Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance her Department has published on the maximum of deputy mayors that may be appointed by the (a) Greater London Authority and (b) combined authority mayors; and whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to amend these limits.

The maximum number of deputy mayors for the Greater London Authority (GLA), combined authorities, or combined county authorities is set out in relevant legislation – that being the Greater London Authority Act 1999, the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009, and the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023.

There are several positions that may be referred to as ‘deputy mayor’. In the GLA, this includes the statutory deputy mayor, the mayor’s appointees under section 67(1)(b) of the 1999 Act, and the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime. In combined authorities and combined county authorities, there is the statutory deputy mayor and, where applicable, the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime. The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill will, if passed, introduce the position of ‘commissioner’, whom the Mayor can appoint to help deliver on one or more areas of competence.

The Mayor of London may appoint up to 11 ‘deputy mayors’ under section 67(1)(b) of the 1999 Act. In combined and combined county authorities, mayors can appoint one statutory deputy mayor and one Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime. As currently drafted, they will be able to appoint up to seven commissioners. There are no plans to amend these limits.