Greater London Authority Bill

moved Amendment No. 107: 107: After Clause 38, insert the following new Clause— ““General duties of the Mayor with respect to his strategies (1) Section 41 of the GLA Act 1999 (general duties of the Mayor with respect to his strategies) is amended as follows. (2) In subsection (4) (duty to have regard to certain mattersin preparing strategies) for the word ““and”” at the end of paragraph (b)(ii) substitute— ““(iii) climate change, and the consequences of climate change, so far as relating to Greater London; and””. (3) In subsection (7) (duty to include policies and proposals best calculated to achieve certain objectives)— (a) at the end of paragraph (b) insert ““, and (c) to contribute towards the mitigation of, or adaptation to, climate change, so far as relating to Greater London,””; (b) in the closing words (exception where action needed by virtue of paragraph (a) or (b) is not reasonably practicable) for ““or (b)”” substitute ““, (b) or (c)””. (4) After subsection (11) insert— ““(12) In this section— (a) ““climate change”” has the same meaning as insection 361A below, and (b) in relation to climate change, ““adaptation””, ““consequences”” and ““mitigation”” have the same meaning as in that section.””.”” The noble Baroness said: This government amendment makes clear the link between the Mayor’s new duty to address climate change and his existing duties to prepare and keep under review the strategies listed in Section 41 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999. The Act requires the Mayor to include, where practicable, proposals in each of his strategies that would promote improvements in the health of Londoners and contribute towards the achievement, as we have just been discussing, of sustainable development in the United Kingdom. More generally, he must have regard to the effect the proposed strategy or revision would have on these factors. Noble Lords will be aware that Clause 24 adds, "““promoting the reduction of health inequalities””," to that list. The amendment makes a further important addition, requiring the Mayor to include, where practical, proposals in each strategy that would contribute to the mitigation or adaptation to climate change, so far as it related to Greater London. With reference to the discussion we have just had, that is obviously a matter which we will consider further. As I mentioned a moment ago, we are happy to reconsider the specific wording of the amendment, if accepted, while considering the case for the amendment to Clause 38. This government amendment will ensure that addressing climate change is at the heart of the GLA’s work. It recognises that tackling climate change is not merely an environmental issue, but must be embedded across all the Mayor’s strategies. It complements the requirement on the Mayor in Clause 38 to exercise the authority’s general power in a way best calculated to address climate change, and the duty in Clause 39 on each of the Mayor and Assembly to tackle climate change. I beg to move.