Do you agree that people feeling confident that they can travel safely will be a vital part of encouraging more people back on public transport as restrictions are lifted further? If so, what is TfL doing to inspire confidence in the public transport network?

From the start of the pandemic, keeping staff and passengers safe has been the top priority of both me and TfL. At every stage, TfL has sought to follow Public Health England and government guidance. I agree that people need to feel confident that they can travel safely in public transport to encourage them back to the network, and TfL continues to do everything it can to help customers feel confident using the network as restrictions ease further.

That is why I made the decision about facemasks from 19 July. The Government has been clear that any competent authority may choose to mandate continued wearing of face coverings and TfL has done just that. This is an extra layer of protection on top of everything TfL has done to keep the network clean and safe over the course of the pandemic. We have also asked Imperial College London to undertake regular sampling of the network to identify any traces of coronavirus and no trace of active virus has been found on the TfL network.

Alongside this, TfL has been communicating to customers throughout the pandemic using the various means we have available: our channels, customer emails, social media, advertising campaigns, public announcements and information on the website. Extensive advice has been offered on the network itself. The TfL Go app was recently updated to include real-time data on when stations are busy. To support our Let’s Do London campaign, TfL has been running a widespread marketing and engagement campaign to encourage people safely back to the network, and the next phase of this will begin on 19 July.

Thank you, Mr Mayor. I would like to return to the subject of mixed messaging around masks and particularly around different transport operators operating in London and around interchanges. What discussions, if any, have you had with the train operating companies (TOCs) operating in London regarding them also adopting face coverings as a condition of carriage, and how can you in those circumstances ensure clear messaging if they do not mandate face coverings?

TfL over the last two weeks has been engaging - including Heidi [Alexander, Deputy Mayor for Transport] and I - with a number of people: the Department for Transport (DfT), our trade unions and also the Rail Delivery Group, the other public transport providers across the country, as well as individuals and businesses across our city.

You will be aware that two thirds of National Rail journeys either begin or end in London. These could be trains starting in Scotland where facemasks are compulsory, going through the rest of England where they are often not, and into London where they are. Separately, we have a number of commuter trains that come into London, Southwest, Southeastern, C2C and so forth.

We are having these conversations in relation to what the TOCs do. We are hoping that by Monday as many as possible in London follow our conditions of carriage. Their challenge is, being frank, outside London, where there are different conditions of carriage based upon the Government’s guidance. The Government’s guidance publication makes things more difficult for the Rail Delivery Group and the TOCs and you will have seen what the metro mayors did yesterday in relation to the powers that they have. It is a hodgepodge. It is not ideal. There is still an opportunity for the Government to have one national framework for public transport across the country.

Thank you. Moving on slightly, the Government is forcing TfL to conduct a review of service levels that ensures TfL is in a position to reduce service levels. Is there a chance that a reduction in service levels will exacerbate issues with overcrowding on some services and knock public confidence in the safety of the transport network?

You have articulated the discussion we are having with the DfT about it being aware of a consequence of what it is seeking that we should be doing, at a time when many in the City of London, those in Canary Wharf and those in the West End are encouraging their staff to start returning to their offices and we are encouraging Londoners to come to the West End. If it is the case that the way to get there makes you feel less safe because you are cheek to jowl and shoulder to shoulder, as we were before the pandemic, when we have - as Dr Sahota [AM] said - the virus still with us, that may discourage people from returning to the West End, returning to their offices and so forth, but also limits the fares we can get from commuters because they have less confidence in using public transport. For those reasons, we are trying to explain to the Government why reducing services may not be the best thing to do either economically, for fares income to TfL, or for public safety reasons, as you said, and also for the economy of our city in relation to those who need higher footfall coming to the heart of our city.

Thanks, Mr Mayor.