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

On the point of the strategies and the consistency of approach, I'm not entirely sure that I do agree with Louise there's much inconsistency between the two plans. But it does strike me that, as regards the Economic Development Strategy, that no consideration has to be given as to how balanced it is. Do you feel that, as regards the activities of the LDA, it will be best if we concentrated on three particular areas? Perhaps those areas of greatest social deprivation, those areas where there is a decline and also perhaps dealing with some of the bottlenecks in London's...

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

As a layman, I would have thought - and I'm sure you will be able to disabuse me of this - that, if buildings are going to be infinitely taller than we have known before in London, it's going to require much more sophisticated methods of dealing with any emergencies that there might be in those buildings and usually increased sophistication means additional costs and resources. Is that something that you have thought through?

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

Can I ask you about the resource implications of Towards the London Plan. If there are going to be, as the Mayor suggests, around 20 tall buildings, that presumably will have resource implications for you and there must be other resource implications in the Spatial Development Strategy. Have you thought through those?

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

On the same track, what you're saying is that there are emergency plans in existence for possible acts of international terrorism in London and I just wanted to know: are you going to review these plans in the light of what happened in New York and how well are we able to deal with them?

• Question by: Sally Hamwee
• Meeting date: 10 October 2001

Is LFEPA directly represented on the group that I understand Nick Raynsford has now brought together to consider these issues?

• Question by: Sally Hamwee
• Meeting date: 10 October 2001

You mentioned the command structure. Are you satisfied that there is an effective, unified command structure in place in the event of a major emergency? I think one of the things that a lot of us have identified, as a result of what happened in the United States, is that, in such extreme circumstances, people in shock need a figurehead to look to.

• Question by: Sally Hamwee
• Meeting date: 10 October 2001

I'll come back in a moment, if I may, to joint command, but Blackfriars station is on the sub-surface District and Circle line. Is LFEPA prepared for an attack on one of the deep lines or a deep line station?

• Question by: Sally Hamwee
• Meeting date: 10 October 2001

Can I move to the recent exercise which was reported in the press, `Operation Trump Card', at Blackfriars underground station? What I assume that you can tell us is that this was part of a regular process of emergency planning exercises. I think, in this case, an exercise as to what might happen if there had to be an emergency evacuation because of a nerve-gas attack on the Underground.

• Question by: Sally Hamwee
• Meeting date: 10 October 2001

Thank you. LFEPA's formal letter of response talked about the need to design out risks from fire, as well as crime and other safety considerations, so I think you're confirming, are you not, that events in the United States don't alter that view about tall buildings at all, because of the current construction developments and so on representing no more risk and sometimes often, indeed, a lower risk than older premises?

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 04 April 2001

In fact, we have it from your own adviser on transport at the GLA, Mr Keith Gardner, that it is the written responses that count, not the others. So I think we need to be clear about that. It is funny that you should mention the District Auditor, because I have a letter here which I will be sending to the Chairman of the Audit Commission, Dame Helena Shovelton. I am going to copy it in to Derek Elliott. I am going to ask them to have a look at the way you have been squandering public money on that...