Sadiq Khan could be given the power to approve major new Tube and rail projects without waiting for the green light from the Transport Secretary under an amendment being proposed in Parliament.
Lord Bassam of Brighton is attempting to alter the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, which is currently making its way through the House of Lords, to ensure it allows Mayors to approve their own transport schemes.
Currently, Sir Sadiq and other Mayors have to appeal to ministers for an “Order” under the Transport and Works Act 1992 (TWA) in order to obtain the legal powers to build a project.
This was recently seen with news of the DLR extension to Thamesmead when, despite the Mayor of London backing the scheme for years, permission was only granted to make a business proposal in November.
However, if accepted, the changes would allow Sir Sadiq to become the decision maker when it comes to new transport projects in London. Transport for London (TfL) would submit the business case to him, instead of the Transport Secretary, meaning projects like the Bakerloo Line extension and West London Orbital could be approved far quicker.
Presenting the amendment this week, Lord Bassam told peers: “Transport and Works Act orders are the major planning approvals for schemes, such as new trams.
“All these must be centrally approved by the Secretary of State, whether it is a multimillion or multibillion-pound cross-country scheme such as the trans-Pennine route upgrade or a local tram service extension, and the requirement to go to the Secretary of State can add significant time to projects.
“It took over three years for the one-mile Birmingham Eastside extension to get sign-off from the department.
“If we think about this and put it in perspective, other European countries can go from initiating a project to completion in around four to five years. We must do all that we can to speed these processes up.
“Mayors are increasingly going to take powers away from the centre and will be running and responsible for large geographic areas…if we believe in devolution, we should let them get on with the job and approve schemes in their area, as is the case in other countries.
“We should have greater devolution for these sorts of decisions and not leave Mayors having to scramble around and make sure they catch the wind with the Secretary of State at the right time to get final approval and sign-off for schemes that really do not need to have that degree of centralised control.”
Lord Hendy, formerly the Commissioner for Transport for London (TfL) between 2006 and 2015 and now a transport minister in the House of Lords, responded: “The Secretary of State is the decision-maker for schemes applied for under the Act across England, operating within a well-established and legally robust framework.
“Creating multiple new decision-making bodies would risk introducing inconsistency in the interpretation of policy and the use of powers, creating uncertainty, causing delays and potentially increasing the risk of challenge to the schemes.”
He said changes in the new Planning and Infrastructure Act will “improve the efficiency and predictability” of delivering new schemes and that any devolution could “undermine” any benefits realised.
Lord Bassam’s amendment was not accepted, but it is understood that ministers may take some principles of the changes on board. Ministers have now been told to reconsider their decision entirely, however.
Ben Hopkinson, Head of Housing and Infrastructure at the Centre for Policy Studies think tank, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “Giving Mayors the power to approve Transport and Works Act orders and funding powers would usher in a new wave of regional transport construction.
“Instead of having to constantly go to central government for permission and money, Sadiq Khan could sign off and start building new projects like the Bakerloo Line Extension or DLR extension to Thamesmead.
“These amendments would speed up the planning process and give the Mayor the power and responsibility to deliver.”
Bassam Mahfouz AM, Labour’s spokesperson for Devolution, added: “Giving the Mayor stronger powers to green light major infrastructure projects means London can get on with building the transport links and homes our economy desperately needs.
“London should have the freedom to deliver game-changing projects like the West London Orbital and the Bakerloo Line extension under its own control, just as Paris is doing with its new orbital railway.”
Liberal Democrat Assembly Member Hina Bokhari told the LDRS that Mayors “should not have to go cap in hand to Whitehall to rubber stamp the vital infrastructure our cities need”.
“In London, we can’t afford to wait any longer for projects like the Bakerloo Line extension or the West London Orbital, which unlock homes and growth for the whole city,” she added.
“That’s why the Lib Dems back devolving those powers to the Mayor – with proper democratic scrutiny from the Assembly to match.”
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said he welcomes the English Devolution Bill but would not comment on whether he supports the amendment.
A source added: “This is a backbench amendment and unlikely to have implications.”
The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government were contacted for comment.
