Designing the Mayor’s draft budget

The Mayor of London is responsible for a budget of over £21bn. The budget is shared across the Greater London Authority and its functional bodies.

The London Assembly Budget and Performance Committee is responsible for scrutinising the Mayor’s draft budget proposals, and has held a number of meetings looking at how the budget will deliver for Londoners, and at what cost.

The budget scrutiny process has so far highlighted:

• There is a current budget gap of £19.2 million in the GLA:Mayor budget, which increases to £25.9 million in 2027-28.¹
• Government regulated fares will be frozen and Transport for London (TfL) fares will increase by 5.8 per cent in March 2026,² and bus and tram fares will be frozen until July 2026. However, it is currently unclear how much this will cost and how it will be paid for.
• The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) budget shows officer numbers falling to 31,258 for 2026-27.³ The 2026-27 MPS Budget is reliant on finding “non-workforce efficiencies” of £20 million.

The London Assembly Budget and Performance Committee will meet tomorrow to question Greater London Authority (GLA) officers on the processes for how the Mayor’s draft 2026-27 budget was designed.

The guests are:

Panel 1 – GLA Group Financials

• Fay Hammond, Chief Finance Officer, GLA
• Elliott Ball Interim Director Group Finance & Performance, GLA

Panel 2 – GLA Group Collaboration Programme

• Charly Hutson, Director, GLA Group Collaboration
• Mary Harpley, Chief Officer, GLA

Panel 3 – Equalities

• Tunde Olayinka, Executive Director for Communities and Social Policy, GLA
• Rupinder Parhar, Senior Manager Equalities, GLA
• Tom Rahilly, Assistant Director of Communities and Social Policy, GLA

The meeting will take place on Wednesday 7 January 2026from 10am in the Chamber at City Hall, Kamal Chunchie Way, E16 1ZE.

Media and members of the public are invited to attend.

The meeting can also be viewed LIVE or later via webcast or YouTube.

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