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• 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: 2009/0117-1
• Question by: Dee Doocey
• Meeting date: 21 October 2009

Do you believe that your employment targets for local people will provide the legacy that was promised in Singapore?

• Reference: 2009/0115-1
• Question by: Jenny Jones
• Meeting date: 21 October 2009

Is it acceptable that around 300 workers on the Olympic Park construction sites are receiving poverty pay?

• Question by: Richard Tracey
• Meeting date: 21 October 2009

Could I take up one point with you on the whole relative costs of salaries and so on? Mr Higgins, you, I think, serve with seven other directors on the ODA, receiving pretty substantial salaries. Indeed, I believe you, this last year, did forego half of your bonus until 2012. Would it be reasonable for you and your fellow directors to consider foregoing your complete bonus until you have finished the job, and then receive whatever you are entitled to, through the success you have achieved?

• Question by: Richard Barnbrook
• Meeting date: 21 October 2009

): I am happy to hear that we are actually on track with this and so the rumours I have been hearing that we are six to eight months behind have obviously been expelled by yourselves by saying we are actually on track, financially and work-wise. One thing I do have a concern with - and I have to follow other Members here - is the Living Wage or at least working wage of the London weighting. What I would like to have spelt out clearly is you are suggesting, by this time, October 2010, there will be 10,000 workers...

• Question by: Jenny Jones
• Meeting date: 21 October 2009

Thank you very much. I am very glad to hear that you have made progress on that because it is incredibly important. Congratulations on being on time and on budget. That is pretty amazing and I am sure we are all happy about that. One of the next steps that you could do, in fact, with the Living Wage, is to have accreditation from London Citizens and I gather that organisations like the London Development Agency (LDA) already do have that. I wondered if you would take that next step and get accreditation and then, perhaps, you could also work...

• Question by: Andrew Boff
• Meeting date: 21 October 2009

You set the target for 7% of the workforce being previously unemployed. The data that you collected relied on a voluntary question of the staff being employed and only 25% of your workforce actually replied to that question. Are you absolutely convinced that you have hit that target of 7% and that you are claiming 10%? Are you convinced that those are accurate representations of how many people were previously unemployed?