• Question by: Hina Bokhari OBE
• Meeting date: 03 March 2022

Hina Bokhari AM: Deputy Mayor, will you look again for the widely supported disability employment taskforce for helping disability employment pay gaps in London?

• Question by: Onkar Sahota
• Meeting date: 03 March 2022

Dr Onkar Sahota AM: This question is to the Deputy Mayor for Business. Rajesh, London’s labour market has been hit by the pandemic, which laid open the inequalities in our labour market that existed pre‑pandemic. How are you working with businesses to create good quality and sustainable employment in London?

• Question by: Nick Rogers
• Meeting date: 03 March 2022

Nicholas Rogers AM: Deputy Mayor, you said in response to my colleague Assembly Member Fortune, referencing ULEZ expansion, that businesses will take a hit. Now, businesses will have heard you say that, and I am reminded of a discussion I had with a business in Kew Village which faced a bill of tens of thousands of pounds to upgrade their fleet in preparation for ULEZ. For them, this was an existential threat to their business. What would your message be to them?

• Question by: Elly Baker
• Meeting date: 03 March 2022

Elly Baker AM: My first question is to the Deputy Mayor and it is about transport and how we can support London’s economic recovery after the pandemic. The TfL Commissioner has said that London’s recovery is dependent to a large extent on the transport system. Do you agree with him?

• Question by: Leonie Cooper
• Meeting date: 03 March 2022

Léonie Cooper AM: I was going to ask the Deputy Mayor about the Let’s Do London campaign but, as Assembly Member Bailey has already touched on that with him, I am going to ask Richard Burge, if I may, whether you feel that the Let’s Do London campaign has delivered and whether it has been successful. Has it really done the job in terms of promoting domestic tourism and getting people back into London?

• Question by: Krupesh Hirani
• Meeting date: 03 March 2022

Krupesh Hirani AM: My first question is to Richard. One of the important sectors in London’s economy is the construction sector. It is clear from supply shortages of construction materials since Brexit and also the pandemic, as well as increasing costs, that this will leave an impact on not just the Mayor’s, but also councils up and down the country’s ability to carry on delivering affordable housing in their areas. How important is building affordable housing to London’s economic recovery and London’s businesses?

• Question by: Lord Bailey of Paddington
• Meeting date: 03 March 2022

Shaun Bailey AM: Good morning, Panel. My question is directed to the Deputy Mayor. Please excuse me because I am going to have to jump about slightly with my topics. Firstly, do you think it is right that Londoners bear the cost for developing road user charging? In your answer, you made it quite clear that we are going to have to be prepared to bear this cost, do you think it is right that Londoners and Londoners alone bear that cost?

• Question by: Peter Fortune
• Meeting date: 03 March 2022

Peter Fortune AM: My questions are for the Deputy Mayor. It is a shame you did not take the lift with my colleague, Assembly Member Hall. Three hours in the car with the pair of you would have been enjoyable for everybody. It does, in all seriousness, go to show the fact that sometimes, despite the very necessary improvements to try to help with air quality, people do need to drive, especially in some of the outer London boroughs. With the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), that has had a real impact on some small businesses, especially...

• Question by: Keith Prince
• Meeting date: 03 March 2022

Keith Prince AM (Deputy Chairman): My question is to Rajesh Agrawal. Do you think that the Mayor was right to insist on an inflation‑busting pay rise for London Underground, and do you think that they have shown their gratitude in putting on these strikes?

• Question by: Joanne McCartney
• Meeting date: 03 March 2022

Joanne McCartney AM: My question is for Richard Burge. Richard, does the Government’s Levelling Up White Paper provide London’s economy and businesses with the support they need to recover from the pandemic?