• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 17 January 2007

Then I would like to conclude by pushing you to go further and to be public with people like us and, indeed, the 70,000 contributors so that in things that, as it were, I get, I can see you living out what you say your policy is, which is in the question, that you are progressively improving over time. Currently, I do not see that, and I think you should.

• Question by: Jenny Jones
• Meeting date: 17 January 2007

You can see from the questions that you have been asked today this is clearly a hot topic for us, and also, as politicians, we are very concerned about the issue of openness and the public knowing. So far this aspect has not been in the annual report, that is other information that I have. Is that not true? This is something you bring in to the annual report or is it simply that it is the first time you have had it so it has not happened yet?

• Question by: Peter Hulme Cross
• Meeting date: 13 December 2006

This is a case of the pot calling the kettle black because the EU has not had its accounts signed off for the last 12 years, and yet they have the effrontery to complain about our accounts. Does this have any effect on, say, the LDA's budget or the boroughs' budgets?

• Question by: Peter Hulme Cross
• Meeting date: 13 December 2006

You said, in the last question, we should rely on statistics and fact, rather than emotion. That is true also of our membership of the EU. If it is of benefit to London, you should be able to demonstrate, factually, why and how much?

• Question by: Peter Hulme Cross
• Meeting date: 13 December 2006

The peace and stability to our continent has been brought about by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), not by the European Union (EU), which came into being much later. As regards the cost/benefit analysis, the figures have not been collated. There is no proper government issued cost/benefit analysis of membership. There is an attempt to do it here, by an organisation called The Bruges Group, which comes out with a figure of £52.4 billion per year cost to the UK. That is about £100,000 per minute. If you think those figures are wrong then there should be a proper...

• Question by: Peter Hulme Cross
• Meeting date: 13 December 2006

There is an enormous trade deficit with the EU. We buy an awful lot from them than they buy from us. That is a matter of fact.

• Question by: Richard Barnes
• Meeting date: 13 December 2006

What about for London alone? If you say the EU is of benefit to London, then quantify it? You cannot just say it is of great benefit. Quantify it.

• Question by: Elizabeth Howlett
• Meeting date: 13 December 2006

I am very glad to hear that, but when she talked about savings coming in the second half of the year - let us use the word cuts - these cuts are unprecedented in the life of the NHS. I am sure you cannot disagree with this; the Secretary of State has brought in at a stroke - you just mentioned it in your reply - change financial accounting, the resource allocation budgeting causing top slicing of Peter to pay Paul. I listened this morning to two Labour MPs who said: `Oh yes, we have to balance the books, but...

• Question by: Elizabeth Howlett
• Meeting date: 13 December 2006

I agree with you. What about the Labour placed people on boards who could not run a whelk stall? What about getting rid of some of them? They have allowed these Trusts to get in to deficit.

• Question by: Bob Blackman
• Meeting date: 13 December 2006

You will be aware that last month Brent Primary Care Trust (PCT) passed reductions in the current year of £11 million and £31 million for next year. Harrow PCT has done very similar type reductions. Hillingdon is a basket case. The belief is now that there are at least 11 other PCTs in London that are just about on the cusp to make drastic reductions. This is a crisis facing London and we need your help, and your high profile help, to stop it happening. Yesterday London Councils unanimously passed a motion condemning these reductions and assembling all the details...