Office of Public Sector Information
Part 1: General Functions of the Authority
Part 8: Environmental Functions
Section 40: The general power of the Authority: duty to have regard
Section 41: General duties of the Mayor with respect to his strategies
Section 42: Duty of Mayor and Assembly to address climate change
Section 43: The London climate change mitigation and energy strategy
Section 44: The Mayor’s adaptation to climate change strategy for London
23 October 2007
1.These explanatory notes relate to the Greater London Authority Act which received Royal Assent on 23 October 2007. They have been prepared by the Department for Communities and Local Government in order to assist the reader in understanding the Act. They do not form part of the Act and have not been endorsed by Parliament.
2.The notes need to be read in conjunction with the Act. They are not, and are not meant to be, a comprehensive description of the Act. So where a section or part of a section does not seem to require any explanation or comment, none is given.
3.Sections 1 to 16 amend the Greater London Authority Act 1999 (“the GLA Act 1999”) in relation to the general functions of the Greater London Authority (“the Authority”). Section 1 allows the Authority to establish and administer a severance pay scheme for the Mayor of London (“the Mayor”) and the members of the London Assembly (the “Assembly members”) on ceasing to hold office. Section 2 introduces additional procedures relating to consultation on Mayoral strategies. Section 3 brings forward the date by which the Mayor must make a report to the London Assembly (“the Assembly”) before each of the ten ‘monthly’ meetings the Assembly must hold every year. Section 4 (and Schedule 1) introduces provision for the Assembly to hold confirmation hearings for certain statutory appointments made by the Mayor. Section 5 extends the time limit for the Assembly to summon certain categories of people to attend an Assembly meeting for questioning and to produce documents. Section 6 requires the Assembly to prepare and publish an annual report. Sections 7 to 11 make amendments in relation to the appointment of certain members of staff of the Authority. Sections 12 to 15 provide for a separate budget for the Assembly (and consequently, for the remainder of the Authority). Section 16 requires the Deputy Mayor to exercise the responsibilities of the Mayor for setting the budget if he were temporarily unable to act.
4.Section 17 provides for the Secretary of State to give consent in writing to the disposal of operational land by Transport for London (TfL). Section 18 removes the current restriction on political representatives being members of TfL. Section 19 then prohibits the payment of allowances to TfL members who are also Assembly members unless they are chairman or deputy chairman of TfL.
5.Section 20 removes the prohibition on payments of allowances to any chairman or deputy chairman of the London Development Agency (LDA) who is also an Assembly member.
6.Sections 21 to 24 amend provisions in the GLA Act 1999 relating to health. Section 21 provides for the appointment of a Health Adviser and one or more Deputy Health Advisers to the Authority. Section 22 imposes a duty on the Mayor to prepare and publish a health inequalities strategy. Section 23 requires the Authority to consider the effects that any proposed exercise of its general power, under section 30 of the 1999 Act, would have on health inequalities between persons living in London. Where it exercises its powers it must do so in a way which is best calculated to promote the reduction of those inequalities. Section 24 requires the Mayor to have regard to the effect his proposed strategies or revisions to those strategies would have on health inequalities between persons living in London. It requires the Mayor, in preparing or revising his strategies, to include policies and proposals best calculated to promote the reduction of such health inequalities.
7.Sections 25 to 27 extend the Mayor's powers in relation to the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA). Section 25 enables the Mayor to make two appointments of his own nomination to LFEPA. Section 26 removes the prohibition on LFEPA paying certain allowances to Assembly members who are chairman or vice-chairman of LFEPA. Section 27 gives the Mayor the power to issue directions and guidance to LFEPA and gives the Secretary of State the power to give directions to the Mayor if the Mayor’s directions or guidance conflict with specified frameworks or guidance.
8.Section 28 places a duty on the Mayor to prepare and publish a housing strategy for London. This is to include a statement of the Mayor’s recommendations as to the amount, type and location of new housing which should be provided in London. The Secretary of State will be able to give guidance to the Mayor in preparing or revising the strategy, and may give directions to the Mayor if any part of the strategy is inconsistent with national housing policy or is likely to be detrimental to any region adjoining Greater London. In addition to the standard consultation arrangements for all statutory strategies for London, the Mayor must consult the Housing Corporation and bodies which he considers representative of registered social landlords on the London Housing Strategy. The Housing Corporation must have regard to the housing strategy when exercising certain functions. Local housing strategies prepared by local authorities in London should be in general conformity with the London housing strategy.
