• Question by: Meg Hillier
• Meeting date: 10 October 2001

I'm heartened to hear that. I just would hope that we have a fairly swift time-scale on it. GLA members are entitled to receive papers as they come out, which would be a good starting point. Then we can keep an eye on things too.

• Question by: Meg Hillier
• Meeting date: 10 October 2001

I share a number of the concerns that Tony's outlined and if we can perhaps particularly focus on the website. We're supposed to be, as the GLA family, into open government and the web approach was something that was an ethos that the Mayor and others agree is a great way of people having access. However, if you go onto the LDA website it seems, as Tony says, that you control what comes out in terms of press releases and I haven't yet managed to find the minutes on the website. Maybe I'm just not very good at browsing. But...

• Question by: Tony Arbour
• Meeting date: 10 October 2001

Thank you very much, Mr Barlow. Actually I am not terribly encouraged at all. Although the public probably won't even attend, as we all know what happens when we do open public bodies to public attendance, the public would merely like to know that they can come if they wish to come and they probably wouldn't even disturb you. So I'm not sure that there is anything to be frightened of in opening the thing up to the public. But what you have told me is that you believe that you are demonstrating open government but, as I have already...

• Question by: Tony Arbour
• Meeting date: 10 October 2001

• Question by: Lynne Featherstone
• Meeting date: 10 October 2001

Thank you. I think you have just demonstrated the point, actually. You've given a reasonably full answer on tourism, which is something we should have had before. If it wasn't Functional Bodies Question Time today, would we have had that information? The point about this whole debate, and I think you're getting it cross-party actually, is the feeling that you stick out like a sore thumb in your attitude towards openness and accountability, not just to the public. I would like these meetings all to be public and I would like all the information. What you've said today should have...

• Question by: Tony Arbour
• Meeting date: 10 October 2001

• Question by: Louise Bloom
• Meeting date: 10 October 2001

I wanted to pick up on the working practices matters that have already been raised and make two points really, the first of which is I think that maybe some people don't actually realise how tied in we are to the national agreements on these workings practices. Do you feel that the Fire Executive at the LGA is the best way to pursue some of the frankly dodgy practices that are around? Are other fire authorities making similar moves through the LGA, perhaps you could tell us? It amazes me how the fire service has this down the line division...

• Question by: Lynne Featherstone
• Meeting date: 10 October 2001

Going back to Dr Alan Whitehead, it was the government's intention to encourage greater diversity in the workforce but I was wondering what steps LFEPA had taken to increase the number of female firefighters, which currently is 1%.

• Question by: Elizabeth Howlett
• Meeting date: 10 October 2001

I wanted to get this question in earlier but, in fact, the Schools Liaison Team is very apt. We run a junior citizens scheme in Wandsworth and all members from public services come to this and work out scenarios and play out scenarios with the pupils, mainly junior pupils, and I'd like to say how wonderful it is to have the fire service. They're a great body of men and they are the toughest at challenging the children over fire-raising and over how, in fact, they should behave in a fire. Much more so even than the Police. That wasn't...

• Question by: Andrew Pelling
• Meeting date: 10 October 2001

I think it's very encouraging that you have that vision, as it were, for firefighters for the future. But perhaps if I can just ask a question, which is to do with what has happened so far. What restrictive practices do you think have been changed over the past year while you've been in office?