Greater London Authority Bill

My hon. Friend is right that transparency is critically important, and that local community views about particular developments must be taken into account. I know that many hon. Members want to intervene on this matter, but I hope that the House will allow me to say a little more about the Government’s approach, and then I shall be happy to take further interventions. The Government believe that the overwhelming majority of planning applications should be determined by the boroughs, exactly as happens at present. We want there to be more constructive working between the boroughs and the Mayor on those development proposals that go to the heart of implementing the London plan. In the vast majority of those cases, the borough involved will still take the final decision, but in a small number we think that the Mayor will be best placed to decide the final outcome. He should also be able to intervene positively, rather than just to say no. We will set out in secondary legislation how the Mayor’s new development control powers will work in practice, and we will publish that legislation in draft to facilitate the Standing Committee’s scrutiny of the Bill.