• Question by: Lynne Featherstone
• Meeting date: 24 June 2004

It was very interesting that your manifesto came so late on, but then I was not surprised to find most of Simon Hughes' (Liberal Democrat Party Mayoral candidate) good ideas in there in terms of Congestion Charging. However, the one you missed was actually a very important one for Londoners. There are 165,000 penalty notices a month, and I am sure there are not 165,000 people trying to avoid the charge because many just forget. Therefore, will you take up Simon's other idea of allowing people a further 26 hours until midnight the following day to pay the charge if...

• Question by: Lynne Featherstone
• Meeting date: 24 June 2004

But they would have thought they had a fair chance to pay, would they not?

• Question by: Andrew Pelling
• Meeting date: 24 June 2004

I would like to follow on from the regular campaign that my colleague Richard Barnes (AM) has done on this issue. The opposition to this scheme is very vociferous. You made reference to polls, but polls can be driven by the question you ask. In the context of all the competing needs we have in terms of investment in public transport, surely this scheme should be dropped bearing in mind the strength of opposition? This scheme is different from other schemes because of its strong emphasis on the running of the tram on the road, particularly on the Uxbridge Road...

• Question by: Peter Hulme Cross
• Meeting date: 24 June 2004

My next question is also about consultation. At the end of this month a public consultation period begins on the West London Tram project. Will it be made clear to the people of West London that the tram that has been proposed is 43 yards long, over 7 feet wide and can carry up to 320 passengers? It will be like a Tube train, two and half carriages long, running along the centre of the Uxbridge Road.

• Question by: Peter Hulme Cross
• Meeting date: 24 June 2004

My question is about this consultation. I would like to mention two points first. On 18 May, after consulting with TfL for two years, a meeting of 30 residents' associations representing many tens of thousands of people in West London unanimously agreed to oppose the West London Tram project. On 11 June, the Ealing Passenger Transport Users' Group (EPTUG) and other community groups decided publicly to oppose the West London Tram project. They said they had done this because TfL had operated a charade of a consultation that had ignored the views of the people. I put it to you...

• Question by: Jenny Jones
• Meeting date: 24 June 2004

I am very keen to see the West London Tram go ahead, particularly because if it is cancelled then we will probably not get the cross-river tram in Southwark. However, if you do want to reallocate the money to that, Valerie Shawcross (AM) and I will guarantee that we will get as many people in favour as possible. Nevertheless, there are concerns in West London that the tram will displace traffic and that the total volume of traffic will not actually fall. I am quite curious about how much TfL is putting into reducing the volume of traffic and cutting...

• Question by: Peter Hulme Cross
• Meeting date: 24 June 2004

Will the Mayor come in person to attend a public debate on the West London Tram, which is being held at Haven Green, near Ealing Broadway at 10.30 am on Saturday 3 July, to listen first-hand to the concerns of West London residents?

• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 24 June 2004

Blair's Mayor was indeed elected. It was you who went to the media before the election talking about `crushing" Liberal Democrat boroughs who would not do what you said. In fact, in April your own Labour Housing Minister was on record as saying that authorities can set policies which deviate from those laid out in your strategic plan. So, if you recognise that this is a partnership, not a case of you telling boroughs what to do and `crushing" them if you do not like what they do, I repeat the question I asked you. If we are to get...

• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 24 June 2004

Could you stick to answering the question? What are you going to do to help the situation?

• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 24 June 2004

I also have the numbers too, so let me name the five worst authorities in London for granting planning permission within eight weeks: Hackney, Camden, Waltham Forest, Tower Hamlets, Barking and Dagenham " all Labour authorities. The five worst planning authorities in London are Labour in terms of granting permission on time. In terms of granting permission at all, four of the five worst are Hackney, Brent, Hounslow, Haringey " all Labour authorities. The Mayor has chosen to answer this question in a confrontational way, which is a pity because I was hoping that this new term of office would...