MINUTES

Meeting: (Mayor's Question Time) Date: Thursday 19 March 2020 Time: 10.00 am Place: Chamber, City Hall, The Queen's Walk, London, SE1 2AA

Copies of the minutes may be found at: www.london.gov.uk/mayor-assembly/london-assembly/whole-assembly

Present:

Len Duvall AM (Chair) AM MP

Shaun Bailey AM AM (Deputy Chairman)

Siân Berry AM Joanne McCartney AM

Andrew Boff AM MBE AM

Leonie Cooper AM AM

Unmesh Desai AM AM

Tony Devenish AM Dr Onkar Sahota AM

Andrew Dismore AM Peter Whittle AM

City Hall, The Queen’s Walk, London SE1 2AA Enquiries: 020 7983 4100 minicom: 020 7983 4458 www.london.gov.uk Greater London Authority London Assembly (Mayor's Question Time) Thursday 19 March 2020

1 Apologies for Absence and Chair's Announcements (Item 1)

1.1 In the absence of the Chair and Deputy Chairman of the Assembly, who had both given apologies for absence, and in accordance with Standing Order 2.1C, the Assistant Director, Committee & Member Services conducted the election of a Chair for the meeting.

1.2 Dr Onkar Sahota AM moved and Susan Hall AM seconded that AM be appointed as Chair for the duration of the meeting.

1.3 There being one nomination before the Assembly, it was:

Resolved:

That Len Duvall AM be appointed Chair for the duration of the meeting.

[Len Duvall AM in the Chair]

1.4 The Chair then presided over the election of a Deputy Chairman for the duration of the meeting.

1.5 AM moved and Dr Onkar Sahota AM seconded that Susan Hall AM be appointed as Deputy Chairman for the duration of the meeting.

1.6 There being one nomination before the Assembly, it was:

Resolved:

That Susan Hall AM be appointed as Deputy Chairman for the duration of the meeting.

1.7 Apologies for absence were received from OBE AM, AM, AM MP, AM, AM, AM, Steve O’Connell AM, Fiona Twycross AM (who was present instead in her capacity as Deputy Chair of the GLA’s Strategic Coordination Group for COVID-19) and AM.

1.8 The Chair referred to the unprecedented challenges facing London and the UK in the fight against COVID-19. He noted that public health must come first and it was right that the Government had taken the decision to postpone the GLA elections until May 2021 and advised against public gatherings. The Chair emphasised the Assembly’s duty to Londoners; that Assembly Members would do all they could to assist Londoners, and would continue to hold the to account effectively throughout the extraordinary circumstances.

1.9 On behalf of the Assembly, the Chair gave thanks to the Mayor of London, local government, key agencies and officials for their efforts to keep Londoners safe.

Greater London Authority London Assembly (Mayor's Question Time) Thursday 19 March 2020

2 Declar ations of Interests (Item 2)

2.1 Resolved:

That the list of offices held by Assembly Members, as set out in the table at Agenda Item 2, be noted as disclosable pecuniary interests.

3 Minutes (Item 3)

3.1 Resolved:

That the minutes from the London Assembly (Mayor's Question Time) meeting held on 24 February 2020 be signed by the Chair as a correct record.

4 Mayor's Report (Item 4)

4.1 The Assembly noted the Mayor’s Report covering the period from 11 February to 5 March 2020.

4.2 The Chair explained that, following consultation with the Mayor and Lead Members, the Mayor’s oral update would be separated into two parts. First, the Mayor would provide an oral update on COVID-19, with supplementary questions to follow from Assembly Members on this subject. The Mayor would then, time permitting, provide an oral update of up to 5 minutes in length on other matters occurring since the publication of his report followed by any supplementary questions, noting, however, that the Mayor was required to leave the meeting at 11.30am to attend an urgent meeting.

4.3 The Mayor was joined by Dr Fiona Twycross AM, in her capacity as Deputy Chair of the GLA’s Strategic Coordination Group for COVID-19.

4.4 In accordance with Standing Order 5.4A, the Mayor then gave an oral update on matters relating to COVID-19. The record of the oral update and the supplementary questions put is attached at Appendix 1.

4.5 Resolved:

That the Mayor’s Report covering the period from 11 February to 5 March 2020 be noted.

