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• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 08 December 2004

Let me share your optimism and your confidence ' which I think I do, really ' for what would happen in, say, the first 48 hours, when we deal with the immediate crisis. What I would like to probe is what happens after the first, say, 48 hours, when we really are getting into the recovery period, when it is, perhaps, less of a crisis and more of an emergency. Who is going to be taking charge then? What is the role of the Mayor and the GLA, and what are the roles of the individual London boroughs? Who is...

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 08 December 2004

I will actually follow the theme to where we have got to. I know that in the event of a major incident, a catastrophic incident, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner is in overall charge of the coordination of the emergency services - at least I believe that is the case. What I would like to know is who is actually in charge after the first few days? Who is going to be in charge giving the message to Londoners in the days and weeks that follow such an emergency? I have to say, what Mr Pilgrim was saying, which is not...

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 08 December 2004

Can I press you a bit further on this, then, Mr Mayer. I paraphrase what you were saying, of course, but the first that happens is that we have a discussion on how major an incident it is, and therefore who takes the lead for it. Then we have, what I am sure will be an interesting discussion between the Minister for London and the Mayor of London as to who gets on the television first, and if it is not a sufficiently important incident, then the director of GOL takes charge of us all. That is not quite what...

• Reference: 2004/0381-1
• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 08 December 2004

What recovery plans of London's critical infrastructure e.g. transport, food and water supply, commerce and finance, health services, power supply, are in place in the event of a major incident?

• Reference: 2002/0217-1
• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 13 November 2002

Much of the draft waste strategy, rightly, concentrates on improving recycling rates on some of the worst performing boroughs in London. What incentives are there for Councils already achieving pretty high rates of recycling? .

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 13 November 2002

Would you not accept though that the majority of the money thus far has, as I say in my question, probably rightly been distributed to the low performing boroughs. What I'm really wanting to get at is what incentive there is for the high performing boroughs, those boroughs who have already made it a priority, actually to receive some reward, some recognition, from the distribution of this money.

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 13 November 2002

Are you telling me then that the priority is not to give the money to low performing boroughs in order to drive them up. Surely, that is the priority.

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 13 November 2002

Would you agree with me that probably the single greatest factor, and there are many factors, but the single greatest factor in what has determined up to now, what is a relatively high and a relatively low performing borough, is actually the political will to do so, and making it a political priority? And if you do agree, then what evidence and what monitoring are you doing to ensure that we get value for money from the significant sums of money now being put into traditionally low performing boroughs, who demonstrably have never made it a priority?

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 13 November 2002

I don't doubt the ability of the low performing boroughs to spend money. Indeed, that's a characteristic of many of them. My question was actually about determining whether they're giving value for that money, and how we ensure that by investing in those boroughs that have never shown any interest or any priority for recycling measures, we are actually going to ensure that they spend that money effective and achieve the results we all want them to achieve.

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 13 November 2002

Therefore, if they do not achieve previously agreed targets, they will not get the later tranches of the money that's been announced in the first two or three stages.