• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 14 March 2007

Can I return to planning and approval and ask Simon Fletcher what monitoring is done as part of the planning and approval process as to the volume of overseas travel?

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

It is just that you are making comments to us like, `It is good to go to New York because tourists spend a huge amount of money in London'. The implication is if the Mayor did not go to New York the tourists would not come to London. What actual value is that adding?

• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 14 March 2007

What is behind it is I do not believe there is actually any monitoring and tracking.

• Question by: Bob Blackman
• Meeting date: 14 March 2007

One of the considerations might be that we have had very clear ones to Cuba, Venezuela etc, which do not strike us as being those areas which would be immediately promoting London as such an important international city. Clearly, that is a priority. Why?

• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 14 March 2007

That is not the point I am raising.

• Question by: Bob Blackman
• Meeting date: 14 March 2007

One final question. Studying your documents there do not seem to be a vast number of trips being planned, for example, to other Commonwealth countries, with which Britain already has very good relations but could be improved. Is there a particular reason why that is the case?

• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 14 March 2007

Is not the truth here that there is no planning? This has mushroomed completely out of control. Until we started asking questions you and the Mayor did not know the volume of it. We are told that since we started asking questions he in particular has been amazed at the volume of travelling going on.

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 15 February 2007

I think there are concerns here that everyone talks grandly about legacy, but actually so much of it is dependent on all the ducks being in a row, and I think perhaps that we are concerned that its intentions will not necessarily guarantee delivery. Lord Coe, I know everybody in West London is very excited that you have agreed to come to talk to the West London Alliance in May, about what West Londoners might be able to expect in terms of legacy from the Games, amongst other things. Perhaps I am being a little early in this, but I...

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 15 February 2007

I understand, and you are right to say that we should not be building where there is not long term use, and so on. I totally take that on board. However, there will be a concern, amongst the non-Olympic boroughs - after all there are 27 boroughs whose Council Tax payers are contributing towards the costs - that they are not going to merely have the crumbs from the table. What assurance can you give us on that? Specifically, what are the plans for the use of the facilities at Crystal Palace that Neale Coleman referred to?

• Question by: Brian Coleman
• Meeting date: 15 February 2007

How inaccurate, Mr Higgins?