Section 41: General duties of the Mayor with respect to his strategies

100.     Under section 41(4) of the GLA Act 1999 the Mayor is required to have regard to the effect his proposed strategies will have on the health of persons in Greater London and on the achievement of sustainable development in the United Kingdom. Section 41(7) requires that he include such policies and proposals relating to the content of the strategy he considers best meets those aims. Section 41 makes similar provision in respect to climate change. It amends section 41(4) of the 1999 Act to require the Mayor to have regard to climate change and the consequences of climate change when preparing his strategies. The section also amends section 41(7) to require the Mayor to include such policies and proposals in his strategies he considers best calculated to contribute towards the mitigation of, or adaptation to, climate change, in the United Kingdom.

101.     This requirement complements the duty on each of the Mayor and Assembly at section 42 to address climate change, and the requirement on the Mayor to ensure the exercise of the GLA's general power contributes to addressing climate change at section 40.

Section 42: Duty of Mayor and Assembly to address climate change

102.     Action is required both globally and domestically to prevent climate change, primarily by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. In addition to its commitment to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases by 12.5 per cent below base year levels by 2008-12, the Government has set national goals of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 20% below 1990 levels by 2010 and by 60% by 2050, with real progress by 2020. Action is also required to adapt to the actual and expected consequences of climate change. The Government believes that regional and local government have an important role to play in tackling climate change.

103.     Section 42 amends the GLA Act 1999 and places a duty on each of the Mayor and the Assembly to address climate change.

104.     The Mayor is required to take action in Greater London to help prevent climate change and to help Greater London to adapt to both the actual and expected consequences of climate change. The Mayor and Assembly are each required to take into account Government policies on climate change whenever they exercise their functions and to have regard to any guidance and comply with any directions issued by the Secretary of State as to how they are each to discharge their duties with respect to climate change.

Section 43: The London climate change mitigation and energy strategy

105.     Section 43 amends the GLA Act 1999 so as to require the Mayor to prepare a London climate change mitigation and energy strategy, which will contain proposals for the contribution to be made in Greater London towards the mitigation of climate change and the achievement of objectives in national policies relating to energy. The strategy must contain proposals setting out how the Mayor will:

• minimise the emissions of carbon dioxide, and any significant greenhouse substances which the Mayor considers it appropriate to address, from the use of energy in Greater London for the purposes of surface transport and the use of energy more broadly;

• support innovation and encourage investment in energy technologies; and

• promote the efficient production and use of energy in Greater London.

106.     The strategy will also contain information about fuel poverty in Greater London and emission levels in, or attributable to, Greater London. In addition, the strategy must not be inconsistent with national policies on climate change mitigation, or national policies on energy.

107.     The section gives the Secretary of State a limited power to direct the Mayor to change the London climate change mitigation and energy strategy. The Secretary of State will only be able to use this power where the strategy would be inconsistent with national policies on energy or climate change, and the inconsistency would have a detrimental effect on achieving any or all of the objectives of those national policies. The Secretary of State must consult the Mayor before using this power of direction.

108.     The London climate change mitigation and energy strategy will be subject to sections 41 to 44 of the GLA Act 1999, which make general provision for the preparation and publication of the Mayor's strategies. These include provisions on timing, the need to have regard to available resources and the persons to be consulted by the Mayor.

109.     In addition to the statutory consultees listed in section 42 of the GLA Act 1999, the Mayor must also consult the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority and the Gas and Electricity Consumer Council as well as certain holders of gas and electricity licences. If there ceases to be a body known as the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority or the Gas and Electricity Consumer Council, the Mayor must consult with such other appropriate body as the Secretary of State prescribes by order, which would be set out in an Order made under the strategy provision .

Section 44: The Mayor's adaptation to climate change strategy for London

110.     Section 44 requires the Mayor to prepare and publish an adaptation to climate change strategy for London. The strategy must contain the Mayor's assessment of the consequences of climate change for Greater London and his proposals and policies for adaptation to the effects, both actual and expected, of climate change in Greater London. The Mayor must have regard to any guidance produced by the Secretary of State about the content of the strategy and in relation to the preparation and revision of the strategy. Such guidance may include guidance about the evidence to which the Mayor must have regard in preparing or revising the strategy.

