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The Mayor's budget

The annual budget is at the centre of how the Mayor exercises his authority.

Through it, the Mayor ensures there is a sound financial plan to deliver his priorities within the resources that are available to the GLA (Greater London Authority) Group.

What does the budget pay for?

The Mayor sets the budget for the GLA (including the London Assembly) and its five functional bodies (together known as the GLA Group):

These budgets together form a consolidated budget.

How is the budget set?

The Mayor’s budget must pass through a number of stages, including scrutiny from the London Assembly, before it can be finalised. To a large extent the process is governed by legislation set out in the Greater London Authority Act.

In broad terms, the process is as follows:

  • the budget setting process begins in the summer when the Mayor publishes (non-statutory) guidance to provide the context and support for the organisations that make up the GLA Group to prepare their budgets for the financial year ahead
  • next, a consultation budget and a draft capital spending plan are published in December
  • after consultation has closed in January, the Mayor publishes a draft consolidated budget
  • a final consolidated budget follows in February. At this stage, the Assembly may amend the budget if a two-thirds majority of its Members vote in favour of a specific amendment proposal
  • the Mayor then publishes his capital spending plan and the final budget for the financial year ahead

Council tax

The budget also determines the level of the GLA ‘precept’.

The precept is the Mayor's part of the council tax, collected by London's boroughs and the Corporation of London. It helps pay for the services provided by the GLA Group and the running of City Hall.

There are two sets of council tax calculations because the Metropolitan Police District does not include the City of London, which has its own police force. The basic amount of council tax payable by taxpayers in the City of London excludes the element for the Metropolitan Police District, whereas the basic amount of council tax payable in the London Boroughs includes the element for the Metropolitan Police District.

The Mayor's Budget for 2024-25

The Mayor's Budget for 2024-25

The Mayor’s final draft budget was approved without amendment by the London Assembly on 22 February 2024.

The Budget set the Mayor's 2024-25 portion of the council tax (the precept) for a Band D property in the 32 London Boroughs as £471.40 – an 8.6 per cent increase compared to 2023-24. The precept in the City of London - which has its own police force - was set at £166.27.

The Mayor's final council tax precept was approved in Mayoral Decision 3243.

Download the Mayor’s Final Consolidated Budget for 2024-25.

Appendix A: Climate Budget Measures

The Mayor's Capital Spending Plan for 2024-25

The Mayor published his Capital Spending Plan for the GLA Group on 27 February 2024.

The Mayor's Capital Spending Plan was approved in Mayoral Decision 3242.

Mayor's Capital Spending Plan for 2024-25

Final Draft Consolidated Budget

The Mayor's Final Draft Consolidated Budget for 2024-25 was published on Wednesday 14 February 2024.

It was considered by the London Assembly at its Mayor's Question Time meeting on Thursday 22 February 2024.

Draft Consolidated Budget

The Mayor's Draft Consolidated Budget for 2024-25 was published on Wednesday 17 January 2024.

It was considered by the London Assembly at its plenary meeting on Thursday 25 January 2024.

Consultation Budget and Draft Capital Spending Plan for 2024-25 (December 2023)

The Mayor's 2024-25 Budget and Draft Capital Spending Plan was published for consultation on Tuesday 19 December 2023. This consultation closed on Wednesday 10 January 2024.

Download The Mayor's Consultation Budget 2024-25 PDF

Appendix J: Climate Budget Measures

Londoners were invited to have their say on this year’s spending plans on City Hall’s online community Talk London.

Budget Guidance for 2024-25

Each year the Mayor publishes a Budget Guidance document to aid the GLA and the GLA Group in preparing their budgets for the next financial year.

The Mayor, Sadiq Khan, published his Budget Guidance for 2024-25 on 14 July 2023.

Download the Mayor's Budget Guidance 2024-25

The Mayor's Budget for 2023-24

The Mayor's Budget for 2023-24

The Mayor’s final draft budget was approved without amendment by the London Assembly on 23 February 2023.

The Budget set the Mayor's 2023-24 portion of the council tax (the precept) for a Band D property in the 32 London Boroughs as £434.14 – a 9.7 per cent increase compared to 2022-23.

The precept in the City of London - which has its own police force - was set at £142.01. The Mayor's final council tax precept was approved in Mayoral Decision 3095.

Download the Mayor’s Final Consolidated Budget for 2023-24.

Appendix A: Climate Budget Measures

The Mayor's Capital Spending Plan for 2023-24

The Mayor published his Capital Spending Plan for the GLA Group on 24 February 2023.

The Mayor's Capital Spending Plan was approved in Mayoral Decision 3096.

