Greater London Authority Bill

The noble Lord is right; that is why I have readily accepted an invitation to discuss the matter with the Minister. However, there is some history to this issue, which has been of concern to the Assembly. I am not saying that the Assembly and its advisers have never thought about or looked at this matter, but I want to be absolutely sure about it. I believe that I am right to say that, whatever assurances the Minister may give from the Dispatch Box, although welcome, if they can be challenged afterwards on the basis of the wording of the legislation, they would, sadly, not count. The position of Essex and all other local authorities is not the same as that of London. Even with a Cabinet model, there is a leader and a Cabinet drawn from the whole council and the council has control of the whole budget. That is not the case in London. The noble Baroness, Lady Turner, characterised the amendment as rewording the Bill. That is not the intention; the intention is to provide additions. That may sound a tedious point, but it is important. Nor is the amendment aimed at undermining the structure and constitutional arrangements or at turning the Assembly into a GLC mark II. It aims to ensure that the Assembly is in control of that one bit of the budget. That is what the Government said, at the start of the process, they sought to achieve. Despite their length, these are intended to be technical amendments to achieve what the Government say they are tryingto do. The Minister talked about reducing the Mayor’s powers. The amendments would not do that, except to the extent that the Mayor would have a power, as we believe, to reduce the Assembly’s budget subject to a cap but not to a minimum, or a floor. The Minister said that the Assembly should rely on the democratic processes already in place. I do not know about other noble Lords, but I would not fancy knocking on doors saying, ““Vote for my party because the Mayor has been very mean to the Assembly””. Electors would, quite rightly, have other matters on their mind. It is up to us, as politicians, to ensure that the means are there.