5 Questions to the Mayor (Item 5)

5.1 Following the receipt of the Mayor’s oral update, the Mayor left the meeting. The Assembly therefore agreed to receive written answers to all questions set out on the priority order paper.

Greater London Authority London Assembly (Mayor's Question Time) Thursday 19 March 2020

5.2 The written answers are attached as Appendix 2.

6 Code of Ethics and Standards for Staff (Item 6)

6.1 The Assembly received the report of the Monitoring Officer.

6.2 Resolved:

(a) That the revised Code of Ethics and Standards for Staff, attached at Appendix 1 to the report, be approved insofar as it applies to Statutory Officers, noting this is a joint decision with the Mayor; and

(b) That it be noted that the revised Code of Ethics and Standards for Staff also applies to Mayoral Appointees, subject to a Mayoral decision, and all other GLA staff, subject to the decision of the Head of Paid Service.

7 Gifts and Hospitality - Policy and Procedure (Item 7)

7.1 The Assembly received the report of the Monitoring Officer.

7.2 Resolved:

(a) That the revised Gifts and Hospitality Policy and Procedure attached at Appendix 1 to the report - which applies to the Mayor, the London Assembly, Mayoral Appointees and Statutory Officers – be adopted insofar as it applies to statutory officers and elected Members, noting that this is a joint decision with the Mayor; and

(b) That it be noted that the revised Gifts and Hospitality Policy and Procedure also applies to all other GLA staff, subject to the decision of the Head of Paid Service, and to Mayoral Appointees, subject to the decision of the Mayor.

8 Motion (Item 8)

8.1 Following the announcement that the Government had postponed the GLA elections until May 2021, this motion was withdrawn from the agenda.

Greater London Authority London Assembly (Mayor's Question Time) Thursday 19 March 2020

9 Proposed Delegation of Authority to the Chair of the Assembly (Item 9)

9.1 The Assembly received the report of the Executive Director of Secretariat. The Chair moved a revised recommendation proposing that authority be delegated to the Chair of the GLA Oversight Committee.

9.2 Resolved:

That in relation to urgent matters only, a general delegation of authority in respect of the Assembly’s powers and functions (apart from those that cannot under the Greater London Authority Act 1999 be delegated) be given to the Chair of the GLA Oversight Committee, in consultation with the Deputy Chairman of that Committee, party Group Leaders, Caroline Pidgeon MBE AM and any relevant committee Chair(s), from the close of this meeting until the next scheduled meeting of the Assembly, which is the Assembly’s Annual Meeting on 15 May 2020.

10 Date of Next Meeting (Item 10)

10.1 The next meeting of the London Assembly would be the Annual Meeting which was scheduled to take place at 10.00am on Friday 15 May 2020.

11 Any Other Business the Chair Considers Urgent (Item 11)

11.1 The Chair raised an item of urgent business in accordance with Section 100(B)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, on the grounds that it related to correspondence received from the Mayor that morning and to ensure that the correspondence was reported to the Assembly in a timely way.

11.2 The Chair explained that the Mayor had written to the Chair of the Assembly that morning regarding a change to the appointment of Fiona Twycross AM as Deputy Mayor for Fire and Resilience. That correspondence would be circulated to Assembly Members in due course. He explained that Fiona Twycross AM was expected to resign as an Assembly Member shortly. He paid tribute to Fiona Twycross AM – and also to Tom Copley AM, who was also expecting to resign shortly to take up post as Deputy Mayor for Housing and Residential Development - and thanked them both for their contribution to the work of the London Assembly.

11.3 AM enquired whether Confirmation Hearings were required in respect of Tom Copley AM’s appointment as Deputy Mayor for Housing and Residential Development. The Assistant Director – Committee and Member Services confirmed that that appointment was not subject to the confirmation hearings process and agreed to circulate further information to Andrew Boff AM.

12 Close of Meeting

12.1 The meeting ended at 11.39am. Greater London Authority London Assembly (Mayor's Question Time) Thursday 19 March 2020

Chair Date

Contact Officer: Fiona Bywaters Committee Services Manager GLA Secretariat, City Hall The Queen’s Walk, London, SE1 2AA Telephone: 020 7983 4425 Email: [email protected]