Mayor's Capital Spending Plan for 2023-24.

Final Draft Consolidated Budget

The Mayor's Final Draft Consolidated Budget for 2023-24 was published on Wednesday 15 February 2023.

It was considered by the London Assembly at its Mayor's Question Time meeting on Thursday 23 February 2023.

Draft Consolidated Budget

The Mayor's Draft Consolidated Budget for 2023-24 was published on Wednesday 18 January 2023.

It was considered by the London Assembly at its plenary meeting on Thursday 26 January 2023.

Consultation Budget and Draft Capital Spending Plan for 2023-24 (December 2022)

The Mayor's 2023-24 Budget and Draft Capital Spending Plan was published for consultation on Friday 16 December 2022. This consultation closed on Friday 13 January 2023.

Download The Mayor's Consultation Budget 2023-24 PDF

Appendix J: Climate Budget Measures PDF

Londoners were invited to have their say on this year’s spending plans on City Hall’s online community Talk London, between 16 December 2022 and 13 January 2023.

You can also view the Mayor's consultation page.

Budget Guidance for 2023-24

Each year the Mayor publishes a Budget Guidance document to aid the GLA and the GLA Group in preparing their budgets for the next financial year.

The Mayor, Sadiq Khan, published his Budget Guidance for 2023-24 on 29 July 2022.

Download the Mayor's Budget Guidance 2023-24.

The Mayor's Budget for 2022-23

The Mayor's Budget for 2022-23

The Mayor’s final consolidated budget for 2022-23 was published in March 2022.

The Mayor’s final draft budget was approved without amendment by the London Assembly on 24 February 2022. The published consolidated budget is unchanged from the figures considered by the Assembly.

The Budget set the Mayor's 2022-23 portion of the council tax (the precept) for a Band D property in the 32 London Boroughs as £395.59 – a 8.8 per cent increase compared to 2021-22.

The precept in the City of London - which has its own police force - was set at £118.46. The Mayor's council tax precept was approved in Mayoral Decision 2954

The Mayor's Capital Spending Plan for 2022-23

The Mayor published his Capital Spending Plan for the GLA Group on 25 February 2022.

The Mayor's Capital Spending Plan was approved in Mayoral Decision 2955

Mayor’s capital spending plan for 2022-23

Final Draft Consolidated Budget

The Mayor's Final Draft Consolidated Budget for 2022-23 was published on Wednesday, 16 February 2022.

It was considered by the London Assembly at its Mayor's Question Time meeting on Thursday 24 February 2022.

Draft Consolidated Budget

The Mayor's Draft Consolidated Budget for 2022-23 was published on Tuesday 18 January 2022.

It will be considered by the London Assembly at its plenary meeting on Wednesday 26 January 2022.

 

Consultation Budget and Draft Capital Spending Plan for 2022-23 (December 2021)

The Mayor's 2022-23 Budget and Draft Capital Spending Plan was published for consultation on Wednesday 22 December 2021. This consultation closed on Tuesday 18 January 2022.

Download The Mayor's Consultation Budget 2022-23 PDF

You can also view the consultation page.

 

Budget Guidance for 2022-23

Each year the Mayor publishes a Budget Guidance document to aid the GLA and the GLA Group in preparing their budgets for the next financial year.

The Mayor, Sadiq Khan, published his Budget Guidance for 2022-23 on 30 July 2021.

Download The Mayor's Budget Guidance 2022-23

The Mayor's Budget for 2021-22

The Mayor's Budget for 2021-22

The Mayor's Final Budget for 2021-22 was approved without amendment by the London Assembly on 25 February 2021.

The Budget set the Mayor's 2021-22 portion of the council tax (the precept) for a Band D property in the 32 London Boroughs as £363.66 – a 9.5 per cent increase compared to 2020-21.

The precept in the City of London - which has its own police force - was set at £96.53.

The Mayor's council tax precept was approved in Mayoral Decision 2785.

 

The Mayor's Capital Spending Plan for 2021-22

The Mayor published his Capital Spending Plan for the GLA Group on 25th February 2021.

The Mayor's Capital Spending Plan was approved in Mayoral Decision 2786.

Mayor's Capital Spending Plan 2021-22

Final Draft Consolidated Budget

The Mayor's Final Draft Consolidated Budget for 2021-22 was published on Wednesday, 17 February 2021.

It was considered by the London Assembly at its Mayor's Question Time meeting on Thursday 25 February 2021.

Draft Consolidated Budget

The Mayor's Draft Consolidated Budget for 2021-22 was published on Tuesday 19 January 2021.

