Greater London Authority Bill

As we have just heard, Amendment No. 57 removes the duty on the Mayor to have regard to any guidance from the Secretary of State about the matters to take into account when preparing or revising the strategy. Secretary of State guidance is a standard requirement across all statutory strategies in the 1999 Act, so it would be inconsistent to remove the requirement in relation to the health inequalities strategy. The duty on the Mayor to have regard to such guidance gives the Secretary of State the opportunity to provide early input to the strategy where appropriate. I hope that the noble Baroness will feel able to withdraw her amendment.