The London Assembly Annual Report 2023-24

The London Assembly has today published its Annual Report for 2023-24, detailing how the Assembly has championed the issues that matter most to Londoners.   

During 2023-24, 65 investigations were carried out across 97 committee meetings, with 11 site visits. At these meetings, Assembly Members heard directly from over 400 guests, published 19 reports and 46 letters, and put forward 399 recommendations to the Mayor, Government and others.  

Throughout the year, the Assembly focussed heavily on two critical concerns; issues affecting young Londoners, and the impact of the cost-of-living.  

Key highlights in the report include: 

• The London Assembly Cost of Living Working Group: As part of its work the Group hosted a Cost-of-Living Conference, hearing from a wide range of organisations and individuals, including charities and third-sector organisations, academics, and Londoners themselves about the action they needed to see. The resulting report called on the Mayor to take steps to ensure that Londoners have the same access to mental health support across different boroughs, and to provide information for frontline organisations about support and funding. It also called for the Government to end section 21 evictions.    
• The London Assembly focussed its 2023-24 work programme around young Londoners. Their views were sought throughout several investigations - including the Housing Committee investigation into young Londoners’ access to homeownership.  A survey received over 500 responses from young Londoners, and the report resulted in recommendations urging the Mayor to lobby Government to either increase the house price threshold for the Lifetime ISA (LISA) in London or remove the penalty for withdrawal for Londoners who have entered the scheme since 2017.  
• The Health Committee investigated the health implications of gambling related harms. It heard from Londoners directly affected by gambling, and recommended the Mayor ban all gambling adverts across the TfL network.  
• The Police and Crime Committee continued to hold the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to account, focussing on the progress made by the MPS and the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) since the Baroness Casey Review. The Committee also questioned the MPS in response to the Angiolini Inquiry, following the tragic murder of Sarah Everard by a serving Met police officer.   

Andrew Boff AM, Chair of the Assembly during 2023-24, said:  

“The London Assembly is the voice of London, composed of 25 Members elected at the same time as the Mayor in order to hold him to account and scrutinise his policies.  

“Our priority is to ensure the Mayor is delivering for Londoners, and in the 2023-24 year we prioritised the issues affecting young Londoners and the impact of the cost-of-living.  

“It has been immensely rewarding to Chair the London Assembly in this challenging year. We delivered a number of high-quality reports and letters which included recommendations to improve the lives of Londoners.  

“As we continue to recover from the pandemic and tackle the ongoing cost-of-living, it is essential we hear firstly from Londoners on the issues impacting them the most, so that we can effectively scrutinise the Mayor and his policies.” 

Assembly work holding the Mayor of London to account and investigating the issues that matter to Londoners continues in the upcoming year. Committees will monitor the impact of the cost-of-living, look at housing delivery and scrutinise the trust and confidence in the Metropolitan Police.