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• Reference: 2010/0072-1
• Question by: Len Duvall OBE
• Meeting date: 21 July 2010

How do you see the relationship between your department and the Mayor's office differing from that under the previous government and what prospect do you see for greater devolution to the Mayor and Assembly?

• Question by: Len Duvall OBE
• Meeting date: 21 July 2010

We are really talking about the Mayor's wants. Are there Government wants? You have outlined the Government vision around devolution and on the NHS strategic functions that are being taken back into Government and obviously Ministers will want to take stock. Is there not a case that some of those strategic aspects carried out by the Strategic Health Authority for London should not come under the Mayor's ambit? Is there any thinking about that going on in Government at this stage, or if not at this stage, at some stage in the future?

• Question by: Nicky Gavron
• Meeting date: 21 July 2010

My first point is that in thinking abut the London Plan in relation to boroughs and in relation to the point made by Roger Evans about consultation, I think if one is not very careful, the time will be taken up with consultation. That is what takes time - consulting. I just want to point out that we had nearly 1,000 responses to this London Plan, which is three times as many as the previous London Plan, which shows that something is working around consultation. The second point is a strategic point. It is really important for us to be...

• Question by: Murad Qureshi
• Meeting date: 21 July 2010

Minister, there is quite a geographical expansion of the Mayor's powers with the Port of London Authority (PLA), going into the Thames Estuary. I just wanted to know whether it was the intention, or is the intention, to get the Mayor involved in planning issues to deal with wind farms, changing shipping channels or even airports. Is that the thrust of this? I just want to know where we are going with this.

• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 21 July 2010

I have got a question about planning and the historic environment. We are just running out of time so I think the best way forward, Bob, is if I could invite you to join me in visiting the historic site of Shakespeare's first theatre. This is not in south London as people would think, but in Shoreditch. Why I would like you to do that is that you will then see the importance about planning at a local level, but also the need for some assurance to be given that a site like that could be preserved. I am just...

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

My final question is about the quality of advice that the Mayor gets. I know this has been probed a little bit earlier, but I think we all know that, yourself excluded, the Mayor's advisors include a range of people who have political baggage behind them. How do you ensure that the Mayor gets good advice, notwithstanding thatadvisors may carry with them prejudices that help to inform their advice?

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

I think, to all intents and purposes, your average Londoner would assume that you are, with great respect to my colleague the Deputy Mayor, effectively a deputy mayor of London. Do you imagine there could be circumstances where a different Simon Fletcher or a different mayor might employ someone in your position who would have a more public persona and would, for example, be interviewed and speak on behalf of the Mayor to TV cameras?

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

You are in an interesting position in British politics. I think you are almost uniquely a heartbeat away from redundancy, in your position. It's a nice sound bite.

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

Do you envisage following up an earlier line of questioning that you might resign from your position in order to enable you to campaign for the Mayor's re-election?

• Question by: Toby Harris
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

Thank you, Simon. As I understand it, your role falls into three parts. Within the Mayor's office you act as essentially the Mayor's procurer of information and advice, making sure that it's timely and so on. Is that just within the Mayor's office, or is that more generally? Is that throughout the structure of the Authority?