• Question by: Siân Berry
• Meeting date: 07 December 2016

Sian Berry AM: I would like to ask for some quick clarification on some of the details of the London Living Rent homes within your funding programme, if that is OK. This product is not quite what renters were expecting. It is very similar to the Government’s existing Rent to Buy Scheme, which is not suitable for everyone. I wanted to ask. The Government’s Rent to Buy Scheme requires a good credit rating. Can you reassure Londoners worried that their credit history might hinder their ability to apply for London Living Rent homes that they will not need to have...

• Question by: Siân Berry
• Meeting date: 07 December 2016

Sian Berry AM: I would like to ask for some quick clarification on some of the details of the London Living Rent homes within your funding programme, if that is OK. This product is not quite what renters were expecting. It is very similar to the Government’s existing Rent to Buy Scheme, which is not suitable for everyone. I wanted to ask. The Government’s Rent to Buy Scheme requires a good credit rating. Can you reassure Londoners worried that their credit history might hinder their ability to apply for London Living Rent homes that they will not need to have...

• Question by: Leonie Cooper
• Meeting date: 07 December 2016

Leonie Cooper AM: Can I just say, Deputy Mayor, that it is very welcome to have you here today and preceded by the Minister? It has been a good morning talking about housing, which is such a crucial issue for our city. At the sharp end of housing is homelessness, which is the area I wanted to ask you about. Assembly Member Copley and I will be moving a motion later on this morning on homelessness because it has been very much on the increase, particularly in London. I just wondered if you had managed to have any discussions with...

• Question by: Caroline Pidgeon
• Meeting date: 07 December 2016

Caroline Pidgeon MBE AM: I would like to question you about a specific part of the Mayor’s manifesto that stated that the Mayor would “make sure Londoners get a fair deal from developers”. Profits of large building firms have exploded by more than 500% in the last six years and many local authorities simply have not been able to negotiate enough affordable housing with developers over recent years. One of the issues is the expertise and this whole industry around viability assessments when experts work for the boroughs one day and then for developers the next. Can you explain how...

• Question by: Unmesh Desai
• Meeting date: 07 December 2016

Unmesh Desai AM: Good morning, Deputy Mayor. I have a couple of questions to ask you about rogue landlords and landlord licensing. Would further powers from the DCLG assist the GLA and local authorities in tackling rogue landlords? Very specifically and bearing in mind the answer that the Minister gave to Assembly Member Pidgeon - I think you were sitting in the gallery and so you heard his answer - how do you see things from your side vis-à-vis the DCLG and London-wide landlord licensing?

• Question by: Tom Copley
• Meeting date: 07 December 2016

Tom Copley AM: Good morning, Deputy Mayor. There are many things to welcome in the affordable housing prospectus and in the housing SPG particularly if, like me, you are keen to see a return to submarket rents and particularly to social rents. I wanted to ask you first about this London affordable rent, which looks very much like a social rented product and the rent is benchmarked at the social rent. How many homes for the London affordable rent do you expect to have been built by 2021?

• Question by: Tony Devenish
• Meeting date: 07 December 2016

Tony Devenish AM: Do you think there is a real sense of urgency in how you are tackling the housing crisis?

• Question by: Andrew Dismore
• Meeting date: 07 December 2016

Andrew Dismore AM: Could I go back to rail devolution? In the Evening Standard today there is a letter from Chris Grayling [MP, Secretary of State for Transport] to Boris Johnson. Boris Johnson wrote to Mr Grayling supporting the idea of rail devolution. The letter says this: “Thank you for your letter of 17 April about the possibility of TfL taking on responsibility for a number [of] rail services in the London area, but outside the Greater London boundary. While I am generally a great supporter of what you are doing in London, I would not be in favour of...

• Question by: Nicky Gavron
• Meeting date: 07 December 2016

Nicky Gavron AM: Minister, good morning. I wanted to ask you a question about permitted development rights, which allow a change of use from offices and other workspaces now to residential without going through the planning system. Everyone around this horseshoe agrees that we need more affordable housing and we need more housing generally, but we also desperately need affordable workspace. Change of use is offering a windfall in terms of upping value to property owners and to developers. What we are seeing in London is that rents are going up and, in many cases, land prices are going up...

• Question by: David Kurten
• Meeting date: 07 December 2016

David Kurten AM: Thank you, Minister, for coming. If I may, I would like to ask a few questions on education in London. I understand from the Autumn Statement that adult education is going to be devolved to City Hall in the financial year 2019/20. What do you see as the potential benefits and potential pitfalls of that move