• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 21 May 2003

Well, it is a day late, but can I ask that the next time that you meet with my friend here on the left and talk about these matters that you look at the issue of Special Constables, because they play a particularly key role here. However, the fact that they cannot travel freely on Transport for London is an issue that could be addressed, and I am sure that you will then be able to recruit more `Specials' and then you could then have an extra resource around this area. It seems to me silly that a valuable resource...

• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 21 May 2003

It seems to us on the Labour side that this is one of the successes of TfL, and clearly we have pushed TfL towards this direction. However, I would urge you as Chair of TfL to ensure that this item stays high on the agenda. As you will recall, it took us about 18 months to actually get that work sorted about not having young people taken off buses if they could not pay. So we welcome the work to date. It seemed quite a natural progression, having dealt with the safety of young people on transport to now be...

• Question by: Toby Harris
• Meeting date: 21 May 2003

You have talked about the impact in terms of what would happen on the Boroughs. What are your views on what the impact would be on London's resilience and the capacity of its emergency services to cope with the pressures they might be under in the future in the event of Iain Duncan Smith, by some mischance, having the opportunity to implement an across-the-board cut of 20%?

• Question by: Toby Harris
• Meeting date: 21 May 2003

Given that the Met is it now at its highest ever strength and is still growing, and last year's crime figures have demonstrated that this has already had an effect, what do you think the consequences are of Iain Duncan Smith's proposal to slash police numbers by this sort of number?

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 21 May 2003

I must say we have had a totally hypothetical discussion so far because nobody believes that there is the remotest chance of Iain Duncan Smith ever becoming Prime Minister. The only interesting thing that has come out of this is the statement from the Conservative leader here that his Party is as united as Mr Blair and Mr Brown, and we take note of that. Can I ask the Mayor given the number of increases he repeatedly says there have been in police and now PCSO's on the street, why does he think it is that public satisfaction with foot...

• Question by: Tony Arbour
• Meeting date: 21 May 2003

You must know, as Toby knows, that of course there has been no such proposal made by any Tory politician to reduce police numbers by 20%. It is quite clear how the next 12 months are going to go so far as Toby Harris is concerned. The truth of the matter, is it not a fact that the only truthful statements, made by Tories, about police numbers have been made by members who sit here, who year after year have proposed increases in police numbers only to see them voted down by the Labour group? Is it not also a...

• Question by: Toby Harris
• Meeting date: 21 May 2003

Given that the Conservative Party is united around the leadership they are given by Iain Duncan Smith, do you think that the effects on Londoners' lives of the Tory Party's ambition to cut public spending, including that of emergency services by 20%, is something that Conservative members of this Assembly are going to be happy to live with over the next year?

• Question by: Samantha Heath
• Meeting date: 21 May 2003

The point here is that it is the perception. Not that I want to make all boroughs knuckle down " this is really something that we need to engage with boroughs on, but the real question is: do we need to tackle this issue? It is a question of you dealing with the Audit Commission to make sure that the best value performance indicator does deal with perception effectively, so that we are comparing properly. Have you had any conversations with the Audit Commission on that?

• Question by: Samantha Heath
• Meeting date: 21 May 2003

To follow on from that, I would like to bring Members' attention to that hotbed of socialism, Westminster, which has joined the Capital Standards programme because through their enforcement regime and every performance indicator that you look at, it is very clear that they care about the quality of their streets and how they clear the streets. They have joined Capital Standards because they care about the streets and not about political ideology in the way that the other boroughs that Nicky was referring to have mentioned. Lewisham, Southwark, Croydon and Camden are all doing great things on enviro?crime and...

• Question by: Brian Coleman
• Meeting date: 21 May 2003

On the Capital Standards initiative, for the £15,000 that each of the boroughs were asked to contribute, I have employed an extra man with a broom in Barnet, who is a darn sight more use than sending a CD to every primary school and sending out videos, which is what the boroughs were getting for their £15,000. I am delighted to congratulate Tony Arbour, Leader of Richmond Council, which was chairing the Capital Standards initiative, who this week resigned from Capital Standards because it is a complete waste of officers' time. Surely the Mayor would agree that officers should be...