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Explanatory Notes to Greater London Authority Act 1999
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These notes refer to the Greater London Authority Act 1999 GREATER LONDON AUTHORITY ACT 1999EXPLANATORY NOTESINTRODUCTION
1. These explanatory notes relate to the Greater London Authority Act 1999 which received Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. They have been prepared by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions 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.
SUMMARY
3. The Act establishes the Greater London Authority (GLA), and provides for elections for the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. It establishes the financial arrangements for the Authority and sets out terms and conditions of service for the Mayor and the members of the Assembly.
4. The Act defines the Mayor's and Assembly's powers and functions. It establishes Transport for London (TfL). It amends the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998 with respect to the London Development Agency (LDA) which was established by that Act. It establishes the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA), and it reconstitutes the London Fire and Civil Defence Authority as the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA). In the Act, these new bodies and authorities are referred to as 'functional bodies'. The Act also defines the GLA's planning, environmental and cultural responsibilities.
5. In the Act, 'Greater London' means the London Boroughs, the City of London, and the Inner and the Middle Temple, in accordance with section 2(1) of the London Government Act 1963.
BACKGROUND
6. The aim of the Act is to give effect to the Government's policy on the governance of London, the principal features of which were set out in the White Paper A Mayor and Assembly for London (Cm 3897). This was published in March 1998 in connection with the referendum held in Greater London on 7 May 1998. A majority of those voting in the referendum answered 'Yes' to the question 'Do you agree with the Government's proposals for a Mayor and Assembly for London?'
The Greater London Authority
7. The GLA will consist of a directly elected Mayor and separately elected Assembly, each elected for a term of four years. The GLA will have a general power to do anything which it considers will further any one or more of its principal purposes. Its principal purposes will be to promote economic development and wealth creation in Greater London; promote social development in Greater London; and promote the improvement of the environment in Greater London. In determining whether and how to exercise its power in pursuit of its principal purposes the Authority must have regard to the effect the proposed exercise of the power would have on the health of people in Greater London, and the effect it would have on the achievement of sustainable development in the United Kingdom.
8. The Authority will have specific powers and duties in relation to transport, economic development, planning, police, fire and emergency planning, environment and culture. The GLA will take over responsibilities from some existing pan-London bodies - the London Ecology Committee, the London Research Centre and the London Planning Advisory Committee.
The Mayor of London
9. The GLA will have a directly elected Mayor, known as the Mayor of London.
10. The Mayor will be responsible for developing the GLA's strategies for transport, planning and the environment in London and will have a range of powers to implement them. The Mayor will also approve strategies for economic development and culture. The Mayor will be required to ensure that these strategies take each other into account. The Mayor will be responsible for setting a budget for the GLA and its four functional bodies, and will make a number of appointments to the boards of the four functional bodies and other London organisations.
The London Assembly
11. The Assembly is the forum in which the Mayor's proposals will be examined and the Mayor's decisions and actions will be reviewed.
12. The Assembly must be consulted by the Mayor during the preparation of each of the GLA strategies. The Assembly will consider the budget for the GLA and the four functional bodies, and will be able to overrule either all or part of the Mayor's proposals by a two-thirds majority. The Assembly will scrutinise the exercise of the Mayor's functions and conduct investigations into London issues.
Public Accountability
13. The Mayor and Assembly will be accountable to Londoners. The Mayor will hold an annual, public, State of London debate and every year will attend ten question times to allow Assembly members to enquire into actions and policies. The Mayor and Assembly together will hold a twice yearly public meeting called a "People's Question Time".
Elections to the GLA
14. If there are three or more candidates, the Mayor will be elected under the supplementary vote system which gives voters the opportunity to express a first and second preference in respect of the candidates for election. (If there are fewer than three candidates, the 'first past the post' voting system will be applied.)
15. Assembly members will be elected by the additional member system. There will be twenty-five Assembly members; fourteen will be elected for constituencies and eleven will be elected on a London-wide basis. The fourteen constituencies will be established by order under the Act. The Local Government Commission made recommendations on Assembly constituencies under Part II of the Greater London Authority (Referendum) Act 1998. The recommendations were published on 30 November 1998, following a London-wide consultation exercise. Ministers have announced their intention to accept these recommendations.
GLA Financial Systems
16. The GLA and the four functional bodies will be subject to the local government finance regime. The GLA will set a budget for itself and each of the four functional bodies. These budgets will together form the consolidated budget.
17. Funding will transfer to the GLA along with functions. The GLA will receive central government, national non-domestic rate and council tax funding and distribute it to the functional bodies in line with their budgets. The Mayor and Assembly and their staff will be funded through government grant, and by council tax payers.
18. Capital finance controls will apply to the GLA and each of the functional bodies independently. The Mayor will have influence over capital spending priorities through preparing a capital spending plan.
19. The GLA and each of the four functional bodies will be responsible for administration of their own financial affairs, and for preparing their own accounts. The GLA and the four functional bodies will follow the local authority accounting framework and be subject to audit by auditors appointed by the Audit Commission.
Functions of the GLA
Transport
20. The Mayor will have a duty to produce an integrated transport strategy for London. This strategy will be prepared within the context of the national integrated transport policy as expressed in the Government White Paper A New Deal for Transport: Better for Everyone (Cm 3950) which was published in July 1998. The Act also provides the Mayor and the London borough councils with enabling powers which would allow them to introduce road user charging and a levy on workplace parking in the context of the Mayor's integrated transport strategy.
21. The Act makes provision in connection with public-private partnership agreements for the London Underground, as announced in Parliament by the Deputy Prime Minister on 20 March 1998 (Hansard 308, col 1539).
22. The Act unifies responsibility for transport in London by establishing a single body, Transport for London (TfL), which will replace London Regional Transport (LRT) and take over the functions of other transport bodies. TfL will be directly accountable to the Mayor and will be responsible for implementing his transport strategy.
23. TfL will be chaired by either the Mayor, or a chairman appointed by the Mayor, and will have a wide range of executive responsibilities. The current powers of LRT will be divided between the Mayor and TfL, with certain key powers resting with the Mayor and operational powers resting with TfL.
24. TfL will be responsible for road maintenance and traffic management on the GLA roads, which will comprise the most important London roads. The Mayor and TfL will also have powers to regulate taxis and minicabs and promote river services. The Mayor will have extensive powers of direction over all TfL activities.
Economic Development
25. In relation to the LDA (established by the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998), the Act provides for the Mayor to exercise most of the functions exercisable by the Secretary of State in respect of other regional development agencies. The LDA will be responsible for economic development and regeneration and will promote competitiveness and employment in London.
26. The Mayor will be responsible for London's economic development strategy. It will be prepared by the LDA under the Mayor's guidance, and agreed or amended by the Mayor before publication. The LDA will be responsible for implementing this strategy.
Police
27. The Act establishes a new police authority for London, the MPA, which will be similar in structure and function to other police authorities in England and Wales. The majority of the MPA's membership (12 out of 23 members, one of whom will be the Deputy Mayor) will be drawn from the Assembly members. The others will be magistrates and independent members.
28. The Act amends the boundaries of the metropolitan police district (MPD) so as to bring them into line with the Greater London area (except that the City of London will continue to be policed separately). Those parts of the current MPD which lie in Essex, Hertfordshire and Surrey will be policed by the forces of those counties.
Fire and Emergency Planning
29. The Act reconstitutes the existing London Fire and Civil Defence Authority as the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA). The majority of the LFEPA's membership (9 out of 17) will be drawn from the Assembly, and will be appointed by the Mayor. The other 8 will be members of the London borough councils. The LFEPA will be responsible for providing efficient and effective fire brigade and emergency planning services in the capital.
Planning
30. The Mayor will be responsible for producing a spatial development strategy for London. This will be linked to the Mayor's other strategies, and will set out an overall land use strategy for London and consider its economic, environmental and social implications. Borough unitary development plans must be in general conformity with the Mayor's strategy. London borough councils will remain the development control authorities for their areas, but the Mayor will be consulted and, if necessary, will be able to intervene in the decision making process, by directing the London borough councils to refuse planning consent where issues of strategic importance are concerned.
Environment
31. The Mayor will be responsible for assessing and reporting on the state of London's environment. The Mayor will prepare and publish strategies on air quality and waste, and have powers of direction to ensure they are delivered. He or she will inherit some of the Secretary of State's other responsibilities in respect of local authority Waste Recycling Plans and Air Quality Management Plans. The Mayor will prepare an action plan on biodiversity and an ambient noise strategy for London.
Culture
32. The Act gives the Mayor responsibilities in respect of cultural issues in London including powers to make grants and specific duties in respect of tourism. It establishes the Cultural Strategy Group for London. The Cultural Strategy Group will produce a draft culture strategy for the Mayor, who can amend it before publication. The strategy will set out policies with respect to culture in its widest sense. The Act does not restrict the content of the culture strategy by reference to specific topics.
THE ACT
33. The Act consists of twelve parts. These are:
COMMENTARY ON SECTIONS
PART I: THE GREATER LONDON AUTHORITY
Section 1: The Authority and Section 2: Membership
34. Sections 1 and 2 and Schedule 1 provide for the establishment of the GLA. The GLA will be made up of a directly elected Mayor and a separately elected Assembly of twenty five members. The Mayor and Assembly together will have a corporate legal identity as the Authority.
35. The Assembly will be elected under the additional member system. Fourteen Assembly members will represent constituencies, each made up of two or three complete London boroughs. The Secretary of State will decide the boundaries and names of these constituencies, on the basis of recommendations made by the Local Government Commission for England (the LGC). Eleven Assembly members (known as "London members") will be elected under the additional member system for the whole of Greater London.
36. The election of the Authority as a whole will take place once every four years (the "ordinary election"). There will be an election for the Mayor and one for the London members plus elections in each constituency for the constituency member. The term of office of those elected at an ordinary election will run from the second day after the last declaration to the second day following the last declaration at the next ordinary election.
37. Schedule 1 contains provisions on the Assembly constituencies. In May 1998, using powers contained in the Greater London Authority (Referendum) Act 1998, the Secretary of State directed the LGC to produce recommendations for the boundaries of the Assembly constituencies. The LGC submitted its recommendations on 30 November 1998. The Minister for London announced in Parliament on 19 January 1999 (Hansard Col 726) that the Government have decided to accept the Commission's recommendations and that, subject to the passage of the Act, they would be implemented by secondary legislation after Royal Assent.
38. Section 2(4) empowers the Secretary of State to implement these recommendations by order.
39. Schedule 1 also contains provisions to allow for future reviews of the constituency boundaries. Detailed ground rules state that there should always be fourteen constituencies, composed of combinations of two or more contiguous whole London Boroughs, and that the number of electors in each constituency should be as similar to each other as is reasonably practicable.
40. The Schedule also lays down a basic structure for future reviews of the Assembly constituencies. Reviews of the constituencies will be at the discretion of the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State will commission the LGC to carry out a review, and may produce guidance that the LGC will have to take into account; the LGC will carry out its review, and produce recommendations. The Secretary of State will have powers to implement these recommendations.
41. The Schedule provides for two different scenarios in which a review of the constituencies might occur.
42. There are three possible outcomes here:
Sections 3 and 4: Ordinary elections
43. Section 3 contains provisions on ordinary elections to the Authority. The first ordinary election will be held on 4 May 2000, unless the Secretary of State exercises the order-making power provided by this section to postpone them to a later date. Subsequent elections will be held on the first Thursday in May in the fourth calendar year following that in which the first ordinary election was held. Subsections (4)(d) and (5) give the Secretary of State the power to introduce a system of early voting for the first ordinary election.
44. Section 4 contains provisions on voting at ordinary elections. The ordinary election for the Authority will consist of a mayoral election, the election of Assembly members in each of the fourteen constituencies and the election of the London members.
45. In the mayoral election, if there are only two candidates, the one with the most votes wins under first-past-the-post procedures. But if there are three or more candidates, a different voting system - the Supplementary Vote (SV) system - comes into play. Voters will be able to indicate their first and second choice for Mayor. How these choices are counted, in order to determine who should be returned as Mayor, is set out in Part I of Schedule 2 to the Act.
46. Candidates for the Assembly will be elected under the Additional Member System (AMS). Voters will have two votes - one for a constituency member and one - known as a London vote - for an individual or political party list. Each of the 14 constituencies will return one constituency candidate elected on the normal first-past-the-post basis. Eleven additional seats in the Assembly will be allocated on the basis of the London vote using the De Hondt formula. This is intended to top up the number of seats for each party in the Assembly in order to reflect broadly their proportion of the London vote. The precise way in which this is done is set out in Part II of Schedule 2 of the Act. A worked example is given below.
