Greater London Authority Bill

I could not agree more. That is a concern expressed to us by many London councils. I am sure that any London Member of Parliament knows the pressure that council services are under at present. There are faults in the funding formula, we have a very mobile population and there is pressure on councils to pick up the overrun costs in the NHS. I do not think that any of us are unaware of the hon. Lady’s point. We can easily envisage further problems being wished on us by a Mayor who takes a different view from local people as to the future development of their borough. On amendment No. 22, I am sure that all Members of Parliament who have taken up any planning issue, and certainly those in London, are aware of repeat applications from people looking to develop. An elderly gentleman in my constituency is having to fight off his fourth or fifth application for one site. The Minister gave me a very useful answer to a parliamentary question that he has been able to wave under the noses of various people, and a few spines have been stiffened. We are well aware that the large developments that are likely to be called in are also those where the applicant could apply directly to the Mayor for the application to be called in. The amendment proposes that there should not be the same opportunities for an applicant to go to the Mayor, and it would keep the decision at a local level. We tabled the amendment because the Bill is silent on the whole issue, but I am sure that most Members from London constituencies will have had problems with repeat applications and will know of applicants who would dearly love to go straight to the planning inspectorate and bypass the local authority. Amendments Nos. 24 and 25 again relate to the meaning of ““strategic””. They define ““floorspace”” and ““height of buildings””, and they, too, include an explicit exception for buildings close to the river. Finally, I come to amendments Nos. 5 to 7, which are important. Amendment No. 5 is about—well, let me deal with amendments Nos. 6 and 7.