GoL has got to go, says Assembly

The London Assembly today called on the Government to abolish the Government Office for London (GoL) as it is an unnecessary bureaucracy in its current form.

GoL should be replaced with a streamlined operation, along the lines of the Scottish and Welsh Offices, that acts as a conduit between London’s directly elected government and Whitehall departments.

The Assembly believes there is scope to save millions of pounds, avoid duplication of activity and increase accountability and effectiveness by streamlining GoL’s role.

Darren Johnson AM, who proposed today’s motion, said:
“At a time when the Chancellor is scouring government spending for opportunities to halve the deficit, cutting the Government Office for London would be a good place to start. The establishment of democratic Londonwide government in 2000 should have sounded the death knell for GoL.  It is now long past time this bureaucratic dinosaur was abolished.”

Mike Tuffrey AM, who seconded today’s motion, said:
“While we accept there is a case for a small office to liaise between central government and London’s regional and local government there can be no excuse for continuing the wasteful duplication that GoL represents. When budgets for frontline services like policing and transport are under severe pressure there can be no justification for retaining this superfluous bureaucracy.”

The full text of the motion reads as follows:
“This Assembly notes the success that the Government has experienced in streamlining the Scottish and Welsh Offices. It also notes that the administrative costs of the Government Office for London were over £15 million in 2008/9 and that many vital public services are now facing a severe squeeze on expenditure.

The Assembly calls on the Government to take steps to abolish GoL in its current form, to avoid duplication of activity, save money and improve accountability. The Assembly further calls on the Government to replace GoL with a small office, as in Scotland and Wales, that would be a conduit between London’s directly elected government and Whitehall departments, coordinating work between departments affecting London and providing oversight of public sector performance in the capital.”

Notes to Editors

1. The motion was agreed by 11 votes in favour at a meeting of the full Assembly today. View the webcast at: http://www.london.gov.uk/assembly/webcasts.jsp
2. As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.

For more details, please contact Mark Demery or Dana Gavin in the Assembly Media Office on 020 7983 4603/4283. For out of hours media enquiries please call 020 7983 4000 and ask for the Assembly duty press officer. Non-media enquiries should be directed to the Public Liaison Unit, Greater London Authority, on 020 7983 4100.