Initial performance assessment of the Greater London Authority group

Since 2000, London has a city-wide government - the Greater London Authority (GLA) (external link). The Mayor of London and the London Assembly are elected every four years. The GLA is responsible for developing London-wide strategies, such as the transport strategy and the air quality strategy.

The Audit Commission has published initial performance assessment (IPA) reports on the GLA and the four functional bodies of the GLA group:

• London Development Agency (LDA);
• London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA);
• Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA); and
• Transport for London (TfL)

IPA aims to enable Londoners and others to better understand the role and performance of the GLA group in improving quality of life for local people. It covers the GLA and each of the functional bodies. Like Comprehensive Performance Assessment (single tier and county councils and district councils), it uses corporate assessment to ask four key questions:

1. What is the organisation trying to achieve?
2. How has the organisation set about delivering its priorities for improvement?
3. What improvements has the organisation achieved/not achieved to date?
4. In light of what the organisation has learnt so far, what does it plan to do next?

IPA then allocates a score to each organisation on a five point scale, ranging from 'excellent' (the highest) through 'good', 'fair' and 'weak', to 'poor' (the lowest). IPA has rated the GLA, LDA and LFEPA as 'good' organisations; the MPA as 'fair'; and TfL as 'excellent'.

Published 24 March 2005
Greater London Authority (GLA)
Initial performance assessment report
Press release

Published 25 November 2004
London Development Agency (LDA)
Initial performance assessment report
Press release

London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA)
Initial performance assessment report
Press release

Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA))
Initial performance assessment report
Press release

Transport for London (TfL)
Initial performance assessment report
Press release

Each organisation published a self-assessment, which has been subject to an independent peer challenge. You can read these self-assessments on their websites. Our assessment teams went 'on site' at each of the functional bodies in May, and at the GLA itself in July 2004.

For further information, please email: ipa@audit-commission.gov.uk.