• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 12 March 2008

I do not think I want a job dishing out grants for you actually, Ken! It seems far too high risk. Can I just finally pick up on a point; GLA Economics has produced all sorts of useful reports and analysis on London's economy but done absolutely nothing that I have seen on green jobs and green industry?

• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 12 March 2008

So we will see a London Plan revision looking at green industries then?

• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 12 March 2008

Although you have mentioned various revisions still the overwhelming economic focus of the London Plan and the projected job growth is on business and financial services. I will quote Professor Sir Peter Hall who came to City Hall to speak at the conference that the Environment Committee hosted on green industry. He said there is nothing wrong with the City of London as a wealth generator but our obsession with the idea that London equals financial and business services is something that really needs to be corrected. I think it is important that we do have a revision of the...

• Question by: Geoff Pope
• Meeting date: 12 March 2008

How can you be driving it down if you do not have any figures for the last two or three years? I find that amazing.

• Question by: Geoff Pope
• Meeting date: 12 March 2008

What are you doing to drive down this because it seems like it has been drifting for many years and it means that the travelling public are very upset because they then say, "Why should I pay when I see so few other people paying?"

• Question by: Geoff Pope
• Meeting date: 12 March 2008

I think it is very important. Londoners see people every day evading fares on bendy buses at a rate not far short of 10% on your calculations and there seems to be no proper programme to drive it down and no figures available. The first thing you need in order to try to manage a situation is to know how much money you are losing.

• Question by: Geoff Pope
• Meeting date: 12 March 2008

But you put a lot more staff in there and you have not done that with the bendy buses.

• Question by: Geoff Pope
• Meeting date: 12 March 2008

Now on the congestion charge we certainly supported you on the central zone and you also took up our idea of giving people an extra day to pay. What we are saying now is that the western extension does not work and if you go down to Portobello Road - which I did last week - I found that well over half of the traders have lost at least 20% of their business, some half their business, schools are closing and shops have already closed. Will you go down to Portobello Road to see the effect of the western extension...

• Question by: Geoff Pope
• Meeting date: 12 March 2008

The question is why does it take you so long? For example, in 2001 we submitted the Social Cycling Plan to make cycles available at 50 locations in London. That was seven years ago. So there is a big difference. You are seven years behind.

• Question by: Geoff Pope
• Meeting date: 12 March 2008

No, but with the idea of pedestrianising Oxford Street which we proposed in 2004 you said it could not be done and that included a proposal for a tram. But now you have changed again and now you are saying we are going to do it but it is going to take 14 years. There is a big time differential here isn't there?