• Question by: Tony Arbour
• Meeting date: 19 June 2002

Well, if it is acceptable that those three people could be present, I fail to understand why it isn't acceptable to have either members of the Assembly or members of the public there. I appreciate it is extremely boring, listening to you talking to yourself, as you have described the process of the actual decision making, but the truth of the matter is - and the scrutiny committee never suggested otherwise - is that when representations are made by developers or in the past when representations have been made by developers, they may well have no longer been present when...

• Question by: Trevor Phillips
• Meeting date: 19 June 2002

There were no questions on that statement.

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 19 June 2002

The Chair: Thank you very much, Mr Mayor. Well, that's very interesting and I'm so happy there are so many people here to hear us discuss planning. Okay. On questions on the update. Tony Arbour: Mr Mayor, you will know that we've already rejected the suggestion that an independent member should be there. We welcome what appears to be a concession on your part, but it isn't an adequate concession. We don't think this apparent concession is nearly what is required. What is required is firstly that those of us who have the same mandate as you to represent Londoners...

• Question by: Jenny Jones
• Meeting date: 19 June 2002

It's really a point of information and that is on the Standards Committee we have three independent members, one of whom is Malcolm Grant who is an extremely competent person and we are very lucky to have him. Those three independent members do not think that Assembly members should be in those meetings. That's their independent view. They feel that our role is scrutiny and it is not to act as an ever-present watchdog.

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 19 June 2002

Would you like to answer the question, then, please.

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 19 June 2002

Does the Mayor share my huge disappointment at the state into which the Linford Christie Stadium in Hammersmith has been allowed to fall? This is a stadium which was intended, apart from anything else, as a very important sporting facility for young people in West and Northwest London. What sort of message does that send out, allowing it to get into the sort of unusable state that it's in at the moment?

• Question by: Sally Hamwee
• Meeting date: 19 June 2002

I welcome that because I've been trying to get some of that off the ground and it seems to have not got too far. Finally, about 18 months ago you said, in answer to a question from Nicky, that you wanted to establish a children's fund to allow children to bid for small sums to enable them to develop out of school activities. Partnership is the obvious way forward here and the boroughs mostly have pupil parliaments, youth forums and so on and they, I'm sure, would be very keen to be involved. So what progress have you made?

• Question by: Sally Hamwee
• Meeting date: 19 June 2002

Thank you. Without wanting to suggest that that's not important, just going back to the question of involvement in the political process, one of the things that I had hoped that we might be able to do was - perhaps with less expenditure at least - emulate the example of the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly which have quite substantial education programmes. I think the Scottish Parliament actually employs two teachers. I wouldn't suggest that sort of expenditure, but could we have your personal backing to programmes to make sure that the work of the GLA is publicised, material...

• Question by: Sally Hamwee
• Meeting date: 19 June 2002

Well, two things on involvement which are more general and will tie in with your own approach to involvement of citizens of all ages. One is the use of the website. I know you've said that you want to see the website used more to reach young people and it's certainly much better, so the first question is, how is it being used to reach young people? The second is that you've said that you want to create structures and processes which involve young people and help them speak for themselves. Again, what has been achieved, what's being done in...

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 19 June 2002

You might like to pass back to your friends on the Labour council in Hammersmith and Fulham that all sorts of other youth sporting groups have been desperately trying to get some answers from the Council and they normally don't get their calls or their letters answered. So, perhaps you'd like to pass back that there's a lot of anger out there and people want to see something done.