• Question by: Jenny Jones
• Meeting date: 23 May 2001

Absolutely. Bearing in mind that Bromley Council was extremely remiss, if that is not too kind a word, in not doing an environmental impact assessment, and not just failing to consult but ignoring the community, do you have any advice for the voters of Bromley in next year's council elections?

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 23 May 2001

Like other Members, I obviously welcome progress with Crossrail, but I have two constituency matters on which I hope I can have your support. The first is that, as Roger mentioned, Tower Hamlets Council petitioned against Crossrail previously because it was going to cause massive damage to one of the poorest parts of Tower Hamlets, in the Spitalfields area. My understanding is that the review is suggesting that the portal might be moved away from that area, and I seek your support on that. Secondly, I would like to put on the radar screen - and perhaps seek your support...

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 23 May 2001

May I pick up on John's comment about the river crossing? Accepting that the Jubilee line, if it runs properly, can have greater capacity, would you also take on board the point that the Jubilee line does not assist those who come up from south-east London, from the other south-east London boroughs and from Kent. There is a growing commuting population, which of course will be working either in Canary Wharf or in Stratford to the east of London, and that reinforces the argument for looking at the heavy rail option as well as the possible DLR extension that has...

• Question by: Lynne Featherstone
• Meeting date: 12 December 2001

I didn't mean that. I meant the process. You said we have to pursue some issues. How are we going to do that?

• Question by: Lynne Featherstone
• Meeting date: 12 December 2001

So is that going to happen and in what form will we be able to see such an assessment or such a procedure?

• Question by: Lynne Featherstone
• Meeting date: 12 December 2001

I wanted to ask whether you are satisfied that appropriate working practices are actually in place for joint arrest by police officers and immigration officers, after the death of the failed asylum seeker in Streatham recently.

• Question by: Jenny Jones
• Meeting date: 12 December 2001

It's obviously going to cost us a lot more to actually take the failed asylum seekers across London and to use the exclusive facility you are talking about. Have those costs been fully explored and is the Home Secretary prepared to pay them?

• Question by: Eric Ollerenshaw
• Meeting date: 12 December 2001

The cost of using policemen can't actually be met because they are being drawn away from normal duties aren't they? So the sheer fact is your government's failure over five years now to deal with this problem at port of entry means that we're picking up the tab and policemen are now having to be used who should be used for their original job in preventing crime on the streets. And, on top of that, your government's failure to deal with the French, who set up this great camp at Sangatte so people can wait for the nearest bus or...

• Question by: Trevor Phillips
• Meeting date: 12 December 2001

It seems to me that the more that we can separate the asylum process from, as it were, the criminal process, the better both for the police and also for asylum seekers. I wonder if you could say a little bit more about what you think or what you are likely to want to say to the Home Secretary in discussion on these questions when you talk to him about it. What would be the process of moving towards a single, dedicated detention centre? How would that actually happen?

• Question by: Jenny Jones
• Meeting date: 12 December 2001

You may not have these figures, but do you know how many failed asylum seekers are being detained on a weekly basis at the moment? Has it increased beyond the ten that was the average until recently?