• Reference: 2011/1574
• Question by: Len Duvall OBE
• Meeting date: 18 May 2011

Does the mayor have confidence in the London Chair of the Arts Council England following the cuts to grants announced in the latest round of funding decisions?

• Reference: 2011/1573
• Question by: Len Duvall OBE
• Meeting date: 18 May 2011

The reduction of £102m in the Arts Council England budget for the whole of England is equivalent to 10% of the Royal Bank of Scotland's bonus pool this year. With the benefit of hindsight, do you believe you have campaigned for all the victims of the economic crunch in your Telegraph column over the last 3 years?

• Reference: 2011/1572
• Question by: Len Duvall OBE
• Meeting date: 18 May 2011

Will you be using your recently announced £50m of funding to Outer London to explore culture-led regeneration in the suburbs? Could these funds be used to support existing arts organisations to "shape places in London through culture"?

• Reference: 2011/1571
• Question by: Len Duvall OBE
• Meeting date: 18 May 2011

Does the Mayor believe the Arts Council found the right balance between funding large arts organisations in Central London which have a record of high philanthropic support, such as the Whitechapel and the Serpentine Gallleries, and smaller, locally focused provision in Outer London?

• Reference: 2011/1570
• Question by: Len Duvall OBE
• Meeting date: 18 May 2011

You failed to answer Question No: 544/2011. Has TfL ever investigated the possibility of allowing disabled passengers with specially adapted cars to use bus lanes and, if so, what are the barriers to this?

• Reference: 2011/1569
• Question by: Len Duvall OBE
• Meeting date: 18 May 2011

In answer to Question No: 1184 / 2011 you stated that 'among the possible causes [for the financial crisis] are the negative impact of well-intentioned measures such as the Community Reinvestment Act in the USA which requires banks to lend to less creditworthy homeowners and businesses'. This is patently untrue. Default rates on CRA lending were comparable to other areas of lending. Moreover, community-banking institutions, such as building societies, mutuals, and credit unions, were far less exposed to the crisis than other purely commercial institutions. Is your support for the view that 'causes that were morally worthy but not creditworthy'...

• Reference: 2011/1568
• Question by: Len Duvall OBE
• Meeting date: 18 May 2011

In answer to Question No: 543/2011, you stated that 'TfL has ... not incurred any costs in respect of the disposal of these vehicles'. What has been the average increase in the cost of contracts (where new contracts have been issued) on those bus routes that no longer employ articulated buses?

• Reference: 2011/1567
• Question by: Len Duvall OBE
• Meeting date: 18 May 2011

In answer to Question No: 384/2011 you stated that 'because of the progressivity of the tax system, tax revenues would be lower if incomes were more equal and London's tax export to the rest of the UK economy would be correspondingly smaller'. In Freefall: Free markets and the sinking of the global economy, Joseph Stiglitz contradicts this view, stating that 'for ... [pre crash] ... consumption to be restored on a sustainable basis, there would have to be a large redistribution of income, from those at the top who can afford to save, to those below who spend every penny...

• Reference: 2011/1565
• Question by: Len Duvall OBE
• Meeting date: 18 May 2011

An 18 January Evening Standard article entitled 'The City's Still Hiring' stated that 'a lot of banks did a huge amount of recruitment in 2010'. Do you agree with this statement and what does it say about the accuracy of your predictions of a 'mass exodus' from London?

• Reference: 2011/1564
• Question by: Len Duvall OBE
• Meeting date: 18 May 2011

An 18 January Evening Standard article entitled 'The City's Still Hiring' stated that '2011 looks like business as usual in the City'. Do you agree with this statement?