The Mayor of London's new powers

Ruth Kelly, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, has announced a number of new powers for the Mayor of London and the Greater London Authority (GLA). These are designed to devolve power to the regional level and therefore strengthen regional governance in London. It was also indicated that further options for devolution across England will be unveiled as part of the Local Government White Paper due to be published later this year.

The new powers cover a number of areas including housing, learning and skills, planning, waste, culture, media and sport, health, climate change and energy and appointments to the boards of the functional bodies. These are described below. The London Assembly has also received some limited additional powers, it can now set its own budget, publish an annual report and hold hearings with candidates for key mayoral appointments. It's scrutiny powers have been expanded to cover the new statutory strategies identified below.

Learning and Skills
- The Mayor will have a statutory duty to promote skills in London
- The Mayor will chair a new London Skills and Employment Board with a membership drawn largely from business
- The Mayor and the new Skills and Employment Board will prepare a new Skills Strategy for London setting priorities and budgets. However, national targets for skills and qualifications will continue to apply
- The Mayor and board will also prepare an annual plan for the delivery of the strategy
- The current Learning and Skills Council structure in London will be simplified to create a single LSC for London nestled within the national LSC structure
- The London LSC will be required to spend its adult skills budget according to the priorities set out in the strategy

Planning
- The Mayor will be able to direct changes to borough's Local Development Schemes
- The Mayor's views on draft development plan documents' general conformity with The London Plan will form the starting point for the public examination
- The Mayor will have the discretion to determine planning applications of strategic importance
- The Mayor will be the lead party for s106 matters on those applications he decides as planning authority
- The Mayor will have statutory consultee status on applications made to local planning authorities outside London that could have an impact on strategic planning matters in the capital
Housing
- The Mayor will be required to produce a Statutory Housing Strategy for London and a strategic housing investment plan
- The responsibilities of the London Housing Board will transfer to the Mayor this includes deciding in broad terms how public money for new affordable housing will be spent

Waste
- The Mayor will have discretion to decide those planning applications for waste facilities that are strategically important
- The existing waste authorities will be required to act in general conformity with the Mayor's Municipal Waste Management Strategy
- The Mayor will lead a London Waste and Recycling Forum in conjunction with stakeholders to improve performance on waste
- The forum will manage a new London Waste and Recycling Fund

Culture, Media and Sport
- A range of new duty to consult requirements in relation to the Mayor's Cultural Strategy
- A requirement for national and regional strategic cultural non-departmental public bodies to consult the GLA on their national strategies which impact London
- The Mayor will be granted appointment powers for: the Chair and four board members of the Arts Council England London and the London Regional Sports Board; and the Chair and one board member of Museum Libraries and Archives London

Health
- There will be a new Mayoral duty to promote a reduction in health inequalities
- The Mayor will be required to produce a Statutory health inequalities strategy
- A new formalised role will be created for the Mayor's Health Adviser

Climate Change and Energy
- There will be a statutory duty on the GLA to tackle climate change, to be exercised by the Mayor
- The GLA will also be required to take account of climate change in its day-to-day activities
- The Mayor will be tasked with producing a statutory Climate Change and Energy Strategy and a Climate Change Adaptation Strategy

Functional bodies
- The Mayor has been given the right to appoint to the Transport for London Board, the Metropolitan Police Authority and the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority
- The transfer of minor transport regimes to the Mayor and the Secretary of State's consent for land disposal should be by letter rather than by order
- Section 17 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 will be extended to the GLA and its functional bodies. Section 17 places named bodies under a duty to do all they reasonably can to prevent crime and disorder

Many of these changes will require primary legislation to enact. The government plans to introduce a GLA Bill as soon as parliamentary time allows. Other changes may be made more swiftly where secondary legislation or agreements can be used.

To read the full The London Office report on the Mayor's new powers click the link below: