• Question by: Tony Arbour
• Meeting date: 21 June 2006

I am glad you are taking the report on affordable housing seriously. You will recall that the principle recommendation of that is that the definition for the 50% requirement for affordable housing should no longer be in terms of units, but should be in terms of the area of the housing which is provided. I very much hope that you will say this morning that you will take that on. With regard to your observations about the way the report was commented upon in the Standard, do you not think that they were right to draw attention to the fact...

• Question by: Geoff Pope
• Meeting date: 21 June 2006

On the question of housing strategy, I certainly agree that it is so important to get the transport infrastructure right in order to make the housing much more effective. You talked about the Thames Gateway projects and the fact that Crossrail will obviously help, if and when it starts, and then there are the two transit schemes which were launched five years ago, were they not, as being a tram or trolley bus. Then we heard there may actually be a bus to begin with and that we might introduce a tram later. Are you aware that Transport for London...

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 21 June 2006

That, of course, is fine, but that is using up resources which many people think should be deployed in general policing. How do you deal with the concern raised with me time and time again by ordinary residents who say what is happening now is that young folk are using the buses as mobile meeting places rather than means of transport? That is not what the system was designed for, is it?

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 21 June 2006

That is all fine language, but what I am concerned with is that there was a categorical assurance given to the Assembly that there would be monitoring steps taken. We do not see any evidence of that categorical assurance being followed up.

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 21 June 2006

I remember two years ago when we talked about this, you told us that you were unsure what was happening because the system was evolving. It sounds a bit like it is still evolving. A very important shortcoming has been dealt with but it really should have been spotted at the beginning.

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 21 June 2006

I am quite surprised that you do not know that because you have come here today to talk about the under-16s Travelcards, and this is an issue the Assembly raises with you whenever you mention it. It does sound to be a disappointingly low number, considering that the number of arrests are up by 35%. Are we saying that people who commit offences, while they may be being punished in other ways, are allowed to continue to travel?

• Question by: Valerie Shawcross
• Meeting date: 21 June 2006

I think he was quoted in the report, and I am sure he will come in. Can I just move onto our Chairman's comments about building multi-story car parks on Potters Field? I do not want to belabour this one; I am actually torn between thinking `Oh that is just our Chairman making another bonkers statement in order to get into the press'- and he rather likes doing that, does he not - and actually reacting to some of the alarm there was in the community. There were certainly serious reports in Southwark News where Councillor Coleman says, 'I think...

• Question by: Valerie Shawcross
• Meeting date: 21 June 2006

With regard to the Assembly's report on affordable housing, I am the Vice-Chair of that committee and the comments and the analysis in the Evening Standard, I felt, were completely in the opposite direction to the findings of the report, which was a sensible all-party report. One of the criticisms that was made and that I would ask you if you would like to have an opportunity rebut, was that it accused the Mayor of failing to define what `affordable' means. The report calls for a tighter definition of affordable housing, while the analysis in the report suggests that what...

• Question by: Valerie Shawcross
• Meeting date: 21 June 2006

Thank you. It is useful to know that you will in fact be taking the report seriously, and will not be put off by the inaccurate spin that was put on the coverage.

• Question by: Peter Hulme Cross
• Meeting date: 17 April 2006

Do you think therefore that the tram was nothing to do with Labour's defeat?