111.     The strategy will be subject to the general provisions for the preparation and publication of Mayoral strategies set out in sections 41 to 44 of the GLA Act 1999. The Secretary of State may specify in guidance the persons the Mayor must consult in addition to the statutory consultees listed at section 42 of the 1999 Act. The Secretary of State may direct the Mayor to revise the strategy to remove any inconsistency with Government climate change policies or objectives if he considers the inconsistency would have a detrimental effect on achieving them.

PART 9: CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Museum of London

112.     The Museum of London is a Non-Departmental Public Body, funded jointly by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the City of London Corporation. It is governed by the Museum of London Acts 1965 (the "1965 Act") and 1986 (the "1986 Act"). The Museum is administered by a Board of 18 Governors, nine of whom are appointed by the Prime Minister and nine by the City. Sections 45 to 49 deal with the transfer to the Authority of the Government's responsibilities for funding the Museum and appointing members of the Board.

Section 45: Transfer of power of appointment of members of Board of Governors

113.     Subsection (1) amends section 1(2)(a) of the 1965 Act to enable the Authority to take over the Prime Minister's power to appoint half of the members of the Museum of London's Board of Governors.

114.     Subsection (2) amends paragraph 4(1) of the Schedule to the 1965 Act. That paragraph sets out the procedure for Governors who wish to resign from their post. It enables them to do so by giving notice in writing to the authority responsible for appointing them which, at present, is either the Prime Minister or the City. This amendment substitutes the Authority for the Prime Minister.

115.     Subsection (3) ensures that Governors appointed by the Prime Minister before the Act comes into force will not be affected by the provisions in this section.

Section 46: Period of appointment of Governors to the Board

116.     Subsection (1) amends paragraph 2(1) of the Schedule to the 1965 Act. Currently, Governors may be appointed for a term of three years. The subsection amends this to a term of `not more than four years'.

117.     Subsection (2) gives this amendment retrospective force. This ensures that any appointment in the past of a Governor for a period of more than three years but not more than four years will be treated as having complied with the provisions of the 1965 Act.

Section 47: The Board's expenditure: transfer of powers and other provisions.

118.     Subsection (1) amends section 14 of the 1965 Act. Section 14 stipulates that the approval of the Secretary of State and the Corporation of London are needed before monies received from, for example, donations may be used for any purpose other than to meet general administrative expenses of the collections. The amendments in subsection (1) substitute the Authority for the Secretary of State.

119.     Subsection (3) amends section 15(1) of the 1965 Act, which stipulates that the Board of the Museum will be required, from time to time, to submit estimates of future expenditure to the Secretary of State and the City of London Corporation. The amendment in subsection (3) substitutes the Authority for the Secretary of State.

120.     Subsection (4) amends section 15(2) of the 1965 Act. This sets out the mechanism by which expenditure incurred by the Museum is to be defrayed. The amendments substitute the Authority for the Secretary of State. They also allow for the Authority to make payments directly to the Museum, instead of simply reimbursing the Corporation under subsection (3) of section 15.

121.     Subsection (5) sets out substitute provisions for section 15(3) of the 1965 Act, which stipulates that the Secretary of State must pay the Corporation of London one half of the monies paid by the Corporation to the Museum under section 15(2). The new subsections (3) and (4) maintain the position that the Corporation and the Authority are each liable for half the expenditure of the Museum (subject to agreement about an alternative proportion in relation to particular expenses) but take into account the fact that the Authority may make payments under subsection (2) directly to the Museum.

Section 48: Transfer of other powers relating to the Museum

122.     Subsection (1) amends section 3(4) of the 1965 Act. This section requires the Museum to seek the consent of the Secretary of State and the City of London Corporation before disposing of any land or interest in land. The amendments replace references to the Secretary of State with references to the Authority.

123.     Subsection (2) amends subsections (1), (3) and (4) of section 9 of the 1965 Act. This section gives the Board of the Museum the power to appoint a Director and other staff, subject to the consent of the Secretary of State and the City of London Corporation, and on terms and conditions approved by the Secretary of State and the Corporation. The amendments in subsection (2) replace references to the Secretary of State with references to the Authority.

Section 49: Repeal of section 5 of the Museum of London Act 1986

124.     Section 49 repeals section 5 of the 1986 Act. This section requires the Secretary of State to lay a report on the exercise of the functions of the Board of Governors of the Museum of London before each House of Parliament every three years. As the Government will no longer be directly accountable for the use of public funds by the Museum of London, this section will not be required.

