• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 12 July 2006

Can I suggest perhaps you come down and ride on some buses in Bexley and Bromley where residents, who I do not think, to use your phrase, are all `Victor Meldrews' the way you rather sneered at them last time, regularly say to me and to their local Councillors of all parties that from mid-evening on, that our buses are now mobile meeting places for young people. That surely was not the intention; that is an unintended consequence? Can we not look at ways of rectifying that?

• Question by: Elizabeth Howlett
• Meeting date: 12 July 2006

Thank you. Are you happy with the stretch of river that they are patrolling, which is about 35 miles, that the resources are adequate, or do you think perhaps there is a weakness in London's resilience from the river?

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 12 July 2006

Given the failure to control these noisy announcements, plus recent failures on the Victoria Line, plus the delay to reopen Queensway Station, how do you characterise your relationship with Metronet and do you think it was time that contract was reviewed?

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 12 July 2006

It will have to be late at night Mr Livingstone, or early in the morning.

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 12 July 2006

I will pass on quickly from that.

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 12 July 2006

Again, can I ask you, It does seem to me in the discussions that we have been having, that quite often the management, and I hesitate to use the expression `hide behind' but that is somehow what it feels like, the health and safety requirements to the point where they are saying that that absolutely overrides the quality of life for the residents living round and about. There must be a balance, surely, even with this health and safety issue? I know it is tricky.

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 12 July 2006

To go back to this important issue, not only is there a problem with the regularity of announcements, which I would question whether all of them are health and safety, because quite often they are simply listing stations that the train is going to stop at. There is also another issue, which is that in the meantime we have tried to establish some minimal improvements for residents, such as a cut-off point where there are no announcements after 9.00 at night, and there should not be any again until 7.00 in the morning, unless there is proven emergency, and there...

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 12 July 2006

Thank you for that. Yes, I appreciate that work is going on and I also would like to put on record that your own office has actually been very helpful in facilitating getting the two sides together. However, I think that this is a wider problem than just Earls Court. It has come to my attention that even a station where you very helpfully weighed in about two years ago, where the volume of announcements was actually breaking your own noise pollution strategy and your stepping in did the trick then - and we are talking now about Putney Bridge...

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 12 July 2006

Please spare us the fraternal greetings.

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 12 July 2006

You have got a lot in common then.