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• Question by: Tom Copley
• Meeting date: 07 December 2016

Tom Copley AM: Good morning, Deputy Mayor. There are many things to welcome in the affordable housing prospectus and in the housing SPG particularly if, like me, you are keen to see a return to submarket rents and particularly to social rents. I wanted to ask you first about this London affordable rent, which looks very much like a social rented product and the rent is benchmarked at the social rent. How many homes for the London affordable rent do you expect to have been built by 2021?

• Question by: Unmesh Desai
• Meeting date: 07 December 2016

Unmesh Desai AM: Good morning, Deputy Mayor. I have a couple of questions to ask you about rogue landlords and landlord licensing. Would further powers from the DCLG assist the GLA and local authorities in tackling rogue landlords? Very specifically and bearing in mind the answer that the Minister gave to Assembly Member Pidgeon - I think you were sitting in the gallery and so you heard his answer - how do you see things from your side vis-à-vis the DCLG and London-wide landlord licensing?

• Question by: Caroline Pidgeon
• Meeting date: 07 December 2016

Caroline Pidgeon MBE AM: I would like to question you about a specific part of the Mayor’s manifesto that stated that the Mayor would “make sure Londoners get a fair deal from developers”. Profits of large building firms have exploded by more than 500% in the last six years and many local authorities simply have not been able to negotiate enough affordable housing with developers over recent years. One of the issues is the expertise and this whole industry around viability assessments when experts work for the boroughs one day and then for developers the next. Can you explain how...

• Question by: Leonie Cooper
• Meeting date: 07 December 2016

Leonie Cooper AM: Can I just say, Deputy Mayor, that it is very welcome to have you here today and preceded by the Minister? It has been a good morning talking about housing, which is such a crucial issue for our city. At the sharp end of housing is homelessness, which is the area I wanted to ask you about. Assembly Member Copley and I will be moving a motion later on this morning on homelessness because it has been very much on the increase, particularly in London. I just wondered if you had managed to have any discussions with...

• Question by: Siân Berry
• Meeting date: 07 December 2016

Sian Berry AM: I would like to ask for some quick clarification on some of the details of the London Living Rent homes within your funding programme, if that is OK. This product is not quite what renters were expecting. It is very similar to the Government’s existing Rent to Buy Scheme, which is not suitable for everyone. I wanted to ask. The Government’s Rent to Buy Scheme requires a good credit rating. Can you reassure Londoners worried that their credit history might hinder their ability to apply for London Living Rent homes that they will not need to have...

• Question by: Keith Prince
• Meeting date: 07 December 2016

Keith Prince AM: Good morning, Mr Deputy Mayor. Just before I start, you mentioned earlier a 30,000 affordable homes figure and I wondered. When do you think that will be achievable by?

• Question by: Andrew Dismore
• Meeting date: 07 December 2016

Andrew Dismore AM: I wanted to come to the issue of land banking. The previous Mayor stated: “To constrict supply to push up prices by land banking is plainly against the economic interests of this city.” Sadiq [Khan, Mayor of London] said in the manifesto: “Exercise use-it-or-lose-it powers to make sure developers who have planning permission build homes and do not land bank.” There seems to be a degree of consensus about the issue. How do you think the DCLG could support the GLA in tackling land banking? For example, one option would be to allow planning authorities to, if...

• Question by: Joanne McCartney
• Meeting date: 07 December 2016

Joanne McCartney AM: . I want to ask you about supported housing. Last month I was delighted to open Protheroe House in Tottenham. This was a development for older Londoners with extra care needs. It offers affordable rents, greatly below, alternative residential care accommodation and part of the units are supported by the NHS. In effect, it unblocks beds from hospitals. I was quite shocked to see under the former Mayor the Mayor’s Care and Support Specialised Housing Fund had an underspend of 66%. I am wondering what you have done to review this and what are your plans for...

• Question by: David Kurten
• Meeting date: 07 December 2016

David Kurten AM: I do want to ask you about something, maybe a different area, which is about the balance between getting the new housing that London needs and also protecting our culture and our heritage. There are a couple of reports that I have seen over the last couple of months and constituents have written to me of some disturbing issues in London with the drive to build extra houses and one of them concerns the view of St Paul’s Cathedral. Off the top of my head there are 37 protected views of St Paul’s Cathedral and reports recently...

• Question by: Tom Copley
• Meeting date: 07 December 2016

Tom Copley AM: It follows on quite nicely from the point about co-ops. I want to talk about smaller developments and smaller pieces of land. We did hear a bit about this earlier from the Housing Minister, who suggested this was not a silver bullet, but a lot is being talked about trying to get SME builders going and there was a recent announcement from the Government of a homebuilding fund that would provide loans to small and medium builders. Can you tell me: is that fund all going to be administered nationally or will it be devolved for administration...