9.Sections 29 to 36 concern town and country planning in Greater London. Section 29 introduces additional procedures relating to consultation on the Mayor’s spatial development strategy. Section 30 gives the Mayor a power of intervention in respect of a local planning authority’s local development scheme. Sections 31 to 34 give the Mayor power to determine planning applications which are of “potential strategic importance” and certain related applications, in place of the local planning authority. There is power to modify enactments relating to enforcement, so as to allow the Mayor to enforce the terms of any planning permission he has granted. They also enable the Mayor to exercise functions of a local planning authority in relation to planning obligations under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. Section 35 requires the Mayor to give the opportunity of a “representation hearing” before making a decision on a planning application. Section 36 enables regulations made under section 46 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 to provide for cases where a planning contribution is made in circumstances in which the Mayor is acting in place of the local planning authority.
10.Sections 37 to 44 concern the Authority’s role in waste, climate change and energy. Sections 37 to 39 deal with waste. Section 37 provides that London waste authorities must exercise some of their waste collection and disposal functions in general conformity with the Mayor’s municipal waste management strategy. Section 38 establishes a new London Waste and Recycling Board and section 39 extends the requirement for waste authorities to inform the Mayor if they intend to tender for a waste contract.
11.Sections 40 to 44 deal with climate change and energy. Section 40 amends section 30 of the GLA Act 1999 to require the Authority to consider the effects that any proposed exercise of its general power under that section would have on climate change, and the consequences of climate change. If the Authority decides to exercise its powers, it must do so in a way which is best calculated to contribute towards the mitigation of, or adaptation to, climate change in the United Kingdom. Section 41 amends section 41 of the 1999 Act to require the Mayor to have regard to climate change and the consequences of climate change, when preparing his strategies. It also requires the Mayor to include such policies and proposals in his strategies which he considers best calculated to contribute towards the mitigation of, or adaptation to, climate change in the United Kingdom. Section 42 introduces a duty on each of the Mayor and the Assembly to address climate change. Sections 43 and 44 require the Mayor to prepare and publish a London climate change mitigation and energy strategy and an adaptation to climate change strategy for London.
12.Sections 45 to 49 concern the Museum of London. Section 45 transfers from the Prime Minister to the Authority the power to appoint nine of the eighteen members of the Board of Governors, and section 46 extends the period of appointment for all Governors. Subsection (2) of section 46 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. Sections 47 and 48 transfer from the Secretary of State to the Authority certain other powers in relation to the Board (including expenditure and appointment of staff).
13.Section 50 amends the current provisions relating to the consultation process for the Mayor’s culture strategy. The Cultural Strategy Group for London will be required to consult certain designated cultural bodies when proposing revisions to the strategy or when consulted by the Mayor if he makes revisions other than those proposed by the Group. The Secretary of State has power to amend the list of bodies.
14.Section 51 makes provision for cases where the Mayor has a power of appointment to certain sport, culture or arts bodies. It imposes a duty on the Mayor to make appointments to the board of such a body as soon as reasonably practicable after receiving a written request from the body. The Secretary of State is given the power to prescribe the bodies concerned (and amend the list subsequently).
15.Section 52 enables the Authority and the functional bodies to arrange for administrative, professional or technical services to be provided for them by any of the others, or to be shared by two or more of them, and includes power to delegate to each other their functions of providing such services for themselves.
16.The Authority comprises a directly elected Mayor and a separately elected Assembly of 25 members. The Authority was established by the GLA Act 1999 and the first elections took place in 2000.
17.In November 2005, the Government consulted on proposals to grant additional powers to the Authority. The proposals covered a wide range of areas, but focussed on housing, skills, planning and waste. In July 2006, the Government announced the final package of additional powers for the Mayor and Assembly. The proposals include new lead roles for the Mayor in housing and adult skills in London and additional strategic powers in a wide range of policy areas including planning, waste, culture and sport, health, climate change and energy and appointments to the boards of three of the four functional bodies (that is to say the LFEPA, the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) and TfL). The Assembly’s role is enhanced to complement the additional powers of the Mayor. The Government’s Policy Statement can be read on the DCLG website at: www.communities.gov.uk/glapowers.