47. The way in which the elections of the Mayor and Assembly members interact is the subject of subsections (7) to (10) of the section. The result of the elections of the Mayor and the constituency members must be determined first, so that the calculation (set out in Part II of Schedule 2) resulting from the count of the London vote can be made under section 4 and Schedule 2; this calculation is not to be held up if any of the constituency polls has been countermanded. No-one may stand in more than one Assembly constituency and if the person returned as Mayor is also successful in a constituency election, a by-election will ensue in that constituency (but the seat will be counted as having been won by the relevant party for the purposes of the London vote - see paragraph 6(4) of Schedule 2). More detailed provision for the interaction of the various polls is contained in Schedule 2 to the Act.
48. Schedule 2 contains detailed provisions on voting at elections for the Mayor and the London members of the Assembly.
The Mayoral Poll
49. Whenever there are three or more candidates to be Mayor, each voter may indicate on the ballot paper their first and second choices for Mayor. When the votes are counted any candidate with more than half the first preference votes wins outright. However if no candidate wins an overall majority then second preference votes are taken into consideration. The two candidates with the most votes remain in the contest (and there is provision for any tie for second place). The second preference votes on the ballot papers of the eliminated candidates are then examined and any second preference votes for the remaining candidates are allocated to them. The candidate who then has the most votes is returned as Mayor.
Worked example of Mayoral poll
50. There are four candidates, A, B, C, and D. Counting the first preference votes gives the following result.
51. Candidates A and C remain in the contest and candidates B and D are eliminated. The second preference votes of candidates B and D are then examined, revealing the following choices.
Note: "Other" includes papers where the second preference vote was spoilt, unclear or not recorded or where the vote was for one of candidates B or D.
The final vote is therefore -
And candidate A is returned as Mayor.
Voting for the Assembly
52. The Assembly seats deriving from the London vote will be allocated according to the De Hondt formula, a commonly-used way of allocating seats under proportional representation. When allocating seats in the Assembly on the basis of the London vote, the Greater London Returning Officer (defined in section 29) considers the party affiliation of the constituency candidates who have been returned as members of the Assembly and the number of London votes cast for that party. He then divides the party's total London vote by the number of seats that party has won plus one (one is added to avoid dividing by zero where no seat has been won). The result is known as the party's London figure. Independent candidates are given a London figure equal to their London vote.
53. The first seat is then allocated to the party or individual with the highest London figure. When a seat is allocated to a party, its London figure is recalculated on the basis of the new total number of seats plus one. The next seat is then allocated on the basis of the highest London figure at that stage, after which the winning party's London figure is similarly recalculated, until all 11 seats have been allocated. Should two parties tie for the last seat, their figures are recalculated as though each party had one more seat and the one whose London figure is the highest gets the seat. If the tie continues the matter is to be settled by lot. A threshold for election as a London member of the Assembly is set in paragraph 7 of Schedule 2. A party or independent candidate failing to win at least 5% of the total of London votes will not be allocated any of the London member seats.
54. A worked example is set out below:
55. In this worked example, the fourteen Assembly constituency seats are shared between parties A, B, and C as follows:
Party A: 6 seats
Party B: 5 seats
Party C: 3 seats
56. The eleven London-wide seats are contested by the three parties and by one independent candidate. The votes cast are as follows:
57. The eleven London-wide seats are then distributed on the basis of these figures as follows:
Guideline for the calculation of London-wide seats:
1. In line with the De Hondt Formula (see above), 1 seat is added to each party's constituency seat total.
2. The London-wide vote for that party or individual is divided by this number (i.e. by the number of Constituency seats, plus 1).
3. The party or individual with the largest number wins a seat. (Party A in the example wins the first seat).
4. The winner's seat total is increased by one, and the calculation is repeated.
5. This time, Party B has the largest number and wins the seat.
6. This process continues until all 11 seats are allocated.
ILLUSTRATION
Allocation of London-wide seats.
Sections 5 to 11: Vacancies in the Assembly
58. Sections 5 to 11 make provision for vacancies in Assembly membership and are based on the provisions in Part V of the Local Government Act 1972 for vacancies in the membership of local authorities.
59. A vacancy arises where
60. A vacancy arising otherwise than on account of death, resignation or automatic disqualification has to be declared by an officer of the Authority charged with that function or by the High Court under section 23. A vacancy in an Assembly constituency is filled at an election held in the constituency on the first past the post basis. The election must be held no later than 35 days after the date on which the vacancy is to regarded as occurring in accordance with section 10 (but Sundays and holidays are left out of account).
61. If a vacancy occurs within six months prior to the date of an ordinary election, no election will be held; instead it will be left unfilled until the next ordinary election of the whole Assembly. However, if the occurrence of a vacancy means that the total number of vacancies exceeds one-third of the total membership of the Assembly, then an election to fill that vacancy must take place.
62. Where a vacancy arises among the London members, it will remain unfilled until the next ordinary election unless the vacancy is of a London member elected from a party list and there are persons on the list who can be chosen by the Greater London returning officer to fill the vacancy.
63. To be eligible to fill such a vacancy, a person on a list must be willing to serve. In addition, if a person on the list is no longer a member of the party concerned, the party may notify the returning officer that the person is not to fill the vacancy.
64. If there is more than one person who satisfies the conditions set out above, then the highest placed of these persons on the list will be returned.
65. The term of office of the persons elected or chosen to fill vacancies will end at the same time as the terms of office of the persons elected at the previous ordinary election.
Sections 12 to 16: Vacancy in the office of the Mayor
66. Sections 12 to 16 deal with vacancies in the office of Mayor and are broadly similar to the provisions for vacancies in Assembly membership. In the case of the Mayor, however, the provision in section 13 where the mayor ceases to be a member on account of a failure to attend meetings relates to a failure on six consecutive occasions to attend the meetings of the Assembly held under section 52(2).
67. A mayoral vacancy is filled by an election held on the same basis as an ordinary election unless it occurs in the six months preceding the next ordinary election. In that case the office of Mayor is to be left unfilled and the deputy Mayor or the Chair of the Assembly will act as Mayor until the next ordinary election.
Section 17: Franchise, conduct of elections etc.
68. Section 17 and Schedule 3 make detailed provision for Authority elections by amending the Representation of the People Act 1983, which makes provision for the conduct of parliamentary and local government elections. Section references in the following description of Schedule 3 are to that Act.
69. Schedule 3 to the Act amends section 203 to make Authority elections local government elections for the purposes of that Act. The result is that the normal provisions applying to local government elections in respect of the entitlement to vote, registration, conduct of election, voting offences, the campaign, questioning a result and corrupt and illegal practices will apply in respect of Authority elections. However, in certain instances, Schedule 3 changes the Representation of the People Act to reflect the Authority's different electoral systems and such changes are noted below where they occur.
70. Paragraph 2 enables polling districts for Authority elections to be prescribed by London borough councils and the Common Council (section 31) and paragraph 3 makes provision for the returning officers at constituency elections to be designated by the Secretary of State and for the returning officer for the other Authority elections to be an officer appointed by the Authority (section 35).
71. Paragraph 4 enables rules for Authority elections to be prescribed (section 36). The paragraph specifies that these rules need not apply the parliamentary election rules, as normal local government election rules do under section 36(2), because the Authority's different electoral systems will call for different rules. (For example, Rule 50 of the Parliamentary election rules requires the returning officer to declare elected the candidate for whom the majority of votes has been given. This simple rule does not cover the counting of second preference votes in the mayoral election nor the calculation described in paragraph 53 of this note, necessary as part of the Assembly election.)
72. Paragraph 5 extends the Secretary of State's power to move the ordinary day for local elections in any year (section 37) so that Authority elections may be on a day other than the first Thursday in May, while paragraphs 6 and 7 make consequential and technical amendments to sections 39 and 40.
73. Paragraph 8 disapplies section 46 (which prescribes the number of votes each elector may give) as the number of votes of each elector at Authority elections is dealt with at sections 4, 10 and 16.
74. Paragraph 9 provides for the returning officers' costs (section 48) and paragraph 10 adds provisions appropriate to the Authority elections to the voting offences in section 61.
75. Paragraph 11 extends to the GLA elections the application of the rules of secrecy of voting (section 66) and paragraphs 12 to 15 make provision in respect of election agents, in particular, to deal with the appointment of a single agent for candidates on a registered political party's list. Paragraphs 16 to 22 make provision in respect of election expenses, in particular, to enable the Secretary of State by order to set limits on the election expenses of candidates at Authority elections. Paragraph 23 amends section 81 to extend the time within which election expenses returns must be made, by Mayoral candidates and London member candidates, from 35 days to 70 days. Paragraph 24 adds the Authority to section 82 (dealing with the declaration of election expenses). Paragraph 25 applies to Assembly members the penalty provisions of section 85, where they fail to make returns or declarations within the specified time period. Paragraph 26 provides for the disqualification of the Mayor where he or she fails to make returns and declarations within the specified time. Paragraph 27 provides for the time and place for the inspection of returns and declarations (section 88).
76. Paragraph 28 disapplies the provisions of section 93 removing the requirement on broadcasters to consult any candidate in an election if one or more candidates are to be interviewed in a programme. This provision would be impracticable to implement in relation to the new electoral arrangements. It was also disapplied for elections to the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly, and the European Parliament. Paragraph 29 entitles candidates to the use of certain premises for holding public meetings (section 96). Paragraph 30 makes Authority elections subject to the bribery provisions of the Act (section 113). Paragraph 31 disapplies the prohibition on a barrister or solicitor who resides within the Authority's area from being a member of an election court (section 130). Paragraph 32 amends section 135 to provide for the consequences of the election or return of a London member being declared void. Paragraphs 33 and 34 provide for election court determinations in respect of the Mayor or Assembly constituency members (section 145). Paragraph 35 extends the disqualification provisions of section 159 - where a candidate has been reported guilty of corrupt or illegal practice - to the Mayor and Assembly members. Paragraph 36 provides that in circumstances where a Mayoral candidate cannot be elected because he or she has employed a corrupt agent, the electors second vote is not deemed to have been "thrown away" if it is for a candidate who is not subject to the same incapacity (section 165). Paragraph 36 provides that in circumstances where a vote for a mayoral candidate is deemed to have been thrown away by virtue of section 165(3), it is only the vote given to that candidate (whether first or second choice) which is thrown away, and not votes for another candidate on the same ballot papers, unless of course they are also deemed to have been thrown away. Paragraphs 37, 38 and 39 provide for the extension of references to elections under the local government Act (section 189) to include Authority elections, for general provisions as to interpretation (section 202) and for the addition of definitions relating to the Authority (section 203).
Sections 18 and 19: Cost of holding the first ordinary elections
77. Section 18 provides for the reasonable expenditure of returning officers in relation to the holding of the first election of the Authority to be charged on and paid out of the Consolidated Fund. The Secretary of State may, with Treasury consent, determine the kind of expenditure recoverable and its maximum amount.
78. Section 19 enables the Secretary of State to incur expenditure himself in support of the first election, on items of expenditure which would not be recoverable by returning officers, for example on the provision of electronic scanning equipment.
Sections 20 to 23: Qualifications and disqualifications
79. Sections 20 to 23 make provision in respect of qualification and disqualification for being elected and holding the office of Mayor or Assembly member and are based on the provisions of Part V of the Local Government Act 1972 which apply to local authority membership. They apply to the selection of a person to fill a vacancy among London members in the same way as to an election.
80. In addition to the nationality and age conditions set out in section 20, a person must at the time of nomination and election also satisfy at least one of the conditions set out there which establish a connection with Greater London, namely, registration as a local government elector for Greater London or, during the previous 12 months, holding property, working or residing within Greater London. If a person elected as Mayor or an Assembly member only satisfied the condition of being a local elector for Greater London and, at any time, ceases to be registered as such an elector he ceases to be qualified to hold office and a vacancy will occur.
81. A person is disqualified from being elected or being the Mayor or an Assembly member if he or she:
82. The provision allowing the Secretary of State to designate offices or appointments which disqualify a person for being Mayor or an Assembly member (section 21(1)(b) does not apply to local authorities but is similar to provisions made in respect of the Welsh Assembly and the Scottish Parliament. It might be used, for example, to designate certain public appointments, the holders of which would be disqualified from standing for Mayor or for the Assembly unless they resigned from the posts to which they had been appointed. An example of this would be the Chairman of a Housing Corporation.
83. Section 23 provides that section 92 of the Local Government Act 1972 (proceedings for disqualification) will apply in relation to the Authority, as it applies in relation to a local authority.
84. This will allow any registered local government elector for Greater London to instigate legal proceedings against any person on the grounds that he acted, or claimed to be entitled to act, as Mayor or as an Assembly member, while in fact being disqualified from acting under section 20 or for failing to meet the qualification criteria set out in section 19 or to make a declaration under section 23, or for having ceased to be Mayor or an Assembly member through resignation or a failure to attend meetings.
85. Proceedings may be brought in the High Court or a magistrates' court but must be brought in the High Court if the person against whom they are brought claims to have been entitled to act. Proceedings may not be brought in respect of an act that took place more than six months before the bringing of the proceedings.
