New Clause 32
Greater London Authority Bill
12:30 pm
Tom Brake (Shadow Minister, Department for Communities and Local Government; Carshalton and Wallington, Liberal Democrat)
I shall speak briefly in favour of the new clause, which is a devolutionary measure that we support. We have taken guidance from the Liberal Democrat members on the GLA throughout, to ensure that what we say there is entirely consistent with what we say here. That is something that other parties might envy, particularly the Labour party, in that it ensures a consistent approach to such matters.
The new clause is important and would provide strategic direction for the LDA. It is true that the LDA has a lot of targets, but they seem to change with some frequency. It is not always clear from the agency’s budget what precisely it is seeking to achieve. On the basis that the new clause not only would give the agency greater direction and more focus, but would be a devolutionary measure, I should be happy to support the hon. Member for Croydon, Central, should he press the matter to a vote.