ABOLISH GOVERNMENT OFFICE FOR LONDON TO SAVE TAXPAYERS' MILLIONS

11.28.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 20th Sep 2004

Liberal Democrat London Assembly Spokesperson, Sally Hamwee, will today call for a radical overhaul of London Government by abolishing the Government Office for London.

Speaking in Bournemouth at the London First fringe, Sally Hamwee revealed new figures that show the costs of administering the Government Office for London (GOL) have increased by a third since the Greater London Assembly started. The figures show that in 2000-01, GOL running costs were £13.2million. By 2004-05, this is set to rocket to £18.1million - an increase of £4.9million.

The Liberal Democrats also revealed a list of programmes run by GOL and put forward proposals to merge all existing programmes into the work of the London Assembly, the Met Police or local London Boroughs.

Sally Hamwee said:-

"Government Office for London costs are spiralling out of control. Many of the functions once done by GOL are run by City Hall, the Met or local councils, yet their costs just keep on rising. Ministers should see sense and allow the body they created to do the job it was elected to do.

"It is a farcical situation when there is a directly elected regional assembly yet Ministers are still handing critical policy decisions and money over to faceless bureaucrats. The Government Office for London wastes taxpayers' money by copying much of the work done by City Hall. Central government just cannot let go and let Londoners elect London politicians to make London decisions.

"The failure to clamp down on overblown government bureaucracy has left taxpayers footing the bill. It is time the Government Office for London is scrapped to give Londoners a real say in how their city is run and provide real value for money."

ENDS

Notes to editor

Sally Hamwee will be speaking at the London First fringe at the Royal Exeter Hotel in Bournemouth between 13.00 and 14.00 on Tuesday 21st September 2004