86. Where it is proved that a person acted while not qualified or while disqualified, the High Court has power to declare a vacancy in his office and order forfeiture of monetary sums while a magistrates' court has power only to impose a fine. Where proceedings are instituted in a magistrates' court, that court has power to refer them to the High Court and they must be referred if the High Court so orders at the defendant's request.
Sections 24 to 26: Salaries, expenses and pensions
87. These sections provide for the Mayor and Assembly members to be paid salaries and expenses and to establish a pension scheme. For the first year of the Authority's life the Secretary of State - on the basis of recommendations he has invited the Senior Salaries Review Board (SSRB) to provide - will set the level of the Mayor's and Assembly members' salaries and make provision for the payment of pensions. The Secretary of State has also invited the SSRB to recommend a mechanism for the review and up-rating of these payments. In subsequent years, when it will be for the Authority to determine the level of such payments, it will be expected to have regard to the advice of the SSRB before making such determinations. The Secretary of State's guidance on ethical standards, issued under the provisions of section 66 of this Act, will include guidance on this issue to which the Authority must have regard. To ensure transparency, sections 24(8) and 26(5) require the Authority's standing orders to include provision for the publication of any determination made in relation to salaries or pensions.
Section 28: Declaration of acceptance of office
88. Section 28 makes provisions about this. Any person elected as Mayor or an Assembly member must make a declaration of acceptance of office in order to be allowed to act in that office. The declaration must be delivered to the proper officer of the Authority within two months of the date of the election, or else a vacancy will be declared.
89. Section 3(4) enables the Secretary of State to make detailed arrangements in connection with the first ordinary elections. The Secretary of State may also use this order to make provision specifying how, in connection with the first elections, declarations of acceptance of office are to be made and delivered. The order may for example appoint an officer to receive these first declarations.
PART II: GENERAL FUNCTIONS AND PROCEDURE
Sections 30 to 34: The general and subsidiary powers of the Authority
90. Section 30 of the Act provides for the Authority to have power to do anything which will further any one or more of its principal purposes. The Act defines the GLA's principal purposes as being - to promote economic development and wealth creation in Greater London; to promote social development in Greater London; and to promote the improvement of the environment in Greater London (see sections 30(2) and 424 for interpretation).
91. In determining whether or not to exercise its power to further one or more of its principal purposes the Authority is required to consider the effect this may have on the remaining purpose or purposes - in so far as that is practicable - and, over a period of time, to secure a reasonable balance between furthering each of its principal purposes. It must consider the effects the proposed exercise of the power would have on the health of people in London, and the achievement of sustainable development in the United Kingdom. If it decides to exercise its powers it must do so in a way which is best calculated to promote improvements to the health of people in Greater London and which will contribute to the achievement of sustainable development.
92. The Authority will have to have regard to any guidance issued by the Secretary of State under section 30(7) concerning the application of the Authority's general purpose.
93. Section 31 sets out certain limitations on the exercise of the Authority's general power. The Authority will not be able to do anything using this power which would duplicate the statutory functions of TfL, the MPA or the LFEPA, and must seek to secure that it does not duplicate the activities of the London Development Agency. It will also be unable to duplicate the statutory functions of local authorities or of other public bodies, in particular the London borough councils and the London Health Authorities. Subsection (3) specifies the services in respect of which the GLA cannot incur expenditure - including housing, education, social services or health services - where these services may be provided by a London borough, the Common Council or any other public body. Subsection (7) gives the Secretary of State a power to add to the list things which the Authority is prevented from doing in this way. Subsection (8) contains a reserve power to impose limits on the expenditure that can be incurred using the general power, and subsection (9) gives the Secretary of State powers to remove or restrict any such prohibitions imposed by this section.
94. The Mayor will however be able to use the power in section 30 to co-operate with other public authorities or bodies, or to co-ordinate or facilitate the activities of such authorities or bodies on a London-wide or a wider than local basis. This might include, with the agreement of such authorities or bodies, providing a related specialist service which would be of benefit to London as a whole.
95. To protect other authorities or bodies, organisations or individuals whose interests might be affected by the exercise of its general power, section 32 (1) requires the Authority to consult such bodies or persons as it may consider appropriate in any particular case, prior to the exercise of the power. Section 32(2) provides that, in deciding whom to consult, the Authority must consider whether or not to consult the following bodies or organisations: the London Boroughs and the Common Council; voluntary bodies whose activities benefit the whole or part of Greater London ; bodies which represent the interests of different racial, ethnic or national groups; bodies which represent different religious groups; and bodies which represent the interests of persons carrying on business in Greater London. Combined, these provisions mean that the Mayor may exercise the Authority's general power only after he has consulted bodies or persons whose interests will be affected by the exercise of that power.
96. Section 33 requires the Authority to make appropriate arrangements with a view to securing that, in the exercise of its general power and the preparation and implementation of its strategies, there is due regard to the principle that there should be equality of opportunity for all people. It also requires the Authority to publish, annually, a report setting out the arrangements which have been put in place during the year to which the report applies and making an assessment of how effective those arrangements were in promoting equality of opportunity. Section 34 provides for the Authority to be able to do anything which is incidental to the exercise of its functions, including its general power under section 30.
Sections 35 to 37: Exercise of functions: general principles
97. Section 35 provides the general principles for the exercise of the Authority's functions by the Mayor, by the Assembly or by the Mayor and the Assembly acting together. Section 36 provides for the procedures to be followed by the Assembly in preparing the Authority's standing orders.
98. Section 37 and Schedule 4 provide for the discharge of the Mayor's functions when there is a vacancy in the office of Mayor or the Mayor is temporarily unable to act. In these circumstances paragraph 3 of Schedule 4 provides for there to be an "Acting Mayor", who will be either the deputy Mayor or the Chair of the Assembly. There are certain functions of the Mayor which the "Acting Mayor" will not be able to exercise. These functions are set out in paragraphs 6 and 11 of Schedule 4: they are, the preparation of a consolidated budget for the Authority and the functional bodies; the preparation, alteration or replacement of any of the Mayor's strategies; and certain appointments including appointments to the functional bodies.
Sections 38 to 40: Functions exercisable by the Mayor
99. Section 38 provides for the delegation of functions exercisable by the Mayor. The majority of the functions of the Authority will be exercisable by the Mayor, who will be able to delegate those functions to any of the bodies or persons specified in this section including the Deputy Mayor, TfL and the London Development Agency. Section 39 provides for the establishment of joint committees with other local authorities for the joint discharge of functions where the Mayor has delegated his functions, under the provisions of section 38(1), to one or more local authorities. Section 39(2) provides for the establishment of joint committees with one or more local authorities where they have related or connected interests. Section 40 extends the provisions of Part II of the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 so as to apply them to the GLA. This means that a Minister of the Crown may make an order providing for the contracting out of any of the functions of the GLA which are exercisable by the Mayor.
Sections 41 to 44: The Mayor's strategies
100. The Act requires the Mayor to produce a number of strategies, including strategies in relation to transport (section 142); economic development and regeneration (section 306); spatial development (section 334); biodiversity (section 352); municipal waste management (section 353); air quality (section 362); ambient noise (section 370); and culture (section 376).
101. Section 41 sets out the strategies to which the general duties of the Mayor apply, the duty of the Mayor to review and revise the strategies, and the matters to which the Mayor must have regard in preparing, revising or implementing those strategies. In preparing, reviewing or amending the strategies, the Mayor shall have regard to the need to ensure that each of the strategies is consistent with national policy and with such international obligations as the Secretary of State may notify to the Mayor, and with the other strategies. The Mayor shall also have regard to the principal purposes of the Authority and the effect the proposed strategy or revision would have on the health of people in London and the achievement of sustainable development in the United Kingdom. The Mayor shall also have regard to the resources available to implement each strategy, the desirability of promoting the improvement of the health of Londoners and the desirability of promoting and encouraging the use of the River Thames safely - in particular for passenger transport and freight transportation. The Mayor must set such targets as he or she considers appropriate for implementing each of the strategies. In doing so the Mayor shall have regard to national targets, objectives and performance indicators, and shall seek to secure that the targets set are not less demanding than these.
102. Section 42 places a duty on the Mayor to carry out consultations in preparing or revising the strategies. The Mayor shall consult, in the first instance, the Assembly and the functional bodies, and subsequently each London borough council and the Common Council. The Mayor shall also consult any other organisation or individual he or she considers it appropriate to consult, including bodies of the descriptions in section 32(3). Subsection (6) exempts the Mayor from the duty to consult as to a proposed revision of strategies where he or she considers those revisions do not materially alter the strategy: it will be for the Mayor to decide whether or not revisions to the strategies materially alter those strategies and therefore whether or not consultation about those revisions are necessary.
103. Section 43 requires the Mayor to take steps to give adequate publicity to the strategies, to send a copy to each London Borough and the Common Council, to make the current versions of them available for public inspection at the GLA's offices and other suitable places, and to provide them at a reasonable cost to any person who asks for them.
104. Section 44 provides for directions by the Secretary of State as respects the preparation and publication of the first strategies. Should the Secretary of State consider that the Mayor who is first elected is failing to take the necessary steps to prepare the strategies, the Secretary of State will have a reserve power to direct the Mayor to prepare and publish the strategies within a specified period of time.
Sections 45 to 48: Public accountability
105. Sections 45 to 48 contain provisions on the accountability of the Mayor and Assembly. Section 45 provides that the Mayor will 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 under section 52(3). The report must set out significant decisions which the Mayor has taken, with reasons, and responses to any formal proposals put by the Assembly. The Mayor will attend the ten meetings of the Assembly and will answer Assembly members' oral or written questions, orally, or where this is not practicable, in writing. In answering Assembly questions, the Mayor will not be obliged to disclose advice received from GLA staff or from functional bodies or their members or staff. Similarly, GLA staff and functional bodies and their members and staff will not be obliged to disclose advice to the Mayor when summoned by the Assembly under section 61. The Assembly meetings which the Mayor attends, the Mayor's reports, the text of questions and answers and the minutes of the meetings will be open or available to the public, subject to the exceptions for confidential and other exempt material set out in Part VA of the Local Government Act 1972.
106. Section 46 requires the Mayor to prepare an Annual Report. The Annual Report will assess the Mayor's progress on implementing strategies, including the achievement of any targets set, include information about the performance of the Authority's statutory functions which the GLA is obliged to publish under any legislation. The Mayor will also include in the report information of a type which the Assembly has asked to be included before the beginning of the year covered by the report. The Mayor will send the report to the Assembly before publishing it.
107. Section 47(6) requires an annual State of London debate to be held in April, May or June but it must not be held until at least 7 days after the publication of the Annual Report. One effect of this provision is to require the Annual Report to be published at least 7 days before the end of June in the financial year after that to which the Report relates.
108. Section 47 provides that the Mayor will hold and attend an event referred to in the Act as an annual public "State of London" debate. The debate will take place in April, May or June, at least 7 days after the Annual Report is published. Section 48 provides that the Mayor and Assembly will hold twice-yearly events, which are referred to in the Act as "People's Question Time". The Mayor must decide the form and procedures for both events, following consultation with the Assembly.
Section 49: The Deputy Mayor
109. Section 49 provides for the appointment of a deputy Mayor. The Mayor will be required to appoint a deputy Mayor from amongst the Assembly members, and will be required to appoint the deputy Mayor as a member of the Metropolitan Police Authority. The Mayor will be able to delegate functions to the Deputy Mayor, and the Deputy Mayor will, on agreeing to do so, become Acting Mayor if there is a vacancy in the office of Mayor or the Mayor is temporarily unable to act.
110. The Deputy Mayor cannot be the Chair or Deputy Chair of the Assembly.
111. The Mayor may dismiss the Deputy Mayor at any time. A Deputy Mayor may resign at any time. In either case, the Mayor must appoint a successor.
Sections 50 and 51: Chair and Deputy Chair of the Assembly
112. Section 50 provides for the offices of 'Chair of the London Assembly' and 'Deputy Chair of the London Assembly', and for the functions of those office-holders. Section 51 covers their appointment. The Chair and Deputy Chair will both be elected by the Assembly, from amongst its members. Neither can be appointed as Deputy Mayor and retain the office of Chair or Deputy Chair of the Assembly. If there is a vacancy in the office of Mayor and there is either no Deputy Mayor or the deputy Mayor declines to become acting Mayor, the Chair of the Assembly will become Acting Mayor and exercise the functions of the Mayor subject to the restrictions which relate to the Deputy Mayor - as set out in paragraphs 6 and 11 of Schedule 4.
Sections 52 to 60: Meetings and procedure of the Assembly
113. Section 52 provides for meetings of the whole Assembly. Within ten days of an ordinary election (as set out in section 3), the Assembly must meet to elect a Chair and Deputy Chair.
