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• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 14 June 2006

You are obviously going to be relying on what we know as Stratford Station at the moment, what appears to be going to be called Stratford Regional Station. One of the things we discovered a few months ago was that the level of crime at that interchange was quite high. What sorts of measures are being put in place to reduce crime so it is not a feature of the Olympic Games?

• Question by: Geoff Pope
• Meeting date: 14 June 2006

What sort of risk assessments will you be putting in these various transport upgrades to try to assess where any weaknesses might occur?

• Question by: Geoff Pope
• Meeting date: 14 June 2006

What sort of risk assessments will you be putting in these various transport upgrades to try to assess where any weaknesses might occur?

• Question by: Brian Coleman
• Meeting date: 14 June 2006

You would not have thought that if you were on the Northern Line this morning.

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 14 June 2006

I do not share Mr Pope's anxiety yet about the East London Line and North London Line, but I do have an anxiety about Stratford domestic station. I note from your eyebrows that you might have such an anxiety as well. To what extent do the Olympics require its reconstruction, and would you agree that there is, at present, a fairly substantial risk in that we do not understand the full costs of reconstructing the station?

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 14 June 2006

Would you agree then that the risk is that in the worst case one would have to do that with unknown costs associated? Assuming we can get the current owners to rearrange the station, part of the problem is it is a large Victorian structure which needs to have new subways and walkways and connections and escalators and so onput into it. Would you agree that the big risk at present is that the initial estimates for that cost were way below what the current numbers suggested might be costing?

• Question by: Brian Coleman
• Meeting date: 14 June 2006

I think that brings us to the end of our hour and a half. Mr Higgins, the Assembly is deeply obliged to you for the time you have given this morning. Thank you very much.

• Question by: Geoff Pope
• Meeting date: 14 June 2006

Thank you. Would you regard the transport plans as being ambitious? In the scheme of the whole project, I am trying to gauge if you feel that transport is more perhaps at risk than other aspects.

• Question by: Peter Hulme Cross
• Meeting date: 14 June 2006

Thank you Mr Higgins. You mentioned that you would have to work within the EU Procurement Directive, and you said that it kicks in at a nominal value. That nominal value is £100,000, and it applies to any public contract over £100,000. I would put it to you that that EU directive will not really allow you to emulate the Atlanta experience...... How do you intend to ensure local employment if you have to obey the EU procurement rules? I suppose the second part of the question is, are there any local firms big enough to compete under those rules?

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 14 June 2006

What would you say, then, to a student from Malmesbury, or their parents, who say `Well we have seen this before, and the whole area fills up with expensive housing which we could not even dream of buying? On balance, a lot of the jobs we used to rely on disappeared from the area and we seem to be down on the deal'. How are you going to play your part in making sure that is not the case?