Greater London Authority Bill

moved Amendment No. 12: The noble Baroness said: I will have to leave after this amendment to attend the debate in the Chamber. There seems to have been a collapse of business at one end and an overemphasis on business at this end. The Bill provides that the Assembly can hold confirmation hearings into proposed mayoral appointments. In doing so, it gives the Assembly no real power to confirm or reject an appointment. Instead, all that the Assembly can do following a confirmation hearing is make a recommendation that the Mayor may either accept or reject. They are confirmation hearings in name only. The amendments will create the entirely logical position that the Mayor would require the approval of the Assembly for appointments by giving the Assembly the power to reject proposed appointments. The amendments do not unreasonably shift power away from the Mayor, who would still propose appointments and still be able to proceed with an appointment if the Assembly did not make a decision. This would create a satisfactory and balanced process where appointments could be approved without a hearing but could only be rejected following a request to attend a hearing. If the Bill does not give the Assembly proper scrutiny of the Mayor’s appointments, who else will have that power? By proposing a confirmation hearing scheme, the Government are clearly acknowledging that there ought to be such a process, but it is remarkable if the Government are not proposing any effective approval mechanism on the Mayor’s appointments. I beg to move.