• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 16 November 2005

There are some gaps that I feel need to be dealt with. Can I just draw your attention to one? The withdrawal of the single zone Travelcard will be a blow to my constituents who use overground rail and I am sure it applies to other Members. I am talking about users of the Gospel Oak to Barking line; the North London line and the Chingford line as they cannot get the benefits of Oyster pre-pay. Will you consider retaining single zone Travelcards until agreement can be reached with the Train Operating Companies (TOCs) on the use of Oyster pre-pay...

• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 16 November 2005

Yes but we know how TfL works; they do not do everything all at once. So I am just saying can you take forward the request?

• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 16 November 2005

I was with constituents in Waltham Forest. The Town Hall was full and they were absolutely celebrating the fact that they were one of the five Olympic boroughs. However, they raised concerns about the work that is going on in that borough and their relationship with the current LDA programmes. Will you give a commitment on behalf of the LDA that no current programme will suffer detriment because of this need that you now have to re-look at the LDA finances?

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 16 November 2005

In the absence of those savings, the LDA would have to find savings in other activities and budgets in other parts of London?

• Question by: Geoff Pope
• Meeting date: 16 November 2005

You were talking about borrowing requirements should there be a shortfall, and in the case of the Government not being able to allocate extra borrowing I was rather disturbed to hear you say that you would then raid the TfL borrowing requirement. Is that not a sacrifice when you yourself are seeking to have more powers over transport in London and the need for investment, particularly in rail in London, is very high and it should not really be raided by the Olympics.

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 16 November 2005

Can you just outline to us what risks, financial or otherwise, are left with the GLA or the LDA, following this agreement?

• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 16 November 2005

Can I just direct your attention to an area where work could be done by yourself and that is looking at the resource currently held by the London Learning and Skills Councils and surely this is the time now to be getting that budget much more linked in with the LDA programme so that we can get value for money out of that, especially around the skills agenda.

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 16 November 2005

Following that up then, just to be absolutely clear, the LDA budget is £475 million, I think it was, to purchase the land. The cost it is now expected to bear is about £1 billion. This may reduce because of something you call value re-engineering but we should assume for the time being it is about £1 billion. That will be borne entirely within the resources of the LDA.

• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 16 November 2005

You will know as I know of the results coming out of the Health in London report that we launched last week which shows that we have need for extra resource; we have need to get more partnership working, especially within inner London and these five boroughs. What message can they expect to get from the LDA in terms of future projects mainly aimed at young people?

• Question by: Murad Qureshi
• Meeting date: 16 November 2005

Another thing that I just recently realised, and I think the public do not really know about this, but along with buying their Olympic tickets they will get free travel on London Transport. Hopefully there will be a lot of take-up on that front. Is there anything more to add on that provision? Can you confirm that along with buying Olympic tickets, people will get free travel on the London Transport system?