Key information
Decision type: Director
Reference code: DD2151
Date signed:
Decision by: Fiona Fletcher-Smith, Executive Director of Development, Enterprise and Environment
Executive summary
London’s Markets play a vital role as a place of employment, trade and leisure. To raise their profile and ensure a more coordinated approach, the GLA has commissioned a research initiative and established the first London Markets Board (the Board).
This is a new programme of work and no budget has until now been allocated to it. To ensure the initiative is launched in the autumn, a budget of £125,345 has therefore been identified. The budget was previously – through MD1245 – set aside to support Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) but was not spent. As well as supporting the aforementioned research and Board, it will be used also for a business support project to SMEs based in London’s Street Markets.
Decision
That the Executive Director of Development, Enterprise and Environment approves:
• expenditure of up to £125,345 on supporting the London Street Markets programme; and
•a delegation to the Assistant Director of Regeneration to approve, via an Assistant Director Decision Form, the detailed expenditure for the London Street Markets programme.
Part 1: Non-confidential facts and advice
1.1 Retail and wholesale markets play a vital role in London as places of employment, trade and leisure. They provide variety and diversity, history and character, and bring footfall to high streets and town centres. They are an essential part of Londoners’ everyday experience of the city, as well as London’s international identity.
1.2 Markets are London’s original ‘incubators’ for new businesses to get off the ground, offering low cost, low risk spaces for self-employment, testing new ideas and entrepreneurship, as well as entry-level routes into employment. However we know London’s markets are facing pressures from technological, social and economic change, and having listened to individuals and organisations from across London’s markets sector over the past months, we recognise the need for strategic oversight and management of issues affecting markets at a city level. That is why the Mayor is taking the step of establishing a London Markets Board – to our knowledge, the first such body to exist in the city’s history.
1.3 The new Board is an important opportunity to ensure that markets in the capital flourish, support good growth in our high streets and town centres, and continue to offer something for every Londoner. The Board will consist of between 12 and 14 members who between them will cover a range of expertise and provide thought leadership on the key issues across the broad agenda of markets in London. Board members will reflect different sectors of the market’s community, including organisations responsible for managing and running markets in London and those representing operators and tenant/trader associations.
1.4 The role of the Board will be to advise the Deputy Mayor for Skills, Regeneration and Planning and the Greater London Authority on the delivery of a London Markets Strategy, and on action to support and promote London’s wholesale, street and covered markets.
1.5 The recruitment process was launched in May and was a great success. 59 applications were received and after a short listing process, 22 candidates were interviewed. The recruitment process is on-going and second phase of the recruitment will be launched in July. We expect to be able to announce the successful candidates towards the end of September.
1.6 Project Public Spaces (PPS) has appointed London to host in 2018 the 10th International Markets Conference. The conference expects to attract representatives from at least 80 cities, 47 countries. It will be organised around three themes: Inclusion, Innovation and Impact.
1.7 The conference will last three and a half days and activities to take place include: visits to a range of London markets, organising of an opening and closing plenary, seminars, workshops, a youth market and market-food events.
1.8 While a full budget is identified to support all the above activities, we are requesting that an initial budget of £125,345 is agreed. This budget will be transferred from MD1245, initially allocated to the London Business Improvement District (BID) programme, to the London Markets initiative. This sum was uncommitted by the previous administration as the original target for supporting BIDs was achieved and no more funding was required to be invested.
The objective of the London Markets initiative are:
o Establish the first London Markets Board: Recruitment process is on-going and should be completed in September. The announcement of the membership of the London Markets Board is expected to take place at the end of September with the first meeting of the Board in October.
o Understanding London Markets: the research examines the social, place-based and economic value of markets to London.
The research also aims to provide a framework and toolkit of resources to support further analysis of the sector, and develop a standard approach to performance measurement that can be easily adopted by market operators and entrepreneurs.
The written report will also provide a set of recommendations for the newly established London Market’s Board, maps and other data visualisation, and a framework for measuring the performance and economic contribution of markets
o Supporting start ups and micro businesses in London Street markets: We will be developing and implementing a project that will provide business support to street traders. The project will have two objectives: 1) to support entrepreneurs that want to test their ideas in street markets 2) to support existing traders that want to improve their business or would like to grow it.
o 10th International Markets Conference: Organising the 10th International Markets conference which expects to be attended by over 80 cities from around the world. The conference will last 3 ½ days and will take place across several venues in London.
This initiative will support London markets to raise their profile and become more efficient. Particular emphasis will be played in the social and inclusive agenda.
Members of the Markets Board will also be a reflection London’s diversity.
Link with Mayoral manifesto commitments:
• Be the most pro-business Mayor yet, working in partnership with industry to deliver on skills, infrastructure, and growth.
•The markets agenda is closely linked to the Mayor’s objectives of ‘A City for All Londoners’ and London is Open
The proposed initial expenditure of up to £125,345 on the London Streets Market Programme will be funded from the Growing Places Fund ‘revenue budget’ for 2017-18, specifically via the reallocation of unused funds from the London Business Improvement District (BID) programme approved by MD1245. Any further expenditure required on this programme will be subject to further approval via the Authority’s decision-making process.
A delegation to the Assistant Director of Regeneration to approve, via an ADD Decision Form, the detailed expenditure for the London Street Markets programme.
6.1 Under section 30 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999 (the ‘Act’) the GLA, 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.
6.2 Furthermore, section 34 of the Act allows the GLA, 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 officers have requested the approval of the allocation of £125,345 to the London Street Markets programme budget. To this end, the proposed allocation may be viewed as being calculated to facilitate and conducive and incidental to social development and wealth creation in Greater London.
6.3 Any services required must be procured by Transport for London Procurement who will determine the detail of the procurement strategy to be adopted in accordance with the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code.
Officers must ensure that appropriate contract documentation is put in place and executed by the successful bidder(s) and the GLA before the commencement of the services/supplies.
- Appendix 1: MD1245
- Appendix 2: ADD 2133
Signed decision document
DD2151 Markets Street Markets (signed)