Police and TfL experts give evidence on the Mayor's 2027-28 budget at City Hall, 10am Tuesday 20 October, to a committee chaired by Croydon's AM. Open to all.
Policing and transport experts will give evidence on the Mayor of London’s next budget at City Hall at 10am on Tuesday 20 October. The committee questioning them is chaired by Croydon’s own London Assembly Member, and anyone can go along or watch it live.
The London Assembly’s Budget and Performance Committee is taking evidence on the Mayor’s 2027-28 budget. In its notice of the meeting the Assembly says the Mayor “is responsible for a budget of nearly £23bn”, spent across the Greater London Authority group, including Transport for London (TfL) and the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC).
The chairman is Neil Garratt, the Assembly Member for Croydon and Sutton (City Hall Conservatives), according to his Assembly profile.
What the committee wants to find out
On policing, the Assembly says the committee will consider “whether policing performance is improving, but also whether the resources provided through the 2027-28 budget are likely to deliver measurable improvements in outcomes, legitimacy and value for money for Londoners.”
On transport, it points out that “fares income is the largest single source of income for the GLA Group”. So the committee will examine “whether transport demand can be forecast accurately, and also whether TfL’s budget can remain financially sustainable under a range of plausible demand and revenue scenarios.” The questions turn on “how TfL should manage its budget in light of changing travel habits.”
For Croydon that matters in a very direct way. Bus and tram fares here go up 10p to £1.85 a journey on 1 November, as our fares story sets out, and the trams east of East Croydon are shut from 24 October to 5 November for the half-term works.
Who is giving evidence
The committee’s background report splits the session into two panels.
Panel 1, 10am to 11.30am: how police performance should be benchmarked
- Matt Ashby, associate professor, Department of Security and Crime Science, University College London (UCL)
- Professor Ben Bradford, director of the Centre for Global City Policing at UCL
- Lawrence Morris, former director of strategy at His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS)
- Ian Wiggett, associate director, World Policing Advisory
Panel 2, 11.40am to 1pm: how TfL manages uncertainty in forecasting and decisions
- Professor Stephen Glaister, emeritus professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London
- Tony Travers, LSE Department of Government and director of LSE London
- Michael Roberts, chief executive, London TravelWatch
The report says the session is meant to “use external expertise in order to gain insights and diverse viewpoints on evaluating the policing and transport aspects of the Mayor’s budget priorities for 2027-28 and beyond.” The committee will also be asked to let the chairman, with the party group leads, agree any written output from the discussion.
How to watch or go
The meeting is in the Chamber at City Hall, Kamal Chunchie Way, London E16 1ZE, from 10am. The Assembly says “media and members of the public are invited to attend.”
You can also watch it live or afterwards on the Assembly webcast or the London Assembly YouTube channel. The full agenda has the papers, including the minutes and transcript of the committee’s 16 September meeting.
What comes next
Tuesday’s session is the first step. The committee’s work programme lists the 2027-28 budget scrutiny meetings that follow:
| Date | Topic |
|---|---|
| 17 November 2026 | GLA: Mayor of London |
| 2 December 2026 | Fire, and the Oxford Street Development Corporation |
| 9 December 2026 | Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime |
| 15 December 2026 | Transport for London |
| 5 January 2027 | Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation, and the London Legacy Development Corporation |
| 6 January 2027 | GLA officers |
| 25 January 2027 | Mayor of London |
| 24 February 2027 | Mayor of London |
What it means for you
The Assembly describes itself as “a check and a balance on the Mayor”. This week’s expert session comes before the Mayor’s own team is questioned: the policing budget on 9 December and the TfL budget, where fares income sits, on 15 December. If you want to raise a Croydon issue with the committee chairman, his contact details are on his Assembly profile.
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