London Councils

London Councils is the collective of local government in Greater London, England. It is a cross-party organisation that represents London's 32 borough councils and the City of London. It was formed in 1995 as a merger of the London Boroughs Association and the Association of London Authorities. In April 2000 it gained further functions as strategic local government in London was reorganised. London Councils is a think tank and lobbying organisation, and also provides some services directly through legislation that allows multiple local authorities to pool responsibility and funding, such as Freedom Pass. London Councils is based at 59½ Southwark Street. It is due to move to 12 Arthur Street in the City of London in 2024.

History
The Association of London Government (ALG) came out of a merger between the London Boroughs Association and the Association of London Authorities in 1995. The ALA consisted of many, mainly Labour, councils which had left the LBA in the 1980s.

To coincide with the creation of the Greater London Authority, the ALG merged with the London Boroughs Grants Committee, the Greater London Employers Association, the London Housing Unit and the Transport Committee for London on 1 April 2000.

In October 2006 it changed its name from the Association of London Government to London Councils to avoid confusion with the Greater London Authority (GLA) and the Local Government Association (LGA).

Membership
The membership of London Councils comprises the 32 London borough councils, the City of London Corporation, the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority and the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime.

The GLA was a member of the ALG for a period, before Mayor Ken Livingstone fell out with leading councillors and withdrew. The two organisations co-ordinate their work.

Executive and lead members
The members of the Executive Committee of London Councils is as follows:

Group whips

 * Clyde Loakes, Labour, Waltham Forest
 * Paul Osborn, Conservative, Harrow
 * Andreas Kirsch, Liberal Democrat, Kingston

Purpose
London Councils is the collective of London local government, the 32 boroughs and the City of London Corporation. They come together through London Councils to work in collaboration to deliver their shared ambitions for London and Londoners. A Cross-party organisation, London Councils shared ambitions are agreed by the Leaders' Committee, comprising the leaders and directly elected mayors of the boroughs, and the Chair of the Policy and Resources Committee at the City of London Corporation.

It supports collaboration between boroughs as well as working as a trusted partner with central government, the Mayor of London, the voluntary and business sectors, and public sector partners such as the NHS, to achieve a better future for London and Londoners.

Its services include the Freedom Pass, Taxicard, Health Emergency Badge and a grants programme for voluntary sector organisations in London on behalf of our members and supports London Tribunals.

Chair
The current Chair of London Councils is Cllr Georgia Gould, Labour leader of Camden London Borough Council, who replaced Peter John OBE in September 2020.

Previous chairs were:
 * Peter John OBE, Southwark, 2018 – 2020
 * Claire Kober, Haringey, Labour, 2016-2018
 * Mayor Jules Pipe, Hackney, Labour, 2010–2016
 * Merrick Cockell, Kensington and Chelsea, Conservative, 2006–2010
 * Mayor Sir Robin Wales, Newham, Labour, 2000–2006
 * Toby Harris, Haringey, Labour, 1995–2000

Leaders' Committee
London Councils is run by a committee made up of all the leaders of London's borough councils and meet each month (except August) to discuss and agree policy issues of importance to Londoners and their councils. The committee is supported by a cross-party executive of twelve senior members which acts as a forum for detailed policy development. Each member of the executive holds a specific policy area portfolio. Politically, the Executive comprises councillors in proportion to the party representation on London councils.

Other committees

 * London Boroughs Grants Committee (from 1 April 2000)
 * Transport and Environment Committee (from 1 April 2000) took over Freedom Pass from Transport Committee for London.
 * London Housing Unit Committee (from 1 April 2000 until 31 March 2008) was a "sectoral joint committee" and not all London borough councils were members.

London Office of Technology and Innovation (LOTI)
The London Office of Technology and Innovation (LOTI) was established in July 2019 in recognition of the fact that collaboration is vital for enabling boroughs to use digital, data and innovation effectively to improve the lives of their residents.

Originally formed of 15 boroughs, LOTI's record of delivery has led to its membership growing to include 27 boroughs, the Greater London Authority and London Councils. Today, it connects more than 1,000 local government colleagues online and in person, helping them to share knowledge, build capacity, run projects and influence change together.

The LOTI community is supported by a team hosted at London Councils. Its operations are funded by through an annual subscription from borough councils and grants from the GLA, London Councils and other partners.

In order to represent the best interests of its members, LOTI is technology and supplier agnostic. It does not favour or endorse the products and services of any one company. Nor does it procure technology on behalf of London boroughs. Its purpose is to help ensure local government staff are good, informed and demanding customers of the best innovation the market can provide. Specifically, LOTI helps boroughs to:


 * Share knowledge about which suppliers and technologies serve them well
 * Implement procurement practices and contract terms that underpin important principles, such as interoperability
 * Take part in workshops about how technology can enable them to meet their specific service challenges
 * Meet as a group with a broad range of quality tech and service providers for early market engagement discussions through our partnership with techUK. (Please note we are not able to introduce individual companies to boroughs unless a member of the LOTI community wishes to recommend them to their peers.)
 * Engage with free or subsidised training offers from multiple suppliers
 * Speak en masse with major suppliers to share ideas, challenges or suggestions.