It was considered by the London Assembly at its plenary meeting on Wednesday 27 January 2021.

Consultation Budget and Draft Capital Spending Plan for 2021-22 (December 2020)

The Mayor's 2021-22 Budget and Draft Capital Spending Plan was published for consultation on Tuesday 15 December 2020. This consultation closed on Friday 15 January 2021.

Download The Mayor's Consultation Budget 2021-22 PDF

Londoners were invited to have their say on this year’s spending plans on City Hall’s online community Talk London, between 6 and 23 January.

Read the report

 

Budget Guidance for 2021-22

Each year the Mayor publishes a Budget Guidance document to aid the GLA and the GLA Group in preparing their budgets for the next financial year.

The Mayor, Sadiq Khan, published his Budget Guidance for 2021-22 on 26 June 2020.

Download The Mayor's Budget Guidance 2021-22

The Mayor's budget for 2020-21

The Mayor's Final Budget for 2020-21

The Mayor's Final Budget for 2020-21 was approved without amendment by the London Assembly on 24 February 2020.

The Budget set the Mayor's 2020-21 portion of the council tax (the precept) for a Band D property in the 32 London Boroughs as £332.07 – an £11.56 or 3.6% increase compared to 2019-20.

The precept in the City of London - which has its own police force - was set at £79.94.

The Mayor's council tax precept was approved in Mayoral Decision 2588.

The Mayor's Capital Spending Plan for 2020-21

The Mayor published his capital spending plan for the GLA Group on 27 February 2020:
Mayor's Capital Spending Plan 2020-21.

Final Draft Consolidated Budget

The Mayor’s final draft consolidated budget for 2020-21 was published on Friday 14 February 2020. It was considered by the London Assembly at its plenary meeting on Monday 24th February 2020.

Draft Consolidated Budget

The Mayor’s draft consolidated budget for 2020-21 was published on Tuesday 21 January 2020. It was considered by the London Assembly at its plenary meeting on Wednesday 29 January 2020.

Consultation Budget and Draft Capital Spending Plan for 2020-21 (December 2019)

The Mayor's 2020-21 budget and draft capital spending plan was published for consultation on 18 December 2019. This consultation closed on Wednesday 15 January 2020.

Budget Guidance

Each year the Mayor publishes a Budget Guidance document to aid the GLA and GLA Group in preparing their budgets for the next financial year. The Mayor, Sadiq Khan, published his Budget Guidance for 2020-21 on 28 June 2019.

Download The Mayor's Budget Guidance 2020-21

The Mayor's budget for 2019-20

The Mayor's Final Budget for 2019-20

The Mayor's Final Budget was published in March 2019. The Mayor's Final Draft Budget was approved without amendment by the London Assembly on 25 February 2019.

The Budget set the Mayor's 2019-20 portion of the council tax (the precept) for Band D property in the 32 London Boroughs as £320.51.

The precept in the City of London - which has its own police force - was set at £78.38.

The Mayor's council tax precept was approved in Mayoral Decision 2434.

Capital Spending Plan

The Mayor published his Capital Spending Plan for the GLA Group on 27 February 2019.

Final Draft Consolidated Budget

The Mayor published his final draft consolidated budget for 2019-20 on Friday, 15 February 2019, in three parts:

This was considered by the London Assembly at its plenary meeting on Monday, 25 February 2019 and approved unamended.

Draft Consolidated Budget

This was considered by the London Assembly at its plenary meeting on Thursday 24 January 2019.

Consultation Budget and Draft Capital Spending Plan for 2019-20

The Mayor's consultation budget for 2019-20 was published on 20 December 2018. The consultation closed on 14 January 2019.

Budget Guidance

Each year the Mayor publishes a Budget Guidance document to aid the GLA and GLA Group in preparing their budgets for the next financial year. The Mayor, Sadiq Khan, published his Budget Guidance for 2019-20 on 29 June 2018.

The Mayor's budget for 2018-19

The Mayor's Final Budget for 2018/19

The Mayor's Final Budget was published in March 2018. The Mayor's Final Draft Budget was approved without amendment by the London Assembly on 22 February 2018.

The Budget set the Mayor's 2018-19 portion of the council tax (the precept) for a Band D property in the 32 London Boroughs as £294.23.

The precept in the City of London – which has its own police force, was set at £76.10. The council tax precept was approved in Mayoral Decision 2240.

The Budget includes the GLA Group Four Year Efficiency Plan under Section 9 of the document. The Budget should be read alongside the Mayor's Capital Spending Plan published on 26 February 2018.