114. The Assembly must hold ten meetings each year, at which it will consider the Mayor's report (details of which are provided in the note on section 45), and question the Mayor and employees of the Authority. The Assembly may also consider other matters at these meetings. After each ordinary election, the first of these meetings must be held not later than 25 days after the date of the election. Thereafter, the Assembly must hold meetings of this sort at intervals of not less than 28 days. The Assembly may also hold any other meetings it chooses.
115. The Mayor and the staff he appoints (other than his two political advisors) will be required to attend these monthly meetings and answer questions put to them by the Assembly. Subsection (4) of section 70 specifies those employees of the Authority who are to be required to attend the Assembly's meetings as part of their terms and conditions. They will include senior permanent officers, together with the Mayor's ten personal appointments (see section 67).
116. Subsection (8) of section 52 allows the Chair of the Assembly to call extraordinary meetings of the Assembly at any time.
117. If the Chair refuses to call an extraordinary meeting after a request by five members of the Assembly has been presented to him, or if the Chair fails to call an extraordinary meeting within seven days of receiving such a request, then any five Assembly members may call such a meeting. The power to request or call an extraordinary meeting cannot be delegated by the Assembly to a committee or to an individual Assembly member.
118. Section 53 contains provisions on Assembly procedure. The Assembly will take decisions by a simple majority of those present and voting at a meeting, except where there is express provision to the contrary. The Assembly will be able to determine its own procedure and that of all its committees and sub-committees, including the size and composition of a quorum. This discretion will be subject, among other things, to the provisions set out in section 52 requiring the Assembly to elect a Chair and Deputy Chair, to hold regular meetings, and deal with the holding of extraordinary meetings.
119. Section 54 provides for the delegation of the discharge of the functions of Assembly. The Assembly may arrange for any of its functions to be exercised either by a committee or sub-committee of the Assembly, by a single Assembly member or by a member of staff of the Authority. In the case of delegation to a single member, the Assembly may only delegate its functions under section 67(2) - staff appointments - and section 70(2) - terms and conditions of staff - to a member of the staff of the Authority appointed by the Assembly. This section also provides for delegation by committees to sub-committees. In arranging for its functions to be exercised by a committee or individual Assembly member, the Assembly does not thereby prevent itself as a whole from exercising those functions. Certain functions must be exercised by the whole Assembly and are not capable of being delegated to all; for example, its duty to hold a meeting to elect a Chair and Deputy Chair, as provided for in section 52.
120. There are special provisions relating to the Police. Section 20 of the Police Act 1996 requires relevant councils to make arrangements for questions on the discharge of the police authority's functions to be put by members of the council at meetings of the council. Paragraph 78 of Schedule 27 inserts a new section 20A, which makes corresponding provision. The Assembly will not be permitted to arrange for its functions under section 20A of the 1996 Act to be exercised by an individual Assembly member
121. Section 55 provides for the appointment and membership of Assembly Committees and sub-committees. It also provides for the Assembly to appoint "advisory committees" and for the membership of such committees. Section 56 provides for minutes of meetings of the Assembly, Assembly committees and sub-committees to be kept in a form to be determined by the Assembly
122. Section 57 covers rules on the political composition of Assembly committees. Local government provisions governing the political composition of committees, set out in sections 15 to 17 of and Schedule 1 to the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 and regulations made under those provisions, will apply to committees of the Assembly. The effect of these provisions is to require the Assembly to ensure that the allocation of appointments to Assembly committees reflects the strength of different political groups in the Assembly as a whole.
123. The Assembly shall be required to review the political composition of its committees, as specified by section 15(1) of the 1989 Act, when it first appoints members to any committee.
124. Section 58 makes the Assembly and its committees and sub-committees subject to the rules, with some modifications, which apply to local authorities generally requiring them to hold meetings in public, give public notice of meetings and make documents publicly available. These requirements are set out in Part VA of the Local Government Act 1972 (sections 100A to 100K and Schedule 12A). The Authority is not required to make available for public inspection "background papers" which would disclose advice to the Mayor. The Assembly shall exclude the public from meetings where confidential information is going to be discussed and shall not make available documents which would disclose certain categories of commercially sensitive information which relate to TfL and the LDA.
Sections 59 and 60: General functions of the Assembly
125. Section 59 sets out the Assembly's powers to carry out reviews and investigations. The Assembly will be required to keep the Mayor's exercise of statutory functions under review. In particular, the Assembly will have power to investigate, and prepare reports about, any actions and decisions of the Mayor, any actions and decisions by any member of the Authority's staff, matters relating to the principal purposes, matters in relation to which statutory functions are exercisable by the Mayor, or any other matters which the Assembly considers to be of importance to Greater London.
126. Section 60 allows the Assembly to submit proposals to the Mayor. This power may not be delegated to a committee or an individual Assembly member, so any proposal submitted to the Mayor will have to come from the whole Assembly. The Mayor will be required to make a formal response to any proposals submitted to him by the Assembly in his report to one of the ten Assembly meetings provided for in section 52(3).
Sections 61 to 65: Attendance of witnesses and production of documents
127. Section 61 contains powers for the Assembly to summon certain categories of people to give evidence at its meetings and to produce documents.
128. Subsections (2) to (5) set out the categories of persons who may be required to attend or to produce documents. These are:
129. The Assembly will not be able to require GLA staff, functional bodies or their members or staff, to give evidence or produce documents which would disclose advice given to the Mayor.
130. Section 62 sets out the procedures the Assembly will be required to follow when it requires attendance at its meetings. These include the timescales within which the Head of Paid Service of the Authority (see below) must give notice of where and when people are to attend, and the documents or types of documents they must produce.
131. Section 63 provides that the Secretary of State may make orders prescribing the categories of information which a person summoned to give evidence to the Assembly may refuse to give, and categories of document which such a person may refuse to produce. Orders under this power are statutory instruments which are subject to the negative resolution procedure of the Houses of Parliament (as provided by section 420).
132. Section 64 covers the consequences of failure to attend proceedings. It will be an offence for somebody who falls into the categories set out in section 61 to:
133. Any person found guilty of such an offence will be subject to a fine of no more than level 5 on the standard scale (currently specified under the Criminal Justice Acts as £5,000) or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three months.
134. Section 65 provides that the Assembly's openness rules under section 58, with some modifications, apply to hearings under section 61. Hearings will be open to the public, and documents available for public inspection subject to exceptions for confidential and exempt information. Transcripts or other records of evidence will be available for public inspection, as will additional papers supplied by witnesses or documents prepared for Assembly members to use at the hearings.
Section 66: Ethical standards
135. Section 66 concerns ethical standards. Because of the allocation of responsibilities between the Mayor and the Assembly, the usual procedures which govern the conduct of business within local authorities cannot be applied to the Authority. The Act therefore provides a power for the Secretary of State to issue guidance to the Authority about, amongst other things, the disclosure and registration of interests, voting in cases where an Assembly member has an interest in the matter in question, the exercise of functions by or on behalf of the Mayor, the deputy mayor or any member of the Authority's staff in cases where the mayor, deputy Mayor or member of staff has an interest in the matter in question; and the prescription of model codes of conduct. The Secretary of State may also provide guidance on the establishment, by the Authority, of one or more committees concerned with ethical standards and about the functions of such a committee. A consultation document on this guidance was issued on 11 October 1999.
Sections 67 to 73: Staff
136. Section 67 provides for the appointment of three categories of employees of the Authority, and also provides for them to be appointed to the Authority in different ways.
137. Under the provisions of section 67(1)(a), the Mayor will be able to appoint two political advisers. They will be personal appointments made by the Mayor alone, and the jobs will not need to be advertised or be subject to competition. The Mayor will be required to report to the Assembly the terms and conditions of the appointments, including their duration. No appointment in this category can extend beyond the term of office for which the Mayor is elected.
138. The Mayor will also be able to appoint not more than 10 other members of staff - section 67(1)(b). These posts will be advertised and open to competition, and appointments will be made on merit in line with the provisions of section 7 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. The Mayor will be required to report to the Assembly who has been appointed to each of the posts, and the terms and conditions under which the appointment has been made. No appointment in this category can extend beyond the term of office for which the Mayor is elected.
139. Under the provisions of section 67(2), the Assembly, or a committee or individual member of the Assembly, or a member of staff of the Authority, appointed under the provisions of section 67(2), to whom the function has been delegated, will appoint all other employees of the Authority.
140. Appointments under section 67 will be made subject to the restrictions and terms and conditions set out in sections 68 to 71 of the Act which reflect provisions in local government legislation for the appointment of local authority officers.
141. Section 72 requires the Authority to appoint a Head of Paid Service who will have the same duties as those imposed by section 4 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 on the Head of Paid Service in local authorities, and who will, in addition, have other responsibilities which reflect the separation of powers between the Mayor and Assembly. The appointment of the Head of Paid Service will be made by the Assembly following consultation with the Mayor.
142. Section 73 requires the Authority to appoint a Monitoring Officer. The Monitoring Officer will have the same duties as those imposed by section 5 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 in relation to local authorities, and additional powers to reflect the separation of powers between the Mayor and the Assembly. The Monitoring Officer will act as monitoring Officer to Transport for London and the London Development Agency where they are exercising any function delegated to them by the Mayor under section 38 of the Act. This section also sets out the procedures to be followed when the Monitoring Officer submits a report to the Mayor and Assembly
Sections 74 to 76: General local authority provisions
143. By virtue of section 74 the GLA will be included in the list of bodies subject to scrutiny by the Commission for Local Administration (commonly known as the "local government ombudsman"). This list is set out in the Local Government Act 1974 (as amended). Section 394 provides for the functional bodies also to be subject to investigation by the local government ombudsman.
144. The ombudsman is responsible for investigating and reporting on complaints by members of the public about maladministration. The ombudsman investigates complaints and where appropriate suggests a course of action for authorities to take.
145. The Act gives the ombudsman powers to carry out investigations in areas where the GLA and its functional bodies are competent. Members of the public will be able to make complaints to the ombudsman about maladministration by the GLA and the functional bodies in the provision of services. Because the GLA will be a strategic authority, it will be responsible for the direct provision of services to the public in only a few areas. It is likely that these will mostly be related to TfL's responsibility for highways and transport planning. (Public complaints about the provision of passenger transport services by TfL will be dealt with by the London Transport Users Committee.) Decisions taken by the Fire and Police Authorities that may have a direct impact on members of the public could include planning.
146. Section 74 also contains provisions to amend the parts of the 1974 Local Government Act which set out how the ombudsman should inform local authorities of investigations he is undertaking into them, and how he should present the conclusions that he draws. These amendments will allow for the different structure of the GLA, and will ensure that the ombudsman takes account of the division of responsibilities between the Mayor and Assembly when he is preparing or submitting reports on complaints of maladministration against the GLA. For example, when the ombudsman submits a report to the GLA he will submit it to both the Mayor and the Assembly.
147. Subsection (5) of section 74 amends the 1974 Act to allow the ombudsman to identify individual members of the GLA in any report on the Authority that he might prepare. Presently, the ombudsman can only identify individual members of local authorities who have contravened the local government code of conduct.
148. Section 75 makes the GLA subject to standard local authority provisions of the Local Government Act 1972 covering documents, notices etc.
149. Section 76 of the Act provides that the GLA should follow the same procedure as local authorities (set out in section 236 of the Local Government Act 1972) when it makes byelaws.
Sections 77 to 79: Local Bills
150. Sections 77 to 79 along with section 167, Schedule 5, Schedule 13, paragraphs 16 and 21 of Schedule 25 provide that the GLA, TfL and the LDA have the power to promote local legislation. They provide that, before doing so, extensive consultation must take place. Where a local Bill affects the exercise of statutory functions of a London local authority, the consent of that authority must be obtained. Where more than one London local authority is affected, the consent of at least 90% of all London local authorities must be obtained.
151. Section 77 provides that the GLA, acting through the Mayor, may promote a local Bill for any purpose which is for the public benefit of the inhabitants of, or of any part of, Greater London. The Authority may also oppose local Bills. The section also provides that London local authorities may contribute to the cost of promoting such a Bill.
152. Section 78 enables the GLA to request provisions be included in a local Bill promoted by a London local authority and contribute to the cost of promoting the Bill. Section 79 provides that the consent of the GLA must be obtained before a London local authority may promote a local Bill affecting the exercise of statutory functions by the GLA or its functional bodies, other than provisions included at the request of the GLA under section 78.
153. Schedule 5 provides for the procedure to be followed by the GLA when promoting a local Bill. It sets out procedures for consultation and publicity in respect of the draft Bill and for publicity arrangements prior to its deposit. Paragraph 6 provides that where the Bill affects the statutory functions of a single London local authority, that authority must give its consent to the Bill prior to the Bill being deposited. Where the statutory functions of two or more London local authorities are affected, the Mayor will be required to obtain the consent of at least 90% of all London local authorities before depositing the Bill.
