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

When did you become aware of the VAT issue?

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 13 December 2006

When Jack Straw said that it would be for the Government to decide, the real point he was making is you can say until you are blue in the face that, as far as you are concerned, there will be no extra cost to Londoners, but you do not have any power in this; it will be the Government who decides who pays what and, if there are bills left to pay at the end of it, it will decide how those bills are divvied up. His point, Mr Livingstone is, effectively, you have no power over this.

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 13 December 2006

That was our idea originally.

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

Thank you very much, Mr Mayor. I support your view that the London council tax payer should not pay a penny more, but it appears there is a problem in terms of dealing with the Government. Could you enlighten us as to what the budget is for the Olympics at the moment?

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 13 December 2006

It mentions the Mayor. I doubt you are going to be dipping into your own pocket!

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 13 December 2006

You are both mentioning it as being the milch cow are you not?

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 13 December 2006

We certainly hope your optimism is borne out, but I think a lot of us - and the polls show most Londoners - think there will be an over run and that they will end up paying the bill. How happy are you about dipping into the lottery for this? When the lottery was first set up it was there to alleviate a wide number of causes across the country, large and often very small. Every time we say: `Oh, the lottery will bail us out' is that not going to be all those many more small but very good...

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

If there is an over run though, in 2012, what is to stop the Government saying to you or whoever is Mayor at the time, to continue the 38 pence levy for longer than the 12 years as it is at the moment?

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

When you say it has to be passed by the Assembly, all you need is one third of the Members to support you. With your Labour Members and your Green allies, that is fairly easy. It is a bit of a spurious argument.

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 13 December 2006

If the Memorandum of Understanding was to be acted on - and I can only assume it is there because it will be - it would be quite possible, would it not, for a future Government to screen their funding to you in such a way to take account of the bill that it thought London should be fitting?