• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 27 March 2002

It might have been right if you'd got the Assembly on board first as well.

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 27 March 2002

I accept entirely that it's right and proper to discuss first with the people directly affected, the Executive Directors and probably other staff, but that does not preclude your discussing it with Assembly Members, either in the Bureau of Leaders, the Appointments Committee that met only last week, or even informally with the Leaders as you have done on many other proposals. But that's what I am now doing. I was absolutely determined -- Graham Tope: A letter written to all Assembly Members, published and getting the inevitable reaction in the newspapers, hardly suggests that you wish to get the...

• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 27 March 2002

He clearly can't give me an answer. I was talking about the posts, I was not talking about you politicians relating with other politicians. I thought I'd made myself clear. I am talking about the posts that you say are going to be in your structure. They will have to have a relationship with other professional officers. Do you have any idea currently at what level you would expect them to be meeting with other professional staff from other organisations?

• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 27 March 2002

Mayor, I've worked for many years in the NHS so I am familiar with cycles of two yearly restructure, so I am not at all surprised at the paper in front of me, but I've got a couple of questions that I think are important. The first one is: can you give us an undertaking that you will make every endeavour to ensure that the new structure is representative of London in terms of 51% of Londoners being female and, say, 30% being from black and minority ethnic communities? Wouldn't it be wonderful if you, in your restructuring, could give...

• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 27 March 2002

Before the election you were always keen to say that you opposed the idea of a directly elected Mayor and concentrating more and more decision making powers in the hands of one individual. This seems to be strengthening the grip of one individual over the organisation and putting more and more power into your hands. Is that consistent with the views that you were arguing before the election?

• Question by: Toby Harris
• Meeting date: 27 March 2002

You have the advantage of being an elected politician. Potentially this is about the appointment of people to very large salaries who are unelected politicians.

• Question by: Toby Harris
• Meeting date: 27 March 2002

If at the end of that process the Assembly passes a resolution which either endorsed the decision that you'd made or said that we could not endorse that decision, would that alter the approach that you would take?

• Question by: Toby Harris
• Meeting date: 27 March 2002

That therefore implies a substantial increase for a number of individuals, potentially if that is the direction in which it goes. Could I be clear what your attitude would be if this Assembly called before it one of the individuals appointed to these new roles of Executive Director, as we are entitled to under the Act, interviewed them in public in relation to the person specification and then resolved at the end of the day that they did not meet the standard which the Assembly thought was appropriate for a post of that scale and that pay?

• Question by: Toby Harris
• Meeting date: 27 March 2002

But these arrangements would in practice mean that those staff would be by-passed. You do realise of course that because of the construction of the titles - and I suspect we will need to see how the job description and person specification develop - it looks as though they are tailor-made for individuals who currently operate on the second floor of this building in your advisors' corridor? I have no idea whether that's in your mind or not, but under those circumstances are you aware that you are liable to the charge of this being `rewarding cronies' and giving money...

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 27 March 2002

Will you keep the Assembly informed of the steps you propose to take in relation to any such appointments, to make sure that you comply with the requirements of Section 67(6) of the Act, that is to say appointments to be on merit?