• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 25 February 2004

To follow your logic, if that were the case you should not have provided the 200. We are suggesting that you could have provided 500 for less cost to the Council Tax payer. Why not look at that again?

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 25 February 2004

I am grateful that you recognise the importance of ensuring personal security for people who depend upon the London suburban rail network, which is particularly important for those of us who represent constituencies in south London. And that you recognise that, to some extent, by the allocation of 200 extra transport police officers. Given the size of the network, would it not be logical to follow that through and adopt the proposal in the Conservative alternative budget to provide 500? And indeed in the Liberal Democrats' budget. The initial Conservative suggestion of 500 extra BTP officers specifically to patrol the...

• Question by: Meg Hillier
• Meeting date: 25 February 2004

Earlier you mentioned wanting a level of BTP on overland stations that we have the right to expect. I am very impressed with the work being done by Tim O'Toole (Managing Director, London Underground Limited) and London Underground in getting more BTP to respond to the needs of the Underground. Have you had any conversations with the BTP prior to the setting up of a BTP Authority? What work are you doing or do you plan to do to try to improve the performance of the BTP? I relate this particularly to Walthamstow Central, which is one of the stations...

• Question by: Valerie Shawcross
• Meeting date: 25 February 2004

Those bigger issues aside for the moment, although I agree with you in principle, I do think that the Capital Standards' system that you have put in place to provide leadership for the boroughs in trying to raise the standards of litter and graffiti removal in London has been very good. I think there is a case for doing a similar initiative of trying to pull together the responsible organisations, the TOCs and so forth, to put together a project and try to get them to raise their own game in advance of what you might be suggesting. Certainly, I...

• Question by: Valerie Shawcross
• Meeting date: 25 February 2004

One of the things that is becoming apparent is the general security situation and environment of the Tube stations. You mentioned the Metro pilot stations which TfL is putting money into on the overground. They are getting better, but the poor standard of the overground stations in the rest of London becomes increasingly apparent. There are people living in the areas that are not well served by the Tube or the Metro pilots who are suffering much lower standards of safety and security of environment and it is becoming increasingly obvious. I recently did a survey of one ward in...

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 25 February 2004

So if we give advance notice of this question you will be able to give us an answer and a commitment, not an aspiration?

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 25 February 2004

Well, that is an aspiration. Can we now turn to the commitment? Of course, it will take a long time to get to 100%, but can you give us a commitment of what you would wish to achieve in 12 months' time?

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 25 February 2004

I think that certainly a majority of the Assembly very much regret that you chose to ignore our collective proposals to extend and increase the BTP on overground rail. Turning to the subject of the Underground stations for which you are responsible, are you aware that as at last November only 20% of London Underground's stations were accredited under the Department for Transport `Safer Stations Scheme'? Is it your ambition to improve that score, and if so, by how much and when?

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 17 March 2004

Which other priority is a lesser priority as a consequence of that? What I am trying to get my head around is the extent to which" Obviously in life you have to pursue a lot of relatively easy targets and priorities, but you need to take some challenging ones on now. I think, and I think a lot of my colleagues and constituents believe, that that is a really vital one for London and we have not done enough on it yet.

• Question by: Tony Arbour
• Meeting date: 17 March 2004

How much last year?