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

I'm sure we would all like to know if you intend activating these powers and whether, in fact, these properties are in habitation at the present time and why you would consider using compulsory purchase orders for the greater gain of what? Because local authorities very rarely now use them. It's usually only for road building. But I would be interested to know in which area you would consider using it.

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

Have you ear-marked any sites for which you have considered the possibility of using this method?

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

My information is quite wrong then and I apologise about that but I was informed that you had in fact used some compulsory purchase orders.

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

It would be very useful if you could provide me with the details about how many were sold, but I wonder how many compulsory purchase orders you have issued and why you have done that?

• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 10 October 2001

Michael, rumours are flying around about the large amount of jobs that have been lost to date. Can you not give us an assurance and tell us are we talking thousands of jobs to date or what have you got that you can share with us today?

• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 10 October 2001

My question demonstrates just how pressing it is that the LDA gets its act together in terms of how it communicates with the public and to members of the Assembly. If I can just ask, George, since the terrible events of 11 September, you must have had discussions about the impact that that terrible event has had on the tourism of London, the industry of London, and then, by association, the link with the UK tourist industry. Well, this is your opportunity to come out and tell us what have you done, what discussions you have had and how are...

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

I was going to ask on behalf of the Assembly whether, understanding that these things are organic and so on, you can put a date on when we might expect to hear from you on this. I think it would be very helpful to get it into our own timetable.

• 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...