• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 18 September 2002

Norman Lebrecht is one of the main arts commentators for The Evening Standard.

• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 18 September 2002

I'm concerned to know how we're going to take this forward, and particularly how it knits in with the Cultural Strategy, which is long awaited and, indeed, the whole of the London plan.

• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 18 September 2002

My question relates to the delay on the Tourism Strategy. Are you aware that - while that has been delayed, spending has dropped by over £1.24 billion - that figure compares with your little foray into foreign affairs yesterday on the Gulf War, which brought back memories for those of us who remember the foreign affairs policies of the GLC. Are you aware overseas tourists and air passenger transport, is down 2.4% while you've been the Mayor? Do you regret the damage that's being done to London's economy through the delays in bringing forward the Tourism Strategy? And can I...

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 18 September 2002

I think you've just demonstrated that it's clearly a low priority.

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 18 September 2002

Stakeholder engagement is such a low priority you actually don't know why it's not been finalised?

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 18 September 2002

Yes, it's always very easy to decide what the high priorities are; what is a lot harder to decide - and even more particularly to state publicly " is what your low priorities are. And I think that you"re demonstrating your low priority through action, or rather inaction, rather than an honest approach in the first place. Can I ask you why the programme of stakeholder engagement is yet to be finalised?

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 18 September 2002

Isn't it actually more truthful, that culture and sport are rather low priorities in your mayoralty?

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 18 September 2002

Yes. Let's move to the Cultural Strategy. You said, I think, that it was due to be published in November. Can you give us a date for that? And more to the point, can you tell us why that is also over a year later than it was intended to be?

• Question by: Toby Harris
• Meeting date: 18 September 2002

But could write to us with the cost of that advice and the circumstances in which it was obtained? And also the person time employed in turning that advice into a press release.

• Question by: Toby Harris
• Meeting date: 18 September 2002

The issue has already been obliquely referred to by Mike Tuffrey, but you have recently made a statement about the consequences of war with Iraq on the economy of London. And in that statement you implied that there'd been some sort of major research study conducted to give you the precise figure that you quoted in that press release. And clearly what I am concerned about is that the resources which were applied to producing that estimate, have led to a delay in the various strategies that we have discussed today. So, could you tell us precisely what was the...