Our procedures
We have a clear set of rules and guidelines in place that govern how we work. They ensure we work for London in a responsible, efficient and effective way.
Core policies and procedures
While the Mayor is the GLA’s executive decision maker, he can, under the GLA Act, authorise staff to exercise most – but not all – of his powers. Mayoral Decision-Making in the GLA provides the framework within which the Mayor’s powers are retained by him, delegated to others, and exercised; that is, it is a scheme of delegation. It sets down the rules and parameters for and within which decision-making in the GLA takes place.
GLA decision-making interacts with that of its functional bodies when on of these bodies requires a formal decision from, or the consent of, the Mayor. This is particularly relevant to the two Mayoral Development Corporations: the London Legacy Development Corporation and the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation. Governance Directions have been put in place to provide a framework within which these interactions take place.
The Scheme of Delegation for the Assembly details the functions of the London Assembly afforded to it under the GLA Acts, which it has delegated to its committees and to GLA staff.
The delegations of staffing power given by the Head of Paid Service are set out in the 'Head of Paid Service Staffing Protocol and Scheme of Delegation', which can be found below under 'The Head of Paid Service's role' heading.
The Mayor rather than GLA officers approves proposals for new or significant initiatives and those where expenditure will be over £150,000. From 6 April 2009 Mayoral decisions have been published on the website.
(Note: From November 2010 Directors' decisions are also published on the website.)
The GLA's financial regulations document sets out how the GLA's finances are managed and how decisions can be made on expenditure. There is also an expenses and benefits framework.
The Contracts and Funding Code details how the Mayor, Elected Members and Officers must ensure that they can account clearly for expenditure and that the money is spent effectively, efficiently and in accordance with the GLA’s legal powers, duties and governance framework.
You can find out about becoming a GLA supplier, receiving a grant fund from us and access transparency information about our contract and grants.
The Head of Paid Service of the GLA has particular responsibilities regarding staffing.
Covers the powers and duties of the GLA Group and sets out their respective roles and responsibilities and how they should relate to each other. The framework is based on the Nolan principles.
All our guidance on the use of resources is incorporated in this single document, together with the advice received from two Counsels on the use of resources and the new Code of Recommended Practice on Local Government Publicity.
This includes the use of our statutory powers, Mayor’s and Assembly Members’ duties, rules for our staff, use of our resources and facilities, publicity and communications, and the pre-election period rules.
The GLA Act and GLA (Specified Activities) Order 2013 required the GLA to channel all its commercial activities through a trading company so as to create a level playing field with the private sector on tax. The company in question is GLAP. The GLA has also established an umbrella company: GLA Holdings (GLAH), which could provide the scope for a tax group for accounting purposes for a number of trading companies, were the GLA ever to have more than one. Further details about GLA companies can be found in the Mayoral Decision Making in the GLA document.
In the interests of transparency, the GLA has agreed to publish minutes of the company meetings.
GLAP Board Meeting June 2019
GLAH Board Meeting June 2019
High standards of conduct
Find out more about high standards of conduct.
The Code of Conduct of the Greater London Authority sets out how our Members must conduct themselves when performing their functions, and how unacceptable behaviour will be dealt with. Members are defined as "the Mayor of London, the Deputy Mayor of London, the Deputy Mayor for Policing, Members of the London Assembly and any independent person appointed by the Authority to assist with the discharge of the ethical standards functions".
The Mayor and Assembly Members are required to declare their personal interests in the Standing Register of Interests. In addition, declarations are made and published by members of the Mayoral team, the independent members of the Standards Committee, and our senior staff.
The Code of Ethics and Standards for Staff lists the standards of behaviour that are expected of our staff, and includes whistleblowing and disciplinary and resolution procedures.
Guidance has been issued to assist GLA staff in the registering, declaring and handling of interests.
The Unified Planning Code of Conduct for elected and co-opted members of the GLA and GLA staff has been produced to guide the way in which members and officers of the GLA deal with planning matters.
It also sets the standard of conduct which other parties to the process can expect of them. The Code is additional to the GLA Code of Conduct for Members and the Code of Ethics and Standards for Staff.
It has been produced having regard to current best practice and guidance and can be found on the high standards of behaviour page.
The GLA has three statutory officers - its Head of Paid Service, Monitoring Officer, and Chief Finance Officer. There is a protocol outlining the roles and appointment processes for these posts.
The Mayor of London has the power to make a number of appointments. This protocol sets out the general principles and procedures to be followed where the Mayor is to exercise those powers.