154. Section 167 provides that TfL shall be able to promote and oppose local Bills, subject to consent being obtained from the GLA. Schedule 13 provides for a similar procedure to apply in respect of Bills promoted by TfL to that required of the GLA in Schedule 5. Paragraphs 16 and 20 of Schedule 25 amend the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998 to provide that the LDA may promote Bills in Parliament, subject to a similar procedure to that required of the GLA and TfL.
Section 80: Contracts
155. Section 80 concerns contracts. Section 17 of the Local Government Act 1988 prevents local authorities from taking account of specified non-commercial matters when letting contracts for the supply of goods and services, or the execution of works. This section amends that section to include the GLA. The Act also makes similar provisions for the Metropolitan Police Authority in paragraph 57 of Schedule 27 and for the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority in paragraph 50 of Schedule 29.
PART III: FINANCIAL PROVISIONS
CHAPTER I: COUNCIL TAX
156. Section 82 provides that the GLA will be a major precepting authority, that is an authority which does not raise council tax directly from individual council tax payers. Instead the GLA will require each London borough council to raise a certain amount (the "precept") from council tax payers in its area. The Act defines the GLA as a major precepting authority by amending the Local Government Finance Act 1992, and removes the London Fire and Civil Defence Authority and the Receiver for the Metropolitan Police District from the list of major precepting authorities. Section 81 requires billing authorities to add to their council tax bills the amounts calculated by the GLA under the GLA Act 1999. Section 83 amends section 40 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 so that where the GLA issues a precept the calculations and taxbase items referred to are as set out in the GLA Act.
157. Section 84 amends section 42 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 to require the GLA to follow the procedure under that section whenever it issues a substitute precept, including a substitute precept following a direction to increase the budget for the Metropolitan Police Authority under section 95. A substitute precept is a precept issued by a local authority to give effect to substitute calculations of budget requirements or basic amounts of council tax carried out by the authority in respect of a particular financial year.
158. Sections 85 and 86 set out how the GLA will calculate its component and consolidated annual budget requirements. For each constituent body, that is the Authority and each of the four functional bodies, the Authority must calculate the budget requirement. The GLA must then calculate the consolidated budget requirement by adding together the budget requirements of each of the constituent bodies. The budget requirement of a constituent body is calculated in a similar way to that of local authorities by calculating the difference between the sum of expenditure items and the sum of income items as defined in the Act. A budget requirement cannot be negative; if the sum of expenditure items is less than the sum of income items, it will be nil.
159. The Act sets out rules which the GLA must follow in calculating budget requirements. An amount of income or expenditure which has been included in the calculation of a budget requirement of one constituent body should not be included in the calculation of the budget requirement of another. In estimating the Metropolitan Police Authority's expenditure, the GLA should take into account levies from the National Criminal Intelligence Service and the National Crime Squad. In estimating the expenditure of the other bodies, levies issued to them shall be taken into account. The GLA shall not anticipate any levies which have not been issued, unless an order or regulations have been made allowing it to do so.
160. The Secretary of State will be able to amend the rules governing the calculations by statutory instrument, in the same way as for the equivalent rules for local authorities generally.
161. Section 87 and Schedule 6 establish the roles of the Mayor and Assembly in deciding budget requirements for the GLA itself and each of the functional bodies ("component budgets") and the consolidated budget requirement. The functional bodies will also be consulted about their own budgets.
162. The GLA's budget must be finalised by the end of February each year.
163. The first stage is for the Mayor, having consulted the Assembly and the functional bodies about their relevant component budgets, to draw up a draft (consolidated) budget. The Mayor will then consult the Assembly about the draft budget before presenting it to the Assembly at a public meeting on or before 1 February. The Assembly may approve this draft, or may amend it, both by simple majority vote, before returning it to the Mayor.
164. The Mayor will then prepare a final draft budget and present it to the Assembly at a public meeting before the end of February. If the final draft does not include amendments the Assembly made to the first draft, the Mayor will give reasons. The Assembly will either approve the final draft budget by a simple majority, or may amend it by a two thirds majority.
165. If the Mayor fails to present a draft budget on or before 1 February, or a final draft budget within a reasonable time, the Assembly will decide the GLA's budget by a simple majority.
166. The Secretary of State will be able to change the 1 February date by regulations. The purpose of this power is to accommodate any delay to the Local Government Finance Settlement.
167. The Mayor must publish the consolidated and component budgets and must keep each document available for public inspection at the GLA's offices for six years from the date it is first published. The Mayor must also supply a copy of all or part of each document to any person, on request, for a reasonable fee.
168. Sections 88 to 93 amend or replace the equivalent sections of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (sections 44 to 48) which relate to the calculation of precepts.
169. Sections 88 and 89 set out the rules for calculating the basic amounts of council tax for the GLA. The rules for the GLA are broadly similar to those for other precepting authorities. However, in the case of the GLA it is necessary to apportion the various grants which help to meet the GLA's consolidated budget requirement between police services and the other services provided by the GLA. This division of the various grants between police and non-police services is required because the GLA is responsible for police services in only part of the GLA area, the inner and outer boroughs, but not the City of London, which has its own police force.
170. Council tax payers in the City of London contribute to the cost of police services in the City of London through that part of their council tax which goes directly to the City of London. They are not required to contribute to police services in the remainder of London which will be funded through the GLA, nor should the element of their council tax in respect of GLA services take into account grants from central government to the GLA in respect of the police services funded through the GLA in the rest of London.
171. Sections 88 and 89 provide for this by specifying that the GLA first calculates an amount of council tax for the non-police services which it supplies across the whole of the GLA area. The GLA then calculates an additional amount of council tax in relation to the police services which it funds in the inner and outer boroughs. The calculation for non-police services takes into account that portion of the central government grants which relate to non-police services; the calculation for the additional element of council tax for police services takes into account those grants relating only to police services and that portion of the other grants which relate to police services. Council tax payers in the City of London only pay the GLA the amount for non-police services; council tax payers in the inner and outer London boroughs pay the total of the police and non-police amounts. Sections 88 and 89 also provide powers for the Secretary of State to set rules for the calculation of the police and non-police elements of the GLA basic amounts of council tax.
172. Section 90 identifies "the special item" mentioned in section 89(2). This is the expense of the MPA, the only expense borne by the GLA which does not relate to the whole of Greater London. The expense does not relate to the City of London police area, because that area has its own police force. The Common Council is the police authority for that area and so it, rather than the GLA, is responsible for the cost of the police force.
173. Section 91 amends the Local Government Finance Act 1992 to remove references to police services, and to probation services and magistrates' courts services in London. These references are no longer required following changes in the provision of these services which will accompany the introduction of the GLA.
174. Sections 92 and 93 cover the calculation of council tax for properties in different council tax valuation bands and the calculation of the amount payable by each billing authority. They do this by amending sections 47 and 48 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, inserting references to the Greater London Authority, and to the relevant sections of the Greater London Authority Act 1999.
175. Section 94, section 98 and Schedule 7 provide that the GLA will have a similar power to make substitute calculations to that of other local authorities. The effect is that, normally, it will have powers only to reduce its precept, except where the previous calculations are quashed by court proceedings, or where the Secretary of State directs that the Metropolitan Police Authority budget should be increased, in accordance with section 95.
176. The roles of the Mayor and Assembly in carrying out substitute calculations are set out in Schedule 7 and are similar to the procedures for determining the budget originally.
177. Sections 95 and 96 give the Secretary of State a reserve power to set a minimum level for the Metropolitan Police Authority's budget. This power can be used only if the Secretary of State considers that the budget set by the GLA is too small to provide an efficient and effective police force. The Secretary of State may specify a minimum level for the budget, which must not be greater than the amount required to restore or maintain an efficient and effective police force.
178. Where the Secretary of State has made such a direction, the GLA may increase the MPA's budget by increasing the precept, cutting the other component budgets, or through a combination of the two. The GLA will not be able to increase the precept by any more than the difference between the MPA budget specified in the direction and the MPA budget previously set by the GLA and considered by the Secretary of State to be too low.
179. If the GLA chooses to change the precept, the previous precept would remain valid until the new precept is issued. If the GLA fails to make substitute calculations when required to under section 95 and to issue a revised precept within 35 days, it will not receive any sums that billing authorities (the boroughs and the City) would have otherwise paid to it in respect of the precepts until it has carried out the substitute calculations.
180. Section 97 provides that the Mayor will be able to recalculate component budgets when he considers this is appropriate because of an emergency or disaster involving the destruction of or danger to life or property. This will allow him to reallocate income (other than grant allocated to a specific body) between constituent bodies. The GLA will not, however, be able to change the consolidated budget requirement.
CHAPTER II: GRANTS AND REDISTRIBUTED NON-DOMESTIC RATES
Sections 100 and 101: Grants
181. Sections 100 and 101 create two new central government grants. Section 100 provides for the Secretary of State to pay to the Authority a general-purpose grant. It is at present envisaged that this grant would cover the majority of the costs of the Mayor and Assembly, with London council tax payers covering the remainder. The grant will be paid annually. The Secretary of State will consult the Mayor before settling the amount. It may be paid in instalments.
182. Section 101 provides for the Secretary of State to pay to the Authority a grant which draws together existing streams of funding for transport in London: the GLA Transport Grant. This is to be an annual grant, payable in instalments. The amount of the grant will be determined after consultation by the Secretary of State with the Mayor.
183. Subsection (2) of section 101 provides that this grant is paid for the purposes of TfL, which include both the services it runs itself and the support it will provide to London borough councils. Section 103(1) compels the Mayor to pay GLA Transport Grant received from the Secretary of State directly to TfL. The grant is thus not available to the Mayor for spending on other purposes or for allocation to another functional body.
Sections 102 and 103: Distribution of grants etc.
184. Sections 102 and 103 deal with the distribution of grants. The GLA will receive general grants on behalf of itself and the four functional bodies. These will include Revenue Support Grant, additional grant, relevant special grant, the general GLA grant, redistributed non-domestic rates, and income from the GLA precept. The GLA will have a duty to pay the functional bodies in instalments their share of the sums it receives in accordance with their budgets. The GLA must ensure that the amount and timing of instalments would allow a functional body to fulfil its functions, and will have a duty to pay the instalments punctually.
185. The GLA will also receive grants intended for a specific functional body (e.g. police grant) and will have to pay those grants to the relevant body forthwith.
CHAPTER III: EMERGENCY FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE, FUNDS AND MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS
Section 104: Emergency Financial Assistance
186. Section 104 amends section 155 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, under which central government grants may be paid to local authorities in whose area there occurs an emergency or disaster involving destruction of, or danger to, life or property. The GLA is added to the list of authorities eligible to apply for these grants. The GLA will be able to apply for assistance, either on its own behalf or on behalf of the LFEPA, the MPA or TfL, following an emergency or disaster in the GLA area.
Section 105: Component budgets: anticipation of certain levies
187. Section 105 amends the Local Government Finance Act 1988 so that regulations can be made to allow the GLA to anticipate a levy for itself a functional body except the Metropolitan Police Authority for which separate provision is made. This puts the GLA in line with other major precepting authorities.
Section 106: The Authority's general fund
188. Section 106 requires the GLA to establish a General Fund. This is the main revenue fund of a local authority, from which day to day spending on services is met.
Section 107: Judicial review
189. Section 107 provides that the only means of questioning the GLA's calculations of component and consolidated budget requirements and precepts will be through judicial review.
Section 108: Functions to be discharged only by certain authorities
190. Section 108 provides that the calculation of budget requirements and the setting and issuing of precepts is to be carried out on behalf of the Authority by the Mayor, Assembly, or Mayor and Assembly acting jointly in accordance with the Act. These functions cannot be delegated to a committee or representative. The only exception is that the Mayor may consult a committee or other representatives of the Assembly on the draft consolidated budget if a majority of Assembly members have voted for this to happen.
Section 109: Information
191. Section 109 places an obligation on the GLA and the functional bodies to provide, when requested, the financial information that other local authorities already provide to the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR).
192. Section 168 of the Local Government Act 1972 allows the Secretary of State, among others things, to collect, at the end of a financial year, information about the Authority's income and expenditure during that financial year. Section 139A of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 gives the Secretary of State the power to collect non-personal information from local authorities for the purpose of exercising his grant making powers under the Act.
Section 110: Provision of information by functional bodies to Mayor or Assembly
193. Section 110 requires the functional bodies to provide the Mayor and Assembly with information relating to their financial affairs, or those of any company in which they have an interest. The Mayor and Assembly will be able to request any such information which the body has or could reasonably obtain.
CHAPTER IV: REVENUE ACCOUNTS AND CAPITAL FINANCE
Section 111: Application of Part IV of Local Government and Housing Act 1989
194. Section 111 brings the GLA and the four functional bodies within a slightly modified form of the local government capital finance system. This was established by Part IV of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, and has effect with respect to the finances of most local authorities in England and Wales and a number of other public authorities, including police authorities and combined fire authorities. (Authorities and bodies covered by the system are referred to in Part IV as "local authorities").
