• Question by: Andrew Boff
• Meeting date: 18 March 2021

Andrew Boff AM: Assembly Member Kurten is following the same old strategy that we have seen in Europe for decades if not hundreds of years: blaming a minority for the problems of the majority. Of course, that also entails coming up with lies and tries to make them plausible. There is no such removal of the words ‘mother’ and ‘breast’ from the NHS. It is not happening. It does not exist. As he well knows, what the NHS is doing is trying to use inclusive language for people in particular circumstances. There is no rewriting of the language. Mothers will...

• Question by: David Kurten
• Meeting date: 21 January 2021

David Kurten AM: The question does follow on from some of the earlier points make about the judgment yesterday about the Streetspace scheme. It is disappointing that you are appealing that judgment. What do you say to taxi drivers particularly who are affected very negatively by not being able to drive along Bishopsgate?

• Question by: Andrew Boff
• Meeting date: 21 January 2021

Andrew Boff AM: We warned you that the Streetspace scheme at Bishopsgate neglected the interests of disabled people and the High Court has now confirmed this to be the case. When considering the costs of your appeal against the High Court’s judgment, how much more are you willing to spend to neglect the interests of disabled people?

• Question by: Unmesh Desai
• Meeting date: 21 January 2021

Navin Shah AM (Chair): Thank you. Assembly Member Desai, you are very welcome back. It is good to see you in good health. Unmesh Desai AM: Thank you, Chair. Good morning, colleagues. Good morning, Mr Mayor. Mr Mayor, it seems that there has been a breakdown in communication somewhere along the line. An email was sent to your office drawing your attention to the ongoing dispute at British Gas. A central issue is what is called ‘fire and rehire’, where employees are re-employed on worse terms and conditions, and an attack on pension rights. Of British Gas employees, 89% balloted...

• Question by: Keith Prince
• Meeting date: 21 January 2021

Keith Prince AM: First of all, Mr Mayor, well done in relation to getting more vaccines for London. I applaud that. Thank you. Secondly, the update is supposed to update us on things that have happened since your last report. There was a rather big event yesterday, Mr Mayor, in relation to the court case between TfL and the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA) and the United Trade Action Group (UTAG). Perhaps you might like to update us on that?

• Question by: David Kurten
• Meeting date: 21 January 2021

David Kurten AM: Good morning again, Mr Mayor. You said in that previous answer that you think the vaccines are safe. There are two things wrong with that statement, Mr Mayor. There are three vaccines - or what have been called vaccines - that are being used. Two of those are not vaccines in the sense that most people would understand vaccines. They are experimental mRNA gene technologies that have never been used before on human beings. We do not know anything about their long-term safety. How could you say that you know about the safety, particularly for pregnant women...

• Question by: Susan Hall
• Meeting date: 21 January 2021

Susan Hall AM: I will start by saying thank you to the Mayor for supporting the vaccines so robustly. I would suggest that all Assembly Members do. We have already put 5 million jabs into the arms of residents and we should be very proud of that. On that, Mr Mayor, thank you for your support for the vaccines. The question was about Brexit. I know, Mr Mayor, you constantly find fault with Brexit, but may I remind you that if it were not for Brexit, we would not have all these vaccines? Europe, very sadly, is in a right...

• Question by: Joanne McCartney
• Meeting date: 21 January 2021

Joanne McCartney AM: Mr Mayor, during this pandemic, the Government has been behind the curve on many issues and, as a result, we have seen indecision and a series of U-turns on many essential matters. How has this affected London’s ability to counter the effects of the pandemic?

• Question by: Keith Prince
• Meeting date: 21 January 2021

Keith Prince AM: Thank you, Chair. Very quickly, Mr Mayor, in relation to the border tax, this will be devastating for my patch, Havering and Redbridge, both of which are border towns. Also, will you be doing any impact assessment on that before you introduce it, Mr Mayor?

• Question by: Alison Moore
• Meeting date: 21 January 2021

Dr Alison Moore AM: Thank you very much, Chair. I think nobody who has been on this Assembly or a councillor would disagree with the fact that there is a real and clear need for genuinely affordable housing, particularly for families, although not only for families, in London. We are all very grateful that one of the first things you did as Mayor was to scrap that definition of affordable housing being 80% of the market rate, which [The Rt Hon] Boris Johnson [MP, Prime Minister] brought in when he was Mayor. If the Government changed its rules around affordable...