Greater London Authority Bill

I will reply quickly to two points. On the other constraints around the Mayor and the requirement upon him to be open, he must publish all relevant information seven days ahead of any meeting so that there is good notice of the content and purpose of the meeting. He must also publish sufficiently detailed reasons for his decision under the general development procedure order. There is already a requirement upon him to do that. On the question posed by the noble Baroness, Lady Hanham, there is a right of appeal against any refusal he should make, governed by planning laws as all local planning authorities are. On the order and the notion of who will speak, we have in general gone further than local planning authorities. Local planning authorities can choose who they allow to speak; some do not allow anyone to come and speak at their planning committees. By doing what we are, we are going beyond that. As the noble Baroness concluded in her speech, however, the Mayor is directly elected. That is one reason why things are done slightly differently. I look forward to having this debate again on Report.