Clause 36
Greater London Authority Bill
5:45 pm
Karen Buck (Regent's Park and Kensington North, Labour)
The point has been made by the hon. Gentleman and other Opposition Members about local politicians being best placed to respond to local needs. There is a lot of truth in that, but is the problem not that on matters such as waste disposal, one local authority can take decisions that impact deleteriously on another? It is something of a free for all: for example, the city of Westminster sends much of its waste by road to Lewisham, sometimes via Wembley. That is not necessarily a case of local politicians responding to local needs; those in one area take decisions that might be fiercely opposed by local people in another. No one has overall responsibility.