• Question by: Andrew Pelling
• Meeting date: 20 December 2000

: I think that my question has been misunderstood. It was about the allocation of resources in terms of police officers to the various boroughs. I will then ask a supplementary, which will be of interest to those representing outer London boroughs. If these additional 1,050 officers are recruited, do you think that Sutton and Croydon will see additional officers to their establishment next year?

• Question by: Jenny Jones
• Meeting date: 20 December 2000

I am really pleased that you are talking to them. It is regrettable if TfL officers were not approached, but TfL is so new that people may not have known who to go to. Let me get back to the question about how businesses might suffer if the system went two-way. That is plainly idiotic. If customers are trapped on one side of the street and cannot cross to the other side, they will do half the business. If people can start crossing the road, they can go both sides and business will improve

• Question by: Jenny Jones
• Meeting date: 20 December 2000

Yes, but we have all been there, and it is absolute hell in that area. So we are very supportive of that scheme. I happen to know that Eric Ollerenshaw is also concerned about this; so you have cross-party consensus here that this is an urgent area. I did not quite understand your answer, Ken. Did you say that it would affect businesses badly if the system was returned to a two-way flow? That seems totally illogical to me.

• Question by: Meg Hillier
• Meeting date: 20 December 2000

Does that mean, then, Ken, that you will be asking Transport for London to do studies of the impact on all one-way systems of the proposed congestion charging boundary?

• Question by: Meg Hillier
• Meeting date: 20 December 2000

I have been lobbying Transport for London myself purely as a local representative on this, so I am heartened to hear that they are taking it on board. I am also heartened that they have agreed at my behest to do a study of the impact of the congestion charging zone on this area, which is just outside. That raises a bigger point about the impact of the congestion charging zone on neighbouring streets, which are likely to take on more traffic, and the money that is available to ameliorate that impact. I hope that you can commit to doing...

• Question by: Tony Arbour
• Meeting date: 20 December 2000

Will you actually support such a move? Would you also consider the sharing of facilities? For example, with the closure of desks at police stations, would you advocate that they should exist at fire stations? Similarly, there are substantial synergies to be achieved in things such as purchasing. Might you support joint purchasing between the fire service and the MPS; and indeed, bring in other bodies, such as the London Ambulance Service?

• Question by: Andrew Pelling
• Meeting date: 15 November 2000

As we are coming to the end of these New Year's Eve questions, perhaps I could ask: although I am sure that the Mayor will understand why we have been very concerned about issues of public safety and public liability, does he feel that perhaps our Green colleagues are being just a little too puritanical, saying that there should be no dancing or partying in London, and we should get on with the serious business? Bearing in mind how successful Sydney has been in promoting itself in terms of its New Year's Eve celebrations, it would be wrong for us...

• Question by: Nicky Gavron
• Meeting date: 15 November 2000

It is true that I take responsibility in the Cabinet for children up to the age of 18. I do not intend to be dirigiste about cutting it off at 18, but other Assembly Members are also taking responsibility. It is clear that this is a very important constituency, which is very well organised and has a lot to say to us.

• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 15 November 2000

Can the minutes show that this question arises from the London Youth Question Time that I and other colleagues attended? You can see from their presence here today, Ken, that the youth of London are looking to you. Who is the lead Cabinet Member for youth, and can you give the name of your policy officer, so that the young people here today can direct their questions to those individuals? They turned out in full force the other night, and they want to see their lives improved because of the GLA.

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 15 November 2000

As I was about to say before I was so rudely interrupted, I joined Jennette and a number of other people, including yourself, Chair, at the Young People's Question Time. Nicky Gavron was there, and I have an anecdote I will share with you later. All the groups fielded their youngest Members, apart from the Labour group, who fielded people with experience and knowledge instead. One of Jennette Arnold's other suggestions - apart from the young person's travel suggestion, which is eminently sensible - was that perhaps we should give young people mobile phones, which was obviously a very welcome...