195. Part IV regulates the use for capital purposes of borrowed money, credit and capital receipts. Capital purposes include, in particular, the acquisition of land, buildings or equipment, and the construction or improvement of buildings. Capital spending may also be funded from an authority's revenue resources and from any grants they are issued for capital purposes. The two latter sources of finance are not regulated by Part IV itself. However, the use of revenue for capital purposes is subject to the same constraints that apply to an authority's revenue spending generally; controls on the use of grants depend upon any conditions attached to the grants.
196. Part IV also requires amounts to be set aside out of capital receipts and revenue to meet credit liabilities and regulates the use of such amounts.
Sections 112 to 118: Credit approvals
197. Section 43 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (LGHA) confers on local authorities a power to borrow money for any purpose relevant to their functions. Other provisions of Part IV regulate the use of credit arrangements which, as defined, include leases, hire purchase contracts and any transaction under which credit is given by a deferral of payment.
198. A credit approval is needed as authority to charge expenditure to any account other than a revenue account. Thus, all expenditure of borrowed money requires the use of a credit approval. A credit approval is also required to be used if an authority meets capital expenditure out of amounts set aside as provision for credit liabilities.
199. Using a credit approval is also one of the ways in which an authority may provide the credit cover which is required when entering into credit arrangements (alternatively, the authority may provide credit cover by setting aside additional amounts out of revenue or capital receipts).
200. Credit approvals are issued by the Government. A basic credit approval has to be issued for a local authority before the beginning of every financial year. Supplementary credit approvals may be given during a financial year.
201. Sections 112 to 118 contain provisions on credit approvals. It is intended that the Government will have power to issue to the Authority and the functional bodies two new kinds of credit approval called aggregate credit approvals and additional credit approvals. The aggregate credit approval will, like the basic credit approval for other local authorities, be issued by the Secretary of State before the beginning of the financial year. An additional credit approval may be issued by the Secretary of State or any other Minister at any time during a financial year.
202. All such credit approvals are to be issued to the Mayor (different arrangements will apply in the first year before the Mayor is elected), but copies have to be sent to the functional bodies.
203. Sections 113 and 114 deal with aggregate credit approvals and additional credit approvals. The amount of an aggregate credit approval may be nil. But subject to that, an aggregate or additional credit approval may consist of any number of amounts. Each amount specified must be of one of four categories. By specifying category A or B amounts for a specified functional body or for the Authority, the Government will be allowing the specified body to incur credit for capital purposes. In the case of a category A amount, this will be for any such purposes. In the case of a category B amount, it will be for a specified capital purpose.
204. Category C and D amounts are not for the use of a specified body, but are for allocation by the Mayor in such proportions as he may see fit. An allocation will allow the body to which it is made to incur credit for such capital purposes as the Mayor decides.
205. In the case of a category C amount, the Mayor may state that it is for any purpose or for a particular purpose.
206. In the case of a category D amount, the Mayor may only state that it is for any purpose specified by the Government or for a particular purpose of that description. For example, if the Secretary of State specified that the amount was for "regeneration", the Mayor would be able to allocate it for regeneration or for a particular regeneration project.
207. Section 115 provides that the Mayor must notify all four functional bodies of every allocation made from a category C or D amount contained in a credit approval, whether it is made to one of them or to the Authority. In the case of category C and D amounts contained in the aggregate credit approval, the allocations to the functional bodies are to be notified as part of a capital spending plan for which provision is made in section 122.
208. Section 116 confers power on the Secretary of State to make regulations requiring an amortisation period to be specified in aggregate and additional credit approvals. This is a period during which the body using the approval (i.e. the body either specified in it or having an allocation from the Mayor) has to set aside amounts out of revenue which could be used to meet its debts.
209. But such regulations would not apply if a category B amount were specified in an aggregate or additional credit approval as authority for a specified body to use borrowed money for expenditure which is treated as being for capital purposes because a direction has been given under section 40(6) of the LGHA 1989. Section 90 provides that in such a case, the Minister giving the credit approval has a discretion whether or not to specify an amortisation period.
210. Section 117 sets out the criteria for issuing credit approvals. In determining the amounts of aggregate and additional credit approvals, the Secretary of State or other Minister is to have the same discretion to take account of such factors as appear to him to be appropriate as he has under Part IV of the LGHA 1989 in relation to basic and supplementary credit approvals. He may, in particular, have regard to grants, contributions and (subject to certain qualifications) capital receipts. But he may not take account of the ability of the Authority or a functional body to finance capital expenditure from revenue.
211. The effect of section 118 is that, having been specified for a category A or B amount or having received an allocation from a category C or D amount, the authority concerned (the Authority or a functional body) shall be treated as having received a credit approval under Part IV of the LGHA 1989.
212. Consequently, the authority conferred by aggregate and additional credit approvals (to charge capital expenditure to a non-revenue account or to enter into credit arrangements) and the effect of using them are the same as for basic and supplementary credit approvals. Thus, for example, a functional body for which a category A amount is specified may use it to charge capital expenditure to borrowing, to enter into a lease, or to make a transfer of credit approval to any other local authority under section 56(2) of the LGHA 1989. And when the approval is used, it increases the functional body's "credit ceiling" (this is a measure of the extent to which an authority still has to make provision for its debts and other credit liabilities).
Section 119 to 121: Capital receipts and mutual grants
213. Sections 119 to 121 make provision for capital receipts and mutual grants. The sums received by a local authority which are capital receipts are described in section 58 of the LGHA 1989. They include the proceeds of disposal of assets and investments and the repayment of capital grants and loans made for capital purposes. A part of a capital receipt received by a local authority may have to be set aside as provision to meet credit liabilities (but, at present, this is generally confined to receipts from disposals of houses). The balance of capital receipts after such deductions have been made is called the usable part of the authority's capital receipts, and that part is available for meeting capital expenditure.
214. Section 119 confers on the Secretary of State power to make regulations to confer on the Mayor power to direct the payment to the Authority by a functional body of part of the functional body's usable capital receipts. Amounts paid to the Mayor under such a direction could only be used to meet capital expenditure of another functional body or of the Authority.
215. The regulations may prescribe the maximum percentage of usable capital receipts that may be specified in such a direction, or the portion in respect of which a direction may be issued (for example, the amount by which the usable part of capital receipts has increased during a financial year). The regulations may also enable the Mayor to require the body which has the benefit of a redistribution to apply the amount paid to it towards meeting expenditure for capital purposes of a particular description.
216. Section 120 authorises the GLA to pay grants to a functional body towards meeting expenditure for capital purposes, and authorises the functional bodies, with the Mayor's consent, to pay grants towards meeting expenditure for capital purposes of another functional body or of the GLA. Such a grant may be used by the body to which it is paid for any expenditure of that sort incurred for the purposes of or in connection with its functions.
217. Section 121 authorises the GLA to pay grants to a functional body towards meeting any expenditure which is not for capital purposes, and authorises the functional bodies, with the Mayor's consent, to pay grants towards meeting any expenditure of another functional body or of the GLA which is not for capital purposes. Such a grant may be used by the body to which it is paid for any expenditure of that sort incurred for the purposes of or in connection with its functions.
218. These sections are intended to facilitate the efficient use of the resources of the GLA and the functional bodies as a whole by providing administrative means for overcoming the restriction that a local authority may not use its capital resources to meet expenditure which is not for capital purposes.
219. For example, a body which at any time has available capital grants or capital receipts and a pressing need to incur expenditure towards which it cannot apply such amounts (because it is not expenditure for capital purposes) could arrange with the Authority or another functional body to receive a grant it could use towards that expenditure in return for making a capital grant to the body concerned.
Sections 122 and 123: The Mayor's capital spending plan
220. Section 122 makes provision about the preparation by the Mayor for each financial year of a capital spending plan for the functional bodies. The capital spending plan is to be in the four sections described in section 122. Section A is a statement of the resources each functional body will have for capital expenditure by virtue of capital grants (other than grants payable by the GLA) and usable capital receipts.
221. Section B is a statement of the resources each functional body will have for capital expenditure by virtue of any grant that the Mayor has decided that the Authority is to pay under section 120, category A and B amounts specified in the aggregate credit approval for the relevant financial year, and any amounts that the Mayor has decided to allocate out of category C and D amounts specified in the aggregate credit approval for that year.
222. Section C is a statement for each functional body of total expenditure for capital purposes that the Mayor expects the body to incur, and of the total credit cover that the Mayor expects the body to need for credit arrangements. Section D is a breakdown of this total capital spending showing how much the Mayor expects the body to meet out of capital grants; how much he expects it to meet out of the usable part of its capital receipts; how much he expects it to meet by using amounts specified in, or allocated from, the aggregate credit approval; and how much he expects it to meet out of revenue.
223. Section 123 lays down a timetable for the preparation of, and consultation on, a draft capital spending plan, and for the completion of the plan and disclosure of its contents. The Mayor must keep the capital spending plan available for public inspection for six years from the date it is published and must supply a copy of all or part of it, on request, for a reasonable fee.
Sections 124 to 126: Supplementary provisions
224. Section 124 provides that in preparing the capital spending plan, the Mayor may take account of such factors as appear to him to be appropriate, and makes it clear that preparation includes deciding for each functional body the minimum amount of grant that the GLA is to pay under section 120, and the amounts to be allocated out of category C and D amounts specified in the aggregate credit approval. These amounts are to appear in section B of the plan (see section 122(4)).
225. Section 124(3) provides that the Mayor may in particular take account of how far a functional body has, in any previous financial year, met total capital spending specified in section C of the capital spending plan for that year according to the expected breakdown of that spending given in section D. The intention is that the Mayor may, but is not bound to, have regard to the extent to which a functional body has departed in previous years from the pattern of capital spending (amounts and means of funding) about which all of the functional bodies will have been consulted, and which will have been set down in sections C and D of the relevant plan for the benefit of the GLA and the functional bodies as a whole.
226. Section 125 confers on the Mayor power to require the functional bodies to provide information that he needs to decide how to exercise his powers and perform his functions under Chapter IV of Part III. If a functional body fails to supply information sought by the Mayor, the Mayor may make assumptions and estimates. The Mayor may rely on any information available to him, whether or not it is obtained from a functional body under this section.
CHAPTER V: FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION, ACCOUNTS AND AUDIT
227. The GLA and the functional bodies will be within the local government framework for financial administration, accounts and audit purposes. Local government accounts and audit arrangements will also apply to the London Pensions Fund Authority. Section 127 to 135 introduce the necessary amendments to the existing legislative provisions reflecting the particular circumstances of each body.
Section 127 to 133: Financial administration
228. Sections 127 to 133 require the GLA and each of the functional bodies to make arrangements for the proper administration of its financial affairs and secure that one of its officers has responsibility for the administration of these affairs (its "chief finance officer"). In most cases, the chief finance officer will be a member of staff with a professional qualification and a member of an approved accountancy body but, in the case of Transport for London and the London Development Agency, provision is made enabling the chief finance officer to be a member of the body rather than a member of staff. A Mayor who chooses to chair TfL must not also be its chief finance officer. The GLA's chief finance officer will be appointed by the Assembly rather than the Mayor. No person may be the chief finance officer of the GLA and a functional body, or of two functional bodies.
229. A chief finance officer of the GLA or a functional body ("relevant authority") will carry out the functions of the post in accordance with the provisions of section 114 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988. He is required to make a report to the relevant authority in respect of decisions involving unlawful expenditure or unlawful actions or unlawful items of account. In preparing the report, the chief finance officer of the GLA, the Metropolitan Police Authority or the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority should consult the head of paid service and the monitoring officer. The chief finance officer of the London Development Agency should consult its chief executive and the chief finance officer of Transport for London should consult a designated member of the body or of its staff. A chief finance officer will copy reports to each member of the relevant authority (which, in the case of the GLA itself means the Mayor and each member of the Assembly) and, where the report concerns a functional body, to the Mayor and the Chair of the Assembly as well.
230. Section 131 sets out the duties of a relevant authority as regards a chief finance officer's report. A functional body and, in the case of the GLA, the Assembly must consider it at a meeting within a period of 21 days beginning from the day on which copies of the report are sent. The public access provisions of Part VA of the Local Government Act 1972 will apply to such a meeting (and provision is made to apply that Part to Transport for London and the London Development Agency). Where a report is made by the chief finance officer of the GLA, the Assembly will consider it at a meeting which the Mayor must attend. After the meeting, and taking account of the views of the Assembly, the Mayor will decide whether he agrees with the views contained in the report and what, if any, action he proposes to take.
Sections 133 to 135: Accounts and audit
231. Sections 133 to 135 provide that the GLA, the functional bodies and the London Pensions Fund Authority will be subject to audit under the Audit Commission Act 1998 ("the 1998 Act") by auditors appointed by the Audit Commission. The GLA and each of the bodies will be required to keep its own accounts and prepare its own statements of accounts and these will be subject to the full provisions of the 1998 Act, including public inspection, action by the auditor and prevention of unlawful expenditure.
