Moved by
Lord McKenzie of Luton
75B: After Clause 10, insert the following new Clause—
“Devolved governance arrangements for London
(1) The Secretary of State may by order establish as a body corporate a joint board for the Greater London Area for the purposes of improving statutory functions relating to economic development and public functions generally within the Greater London Area.
(2) An order may be made under subsection (1) only if the relevant authorities within the Greater London Area and the Mayor of London consent to the making of this order.
(3) In this section relevant authorities means—
(a) London borough councils, and
(b) the Common Council of the City of London.
(4) An order under this section must specify the name by which the joint board is to be known.
(5) The joint board for the Greater London Area is to consist of members appointed by the Board’s constituent councils and the Mayor of London.
(6) The Secretary of State may by regulation make provision in relation to the joint board about—
(a) the membership of the board,
(b) the voting powers of members of the joint board,
(c) the executive arrangements of the joint board, and
(d) arrangements for the transfer of property and other liabilities.
(7) The Secretary of State may by order—
(a) make provision for a function of a public authority that is exercisable in relation to the Greater London Area to be a function of the joint board, and
(b) make provision for conferring on the joint board in relation to the Greater London Area a function corresponding to a function that a public authority has in relation to another area.
(8) An order under subsection (7)(a) may make provision—
(a) for the joint board to have the function instead of the public authority, or
(b) for the function to be exercisable by the joint board concurrently with the public authority.
(9) In this section a public authority—
(a) includes a Minister of the Crown or a government department;
(b) does not include—
(i) the Mayor of London,
(ii) the Common Council of the City of London Councils, or
(iii) a London borough council.
(10) The Secretary of State may by order provide for Chapter 1 of Part 1 of the Localism Act 2011 to have effect in relation to the joint board as it has effect in relation to a local authority.
(11) The Secretary of State may by order abolish the joint board for the Greater London Area only if the board’s constituent councils and the Mayor of London applies consent to the making of the order.”