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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: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

.... I would just draw your attention, if you have not already seen it, to the evidence we received from the London Sustainable Development Commission. That is in a letter dated 20 September, where they basically draw attention to the very positive work that is going on, but they do make the point that in relation to legacy aspects, where the full sustainability, as it were, comes to be seen, that further work needs to be done on that. It particularly says, `Should the bid be successful, there needs to be a greater understanding of the sustainability aspects of the...

• Question by: Sally Hamwee
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

Well, they may choose to take their holidays at home, indeed. I think that it is something that, supporting the Games as we do, we would like to keep an eye on the calculations for. Can I also ask about the Paralympics? We are also enthusiastic about those, and I was glad to hear you mention them earlier, but they have problems with attendance, as well. Presumably this is marketing that needs to go on from now about what a good event the Paralympics is. Is there anything you can say about that?

• Question by: Sally Hamwee
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

My question is whether marketing the parallel Olympics is something that goes into the bid as starting very early indeed.

• Question by: Dee Doocey
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

Thank you. Can I first of all say that we are very enthusiastic supporters of the bid. I think it will be absolutely brilliant, not just for London, but for the UK, and we will do everything we can to help secure the bid. You mentioned quite a few issues there. You have covered transport, legacy, security, and finance. Could I ask you about access? One of the things that are very important is that the Games are accessible for all sections of the community, and we know from the Mayor's recent report that one in five households in London...

• Question by: Dee Doocey
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

Thank you, Chair. I have one further question. I would also like, if possible, for you to deal with the question of volunteers. Could you tell me how you plan to engage the large army of volunteers that will be necessary to run the Games, so that they are more than just `meeters and greeters', and that they get totally immersed in all aspects of the Games, in the run-up to, during, and after the Games?

• 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: Sally Hamwee
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

Is there not a bit of a dilemma at the heart of this? I am not sure whether it is the Mayor who can help answer it. On the one hand, we are all passionate about the Games as a nation, and a lot of people are going to be attending. On the other hand, there is a mass exodus from London which frees up space on public transport. Can you have both of those statements?

• 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...