• Question by: Geoff Pope
• Meeting date: 13 September 2006

The full details of the plan do clearly show exactly how the buses could be rerouted and the tram scheme could be introduced.

• Question by: Geoff Pope
• Meeting date: 13 September 2006

Well that is what the proposal was. It was not to remove the buses and have no public transport; it was always to have public transport that was accessible.

• Question by: Geoff Pope
• Meeting date: 13 September 2006

Now, in your consultation with the Cross River Tram, which is planned for later this year, will you be including the Oxford Street spur in that consultation?

• Question by: Geoff Pope
• Meeting date: 13 September 2006

Back in 2003, the gentleman on my left, John Biggs, did actually ask you to state very clearly and very unambiguously that Simon Hughes' (Liberal Democrat London Mayoral Candidate 2004) proposal for pedestrianising Oxford Street is a nonsense in your view, and you replied even more strongly than that. Because I am sure you will not remember what you said, I will repeat it: 'I think it could kill Oxford Street as a shopping centre' - this is only three years ago - 'more effectively than any other threat to it.' Well, I do not know what other threats you...

• Question by: Geoff Pope
• Meeting date: 13 September 2006

Also, the Government has postponed its £50 million programme and campaigns that were due to start next year; will you be raising that with the Health Minister?

• Question by: Geoff Pope
• Meeting date: 13 September 2006

Well, as you probably know, rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV are highest in London compared with other regions and also data from the Health Protection Agency show that these levels are actually increasing, so it is a crisis. I welcome the action you are proposing to take; will you also be making representations to the Health Minister (Rt Hon Patricia Hewitt), because sometimes it is not the NHS that can do anything about it: they are strapped by what the Government can release. What we really need, surely, is actual ring-fenced funding for these services.

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 13 September 2006

Very quickly on this issue of Thames Water and their responsibilities; I think a lot has been said about their responsibilities to provide clean drinking water to Londoners. Quite a bit has been said about this interceptor main that needs to be built ' by whom I am not sure yet ' but given that they are currently facing a sale and RWE is selling them to whoever, investment banks, quite likely ' should we not as Londoners make a very clear statement about the further responsibilities that we think they have not yet really raised to meet for the...

• Question by: Nicky Gavron
• Meeting date: 13 September 2006

Is it not the case, Mayor, that even if the Government were to adopt your suggestion' for the tunnel for sewage for the Lower Lea Valley to Beckton stretch - that if we had a repeat of the flash storms in August 2004 ' which is highly likely I think during summer, as climate change bites more ' we would have fish dying in the Thames again and we would have sewage overflows all along the river?

• Question by: Nicky Gavron
• Meeting date: 13 September 2006

Can I just have a follow-up? I think the point I am making is that, if you do not build the whole tunnel, then you are still going to have the fish dying in the Thames, when there are flash floods. I want to add to that: have you pressed Thames Water ' this is about the desalination plant ' to look at just upgrading some of the just below drinking quality water that we have in abundance in London, rather than building a desalination plant, or introducing one, because, it is much cheaper, both in money terms and in...

• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 13 September 2006

Okay, let us see. I see in your report that you are still giving money to Thames Water. Given that Thames Water this month ' just a few days ago ' has been fined yet again for polluting a stretch of stagnant brook because of defective sewage treatment, and Thames Water had the worst number of serious incidences in the whole country last year, what have you done to revise your love-in with Thames Water that we were talking about before the summer break? Are you now getting tough on them and putting pressure on them?