• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 16 July 2008

I am pleased at the commitment you have made to Tube cleaners and hope that becomes a reality as soon as possible. Did you also welcome a similar initiative for fire station cleaners, that they are all being paid the Living Wage?

• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 16 July 2008

What you may not be aware is that a year or two ago there was a vote at the Fire Authority to move to a position where the cleaners did get the Living Wage. It went through by one vote. The three Liberal Democrats voted for it. All the Conservatives voted against it. So we welcome, from our side, that. Can I make a serious economic point to you; the private sector companies that have gone down this road - I am thinking particularly of cleaners at Canary Wharf - have actually found that it does not cost them overall...

• Question by: Steve O'Connell
• Meeting date: 16 July 2008

Along the same theme, I think, probably from the tone of the questions from Nicky; this is really a symptom of the problems in the past which is that the climate of confrontation between this building and boroughs clearly had a detrimental effect on the building of the numbers of affordable housing that we should have for our families and young people. I particularly welcome the light touch. I am aware that for the research and the work that you have done that boroughs of all colours will welcome this debate because without doubt you get more out of people...

• Question by: Joanne McCartney
• Meeting date: 16 July 2008

I think you may have said this already but where the GLA or functional bodies own land your first priority with that will be to try to use that for social housing. Is that right?

• Question by: James Cleverly
• Meeting date: 16 July 2008

With regard to proportions of affordable housing, many boroughs, including boroughs in my own constituency, have already released enough development land to more than meet the targets put before them but that land is not being built upon because the developers do not feel that they can make profitably the 50% housing target work. I know you are a classicist rather than a mathematician but would you just confirm - a little bit of simple maths - that 35%, for example, of something is actually a larger figure in absolute terms than 50% of nothing?

• Question by: Murad Qureshi
• Meeting date: 16 July 2008

Mr Mayor, since your election in central London we have seen two major development proposals being passed by the various local authorities; one on Holland Park School and the other on North Walk Road. The first we are losing playing fields anyway. Another issue is the offsite provision of the social housing. I think it is actually a very poor site where most of the social housing is going to end up; in Latimer Road on a garage site. A similar thing is happening on North Walk Road where the contention is to move the social housing provision into Church...

• Question by: Victoria Borwick
• Meeting date: 16 July 2008

It is not just the proportion of what is built but obviously it is the location. In an expensive borough like Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster or any of the central London boroughs it is constantly an argument. I do think most of us have stated before the view about the importance of mixed communities and I think the idea of people being offered a secondary location and less good housing for affordable targets is not right. I think we should try, where possible, to get the affordable housing on site and I would welcome your view or your support or...

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 16 July 2008

A question about affordable housing: would you agree with me - and, again, this is not meant to fetter your planning discretion - that there is a real problem where some of the London boroughs with high land costs are placing their homeless families in some of the London boroughs with low land costs, particularly Barking and Dagenham, where a lot of inner London boroughs are renting wholesale private rented accommodation to put homeless families which causes enormous social pressures in the destination borough whilst getting the home boroughs off the hook if you like? That has caused enormous difficulties...

• Question by: Andrew Boff
• Meeting date: 16 July 2008

Andrew Boff (AM): Mr Mayor, would you by any chance at some point in the future like to come to visit the development area in Hackney, just opposite the peace mural which you mentioned the other day at the Pride reception? If you would like to visit that area there you will see an example of a housing development that is taking place where a building of local importance to black heritage in Dalston was demolished despite local protest, that local residents have been largely ignored at their protests about this massive great big housing development being built and that...

• Question by: Tony Arbour
• Meeting date: 16 July 2008

Are you aware that the Liberal Democrats throughout London are scaremongering by advertising the closure of police stations and suggesting that police cover is going to be much more limited than it has been? Would you not agree that in any question on discussing the future of the police estate the most important thing is that police facilities should be where they are required, in the centre of communities, and that those facilities should be fit for purpose? In that light, will you undertake, when you become Chair of the Police Authority, to ensure that before any existing police station...