Chair, London Assembly (M31)
I write on behalf of the London Assembly to
submit our views on accountability arrangements in London. These
are set out in the attached letter from the Mayor and the London
Assembly to Harriet Harman in her capacity as Leader of the House
of Commons. The Assembly would also broadly agree with the submission
to the Committee from the Mayor of London, however the Assembly
does not comment one way or other on the question of whether there
should be a select committee or grand committee model. In either
case, as is set out in the attached letter, our key concern is
that there should be no duplication of accountability roles between
the London Assembly and Parliament.
Sally Hamwee
Attached letter
Mayor's Office and London Assembly
We understand that the Government plans to set
up the proposed new parliamentary committees for the English regions
in the autumn. While we welcome any measures that will increase
the profile and attention given to London issues in Parliament,
it is also essential that any London Committee properly reflects
London's unique governance arrangements—specifically, the
fact that neither the Mayor nor the London Assembly is directly
answerable to Parliament and the Government, but instead to the
London electorate.
We recommend that if a London Committee is to
be established it should, like the Welsh and Scottish Affairs
Select Committees, examine non-devolved issues only and relations
with the Greater London Authority. What must be avoided however
is the creation of dual scrutiny arrangements for London. The
Mayor should not have to submit his policies and strategies for
scrutiny to a parliamentary committee, when the London Assembly
exists precisely to perform this role. Nor would it be appropriate
for a London Committee to examine the work of regional bodies
such as the London Development Agency and Transport for London,
which are answerable to the Mayor and subject to scrutiny from
the Assembly.
The "Governance of Britain" Green
Paper indicates that there should be specific provisions governing
how the new committees should operate. These provisions must make
clear a different status and terms of reference for a London Committee
in line with the precedent set by Standing Order 152 which sets
out the remit of the Scottish Affairs and Welsh Affairs Select
Committees. We would be grateful to have an early opportunity
to see a draft of any proposed amendments to the Standing Orders
to ensure both consistency with the Greater London Authority Act
1999 and workability.
Ken Livingstone
Mayor of London
Sally Hamwee AM
Chair of the London Assembly
November 2007
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