Executive
City Charter for London
Report by:
Simon Edwards
Date:
3 November 2008
Contact
Officer:
Simon Edwards
Telephone:
020 7934 9826
Item no: 7
Job title:
Head of Culture, Tourism and 2012
Email:
[email protected]
Summary
This report summarises progress on developing a City Charter for London
and outlines next steps.
Recommendations
The Executive is asked to:
1. Note the contents of this report
2. Agree to the proposed next steps to deliver the City Charter
City Charter for London
Background
1. A Memorandum of Understanding, which outlined principles for working together, was
signed by the Mayor of London and Councillor Merrick Cockell on behalf of London
Councils on 10 June 2008.
2. A key element of the Memorandum was a commitment to developing a City Charter for
London.
3.
It is envisaged that the City Charter will be a substantive document that will provide a
long-term basis for the operation, development and improvement of London’s
government. It will guide the operation of all the city’s elected governments in relation to
each other and provide arrangements for the resolution of ‘constitutional’ disputes that
emerge between spheres of London government.
4. Full realisation of the potential benefits of a City Charter for London is likely to involve
finding ways to deliver a range of outcomes. These include:

Producing a way of working that is perceived by the wider political media and
government community as a substantial and positive contribution to better
government; and can be communicated to Londoners as a significant and positive
step in improving the quality of their lives;

Rationalising existing structures and designing new arrangements for joint action,
sharing influence and resources across tiers of government and across public
services that will deliver better outcomes for Londoners;

Identifying a series of shared aspirations and firm agreements on issues within
London government to act as the basis for making a united call on central
government to adopt our approach;

Setting up a London Congress that will meet twice yearly and a Delivery Board
comprising senior officials to help deliver the priorities identified by the London
Congress.
5. The combination of both a clear “constitutional” document, with standards of
transparency and accountability to Londoners, and also a series of joint delivery initiatives
on policies that matter most to Londoners will deliver a powerful positive sense of a new
contract between London government and London citizens.
6. The City Charter will need to operate within the framework of existing legislation and with
the agreement of London’s elected leaders. It will define key policy themes and also
include an annual statement that will identify 2 or 3 policy commitments that a proposed
Congress of Leaders and Public Service Board could deliver.
7. It is envisaged that the City Charter will be signed off at the initial Congress of London’s
elected Leaders in March 2009.
Progress
8. An initial Project Board has been established to discuss the scope of the project and the
resources required to deliver the Charter. It has agreed some initial actions:

Tony Travers has been contracted to:
o
Produce an initial outline of what a Charter document could contain in order to
inform discussions with key stakeholders both within London government and
externally.
o
Begin discussions with a number of key London organisations to inform them
on the concept of a City Charter and take initial soundings on the extent of
potential buy-in.

London Councils and the Mayor of London have appointed Dr Mark Kleinman, from
20 October, to oversee development of the London City Charter across both
organisations to ensure momentum is maintained and progress is in line with the
timescales required to deliver the Charter by March 2009. Dr Kleinmanis taking leave
of absence from his role at the Department for Communities and Local Government
for 12 months to undertake this role.
9. The Project Board met with London Councils’ Chairman Merrick Cockell on 30
September to discuss progress on the City Charter and allow the Chairman to consider
how to engage London Councils Executive.
Next Steps
10. It is proposed that the Project Group continue to oversee the development of the Charter
with London Councils interests overseen by the Chairman, Councillor Merrick Cockell.
11. The Chairman proposes that:

there be a full discussion on the issues and questions associated with the City
Charter process at the next Executive on 24 November. This would be underpinned
by a paper which raised a number questions that sought guidance from the Executive
to inform discussions with the GLA;

he updates, and takes soundings from, the Group Leaders regularly on the progress
of any discussions between formal meetings as necessary;

specific discussions be held with individual portfolio holders on the development of
the Chart and it’s particular themes;

there be regular updates for the Executive which also seeks views and inputs as the
process develops. The possibility of a separate Executive discussion on the Charter
in early 2009 is also a likely option;

update reports are also taken to Leaders’ Committee in December and February.
12. Dr Kleinman will also meet with the London Assembly members as part of his work with a
range of stakeholders. This will be in preparation for the next joint London
Councils/Assembly discussions – probably in January – at which the Charter has been
identified as a key agenda item.
13. As part of the paper for the Executive on 24 November, it is proposed to produce:

An outline of what the Charter could contain, including key principles;

A set of protocols covering several of the key services delivered in London focusing
on practical ways in which current arrangements can be improved and simplified;

An appendix setting out the statutory and non-statutory arrangements for service
delivery and governance in London;

A document outlining possible ways of working for a London Congress including:


o
Roles and responsibilities
o
Terms of Reference
o
Supporting resources
o
Forward programme of meetings
A document outlining possible ways of working for a London Delivery Board including:
o
Membership
o
Relationship with Congress
o
Roles and responsibilities
o
Terms of reference
o
Supporting resources
A project plan for delivering the City Charter process outlining:
o
Workstreams
o
Timetable
o
Key milestones
o
Resources
o
Risks and mitigations
o
Stakeholder consultation
o
Communications
14. The Executive will also wish to discuss ways in which, in addition to those above,
including Leaders’ Committee reports, that Boroughs can be more fully engaged in the
process of developing the Charter. This might be via structured discussions with
groupings of councils. Discussions with the Chief Executive’s London Committee are also
about to commence.
Financial Implications for London Councils
There are no financial implications for London Councils arising from this report
Legal Implications for London Councils
There are no legal implications for London Councils arising from this report
Equalities Implications for London Councils
There are no equalities implications for London Councils arising from this report