The Mayor of London Boris Johnson and London Councils have put forward plans for sweeping changes which could see London boroughs taking greater control of their housing budgets, as part of a proposed devolution package from Whitehall to London.

Together the Mayor and London Councils have released 'A Framework for Devolved Delivery', which would give boroughs greater autonomy over housing budgets, place them at the forefront of negotiations with developers and give them more responsibility to ensure the needs of their local communities are being addressed.

By signing up to a voluntary Devolved Delivery Agreement, participating boroughs would have an agreed indicative housing budget set for the duration of the spending round to help them address their housing and regeneration priorities. In turn, a borough would commit to making better use of resources, deliver more affordable housing and contribute to the delivery of the London Housing Strategy. The Mayor is already more than half way towards delivering 50,000 affordable homes.

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The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) is responsible for allocating more than 80 per cent of the housing funding for London. Under devolved delivery, the Mayor and the London Housing Board – which includes borough representatives – will agree an indicative budget for boroughs, allowing them to allocate this funding according to London-wide and individual priorities.

In a letter to all London boroughs, the Mayor and the chairman of London Councils, Mayor Jules Pipe, encouraged boroughs to comment on the plans put forward in the framework paper, and invited leaders to express an interest in entering into a Devolved Delivery Agreement.

Mr Johnson said: "I firmly believe we should empower London's boroughs so that more decisions are taken directly by those in the communities they affect. I hope boroughs across the capital will consider the proposals we have announced. I'm inviting them to enter into the devolution debate so that together, we can find the best way to unlock London's housing potential, deliver more quality affordable housing and make sure we achieve our goal of halving serious overcrowding."

(CD)