Search questions

• Question by: Stephen Knight
• Meeting date: 24 October 2012

Stephen Knight (AM): To pick you up on the point you have just made around the high property values in London, compared, I believe with most other developed countries, we have very few property and wealth taxes in this country; we predominantly focus on income and sales taxes. I just wondered to what extent you think the high cost of housing in London is partly driven by the fact that it is a tax free growth area for people, by which I mean it is a tax free investment and therefore that has partly driven the speculation that has driven...

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 24 October 2012

Goodness me. I think this is a very worthwhile debate although it may seem a bit arid to some observers and we need to make sure we do not get too academic about it. Would you agree with me that around the world probably the single greatest source of income for city governments tends to be, in one shape or form, from properties? You have said a couple of times now that property taxes are so visible and so potent that virtually all political parties play 'chicken' with each other. Well, the opposite of 'chicken'; they are scared to look...

• Question by: Nicky Gavron
• Meeting date: 24 October 2012

Nicky Gavron (AM): While we are on land and talking about the planning system, currently the Assembly's Planning Committee is looking at the community infrastructure levy (CIL). That is, to a certain extent, a fixed charge, although there are lots of complications because it is set different in different boroughs and there is not necessarily a duty to cooperate and so on. On top of that is the Mayor's own CIL. I was wondering, this CIL is for Crossrail, but is the Commission going to look beyond that to the way CIL might be used by the Mayor in the...

• Question by: Nicky Gavron
• Meeting date: 24 October 2012

In the same spirit, how far are you going to frame for the Mayor any of the mechanisms he might be thinking about for the comprehensive spending review for London?

• Reference: 2012/0023-2
• Question by: Joanne McCartney
• Meeting date: 31 May 2012

The Commissioner has said that he wants a new approach to stop and search. He told the Metropolitan Police Authority last year that he hoped to have a new policy in place for the New Year, and he told us last time he was here that that is still his view, but that there would be some consultation with communities and with ourselves and the stakeholders about that new approach. We have not heard of any consultation at the moment on what the new approach is, so could you just let us know firstly what the timescales are, what steps...

• Reference: 2012/0011-2
• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 08 March 2012

Yes, I do have some questions about the flawed police investigation that followed the fatal stabbing of Stephen Lawrence 19 years ago. I am sure I am not the only one but I just would like to say that so many people who have, if you like, been associated by just their feelings of sympathy and empathy with the family over the years would have been in a state of shock on reading that article. I would just like the Deputy Commissioner to say, if possible, what has been the response from the service to this article and this article...

• Reference: 2012/0012-2
• Question by: Jenny Jones
• Meeting date: 08 March 2012

Jenny Jones (AM): It is really difficult to know where to start. This has been going on for eight and a half years now and that is a long time in human terms, in Metropolitan Police Service terms of course it is just a click of the fingers. I think I first wrote to the Chief Executive, I cannot remember, it might have been 2004, about this when Mr Ahmad actually approached me, and it just seems to be so turgid, the whole process, that the Metropolitan Police Service is constantly to be forced to do anything about this. You...

• Reference: 2012/0014-2
• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 08 March 2012

Jennette Arnold OBE (AM): I have a few questions. I wonder, Kit, if I can ask you in your role as Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime what assessment you plan to make of the MPS' strategy and policy to address hate crime? I say that given this, I think, quite large increase of 7.6% around disability crime offences that we can see on the performance figures that you have given to us. Also, I just wanted to focus as well on hate crime and crimes against older people, because the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) February 2012 report shows an...