• Question by: Richard Barnes
• Meeting date: 14 November 2007

They could also perhaps cancel sending empty planes across the Atlantic to America which I saw reported in the paper today, or indeed empty planes down to Cardiff just to maintain slots, which would help that congestion as well. Mr Mayor, what confidence can we have in this consultation and its outcome when we get the clear impression of virtual collusion between the Department for Transport and BAA?

• Question by: Richard Barnes
• Meeting date: 14 November 2007

One would hope that that is going to be the outcome. My constituency and the neighbouring constituencies directly affected are very conscious of the impact that a third runway would have upon the local environment. A third runway would also impact on the rest of London with approach routes, departure routes and the whole lot of it. Would you join your resources and abilities with the 2M Group in getting London to understand what the overall impact of the third runway will be?

• Question by: Peter Hulme Cross
• Meeting date: 14 November 2007

Right, so this is something that is absolutely in the lap of Greenwich Council and nothing to do with you? You have washed your hands of it?

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 14 November 2007

There would not be a link then with the zone in the centre? I do not mean a physical link.

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 14 November 2007

The last time we discussed this you were very keen to point out that it was a Greenwich Council initiative rather than something involving TfL. Some of the work that Greenwich Council did on their original consultation was asking people if they would consider a system where paying to enter Greenwich would also count towards paying to enter the central Congestion Charge zone as well, implying some amount of joint working between Transport for London and Greenwich. Is that still something that is on the drawing board?

• Question by: Damian Hockney
• Meeting date: 14 November 2007

Not with the drilling down into these projects; that is just an overall process, we checked that. This is about the specific projects. There is no oversight, there are no proper outputs worked out; the thing is a bit of a shambles. Somebody has to do this. We should not be doing it. Now you are criticising us for trying to put it right.

• Question by: Damian Hockney
• Meeting date: 14 November 2007

Of these six projects, separately? To make clear to everybody, to the public, that we are not just throwing money, we do not know what the outputs are and we do not have any measure throughout.

• Question by: Damian Hockney
• Meeting date: 14 November 2007

We have tried for a year to get this information and have failed to get it. The reason why we have had to put it through a proper audit is because every time we try to get it we are then told - this is what we were told on Monday - 'We do not agree with the conclusions because you do not have all the information'. Therefore our question is, 'Why did you not provide us with the information?'. 'Well, we will do it to an auditor'. That is like madness.

• Question by: Damian Hockney
• Meeting date: 14 November 2007

I am astonished by your response, I have to say, as indeed I was astonished by the report. If you read the report or listened to what Manny Lewis [Chief Executive, LDA] said when he came to see us the other day, he said the opposite of what you just said. You said that the LDA told us we will not find anything in an audit that we do not already know. The LDA said the opposite. They said they had failed to supply us with the information that we needed to complete our report. That is what they said...

• Question by: Damian Hockney
• Meeting date: 14 November 2007

Mayor, that has nothing to do with monitoring and keeping the process going throughout. Yes, they were inherited projects, but it is clear from all of this that there is no proper oversight. All I am saying to you is: will you not undertake to do that proper audit into these six projects which we, as the scrutiny body, have found wanting so enormously. A cloud hangs over the LDA as long as you do not do that.