London Councils claims joint decision-making arrangements between the mayor and the boroughs over powers and funding is “critical” to any devolution deal

The leaders of the 32 London boroughs have made a united cross-party call for “a seat at the table” as part of a new devolution settlement for the capital.

In a joint public statement issued by London Councils, the collective body representing local authorities in the capital, the leaders argue that joint decision-making arrangements between the mayor and the boroughs over relevant powers and funding is critical for enabling London to deliver more quickly and build long-term resilience into the capital’s devolution arrangements.

Boroughs currently lack any formal decision-making role within the Greater London Authority – in contrast to the devolved arrangements in combined authority areas such as Greater Manchester and the West Midlands.

With London’s devolution settlement now a quarter-century old, boroughs describe the forthcoming English Devolution Bill as a “golden opportunity” to modernise devolution in the capital and legislate for bespoke joint decision-making arrangements.

Given the capital’s size and unique devolution history, boroughs are making the case for bespoke arrangements in London, rather than a full mayoral combined authority. London Councils has proposed a ‘combined board’ model – made up of the London mayor and London Councils’ executive committee – which would be responsible for decision-making over devolved powers and funding on a similar basis to mayoral combined authorities.

This would bring London in line with other devolution deals and enable quicker and more effective decision-making, says London Councils, as well as “improving outcomes for Londoners and ensuring better value for money”.

However, if current arrangements are maintained London leaders warn they could become the only local authority leaders in the country denied a formal say over the strategic authority for their region, leaving the capital in a worse position.

Claire Holland, chair of London Councils and leader of Lambeth Councill, said: “The prospect of more devolved powers and funding to the capital is an exciting one – but we must ensure London’s devolution settlement works as effectively and efficiently as possible.

“Giving boroughs a seat at the table and a proper say in regional decision-making will put us in a far stronger position to tackle the challenges we face as a city and drive growth in London.

“We have worked hard to build cross-party consensus across the 32 boroughs for a pragmatic solution that enables joint decision-making. We must seize this opportunity to hardwire collaboration between the mayor and boroughs into our devolution deal so that we can all deliver better outcomes for Londoners.”

Read the full London Councils statement here.

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.