• Question by: Richard Barnes
• Meeting date: 17 April 2006

The Assembly has had a report on the safety of stations and indeed the Evening Standard has run a massive campaign on safety on stations, yet that instruction was never reported on, certainly not by the Assembly or by the Evening Standard. What are the results of that instruction which was given months ago?

• Question by: Richard Barnes
• Meeting date: 17 April 2006

You gave Tim O'Toole that instruction months ago.

• Question by: Dee Doocey
• Meeting date: 17 April 2006

I do have a concern about timing. I understand what you are saying but we can give you the information before it becomes public; that is not a problem at all. I am sure you must share my concern that the inability of these children with disabilities to be able to access sports facilities is likely to have a direct impact on our ability to produce Paralympian athletes. You have now seen the information. You are aware that, for example: teacher training does not include any training at all in disabilities; trainee teachers who are teaching physical education (PE) in...

• Question by: Dee Doocey
• Meeting date: 17 April 2006

The boroughs can only work within the financial parameters they have, and as you know, one of the biggest problems is the complete lack of funding. We have heard so much about Olympic money being trickled down and being given to everyone that needs it. I do not totally accept this thing about the Paralympians because it only takes six years, so I would not just write off people who have not been identified so far. It takes six years to train a Paralympian, which is not very long. Although I think a meeting would be welcome, I do think...

• Question by: Dee Doocey
• Meeting date: 17 April 2006

I am out of time, but I can have your assurance that it will be very, very high on your agenda to push forward?

• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 17 April 2006

I welcome this being brought up at this meeting and it is a shame that we do not spend longer on a subject like this, and come prepared to, if you like, stand up and put our own experiences and our cases. It is something that I think we should do rather than be looking at what others can do. Let us see what we as an Assembly can do. It is not just about sitting as an observer at your new board. It is the board I want to come to. It is now going to come into existence...

• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 17 April 2006

Thank you, I welcome that answer. The Home Office, who have not actually looked at this as far as I can since about the year 2000, then estimated that migrants contributed £2.5 billion more in taxes than they took in benefits, so there is a very strong case to be made. Would you agree to a meeting, if other Members felt that was appropriate, to look at what we can do jointly together? I do not want to look back at the local election results particularly, but I certainly want to look forward to the Assembly election and to see...

• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 17 April 2006

The follow-up question is that we tend always to be looking in at ourselves, and it is easy to look at Barking & Dagenham, but can you just assure us again that following on from the submission that you made to the European Commission about labour migration that you will keep on working within the European context because this issue is not just a London or a UK issue but really we should be looking at it from a European perspective as well? Can you give us again that sense of openness about what it is that the European office...

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 17 April 2006

Regarding the question at the end about what more could be done to make the positive case for London to be a diverse, open and flexible place to live and work, I am wondering what we, as leaders in London, should do by way of a message to those people in Barking & Dagenham who felt that that was not a thesis that they could sign up to?

• Question by: Geoff Pope
• Meeting date: 17 April 2006

I might just do that. Surely there are many parts of the Underground system at station concourses which are not subject to extreme wind blasts?