• Question by: Nick Rogers
• Meeting date: 09 September 2021

Nicholas Rogers AM: Good afternoon, Mr Mayor. With reference to the London drug commission, could you explain how the membership of that commission is going to be decided?

• Question by: Krupesh Hirani
• Meeting date: 09 September 2021

Krupesh Hirani AM: In emergency situations like this it is always good to come together cross-party and make sure that we are doing all that we can to support refugees coming from Afghanistan. Moving from housing to education, skills and training, the Department for Education (DfE) has promised, to their credit, free English courses for Afghan refugees as part of the Government’s Operation Warm Welcome scheme. How are you working with the DfE to ensure that Afghan refugees can access English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) in light of the 50% reduction in funding from 2008 to 2015?

• Question by: Unmesh Desai
• Meeting date: 09 September 2021

Unmesh Desai AM: Mr Mayor, the causes of violent crime are complex, and you told us about the steps you are taking through the Young Londoners Fund to reduce violence among young Londoners. I also note your answers to the questions from Assembly Member Bailey. Do you not think it is important that we focus much more on early years intervention, providing proper and stable funding in this crucial area, which has been cut in recent years? Sure Start centres comes to mind; their funding has been cut by something like two thirds since 2010.

• Question by: Tony Devenish
• Meeting date: 09 September 2021

Tony Devenish AM: Mr Mayor, can I make a very short point on this because of time? This is just to do with a lapsed user, the closure of the residents’ discount for lapsed users. I wanted to read the words of a resident, one of the many residents who has written to me about this, Mrs Lesley Gilts, and she said to me: “I had my Congestion Charge payment on autopay. I walk to work and don’t drive much at the best of times, let alone during lockdown, and therefore I was not accessing my online account. As soon...

• Question by: Unmesh Desai
• Meeting date: 09 September 2021

Unmesh Desai AM: Mr Mayor, I am glad that you mentioned the Thames area. Of course, there is a responsibility of the Environment Agency, which is a Government body and you are quite right to point out it does not come under you. I read somewhere and I will send you more details in case your office or not aware of it, although I am sure they are, that if major works are not done to the Thames barrier by 2050 and then surely then countering the threats to London’s flood defences will be greatly diminished. I am not sure...

• Question by: Emma Best
• Meeting date: 09 September 2021

Emma Best AM: Good morning, Mr Mayor. I am glad to hear your focus on involving local communities and I hope that continues during your current term. One thing you will know in your role as Chair of TfL is the station developments proposed, and that many of them have been deeply unpopular. I wonder specifically what you are doing with those developments and those schemes to involve local communities in strategic planning and to encourage them to engage in that process.

• Question by: Nick Rogers
• Meeting date: 15 July 2021

Nicholas Rogers AM: Mr Mayor, on the subject of equality in the LFB, the LFB’s own research found that two thirds of its LGBT staff did not feel comfortable disclosing their identities at work. Do you find this acceptable? If not, what are you doing to improve it?

• Question by: Sem Moema
• Meeting date: 15 July 2021

Sem Moema AM: On the same topic, a new report was published today by the Runnymede Trust and it shows that Black ‑‑ I am sorry. Am I boring you? Andrew Boff AM (Chair): I do beg your pardon. Sem Moema AM: Thank you. Black communities in London and across the UK face inequalities in all aspects of life and that includes healthcare, education and, as Assembly Member Bailey has raised, as the victims of crime. The report is a submission to the United Nations Commission on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and it is a follow-up from a report...

• Question by: Emma Best
• Meeting date: 15 July 2021

Emma Best AM: If I could come back in, the Mayor and I share a common desire to clean up air quality. I live basically on top of the A406 and feel the trouble of this more than most. We also share a common desire, I would hope, to make sure that cleaning up air quality does not fall on the poorest Londoners and those who are most vulnerable. I would ask the Mayor again how to how he justifies refusing any exemptions for disabled Londoners who need a car and cannot easily replace their new one. Will he look...

• Question by: Leonie Cooper
• Meeting date: 15 July 2021

Léonie Cooper AM: I am a bit surprised that Assembly Member Best has not mentioned that she is actually against the expansion of the ULEZ in her questioning to you, Mr Mayor. Looking at the figures, under Assembly Member Russell’s leadership the Environment Committee produced a report, Clearing the Air: Pollution in London, which showed that by far the biggest polluter is traffic and the levels of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter at schools. Even in areas like Waltham Forest, where I believe Assembly Member Best has an interest, there is 55% NOx at primary schools and it comes...