In line with his commitment to promote transparency and accountability, the Mayor publishes details of all of his senior appointments online.
Certain job posts are subject to restrictions on the political activity of the post holder under the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.
Details of the restrictions and the procedure for employees to apply for their post to be exempt from the classification of “politically restricted” are set out in the following guidance:
This sets down a general framework for the interaction between elected Members and officers, to seek to ensure that they work together effectively and efficiently to conduct the business of City Hall.
The procedures and guidelines for our staff and Members on the receipt of gifts and hospitality.
The practice of lobbying in order to influence political decisions is a legitimate and necessary part of the democratic process. Individuals and organisations reasonably want to influence decisions that may affect them, those around them, and their environment.
The Mayor and the Assembly understand that lobbying is not just practised by professional lobbying firms or public relations firms with multiple clients. They also recognise that it is undertaken by paid staff and by members of business and trade associations, individual companies, trade unions, charities, churches, voluntary organisations and other individuals and groups, many of whom have no professional staff and only very limited resources.
They recognise, therefore, that it is essential that this constituency of interests should be able to lobby the Mayor and Assembly on an equal basis and have therefore drawn up guidelines which should be followed by Members and officers at all times.
We have set out guidance on how staff can raise concerns about malpractice in the workplace where they believe the public interest is not being served. Although primarily for staff, our Whistle blowing Policy and associated guidance also explains how others can raise concerns with us about our work.
Our Anti-Fraud and Corruption Policy and Response Plan covers our approach to tackling fraud and corruption and managing the associated risks. The policy also establishes how suspected fraud should be reported, and how we will respond to and investigate allegations of fraud or corruption.
The GLA also has in place an Anti-Money Laundering Policy. This covers, in particular, the checks we will undertake when we make interest free loans and recoverable grants to other entities and individuals.
The GLA is committed to the welfare and safeguarding of children and young people (i.e. those who have not yet reached their eighteenth birthday) and applies safer recruitment practices in the recruitment and selection of its staff. The need to consider child protection is in the context of the active involvement of, and engagement with, children and young people in the GLA’s work.
Sharing our information
Find out more about sharing our information.
The GLA's Data Protection Policy outlines how the GLA will handle and protect any personal data it collects, holds and processes, in accordance with the data protection principles of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the UK Data Protection Act 2018
The cyber security policy and response plan sets out security requirements, roles, and responsibilities necessary to protect GLA data and information systems from unauthorised access, inappropriate disclosure, or compromise.
The purpose of the Records Management Policy is to establish a framework for the creation, maintenance, storage, use and disposal of GLA records, to support corporate governance and to facilitate compliance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The policy document incorporates the GLA's Retention Schedule and Historical Archiving Policy.
The Mayor is determined that the GLA leads the way in openness and transparency.
London Assembly
Find out more about the London Assembly.
Meetings of the London Assembly and its committees are open to the public, and meetings papers including reports are published on the website. See the Assembly public meetings page.
The London Assembly holds the Mayor to account through investigations of his strategies, decisions and actions.
There are ten Mayor's Question Time meetings of the London Assembly each year, open to the public, where the Mayor responds to questions from Assembly Members. The questions and answers are available as a searchable database, Mayor's Answers to London.
The GLA's Standing Orders is a set of rules governing the way the Assembly, Mayor and specific GLA staff operate.
Other procedures
The GLA's risk management policy states how the organisation will ensure the successful delivery of its business through the effective management of risk.
The Health and safety policy describes the GLA's obligations and explains how the GLA expects to manage them.
For information about working at the GLA, see our Jobs section which includes current vacancies, benefits of working for the GLA and standard terms and conditions.
The GLA has produced a Transition guide for potential candidates, to support a swift, smooth and effective handover of power following the 2024 GLA elections.
If you have any general complaints or comments about the GLA, visit the complaints page.
There is a separate procedure to deal with complaints about the conduct of a GLA member.
The vexatious behaviour policy gives definitions of vexatious or abusive contact and outlines for staff a strategy for dealing with this type of contact.
The GLA's Sustainability policy states how the organisation commits to reducing its impact on the local and global environment.
The Greater London Authority's values are embedded within its competency framework, which outlines the behaviours that are needed for the GLA to perform effectively.
This framework forms the basis of how the GLA manages people, particularly in recruitment and selection, performance management and development.
This policy is to make sure GLA meets legal anti-money laundering requirements. It also ensures staff are aware of these requirements and outlines specific procedures to be followed.
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