• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 17 September 2003

You might like to reflect that one of the reasons that there has been an increase in affordable housing has been a perhaps belated recognition on that part of yourself and your officers that affordable housing has to be much more widely defined than traditional municipal housing, about which you were speaking recently. Many of the new schemes that have come onstream involve a high degree of intermediate housing in its various modes. Bearing in mind that the evidence that the evidence at the examination in public from the house builders and sellers was that the target of 30,000 was...

• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 17 September 2003

I do not underestimate " and you do not underestimate " the difficulty of getting towards the figure that we need. What I do not understand is why you have signed up to a goal that falls so far short of it. The suspicion must be that you do not want to sign up to a needs-based goal because of the gap that would be revealed and that your opponents will be able to say you have failed. Surely it would be better and more honest to draw a clear distinction and say "That is where are heading to, now...

• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 17 September 2003

That is great that you acknowledge that this does not address the level of needs. What I do not understand is why, given that it is not the Government's strategy " the whole point of this is that it is supposed to be a partnership strategy involving the Government and the key agencies in London " have you signed up to a goal that falls so far short. Can you tell us, of the billion pounds or so a year of existing resources that this strategy is built upon, how many affordable units will be achieved by that level of...

• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 17 September 2003

Leaving aside the examination in public and the Plan, which was discussed earlier, is it not very disappointing that this strategy does not show the way to meet the need " not the supply " in housing? My initial enthusiasm at seeing finally a regional housing plan was quickly dashed when I realised that this strategy does not address the need. Can you explain why, given that the GLA is party to drawing up this strategy, the strategy does not address the need in London, which is at least 30,000?

• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 17 September 2003

): It does not look like Capita has got them either.

• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 17 September 2003

But if we can run the scheme more efficiently, cheaper and with a better quality of service and better integration, it would allow for better integration with the boroughs on traffic offences, with the police on bus lane enforcement and so on. Is there not a strong argument "

• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 17 September 2003

Given Capita's record so far on congestion charging and given their record of incompetence in other areas, lots of the boroughs, such as Hackney, with huge disastrous implications and the Department of Education. Given your opposition to the privatisation of support for the public sector, is there not a strong case for when the current contract ends for bringing the service in-house?

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 17 September 2003

I think we heard when we were at the Budget Committee that actually the reason why the quality controls were not in the original contract was because of timing. We actually got that from two of your TfL colleagues sitting in front of us. You said it would have taken too long to actually negotiate complex quality performance indicators and so therefore to meet your timetable they had to be left out. That is the truth of it, is it not?

• Question by: Lynne Featherstone
• Meeting date: 17 September 2003

Presumably that money would have gone into the pot if it were not being paid to Capita. £3.5 million for the IT contract is an addition.

• Question by: Lynne Featherstone
• Meeting date: 17 September 2003

At a cost, again, on top of what was originally contracted with Capita. I am not criticising congestion charging; I am criticising its financial administration and management.