Does the Mayor need to increase council tax by 5 per cent?

As part of a series of meetings to examine the Mayor’s 2018-19 budget, the London Assembly Budget and Performance Committee ^[1] will tomorrow put questions to the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.

Topics to be discussed will include:

• ·                     Factors behind the Mayor’s decision to increase council tax by 5.1 per cent from April
• ·                     Whether the Met can cut crime in London with the funding available
• ·                     How London’s fire service will use its extra funding from council tax
• ·                     Cuts to bus services and investment in London’s road network
• ·                     How the budget will help build more affordable homes
• ·                     The Mayor’s plans for council tax increases in the years to come

The following guests will answer questions:

• Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London
• David Bellamy, Mayor’s Chief of Staff, GLA
• David Gallie, Assistant Director, Group Finance, GLA

The Committee questioned representatives from Transport for London (TfL) and the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) at its meeting on 3 January 2018, and from the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC), the Metropolitan Police Service (Met) and the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) and the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) at its meetings on 4 January 2018. 

The meeting will take place on Tuesday, 09 January from 10.00am in The Chamber at City Hall (The Queen’s Walk, London SE1).

Notes for Editors:

1. The key responsibility of the Budget and Performance Committee is its annual scrutiny of the Mayor’s budget proposals for the next financial year. This involves detailed examination of the Mayor’s plans for spending his budget to help ensure taxpayers’ money is spent appropriately and effectively.
2. The Mayor’s Consultation Budget
3. The London Assembly Pre-Budget report