232. The GLA will also prepare a summary statement of accounts in respect of itself, the functional bodies and the LPFA and provision on the form of that statement and other matters will be made in regulations under section 27 of the 1998 Act. To avoid duplication in respect of matters already subject to sections 15 to 24 of the 1998 Act, those sections will not apply to this summary statement.
233. For the purposes of the summary statement, a functional body is required, at the request of the Mayor, to provide the GLA with such information relating to any accounts or statement of accounts as may be specified or described in the request.
234. Schedule 8 contains the individual amendments to the 1998 Act to deal with the application of that Act to the GLA and the functional bodies.
235. Under section 8 of the 1998 Act an auditor is able to make a report on matters coming to his notice where it is in the public interest to do so. Where he does so in respect of a functional body he is required to send a copy to the Mayor as well as to the body. Section 8 reports are considered at a meeting of the body concerned. The public access provisions of Part VA of the Local Government Act 1972 will apply to such a meeting (and provision is made to apply that Part to Transport for London and the London Development Agency).
236. Specific provision is made for a report in respect of the GLA. The Assembly will consider the report at a meeting, which the Mayor must attend. After the meeting the Mayor will decide whether the report requires the GLA to take any action and what if any action to take. In taking his decision the Mayor must take account of any recommendations made by the Assembly. The duties imposed on the Mayor and the Assembly must be performed within four months, although an auditor may allow more time for consideration.
237. The GLA and the functional bodies will be able to request the Commission to conduct a study to promote economy, efficiency and effectiveness in the use of resources. There is also to be a provision for the Mayor to request that such a study be carried out in respect of a functional body. Before exercising this power the Mayor will consult the Assembly, the functional body and such associations of employees as appear to him appropriate. The costs of any study commissioned by the Mayor will be met by the GLA.
CHAPTER VI: MISCELLANEOUS AND SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS
Section 136: Amendment of cross references to the Local Government Act 1999
238. The Local Government Act 1999 (which was passed before this Act) contains, or inserts into the Local Government Finance Act 1992, references to provisions of this Act which were subsequently renumbered during its passage through Parliament. The amendments made by section 136 and Schedule 9 correct those references.
Section 137: Council tax: no crown exemption for Authority or functional bodies
239. Section 137 makes the occupants of dwellings maintained by the GLA and its functional bodies, but used for the administration of justice, police matters or other Crown purposes, subject to council tax. It does this by amending section 19 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.
Section 138: No discretionary rate relief for functional bodies
240. Section 138 amends section 47 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 to ensure that billing authorities could not grant discretionary rate relief on properties occupied by the functional bodies.
Section 139: Local Loans
241. Section 139 amends legislation to enable the Public Works Loans Commissioners to lend money to the functional bodies.
PART IV: TRANSPORT
242. The special position of London as the capital and the largest city in Great Britain has given rise to the development of separate statutory codes for London in respect of transport. This Part of the Act makes further provision as to transport in London and adapts much of that legislation to the new governmental structure, in some cases repealing and re-enacting it with modifications. The Mayor's transport policy is to be embodied in a strategy. A new body called "Transport for London" is set up under the direct control of the Mayor and will, in due course, subsume the role of LRT, combining it with responsibilities relating to roads, traffic regulation, water transport and the licensing of taxis and private hire vehicles.
CHAPTER I: TRANSPORT FUNCTIONS OF THE AUTHORITY
Section 141: The general transport duty
243. Section 141 gives the Mayor a general duty to develop and implement policies to promote and encourage safe, integrated, efficient and economic transport facilities and services to, from and within London.
Sections 142 to 144: The transport strategy
244. Section 142 requires the Mayor to prepare a transport strategy for London setting out his proposals for fulfilling the duty under section 141, including his proposals for providing transport for people with mobility problems and a timetable for implementing those proposals. The duty and the strategy will not be confined to those forms of transport for which the Mayor or TfL will be directly responsible. The duty encompasses all forms of transport, including walking, and does not apply only to users of transport who are resident in London. It covers the movement of goods as well as people.
245. Section 143 gives the Secretary of State a limited power to direct the Mayor to change the transport strategy. The Secretary of State will only be able to use this power where the strategy would be inconsistent with national policy and have an adverse effect outside Greater London. In accordance with section 144, London borough councils, the Common Council and any other statutory body exercising transport functions will be required to have regard to the strategy. The Mayor can issue guidance about the implementation of the strategy to other bodies that must also have regard to it.
246. The transport strategy will be subject to sections 41 to 44 of the Act, which make general provision for the preparation and publication of strategies. These include provisions on timing, the need to have regard to available resources and the persons to be consulted by the Mayor.
Sections 145 to 153: Local implementation plans
247. Section 145 requires the London borough councils and the Common Council to prepare local implementation plans ("LIPs") setting out their own proposals on how they intend to put the transport strategy into effect in their respective areas. The councils are required to consult various bodies and must include a timetable for when they intend to implement the proposals in their plan.
248. Section 146 provides for the Mayor to approve each local plan, ensuring that they adequately implement the transport strategy. He must not approve a plan unless he is satisfied that it is consistent with the strategy, and that the proposals in it are adequate to implement the strategy and that the timetable for implementation is adequate for those purposes.
249. Section 147 gives the Mayor various means by which he can ensure that a plan is prepared to his satisfaction if a council fails to do so and can recover the cost of preparing a plan himself in default.
250. Sections 148 to 150 provide for the revision of LIPs when the transport strategy is revised and enable councils to propose revisions of their own to their LIPs, after their LIPs have been approved by the Mayor. They also enable the Mayor to recover any reasonable expenses from Boroughs when he has had to prepare or implement a revised LIP on their behalf.
251. Section 151 provides that once a plan has been approved the council must implement it according to the timetable in the plan. A plan prepared by the Mayor for a council will be treated as if the council itself had written it.
252. Section 152 provides that if the Mayor considers that a council has not carried out any proposal in its LIP satisfactorily and according to the timetable in the plan, he will be able to exercise the appropriate powers of the council, at their expense, in order to fulfil the strategy.
253. Section 153 provides that the Mayor may give legally binding directions to councils on the manner in which they perform any of their duties set out in sections 145 to 151, i.e. provisions on the preparation, submission, re-submission, revision and implementation of local implementation plans.
CHAPTER II: TRANSPORT FOR LONDON
Sections 154 to 168: Transport for London
254. Section 154 establishes Transport for London (TfL) as a statutory corporation and requires it to exercise its functions in accordance with guidance or directions given by the Mayor and in order to facilitate the general duty of the authority, and to implement the transport strategy.
255. Section 154(4) introduces Schedule 10.
256. Paragraph 1 of Schedule 10 provides that TfL is not to be regarded as the servant or agent of the Crown or as enjoying any status, immunity or privilege of the Crown and its staff and property are not to be regarded as civil servants or property of the Crown. Thus it will not have the benefit of the rule that a statute does not bind the Crown except by express provision or necessary implication. The powers of TfL will be restricted to powers conferred by the Act and powers incidental to those powers.
257. Paragraphs 2 and 3 provide that TfL is to have between eight and fifteen members, all of whom will be appointed by the Mayor. The Mayor may choose to be a member of TfL and, if so, shall be the Chairman. In making appointments, the Mayor will have to consider the desirability of ensuring that TfL members, between them, have experience of transport, finance and commerce, national and local government and the organisation of trade unions or matters relating to workers generally. The membership of TfL will also need to represent the interests of women and disabled people. Apart from the Mayor, no holders of specified political offices (including Members of either House of Parliament and Councillors) may be members of TfL.
258. Paragraphs 4 to 10 provide that TfL will be able to decide for itself how its committees, sub-committees and individual officers will operate, and what functions each will have. TfL will be treated as a local authority for the purposes of the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972 relating to the appointment of joint committees with other local authorities and the discharge of functions through such committees but not so as to disqualify TfL's representatives on such committees from voting if they are not members of TfL itself. Written records will have to be made of all meetings of committees and sub-committees.
259. Paragraphs 11 and 12 provide for the authentication of TfL's official seal on documents. Documents proceeding from TfL and purporting to be sealed by TfL or signed or executed by a duly authorised person are presumed to have been duly issued unless the contrary is shown.
260. Paragraph 13 makes provision for matters in which a member of TfL has an interest.
261. Section 155 confers on the Mayor a very wide power of control over TfL. The Mayor is given power to issue guidance and general or specific directions as to the exercise of any of the functions (duties as well as powers and operational as well as policy matters) of TfL. Directions and guidance must be in writing.
262. Section 156 provides that TfL will have general powers to form companies and make agreements. These powers are similar but not identical to those of LRT under section 3 of the London Regional Transport Act 1984 (LRT Act 1984), as amended by the London Regional Transport Act 1996. TfL will be able to form, promote or assist companies, either by itself or with others, in order to carry on activities it has powers to carry on with or without activities which it does not have power to carry on.
263. TfL will be able to enter into agreements with others for the carrying on of activities which it has power to carry on or, in specified circumstances, which it does not have power to carry on. Such agreements can for example include arrangements for joint operation, ticketing and revenue pooling between TfL and the other party.
264. Where such agreements have been entered into by LRT prior to its abolition, the effect of provision made by or under Chapter XVI or Part XII will be that TfL will take on LRT's obligations under any such agreements. TfL will be able to transfer its relevant property, rights and liabilities to the company or person with whom they have the agreement if that would be necessary for the purposes of the agreement.
265. Schedule 11, which is introduced by section 156(8), sets out miscellaneous powers of TfL.
266. Paragraphs 1 to 3 enable TfL to carry passengers, luggage and other goods by any form of land or water transport to, from or within Greater London. TfL will also be able to enter into agreements with others to provide air transport between places in Greater London or places in Greater London and places outside. TfL will be able to store goods that are to be or have been carried.
267. Paragraphs 4 to 6 provide that TfL will be able to provide incidental amenities and facilities for use by other parties with whom TfL has entered into agreements to carry out transport services. For example, TfL might agree to provide a private bus company with a rest room for off-duty drivers. TfL may also provide (or agree with others to provide) amenities and facilities that TfL thinks would benefit people using other transport facilities and services, whether or not those facilities and services are themselves provided by TfL - for example, TfL might provide a snack bar at a station. TfL will also be able to provide car parks, and parking for public service vehicles (such as buses).
268. Paragraph 7 enables TfL to charge for the services and facilities it provides.
269. Paragraph 8 empowers TfL to manufacture, maintain and repair machinery and components whether they belong to TfL or to other parties.
270. Paragraph 9 enables TfL to provide professional or technical assistance and advice to others, and to charge for that service.
271. Paragraph 10 enables TfL to enter into reciprocal arrangements with other transport operators for ancillary services, such as the sale of tickets or the provision of travel information to the public.
272. Paragraphs 11 to 13 enable TfL to hire out its vehicles and to sell or lease any of its assets which the Mayor does not require for the implementation of the transport strategy. TfL can also: supply spare parts for any passenger road vehicles it sells; use any resources which it does not require for other purposes (such as letting out surplus office space); and spend a reasonable amount of money on the exploitation of commercial opportunities arising from activities it carries out in the discharge of its functions.
273. Paragraph 14 enables TfL to provide and maintain facilities for the transfer of freight between a waterway or a railway and another mode of transport.
274. Paragraphs 15 to 21 enable TfL to acquire, develop, sell and/or lease land.
275 Paragraph 19 enables TfL to be authorised, by order confirmed by the Secretary of State and submitted to him with the consent of the Mayor, to acquire land compulsorily.
276. Paragraph 22 enables TfL to carry out research and development work in areas related to its transport functions, or enter into agreements with others to do that work.
277. Paragraph 23 enables TfL to promote the welfare and efficiency of employees, and the efficiency of its equipment.
278. Paragraphs 24 and 25 enable TfL to buy other businesses if the assets of those businesses are wholly or mainly required for purposes of discharging any of its functions, and to subscribe for or acquire securities of a body corporate for the purposes of discharging any of its functions.
279. Paragraphs 26 and 27 give TfL the power to make byelaws for its railways and its piers.
280. Paragraph 28 enables TfL to provide and maintain a transport museum, and to make a charge for admission.
281. Paragraph 29 provides that when letting vehicles for hire or developing land, TfL and its subsidiaries must act as if they were commercial businesses.
282. Paragraph 30 ensures that TfL has power to make investments by lending money, to acquire securities and to inherit loans or guarantees made by LRT and any securities acquired by LRT.
283. Paragraph 31 provides that TfL is not to be regarded as a "common carrier" and will therefore not be subject to the duties and liabilities which, at common law, that status implies (such as those in respect of the acceptance of goods for carriage, rates to be charged, and liability for loss or damage). TfL is also relieved of the obligations contained in local enactments to provide connections to private railway sidings, to permit privately-owned wagons to use its railways and to provide or maintain any other railway services or facilities.
