Greater London Authority Bill

Amendments Nos. 9 and 10 apply confirmation hearings to those offices specified in Clause 4 to which the Mayor appoints himself. Paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 prevents the Assembly holding confirmation hearings for offices to which the Mayor appoints himself. I disagree with the noble Lord; the Assembly already has ample time to question the Mayor, for example, at the 10 Assembly meetings held each year that he is required to attend. It is unnecessary to add to the frequent meetings between the Mayor and the Assembly. There is also the risk of a confirmation hearing involving the Mayor becoming overtly political and about the person rather than the office, with all sides adopting entrenched party political positions. The purpose of the hearings is to establish the calibre of the candidate and their suitability for the office in question. With regard to the debate that we have just had, naivety is very much something that the confirmation hearings would identify. The purpose of the hearings could be lost in the welter of predictable political exchanges. Therefore, we resist Amendments Nos. 9 and 10.