ABOLISH GOVERNMENT OFFICE FOR LONDON AND SAVE £64MILLION

10.15.04am GMT Fri 27th Feb 2004

£16million every year could be saved by abolishing GoL

Liberal Democrat London Mayoral candidate Simon Hughes MP has today called for the Government Office for London to be scrapped in a bid to save taxpayers £64million over the next four years.

Speaking today outside the Government Office for London building, Simon said that now the Greater London Authority is up and running, the work undertaken by the GoL should be handed over to City Hall. He pointed out that in 2003/04:-

· £16.6million was spent on running costs of the GoL - equivalent to £66million in the next four years

· 310 FTE staff were employed by the Government quango

· Many of the functions undertaken by the GoL are duplicated by the Met Police, City Hall and Local Authorities meaning more unnecessary bureaucracy

Simon Hughes said:-

"Millions was spent getting City Hall and regional democracy up and running only for central Government to still control £2.6billion that is spent on London and Londoners. Ministers must relax their grip on the GLA and allow elected politicians to get on with the job of directing and investing the money in the way that are best for our capital.

"Too many functions of the Government Office for London are being done better by City Hall and Local Authorities. It is the bureaucratic quagmire of the Government Office for London that must be scrapped to get real value for money for London's taxpayers.

"The Government Office for London worked well before the reintroduction of democratic London Government. Now that we have City Hall, the GoL has become a redundant relic of a bygone era. It is time for the GoL to be scrapped, the services it implements brought under the control of City Hall and the money saved to be ploughed back into front line services."

ENDS

Notes to editor

Government Office for London (GOL) Programme expenditure is as follows:

£ million

Programme expenditure

1999-2000 2,202

2000-01 - 1,605

2001-02 - 2,094

2002-03 - 2,530

2003-04 - 2,689

Government Office for London (GOL) running cost expenditure is as follows:

£ million

1999-2000 - 16.0

2000-01 - 13.2

2001-02 - 13.2

2002-03 - 14.1

2003-04 - 16.6

Approximate full time equivalent posts from April 2000 are as follows:

Number

April 2000 - 370

April 2001 - 240

April 2002 - 260

April 2003 - 288

The forecast for 2003-04 is 310.

Programmes managed by Government Office for London (GOL) in 2003-04:

Community Chest

Community Empowerment Fund

Community Learning Chest

Public Order and Community Cohesion

Disabled Facilities Grant

Estate Action

Greater London Authority General Grant

Greater London Authority Preparation Costs

Housing Action Trusts

Housing Investment Programme (HIP)

Neighbourhood Renewal Fund

Neighbourhood Renewal—Skills and Knowledge

New Deal for Communities

Neighbourhood Management Pathfinders

Neighbourhood Wardens

Street Wardens

Street Crime Wardens

European Regional Development Fund (Objective 2)

Greater London Authority Transport Grant

Sustainable Development Publicity Budget

Community Champions

Community Champions Pathfinders

Connexions Grant Funding

Connexions (Drugs Education)

Positive Action for Young People

Transforming Youth Work (Development Funding)

Special Educational Needs/Disability Act

Vocational and Work Related Learning

Learning Partnership Networking

London Development Agency Grants

New and Renewable Sources of Energy

European Structural Fund (ESF) Objective 2

European Structural Fund (ESF) Objective 3

Anti Social Behaviour Fund

Basic Command Unit Fund

Building Safer Communities Fund

Communication Funding

Gun Crime

Home Office Directors' Allocation Fund

Neighbourhood Renewal Capacity Building Fund

Drugs Team Strategic Grant

Recovered Assets Fund

Time Limited Development Fund

Small Retailers in Deprived Areas

Vehicle Crime

Violence Against Women