Examination of Witnesses (Questions 3039
- 3059)
Ordered that Counsel and Parties be called in.
3039. CHAIRMAN: Good morning, everybody.
I think we will start. Mr Elvin?
3040. MR ELVIN: Yes, my Lord.
3041. CHAIRMAN: I am glad you have your
glasses back.
3042. MR ELVIN: I have my old ones. At
least I can see you now!
3043. CHAIRMAN: You will be pleased to
see in The Times cartoon the Chancellor of the Exchequer had his
off yesterday as well. More seriously, I think as a result of
the London Borough of Tower Hamlets' Petition, which did not,
in fact, lead to a long discussion in front of the Committee,
a very substantial number of extra assurances and so on were given.
3044. MR ELVIN: Indeed. They are on their
way to the Committee.
3045. CHAIRMAN: It is not so much for
us, I think it is very important the community in Spitalfields
should know what it is that their local authority has done and,
therefore, I think that the various organisations which are appearing
in relation to Spitalfields should know about these because for
all I know—I have not seen them—they may affect some
of the points of the Petitioners.
3046. MR ELVIN: In fact, my Lord, I can
say this: I think the Tower Hamlets undertakings, at least the
vast majority of them, were included in the exhibits that we circulated
to the Petitioners at the end of last week. I cannot recall seeing
them myself, for reasons which you know only too well, but two
of the undertakings were put up in tabular form, the shaft undertaking
and the schools undertaking. They were from the table of undertakings
which were included in the exhibits given to the Petitioners,
but we will make sure that all the undertakings have been circulated
to the Petitioners.
3047. CHAIRMAN: Because they are not
yet in the register.
3048. MR ELVIN: We will supply the Committee
with a full set so you have them as well.
3049. CHAIRMAN: I think that is quite
important.
3050. MR ELVIN: Very well. That is in
hand.
3051. CHAIRMAN: There was something else
you wanted to say before we begin?
3052. MR ELVIN: No, thank you. Mr Mould
is handling this morning's petition.
3053. MR MOULD: My Lord, just following
on from what Mr Elvin has said, your Lordship's point, in fact
all the undertakings and assurances that have been given to date
to Tower Hamlets are on the public register and, as your Lordship
knows, that register is available for the public to view on the
Promoter's website.
3054. CHAIRMAN: I have my own private
copy and it does not have the latest ones on it. I do not think
it has the ones recently agreed with Tower Hamlets.
3055. MR MOULD: It is pretty up-to-date,
but obviously we will check that and if there are any that are
so recent that have not found their way onto the website, I will
make sure that is done for you.
3056. CHAIRMAN: We cannot carry the website
about with us, that is the trouble. I do tend to carry this about.
3057. MR MOULD: Of course, it might be
helpful for the record for those who may be reading or listening,
Tower Hamlets appeared before your Lordships last week, I think
it was on Day Seven, and made a statement in relation to a number
of matters which Petitioners who are appearing this week may want
to read on the transcript to familiarise themselves with Tower
Hamlets' attitude to a number of matters which they dealt with.
3058. CHAIRMAN: I am very anxious because
the Petitioners have put their heads together in order to try
and take individual points rather than repeat everything that
everybody else said, they are therefore entitled to the maximum
help from all of us in order to make sure they know what exactly
has had happened and what the position of their local authority
now is.
3059. MR MOULD: Quite so. My Lord, in
that respect it may help to say for those who have the exhibits
pack—and we obviously served this on Petitioners at the
end of last week—the document Mr Elvin referred to, which
is the extracted list of undertakings and assurances relating
to Spitalfields, that is to be found at pages XR5-C-012, divider
C, XR5-C-012.
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