ADD2790 - Towards a new London Plan Easy Read Engagement

1.1.    A formal six-week consultation on the Towards a new London Plan (TNLP) document was undertaken in May/June 2025. Following feedback from community stakeholders, an Easy Read version of the TNLP document has been co-produced with IC Works, a specialist in preparing accessible materials for engaging diverse audiences.  
1.2.    The Easy Read document will be published on 19 September 2025 for a six-week consultation period ending on 2 November 2025. This consultation will be promoted via the same channels as the previous TNLP document, making clear that this additional consultation is for Londoners who might prefer an Easy Read version of the materials, and that Londoners who responded to the first consultation do not need to respond again.
1.3.    To provide people who prefer Easy Read formats with a supportive engagement environment suited to their needs, GLA officers approached Publica CIC and Inclusion London about hosting engagement events focusing on the Easy Read document. In response, two half day engagement events (one in person, one online) are proposed to ensure attendees are fully able to engage with the topics in the Easy Read materials and are comfortable and confident in providing feedback. Procurement of specialist support from Publica CIC as lead consultant will be via the GLA Architecture Design and Urban Consultancy Services Framework (ADUP).
1.4.    Events will be led by Publica and Inclusion London in a way that is relevant and accessible for Disabled people with different kinds of impairments. Publica will provide the administration, planning and delivery of each event, with input and oversight from Inclusion London. GLA officers will attend the events to answer any questions from attendees. Publica will provide sufficient staff to capture feedback from each event, and this will be provided in writing from submission to the Easy Read consultation. 
1.5.    All attendees at the events will be paid London Living Wage, and palantypists and BSL interpreters will be used to ensure events are more accessible. 
 

2.1.    The process of targeted engagement will ensure that GLA maximises the value of the Easy Read document that has been created. The support of Publica and Inclusion London for this targeted engagement will help to deliver a more inclusive process of consultation. 
2.2.    The primary objective of holding engagement events is to capture the view of people who prefer the Easy Read format around the content of the consultation. We will also apply learning from these engagement events to inform how we consult in a more accessible way on the London Plan in the future. 
 

3.1.    The Mayor and the GLA are subject to the Duty, as set out in section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 covering race, disability, sex, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity, gender reassignment, and marital or civil partnership status. These are the grounds upon which discrimination is unlawful, and are referred to as ‘protected characteristics’. The Duty requires the Mayor, when exercising his functions, to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Act; and to advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations, between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not. 
3.2.    Having due regard to the need to advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it involves having due regard, in particular, to the need to:  
•    remove or minimise disadvantages suffered by persons who share a relevant protected characteristic that are connected to that characteristic 
•    take steps to meet the needs of persons who share a relevant protected characteristic that are different from the needs of persons who do not  
•    encourage persons who share a relevant protected characteristic to participate in public life or in any other activity in which participation by such persons is disproportionately low.
3.3.    The Easy Read version of the TNLP has been prepared to make the early stage of consultation on the new London Plan more accessible. Procuring specialist support for targeted engagement will provide people who prefer Easy Read engagement formats with a supportive environment suited to their needs. 
 

Links to Mayoral strategies and priorities 
4.1.    Towards a new London Plan is the direction of travel document from the next London Plan. 
Conflicts of Interest
4.2.    No conflicts of interest have been identified for any officers involved in the development of this proposal or drafting or clearance of this decision form. 
 

5.1.    Approval is sought for expenditure of £16,000 for administration, planning and delivery of two half day engagement events. The decision also requests approval to commence procurement for specialist support from Publica CIC as lead consultant via the GLA Architecture Design and Urban Consultancy Services Framework (ADUP).
5.2.    The total funding for this project of up to £16,000 will be met from the London Plan 2025-26 budget. There is sufficient budget to cover this expenditure; all expenditure will take place in the 2025-26 financial year.  
5.3.    All appropriate budget adjustments will be made.  
 

6.1    The statutory framework which applies to the replacement of the London Plan is set out in the Greater London Authority Act 1999 (“the Act”) and the Town and Country Planning (London Spatial Development Strategy) Regulations 2000 (“SDS Regulations”) which provide for certain matters relevant to the operation of Part VIII of the Act.

6.2    The Mayor has a duty under section 340 of the Act to keep the London Plan under review and can under section 341(1)(b) prepare and publish a new London Plan at any time. As set out within the paragraphs above, the Mayor intends to carry out a full review of the London Plan and has published his Towards a New London Plan. 

6.3    Section 42, and 335(3)(a)-(c) of the Act as well as the SDS regulations provides various consultation and public participation requirements for the process of producing a new London Plan. Whilst this engagement stage on the easy read version of the Towards a new London Plan document is an additional step to the statutory process, it does help fulfil the Mayor’s Equality Duty as set out within section 3 above.
 

7.1.    Subject to approval of the required budget, Publica will be appointed as lead consultant via the GLA Architecture Design and Urban Consultancy Services Framework (ADUP) to deliver the targeted engagement. The events will be held in October 2025, prior to the consultation ending on 2 November 2025.