• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 12 December 2007

Can I first of all start by welcoming your comments about the support that you intend to give to London Councils in their lobbying, because I hope you will accept that Tony Travers [Director, Greater London Group, London School of Economics] and other independent experts go a bit further than John Biggs and describe this as more than challenging, describing it as the worst settlement for local authorities in London in decades. To that end, will you, in particular, raise again with the Government the question of the wholly inadequate population statistics in London, which do not reflect in-migration, do...

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 12 December 2007

What on earth has that got to do with anything?

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 12 December 2007

Mr Mayor, we are talking about the significant element of the budget that you have just referred to, not just for past years but for future years. People will want to be assured that the GLA is rigorous in controlling expenditure and that there can be no suggestion of laxity because of the connection of any particular officer, member of staff or applicant with anyone else. Against that background, would it not be right to protect the reputation of the budget process that you have just reported on, to protect the reputation of the Authority and its professional officers, and...

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 12 December 2007

Thank you for that. I also noted the comments you made about the importance of ensuring that a tight ship was run and that we get value for money, and I agree with that. Given that background, would you accept it is particularly important at the moment that the GLA itself, as the core body, and all its functional bodies are seen to be of the utmost rigour in the monitoring, auditing and accounting of all disbursements that they make, whether by way of direct expenditure or by way of grant? Would you, therefore, now instruct the Chief Executive to...

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 12 December 2007

My second question is about sustainability, bearing in mind that the Deputy Mayor is in Bali at present, representing one of the world's leading cities at the conference on climate change. Last year's budget had a massive emphasis on sustainability and climate change and you stuck it in almost at the end of your presentation this morning on the budget. Do you want to make a comment about quite how important, embedded and intrinsic sustainability, climate change, global warming and the role of cities like London are in tackling that?

• Question by: Brian Coleman
• Meeting date: 12 December 2007

Specifically only a 1% rise in the fire grant is surely a disappointment, particularly to us here in London, with the pressures on the resilience budget.

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 12 December 2007

OK. Would you share with me concern that although we have had a number of years of growth in funding for London, which has been welcome, this year's settlement for London, particularly for the boroughs, is a challenging one and will you join with Labour councils and others in lobbying the Government to ensure that we have the resources to meet our needs, bearing in mind that London has very peculiar attributes compared to other parts of the country in terms of turnover, population growth, churn, demand for services, different profiles in the population and so on?

• Question by: Bob Blackman
• Meeting date: 14 November 2007

Have you or your Office given direction to increase funding to any of these projects over their life?

• Question by: Bob Blackman
• Meeting date: 14 November 2007

Can I be clear then; what direction have you or your Office given over these specific projects?

• Question by: Bob Blackman
• Meeting date: 14 November 2007

For the Assembly, in cooperation, you will direct the LDA to make available to the Assembly all the evidence that we require to complete our process of auditing these projects?