• Question by: Tony Arbour
• Meeting date: 15 September 2004

That is still concentrating power at the centre; I am suggesting that it should be devolved. You say that you have not asked people to fill in forms, but what you have done, and you have repeated it at this meeting, is instruct boroughs to designate wards and an additional five wards to have a dedicated number of police officers. We welcome the strategy, but there are many wards throughout London that do not require this number of police officers, and similarly there are other wards which require a greater concentration of police officers. Would it not make sense to...

• Question by: Tony Arbour
• Meeting date: 15 September 2004

Does that mean that you agree with my premise that not every ward needs the same size of neighbourhood teams?

• Question by: Tony Arbour
• Meeting date: 15 September 2004

The Home Office, of course, and indeed you, has created an enormous of bureaucracy and filling in forms that is required by the Home Office, which stops local police forces from actually arresting criminals. Do you not think that really the best way to deal with this would be to devolve substantial amounts of budget and autonomy to borough commanders so that they can carry out their own policing priorities, which they understand infinitely better than the Home Office?

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 15 September 2004

At Mayor's Question Time on 18 June 2003, you said that if you were elected to a second term, bus fares would increase in line with inflation. You also said at that same Mayor's Question Time that increases beyond that level on the bus and tube would 'massively depress ridership'. You have broken your word on the first, do we assume that you no longer believe in the second proposition?

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 15 September 2004

Is it not a bit of an old fashioned way of running transport to increase fares on buses in order to move people off them and onto other forms of transport? In the last fare round, you were increasing fares on tubes in order to push people on to buses.

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 15 September 2004

): It does not seem very long since you announced the last package of fare increases at a press conference. I recall on that occasion that you defended that decision by saying that you wanted to get the increases out of the way before the election so that people could vote for you on the basis of the prices that you were putting forward then. Why did you not tell people about the next set of increases at the election?

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 15 September 2004

You have also said on previous occasions that you would have pressed ahead with the congestion charge even if it were revenue neutral, and you have said that it is not intended to be a tax upon motorists. It was about changing behaviour and freeing up the city. Since, on your own account and TfL's propaganda, the charge has reduced the amount of traffic in the city, what possible justification is there for any increase, other than to use it as a revenue raiser?

• Question by: Richard Barnes
• Meeting date: 15 September 2004

Mr Mayor, you have made it clear that within four years you face a deficit on your bus subsidy of £1 billion. You seem to be in a financial hole, where increasing bus fares and tube fares above inflation will begin to get you out " and I say only 'begin'. However, you could stop digging this hole if you abandoned the West London Tram, which will add £30 million a year to your actual costs, and that is just the fare subsidies that you require. Why do you not make your painful decisions less painful and recognise that there...

• Question by: Lynne Featherstone
• Meeting date: 15 September 2004

You have admitted that only 50% of the £1.3 billion is forthcoming from the Government, and that is going to cost nearly £100 out of every Londoner's pocket. Do you not think that was actually a huge dishonesty before the election when you simply promised that fares would be in line with inflation and now you are going to have to go to people for nearly £100 " £95.07 I believe.

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 15 September 2004

So it is a revenue raiser now?