• 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...

• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 18 September 2002

So, we could do a deal that we give up appointments for the strategies?

• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 18 September 2002

On the production of strategies generally, do you think it's an anomaly that in the Government's White Paper on regional government they were proposing that the regional assembly had the power to amend strategies produced by the executive, yet in London we have no power to amend the strategies that you produce to as Mayor; all we can do is produce a report to the Mayor? Do you think that's an anomaly? And do you think that the London Assembly needs to be given greater powers in line with those proposed for other regional assemblies around the country?

• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 18 September 2002

Can I say that as the Chair of the Assembly's Culture, Sport and Tourism Committee I have reported to colleagues, a conversation that I have had about the GLA and the Culture Strategy. I then sent that information to members on behalf of the Committee. I would agree with members that the delays are unfortunate, but my concern is really the message that it sends out to Londoners. I really would like to just say that and ask for the Mayor to confirm that the delays no way represent a disinterest or, if you like, a secondary interest, in this...

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

If I could just return you to the Cultural Strategy, or rather the lack of it, I'm wondering if one of the reasons why it's taken so long is that the quality of the draft strategy wasn't up to scratch? And looking at what's been said about it yesterday in the Evening Standard I see that Norman Lebrecht has described it as `dispiriting reading'. I think his main accusation against you is that in seeking to influence the arts in London you're actually trying to control them by making public subsidies dependent on people signing up to your particular social...