18.The Act gives effect to most of the additional powers that require primary legislation for their implementation. The Mayor’s new role in adult skills and employment in London is included in the Further Education and Training Act 2007. The broad thrust of the Mayor's new powers to appoint the chairman and any vice chairman of the MPA is included in the Police and Justice Act 2006, with detail in relation to the powers to follow in regulations.
19.The Act consists of eleven parts. These are:
Part 1 – General Functions of the Authority
Part 2 – Transport
Part 3 – The London Development Agency
Part 4 – Health
Part 5 – The London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority
Part 6 – Housing
Part 7 – Planning
Part 8 – Environmental Functions
Part 9 – Culture, Media and Sport
Part 10 – Miscellaneous and General
Part 11 – Supplementary Provisions
20.It also contains two Schedules. These are:
Schedule 1 – Confirmation hearings etc: Schedule 4A to the GLA Act 1999
Schedule 2 – Repeals
21.The Act’s provisions extend to England and Wales only. The Scottish Parliament’s consent is not required for any of the Act’s provisions. The provisions of the Act in practice apply only to England.
22.Section 1 inserts into the GLA Act 1999 a new section 26A. Sections 24 to 26 of the 1999 Act provide for the Mayor and Assembly members to be paid salaries and expenses and to establish a pension scheme. The new section enables the Authority to establish and administer schemes allowing for a Mayor or Assembly member to receive a payment on ceasing to hold office. A scheme may be set up if the Mayor and Assembly, acting jointly, decide to establish one.
23.The Assembly is required to include in its standing orders provision for publishing each determination made in relation to a scheme set up under this section.
24.The GLA Act 1999 requires the Mayor to produce a number of strategies, and to carry out consultations in preparing or revising them. The Mayor consults in the first instance the Assembly and the four functional bodies before consulting more widely.
25.Section 2 inserts into the GLA Act 1999 a new section 42A. It requires the Mayor to have regard to any comments submitted to him by the Assembly or any of the functional bodies in response to consultation on his strategies. The Mayor shall also respond in writing to the Chair of the Assembly setting out which of the Assembly’s comments he accepts for implementation in the strategy and, where he has not accepted a comment, giving the reasons why.
26.Section 45 of the GLA Act 1999 requires the Mayor to make a report to the Assembly at least three clear working days before each of the ten ‘monthly’ meetings the Assembly must hold each year.
27.Section 3 amends section 45 to require the Mayor to submit his report to the Assembly at least five clear working days before each Assembly meeting.
28.Section 4 inserts into the GLA Act 1999 a new section 60A which lists the offices to which confirmation hearings will apply. They are:
chairman, or deputy chairman, of Transport for London
chairman, or deputy chairman, of the London Development Agency
chairman, or vice chairman, of the Metropolitan Police Authority
chairman of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority
chair of the Culture Strategy Group for London
chairman, or deputy chairman, of the London Pensions Fund Authority
The Secretary of State may by order amend that list, and must consult the Mayor and the Assembly before making an order.
29.Schedule 1 sets out a new Schedule 4A to the GLA Act 1999 which provides for the Assembly to hold confirmation hearings for appointments to the offices mentioned above. The Mayor must not make any of the above appointments until the confirmation hearing process has ended. He must notify the name and details of the proposed appointee to the Assembly and they may call that person before them. The Assembly must notify the Mayor stating whether it recommends the proposed appointee or not. The Mayor need not accept the recommendation.
30.Section 61 of the GLA Act 1999 contains powers for the Assembly to summon certain categories of people to give evidence at its meetings and to produce documents e.g. a person who is a senior member of staff of the Authority, the chairman or a member of the board or a senior member of staff of one of the functional bodies, or a person who has a contractual relationship with the Authority. The Authority may summon such a person up to 3 years after the end of their period in office, contractual relationship, etc.
31.Section 5 amends section 61 to extend the period during which the Assembly may summon a person from 3 years to 8 years.
32.This section inserts into the GLA Act 1999 a new section 65A. It requires the Assembly to prepare an annual report on its work and achievements during the year. The Assembly must send the report to the Mayor before publishing it.
