About the Greater London Authority
What is the Greater London Authority (GLA)?
The GLA is a unique form of strategic citywide government for London.
It 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.
The Mayor is London's spokesman. He leads the preparation of statutory
strategies on transport, spatial development, economic development and
the environment. He sets budgets for the GLA, Transport for London, the
London Development Agency, the Metropolitan Police and London's fire services.
The Assembly scrutinises the Mayor's activities, questioning the Mayor
about his decisions. The Assembly is also able to investigate other issues
of importance to Londoners, publish its findings and recommendations,
and make proposals to the Mayor.
What
responsibilities does the GLA have?
The GLA's main areas of responsibility are:
How is the GLA structured?
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. The internal organisation
of the GLA takes account of this separation.
How much are the GLA's elected members paid?
For the current
financial year the Mayor's salary is £143,911 and Assembly Members'
salaries are £52,910. More information about
GLA elected members' salaries, including 2009 SSRB salary review.
Common services
The GLA has a pool of permanent staff who support the work of the Mayor
and the London Assembly. The Head of Paid Service (Chief Executive)
oversees the permanent staff of the GLA and ensures that it operates
effectively and properly.
The Mayor's Office
The Mayor has a team who support him in his role
and direct staff on his behalf.
London Assembly Secretariat
The Assembly has a dedicated support staff who service its committees,
organise Assembly meetings and proceedings and deliver its scrutiny and
investigation programme. The Secretariat provides a core of experts who,
themselves or through commissioned work, review matters arising from the
Mayor's activities for consideration by the Assembly, and research issues
for Assembly investigation.
When was the last election?
The last election of Mayor and Assembly was on 1 May 2008 - see
the London Elects website.
Further information
GLA Act 2007 - see the Office
of Public Sector Information website.
Greater London Authority Act 1999, ISBN 0 10 542999 6.
Explanatory Notes - Greater London Authority Act 1999, ISBN 0 10
562999.
Copies of GLA publications
are available via this website or by contacting the Public Liaison Unit
on 020 7983 4100.
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