Notting Hill Carnival Strategic Review - Intelligent Space

wide bodies that remained outside of the Greater London Authority. Run by a
multi-party committee, comprising all the borough leaders, the ALG represents all
33 London councils including the Corporation of London, as well as the
Metropolitan Police Authority and the London Fire and Emergency Planning
Authority. It is the local authority in each borough that is responsible for delivering
most of the day-to-day services across the capital. These services include
education, housing, roads, planning, libraries and street cleaning services. Through
its grants committee, the ALG also distributes nearly £30 million a year in grants to
cross-London voluntary groups and acts as the voice of local government in
London. In terms of its role, the ALG has described itself as a “part think-tank, part
lobbying organisation and part service provider.” 73 Other stated main functions
include: providing a single voice for member local authorities; lobbying for more
resources and the best deal for the capital; leading the debate on key issues
affecting Londoners; providing a number of London-wide transport and traffic
services; acting as the employers’ organisation for the boroughs; and providing
specialist housing advice and analysis on behalf of 22 boroughs which pay an
additional subscription.
2.107.2 Government Office for London (GOL): created in 1994 as part of a system of
regional government offices throughout the country, The Government Office for
London works with partner organizations throughout London, acting as a bridge
between Whitehall and the London community, to deliver policies on behalf of the
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Department of Transport, the Department for
Education and Skills (DFES), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the
Home Office, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Department for Work
and Pensions (DWP). GOL is also the home of the London Resilience Team, which
works to ensure that the emergency plans and procedures of London organizations
vital to keeping the capital running fit together effectively and can stand up to
different scales and types of threat. The team supports the London Resilience
Committee, whose members are made up of representatives from the following
agencies: Metropolitan Police Service; British Transport Police; City of London
Police; London Fire Brigade; London Ambulance Service; National Health Service;
Mayor and the Greater London Authority; Association of London Government;
Corporation of the City of London, Emergency Planning Department; London
Underground; Thames Water; British Telecom and the London Fire & Emergency
Planning Authority.
2.107.3 Mayor of London and the Greater London Authority: the Greater London Authority
came into existence in July 2000. It is a unique form of strategic government for
London, made up of a directly elected Mayor and a separately elected Assembly. In
terms of structure, there is a clear separation of powers between the Mayor – who
has an executive role, setting an overall vision for London and defining clear
strategies – and the Assembly, which has a scrutiny role. Under the Greater London
Authority Act 1999, the Mayor has a strategic role over transport, planning,
environmental issues, public health and economic development, with a duty to
develop strategies on air quality, bio-diversity, culture and tourism, economic
development, transport, waste and a spatial development strategy to set the overall
73
“Speaking Up for Londoners and their Local Councils”, Association of London Government (2002)
117