City Charter Organisation
Written evidence submitted by the Mayor of London
(L&CG 16)
Introduction
The Mayor of London welcomes the opportunity to
respond to the Committee's inquiry on the prospects for codifying
the relationship between central and local government.
The Greater London Authority (GLA) is unique in
the British local government system - it is a strategic regional
authority consisting of a directly-elected executive Mayor of
London, Boris Johnson, and an elected 25-member London Assembly
with scrutiny powers.
The Mayor is responsible for the strategic direction
of London, mainly through key strategies for transport, planning,
economic development and the environment. However, London's boroughs
deliver the majority of the day-to-day services that keep the
capital running smoothly, such as waste collection, licencing,
arts and leisure services, children's services and schools. The
Mayor works closely with all of London's boroughs to deliver the
priorities set out in his statutory strategies.
One of the Mayor's key election pledges in 2008
was to build closer working relationships with London's boroughs.
Two years on this has been achieved through the introduction of
a London City Charter, agreed by the Mayor and London Councils,
which expresses their commitment to work together as effectively
as possible within the current system. Both the Mayor and London
Councils have also argued that further devolution and strengthened
self-government is necessary. The Mayor therefore welcomes the
government's proposals to devolve more power away from Whitehall
to the Mayor and the London boroughs.
This submission consists of two parts. Firstly,
it sets out the structure and objectives of developing and delivering
the City Charter and secondly provides details of the Mayor's
devolution proposals.
City Charter
- Soon after the 2008 Mayoral election, the Mayor
signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Chair of London
Councils agreeing to start a process of discussion leading to
the drafting of a London City Charter and the creation of a Congress
of London's elected leaders. In 2009 the Mayor and London's 33
borough leaders agreed the first ever City Charter at the first
Congress of Leaders. The Charter represented a new era in the
working relationship between London's boroughs and City Hall and
all London boroughs support the principles underpinning the Charter.
- The Charter is a voluntary agreement between
London Councils and the Mayor focusing on mutual cooperation.
It does not have the power to dictate to individual boroughs,
London Councils or the Mayor what they should do on certain issues.
It is a 'live' working document that will develop as the unique
system of London governance evolves. It is not a legal or quasi-statutory
document, nor is it about adding an additional layer of bureaucracy.
It is also not intended to be comprehensive or cover all the various
ways in which the Mayor and the boroughs intereact. Rather, the
intention is to identify a number of key issues for Londoners
where urgent action is needed by the Mayor and boroughs and where
collaboration will accelerate progress.
-
- The Charter formalises the working relationships
across London government by establishing a forum, the Congress
of Leaders, where the Mayor and London's borough leaders can meet
twice a year to discuss key issues affecting Londoners and develop
ways of working together to overcome these issues.
- Between meetings of Congress, a politically-led
Steering Group and an officer-led Charter Board support and progress
agreed areas of work. The Charter Board brings together the most
senior public officials responsible for service delivery in London
and is co-chaired by the Chief Executives of the GLA and London
Councils.
- All elements of the Charter are delivered using
existing resources. This project is intended to make more efficient
use of resources that already exist within the GLA and London
boroughs, not to duplicate or add unnecessary costs.
PROGRESS TO DATE
- In 2009, the City Charter identified the key
areas for joint action as:
- delivering the best possible transport outcomes
for London;
- supporting economic recovery in London including
tackling worklessness;
- reducing serious youth violence in London;
- responding to climate change in London;
- improving police accountability and more effective
commissioning;
- improving health outcomes in London;
- jointly campaigning for resources for London.
- Moving forward two years, this work has evolved
and the papers progressed by Charter Board and agreed at the most
recent meeting of Congress on 9 November included:
- the impact of and response to the Spending Review
of London government;
- progress on devolution proposals;
- work to explore ways to promote infrastructure
investment;
- the development of a Carbon Reduction Group to
drive forward carbon reduction activity across London;
- joint work leading up to and following the 2011Census;
- a road concordat for London;
- improving partnership information sharing to
reduce harm and crime.
- A key achievement of the most recent Congress
was agreement to work together to lobby central government on
the need to charge utilities companies for digging up the capital's
busiest roads. Congress also agreed to adopt a Roadwork Concordat
for London, and to work together on the capital's response to
CSR.
Devolution of Powers
In July the Mayor published his proposals for
devolution, which propose a new chapter in the devolution of Whitehall
functions to London. They form part of a truly localist approach
to public service delivery in which real and meaningful discretion
is exercised democratically at the appropriate tier of government.
The Mayoral model of government, with a strong
Mayor and scrutinising Assembly, has been a success for London
since it was created in 2000. Through democratic debate and a
clear electoral mandate, it has given the city the leadership
it needs in key policy areas such as transport infrastructure,
policing, affordable housing, opportunities for children and young
people and environmental improvements. While the Mayoralty has
proved itself to be a mature, democratically legitimate institution
and has substantial informal powers, outside of transport and
policing, its formal powers are, however, minimal. The GLA is
highly dependent on national government and the current London
settlement falls well short of the city government arrangements
in place in other world cities, such as New York and Tokyo.
London's devolution settlement remains weak and
there is much room for improvement, particularly in ensuring that
we see decisions taken by the local communities they will affect.
Following the election of the government pledging further devolution,
the Mayor, London Assembly and London Councils wrote jointly to
the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Rt
Hon Eric Pickles MP, on 23 July 2010 setting out our proposals
for further devolution in London. The proposals would further
strengthen the roles of the Mayor and Assembly, resulting in clearer
lines of accountability for public services and investment in
London, as well as significant efficiencies in service delivery.
The key features of devolution in London, as elsewhere,
should be that people can clearly identify who is responsible
for what, and that the allocation of responsibilities between
national, regional and local government should make sense to people;
responsibility and accountability should reside at the level appropriate
to the function in question. There must also be effective arrangements
in place to provide transparency and accountability to the public,
recognising that these are integral elements of effective public
services. That is why the package of proposals includes new responsibilities
for the Mayor and local authorities, and strengthened powers for
the London Assembly to hold the Mayor to account.
The Mayor therefore welcomes the government's
proposals to devolve power in London, which were published on
1 December. With these new powers the Mayor will have the opportunity,
along with other important changes, to streamline housing strategy,
support the development of the capital's economy and deliver regeneration
programmes across the city. Furthermore, it simplifies delivery
of the vital regeneration activities in the east of London and
out into the Thames Gateway, bolstering our ability to deliver
a long-term vision for the Olympic Park and the Lower Lea Valley
and secure a lasting legacy from the London Games in 2012.
Conclusion
- In voluntarily signing up to the City Charter,
the Mayor and London's borough leaders have demonstrated their
commitment to ensuring all levels of London government work together
to make London a better place for those that live and work in
the capital.
- Further devolution is now, however, both possible
and necessary in London. It is time to recognise the maturity,
efficiency and accountability of London's unique system of self-government.
7 December 2010
|
