• Question by: Dee Doocey
• Meeting date: 12 March 2008

I would find that almost impossible to believe that any borough would behave like that. I honestly suggest that you personally sit down and go and see the boroughs and talk to them.

• Question by: Dee Doocey
• Meeting date: 12 March 2008

What have you done to encourage them to change that view other than to say, 'I am going to name and shame' which obviously has not done any good at all? Have you met with them? Have you asked about their particular problems? Have you understood why they are not doing it? Do you seriously think people in those boroughs are going to say, 'We don't care about social rented homes'? Isn't it a question that they have each got individual problems that you as Mayor should be going down and discussing with them and trying to solve?

• Question by: Dee Doocey
• Meeting date: 12 March 2008

The fact remains, however, that you are doing your usual sleight of hand with figures. There is no question that 31,430 homes have been delivered against your target of 30,000; an increase of 180. Very good. There is equally no question that you promised to include in that target 15,000 homes that are affordable and you actually delivered 9,200 homes that are affordable. So that is a decrease of 5,800 homes. Within those figures you promised that 70% of the homes would be for social rent; a total of 10,500 and you have actually delivered just 4,400 for social rent...

• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 12 March 2008

I understand. What I am saying is that before we hear any more about it can we ask for a briefing so we know exactly what this is about before we go out and raise it? I have to say £1.4 million does not even buy a good cup of tea across London on a good day so we need to manage that.

• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 12 March 2008

Can I refer you to the London Cultural Consortium which is doing some work around this? I am sure that is a base a future Mayor can build on. Staying with this fund that you have talked about with the Arts Council there are two things. Can I ask you to issue a briefing as soon as possible to Members? I think one of the most unfortunate things that can happen is that we do not manage the expectations here. As I understand it this £1.4 million is a specific fund that you have started and so, in terms of...

• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 12 March 2008

Yes, but I go back again, it is clarity that we need. Is it going to be managed by the Arts Council or is it going to be managed by the GLA? I thought this was going to be managed by the Arts Council.

• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 12 March 2008

My first follow up question is what is the learning that we can take from this exercise? I say that in the context that this time next year the Chair of the London Arts Council will have been an appointee of the Mayor. Do you think that there should be closer working between the London Arts Council, GLA's Culture Team and London Councils - because they are still the largest funder of culture at the local level - before there are announcements about closures? It seems to me that one of the lessons is that when we then went into...

• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 12 March 2008

I wanted to thank Val for highlighting again the Liberal Democrat campaigns. I can give her a list of our upcoming campaigns and invite her to highlight those! Here is the offending article in question and I really appreciate the Labour Party and everybody else within Lambeth to support our campaign against closing police stations when there is no plan. It is quite bizarre that the police are setting out to consult about closing Cavendish Road and Streatham with no alternative plan for counters or custody suites or patrol bases. They are not actually consulting on improving the service; they...

• Question by: Valerie Shawcross
• Meeting date: 12 March 2008

I hope, Ken and the Assembly, you will forgive me then for suffering from political road rage on this one because you can actually see where I am coming from. Most parties apart from Jenny [Jones] supported the draft proposal on the MPA and I am really glad they did because, hand on heart, if you go into Streatham Station or if you go into East Dulwich Station those are squalid conditions in some areas and they are not appropriate places for our police officers to be working, they do need better working conditions and, in particular, the public in...

• Question by: Jenny Jones
• Meeting date: 12 March 2008

The fact is I am very dissatisfied with this Estates Strategy and I voted against it because I felt so strongly about it. But the fact is that some of the police stations that are closing, in Southwark for example, are actually totally unsuitable for modern day use. It is very frustrating. They are not up to Disability Discrimination Act standards and I wondered if you were aware of that?