Member

It is important to reserve the powers of the London Local Authorities Act 1990. That covers the issues of licensing for shopfronts and pavements, and it is an important element of income for local councils. With the squeeze on council budgets over the last 14 years—my borough lost around 50% of its budget—money from those licences is spent doing the required job. If that were affected, it would have a big impact: a loss of nearly £500,000 to the borough, which would have to be found from somewhere else. That is the case with other inner-London boroughs, too, as I have mentioned.