• Question by: Geoff Pope
• Meeting date: 22 March 2006

This particular proposal, there are no plans at all for at the moment if it is not in any of those programmes?

• Question by: Dee Doocey
• Meeting date: 22 March 2006

I do not actually have any major concerns about the Olympics themselves. If they go according to all of the stuff in the bid document, everything should be fine. I can see that appropriate things have been put in place to make sure that they are fully accessible. My concern is the situation at the moment. How are we ever going to grow Olympic athletes if we have a major situation, which we do, in that children with disabilities cannot get to after-school clubs in order to participate in sport and are in many ways being completely marginalised from any...

• Question by: Damian Hockney
• Meeting date: 06 December 2006

Parcelforce is a different case.

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 06 December 2006

Thank you, you might as well.

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 06 December 2006

I have the Department of Transport's road speeds in front of me. They are significantly lower now than they were ten years ago. Is it not the truth that your traffic measures, such as adding bus lanes wherever you can, and rephasing traffic lights quite consistently across London - you would no doubt tell me to benefit pedestrians - has slowed up traffic? While it may be true that fewer cars are coming into London there is as much congestion as there ever was which is why we are seeing gridlock back again. You are taking with one hand and...

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 06 December 2006

No, because it probably is not!

• Question by: Damian Hockney
• Meeting date: 06 December 2006

But most people have to pay the Charge, businesses have to pay the Charge. You cannot seriously be saying that somebody who is making a delivery from Potters Bar or Hertford or somewhere and coming into London and adding it to a bill that they are doing, and then going back out, that that is ripping people off.

• Question by: Damian Hockney
• Meeting date: 06 December 2006

Thank you, Commissioner. Firstly, on the business of pest control, the companies who told us this made quite clear that there are legal obligations that oblige them to do this very regularly. My main issue is that TfL was quoted on the story on the Congestion Charge on Parcelforce saying: `They had no record of any business asking customers to foot the bill'. We just took a random number of medium to large sized companies; CBRE, a major property company in London, Vinopolis. Head of Operations at Vinopolis went through all of her bills and stated, quite clearly: `I have...

• Question by: Damian Hockney
• Meeting date: 06 December 2006

Fine. I get one of my team to ring 30 companies and 10 of them give specifics. That is the key, they are being charged. When we had a recent scrutiny of the film industry on the Economic Development Committee, all of those who are not financially dependant upon either the GLA money or Government said: `It is a major issue. The Congestion Charge is a barrier to us because of the number of vehicles'. There is an attempt to play it down, I think that is the thing that I am saying. Can you not do some research, include...

• Question by: Damian Hockney
• Meeting date: 06 December 2006

Do you ask this question though; are your delivery companies and so on charging you?