• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 14 March 2007

Could you confirm that the Mayor receives numerous requests from cities across the world for him to visit, and that he only accepts a small minority of those, given pressures on his time?

• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 14 March 2007

Both together.

• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 14 March 2007

I am talking about the monitoring of the volume. John [Ross] has set out very laudable goals for this programme of activity which we would all sign up to. However, the figures tell us that two years ago the GLA was spending just £30,000 on this. That rose to £100,000 last year. It will be something like £300,000 in the current year, by the end of the financial year. The BBC has dubbed this `Ken Air' in terms of the growth of spending on this. So I am trying to square that exponential growth over the last two years with...

• Question by: Jenny Jones
• Meeting date: 14 March 2007

What I would like to know is, next time we get a list like this - I am not talking about finding out the past but, in future - could we have an indication of whether the trip was by train or plane or bike or pedicab or whatever? Is that possible? Is it possible for you to say to the LDA, `New times, new regimes, in terms of climate change, and can they think about trains more'?

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 14 March 2007

To put this into another context, do you have a sense of the number of foreign cities that visit London on occasion?

• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 14 March 2007

I take it that Jenny is bosom buddies with the Mayor!

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 14 March 2007

Slightly harder question then. Can you tell us about a trip which was declined, having been requested through the machinery?

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 14 March 2007

Just to slightly pursue some of the answers that we have had here. When you are planning a Mayoral visit - and, Mr Ross, you are an economist - what value do you place on a Mayoral visit, on average?

• Question by: Elizabeth Howlett
• Meeting date: 14 March 2007

I accept what you have said about the Mayor who clearly takes his responsibilities to running this capital city seriously, but what about all his staff? I have looked at this document [refers to schedule of foreign trips undertaken by staff in the Mayor's Office]. I brought the smaller version. There is still a bigger version. I am really quite concerned how you are all going to offset all this travelling that you have been doing. Not only singly but mostly you go fourhanded to some very nice enticing places, and really I do not see the point of this...

• Question by: Jenny Jones
• Meeting date: 14 March 2007

I would like to say right up front I am not trying to score any points here, I would just like some progress. I am well aware that my name is on this list of people who have flown on behalf of the Mayor. What weight is given in the planning for whether or not to take trains rather than planes? It is clear that, for example, two people at least have gone to MIPIM [international property event] in Cannes this week, and the LDA automatically booked a flight because apparently you have to book a long way ahead. So...