• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 16 July 2003

Can you please justify to us that statement that there is a commitment to proceed with Crossrail when, if you actually read the Minister's statement, he said "If the project were to go ahead, there would need to be" Later on, he talks about "In order to give the project the best chance of success, I am assembling an expert team" as though this was some sort of Richard Branson around the world balloon race rather than the most significant transport infrastructure that this capital needs. He concludes his statement by saying "When the Department has carried out a review...

• Question by: Meg Hillier
• Meeting date: 16 July 2003

I was thinking more of actual commercial development around or above or within the station building to help cross fund and therefore make sure that it happens rather than waiting for public sector funds.

• Question by: Sally Hamwee
• Meeting date: 16 July 2003

Can I just come back to the question of financing? If we are talking about primary legislation as a possibility for tax increment financing, are bonds still on your menu as something to try to push the Treasury to thinking about?

• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 16 July 2003

I absolutely accept the point that consultation has to take place. My reading of the statement is that there is no commitment there. This is not a decision in principle whilst they sort out the details; it is saying that they are deferring the decision until later in the process. Given the history, I really think that you should not be so laid back about this and, from our side, we would be arguing that you should be taking steps to move the thing forward rather than simply wait until the Government's rather lackadaisical time scale.

• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 16 July 2003

If you read the statement, there is no commitment. It says that they will be in a position to take a decision in the future, not taking a decision now. Given that under the Blair Government the average life expectancy of transport ministers is one year " there have been six in six years " the chances of Alistair Darling being in a position to take this forward are close to zero. Given that lack of commitment, will he agree to take steps to bring forward the hybrid bill and, for example, ask Simon Hughes to commence proceedings ahead of...

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 16 July 2003

The private sector contribution to this project is obviously very important and we have heard different figures for this. Crossrail have told us that the most they think they can get from the private sector is about £5 billion. London First were saying around £2 billion the other day. Have you done any work to project the amount of private sector contribution there will be to the total cost of the scheme?

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 16 July 2003

My final question then is about the south side, where I think it is a little bit more disappointing that, as I understand it, the alignment of the Royal Docks route would not allow a station to be in Woolwich. Abbey Wood is where the first station on the south side would be. Now this is not the ideal outcome from the Woolwich point of view and it may be that my colleagues from south of the river will have a view on this. Have you given up on Woolwich?

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 16 July 2003

I must say it is not common for this to happen but I share totally the Mayor's view that for an Assembly that is unanimously in support of Crossrail, some of its members have a remarkable way of demonstrating that support. Eeyore would probably be a good example on which they have been basing their performance today and in the end he found his tail. Perhaps some of those members who are so negative about this will find theirs as well. I wanted to clarify a couple of points. The first is that I have the Secretary of State's statement...

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 16 July 2003

What I wanted to be sure of from you is that you are satisfied that is a commitment to that route being included in the safeguarding process, which the Secretary of State also refers to later on in his statement.

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 16 July 2003

That was the concern because you will have observed that a lot of the press reports, although I accept not the Secretary of State's statement, were not specific about the route. As far as you are concerned, do you take this as the Secretary of State is signed up to the route down through to Ebsfleet?