• Question by: Steve O'Connell
• Meeting date: 13 October 2010

Finally, to be somewhat upbeat on policing, Mr Mayor, would you not agree that the difficult economic climate that we all find ourselves in does, indeed, provide opportunities for progressive and positive borough commanders and borough leaders to work to improve the service for residents by utilising the new flexibility, be it around Safer Neighbourhood Teams or be it round deployment?

• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 13 October 2010

Mr Mayor, taking you back to the line of inquiry opened by Joanne McCartney about policing, do you really appreciate the concerns that borough leaders and key people involved in policing at the local level have regarding the impact on any changes coming their way? Do you really appreciate the concerns that are out there? I say this because, regrettably, you were not able to meet the delegation from Waltham Forest who are with us this morning [in the public gallery].

• Question by: Joanne McCartney
• Meeting date: 13 October 2010

Thank you, and thank you, Mr Mayor, for the brief comments on the police quarterly report. The reason we raised this is because this quarterly report does seem to strike a different tone than other reports we have had before. You mentioned the issue of cuts. From this report we can see that there has been a recruitment freeze on officer recruitment. Your original budget last year had 455 officers being lost over three years. We see that, by next March, we will already have a loss of 900 officers which, obviously, has implications for policing. Do you expect that...

• Question by: Caroline Pidgeon
• Meeting date: 13 October 2010

I wanted to pick up the issue of the Tube strikes. We have heard that there might be some kind of peace deal, as it were, on the table from the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS).

• Question by: Navin Shah
• Meeting date: 13 October 2010

Mr Mayor, on the matter of very rapidly worsening industrial relations at the Fire Authority, why are you failing to show leadership by personally engaging with the FBU, or are you actually spoiling a fight with the FBU and, therefore, a substantial number of firefighters?

• Question by: Murad Qureshi
• Meeting date: 13 October 2010

Can I come back to the Thames Estuary Airport. Can you tell me, Mr Mayor, when will Sir David King's [Thames Estuary Airport Steering Group] report on the Thames Estuary Airport be published and when will Assembly Members like myself have a copy of it?

• Question by: Andrew Boff
• Meeting date: 13 October 2010

I very much welcome the iteration of the Olympic Masterplan and Margaret Ford [Baroness Ford, Chair, Olympic Park Legacy Company] and Andrew Altman [Chief Executive, Olympic Park Legacy Company] and all involved are to be congratulated in the vision that they have.

• Question by: Steve O'Connell
• Meeting date: 13 October 2010

Mr Mayor, thank you. I am very pleased to hear your comments in answer to James and it will show well for colleagues in outer London that there is some consideration around it. I know it is not completely in your gift so I fully understand all those pieces but I would urge you to ensure that you do follow this through to make sure it does happen. I worry about - and my question to you is - what sort of signal does it send to those outer London boroughs who are footing the same bill towards policing that...

• Question by: James Cleverly
• Meeting date: 13 October 2010

Thank you, Chair. Mr Mayor, the point I was going to make has been partially made by my friend and colleague, Tony Arbour. Do you agree that it is farcical to demand that a London borough increases the number of gypsy and traveller pitches to meet the demand dictated in a report when that very borough had, at the time that that report said it needed a huge expansion in numbers, empty traveller pitches within the boundaries of the borough?

• Question by: Brian Coleman
• Meeting date: 13 October 2010

Mr Mayor, would you accept the congratulations of all Members of the Conservative group and, indeed, of all parties in the London Borough of Barnet, for your dropping of the target? Will you recall that, in Barnet, the reason we have no pitches is because the Labour/Liberal Democrat previous administration came to the conclusion there were no suitable sites and that all parties in the London Borough of Barnet --