Miscellaneous

Section 50: The Mayor's culture strategy: consultation

125.     Section 376 of the GLA Act 1999 requires the Mayor of London to prepare and publish a culture strategy. A draft of the strategy is to be prepared by the Cultural Strategy Group for London. The Mayor is also required to consult certain bodies in revising the Cultural Strategy (section 42), but not where he considers that the revision will not materially alter the strategy in question (section 42(6)).

126.     This section amends section 376. As amended, that section will require:

• the Cultural Strategy Group for London to consult the bodies listed in the new subsection (10) (see subsection (5) of section 50) when proposing revisions to the Cultural Strategy, and

• the Cultural Strategy Group for London to consult these bodies when consulted by the Mayor if he makes revisions other than those proposed by the Group

The section also gives the Secretary of State a power to amend the list of bodies to be consulted.

Section 51: The Mayor's duty to exercise certain powers of appointment

127.     The Mayor is expected to gain certain rights of appointment of board members of the London Regional Council of Arts Council England; English Sports Council London Regional Sports Board; and Archives, Libraries & Museums London (which uses the trading name "MLA London"). It is expected that these new appointment powers will be given to the Mayor by amendment of the Royal Charters of the Arts Council England and the English Sports Council and of the Articles of Association of Archives, Libraries and Museums London and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.

128.     Section 51 inserts a new section 377A into the GLA Act 1999. This new section imposes a duty on the Mayor to exercise appointment rights he has been granted as soon as reasonably practicable after he has received a request in writing from bodies prescribed by the Secretary of State. Prescribed bodies must have functions relating to sport, culture or the arts. Section 377A also gives the Secretary of State a power to amend the list of prescribed bodies.

PART 10: MISCELLANEOUS AND GENERAL

Section 52: Common provision of administrative, professional and technical services

129.     This section inserts a new section 401A into the GLA Act 1999. This relates to administrative, professional or technical services - what might be called "back office" services. The new section enables each of the "constituent bodies" (that is, the Authority and the four functional bodies) to provide, or to receive, such services to or from any of the others. It also enables those bodies to share such functions by establishing joint committees.

PART 11: SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS

Section 53: Orders

130.     This section provides that any power conferred on the Secretary of State to make an order is exercisable by statutory instrument. The only such power in the Act is the power to bring its provisions into force. The subordinate legislation may make different provision for different cases. It may make incidental, consequential, supplemental and transitional provision or savings, including power to amend any Acts passed or made before this one. The section provides that any order which amends any enactment is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament (unless, by virtue of some other provision, it is subject to the affirmative procedure instead).

Section 54: Directions

131.     Section 54 provides that any directions given under the Act must be in writing. It provides that a power of direction conferred by the Act includes power to vary or revoke the direction.

Section 55: Financial Provisions

132.     This section provides for any expenditure incurred by a Minister of the Crown or government department, under or attributable to the provisions of the Act, to be paid out of money provided by Parliament.

Section 56: Transitional provision relating to consultation

133.     Section 56 provides for the Mayor to be able to begin to carry out consultation in connection with his four new statutory strategies after the Act is enacted, but before the relevant provisions come into force. Such consultation will be treated as if it had been undertaken after those provisions are commenced.

Section 57: Repeals

134.     Section 57 introduces Schedule 2, which contains repeals of certain provisions in the GLA Act 1999 and the Museum of London Act 1986. All the repeals are consequential upon the provisions in the Act.

Section 58: Interpretation

135.     This section defines certain abbreviations and terms used in the Act.

Section 59: Short title, citation, commencement and extent

136.     This section sets out the short title of the Act and provides for the Act, when enacted, and the GLA Act 1999 to be cited together as the Greater London Authority Acts 1999 and 2007. The section also determines the extent of the Act.

CONCLUDING SECTIONS

Commencement

137.     Most of the provisions in the Act will be brought into force on a day or days to be appointed by the Secretary of State, by order. Part 11, other than section 57 and Schedule 2 (Repeals), came into force on Royal Assent, including the power to make regulations or orders under or by virtue of the Act. Sections 28 and 46 are intended to come into force two months after Royal Assent.

HANSARD REFERENCES

138.     The following table sets out the dates and Hansard references for each stage of this Act's passage through Parliament.

Royal Assent - 23 October 2007	House of Lords Hansard Vol. 695 Col 673
	House of Commons Hansard Vol. 465 Col 187

ANNEX A

Glossary