• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 22 May 2002

The measure of success of the Mayor, or anybody indeed in elected office, is making the existing system, whatever its flaws - and we would share many of the criticisms of the existing system - making it work for Londoners. And you were roundly criticised, not just by Teresa Wickham but by others, for doing too little on tourism in particular. So, focusing on the Great London Deals initiative, which has just been launched, which is welcome, can you tell us what the response rate is? How are you actually going to measure success of that? It's focused on major...

• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 22 May 2002

Eric and the Conservatives seem to confuse value for money for actually spending less, whereas from our side it's about spending wisely. Londoners did give the Mayor substantially more money this year, but on culture and tourism he is spending the same - it's level spending in that area. I want to focus his attention to Teresa Wickham, chair of London Tourist Board, who resigned only a month ago and here's what she said when she resigned, 'London needs and deserves a properly funded and well managed organisation that is truly a representative of and reflects all aspects of tourism...

• Question by: Andrew Pelling
• Meeting date: 22 May 2002

I'd like to continue Roger's theme about what the Mayor has achieved for outer London. I attend a lot of residents' association meetings and I always make a particular point of being non-party political in describing what the GLA has done and I try and be as straightforward as possible in saying what the Mayor has achieved. I talk about the 6% increase in bus rider-ship and bendy buses, but the response I get often from the residents' associations is that it doesn't really add up to very much and to be very honest what they say, "What has Ken...

• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 22 May 2002

Has the last two years shown then that directly elected Mayors are not the panacea that the government initially held them up to be when they pushed through the idea of a directly elected Mayor for London? And has the election of a monkeys in Hartlepool -- (overspeaking). The Chair: Darren, I really don't think this is relevant to the question. Darren Johnson: Well, it is, it's on Ken's record. Is this the beginning of the end of directly elected Mayors in the United Kingdom?

• Question by: Samantha Heath
• Meeting date: 22 May 2002

So, value for money and delivery. We did ask when we did the waste strategy that we talk to you about how the various parties that are delivering the recycling that you were talking about earlier, would be delivering it and how we are delivering value for money and we did talk about that when it came to budget. I've still yet to have a full meeting with you about how that is to get delivered and I've asked for it a number of times. Can you now commit that we will now talk about the action plan for the...

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 22 May 2002

Mr Mayor, your comments on policing all sound very good and on the face of it would be welcomed by people in my constituency, but we can remember the last question time when you supported the decision not to open Wanstead Police Station or Woodford Police Station because of a lack of police numbers. And we do know that, although you've recruited all those extra police officers, very few of them indeed have gone to Redbridge and none of them have gone to Havering. Do people in Outer London boroughs really get value for money from their precept charge for...

• Question by: Eric Ollerenshaw
• Meeting date: 22 May 2002

Well, go down those streets at the moment, where TfL is desperately trying to spend its underspend as rapidly as possible and is digging up every part of London and actually creating the congestion that you say you have solved. To make London a safer city go out and talk to people about street crime and whether the figure is coming down by 2% or whatever. But, in fact, people are dealing with real problems here. To strengthen London's economy - we're already having predictions of a slowdown. Regenerate deprived areas - where's that happening? Promote the case for London...

• Question by: Lynne Featherstone
• Meeting date: 22 May 2002

The contract really is the question. Is that in the contract? Is there any mechanism for TfL to enforce that?

• Question by: Lynne Featherstone
• Meeting date: 22 May 2002

Following on from Roger's point about sub-contractors, yesterday a Southwark inquest jury returned a verdict of unlawful killing. It was reported that the employee was only three days into the job and he'd had 1½ days training and was working for sub-contractors Balfour Beatty Rail Maintenance Ltd. Can you tell us whether TfL will have any mechanism for forcing the Infracos under PPP to train the staff of their sub-contractors properly?

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 22 May 2002

Your concerns are shared by residents in the area. Have you had the opportunity to relay those concerns to Stephen Byers in the government, and ask him for their response?