• Question by: Damian Hockney
• Meeting date: 05 December 2007

If you do believe in this system, what proposals have you made regarding these inconsistencies about the type of car that will qualify or not? Have you made proposals to the Mayor on that to make it fairer?

• Question by: Damian Hockney
• Meeting date: 05 December 2007

And what referendum did they have?

• Question by: Damian Hockney
• Meeting date: 05 December 2007

Peter, I can pretty much assure you that no doubt the Dutch Government would do it as a matter of course, having not long been re-elected. If they had a referendum, they would not do it, just like in Edinburgh when it was put to a referendum. In spite of every single body, every single organisation going for it, they voted substantially against. It is the same with many other situations and that will happen more as a result of you bringing in this type of swingeing taxation. That will happen more in places like New York and in California...

• Question by: Nicky Gavron
• Meeting date: 05 December 2007

I wonder, Peter Hendy, whether you were aware of, or indeed were using in making the case for emission-based charging, the fact that earlier this year, I think it was around February, the University of Southern California came out with its research, which really gives the evidence for what we knew anecdotally, which is that if you live close to a very traffic-blighted road with high vehicle emissions, then if you are growing and your lungs are growing, and you are any age from 0 to 18, it does not just exacerbate asthma, the particulates and the various toxic emissions...

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 05 December 2007

What about the point about the disproportionate nature of what happens here? If you are looking at people living inside the Congestion Charge zone, the residents who normally get a discount, you are effectively saying that if you are just 1g over your arbitrary cut off point, you go from 80 pence a day to £25 a day. Would you not agree that by any stretch of the imagination, that has to be seen as disproportionate?

• Question by: Tony Arbour
• Meeting date: 05 December 2007

I asked the Mayor about the situation with Malden Rushett, and I was joined in that by my colleague Bob Neill who says that he has similar problems in his constituency, where the LEZ (Low Emission Zone) does not actually follow the Greater London boundary. We have farmers who have farms split by the Low Emission Zone. The Mayor was asked whether he would look at that and alter the boundary. The Mayor said he would not. Would you care to advise the Mayor, when you next see him, that it would be sensible to do that?

• Question by: Damian Hockney
• Meeting date: 05 December 2007

Then surely you add yet more cars? If you work out even on your own figures, any outcome is going to make no difference to CO2 levels, etc. in London. It is only going to be tiny. The whole life impact is expected to be minimal. You are not really changing the environment; that is grandstanding, surely, on a major scale.

• Question by: Damian Hockney
• Meeting date: 05 December 2007

Surely that itself is deeply unfair because that means people who have bought them and did not know, residents, are now facing having to pay what really amounts to penal taxation. It is; it is heavy taxation at the most extraordinary level for something like this and it also encourages them, surely, to change cars, to add yet more cars possibly to their stable?

• Question by: Damian Hockney
• Meeting date: 05 December 2007

I noted from the report on it that the short term impact on air quality, I quote, 'is expected to be small and the whole life impact is expected to be minimal.' That is what has been said about it by your own officials. Is that not simply the case that this is what it is about? It is about revenue raising and nothing to do with the environment at all?

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 05 December 2007

I think most Londoners will understand that there is a problem and that you need to get on top of it. A little more information, a little more quickly would be helpful. I have one particular instance though, which is Aldgate East station where the eastern ticket office and access has been closed, I think now for a couple of months longer than it was meant to be, under the refurbishment. If you do not have the answer here today, can you write to me perhaps, explaining when that is going to re-open? It increases the time for people trying...