• Question by: Jenny Jones
• Meeting date: 21 May 2003

We have some papers coming to the Police Authority at the next meeting, which is actually setting up a murder investigation team that will have 135 extra officers. This is a new team. I am sorry that Toby Harris is not here, but the fact is that the traffic division of the police has been waiting for years; they are 77 officers short at the moment; they have 30 allocated which have not been sent; it has all been frozen. Is there no way that you can lean on the Commissioner? You must have meetings with him: is there no...

• Question by: Eric Ollerenshaw
• Meeting date: 21 May 2003

There was no consensus.

• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 21 May 2003

Have you met with representatives from the communities associations, TELCO, and their campaign for a living wage, which is something that has taken off in a number of American cities with public sector workers and others? Will you be signing the GLA up to the Campaign for a Living Wage and urging London Boroughs to do the same?

• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 21 May 2003

Thinking about contracts that are let through the core GLA, can you describe to us the procurement procedures that we have to ensure that employees of contractors are paid a living wage? Can you tell us what number of contracts have been declined on the grounds of the contractor not being able to give us the assurances the procurement policies should require, if indeed they do?

• Question by: Meg Hillier
• Meeting date: 21 May 2003

Very interesting. Perhaps with some of the problems the Mayor has experienced with procurement, I think it is a very poor excuse to say you have not got the staff; certainly there are plenty of people there already. I just wanted to pick up on a point that the Mayor made. The Assembly has not come up with a view that it supports a £4,000 flat?rate policy. It endorsed the view of the independent panel and that work is continuing, and that did not come out with a flat?rate £4,000. I think it is worth highlighting and reminding Darren that...

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

No, I just wondered you appeared only before John Biggs or whether there was anyone else there.

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

Can I start by thanking my GLA Member for his support on this local issue. Indeed, the whole Tory group for making it their top priority this morning, in marked contrast I must say to their local representatives. Ken, are you aware that once again the TfL consultation process has been to say at best, deeply flawed. The exhibitions were set up with virtually no notice and with no advertisement in the local press, although it is actually an issue of concern for far wider than just the immediate areas because it is a very important through?road. The leaflet that...

• Question by: Andrew Pelling
• Meeting date: 21 May 2003

And I do hope that when any further consideration is being placed that the issues in Wallace Crescent are given close consideration because there is a great deal of rat-running already taking place under the current arrangements and indeed residents' cars get damaged as a result. I do hope that will also remain on the agenda.

• Question by: Jenny Jones
• Meeting date: 26 March 2003

When we talk about extra police officers, we all think about bobbies on the beat, and so on, but in fact for every bobby we then get more and more senior officers which cost us a huge amount of money. Are you aware that the Superintendents' Association believes that the Met has far too many senior police officers and that there will be pressure for all of us to agree to even more senior police officers?

• Question by: Eric Ollerenshaw
• Meeting date: 26 March 2003

The problem is that the 82% increase in council tax has gone along with that. You might say that if you've got all this success, why do you need to keep hiking the council tax? The fact of the matter is, the extra policing that you are hoping to deliver is being delivered on the back of the council taxpayers. One can only be left with the conclusion that the 35,000 in the end are going to come from the council tax increases.