• Question by: Elizabeth Howlett
• Meeting date: 12 December 2007

You are quite happy for the full pay award to be given to the Metropolitan Police Service from September? Is that what you are saying?

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

Mr Mayor, were you pleased or disappointed with the level of grant settlement this year?

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

Finally, this will be seen, and indeed it is, as a pre-election budget in that it is the budget just before the next GLA election.

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

Although I started by saying that I cannot really imagine how anyone could oppose these wonderfully beneficial proposals in the budget, this is the time of Christmas and of course the Grinch comes out at Christmas in the Assembly in the form of Richard Barnes AM, I believe! Where do you think the battle lines will be on the budget this year? What are the points of pressure between yourselves and others aspiring for your office?

• Question by: Elizabeth Howlett
• Meeting date: 12 December 2007

That is all very interesting. What will you be recommending to the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) vis-à-vis the pay increase for the Metropolitan Police Service? Will we be paying it from September or will we be phasing it in like the Home Secretary would want?

• 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?