Agenda and minutes
London Assembly (Plenary)
Thursday 10 February 2011 10.00 am

To receive any apologies for absence and any announcements from the Chair.

1.1  There were no apologies for absence.

1.2  During the course of the meeting, the Chair welcomed to the public gallery students from Redbridge Primary School and Lucas School in Antwerp.

The Assembly is recommended to:

(a)  Note the list of memberships of functional bodies and London Borough Councils, as set out in the table at Item 2;

(b)  Note gifts and hospitality received by Members, as set out on the Authority’s gifts and hospitality register; and

(c)  Declare any other personal or personal prejudicial interests in specific items listed on the agenda over and above those items listed in the table at Item 2 and including any interests arising from gifts or hospitality received within the previous three years or from the date of election to the London Assembly, whichever is the later, which are not at the time of this meeting reflected on the Authority’s register of gifts and hospitality.

2.1  Resolved:

(a)   That the relevant Assembly Members’ membership of Functional Bodies and London Borough Councils, as set out in Item 2 on the agenda, be noted and recorded as personal interests;

(b)   That the Chair’s declaration of a personal interest in Item 3 (Draft Consolidated Budget 2011/12), arising from  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

(Circulated separately)

The Draft Consolidated Budget 2011/12 has been circulated for the Assembly’s consideration.

The Mayor will present his Report to the Assembly at the meeting.

3.1  The Assembly received the Mayor’s Draft Consolidated Budget proposals for 2011/12.

3.2  The Mayor made an oral statement in support of his budget proposals. A copy of the Mayor’s statement is attached as Appendix 1.

The report contains the Assembly’s Budget and Performance Committee’s analysis of the Mayor’s budget proposals for 2011/12, based on evidence taken from the Mayor, the functional bodies and the core GLA during the budget development and consultation processes. It highlights the key issues raised during the Committee’s deliberations, and offers comments to the Mayor on his consultation budget.

The comments are on the Mayor’s proposals that were published for consultation on 22 December 2010, not on the Draft Consolidated Budget published with this agenda.

The Assembly is recommended to note the response by the London Assembly’s Budget and Performance Committee to the Mayor of London’s ‘GLA Group Budget Proposals and Precepts 2011/12 Consultation Document’.

3.3  The Chairman of the Assembly’s Budget and Performance Committee, John Biggs AM, presented that Committee’s response to the Mayor of London’s ‘GLA Group Budget Proposals and Precepts 2011/12 Consultation’ document. A copy of the Chairman of the Assembly’s Budget and Performance Committee’s statement is attached as Appendix 2.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3b

Assembly Members will put questions to the Mayor on the 6 sections of the Draft Consolidated Budget document.

3.5  Assembly Members put questions to the Mayor on each of the component budgets contained within his Draft Consolidated Budget proposals. 

3.6  The record of the questions put by Members, together with the Mayor’s answers, is attached as Appendix 3.

3.7  Sir Simon Milton, Deputy Mayor and Chief of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3c

The Assembly is under a duty to consider the Mayor’s Draft Consolidated Budget and to approve it, with or without amendment (paragraph 5(3) of Schedule 6 of the GLA Act 1999 (as amended)).

The following substantive motion is before the Assembly:

“To approve the Draft Consolidated Budget for 2011/12, together with the draft component budgets comprised within it, with or without amendment.”

[Note: In accordance with GLA Standing Order 6.12 B, the motion set out above shall be considered without being proposed or seconded by a Member. The motion may be amended by a Budget Amendment, in accordance with the procedures described in Standing Orders 6.10, 6.12 and 6.16. The Assembly will consider amendments to the Draft Consolidated Budget, and budget-related motions (if any).

If a Budget Amendment is carried by the requisite majority (a simple majority of votes cast) then the Substantive Motion shall fall and the Draft Consolidated Budget shall be deemed agreed as amended. The Mayor is under a duty to respond to any amendments passed when he presents his final budget.

If no amendment is agreed, or if the Substantive Motion is not passed (whether put to the vote or not) then the Assembly is deemed  ...  view the full agenda text for item 3d

3.8  The substantive motion before the Assembly was: “To approve the Draft Consolidated Budget for 2011/12, together with the draft component budgets comprised within it, with or without amendment.”

3.9  A formal budget amendment, presented on behalf of the London Assembly’s Conservative Group, was moved by Gareth Bacon AM and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3d

Report of: Executive Director of Resources and Executive Director of Secretariat 

Contact: Martin Clarke, Executive Director of Resources, telephone: 020 7983 4959, martin.clarke@london.gov.uk; and Mark Roberts, Executive Director of Secretariat, telephone: 020 7983 4428, mark.roberts@london.gov.uk

Recommendations:

(a)   That the Assembly, noting that this is a joint decision to be formally taken with the Mayor, agrees, following a review into the roles and functions currently undertaken by the Chief Executive of the Greater London Authority, to formally consult the Chief Executive and affected staff on the proposal to delete the post of Chief Executive; and

(b)   That the Assembly, noting that this is a joint decision with the Mayor and in accordance with the Statutory Officers Protocol, agrees that the GLA should seek expressions of interest from internal postholders to undertake the Head of Paid Service and Greater London Returning Officer roles and functions which must continue to be carried out in the event that the Chief Executive post is subsequently approved for deletion. 

4.1  The Assembly received the report of the Executive Director of Resources and of the Executive Director of Secretariat.

4.2  Resolved:

(a)   That, noting that this is a joint decision to be formally taken with the Mayor, and following a review into the roles and functions currently undertaken by the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

The next scheduled meeting of the London Assembly will be a Mayor’s Question Time meeting which will take place at 10.00am on Wednesday 23 February 2011 in the Chamber, City Hall.

This meeting will be used principally to consider and discuss the Final Draft Consolidated Budget 2011/12.

The Assembly has agreed to accept written answers to all questions submitted to this meeting under the Mayor’s Question Time procedure, as in previous years, in order to devote time to discussion of the Mayor’s Final Draft Consolidated Budget.

5.1  It was noted that the next meeting of the Assembly would be the Mayor’s Question Time meeting on Wednesday 23 February 2011 at 10.00 am in the Chamber, City Hall. 

5.2  This meeting would be used principally to consider the Final Draft Consolidated Budget 2010/11.

6.1  The Chair of the Assembly explained that she had agreed, in accordance with section 100(B)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended), to admit the item at 6(b) of the supplementary agenda to the agenda for this meeting as an item of urgent business in order  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Recommendation:

That the Assembly considers whether the public interest would be best served by excluding the public and press from the meeting and considering the report at Item 6(b) in private, noting that consideration of the report would involve the likely disclosure of exempt information, namely 'information relating to an individual’, as defined under Paragraph 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

6.3  Resolved:

That it be agreed to exclude the public and press from the meeting and consider the report at Item 6(b) in private, noting that consideration of the report will involve the likely disclosure of exempt information, namely 'information relating to an individual’, as defined under Paragraph 1 of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6a

Report of: The Executive Director of Resources and the Executive Director of Secretariat.

Contact: Juliette Carter, juliette.carter@london.gov.uk, telephone: 020 7983 4194

6.4  Resolved:

That the recommendations set out in the report be agreed.

7.1  The meeting closed at 3.36pm.