Greater London Authority Bill

moved Amendment No. 8: 8: Clause 40, page 42, line 32, at end insert— ““(d) direct the Mayor of London to chair the Board;”” The noble Baroness said: My Lords, during the early stages of the Bill we discussed the proposal for the London Waste and Recycling Board. In Committee I was able to advise the Minister, the noble Lord, Lord Rooker, that the consultations that had been expected between the department and London Councils had not taken place, and he was kind enough to take that in hand. On Report, the Minister introduced a government amendment to the GLA Bill, for which we were grateful, to create a statutory London Waste and Recycling Board to administer the waste and recycling fund. In speaking to the amendment, he said: "““The London Waste and Recycling Board will not be a waste authority, but will be a body to help achieve a step-change in London through the administration of the fund and the continued development of a shared understanding of the issues and their solutions. Subject to the Comprehensive Spending Review, the Government have already committed £19 million in the year 2008-09 and we hope that the Mayor will contribute a further £6 million, as announced last July. The Government propose that the board will act in accordance with the Mayor’s municipal waste management strategy and in general conformity with the London spatial development strategy. In that way it recognises that the vision and the strategy for London’s waste are the Mayor’s and that action will have to take place in accordance with them””.—[Official Report, 26/6/07; col. 508.]" That was all very exciting, and we all thought that it was going to be the end of the discussion. However, in September of this year the Mayor of London announced his intention to withdraw all support and co-operation from the London Waste and Recycling Board. Further to that, he also withdrew the £6 million contribution to the £25 million London waste and recycling fund that he had previously committed. Councils in London are becoming increasingly anxious as they begin to plan their spending for 2008-09 and beyond. I have had many communications not only from London Councils but from my own council, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. They are keen that the Government should clarify the way forward as quickly as possible. It is not known what the Mayor’s response to completion of the Greater London Authority Bill will be. However, it is perceived that the ongoing legislative process allows him an opportunity to keep pressure on the Government. I am not sure which Minister will be answering this, but I imagine it will be the noble Lord, Lord Rooker, and I hope that he will not mind if I put a few questions to him about the waste authority’s arrangements. Is it still the Government’s intention to set up the board and the fund, having agreed to its inclusion in the Bill with cross-party support? If the Government’s promised £19 million contribution to the fund will be available in time for 2008-09, and given the level of investment required in London waste services, what will the funding be in future years? How do Her Majesty’s Government propose to deal with the Mayor’s lack of co-operation, or even a perceived lack of co-operation, and the negative impact that that could have on waste and recycling performance in London? How do the Government intend to address the fact that the Mayor is currently withholding £6 million, even though they clearly considered that his contribution was necessary and justified? Has the Minister considered whether it would be expedient for a shadow board to be set up now, ahead of the statutory body, and whether it would be sensible to allow the new body to become effective as soon as it is set up? I put these questions on behalf of London Councils to give the Minister the opportunity to respond to a crisis that is brewing pretty fast. There may be a perfectly good explanation and this may be a horrible misunderstanding, but there seems to be considerable doubt that that is so. We all recognise that it is in the interests of London that this fund should be administered by a board. At the time we left it open whether the Mayor should chair the board or whether that should be agreed with the board. My amendment suggests that he chairs the board and does something about this, which is everybody’s intention. I look forward to the Minister’s response. I beg to move.