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• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 18 June 2014

John Biggs AM: I should start by saying that although the Assembly is unanimous in taking the view that Heathrow presents all sorts of problems, we are not necessarily unanimous on the conclusions that flow from that. I am very interested in this issue of noise. There is a health warning here, which is that scientists can measure it but the individual experience of it seems to vary from person to person and from time of day to time of day as well, so we need to be very clear about that and how people find it offensive. In your...

• Question by: Kit Malthouse
• Meeting date: 18 June 2014

Kit Malthouse AM: I just wanted to ask about this suggestion of shifting the number of night flights and opening this window from 5.40am to 6.00am. Presumably you are anticipating that the first touchdown would be at 5.40am, which means that the approach would be in the 15 to 20 minutes before that. Of course, that is when much of the noise pollution is occurring. For instance, I live in Islington and we get planes over us at the moment at about 5.40am or 5.45am because they are wheels-down at 6.00am. Have you taken into account that actually what you...

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 18 June 2014

John Biggs AM: I am reminded in the context of Kit Malthouse’s last question that people often wonder why people live on the foothills of active volcanoes and it is because the soil is fantastically fertile. It does not necessarily answer the question as to why we should have people living next to airports but it is a relevant issue. My question is about the modal split and it follows from the first part of Caroline Pidgeon’s question about HS2. Do you take a position on the sort of modal split Heathrow Airport should have? Clearly one of the terms...

• Reference: 2010/0069-1
• Question by: Caroline Pidgeon
• Meeting date: 21 July 2010

Will any forthcoming legislative changes ensure the maximum possible devolution of powers from Whitehall to London, both to the GLA and to boroughs as well?

• Reference: 2010/0070-1
• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 21 July 2010

The coalition government is keen to promote localism. How will boroughs be allowed to control planning in their areas?

• Reference: 2010/0071-1
• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 21 July 2010

Does the Assembly have adequate powers and resources to fulfil its scrutiny and accountability role?

• 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: Richard Tracey
• Meeting date: 21 July 2010

Minister, you have talked about devolution to the boroughs as a whole. Recently I read the suggestion by a former Parliamentary colleague, Rob Hayward [former Member of Parliament for Kingswood], that perhaps there are too many London boroughs; currently there are 32, and some of them are rather small. He said that he had been an advisor to the Secretary of State when he was in the Shadow Cabinet. Are you aware that your Department might be looking at reducing the number of London boroughs?

• Question by: Andrew Boff
• Meeting date: 21 July 2010

Minister, the Act you referred to, which in 2007 gave the London boroughs and the residents of the Greater London area the right to serve up parish councils, also changed the legislation to the point where establishment of parish councils was removed from the Secretary of State and given to the primary authority. In a London context I am assuming that is the London boroughs. That would mean that the only requirement that a London borough would have if it was being pressured to set up a parish council would be to conduct a community governance review which could prevent...

• Question by: James Cleverly
• Meeting date: 21 July 2010

Minister, one of the challenges that I think is going to be faced by the coalition Government is that the very people that you rely on to help you drive this localism are the very people who are going to be disempowered. I am thinking particularly of your civil service team; it is from their desks that the power is going to be taken. Is there a structural plan? Is there a mechanism in place to make sure that, after this initial set of proposals are put forward, there is a way of providing a constant review and maintain that...