• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 10 September 2008

Roger Evans (AM): Can I also ask you about the budget for the Olympics because in recent years a blank cheque has been signed on the part of Londoners to pay for this project. It is good to see that you are holding it as a separate directorate and are going to keep a close eye on what is happening but clearly we need to make sure that, whilst we have a quality Games, we have a value for money Games and we do not saddle Londoners with debt for many years to come. I know many people have written...

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 10 September 2008

Roger Evans (AM): Can I also seek reassurance from you on the transport budget. Yesterday we had quite a productive and interesting meeting about the Cross River Tram but of course I think everyone there understood, particularly Professor Glaister who addressed the meeting, that it is a matter of priorities -Professor Stephen Glaister, former Member of the Board of TfL. Very much knew what he was talking about and gave a good presentation to the meeting. Some of the people there were suggesting there was a lot of money in the Crossrail budget and perhaps that could be raided to...

• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 10 September 2008

The Patience Wheatcroft review - and we have discussed this previously - did look at planning and environment posts and said that it was difficult to see how that level of overhead could be justified. However, Sir Simon Milton at the [Assembly's] Environment Committee meeting last week did make a very good point that the boroughs themselves could not be expected to have all that expertise in-house and, in terms of value for money, if you expected those teams to operate in 32 boroughs on that level of expertise would be far more expensive than having that core function here...

• Question by: Gareth Bacon MP
• Meeting date: 10 September 2008

At the Mayor's Question Time of July last year your predecessor, Mr Livingstone, remarked that the only way that he believed that the Thames Barrier would fail to protect the people of London from flooding would be, 'If someone has over indulged the night before and is asleep at the controls when the flood comes'. That is quite a reassuring statement and I hope very much that it is true. Do you agree with that view wholeheartedly and, if not, would you be prepared to consider additional flood defences in the future if necessary?

• Question by: Nicky Gavron
• Meeting date: 10 September 2008

I wanted to ask you about something else. At this moment - I think whilst we are speaking - the LDA is announcing its reorganisation and its cuts. We have not heard anything about that. I am very concerned because of the size of the cuts that there will be cuts in the environment programmes which you have just said this morning are going to remain your top priority and rise up your agenda. So I am concerned about that. I am also concerned that agencies like the London Climate Change Agency which is set up to bring in the...

• Question by: Caroline Pidgeon
• Meeting date: 10 September 2008

Given that the rest of the country is going to be moving to touch ticketing, do you plan to make Oyster Cards compatible so that Londoners can travel outside of London with just a single card?

• Question by: Caroline Pidgeon
• Meeting date: 10 September 2008

how will you secure through-ticketing for the Olympics and ensure that all visitors can use just one card - or even, as you have suggested, their mobile phone - for travel and events in 2012?

• Question by: Caroline Pidgeon
• Meeting date: 10 September 2008

Caroline Pidgeon (AM): So are you planning on TfL taking on running [Oyster Card]?

• Question by: Jenny Jones
• Meeting date: 10 September 2008

would you be prepared to commission a piece of work which looks into - and the previous Mayor was fantastic at doing this and I am sure you want to emulate him - existing planning policies and whether or not they do support this sort of street market retail outlet?

• Question by: Tony Arbour
• Meeting date: 16 July 2008

I wonder if you would like to comment on the cost of consultants for your predecessor's pet projects? After all, Deep Throat has told us that the LDA was closely directed by the Mayor's office and the forensic report tells us that the Board of the LDA was left in no doubt what Mayor Livingstone wanted to do. I have to say this is a completely new one to me; the people who walked in darkness have now seen a great light thanks to this report and the light would shine a lot more clearly had the previous Mayor actually...