• Question by: Murad Qureshi
• Meeting date: 15 December 2004

Can I also make a comment on the West London residents- impact on the West End extension potentially? Do they not actually get a very good deal from you? At the moment, if the proposal goes ahead, for between 50-80p, they could get entrance into the West End, which they do not do at the moment.

• Question by: Peter Hulme Cross
• Meeting date: 15 December 2004

You say that the effect of the Congestion Charge on business is minimal, but that is not the message that we get from businesses. I think businesses across the board are united in saying that their takings are substantially down, both large businesses and small businesses. Small businesses are saying, in fact, that when the £8 Congestion Charge comes in ' if it comes in, which knowing you on past performance is likely ' it will drive many of them out of business. Are you not concerned about that?

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 15 December 2004

Well, I think however much you try to muddle it up, it is pretty clear in most people's minds that it is about the complications, and it is about the money, and you consulted with people for £5, and they gave you a 66% `no' across the whole of London, and I suspect that that will only go higher, if you actually had to end up consulting about £8. Are you not concerned that Londoners have virtually given up having any confidence at all in your open-mindedness as far as your consultations are concerned? You would not be out already...

• Question by: Sally Hamwee
• Meeting date: 15 December 2004

The consultation on the £8 gives an estimate of an increase of £45 million a year income as a result of the increase. I guess, from what you have said about the separation of the consultations it cannot, but perhaps you could clarify whether or not it takes account of the westward extension, or is this just an estimate simply on the central zone?

• Question by: Sally Hamwee
• Meeting date: 15 December 2004

Can I come back to the westward extension and the £8? If both go ahead, there will be a lot more Londoners who will get a discount of £7.50, if they use their residential exemption to drive into a bigger area of London. Is that not actually in danger of risking the whole of the scheme?

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 15 December 2004

British Waterways Board has, I think, done a lot of good work in London, particularly promoting regeneration. There have been a number of transfer stations installed on the canal network, but I did not have the benefit, which you obviously pleasurably did have of sleeping with Jenny's (Jones) report under my pillow. Nonetheless, it seems to me pretty obvious that it would be sensible for British Waterways as another public body to accept that the Mayor should be consulted on the possible designation of wharves on the canal network in London, because if we are not careful, they are going...

• Question by: Jenny Jones
• Meeting date: 15 December 2004

I take your point about time and skills and so on, but the fact is things are happening at the moment which will make it more and more difficult to actually achieve some of these objectives, and so there is a feeling of urgency. You may or may not know that there is a fair amount of ill will amongst quite a lot of the people who are involved in the whole process, and I think it is urgent that this is mocked up as fast as possible and things do get going. We are going to lose even more...

• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 15 December 2004

With Christmas coming, we clearly need to keep the cross-party love-in going for as long as we can, and from our side, we too see potential here. I think there are 18 London boroughs that actually border on the River Thames, so there is clearly potential, if these practicalities can be overcome, to transfer the waste through the canals, onto the river, and out to our good friends in Essex. However, when I started looking into this, as to what is the current position, I had some difficulty. Capitalwastefacts.com, which is a Mayoral London Remade website says that 16% is...

• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 15 December 2004

Well, that makes my point very conveniently. Could I suggest that you ask your officials to get it straight as to what is the current position, and then would you see your way to adding a specific target to the Municipal Waste Strategy, because I think until we have a percentage in mind, it is very hard to drive progress, and while the Waste Strategy, talks about the desirability of this, which we would all agree with, it would help if there were some background and an actual target with a timeline.

• Question by: Jenny Jones
• Meeting date: 15 December 2004

Well, the Greens on the London Assembly have put together a superb report on the canal.