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• Reference: 2013/0006-1
• Question by: Fiona Twycross
• Meeting date: 13 March 2013

London is about to experience the largest change to the welfare system since the 1940's, due to take effect on 1 April. These changes include the overall benefit cap, uprating Local Housing Allowance by CPI, bedroom tax (under-occupancy penalties), localisation of the discretionary social fund, localisation of council tax benefit, and replacement of Disability Allowance with the Personal Independence Payment. Can you provide a very general picture of the impact these changes will have on the people of London?

• Reference: 2013/0008-1
• Question by: Len Duvall OBE
• Meeting date: 13 March 2013

The 'bedroom tax' will result in an immediate cut in Housing Benefit of 14% for those deemed to have one extra bedroom and 25% for two or more extra bedrooms. However, the extent to which such penalties will make a difference is questionable, as there is a significant mismatch between under-occupying and over-occupying households - with 80,000 households in London under-occupancy, against 260,000 over-crowded households. Will the bedroom tax help address overcrowding in London in any substantive way, and what impact do you believe it will have on established communities and social cohesion in the capital?

• Question by: Nicky Gavron
• Meeting date: 13 March 2013

I want to follow up from Stephen Knight's questioning on the CPI. Perhaps I could ask Kate, because she did not get a chance to answer. Have I got it right that the CPI is going to mean that rents are now going to be tagged to the CPI, rather than to rent inflation? Further, as the CPI has always risen at a much lower rate than rents, the 30th percentile which the LHA is tagged to will drop to perhaps 20th or 10th percentile available? Have I got this right?

• Question by: Joanne McCartney
• Meeting date: 13 March 2013

I want to start with Mayor Pipe and then move to the other two guests if I can. My questions were about the four pilots because two of them, Enfield and Haringey, I represent so we have great concerns about it. I was quite shocked to hear that you view this as just a test of DWP's own systems as opposed to a true pilot. My question is around the pilot which I believe is to last approximately six months and lessons are supposed to be learned before it is rolled out. In the meantime is it your belief that...

• Question by: Onkar Sahota
• Meeting date: 13 March 2013

This is about 'bedroom tax'. I do welcome the retreat made by the Secretary of State [Iain Duncan Smith MP, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions] yesterday on three issues. However, I am still concerned - and I am talking as a practising doctor - that I, and my colleagues who see patients, who come to us for letters of exemption where there are adults who have problems or even children who have problems which are not covered by the Disability Act. How responsive are the local authorities on making these exemptions to patients who have genuine grounds supported...

• Question by: Murad Qureshi
• Meeting date: 13 March 2013

Can I direct my question to Jules Pipe. It is not often we have had a Labour Mayor in front of us in these sessions! Jules, I wanted to ask you about fuel poverty and the welfare of reforms. I know London Councils have got concerns on that front. Could you please expand on the work London Councils have done on that front as it has an impact on people's abilities to pay the bills as well?

• Question by: Murad Qureshi
• Meeting date: 17 January 2007

I just wanted to go into the whole area of possible exposure to hedge funds, and what that may mean for our pension holders. Both directly and indirectly, our exposure to the derivative market is of concern to a lot of people, given how much coverage it gets in the business pages.

• Question by: Murad Qureshi
• Meeting date: 17 January 2007

Which mirrors much of the behaviour of the hedge funds we have got in London, because I mean London has become a centre of all that. I am just concerned whether, to the extent of our exposure, both directly and indirectly, and to what extent that limits our ability to be ethical as well.

• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 17 January 2007

Can I then ask what is the current investment in, specifically, tobacco? I ask this because I raised this question in September 2005 with the Mayor, and his answer then was that he was of the opinion that LPFA was looking towards developing an ethical investment policy that would take account of this type of issue. Can I just add, you talked about employment and you said it was fine, if you like, to be investing in BAE (British Aerospace) because it gave us great employment. Is it fine to stay investing in tobacco companies that kill hundreds of thousands...

• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 17 January 2007

Can I just say that for me the meeting started well but from that last response I am really quite disappointed. Can we go back to the answers to Mike's [Tuffrey] question? If we are talking about openness, then why do we not see something like that in this document? Where would you see this approach that you have outlined in this document? Basically, from what you have said, you have a very narrow definition of a pension fund that seeks to be socially responsible. Let me just say to you, you used the phrase, `It would be lunatic to...