Mayor's Office for Police and Crime

The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) had anticipated last year that £300 million of ‘savings yet to be identified’ were required in 2025-26.¹ In the run up to this year’s budget process the Commissioner spoke of the need for “eye watering cuts to operational services this year”.² The latest Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) performance report highlights the failure to deliver the 2024-25 savings target, putting further pressure on resources for 2025-26.

Key Highlights:

• The Commissioner has stated that his ambition for the MPS is to “grow to a workforce of 38,000 officers and 19,000 staff”.³ The published budget does not include a figure for the number of Police Officers that will be funded from the 2025-26 MOPAC/MPS Budget.

• Staff costs are expected to fall compared with the latest full year. Staff costs are expected to fall from £3,809 million in 2023-24 to £3,736 million in 2025-26. This is despite a 2 per cent pay award and an extra £40 million for the London Allowance assumed for 2025-26.⁴
• The 2025-26 Budget is reliant on savings of £273 million. This is after the failure to deliver a £103 million savings programme for 2024-25. There is an “outline plan” for a 2.5 per cent efficiency target for reducing running costs.⁵
• One-off reserves of nearly £200 million are required for 2024-25. This is around 25 per cent more than expected in last year’s budget. This would leave only £170 million left for 2025-26 and beyond.⁶

¹ P50 The Greater London Authority Consolidated Budget and Component

² P20, London Assembly Plenary, 7 November 2024

³ P6, MOPAC budget submission 2025-26, 22 November 2024

⁴ P29, MOPAC budget submission 2025-26, 22 November 2024

⁵ P12, MOPAC budget submission 2025-26, 22 November 2024

⁶ P23, MOPAC budget submission 2025-26, 22 November 2024