Greater London Authority Bill

moved Amendment No. 28: 28: Clause 13, page 13, line 4, at end insert— ““( ) In issuing a direction under sub-paragraph (9) above, the chief finance officer shall have regard to the separate respective statutory functions of the London Assembly and the London Transport Users’ Committee.”” The noble Lord said: As we enter a wider debate about the Assembly’s budget, Amendment No. 28 relates to a fairly small, specific point about the budget of the London Transport Users’ Committee. We tabled this amendment to urge that, when the budget is set, appropriate regard is given to the requirements of that committee. London TravelWatch plays a fundamental role. Transport issues are very rarely far from the thoughts of Londoners. The speed and, in particular, the reliability of the capital’s transport network regularly preoccupy users. London TravelWatch is an invaluable watchdog: it tackles those concerns effectively and persuasively on top of its function of resolving customer service complaints. It is essential to have an effective body for addressing problems related to security and safety on public transport. No one would want to deny it sufficient funds. My honourable friend in another place Michael Gove, who has already been mentioned today, raised the shocking examples of the murder of Tom ap Rhys Pryce and the 2005 Tube bombings. The recent publicity surrounding the sentencing of the so-called Kensal Green Gang has further illustrated the level of fear that London’s transport users have about the rise in violent crime. For all those reasons, transport matters have been brought to the fore. London TravelWatch has become ever more active, and we believe that concern over travel safety and transport reliability will only increase. It is therefore essential that there is a mechanism to allow the people of London to voice their fears and complaints, knowing that they will be heard. We believe that the resources required to keep this service effective may well increase. This amendment would ensure that this important vehicle continues to receive the funding that it merits. It would be a great reassurance to know that it will continue. As well as ensuring funding for the London Transport Users’ Committee, the amendment has an important second part. It seeks to ensure that London TravelWatch does not receive its resources at the expense of the Assembly and its important scrutiny function, which we have just discussed—not least on transport. It would be wrong not to have regard also to the Assembly’s needs. I hope that the Government will accept this small amendment. Although transport is not one of the main areas of focus in the Bill, as I have said before, it affects Londoners every single day. If the Government accepted the amendment, they would show willingness to take fully into account the views of the public on important transport issues. Following the Minister’s rather lukewarm response to earlier debates about consultation, it would send out an unfavourable message if the Government resisted this sort of amendment, which would improve democratic participation in our capital. I beg to move.