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Greater London Authority Bill

Could I ask the noble Lord to comment on something said in the other place by Nick Raynsford, the person who brought in the Mayor and the Greater London Authority? He made a remark that noble Lords on this side of the Committee certainly agree with—that the whole architecture of the Greater London Authority was to be strategic. There is nothing strategic in what is being proposed here. This is practical, hands-on work that ought to be carried out by the local boroughs. This is not a strategic overview, but the Mayor negotiating contracts and getting involved in the day-to-day work of the London boroughs. It would be an enormous change in terms of what the Greater London Authority was set up to do. If we are not careful we will be in danger of drifting into a position where the Mayor of London and the authority no longer play a strategic role but remorselessly move on towards becoming an authority very similar to the Greater London Council. The noble Lord may think that would be a really good idea, but I think the rest of us would say that it is a really rotten idea. We need the Mayor to remain strategic and leave the boroughs to do what they are meant to do. Perhaps the noble Lord might like to comment.