Part II General Functions and Procedure

Public accountability

45 The Mayor’s periodic report to the Assembly.

1

The Mayor shall, not later than three clear working days before the first meeting of the Assembly held pursuant to subsection (3) of section 52 below, and thereafter not later than three clear working days before each subsequent meeting of the Assembly held pursuant to that subsection, submit a written report to the Assembly.

2

A report required to be submitted by the Mayor under subsection (1) above shall relate to the period since the submission of the previous report or, in the case of the first such report, to the period since the first ordinary election and shall include—

a

notification of decisions taken by the Mayor which he considers to be of significance;

b

the reasons for which the Mayor took the decisions mentioned in paragraph (a) above; and

c

the response of the Mayor to proposals submitted by the Assembly under section 60 below.

3

The Mayor shall attend every meeting of the Assembly held pursuant to section 52(3) below and shall, subject to subsection (6) below, answer questions put to him at any such meeting by Assembly members about matters in relation to which statutory functions are exercisable by him.

4

The Mayor shall—

a

so far as reasonably practicable, answer any such question orally at the meeting at which it is put, or

b

if for any reason it is not reasonably practicable to do that, provide a written answer before the end of the third working day following the day on which the question was asked at the meeting,

(subject, in either case, to subsection (6) below).

5

For the purposes of subsection (4)(b) above, the day on which a question is asked at a meeting is—

a

in the case of an oral question, the day on which the question is first asked at the meeting; or

b

in the case of a written question, the day on which the question is first raised at the meeting.

6

The duty of the Mayor under subsection (3) or (4) above shall not require him to disclose advice received by him from—

a

a person appointed under section 67(1) or (2) below,

b

a functional body,

c

a member of a functional body, or

d

a member of staff of a functional body,

except as provided by subsection (7) below.

7

Where—

a

the Mayor receives advice from a person falling within paragraph (b), (c) or (d) of subsection (6) above, and

b

the functional body mentioned in that paragraph is the Metropolitan Police Authority or the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority,

the Mayor is not relieved by subsection (6) above from any requirement to disclose the advice, if or to the extent that the advice falls within subsection (8) below.

8

Advice given to the Mayor by a F1person falling within paragraph (b), (c) or (d) of subsection (6) above falls within this subsection if it has been disclosed—

a

at a meeting of, or of a committee or sub-committee of, the functional body F2concernedat a time when the meeting was open to members of the public by virtue of Part VA of the M1Local Government Act 1972 (access to meetings and documents); or

b

in a document which has been open to inspection by members of the public by virtue of that Part of that Act.

9

Any reference in this section to a member of staff of a functional body includes a reference to an officer or employee of that body.

10

For the purposes of this section, a day is a working day unless it is—

a

a Saturday or Sunday;

b

Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Maundy Thursday or Good Friday;

c

a day which is a Bank Holiday in England under the M2Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971; or

d

a day appointed for public thanksgiving or mourning.