• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 15 November 2006

Okay, so the environment is a major feature, but we may have to see some scaling down on the bid commitments because of cost overruns?

• Question by: Sally Hamwee
• Meeting date: 15 November 2006

A discrete point, as it were. You have mentioned the need for an adequate contingency budget. I do not think any one would argue with that. Are you able to tell us, in terms of the percentage of the whole, what you would regard as an adequate percentage?

• Question by: Dee Doocey
• Meeting date: 15 November 2006

If the budget is delayed by Government, for whatever reason, is it possibly that, say, by June next year we could have the budget that you are working to so that we can do our job?

• Question by: Dee Doocey
• Meeting date: 15 November 2006

So could you give us an estimated date when this Assembly will have the budget? You said it was going to be this December, what are you now saying?

• Question by: Dee Doocey
• Meeting date: 15 November 2006

Mr Higgins, when you came before us in June you explained that you were going to go through the budget in detail and work it up, and we had great sympathy for that, because obviously you have got to own your budget. It looks like you have done that, and you have submitted it to Government but, at that time, you thought we would have the budget by the end of the year. It now appears that the Government is squabbling again, presumably more departments fighting with each other. Obviously the timetable for the Olympics is not elastic, and I...

• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 15 November 2006

But you cannot give a guarantee?

• Question by: Brian Coleman
• Meeting date: 15 November 2006

In particular could you address the issue of VAT, Mr Higgins?

• Question by: Peter Hulme Cross
• Meeting date: 15 November 2006

You have said the project is on track. You have also said the costs are rising substantially. Those two statements do not seem to sit very happily together to me. How can you be on track if the costs are rising substantially? The point I would like to make to you is that Londoners are contributing £625 million to this project and we have been assured by the Mayor that that money will go into infrastructure which will be a positive thing that Londoners can see their money has paid for. Do you support the fact that Londoners should not...

• Question by: Murad Qureshi
• Meeting date: 15 November 2006

Does that include, specifically, investment in Prescott Lock or Prescott Channel?

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 15 November 2006

The Mayor of London has expressed the argument in this way; that you could effectively deliver a no frills Olympic Games within the £2.375 billion envelope that was originally posited, but that in order to enhance the regeneration benefit additional sums of money are available. Now obviously he is a politician so perhaps he would put it that way. You are project people. Would you fundamentally agree with that analysis or do you think there are areas where even to deliver a no frills Olympics the pressures on the £2.375 billion are such that it would be difficult to provide...