New Clause 20
Greater London Authority Bill
11:45 am
Jim Fitzpatrick (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department of Trade and Industry; Poplar and Canning Town, Labour)
I thank the hon. Gentleman for tabling the amendment, as it provides an opportunity for me to highlight one of the Government’s proposed minor changes from the GLA review, which we intend to take forward through an order following the passage of the Bill.
We propose to abate the salary of the Mayor or an assembly member who is also a Member of Parliament or a Member of the European Parliament by two thirds of salary, rather than one third. That proposal reflects one of the key recommendations of the Senior Salaries Review Body’s last report, in 2005, on the remuneration of the Mayor and assembly members. The SSRB’s reasoning for the level of abatement to increase to two thirds of salary, which the Government accept, was that membership of the assembly should generally be considered to be a full-time role and that it is unlikely that the Mayor and assembly members will hold dual mandates beyond a short period. It would also bring the GLA in line with the salary abatement arrangements for the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly.
We are aware, of course, that the hon. Members for Croydon, Central and for Bromley and Chislehurst are also assembly members and are accordingly subject to this order. I reassure them that the Government do not intend to bring a revised order into force until after the next mayoral and assembly elections in 2008.