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Mr. Burstow: From a sedentary position, the hon. Gentleman says, "Fat chance."
Clause after clause gives the Secretary of State powers to offer guidance or to intervene. I understand that the technical term for some of them is "Henry VIII clause". Perhaps we should adopt a more modern description of what the clauses are all about and call them the "Ken Livingstone clauses", just in case the persuasive speech of the hon. Member for Brent, East (Mr. Livingstone) leads to his name appearing on the Labour party selection procedure ballot paper and he finds himself on the right side of the desk in the mayor's office.
The GLA will be highly dependent on the grace and favour of central Government for funding. It will also be very much directed by central Government in respect of its policy outputs and strategies.
There is also the relationship between the mayor and the assembly. Alongside the mayor, the assembly is a weak and feeble institution. Liberal Democrats believe that we must rebalance the powers between mayor and assembly to give the assembly more teeth, more authority and greater ability to hold the mayor to account in his work and duties. Even with his or her powers heavily circumscribed by the Secretary of State, the mayor will hold massive powers of patronage through appointments and be subject to only the lightest of checks and balances by the assembly. The assembly has no role in scrutinising appointments, and it will have a largely negative and delaying role in matters of strategy and finance.
Not only does the Bill provide the mayor with a mandate independent of the assembly's mandate: it goes on to deal all the aces to the mayor in his or her relationship with the assembly. In stacking the deck in the mayor's favour, the Bill gives the mayor the trump card in dealing with the London boroughs, as clause after clause takes power away from the London boroughs. In planning and in transport, the balance of power is tilted away from the interests of the individual borough and town hall towards the mayor's office.
The results of concentrating power in the hands of the mayor and failing to institute adequate checks and balances are serious conflicts of interest. The mayor will appoint the board of the London development agency and he or she will also approve its strategy. The mayor also approves the spatial development strategy and has the power to compel London boroughs to bring their local powers into conformity with it. The mayor can even require a London borough to refuse planning permission. Given the retention of the applicant's right of appeal to the Secretary of State, if the mayor directs an authority to refuse planning permission, who picks up the costs if the inspector awards costs against the authority--the mayor or the individual authority? I should be grateful if the Minister could answer that when she winds up the debate.
How will conflicts between the spatial development plan and the LDA's strategy be resolved? Outside London, the regional development agencies are not to be given planning powers, but the LDA will be perceived as having the power to exercise planning powers through the mayor. Those conflicts of interests run far wider than the administrative boundary of Greater London as, in matters of land use, transport and waste management planning, London's footprint--its impact--extends much further. It is important that organisations such as Serplan--the south-east regional planning conference--are in the loop when the mayor develops and consults on his or her strategies.
What are the Government letting go of? The Government Office for London looks set to stay, to fight another day; and the democratic deficit in the health service will remain. Given the Government's stated aim of promoting more joined-up government, they have missed an opportunity to link health and sustainability issues more closely. The Bill does not make it clear that principles of sustainability should underpin all the strategies and policies of the GLA.
So far, I have spoken about the relationship between the different tiers of government. The success of the experiment depends on getting that relationship right, but the experiment will fail if the GLA, in all its many guises, does not engage with London's wider civic society. That is why the proposal of the London Voluntary Service Council that there should be a civic forum for London is so welcome. I strongly agree with the comments made by several hon. Members, in particular the hon. Member for Regent's Park and Kensington, North (Ms Buck). Such a forum could build on many existing partnerships and tap a wealth of expertise for the benefit of Londoners. To be an effective partner to the mayor and the assembly, the forum would need to take its authority from statute. It should be provided for in the Bill and be seen to be more than just another consultation mechanism, alongside all the others that the mayor might or might not deem appropriate for the carrying out of his functions--
Mr. Burstow:
Indeed--or her functions. If London government is to be inclusive, consensual and influential, it needs that civic forum. Other hon. Members have said as much.
Mr. Clive Efford (Eltham):
I join in this debate with a somewhat nasal voice, in deference to my hon. Friend the Member for Brent, East (Mr. Livingstone). I shall also contribute a considerable amount of knowledge that no other hon. Member can bring to the debate. Having said that, I hope that I shall not disappoint my colleagues too much by announcing that I am not a candidate for mayor of London.
It will not surprise anyone to hear that I welcome the Bill--all 277 clauses. The large number shows the importance of addressing the democratic deficit in London. For more than a decade, London has operated at a distinct disadvantage as a result of a lack of co-ordination in many areas of local government, including planning, economic development, transport and the environment.
London's strategic approach to holding major events has also suffered. For instance, it has been some time since London last put together a bid to hold the
Olympics--although some have voiced the opinion that it should do so. The millennium experience exhibition will be staged close to my constituency, and some hon. Members may be surprised to learn that there has been a lack of co-ordination across London regarding that event.
The millennium experience is a major event of national importance that will bring benefits not only to London but to the whole country. Despite the best efforts of many of my former colleagues and hon. Members who now occupy these Benches to introduce some sort of strategic approach across London, there is no chamber co-ordinating that event. The lack of a strategic authority has meant that arguments in favour of exhibitions such as the millennium experience or bids to stage major events such as the Olympics have fallen by the wayside.
Mr. Randall:
Will the hon. Gentleman join me in regretting the past actions of the present Minister for Sport, his hon. Friend the Member for West Ham(Mr. Banks)--who I believe is mooted as a possible Labour candidate for London mayor? Shortly before Labour's victory in the general election, he tabled an early-day motion suggesting that South Africa, rather than Great Britain, should be the venue for the next World cup.
Mr. Efford:
I referred to a London bid to stage the Olympics, not the World cup. I would certainly support the staging of a future world cup in South Africa, andI am sure that that would not detract from the Government's World cup bid and the likelihood that a future world cup will be held in this country, with the final in London.
I wish to address the strategic role of London, which is not easy to deal with in a Bill. I hope that the assembly's members and its mayor will give priority to the function that London performs as a gateway to the rest of the United Kingdom. London is the shop window through which businesses or people thinking of holidaying in the United Kingdom view this country and its regions.
It is an inescapable fact that people look to London when they think of Britain. I do not detract in any way from Manchester's efforts to stage the Olympics, but it is highly unlikely that the International Olympic Committee or any other body that runs international sporting events will agree to stage those events or major sporting finals anywhere but in this country's capital. That is an inescapable role for London, to which the mayor and assembly will need to give priority.
I have already mentioned the scepticism that surrounds the issue of the millennium. I have spoken to many people and hon. Members from the regions who think that too much money is being spent on the millennium, and that it will bring no benefits to them. As a former London taxi driver, I know that many people come to London to visit many of its major attractions, stay longer than is necessary to do so, and spend a considerable part of their holiday travelling to the regions.
I say to those who have criticised the millennium experience as a waste of money that they should regard the event as an opportunity to attract its visitors to the regions. Not enough has been done to achieve that. A strategic authority for London will have the responsibility and the wherewithal to co-ordinate efforts to attract London's visitors to the regions. That issue highlights London's strategic role in the country, which we do not sufficiently appreciate.
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