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• 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: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

The first is that I am a great fan and supporter of the Olympic bid, as I hope you know, not least because it benefits my constituents enormously. One of the assurances that I think some people in east London, where there is some residual cynicism about the bid, would like is assurances about the ways in which you are going to link the bid into local contracting, local recruitment, training of local people, and relationships with local schools, so that it will be a bid that strengthens the area. There is a history of colonial intervention in east London...

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

I know that quite a few detailed assurances and commitments have been made in this area already, but I think experience teaches us that you have to tell people again and again, and our job is to examine those proposals again. Are you happy after this meeting to make another written representation, to us, if you like, which could be used in communications in east London and which will clarify points about training; local contracts; the fact that you are going to get local firms, rather than Burger King or whoever, into the area; the fact that contractors will be...

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

This is very important also to Athens, which is about overspends and who will meet the bill, because my sense - and this is a recurrent theme through today's questions - is a concern amongst some party groups and amongst Londoners, as well, that there is a potential outcome where there is an overspend which comes back to haunt us, like the Montreal Olympic Games of 1976, year, after year, after year. You have gone some way to answering this today, but again, it would be very helpful for us if there were a very clear, unequivocal statement coming out...

• Reference: 2004/0305-1
• Question by: Dee Doocey
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

Can you outline any changes have you made to the bid following your visit to Athens?

• Reference: 2004/0274-1
• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

What support has London's business community given to the bid?

• Reference: 2004/0286-1
• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

What plans do you have to relocate businesses that will be displaced by a successful bid and what steps are you taking to minimise blight over premises and land potentially threatened by the bid?

• Reference: 2004/0287-1
• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

Are the tidal Bow Back Rivers an asset or liability and would the area's ecology and environment be improved by impounding them, rather in the same way that Cardiff Bay arguably benefited from a barrage?

• Reference: 2004/0294-1
• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

What position are you taking on the six demands made by 'London Citizens' and more generally what steps will you be taking to secure lasting and real benefits for local communities from the games?