The London Assembly Devolution Working Group’s first meeting heard that powers being granted to Manchester go further than those currently devolved to London.
The next immediate step for London should be to empower the Mayor and boroughs to increase employment and to be able to shape public services to meet local needs.
Leader of Manchester City Council, Sir Richard Leese OBE, told the Committee;
“Devolution will allow Manchester to develop public services which help people into work by meeting their health, education and skills needs”.
Despite a buoyant economy for some, London still faces similar challenges to Manchester in helping people who need targeted support into secure, well paid jobs.
Harvey McGrath, Deputy-Chair of the London Enterprise Panel told the Committee;
“Thousands of vacancies in London are left unfilled due a mismatch between skills training and the jobs on offer.”
Darren Johnson AM, Chair of the Devolution Working Group, said:
“It’s a myth to think that London booms for everybody. There are very many Londoners who face real challenges to get into, and stay in, work.
Devolving more power from Whitehall to London could go a long way to helping meet the needs of those excluded from the capital’s success, and at the same time boost the economy and cut the welfare bill.
Manchester’s example shows what can be achieved when central government is willing to listen and local government puts forward clear plans.”
Notes for Editors:
The agenda and committee papers are available here. The webcast of the meeting is available here.
Chair of the Devolution Working Group, Darren Johnson AM, is available for interview – see contact details below.
The Devolution Working Group is a cross-party group of London Assembly members: Len Duvall (Labour), Andrew Boff (Conservative), Darren Johnson (Green) and Caroline Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat).
As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.
For media enquiries, please contact Ash Singleton on 020 7983 5769. For out of hours media enquiries, call 020 7983 4000 and ask for the London Assembly duty press officer. Non-media enquiries should be directed to the Public Liaison Unit on 020 7983 4100.