• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 26 February 2003

I think it's a little bit early to apologise and it's probably a little bit early for you to crow about it. Can you tell me what steps are in place - bearing in mind that this seems to be the controversial aspect of the scheme - what steps are in place to make sure that innocent people are not fined and pursued by your organisation?

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

I went up to Lancashire to see a road safety project up there which is a council/police project which is running extremely well. They've got a motto in Lancashire saying, "If you speed in Lancashire you will be caught"; it's all based on camera technology. There, their policy is that they follow the non-payers of penalty notices through as far as they possibly can, there is a sort of Terminator-like determination there.

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

Have you had any practices of tracking down vehicles who have perhaps already gone twice into the zone?

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

You feel you have enough staff to carry this through?

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

Have any of those been caught yet with this system?

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 26 February 2003

So, you haven't got them in place now?

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

Thank you for your kind words; you did have our wholehearted support and you will have our wholehearted support for extending the zone. I am delighted to hear that you're thinking about extending it to Tower Hamlets which is a very deprived borough. It doesn't seem particularly fair that it's the richer boroughs, like Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster and Mayfair, who should have all the pleasure of reduced car traffic. This idea of a buffer zone from the Labour group is absolutely ludicrous. The true sort of buffer zone is extending the zone as far as we possibly can...

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 26 February 2003

Why weren't you doing that before?

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 26 February 2003

Have you been rephasing any traffic lights? Tony Travers - that well-known impartial commentator - has said on radio that he anecdotally believes that certain key lights have been rephased.

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 26 February 2003

Can I also ask you about a couple of other things while I've got your attention? The road works: when are the road works going to be back on the roads again because they've also been removed, haven't they, for a period of time to ease in your charge?