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

Within the Safer Neighbourhoods programme, I have been urging the police to increase the number of officers on bikes and also to cut the number of cars and replace them with bikes, where practical. Do you support both of those objectives?

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

So, as yet it remains unfounded?

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

You are aware of what is happening with Airwaves, and you are also aware that we are buying no new radios because of our change over to a new system.

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

The Mayor has made it clear that we should be welcoming our athletes and I think that every one of us will support that. We look forward to the bus tour on 23 October. I recall a previous bus tour where athletes actually returned to London. You were all over them, a bit like a mud bath. You promised them the freedom of London. What has happened to that?

• Question by: Joanne McCartney
• Meeting date: 15 September 2004

You have spoken today about some of the benefits that will occur in the East End itself; I wonder if you could give an idea what effect holding the Olympics would have on other communities across London?

• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 15 September 2004

I have three parts to my question. Can you assure Hackney residents that sports provision on the East Marsh will be upgraded prior to the Games and that the pitches will be relocated locally within 12 months? This is the area that is scheduled for the coach park. We would like your assurance on that. Can you confirm that there will be platform lengthening on the North London Line stations to improve the rail capacity to the Village area? I was in this chamber and it was an excellent meeting, but there was not a clear answer, although people were...

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

): I was one of the 20,000 or so British fans out there. It was quite noticeable that we probably had the strongest presence with the Japanese, Dutch and the Swedes. It was noticeable that the French were not there at all. I think that mobilising the London sports community certainly would be a very good thing in support of the bid. I was just wondering what you made of the UK Indpendence Party's (UKIP) comments during the Olympics?

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

Finally, coming to the environmental impact, do you share the aspirations of the London 2012 bid company and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) that the London 2012 bid should be the first One Planet Olympics in terms of emissions, waste and sustainable development?

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

You do agree with me that locally focused training and employment strategies are a key to ensuring that local people have access to the 11,000 or so jobs that the Olympic boroughs will have as part of their legacy?

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

I totally agree with that. I think that the irony on that one was that it was one thing to not support the bid and quite another to support Paris, particularly from a party that is dripping with anti?Europeanism. More seriously, there was a meeting last Thursday where the Olympic boroughs in the East End together considered the Olympic planning applications. It is quite clear that they are very committed to the legacy issues. Are you satisfied that the Olympic venues will be of benefit to their local communities and not necessarily become expensive white elephants?