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• 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?

• Question by: Dee Doocey
• Meeting date: 14 June 2006

Good. When the two reports come out in the next few days that you mentioned, will they include things like what targets are going to be put in place, and how these targets are going to be monitored, and will you commit to publishing how you are getting on with the targets? Will you publish what the targets are and what you are achieving on a regular basis?

• Question by: Dee Doocey
• Meeting date: 14 June 2006

Can I ask if you have talked to Atlanta? I understand Atlanta was particularly good at setting targets for black and minority ethnic (BME) businesses and for people with disabilities and for women. What sort of discussions have you had with Atlanta, and have you picked up on any of the good practices that they have instituted?

• Question by: Joanne McCartney
• Meeting date: 14 June 2006

My question is about jobs and the benefits of jobs, especially in London. I understand that London has actually been divided into three categories: there is the Olympic boroughs themselves, then the Thames Gateway, and after that there is the rest of London. I understand that they are going to be treated in terms of jobs and employment in that order. I am representing Tottenham, which has double the level of unemployment London average and is next door to the Olympic boroughs. This is a 15 minute train ride and a similar bus ride away. The people of Tottenham, I...

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 14 June 2006

Speaking for all my colleagues, we would like very much to welcome your recognition that target setting can end up being slightly a useless box ticking exercise. We appreciated hearing that from you. On the issue of skilled workforce, obviously we are all concerned to ensure that we get as much up-skilled training as possible to ensure the London workforce can take full advantage of the opportunities offered by the Olympics. One slight query here; is there not also a slight problem that, of course, the building of the Olympic site is also taking place alongside many other major building...

• Question by: Dee Doocey
• Meeting date: 14 June 2006

Can I rephrase the question, in that case? Will you, as Chief Executive of the ODA, ensure that targets are put in place, that those targets are strictly monitored, and that we as an Assembly are given the figures as to whether or not you are keeping up with the targets at particular milestones?

• Question by: Dee Doocey
• Meeting date: 14 June 2006

Thank you. My final question is about delivery. A lot of the evidence we have got at scrutiny sessions here is that the LDA and the Learning and Skills Council as being very good at consulting and planning, but not so good on delivery. It is a plea to you to make sure that whoever you put ' whatever group you put together, make sure that you have got implementers rather than planners on that group. Otherwise it will just be talk for the sake of talk.

• Question by: Jenny Jones
• Meeting date: 14 June 2006

First of all I would like to say from the Green Group, we very much support the Olympics and want it to be a success, and this is the force of our questions. I want to push you again on the whole issue of targets and monitoring, specifically on the legacy aspect of the employment, of the skilling and also of the living wage. There are actually three questions from us' Brian Coleman (Chairman): Let us do one at a time. I am trying to make a point that this is something we care about and something that is going...

• Question by: Jenny Jones
• Meeting date: 14 June 2006

I am really glad you are doing all that; it is incredibly important. However the fact is that we have to justify to Londoners exactly why the Olympics is good for them because we have to justify the increase in the council tax that Londoners are paying. We need these figures. I understand about targets and how this takes up a huge amount of time to monitor and so on, but we are going to have to have these figures. We will keep asking for them.