• Question by: Leonie Cooper
• Meeting date: 08 June 2023

Léonie Cooper AM: Thank you very much, Chair. I would like to start with [Sir] John Armitt and go to John Kavanagh, if I may. In your 2016 report, Transport for a World City, it said, “Crossrail 2 should be taken forward as a priority”. You have reiterated that call since. Seven years on, do you still think that Crossrail 2 should be a priority? I am very interested in this because I represent Merton and Wandsworth down in the South West. My colleague here, who is with the Mayor this morning, Joanne McCartney [AM], who represents Enfield and Haringey...

• Question by: Unmesh Desai
• Meeting date: 08 June 2023

Unmesh Desai AM: Thank you, Chair. Good morning to the panel. My lead-off question is to either Phil [Graham] or Ben [Lucas]. High speed internet access is critical for London’s businesses and residents. However, it has been reported that some parts of London have some of the worse full fibre coverage in the country. What are the reasons for this and how can this be tackled? If you would like to start off, Phil.

• Question by: Nick Rogers
• Meeting date: 08 June 2023

Nick Rogers AM: Thank you, Chair. Question for Phil, following on from the discussion we were having with Assembly Members Garratt and Cooper. In your work, you said you were working on the local energy plan with authorities in West London, so with that work and more broadly, are you looking at all at large scale battery storage, as a potential solution to build resilience into the grid?

• Question by: Leonie Cooper
• Meeting date: 08 June 2023

Léonie Cooper AM: Thanks very much. I wanted to ask Sir John Armitt a question and, if we could be brief, that would be really helpful. It is nothing to do with fluffy projects. By the way, I will just reveal that Assembly Member Devenish recently acquired a dog, which is why he is slightly obsessed with fluffy projects at the moment. Keith Prince AM: Nice segue. Léonie Cooper AM: I wanted to ask you if you actually think overall whether or not sufficient attention is paid to the journey towards net zero in all of our assessment of infrastructure...

• Question by: Emma Best
• Meeting date: 08 June 2023

Emma Best AM: Thank you. Good morning, panel. Firstly, before we start, I was surprised to hear we get three-plus hours with the Mayor every month, Seb. When does that happen?

• Question by: Len Duvall OBE
• Meeting date: 08 June 2023

Len Duvall AM: Thank you very much. Thank you for the way that you answered those previous questions. It is very enlightening for everyone around this table, whatever party they belong to. Also, I want to thank you for the work that you have done on your commission. It is a very important role that you have in advising and influencing the nation’s infrastructure debate. It is important for the future given - as you said - the background scenario about money and the challenges we face. It was a reality check, really. You visited this building back in January...

• Question by: Tony Devenish
• Meeting date: 08 June 2023

Tony Devenish AM: Thank you, Chair. Good morning, panel, and good morning, Deputy Mayor. I think that was the best excuse I have heard for the Mayor not turning up yet. We get one every time. There is one thing that has not been mentioned so far this morning. As somebody who has spent most of my career in infrastructure, it is the vision thing. You are going into the begging bowl at the end, Deputy Mayor, but before you have a begging bowl you actually need a vision. Both of the first two Mayors really - and I do...

• Question by: Sakina Sheikh
• Meeting date: 08 June 2023

Sakina Sheikh AM: Thank you, Chair. Good morning to the panel. Sir John Armitt, I am going to take us back to some of your opening comments around the wider strategic priorities and framework in terms of how we navigate decisions in London for infrastructure projects. To that end I wanted to ask, how should the GLA determine which infrastructure projects in London should be prioritised? Please feel free to draw on your opening remarks and build on them.

• Question by: Hina Bokhari OBE
• Meeting date: 08 June 2023

Hina Bokhari AM: Thank you, Chair. I do want to touch on something that Assembly Member Polanski was discussing earlier about flooding, but I want to link it to pollution through sewage. I am sure Caroline [Sheridan] and Charlie [Wood] would like to come in at this point, but I want to start off with Sir John. I know that you were talking about specific projects not always being part of your approach, but the baseline report that you produced in 2021 said serious pollution incidents from water and sewage are unacceptably high. Then your report in 2022 about reducing...

• Question by: Neil Garratt
• Meeting date: 08 June 2023

Neil Garratt AM: Thank you, Chair. Morning, everyone. It is good to see you all here. I think it is a very important topic. I am duty-bound, it is now traditional that I have to point out that unfortunately the Mayor did not consider it important enough to come along, but thank you to all of you who have. If I could start with you, Sir John. It is picking up on a point that you raised in your opening remarks about almost every answer to decarbonisation looks like electrification. Therefore, while we talk about decarbonising our existing electrical supply...