Greater London Authority Bill

The noble Lord, Lord Elton, referred to the severance being settled by the GLA. That is no different from what happens with the remuneration for Assembly Members and, indeed, for the Mayor. Historically, the Assembly and Mayor have followed recommendations made by the Senior Salaries Review Body. The recommendations are therefore made by a third party, but the decisions are matters for the GLA, and the arrangements for the severance scheme will be no different. As the Minister explained, this was a recommendation by the SSRB, which assessed the jobs of Assembly Members and-less surprisingly, perhaps-the Mayor as being full time. Your Lordships may want to consider issues relating to the position of local authority cabinet members, whose jobs are increasingly becoming full time. Perhaps this provision is leading the way on that, but it certainly has not sprung from any action taken by the GLA. As my noble friend Lord Tope whispered to me a minute ago, it would be much more comfortable if the scheme were simply imposed on us, rather than our having to take the decisions. I hope that that has fleshed out the position a little.