This meeting took place on 12 February 2015. Read the transcript here.
While the Mayor continues to press for the devolution of key property taxes to London, some new powers are being devolved to Manchester as they move to set up an elected Mayor.
London government controls only 7 per cent of the taxes it raises, compared with closer to 50 per cent in New York.
‘Devo Manc’ doesn’t grant Manchester with property tax control – but it does equip the city with more influence over programmes and delivery.
Should London have this kind of influence too? Could we unlock greater growth by devolving more capacity to London government from Whitehall?
The first meeting of the London Assembly’s Devolution Working Group will discuss the Greater Manchester Agreement and future reform of skills funding and business support in London. The guests are:
Sir Richard Leese CBE, Chair of the Core Cities Group and Leader of Manchester City Council
Harvey McGrath, Deputy-Chair, London Enterprise Panel
The meeting will take place tomorrow, Thursday 12 February from 1.30pm in Committee Room 5, City Hall, The Queen’s Walk.
Media and members of the public are invited to attend. The meeting can also be viewed via webcast.
Notes for Editors:
The agenda and committee papers are available here.
The Devolution Working Group is a cross-party group of Assembly members: Len Duvall, Andrew Boff, Darren Johnson and Caroline Pigeon.
As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.
For media enquiries, please contact Ash Singleton on 020 7983 5769. For out of hours media enquiries, call 020 7983 4000 and ask for the London Assembly duty press officer. Non-media enquiries should be directed to the Public Liaison Unit on 020 7983 4100.