City hall london

Main articles: Local government in London and History of local government in London

The administration of London is formed of two tiers — a city-wide, strategic tier and a local tier. City-wide administration is coordinated by the Greater London Authority (GLA), while local administration is carried out by 33 smaller authorities.^[50] The GLA consists of two elected parts; the Mayor of London, who has executive powers, and the London Assembly, who scrutinise the Mayor's decisions and can accept or reject his budget proposals each year. The GLA was set up in 2000 to replace the similar Greater London Council (GLC) which had been abolished in 1986.^[51] The headquarters of the GLA and the Mayor of London is at City Hall; the current Mayor is Boris Johnson. The Mayor's planning strategy is published as the London Plan, which as of mid-2009 is being revised, for final publication in 2010.

The 33 local authorities are the councils of the 32 London boroughs and the City of London Corporation.^[52] They are responsible for local services not overseen by the GLA, such as local planning, schools, social services, local roads and refuse collection.

Policing in Greater London, with the exception of the City of London, is provided by the Metropolitan Police Service, overseen by the Metropolitan Police Authority. The City of London has its own police force – the City of London Police.^[53] The British Transport Police are responsible for police services on National Rail and London Underground services in the capital.^[54] The London Fire Brigade is the statutory fire and rescue service for Greater London. It is run by the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority and is the third-largest fire service in the world with nearly 7,000 staff, of which 5,800 are operational firefighters and officers.^[55] National Health Service ambulance services are provided by the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust, the largest free at the point of use emergency ambulance service in the world.^[56] Her Majesty's Coastguard and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution operate on the River Thames.^[57][58] Lifeboat services were established on the Thames in the aftermath of the Marchioness disaster.^[58]