• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 26 January 2005

Recently, TfL's own Finance Panel was critical of the decision to carry on spending money on the West London Tram project, which is unpopular locally and may not go ahead. Is that another example of you wasting money on projects that are not going to happen?

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 26 January 2005

Moving on to the child fares, earlier you talked about starting the scheme at the end of the summer term rather than the start of this year's autumn term. What is the cost implication of that decision?

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 26 January 2005

LTUC have expressed concern about that policy because they feel that it may well lead to a loss of more fares than you are gaining and, in effect, it is government for the few rather than the many. Will you not reconsider this expensive scheme?

• Question by: Richard Barnes
• Meeting date: 26 January 2005

Back in the annals of time. We all know that Step Change and Neighbourhood Policing have been welcomed across London but we are only less than halfway there with it in the capital. What assurances have you received from Government that next year when it is not a general election year Step Change will continue to be funded?

• Question by: Andrew Pelling
• Meeting date: 26 January 2005

I pushed you hard when you were against the Coulsdon Inner Relief Road and I will push you hard in this session about Purley Cross. I hope that Purley Cross was a marginal decision, that it almost made it, but I must add that I think the people in South London still regard it as being a comment of irony that somehow we were getting the lion's share of investment in South London. I am very grateful for the Coulsdon Inner Relief Road, but that does not solve all our problems. You did not answer the question on why it...

• Question by: Andrew Pelling
• Meeting date: 26 January 2005

You have noted in terms of bringing down the Council Tax to around 6%, that if additional grants and the tax take are not sufficient you would look in other areas. Which other areas will you look at first?

• Question by: Richard Barnes
• Meeting date: 26 January 2005

I am almost loath to follow someone who has such amazing 20/20 foresight. You said that this is the most generous settlement in a decade, which I feel sure we all welcome. You do not think that has anything to do with the forthcoming general election, do you?

• Question by: Damian Hockney
• Meeting date: 26 January 2005

I am sure that people in other areas will not take up the offer of GLA-style institutions. I think one of the things which highlights that is something you agreed with me on a couple of months ago, that the people of London probably would not vote for an Assembly in the present environment because of its obvious powerlessness. Even in this situation we have very little power to do things which I think you might assume from outside - the media has commented to me their assumption that we would be able to make specific suggestions about the budget...

• Question by: Andrew Pelling
• Meeting date: 26 January 2005

What is the reason you cannot put a value on all the free Travelcards you give out? I declare an interest as the GLA pays for mine.

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 26 January 2005

Finally, and this is a sort of cross-over issue when we talk about policing, transport, and LFEPA, but there is a range of policies and programmes within your budgets in the core GLA, LDA and TfL which are about environmental protection and improvement. Could you say something about the sort of offer that will be made to Londoners over the coming year through this budget to address issues like air quality and environmental concerns, and to improve the quality of life in the round through the operation of the GLA family?