• Question by: Murad Qureshi
• Meeting date: 22 June 2005

I just want to challenge Angie Bray's suggestion that writing to occupiers would miss a lot of people. The reality is, in those two local authorities ' City of Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea ' you have one of the highest transient populations. In some ways, I think that is probably the way to get through to them. For example, every time I go to Earl's Court, there seems to be a new set of Australians there. Those kinds of population movements are quite constant, and I think one way of getting through to them has been addressing it to...

• Question by: Richard Barnes
• Meeting date: 22 June 2005

Mr Mayor, you may well not be guilty of extrapolation, but you certainly partake in premature articulation. I say that because, on the one hand, down in Kensington and Chelsea, you are saying that a 40,000 result is very good, or a response is superb, and you can make a decision on it. On the other hand, a 17,000 response in West Ealing over the West London Tram ' which you have raised yourself ' was not sufficient, and you have indeed interpreted 813 interviews as supporting your Tram, despite it demonstrating a 12% drop in support. Mr Mayor, either...

• Question by: Peter Hulme Cross
• Meeting date: 22 June 2005

Well, there is a figure, which comes from the Government's own estimates from the regulatory impact assessment, of £13.6 billion. Admittedly, that is a country-wide figure, but London would have a large share of that. Now, in your written reply last time, you said, `I have not instructed the Brussels office to lobby on this issue, as I welcome the scrapping of the opt-out from the 48-hour rule.' Given the fact that the 48-hour rule will have a very big impact on London, particularly on small- and medium-sized businesses, do you not think that Brussels House should lobby on behalf...

• Question by: Peter Hulme Cross
• Meeting date: 22 June 2005

It comes down to choice. People should be able to choose how long they work. On a more fundamental point, though, do you think that it is right that unelected bureaucrats in Brussels should be able to dictate to us how long our working week should be?

• Question by: Joanne McCartney
• Meeting date: 22 June 2005

On this issue, the Working Time Directive for the first time has guaranteed minimum holidays, rest breaks, and so forth for British employees. Given that your role as Mayor is to look out for the health and well-being of Londoners, do you see that this Working Time Directive contributes to that, and the social equality of life for Londoners is a matter that has to be taken seriously in this respect?

• Question by: Peter Hulme Cross
• Meeting date: 22 June 2005

If it were necessary to legislate for this, our own Government could do it. Why should the EU be doing legislation that our own Government could do? Why should people in a foreign land, whom we do not elect, tell us how to regulate our work?

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 22 June 2005

I am tempted to observe that it might be that support might have been higher in the UK, perhaps, if the Government had not withheld a 12% windfall on the Olympics Lottery and instead had `passported- that through, which would have meant we would not have needed to put up the council tax. That might have improved public approval. On a separate point, I was concerned to see a report in the Sunday Telegraph business section about strains in the consortium which is to deliver the Olympic Village as part of the Stratford City development. Have you, either directly or...

• Question by: Damian Hockney
• Meeting date: 22 June 2005

I think the thing basically that concerns me on this issue is, coming back to the original point, when we do ask questions, to have to go to FoI from within to get response. Does that mean on everything that we have to ask, we have to just stamp `FoI- on the top of it?

• Question by: Damian Hockney
• Meeting date: 22 June 2005

I have to take your point on that, but the one thing that concerns us is that, in order to do a proper scrutiny job on this, we then have to go to FoI (Freedom of Information) and are then told, ultimately, `You will have it within the 20 days' from the final time that we have asked. That does not really help us do our job. You mentioned just now the business of opinion pollsters, reputable, and code of conduct. One of the things that concerned us was that part of the code is, of course, that pollsters must...

• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 22 June 2005

Mayor, can I use this opportunity to ask you to reaffirm your commitment to ensuring that black and ethnic minority Londoners benefit from both the Games and the legacy of the 2012 Olympics in London. Secondly, what role will London's young people play in the run up to the decision and immediately afterwards?