• Question by: Richard Barnes
• Meeting date: 11 October 2006

Well, I am talking about a grant the LDA makes to strange organisations.

• Question by: Richard Barnes
• Meeting date: 11 October 2006

OK, can I ask the question another way then? Would you give a grant to a company which is effectively not trading because it has got no business of any size? Would you give it to such an organisation which could hardly be called a company?

• Question by: Richard Barnes
• Meeting date: 11 October 2006

Actually `dormant' I understand means that a company is not trading and that is not the same definition which you have just used. Not trading means you are not trading.

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 11 October 2006

So, you have not really done any preparatory work on, for instance, the new requirements that may be there for the London Skills and Employment Board?

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 11 October 2006

What about the other areas? Are you saying that a lot of it is going to be done from the GLA?

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 11 October 2006

Just to be clear, I think the understanding of all of us is that where we are given extra powers, through the extension of powers review, where extra work comes to this tier of government, there will be the extra funding there to ensure that we can carry out that job properly. The idea that we are going to tell you off for taking on extra staff, providing they are funded out of extra funding, that automatically follows on from the extra powers surely.

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 11 October 2006

So does that suggest that you do not necessarily see your requirements to take on any extra staff?

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 11 October 2006

: Can I just say that I am slightly surprised that you do not seem to have yet identified what staff needs you may need to have, because if this comes to you, and some of the mayoral extension of powers are less controversial than others, and I would suggest this may be one of them where it is very likely to happen, you are going to need to be hitting the spot running are you not, so surely you must be anxious to move on and identify your staff needs and get on with it?

• Question by: Bob Blackman
• Meeting date: 11 October 2006

I am just looking at the aspects that we have already talked about, barriers to employment and worklessness and here are 2,000 jobs that are real, actually in place, that are under threat.

• Question by: Bob Blackman
• Meeting date: 11 October 2006

That is 9,000, of which we have got 23 per cent secured.