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

You'd agree that the important point about Capital Standards is that they would have a genuine effect, and that the scheme will be measuring critical factors, not just the easy and obvious ones? Can you tell me what you are going to do with Capital Standards in relationship to a borough like Haringey, which has a very poor performance with an annual spend of £15,000 against £600,000 in Wandsworth. In terms of having a Capital Standard, what are you going to do with these recalcitrant boroughs?

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

I feel very positive about you setting Capital Standards over graffiti, and I also have some sympathy with boroughs that feel that they are already meeting some basic standards. One interesting thing that came from the investigation, which was very much across the typical party political activity you had on the Assembly, was just how variable the standards were across London in terms of the amount of resources that were being provided. Can I suggest to you some other interesting things to investigate with boroughs? There's also what the international standards are as well. In many cities in the States...

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

I still think you can use your position to have a word in someone's ear or to influence - not simply by the systematic Capital Standard. Will you then back calls, that were originally pioneered by the Liberal Democrats, for a ban on the sale of spray paints to unaccompanied youths? And will you also encourage increased use of reparations as the punishment for graffiti, so that youths both undo the damage they've caused but begin to understand and have an increased awareness of their role as citizens.

• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 13 November 2002

The Mayor's Biodiversity Strategy talks about the Mayor will work with the MPA and Customs on illegal trade in endangered species. Can I ask what liaison has taken place so far?

• Question by: Jenny Jones
• Meeting date: 13 November 2002

I am curious about this, because on the other work I'm doing in trafficking in humans, it's clear that there are links, through every sort of trafficking, and there is also trafficking in bush meat and exotic animals. It seems to me that people who traffic actually use all sorts of things to traffic, like guns, drugs, people, animals, and, therefore, this might be a weak point at which to tackle them. And given that we've got 1,200 extra officers next year, it occurred to me that even doubling the number of officers we have could make a significant impact...

• Question by: Richard Barnes
• Meeting date: 13 November 2002

Clearly, the Wildlife Unit doesn't figure high on your radar screen, and maybe the aspirations of the Borough Command Units and the people of Bromley, and indeed an expansion of the Wildlife Units could be achieved if the target which you, the Home Secretary, and indeed the Mayor have talked about - some 35,000 officers in London - were to change from an aspiration to a real target. On 14 February, the Mayor said that he will need the agreement and backing of Government. And today I am calling on the Home Secretary to agree with me that we should...

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 13 November 2002

In my borough of Bromley, which has probably more rural area than any other part of London, residents would not be flippant if they said their real concern about wildlife crime was, I am afraid, human wildlife behaviour. And that one of the best ways of both dealing with some of the issues of semi-rural crime, that are important, but also giving the reassurance of policing, that residents in outer London need, is to make sure that police officers, when available and allocated, are given greater account in the allocation process, to the particular problems that some of the more...

• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 13 November 2002

Is there a need for greater liaison with the Mayor's Office on this, given the Mayor's apparent enthusiasm in the Biodiversity Strategy for tackling this problem?

• Question by: Samantha Heath
• Meeting date: 13 November 2002

I was wondering, John, have you read a document entitled, "Commonsense for London" which was found, up until May, on www.conservatives.com, regarding Labour are going to be planning to build incinerators in areas such as Edmonton. I was curious if you squared that with the Western Riverside or RRL bid for Belvedere? "Commonsense for London" stands at the website of the Conservative Party before the last election when they were saying it was actually Labour that wanted to build more incinerators, and I was curious if you could square that with the RRL bid for Belvedere.

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 13 November 2002

I understand that and I'm grateful for it reflecting the view of the Conservative Party at the last General Election in our manifesto. And can I, therefore, take it that the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor will continue to support Bexley Council and their opposition to a particular proposal in that borough?