• Question by: James Cleverly
• Meeting date: 02 December 2015

James Cleverly AM MP: I am happy for either the Commissioner or the Chairman to answer this. When the traditional disposition of London’s fire stations was brought about, I suppose, with the early 20th century expansion, is it fair to say that fire and fire risk was the single biggest driving factor in the equipment disposition of fire stations and fire appliances?

• Question by: Andrew Dismore
• Meeting date: 02 December 2015

Andrew Dismore AM: First of all, Gareth, I am pleased that you welcome that we have put forward an alternative budget and I look forward to debating that with you this afternoon. I hope that it will mean we can save Kentish Town’s pump, which is in the mix of the 13 fire engines. After the Belsize and Clerkenwell closures in the LSP5 round, Camden has taken more than its fair share of cuts, as the attendance figures show. What I really want to do, though, is to concentrate on the future Sixth London Safety Plan (LSP6). From Camden’s point...

• Question by: Richard Tracey
• Meeting date: 02 December 2015

Richard Tracey AM: First of all, Commissioner, you have dealt to some extent with this question of ward-level response, but can I ask you a straight question? Is it actually practical to talk about ward-level calculations? Is that really a practical point in the nature of firefighting or do you have to look over a wider area than simply a ward of - whatever it is - 10,000 people?

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 02 December 2015

Roger Evans AM: If you consider the 13 appliances that you are considering taking away plus the ones that were removed before, I believe the saving is around £25 million. If by some miracle you were to have £25 million returned to your budget, Commissioner, would you ideally spend it on putting those appliances back or would you have other priorities that you think would keep London safer?

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 02 December 2015

Mayor John Biggs AM: Thank you very much for your earlier answers. I obviously have a parochial interest as the Assembly Member for East London. Particularly Newham but also Tower Hamlets have been adversely affected by the closure of fire stations and the loss of appliances. In your current proposals, potentially we lose another three appliances in Poplar, Plaistow and Stratford and a fourth nearby in Shoreditch. Can you tell us what the cumulative impact would be on residents in my constituency in East London and whether there would be more areas that will fall outside the six-minute response time...

• Question by: Richard Tracey
• Meeting date: 18 November 2015

Richard Tracey AM: OK. Thank you, Chair. Mr Mayor, I am rather intrigued by this line of questioning from my Transport Committee colleague Val Shawcross because she is worrying, quite rightly, about any potential loss of any of the wonderful bus services we have, but at the same time, as you and I discussed earlier, the Labour Party ‑‑ Boris Johnson MP (Mayor of London): I was hoping you would bring this up. Richard Tracey AM: ‑‑ is talking about a four-year freeze in fares, a £2 billion loss ‑‑ Boris Johnson MP (Mayor of London): --hopelessly. Richard Tracey AM...

• Question by: Fiona Twycross
• Meeting date: 18 November 2015

Fiona Twycross AM: As part of the mayoral strategy to tackle violence against women and girls, you committed to securing prosecutions around female genital mutilation (FGM). So far this year, as you will be aware, there has been just one unsuccessful prosecution for FGM. With significant reductions in funding to the MPS, as outlined by previous speakers including Joanne McCartney, what are you doing to ensure that prosecutions for FGM remain a priority?

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 18 November 2015

Roger Evans AM: In the past, Boris, we have talked about possibly devolving the LAS to the Greater London Authority. Would it be helpful, from your point of view, to actually have the LAS bundled up with the other emergency services under our control so that you can achieve economies of scale and have the three services working together better?

• Question by: Gareth Bacon MP
• Meeting date: 18 November 2015

Gareth Bacon AM: Andrew Dismore has just referred to the 13 appliances that have been held for the contingency cover for more than the last two years. Of course, this predates LSP5. The 13 appliances that he is referring to have been off the run since before LSP5. If they were to be withdrawn permanently, Mr Mayor, it would not be affecting the frontline service and so you would not be breaking your promise under LSP5, as he well knows. He also knows, Mr Mayor, that no decision has been taken on the 13 appliances because he chairs the [LFEPA]...

• Question by: Andrew Boff
• Meeting date: 18 November 2015

Andrew Boff AM: Mr Mayor, when the vision just proposed by Mr Copley is established, can I be on that committee for state-assessed need that will process the hundreds of thousands of applications that will be necessary for anybody who wants permission to buy a property in London? That will be a really good job. Could you tell me what the salary is going to be? Thank you very much.