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You can't say things have been dull. Ever since 6 May's general election, there has been a flurry of announcements, cuts, speeches, launches, culls and consultations. And with Parliament returning in September before the party conferences, the pace shows no signs of slackening. For London, in local government, as well as the agenda being faced nationally we have also being focused on a package which reflects a commitment to see further devolution to the mayor and to boroughs in London, specifically. John O'Brien is chief executive of London Councils At the end of July, the mayor, the chair of London Councils, and the chair of the London Assembly made a joint submission to communities secretary, Eric Pickles, setting out a range of devolution proposals. There is a fascinating array of subject matter in this document. It ranges from the predictable territory of housing, planning, policing, skills and regeneration, to the somewhat more specialist subjects of the royal parks and the Port of London. There are some significant devolutionary advances, not least around housing, where delegated delivery arrangements offer some real scope for boroughs as part of a broader strategic framework. The process, thus far, has also thrown up an interesting question about the balance between the local and the regional in a world where the unelected tier of regional governance outside London is being steadily dismantled. The capital city is different. We do have a directly-elected mayor and authority, and there is a clear strategic role for them in the governance of London. But we also have 33 unitary councils that are responsible for securing the full range of local services in their area and which, in the main, enjoy a high reputation for doing that effectively and efficiently. It is vitally important that, as the Government seeks to extend localism to councils – and beyond them to communities and individuals – Londoners should be able to benefit from that move. So, for example, when it comes to establishing local enterprise partnerships, integrating public health with other local services, or leading place-based budgets, London boroughs – individually, and in groups – need the same opportunities to make a difference for local communities as elsewhere. The joint submission has identified some interesting proposals about how, across a number of areas, the power of a strategic, pan-London perspective can be combined most effectively with the local delivery capacity of boroughs and groups of boroughs. Once we know what the Government thinks of our proposals, we will need to shift to turning those proposals into action, and to ensuring that in London, as elsewhere, we exploit the localist opportunities that are now in view.

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WHITEHALL

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