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• Question by: Murad Qureshi
• Meeting date: 19 July 2006

I was just wondering what the impact of the minimum wage has been in London in reducing relative poverty. Clearly, it affects those in employment, rather than those outside it, but I would like some idea of what the experts feel has been the impact.

• Question by: Murad Qureshi
• Meeting date: 19 July 2006

I understand that there should be a London rate, and I think there has been work done on that, on the living wage. Coming back to Kate (Green)'s point that tax credits are more significant, one of the experiences I have come across is that the bureaucracy of targeted financial programmes can be such that it actually puts off a lot of people from sitting down and putting in the applications that they are perfectly entitled to make. I don't know if you have got any thoughts on that, and how that can be cleared up so that it's a...

• Question by: Tony Arbour
• Meeting date: 19 July 2006

Bishop, I wonder if you think that the function of the church ought to be more proactive? Things you have just been talking about; advice groups and playgroups and all of that kind of thing, is that that people all come to you, ought you not to be going to the people?

• Question by: Tony Arbour
• Meeting date: 19 July 2006

Is being more effective you going out and knocking on people's doors, saying: `You are poor. You need help from us. You need our charity'?

• Question by: Tony Arbour
• Meeting date: 19 July 2006

Isn't that precisely the point that I have been making: that you are sitting there waiting for the poor to come to you, rather than' Brian Coleman (Chairman): I do not quite think that that is what the Bishop said at all, Mr Arbour, to intervene on his behalf. The Bishop can explain himself.