The Mayor's Capital Spending Plan for 2018/19

The Mayor published his capital spending plan for the GLA Group on 26 February 2018:

Final Draft Consolidated Budget

The Mayor published his final draft consolidated budget for 2018-19 on 14 February 2018, in three parts:

These will be considered by the London Assembly at its plenary meeting on Thursday, 22 February 2018.

Draft Consolidated Budget

On 17 January 2018 the Mayor published his draft consolidated budget for 2018-19, in three parts:

These were considered by the London Assembly at its plenary meeting on Thursday 25 January 2018.

Consultation Budget and Draft Capital Spending Plan for 2018-19 (December 2017)

The Mayor's consultation budget was published on 21 December 2017. The consultation on this closed on Friday 12 January 2018.



Budget Guidance

Each year the Mayor publishes a Budget Guidance document to aid the GLA and GLA group in preparing their budgets for the next financial year. The Mayor Sadiq Khan published his ‘Budget Guidance for 2018-19' on 13 June 2017.

The Mayor's budget for 2017-18

The Mayor’s Final Budget for 2017/18

The Mayor's Final Budget was published in March 2017. The Mayor's Final Draft Budget was approved without amendment by the London Assembly on 10 February 2017.

The Budget set the Mayor's 2017-18 portion of the council tax (the precept) for a Band D property in the 32 London Boroughs as £280.02.

The precept in the City of London – which has its own police force, was set at £73.89. The council tax precept was approved in Mayoral Decision 2075.

The Budget includes the GLA Group Four Year Efficiency Plan under Section 9 of the document. The Budget should be read alongside the Mayor's Capital Spending Plan, published on 27 February 2017.



The Mayor’s Capital Spending Plan for 2017/18

The Mayor published his capital spending plan for the GLA Group on 27 February 2017.

Final Draft Consolidated Budget

The Mayor published his final draft consolidated budget for 2017/18 on 10 February 2017, in three parts:

These will be considered by the London Assembly at their plenary meeting on Monday 20 February 2017.

Draft Consolidated Budget

On 17 January 2017 the Mayor published his draft consolidated budget for 2017-18, in three parts:

These will be considered by the London Assembly at their Plenary meeting on Wednesday, 25 January 2017.

Consultation Budget and draft Capital Spending Plan for 2017/18 (December 2016)

The Mayor's Budget (below) is now open for consultation until Thursday, 12 January 2017.

Please email your responses to: [email protected]

Budget guidance for 2017/18

Each year the Mayor publishes a Budget Guidance document to aid the GLA and GLA group in preparing their budgets for the next financial year. The new Mayor Sadiq Khan published his ‘Budget Guidance for 2017-18’ on 1 July 2016.

Budgets from previous years

The budgets set out for 2009-10 to 2016-17 were approved by the previous Mayor, Boris Johnson. The budget for 2008-09 was approved by the previous Mayor, Ken Livingstone.

The Final Budget for 2016/17 was published in March 2016, and was approved by previous Mayor, Boris Johnson.

The Mayor's Final Draft Budget was approved without amendment by the London Assembly on 22 February 2016.

The budget set the Mayor's 2016/17 portion of the council tax (the precept) for a Band D property in the 32 London Boroughs as £276.00, a £19.00 (6.4%) reduction compared to 2015-16.

The precept in the City of London – which has its own police force, was set at £73.89, a reduction of £12.24 (14.2%) compared 2015/16. The council tax precept was approved in

Mayoral Decision 1611.

The Budget should be read alongside the Mayor's Capital Spending Plan, published in February 2016.

Background Documents

The Final Budget for 2015-16 was published in March 2015.

The Mayor's Final Draft Budget had been approved on 23 February, without amendment by the London Assembly.

The budget set the the Mayor's 2015-16 portion of the council tax (the precept) for a Band D property in the 32 London Boroughs as £295, a £4 (1.3%) reduction from 2014-15. The precept in the City of London was set at £86.13.

The precept is lower in the City of London because it has its own police force. The council tax precept was approved by Mayoral Decision 1451.

The Budget should be read alongside the Mayor's Capital Spending Plan, published in February 2015.

Background documents

Four Year Efficiency Plan

In March 2016 the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government invited local authorities to publish locally owned and locally driven four year efficiency plans.

The commitment from the Secretary of State was that local authorities submitting such plans would receive the minimum four year funding allocations set out in the Local Government Finance Settlement published in February 2016, including the top-up and tariff payments relating to the current business rates retention system.

The document below sets out the GLA Group Efficiency Plans for the four year period 2016-17 to 2019-20. The individual efficiency plans for the GLA (including the London Legacy Development Corporation, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, and Transport for London) can be found under Appendices B to E of this document.

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