MD2026 Appointment of a Senior Adviser to the Mayor (Health Policy)

1.1 The Mayor has committed to championing London’s NHS, fighting for greater support for GP, A&E, London Ambulance Service and mental health services. He has outlined his commitment to campaigning for extra powers to coordinate health services across the city to provide proper strategic planning, and to ensure greater access for Londoners to crucial services while providing democratic scrutiny of London-wide health services. He will champion the need for additional funding to plug the social care gap.

1.2 The Mayor has also committed to action to improve public health and tackle health inequalities in London.

1.3 The Mayor chairs the London Health Board which aims to drive improvements in health care, develop an approach to health devolution and challenge health inequalities.

1.4 The Mayor has a Statutory Health Adviser who is also the London Director of Public Health England. Whilst this post provides the Mayor with invaluable support on public health issues he also feels a need for advice and support on wider issues relating to healthcare and health inequalities in London. He therefore intends to appoint an unpaid Senior Adviser to the Mayor (Health Policy).

2.1 Appoint an unpaid Senior Adviser to the Mayor (Health Policy)

2.2 The Senior Adviser to the Mayor (Health Policy) will support and advise the Mayor on health policy in London and support the Mayor in his role as Chair of the London Health Board. The Adviser role will complement the work of the Health policy team in City Hall. The Senior Adviser to the Mayor (Health Policy) will have experience of frontline NHS services and be able to advise the Mayor in respect of this.

2.3 The Senior Adviser to the Mayor (Health Policy) will:
• Provide health policy advice to the Mayor on an ongoing basis
• Work closely with the Mayor’s Statutory Health Adviser on matters relating to health policy
• Support the Mayoral Director of Policy in work on health policy, and delivering the Mayoral commitments on health
• Attend the quarterly meetings of the London Health Board, provide support in advance to the Mayor, and assist in the drafting of agendas and papers
• Support the Mayor’s leading role on health and care devolution and the work of the London Health Board
• Provide advice on health policy, health inequalities and the impact on Londoners

2.4 The Senior Adviser to the Mayor (Health Policy) will be appointed on an unpaid, part-time consultancy contract.

2.5 The Mayor intends to appoint Tom Coffey, OBE to the role. He is currently a GP, Clinical Lead for Mental Health and Children’s Services at Wandsworth CCG and the Clinical Director for Emergency Care NHS England (London). He also works in A&E in Charing Cross Hospital and is a GP advisor to the Battersea Healthcare social enterprise. He has extensive experience of the NHS from his role as GP and substantial knowledge of improving clinical commissioning and the performance of primary care services in London. Accordingly he has all the experience necessary for this role and is willing to provide advice and assistance on an unpaid basis.

3.1 In accordance with the obligations imposed on the GLA under equalities legislation including the public sector equality duty in section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 the Senior Health Adviser will advise on the policy impacts on hard to reach groups and communities. He will particularly focus on health inequalities in London and on the development of strategies to reduce inequality amongst groups in London. This is will be an integral part of the work of the Senior Adviser. Reducing health inequalities will benefit Londoners with protected characteristics - older people, disabled people and those from ethnic minority groups who can be more vulnerable and have difficulty in accessing health services.

3.2 The equalities implications of the work will be actively considered on an ongoing basis.

4.1 Links to Mayoral strategies and priorities

The Mayor has a statutory responsibility for developing a Health Inequality Strategy and this role will help deliver this.

5.1 There are no financial implications arising from this decision.

6.1 Power to Undertake the Requested Decision
Under sub-section 30 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999 (the ‘Act’) the GLA, acting by the mayor and after appropriate consultation, is entitled to do anything that will further the promotion, within Greater London, of economic development and wealth creation, social development and the improvement of the environment (the “General Power”). In accordance with sub-section 30(4) of the Act, in determining whether or how to exercise the General Power, the mayor must have regard to the effect, which its exercise would have on, inter alia, the health of persons in Greater London and health inequalities between persons living in Greater London.

6.2 Furthermore, section 34 of the Act allows the mayor to do anything which is calculated to facilitate, or is conducive or incidental to, the exercise of any functions of the GLA. In this case, the mayor wishes to appoint Tom Coffey in order to advise on health services in London. Accordingly, the appointment of Tom Coffey may be viewed as being calculated to facilitate and conducive and incidental to the mayor’s exercise of each of his functions under section 30.

6.3 For directly awarded contracts with a value below £10,000, paragraph 4.1 of the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code (the “Code”) requires that the GLA secure value for money. Paragraph 2.4 summarises how this requirement has been met.

8.1 This post will be supported by staff in the health team.