Greater London Authority Act 1999

Public accountability

45 The Mayor’s periodic report to the Assembly

(1) The Mayor shall, not later than three clear working days before the first meeting of the Assembly held pursuant to subsection (3) of section 52 below, and thereafter not later than three clear working days before each subsequent meeting of the Assembly held pursuant to that subsection, submit a written report to the Assembly.

(2) A report required to be submitted by the Mayor under subsection (1) above shall relate to the period since the submission of the previous report or, in the case of the first such report, to the period since the first ordinary election and shall include—

(a) notification of decisions taken by the Mayor which he considers to be of significance;

(b) the reasons for which the Mayor took the decisions mentioned in paragraph (a) above; and

(c) the response of the Mayor to proposals submitted by the Assembly under section 60 below.

(3) The Mayor shall attend every meeting of the Assembly held pursuant to section 52(3) below and shall, subject to subsection (6) below, answer questions put to him at any such meeting by Assembly members about matters in relation to which statutory functions are exercisable by him.

(4) The Mayor shall—

(a) so far as reasonably practicable, answer any such question orally at the meeting at which it is put, or

(b) if for any reason it is not reasonably practicable to do that, provide a written answer before the end of the third working day following the day on which the question was asked at the meeting,

(subject, in either case, to subsection (6) below).

(5) For the purposes of subsection (4)(b) above, the day on which a question is asked at a meeting is—

(a) in the case of an oral question, the day on which the question is first asked at the meeting; or

(b) in the case of a written question, the day on which the question is first raised at the meeting.

(6) The duty of the Mayor under subsection (3) or (4) above shall not require him to disclose advice received by him from—

(a) a person appointed under section 67(1) or (2) below,

(b) a functional body,

(c) a member of a functional body, or

(d) a member of staff of a functional body,

except as provided by subsection (7) below.

(7) Where—

(a) the Mayor receives advice from a person falling within paragraph (b), (c) or (d) of subsection (6) above, and

(b) the functional body mentioned in that paragraph is the Metropolitan Police Authority or the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority,

the Mayor is not relieved by subsection (6) above from any requirement to disclose the advice, if or to the extent that the advice falls within subsection (8) below.

(8) Advice given to the Mayor by a functional body falls within this subsection if it has been disclosed—

(a) at a meeting of, or of a committee or sub-committee of, the functional body at a time when the meeting was open to members of the public by virtue of Part VA of the [1972 c. 70.] Local Government Act 1972 (access to meetings and documents); or

(b) in a document which has been open to inspection by members of the public by virtue of that Part of that Act.

(9) Any reference in this section to a member of staff of a functional body includes a reference to an officer or employee of that body.

(10) For the purposes of this section, a day is a working day unless it is—

(a) a Saturday or Sunday;

(b) Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Maundy Thursday or Good Friday;

(c) a day which is a Bank Holiday in England under the [1971 c. 80.] Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971; or

(d) a day appointed for public thanksgiving or mourning.

46 Annual report by the Mayor

(1) As soon as practicable after the end of each financial year the Mayor shall prepare a report on the exercise by him of statutory functions during the year (an “annual report”).

(2) An annual report shall include—

(a) an assessment of the Mayor’s progress in implementing the strategies required to be prepared and published by him under this Act or under section 7A(2) of the [1998 c. 45.] Regional Development Agencies Act 1998;

(b) a statement of any targets for the time being in force under section 41(9) above with respect to the implementation of those strategies and an assessment of the progress made by authorities involved in the implementation of those strategies towards achieving those targets;

(c) a summary of information which relates to the Authority’s performance of its statutory functions and which the Authority is required to publish under or by virtue of any enactment; and

(d) information of such descriptions as the Assembly, prior to the beginning of the financial year to which the annual report relates, has notified to the Mayor that it wishes to be included in the annual report.

(3) As soon as practicable after preparing an annual report, the Mayor—

(a) shall send a copy of the report to the Assembly; and

(b) shall publish the report.

(4) The annual report shall not be published until after the Mayor has sent a copy to the Assembly pursuant to subsection (3)(a) above.

(5) A copy of the annual report sent to the Assembly shall be kept available for the appropriate period by the Mayor for inspection by any person on request free of charge at the principal offices of the Authority at reasonable hours.

(6) A copy of the annual report sent to the Assembly, or any part of that report, shall be supplied to any person on request during the appropriate period for such reasonable fee as the Mayor may determine.

(7) In this section “the appropriate period” in the case of an annual report is the period of six years beginning with the date of publication of that report pursuant to this section.

47 The annual State of London debate

(1) The Mayor shall once in every financial year hold and attend a meeting under this section (in this section referred to as a “State of London debate”) which shall be open to all members of the public.

(2) The form of, and procedure for, a State of London debate shall be such as the Mayor may determine after consultation with the Assembly, but must be such that there is an opportunity for members of the public to speak.

(3) The power to determine the form of, and procedure for, a State of London debate includes power to appoint a person to preside.

(4) Any person may be appointed to preside at a State of London debate, whether or not he has any connection with the Authority.

(5) A member of the public who attends or speaks at a State of London debate shall do so subject to and in accordance with the procedure for the State of London debate.

(6) A State of London debate shall be held on a date to be determined by the Mayor—

(a) during April, May or June in each successive period of twelve months beginning with 1st April 2001, and

(b) at least 7 days after the publication under section 46 above of the annual report relating to the financial year last ended.

(7) At least one month prior to the date on which the State of London debate is to be held, the Mayor—

(a) shall determine the place at which the meeting is to be held; and

(b) shall take such steps as will in his opinion give adequate notice of the date and place of the meeting to members of the public.

48 People’s Question Time

(1) The Mayor and the Assembly shall twice in every financial year hold and attend a meeting under this section (in this section referred to as a “People’s Question Time”) which shall be open to all members of the public.

(2) The purpose of a People’s Question Time is to afford an opportunity to members of the public to put questions to the Mayor and Assembly members and to enable the Mayor and Assembly members to respond.

(3) The form of, and procedure for, a People’s Question Time shall be such as the Mayor may determine after consultation with the Assembly.

(4) The power to determine the form of, and procedure for, a People’s Question Time includes power to appoint a person to preside.

(5) Any person may be appointed to preside at a People’s Question Time, whether or not he has any connection with the Authority.

(6) A member of the public who attends or speaks at a People’s Question Time shall do so subject to and in accordance with the procedure for the People’s Question Time.

(7) A People’s Question Time shall be held on a date to be determined by the Mayor, after consultation with the Assembly, but which is not less than—

(a) one month before, or

(b) one month after,

a State of London debate held pursuant to section 47(1) above.

(8) At least one month prior to the date on which each People’s Question Time is to be held, the Mayor—

(a) shall determine the place at which the meeting is to be held; and

(b) shall take such steps as will in his opinion give adequate notice of the date and place of the meeting to members of the public.