Greater London Authority
From SR
Roles
The Greater London Authority (GLA) is a unique form of strategic citywide government for London.
The GLA is responsible for the strategic administration of the 1579 km² (610 sq. miles) of Greater London. It shares local government powers with the councils of 32 London boroughs and the City of London Corporation. It was created to improve the coordination between the local authorities in Greater London, and the Mayor of London's role is to give London a single person to represent it. The Mayor proposes policy and the GLA's budget, and makes appointments to the capital's strategic executive such as Transport for London and the London Development Agency. The primary purposes of the London Assembly is to hold the Mayor of London to account by scrutiny of their actions and decisions. The assembly must also accept or amend the Mayor's budget on an annual basis. The GLA is based at City Hall, a new building on the south bank of the River Thames, next to Tower Bridge.
The GLA's main areas of responsibility are:
- Transport
- Policing
- Fire and emergency planning
- Economic development
- Planning
- Culture
- Environment
- Health
The GLA is different from the Corporation of the City of London with its largely ceremonial Lord Mayors, which controls only the square mile of the City, London's chief financial centre. The GLA has a modern constitution, whilst the organisation of the City of London is mainly controlled by City business interests.
Structure
The GLA is made up of a directly elected Mayor - the Mayor of London - and a separately elected Assembly - the London Assembly. There are around 600 staff to help the Mayor and Assembly in their duties.
There is a clear separation of powers within the GLA between the Mayor - who has an executive role, making decisions on behalf of the GLA - and the Assembly, which has a scrutiny role and is responsible for appointing GLA staff. The internal organisation of the GLA takes account of this separation.
