Improving capital's infrastructure

The way London is run has improved marginally in recent years, according to a new study - but roads, policing and transport are still badly co-ordinated. And public demands for some kind of elected authority continue to be ignored.

One remedy is the creation of a directly elected mayor, but the study says the future of London as a working city depends entirely on how far Whitehall is prepared to cut the strings and allow Londoners to make their own decisions.

The report, prepared for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation by academics at the London School of Economics, praises partnerships between boroughs and the Government's specialist office for London. But it argues the capital's chronic traffic problems illustrate how much more needs to be done to co-ordinate a plethora of different committees, departments and offices.

The New Government of London, JRF, The Homestead, 40 Water End, York YO3 6LP. David Walker