• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 18 October 2000

Can I add one other thing to that? If you look to reform of the knowledge, I am sure that you will see that there is great support for this move - that it cannot be right that it takes three years to go through a process which enables someone to get a licence. There is some work there that your office or TfL can do. There is also, I think, a need for an information campaign for Londoners about the safe use of minicabs. This is not just about enforcement of the law against touting. I hear that the...

• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 18 October 2000

Thank you for that. When I tabled the question, I was not aware that we had taken membership of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum, and I welcome that. Although I am aware of your friendship links with some smaller cities, a matter of concern has been raised with me. Certainly the West Indian community would feel a little more assured knowing that the GLA will be working in partnership with CALGA and the Commonwealth Local Government Forum. Having arrangements with, say, Jamaica does not give a wide association with the whole Caribbean, as I am sure you appreciate. The associations...

• Question by: Samantha Heath
• Meeting date: 18 October 2000

Thank you very much. It is very important that people like Elizabeth, who represents the area, and the MP for the area, Martin Linton, are also invited. This is a very important issue. There have been some serious incidents on the route, and we have a duty to the people we represent to cover buses. I wanted to highlight how we go about making complaints and moving into the formal arena. There was a case of severe racism on this service, for which I understand the driver was sacked. This service is manifestly poor. Probably in writing, we need to...

• Question by: Trevor Phillips
• Meeting date: 18 October 2000

Mr Wetzel has written to me saying that he would like to see instantly any complaints that come to Members of the Assembly. I suggest that we funnel everything through Dave Wetzel, therefore.

• Question by: Elizabeth Howlett
• Meeting date: 18 October 2000

As the Assembly Member for that area, I would also be delighted to attend that meeting; it would have been nice if I had known about it. I have also put down a Question for written reply over the same issue. My complaint at this time is the lack of response by the senior management of the buses to letters asking for information. After one from me and a reminder, it was two months before I could get any letter from Mr Hendy about this issue. And then all he did was copy the letter he had written to the...

• Question by: Victor Anderson
• Meeting date: 18 October 2000

I think that that reply will be welcomed across London. In one case affecting a fire station, there were 1,041 signatures on a protest, and there was a story in the Standard yesterday about parents keeping their children away from a school where there was a mast. In view of what you have said, will you respond to the Government's consultation document, which suggests that the planning rules be changed in the way you have just supported? The deadline for replies is 31 October, so there is time.

• Question by: Eric Ollerenshaw
• Meeting date: 18 October 2000

So our worst fears are coming true: you do want a Mark II GLC. You want us to be a housing authority. Perhaps then we could go a bit further and become an education authority again, and all those other things, and take total control from the boroughs. Is that your intention?

• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 18 October 2000

Given that there is so much common concern about this issue, and that one of the big frustrations for the GLA is that it was not given a strong strategic housing role, is there an opportunity for the Assembly and the Mayor working together to sponsor changes in legislation for the next term, so that the GLA is given a proper, strong strategic housing role?

• Question by: Sally Hamwee
• Meeting date: 18 October 2000

Thank you: I think that those who run the schemes will be glad to hear from you. In relation to taxis, I think we are all aware of the problems at the time. Can we therefore be assured that taxis will have particular supplies of fuel if there is a further blockade?

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 18 October 2000

Would the Mayor accept that there were no blockades, as we understand the word? There were no masses ganging around the exits and entrances: there were a few people protesting, normally in chairs and drinking cups of tea. In fact, the police themselves said that they had very few, if any, problems with these people. There were protests, and drivers chose not to drive across the exit line; but I am not sure that "blockade" is the word we should be using.