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• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

The comments about Crystal Palace are welcome, but perhaps the Mayor would deal with this: do you not understand that residents of Bromley and Bexley feel aggrieved? Although safeguarding of Crystal Palace is good, they are likely to receive very little direct benefit in legacy terms, but are expected to contribute through their council tax for a number of years, whereas residents of areas outside London, which may have Olympic sites as firm parts of the bid, are not expected to contribute. What means could be achieved to seek greater equity for the residents of Bexley and Bromley on that...

• Question by: Bob Blackman
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

I just wanted to move on to some of the lessons learnt with the Paralympics and the Olympic Games themselves, because it became a bit, in Athens, of shall we say "after the Lord Mayor's show." That was very unfortunate, I think, given the high levels of competitors and the great interest there is in the UK in the Paralympics. Therefore, has any thought been given either to moving the Paralympics to be held before the main Olympic Games, or to go back to where we were and to integrate the two sets of Games, so that they are part...

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

I am sorry I just must comment on that, because we hear you saying that all the time about every type of finance, that the Government would not dare not give you the money, Mr Mayor, and time and time again, the Government does indeed dare not to give you the money. Therefore, I do not think that is necessarily a comfort for us to hear that from you now, and I think it is leaving it far too late, by the way, to address the overspend issue next summer when we may have already won the bid. Londoners, if...

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

I would just point out, since the Mayor raised it, that of course the Congestion Charge is not making anything like the money that TfL originally predicted. My third question is about the lottery game that is being set up specifically to fund the Olympics. One way, surely, that we might have been able to help Londoners a little more with their bills would have been if you had fought harder, Mr Mayor - and perhaps you still can; I am hoping that this could still be rectified - to dissuade, shall I say, Gordon Brown from lifting 12 pence...

• Question by: Richard Barnes
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

I know that the Metropolitan Police endeavoured to put £800,000 into its budget for next year, which would have been paid directly for Londoners and not necessarily through that mechanism. What I am seeking is a clear assurance to Londoners where that funding is going to come from. I do not want the Mayor to be grandstanding about his 35,000 police officers.

• Question by: Richard Barnes
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

Barbara Cassani, when she was here, talked about private security. Is that still an option, or will it be from the Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) and police officers that normally patrol London being taken across to the Olympics?

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

You have, indeed, as I see, made some provision for contingencies - just over £1 billion - but I understand that is actually the sum of money that is included in what the Government has put as its overall figure. Indeed, that contingency money appears to have already been, if you like, spent up in advance on security costs and transport costs. Therefore, I am not sure that is the sort of sum of money I am looking at. It was Rt Hon Richard Caborn, the Labour Minister for Sport and Tourism, who said only last year that it is...

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

Thank you. Can I just briefly say, on behalf of my group - and I would have liked to have said this to Lord Coe, himself - that we were extremely excited and thrilled at the success of our team in Athens, and we love to see all those medals coming back here. We very much hope to see a repeat of that success here in London in 2012. In order to get us there, however, I do believe that we have still to face some slightly more mundane issues, and today I would like to take the opportunity to...

• Question by: Tony Arbour
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

I was simply going to ask you about your track record of delivering on time and on budget. You make great play - and, indeed, you have already made great play - over the wonderful contractors that you are going to get in, who are going to deliver on time and on budget. I would like to learn from you what guarantees there are going to be from these contractors. Are you absolutely certain that they are not going to be contractors who perhaps will go belly up, so that we will have to pick up the tab? I wonder...

• Question by: Tony Arbour
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

World class contractors have gone bust. Londoners will expect there to be bonds equivalent to the total bill that we are going to be expected to pay. I would, however, like to ask you some questions about this total bill. Today you have told us that you expect Band D London ratepayers to pay for 10 years at £20 a head, plus another two years at a further £20 per head. What makes you think that is going to be the end of the bill, given, as Angie Bray has already said, that we as Londoners are going to have...