – went away for the weekend – absolutely fantastic (and much needed)! Then Bank Holiday Monday: spent clearing my emails at home and still writing thank yous to all the congratulations that came in and took youngest to Star Wars.