• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 19 November 2003

Then why are you sharing it with us?

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 19 November 2003

Can I just make the point about Selfridges, quickly? I think that we have to recognise that Selfridges is not like John Lewis. It actually has a sensitive share price and, of course, the Chairman of Selfridges is not going to share with the public the fact that the congestion charge might be damaging their flagship store. This is not the information they would want to put out in the same way that John Lewis which is a partnership feels more able to do because their own staff own the shares. So, it is not quite correct. It is not...

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 19 November 2003

£200 million.

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 19 November 2003

It was originally.

• Question by: Nicky Gavron
• Meeting date: 19 November 2003

As you know, Mayor, I have always championed congestion charging and been a strong supporter. However, on the western extension, I am very perturbed by the fact that what we seem to be creating is a free urban clear-way. That route through Edgware Road, Park Lane, Victoria and Vauxhall is what we called in the 1970s the inner ring road. At that stage we were talking about the danger of creating environmental happy zones and environmental hell zones. And, in a sense, we are going to concentrate, if this goes ahead, 25% at least more traffic onto that free route...

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 19 November 2003

The business plan you have just published demonstrates that the extension of this zone would make a profit or a surplus of £10 million. That is actually quite a marginal sum given the net income and operating costs and it is foreseeable that it might actually make a loss. Would you proceed with the scheme if it required a subsidy from Transport for London?

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 19 November 2003

I think one of the experiences that we are having from this is that there needs to a better relationship between yourself as the congestion charging authority and the local authorities who are the parking authorities for their areas. Do you think that needs to be tweaked in any particular way?

• Question by: Lynne Featherstone
• Meeting date: 19 November 2003

No, this has come from me, and my group here. It is also the fact that we had representatives from Transport for London presenting evidence on the plan at the Transport Committee here on Thursday and it became very clear that while it proposed that running costs and revenue costs would roughly break even, there was a £120 million set-up cost. At a time when you are a bit short of money, to put it mildly, or will be, when asked, Jay Walder said, this is not the first thing he would spend £100 million on given the scope of...

• Question by: Lynne Featherstone
• Meeting date: 19 November 2003

That was my pleasure. I think the point that I am trying to make here, and if this was the Tories trying to make a point you might dismiss it, but given I am a Liberal Democrat, who are staunch supporters of the congestion charging scheme I am sure that you will understand that there are some genuine concerns about the haste even on going ahead on consultation when we do not have any of the social, business or economic impacts in. The Assembly response to your statutory consultation has to be in next month when we have almost no...

• Question by: Lynne Featherstone
• Meeting date: 19 November 2003

Two things one is on the fact that it is extending the existing technology as far as it can go, but also it is not a very targeted technology. The polling that you refer to actually showed that London wanted congestion charging to be focused either on a road or a small area or a time of day or a day of the week and actually progress towards the Government's programme of road charging where you can be more accurate. In fact Transport for London are spending £17 million now on the new technologies. So, in my view, this is...