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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?

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

Will your Food Strategy apply to all of the Olympic venues? I mean not just those within the Park but Weybridge, Broxbourne, Dorney Wood, Manchester United's football ground. Will it apply to all of them, even those commercial premises which you are hiring in for the period of the Games?

• Question by: Navin Shah
• Meeting date: 21 October 2009

Again, I am very happy to see you around. The question is on your policy and strategy about promoting fair trade products and that is right across the board, not only food and drink, but other products, sporting or otherwise?

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

Sorry to interrupt. I appreciate this. What I am trying to get at here is this is a legacy not only for London but the UK Olympic Games. It seems rather crude that we are having to rely upon external sponsorship that may have its own kickbacks where we do not have direct funding from our Government on an education programme that I think is crucial to leave any purposeful legislation --

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

One of the parts of this question is about reputational risk and, Seb, in your speech when you secured the Games - I think one of the high points - was you talking about the legacy for young people in sport. One former Olympian said to me a few days ago that he was rather worried he did not see enough progress going on in this regard in setting things up for young people to secure the legacy. He said there was far too much talking and far too many scoping studies going on but not any real activity. What...

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

I was very pleased to hear you mention that one of LOCOG's legacies will be in 2020 to look back and see what the legacy was. How are you measuring the legacy in terms of the increase in participatory sport?

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 21 October 2009

I would agree with you. I did anticipate that the previous question would take up time. Indeed our Members were choreographed to take up time on it, which would have meant I would have been here, Chair, so I will have to expel them later! I am very grateful for the reply and I think I did catch its basic contents. I think we all welcome your commitment to legacy although, of course, you will be long gone in this capacity by the time we really discover whether there was a legacy. Do you think there is a tension between...