33.Sections 67 to 73 and section 127 of the GLA Act 1999 provide for the appointment of employees of the Authority.
34.Under the provisions of section 67(1)(a) and (b) the Mayor is able to appoint two political advisers and not more than 10 other members of staff. Under the provisions of section 67(2) the Assembly appoints all other staff, following consultation with the Mayor.
35.Section 7 replaces section 67(2) so as to provide for the Authority’s staff to be appointed by the Authority’s Head of Paid Service, except for the appointments of the Head of Paid Service himself, the Monitoring Officer and the Chief Finance Officer. The Head of Paid Service must consult the Mayor and Assembly before making appointments, and must have regard to available resources and the priorities of the Authority in making them. The section also amends section 70(2) of the GLA Act 1999 to provide for the Head of Paid Service to set the terms and conditions of those staff he appoints after consulting the Mayor and Assembly. The appointments, and terms and conditions, of the Authority’s existing staff have effect as if they had been appointed or set by the Head of Paid Service.
36.Section 8 amends section 72 of the GLA Act 1999. Under the provisions of that section as amended, the Mayor and Assembly acting jointly will appoint the Authority’s Head of Paid Service, and set his terms and conditions. Subsection (6) inserts into section 72 of the 1999 Act a new subsection (11) which allows the Head of Paid Service to delegate to a member of staff of the Authority (other than a member of staff appointed under section 67(1)) his functions of making appointments and setting terms and conditions.
37.Section 9 amends section 73 of the GLA Act 1999 to require the Mayor and Assembly, acting jointly, to appoint the Authority’s Monitoring Officer and set his terms and conditions.
38.Section 10 amends section 127 of the GLA Act 1999 and inserts a new section 127A to make similar provision with respect to the Authority’s Chief Finance Officer.
39.Part 3 of the GLA Act 1999 makes provision about the budget of the Authority. The Authority does not raise council tax directly from individual council taxpayers, but the 1999 Act instead requires each London borough council to raise a certain amount (the “precept”) from council taxpayers in its area. The 1999 Act sets out rules which the Authority must follow in calculating its consolidated annual budget requirement. For each constituent body, that is the Authority and each of the four functional bodies, the Authority must calculate the component budget requirement – the difference between the sum of expenditure items and the sum of income items as described in the 1999 Act. The Authority must then calculate the consolidated budget requirement by adding together the component budget requirements of each of the constituent bodies. The Mayor must present the consolidated budget in draft to the Assembly, which may amend the budget.
40.Section 12 amends section 85 of the GLA Act 1999 to provide for separate component budget requirements for the Assembly and the Mayor. The Assembly’s component budget requirement is the requirement in relation to the Assembly’s functions, including in particular estimates of expenditure, allowance for contingencies and use of reserves, in respect of Assembly members and staff; goods and services procured solely for the purposes of the Assembly; and in relation to the London Transport Users’ Committee. The Mayor’s component budget requirement is everything else which would otherwise make up the Authority’s component budget requirement.
41.Section 13 amends Schedule 6 to the GLA Act 1999 to include the separate component budget requirements for the Assembly and the Mayor in the procedure for determining the Authority’s consolidated budget requirement. Schedule 6 provides for the Assembly to be able to amend the draft consolidated budget, and the draft component budgets comprised in it, by a simple majority of the Assembly members voting, and the final draft consolidated budget by at least a two-thirds majority.
42.Subsections (5) and (7) insert into Schedule 6 new paragraphs 5A and 8A respectively, limiting the Assembly’s powers to increase its own component budget requirement by amendment. The Assembly may not amend its own component budget requirement so that its annual percentage increase is greater than the annual percentage increase in the Mayor’s component budget requirement. In order to deal with unusual one-off payments, the Authority’s Chief Finance Officer may direct that specified amounts are to be left out of the budget requirement calculations for the purpose of determining this limit. The Secretary of State may give guidance to the Chief Finance Officer with respect to his exercise of the power.
43.Section 14 amends Schedule 7 to the GLA Act 1999 to make similar changes to the procedures for carrying out substitute budget calculations by the Authority.
