• Question by: Eric Ollerenshaw
• Meeting date: 19 September 2001

Just to help you, Mr Mayor, since that finished, it has got into worse trouble over the last few months. It is an absolute disaster, and Labour Ministers had to step in yesterday, with all six of them announcing things. A Labour majority obviously leads to even worse financial chaos.

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 19 September 2001

It sounds like you are about to have another meeting with your friends in the RMT. Given that you appear to have surprised yourself with your staffing plans, and discovered that you have far too many people, do you now regret your earlier support and enthusiasm for the new City Hall project?

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 19 September 2001

Given the number of strategies you are coming up with, Mr Mayor, I would not be at all surprised if you started appointing Tsars next.

• Question by: Toby Harris
• Meeting date: 19 September 2001

The answer is that you do not actually know how many more strategies are being produced. Is it not the case that what all this strategy production is doing is ignoring your statutory responsibilities to take an overview of those key issues with which the Act charges you? This is all about fine words rather than action, and a plethora of paper, concealing a lack of coherent vision. Isn't that what it is really all about?

• Question by: Samantha Heath
• Meeting date: 19 September 2001

I am interested in the implementation element. With the air quality strategy, you have to sign off on the boroughs' strategies. Are you going to be as lenient with them as you have been with yourself in changing the Act's wording from "achieving" to "working towards"? If you are going to be lenient with yourself, are you going to be equally lenient with them? What implications will that have for getting better air quality in London?

• Question by: Lord Duvall of Woolwich in the Royal Borough of Greenwich OBE
• Meeting date: 19 September 2001

In terms of encouraging people to change and adopt new ways of working, then, you can have external inspection, but where do you stand on backing that up with self-regulation and others undertaking that task? Why does the GLA have to do that, and are you open to new ways of thinking about it; or are you set in your ways and determined that that is the road you are going to follow?

• Question by: Lord Duvall of Woolwich in the Royal Borough of Greenwich OBE
• Meeting date: 19 September 2001

And the role that you will play in brokering some relationships - or are you going to apply the lightest of touches and let others get on with it?

• Question by: Lord Duvall of Woolwich in the Royal Borough of Greenwich OBE
• Meeting date: 19 September 2001

On an issue we have touched on before - your role in establishing partnerships and relationships - how are we progressing on that in these various strategies?

• Question by: Sally Hamwee
• Meeting date: 19 September 2001

Does the cleaning in the square remain on budget? The other day, I saw somebody cleaning the balustrades. There was a row of pigeons sitting on them, and as he moved to clean, they shifted - there is an "f" in that [Laughter.] - allowed him to clean, and then moved back again.

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 19 September 2001

I happen to agree with you, as you know, but the problem is that this is in danger of being seen as a joke issue. The Mayor: No, it is not. John Biggs: It is very serious for Londoners. Examining it, we have to ask what the Mayor's strategy is. The strategy would appear to be to evict the pigeon seed seller, but it does not seem to go as far as enforcing a ban on the delivery of pigeon seed in the square, which is presumably what you need to do in order to have an effective strategy. Londoners...