The London Assembly today agreed a formal amendment [1] to the Mayor of London’s draft 2024-25 consolidated budget to offer direct help to Londoners in their homes to reduce their emissions, and therefore their bills.
In the five years to 2020, Green Doctors supported 18,000[2] Londoners to reduce their energy use with free appointments at home, following partnerships with some London Boroughs and organisations like housing associations.
The amendment proposes that, as part of the Mayor’s work through the cost of living hub, the Green Doctors programme is funded by the Greater London Authority (GLA) to open up services to all Londoners that want it, without needing to meet eligibility criteria.
The proposal would use £700,000 from the business rates reserve to fund home visits to Londoners most in need of energy support, alongside funding fuel vouchers.
The amendment proposes that for one year this runs as a pilot scheme to gauge interest in the service, and to give the Green Doctor’s service time to recruit and train further staff as required.
Hina Bokhari AM, who proposed the amendment, said:
“The state of the planet, and the state of our bank balance are two of those things that keep Londoners awake at night right now.
“Across London people are struggling with energy bills having to make the difficult ‘choice’ between eating or staying warm.
“Meanwhile domestic heating continues to be one of the biggest sources of emissions across our City.
“Our successful budget amendment will make a significant and tangible impact towards both tackling fuel poverty and the climate crisis.”
The full text of the formal budget amendment is here.
Notes to editors
- The amendment was approved by 5 votes in favour.
- Groundwork London Impact Report 2020 (adobe.com)
- This meeting was the first part of a two-stage budget setting process. At the first stage amendments may be approved by simple majority and must be considered by the Mayor. The Mayor is under a duty to respond to this amendment when he presents his final budget to the Assembly at the 22 February 2024 Mayor’s Question Time meeting; the final budget may be amended by a two-thirds majority.
- The budget setting process is set out in Schedule 6 of the GLA Act 1999 (as amended).
- Hina Bokhari AM, who proposed the amendment, is available for interview.
- As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.
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