The Powers and Responsibilities of the Greater London Authority Essay

The Powers and Responsibilities of the Greater London Authority - Essay Example Hence, the power set-up for GLA was kept restricted. However, after a span of six years, the GLA strived for success through the incorporation of a model of ‘strong Mayor’. In the present scenario, the GLA is defined as that form of the government in which powers and responsibilities are bestowed through the Mayor and Assembly with the aim of addressing the challenges that are being faced by London. The various areas in which the GLA is held responsible are inclusive of transportation, policing, fire and salvage, growth and development and lastly strategic planning. The responsibilities of the GLA are not accounted for direct service provision but it operates with the help of functional bodies embedded under the scope of the GLA (London First, 2011). For dealing with transportation, the functional body Transport for London is held responsible. This body is bestowed with the responsibility of managing the system of transportation within the city of London. ... Â  Along with these historical powers and responsibilities of the GLA, on November 30th, 2005, additional powers were proposed to be incorporated under the GLA. The review for the GLA powers and responsibilities gave rise to the inclusion of additional powers and responsibilities which included managing waste, housing, planning and learning along with skills (Office of the Deputy Prime Minister: London, 2005). 2. Literature Review Summarizing the Environmental Policies of the Mayor Johnson (2010) provided a positive feedback towards the decision that Mr. Boris Johnson (the Mayor) considered regarding the environmental issues but at the same time had also criticized the process through which the Mayor aimed to achieve his environmental goals. As per the policies of the Mayor, the target is to achieve 60% reduction in the city’s emission of CO2 by the year 2025. The Mayor stated estimation that 60 billion pounds would be required to be invested for attaining the targeted reduct ion in CO2 emission. However, the Mayor also intimated that he expects spending from the government in this regards up to an amount of 800 million pounds for introducing vehicles emitting low carbon by the year 2018. As regards to the expectations of the Mayor, the author estimated that the government would have to spend 193 million pounds by the year 2015 (Johnson, 2010). The policy of the Mayor was appreciated by the author on the grounds that it would generate contributions for the city in the form of job enhancement, security in terms of energy supply, reduction of fuel inefficiency and also improvement of the public’s health.