44.Section 15 provides for amounts to be designated as the component budget requirements of the Assembly and the Mayor for the financial year preceding the first financial year in which the new arrangements are to operate. The designation is needed so that the limit on the amount by which the Assembly’s component budget requirement may be increased by Assembly amendments in the first year of operation of the new provisions can be calculated. Subsection (4) requires the Authority’s Chief Finance Officer to make the designation by 31 December of the year preceding the first financial year in which the new arrangements operate. He must consult the Mayor and Assembly before making the designation.
45.Schedule 4 to the GLA Act 1999 provides for the Deputy Mayor to be able to exercise functions of the Mayor where the Mayor is unable to do so. At present this provision does not cover the Mayor’s functions under Schedules 6 and 7 in relation to the setting of the Authority’s budget. So if the Mayor is temporarily unavailable, the Assembly must set the budget as if the Mayor had failed to exercise his functions. Section 16 changes this by providing that the Deputy Mayor may exercise the Mayor’s budget-setting functions if the Mayor is temporarily unable to act.
46.Section 17 of the Act amends section 163 of the GLA Act 1999. Section 163 provides that TfL cannot dispose of operational land such as railway or tramway lines or stations, either through freehold sale or lease of over 50 years, without the consent of the Secretary of State. That consent must currently be given by means of an order made by statutory instrument. This section amends that requirement so that only the written approval of the Secretary of State is required.
47.Section 18 removes the current prohibition in Schedule 10 to the GLA Act 1999 on political representatives being appointed as members of TfL, in order to bring TfL in line with other functional bodies, where political representatives can be appointed.
48.Section 19 then amends Schedule 10 to the GLA Act 1999 to prohibit the payment of remuneration or allowances (other than expenses) to members of TfL who are also Assembly members, except allowances in the case of an Assembly member who is also the chairman or deputy chairman of TfL.
49.Section 20 removes the prohibition on payments of allowances to any chairman or deputy chairman of the LDA who is also an Assembly member.
50.This section inserts into the GLA Act 1999 a new section 309A to provide for there to be a Health Adviser to the Authority. It will be the function of the Health Adviser to advise the Authority, the Mayor, any Assembly member and any functional body on major health issues, the performance of any person’s health-related functions and the implementation of the provisions of the 1999 Act which impose duties relating to health inequalities between persons living in London.
51.This section also inserts into the GLA Act 1999 a new section 309B which provides for the current Regional Director of Public Health (RDPH) (for London) to be the Health Adviser. If the post of RDPH for London ceases to exist, the section provides for the Health Adviser to be the person in the post which corresponds, or most closely corresponds, to that of RDPH for London. If there is a question as to which of two or more persons is to be the Health Adviser, the Secretary of State may designate one of them to be the Health Adviser. If there ceases to be an RDPH or corresponding post, the Secretary of State is to appoint the Health Adviser from among persons within the civil service or NHS who hold senior posts in which they have strategic responsibilities for public health in Greater London. Following such an appointment, if the person ceases to hold such a post, he also ceases to be the Health Adviser.
52.This section also inserts into the GLA Act 1999 a new section 309C to make provision for there to be one or more Deputy Health Advisers. If there is a vacancy in the post of Health Adviser or if the Health Adviser is incapable of discharging his functions, one of the Deputy Health Advisers will be appointed to exercise the Health Adviser’s functions. The Health Adviser’s functions are exercisable by any Deputy Health Adviser to the extent that the Health Adviser authorises, and subject to any conditions.
53.This section also inserts into the GLA Act 1999 a new section 309D to provide for the Deputy RDPHs (for London) to be the Deputy Health Advisers to the Authority. If the post of Deputy RDPH for London ceases to exist, the Deputy Health Advisers are to be the persons in the posts which correspond, or most closely correspond, to that of Deputy RDPH. If there is a question as to which of two or more persons are to be the Deputy Health Advisers the Secretary of State may designate one or more to be the Deputy Health Advisers. If there ceases to be a Deputy RDPH or corresponding post, the Secretary of State is to appoint one or more Deputy Health Advisers from among persons within the civil service or NHS who hold senior posts in which they have strategic responsibilities for public health in Greater London. Following such an appointment, if the person ceases to hold such a post, he also ceases to be a Deputy Health Adviser.
Greater London Authority Act 2007