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• Reference: 2010/0072-1
• Question by: Len Duvall OBE
• Meeting date: 21 July 2010

How do you see the relationship between your department and the Mayor's office differing from that under the previous government and what prospect do you see for greater devolution to the Mayor and Assembly?

• Question by: Len Duvall OBE
• Meeting date: 21 July 2010

We are really talking about the Mayor's wants. Are there Government wants? You have outlined the Government vision around devolution and on the NHS strategic functions that are being taken back into Government and obviously Ministers will want to take stock. Is there not a case that some of those strategic aspects carried out by the Strategic Health Authority for London should not come under the Mayor's ambit? Is there any thinking about that going on in Government at this stage, or if not at this stage, at some stage in the future?

• Question by: Nicky Gavron
• Meeting date: 21 July 2010

My first point is that in thinking abut the London Plan in relation to boroughs and in relation to the point made by Roger Evans about consultation, I think if one is not very careful, the time will be taken up with consultation. That is what takes time - consulting. I just want to point out that we had nearly 1,000 responses to this London Plan, which is three times as many as the previous London Plan, which shows that something is working around consultation. The second point is a strategic point. It is really important for us to be...

• Question by: Murad Qureshi
• Meeting date: 21 July 2010

Minister, there is quite a geographical expansion of the Mayor's powers with the Port of London Authority (PLA), going into the Thames Estuary. I just wanted to know whether it was the intention, or is the intention, to get the Mayor involved in planning issues to deal with wind farms, changing shipping channels or even airports. Is that the thrust of this? I just want to know where we are going with this.

• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 21 July 2010

I have got a question about planning and the historic environment. We are just running out of time so I think the best way forward, Bob, is if I could invite you to join me in visiting the historic site of Shakespeare's first theatre. This is not in south London as people would think, but in Shoreditch. Why I would like you to do that is that you will then see the importance about planning at a local level, but also the need for some assurance to be given that a site like that could be preserved. I am just...

• 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...

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

How long will that stock remain with your fund?