Search questions

• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 10 November 2007

Lastly, can I just thank Sebastian [Coe] for his visit to my constituency and they were well received as he knows, but what he has left behind is big questions about when our young people going to be able to wear the 2012 badge like yourself and other city members! It seems a little bit odd, doesn't it? We talk about legacy in bricks and mortars and yet there is just the privileged few who are wandering around in their badges! I mean how is this? I have to say I gave my badge away when I got it at...

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

My final question is about the quality of advice that the Mayor gets. I know this has been probed a little bit earlier, but I think we all know that, yourself excluded, the Mayor's advisors include a range of people who have political baggage behind them. How do you ensure that the Mayor gets good advice, notwithstanding thatadvisors may carry with them prejudices that help to inform their advice?

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

I think, to all intents and purposes, your average Londoner would assume that you are, with great respect to my colleague the Deputy Mayor, effectively a deputy mayor of London. Do you imagine there could be circumstances where a different Simon Fletcher or a different mayor might employ someone in your position who would have a more public persona and would, for example, be interviewed and speak on behalf of the Mayor to TV cameras?

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

You are in an interesting position in British politics. I think you are almost uniquely a heartbeat away from redundancy, in your position. It's a nice sound bite.

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

Do you envisage following up an earlier line of questioning that you might resign from your position in order to enable you to campaign for the Mayor's re-election?

• Question by: Toby Harris
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

Thank you, Simon. As I understand it, your role falls into three parts. Within the Mayor's office you act as essentially the Mayor's procurer of information and advice, making sure that it's timely and so on. Is that just within the Mayor's office, or is that more generally? Is that throughout the structure of the Authority?

• Question by: Toby Harris
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

Right, so that's that aspect of your work. Is the process then that 24 hours before a meeting you would then see the sum total of the advice and decide whether the Mayor's advisor has done the job properly and there is sufficient advice for the Mayor?

• Question by: Toby Harris
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

So that's a process you engage in, deciding whether the advice is sufficient?

• Question by: Toby Harris
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

And how often is the Mayor flying without lights, in the sense of taking part in meetings without the benefit of filtered advice?

• Question by: Toby Harris
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

Okay, can I move on to the second area of your work, which is the sort of surrogate brain for the Mayor? As I understand it, you interpret what are likely to be his views and enforce decisions or make decisions on his behalf. Does that mean that you sign decision forms, or you pass him decision forms saying this is one you've signed, or both?