MD2955 GLA Group Capital Spending Plan for 2022-23

1.1 The Mayor is required to prepare a capital spending plan for each financial year for the functional bodies and to send it to the Secretary of State (for Levelling-Up, Housing and Communities), the Assembly and Functional Bodies before 28 February in the financial year preceding that to which the capital spending plan relates in accordance with section 123 of the GLA Act. This report seeks the Mayor’s approval for the capital spending plan for 2022-23.

2.1 The draft capital spending plan for 2022-23 was issued for consultation on 22 December 2021 alongside the Mayor’s Consultation Budget Document. The responses to the consultation received, including from the Budget and Performance Committee of the London Assembly, were noted by the Mayor and taken into account before he finalised his budget and capital spending plan for 2022-23.

2.2 The capital spending plan figures in the Final Draft Budget considered by the Assembly at its plenary meeting on 24 February 2022 included revised capital expenditure figures for the GLA and MOPAC. The final capital spending plan for 2022-23 proposed for approval is unchanged from the version considered by the Assembly on 24 February.

2.3 The borrowing limits and statutory prudential indicators for 2022-23 which the Mayor is required to set for the GLA and functional bodies will be submitted for approval by the Mayor before the end of March 2022 as part of the approval of the wider Treasury Management Strategy.

2.4 A copy of the final approved capital spending plan for 2022-23 will be placed on the GLA website at: www.london.gov.uk/budget

3.1 As public bodies, the GLA and the functional bodies must comply with section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, which provides for the “public sector equality duty”. This duty requires each public body to have due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation, to advance equality of opportunity, and to foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not. The relevant protected characteristics covered by section 149 are: age; disability; gender reassignment; pregnancy and maternity; race; sex; religion or belief; and sexual orientation. Observance of the duty may involve, in particular, removing or minimising any disadvantage suffered by those who share a relevant protected characteristic, taking steps to meet the needs of such people and encouraging them to participate in public life or in any other activity where their participation is disproportionately low, including tackling prejudice and promoting understanding. In limited circumstances this may involve treating people with a protected characteristic more favourably than those without the characteristic.

3.2 The duty has applied to the formulation and approval of the GLA’s and functional bodies’ individual budgets and capital spending plans. Part 3 to the final draft budget provided detailed advice on the equalities implications of the Mayor’s final draft budget relevant to their proposed capital spending plans.

3.3 How the GLA Group capital spending plan for 2022-23 will impact on specific persons who share a protected characteristic will be dependent on the specific decisions of the GLA and the functional bodies in regard to their individual capital programmes. In exercising their functions, including when making policy and spending decisions, the bodies are required to comply with the public sector equality duty. Compliance is necessarily iterative and on-going. It includes carrying out a process to identify and actively consider potential detrimental impacts (if any) that may arise for individual protected groups and what mitigations (if any) could be implemented to address them at a level proportionate to the decision being taken. The GLA and functional bodies will continue to carry out this process at a budget and capital spending plan level, and in the implementation of their individual strategies, policies, programmes, projects and expenditure.

Consultation responses

4.1 As set out above, the Mayor consulted on the 2022-23 budget – including the capital spending plan – with the London Assembly, London boroughs, the Corporation of London and other key stakeholders between 22 December 2021 and 18 January 2022. The consultation was placed on the GLA’s website and sent to the bodies and key stakeholders mentioned above.



4.2 The Mayor has considered the comments from respondents to the consultation including the London Assembly Budget and Performance Committee and taken them into account before finalising his capital spending plan for 2022-23.

Risks

4.3 There are no further implications for risk management as these have been addressed as part of the budgetary process.

5.1 These are highlighted so far as they are relevant in the capital spending plan for 2022-23.

6.1 The Mayor is required, under section 122 of the GLA Act, each financial year to prepare a capital spending plan (the Plan) for each functional body which must be published before 28 February. Section 122 sets out the required contents of Sections A to D of the Plan in terms of estimates of receipts, borrowing and expenditure, and this appears in Table 1 of the Plan.

6.2 In preparing the Plan the Mayor may take into account such factors as appear to him to be appropriate and the other matters listed in section 124 of the GLA Act. These are: (1) the minimum amount of grant which the GLA is to pay to the body for the year under section 120 of the GLA Act; (2) the amounts to be transferred to the body under section 32(5) of the Local Government Act 2003 (Mayor's power to transfer expenditure grant made under section 31).

6.3 In particular the Mayor may take account of: (a) the capital spending plans for such financial years which have ended as he may determine; and (b) the amounts of each functional body's total capital spending specified in section C of each of those plans which have been met as follows: the amount met out of capital grants made to the body; the amount met out of grants under section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003 (expenditure grant) made to the body; the amount met out of the body's capital receipts; the amount met by borrowing or entering into or varying credit arrangements; and the amount met by making a charge to a revenue account.



6.4 The Mayor fulfilled the requirement to consult the Assembly and each functional body by 15 January 2021. The Mayor must consider their comments (if any) before determining the final Plan. The final capital spending plan for the forthcoming financial year must be approved before 28 February, when copies must be sent to the Secretary of State, the Assembly and functional bodies, and a copy must be kept at City Hall for inspection by the public for the next 6 years.

Appendices

Appendix 1: The Mayor of London’s Capital Spending Plan for 2022-23

Supporting papers

The following documents were referred to in the preparation of the final capital spending plan for 2022-23:

• Section 9 and Appendices A to F of the Mayor of London’s Consultation Budget Document for 2022-23 published on 22 December 2021.
• Section 9 and Appendices A to F of the Mayor of London’s Draft Consolidated Budget for 2022-23 considered by the London Assembly on 26 January 2022.
• Section 9 and Appendices A to F of the Mayor of London’s Final Draft Budget 2022-23: Explanation of Final Draft Proposals considered by the London Assembly on 24 February 2022.
• 2022-23 budget submissions for GLA, MOPAC, LFC, TfL, LLDC and OPDC.