284. Paragraph 32 enables TfL to do all other things necessary or expedient for the discharge of its functions.
285. Paragraph 33 enables TfL to fulfil contracts entered into by its predecessor bodies before their abolition.
286. Section 157 enables the Secretary of State by order made with the consent of the Treasury to specify activities which TfL is not to carry on except through a subsidiary or a jointly owned company. By virtue of section 419 TfL itself, but not its subsidiaries, will be exempt from income, corporation and capital gains tax. By requiring TfL to carry on certain activities only through subsidiaries, an order under this section will have the effect of defining those activities of TfL which will attract liability to tax and those which will not. Further orders could be made in the future to ensure that if the activities concerned are carried on they are carried on through a subsidiary of TfL and are taxable accordingly.
287. Section 158 gives the Mayor a power, subject to confirmation by the Secretary of State (by order, subject to the negative procedure), to transfer TfL functions under any statutory provision to other persons. It is expected that this power will be used in relation to functions under local Acts, and orders under the Transport and Works Act 1992, for the facilitation of private finance initiatives.
288. Section 159 allows TfL to give financial assistance (by grant or loan or other means) to any person or body for expenditure conducive to the provision of safe, integrated, efficient and economic transport facilities. For example grants could be made to London borough councils and the Common Council or to voluntary organisations (such as Dial-a-Ride) to provide transport services to meet the needs of disabled London residents. The Secretary of State's power under the Local Government Finance Act 1988 to make transport grants to the London borough councils and the Common Council is repealed.
289. Section 160 gives TfL the power to guarantee the obligations of its subsidiaries or of any person with which it has an agreement under section 156(3) or (4). It also allows TfL to procure such a guarantee from a third party, for example from a bank or insurance company, and to indemnify the person who gives the guarantee. TfL is required by section 161 to include in its published annual report details of any financial assistance, guarantees or indemnities it has given. By section 171 LRT is also given power to procure guarantees.
290. Section 161 requires TfL to prepare an annual report on its performance and submit it to the Authority as soon as possible after the end of the financial year. The annual report must include an explanation of how TfL has contributed to the implementation of the transport strategy, as well as how the activities of any subsidiary companies have contributed. The Mayor may specify what information on these topics or other aspects of TfL's performance should be included in the annual report. The section also sets out the arrangements for the publication of the report.
291. Section 162 places a duty on TfL to make available such information about public transport services in London, including services provided by other persons, as it thinks fit. Subsection (3) prevents TfL from charging for the provision of information about its own services, but allows it to charge for providing information about other operators' services.
292. 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 is to be given by means of an order made by statutory instrument subject to the negative resolution procedure. Consent is not required if the land in question has ceased to be operational land for a period of at least five years. The Secretary of State's consent may be given in respect of any particular transaction or description of transactions.
293. Section 164 places the Mayor and TfL under a duty to ensure that the subsidiaries of TfL do not do anything that TfL has not been given power to do by the Act, even though the subsidiary may be acting within the powers conferred by its memorandum and articles.
294. Section 165 enables TfL to make schemes transferring property, rights and liabilities between itself and its subsidiaries or between subsidiaries. Schemes provide a simplified procedure for property transfer, avoiding the cost and time of the normal process of conveyancing. Schemes are subject to the approval of the Mayor who may modify a scheme on approval. The section introduces Schedule 12.
295. Schedule 12 makes further provision as to schemes under section 165.
296. Paragraph 2 provides for the contents of schemes and that certain rights are not to be exercisable or operate in consequence of a scheme transfer. It lays down the principle that the transferor and transferee under a scheme are to be treated in law as the same person for purposes connected with any transfers, except so far as the scheme or any instrument or agreement made in connection with it provides otherwise. Paragraph 3 provides for the apportionment or division of property, rights and liabilities and paragraph 4 enables a scheme to define the transferred assets, rights and liabilities by specifying or describing them or by reference to part of the transferor's undertaking or by a combination of any such means.
297. Paragraph 5 allows for the creation of rights and liabilities in relation to transferred property or property retained by the transferor. Paragraph 6 allows schemes to make such supplementary, incidental, consequential or transitional provision as TfL considers appropriate.
298. Paragraph 7 enables schemes to transfer or reallocate functions exercisable by TfL under a local Act or an order under the Transport and Works Act 1992. The transfer of functions will be subject to confirmation by order of the Secretary of State. This is consistent with the power in section 142 of the Act for the Mayor to transfer statutory functions of TfL to other bodies. Paragraph 8 states the legal effect of a transfer scheme. Paragraph 9 provides for legal continuity following a transfer by scheme.
299. Schemes can provide for the transfer of an employer's rights under a contract of employment. Paragraph 10 provides for continuity of rights and liabilities as between employees and the new employer. For example, employees' terms and conditions, their continuity of service and pension rights and their right to redundancy payments under the Employment Rights Act 1996 will not be affected.
300. Paragraph 11 deals with the provision of information to TfL by PPP companies and PPP related third parties (see the notes on Chapter III below) where this is necessary to draw up a scheme and provides for legal sanctions for non-compliance. Paragraph 12 provides for the retrospective modification of a transfer scheme, by written agreement of TfL and other parties involved. Employment provisions may not be amended in this way, unless the employees agree. Agreements under paragraph 12 require the Mayor's approval, which may be conditional on further modifications being made to the scheme.
301. Section 166 provides the procedure for Transport for London to make byelaws where no other procedure has been specified.
302. Section 167 gives TfL powers to promote and oppose local Bills in Parliament. The section introduces Schedule 13 which sets out the detailed arrangements for the promotion and opposition of local Bills, which are similar to those for the GLA itself, set out in Schedule 5.
303. Section 168 enables TfL to apply to the Secretary of State for Orders under the Transport and Works Act 1992 without having to follow the same procedure as that which TfL must follow for promoting local Bills. Such Orders give statutory authorisation to railways, other guided transport systems, canals, and interference with navigation rights.
304. Section 169 defines the term "transport subsidiary's agreement". Such agreements are those which are entered into by a TfL subsidiary in similar circumstances to those in which TfL itself can enter into such agreements by virtue of section 156(2) and (3).
CHAPTER III: LONDON REGIONAL TRANSPORT
Sections 170 to 172
305. Section 170 amends section 9 of the LRT Act 1984 so as to introduce a definition of "disposal". That section gives LRT powers to dispose of businesses, thus providing a means of transferring to private sector PPP companies the assets that they will need in order to carry out their activities. The definition clarifies the extent of the disposal power so that it embraces disposals of assets under PPP agreements for a limited period after which the assets will revert to the public sector. Provision for the transition from LRT to TfL is made in Chapter XVI.
306. Section 171 amends section 17 of the LRT Act 1984 so as to give LRT the same power to procure guarantees as Transport for London under section 160(4) and (5).
307. Section 172 amends section 27 of the LRT Act 1984 which makes supplementary provision as to transfer schemes under sections 4, 5 and 9 of that Act. The powers under section 9 would enable schemes to be made for the transfer of assets to subsidiaries of London Underground Limited, prior to the transfer of those subsidiaries to the private sector, to establish the London Underground Public Private Partnership.
CHAPTER IV: PUBLIC PASSENGER TRANSPORT
Sections 173 to 178
308. Section 173 gives TfL its power to provide, or secure the provision of, public passenger transport services.
309. Section 174 requires the Mayor to ensure that the general level and structure of fares to be charged on public transport, and the general level of charges made for other facilities, provided or secured by TfL, are set. The Mayor must also ensure that the general structure of routes to be served by TfL public transport services, and the frequency of those services, are set.
310. Section 175 provides that TfL and the Franchising Director will be under a duty to co-operate with each other over the co-ordination of services provided or secured by TfL and franchised rail services overseen by the Franchising Director. TfL and the Franchising Director may enter into agreements with one another for that purpose. (The "Franchising Director" is the Director of Passenger Rail Franchising who is appointed by the Secretary of State to be responsible for arranging and managing the provision of passenger rail services in Great Britain.)
311. Section 177 provides for the retention of the existing powers of London local authorities to procure additional public passenger transport services and facilities from train operating companies, and enables those authorities to enter into agreements with TfL or the Franchising Director for additional public passenger transport services and facilities.
312. Section 178 requires TfL each year to inform certain local authorities in and around Greater London and the London Transport Users' Committee, of its plans for services, fares and charges. It also places TfL under a duty to publish the general level and structure of its fares.
CHAPTER V: REGULATION OF BUS SERVICES IN GREATER LONDON
313. Greater London is the only area in Great Britain in which bus services were not deregulated under Part I of the Transport Act 1985. A separate system for regulating road passenger transport in London is contained in Part II (sections 34 to 46) of that Act. This provides for the licensing of local bus services. No licence is required where a bus service is provided by LRT, one of its subsidiaries or someone who has an agreement with LRT by virtue of section 3(2) of the LRT Act 1984. Most local bus services in London are provided by private bus companies under contract to LRT through powers contained in the LRT Act 1984. A small number of bus services are licensed by the Traffic Commissioner through powers contained in the Transport Act 1985. The Act adapts the regulation of bus services in Greater London.
Sections 179 and 180: Introductory
314. The bus services that are covered by this Chapter are local services that have stopping places within the Greater London area (including the London section of a service that runs partly outside London). There are exceptions, such as those services that have stopping places more than 15 miles apart and rail replacement services. The Act sets out provisions with which such services will have to comply. Failure to do so is an offence which may result in a fine up to a maximum of level 3 on the standard scale (level 3 is currently set under the Criminal Justice Acts at £1,000).
315. A PSV operator's licence, provisions for which are set out in the Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981, is normally required by anyone carrying fare-paying passengers in vehicles over a certain size. Community bus permits (section 22 of the Transport Act 1985) are granted by traffic commissioners for certain types of non profit-making services serving particular communities.
Sections 181 to 184: The London bus network
316. These sections require TfL to determine which bus services are required to make up the "London bus network" and so far as practicable to ensure that that network is provided. Only TfL or a subsidiary or someone who has an agreement with TfL or a subsidiary may provide a service that is a part of the network. Any party who provides a bus service under an agreement with TfL must hold a PSV operator's licence or a community bus permit.
317. Agreements between TfL and another person to provide a bus service that is part of the London bus network will be called "London local service agreements". The London local service agreement must take account of any restrictions placed by a Traffic Commissioner on any part of a service that runs outside London.
318. These sections also provide for consultation of interested parties where TfL proposes to provide (or enter into an agreement for the provision of) a new network service, to vary an existing service or to discontinue a service. TfL is required to consult the police, the local authorities affected, the London Transport Users' Committee and anyone else it thinks fit before proceeding.
Sections 185 to 190: Bus services outside the network
319. Anyone who wishes to provide a bus service which is not part of the London bus network must obtain a London service permit. The Mayor is placed under a duty to state his policy for the issue of permits by publishing a guidance document (see below). That will contain the criteria against which applications for a permit will be considered. It must be kept under review and revised as necessary.
320. Section 186 provides for applications for and the grant of London service permits. Separate fees may be charged for processing the application and for granting the permit or a composite fee may be charged for both. TfL must consult the police, the local authorities affected, the London Transport Users' Committee and anyone else it thinks fit, but in deciding whether or not to grant a permit it must have regard to the guidance document and to any other material considerations (such as exceptional local conditions) which are relevant to the application.
321. Section 187 provides for the terms on which a permit is held. Conditions may be attached to a permit to ensure that suitable routes and stopping places are used and that the safety and convenience of the public (including those persons with mobility problems) is secured. Conditions about fares may not be imposed by a permit. TfL may at any time alter, remove or attach conditions to a permit. The duration of a permit will normally not be longer than 5 years. The effect of applying section 57 of the Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981, through section 193, means that a permit is terminated early if a permit holder dies or becomes bankrupt, though TfL is given power to defer such termination if appropriate.
322. If a condition of a permit is contravened the holder may, by virtue of section 187(6), be liable to prosecution and if convicted fined up to the maximum of level 3 on the standard scale (currently set under the Criminal Justice Acts at £1,000). If the breach is considered serious enough by TfL the permit may be revoked or suspended (section 188.)
323. Section 189 provides that where a permit is refused, conditions are attached, altered or removed from a permit, or a permit is suspended or revoked TfL must issue a notice stating its reasons. An aggrieved applicant or permit holder will have a right of appeal to the Mayor who must refer the matter to an independent appeals panel before giving directions to TfL as to how it should act in response to the appeal.
Section 191 and 192: Guidance document
324. Sections 191 and 192 provide for the preparation and publication of the guidance document. It must first be prepared in draft and the local authorities affected, the police, the Traffic Commissioners affected, the London Transport Users' Committee and anyone else the Mayor thinks fit must be consulted. It must be published not later than 180 days from the date of publication of the Mayor's transport strategy and be made available to the public. Similar provision is made for the preparation and publication of revisions to the document.
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