- Budget focuses on making London safer, building more genuinely affordable homes, supporting Transport for London, tackling air pollution and the climate emergency, supporting London’s economy, and providing opportunities for young people
- Mayor issues stark warning of the continued impact of the pandemic on Transport for London and public services in London
- Mayor forced to propose £31.93 council tax increase next year due to lack of government funding in London - with £20 for transport, £10 for policing and crime and £1.93 for the London Fire Brigade
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today published a consultation document on budget proposals for the Greater London Authority (GLA) Group, which focuses investment on building a safer, greener and fairer city.
However, the Mayor has warned Londoners that the ongoing impact of the pandemic and the lack of funding from the Government to support key public services is causing serious financial repercussions for the GLA Group and its functional bodies, particularly Transport for London (TfL), the Met police and the London Fire Brigade.
The Mayor’s top priority remains making London safer and he has already invested a record amount from City Hall over the last five years to support the police. But the Government continues to underfund London’s police force, confirming last week that it will only fund 4,557 of the 6,000 additional police officers Sadiq and the Met Commissioner, Cressida Dick, believe London needs. In addition, the Home Office is still refusing to award London the extra £159m National and International Capital Cities grant that its own independent review said London is due.
This lack of national funding is why the Mayor is proposing a £10 increase to the policing precept in London next year. This will raise an additional £38.5 million for the Mayor to fund the most critical priorities in the Mayor’s new Police and Crime Plan, including funding frontline policing, tackling serious violent crime and violence against women and girls, and supporting crime prevention programmes. The Mayor is also proposing a £1.93 a year increase in his precept to support the London Fire Brigade to ensure it can quickly respond to major fires.
As announced last week, the Mayor is planning to increase council tax by £20 next year after being forced to do so by the Government in order to help prevent London’s transport network from collapsing. This means that the Mayor is proposing to increase his share of council tax by £31.93 a year on average – or £2.66 per month.
Overall, the Mayor has ensured that the 2022-23 GLA Group draft budget is focused on his core priorities and the issues that matter most to Londoners. This includes:
- Keeping London safe, by being tough on crime and the causes of crime and ensuring the Met and London Fire Brigade both have the resources they need to serve Londoners effectively.
- Kick-starting London’s economy and getting it firing on all cylinders again.
- Delivering a Green New Deal, which will help to decarbonise our city, tackle injustice and inequality, and support the creation of tens of thousands of new jobs as well as continuing to clean-up London’s toxic air and tackle climate change.
- Building the affordable housing and infrastructure our city needs.
- Implementing a New Deal for Young People, who are among the hardest hit by this crisis, giving opportunities and support to ensure every young person can get on and make the most of their talents.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said:
“This budget is about focusing on the issues that matter most to Londoners, working to build a safer, greener, fairer city. This means investing more in the police and tackling crime, building more genuinely affordable homes for Londoners, supporting businesses during this difficult time, skilling up Londoners for well-paid jobs, tackling air pollution and the climate emergency, and providing more opportunities for young Londoners to reach their potential.
“The pandemic is continuing to have a serious impact on London’s finances and the Government is still refusing to properly fund our public services, particularly the Met police, Transport for London and the London Fire Brigade. Raising council tax by £2.66 per month is not something I want to do, but the Government is leaving us with no choice if we are to help prevent the collapse of TfL and ensure our police officers and firefighters have the resources they need.
“Despite the difficult financial situation we face in London, I’m excited about the incredible programmes this budget will help us to fund next year, targeting our resources where they can make the biggest difference to Londoners. This includes: offering free training to anyone who is unemployed or low paid, providing a mentor to young Londoners in need, building more homes Londoners can actually afford, and investing millions on green projects so that we can continue to lead the way on tackling air pollution and climate change.
“I’ll never forget that London gave me the opportunities to go from a council estate to being Mayor of the greatest city on earth. As we seek to navigate and recover from this terrible pandemic, I’m determined to use this budget to help build London back as safer, greener, fairer and more prosperous city – putting the dark days of the pandemic behind us and building the better and brighter future all Londoners want and deserve.”
Notes to editors
A consultation document that sets out the Mayor’s proposals is available at: www.london.gov.uk/budget
The deadline for formal responses is 18 January 2022. Further opportunities will be available to Londoners to comment on the Mayor’s Budget through the Talk London website in the new year. The Mayor’s draft Budget is due to be considered by the London Assembly on 26 January 2022 and the final budget on 24 February 2022.
The GLA Group Consultation Budget covers the Mayor’s Office for Policing And Crime (Metropolitan Police), TfL, the London Fire Brigade, the London Legacy Development Corporation (Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park), the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation, and the core Greater London Authority, including the London Assembly.
The proposed total gross budget for the GLA Group for 2022-23 is £19.1bn. This comprises a revenue budget of £15bn and a draft capital spending plan of £4.1bn. The consultation document, which outlines the Mayor’s proposals, will be circulated to all 32 London Borough Councils, the City of London Corporation, key business representative bodies and other key stakeholders representing London’s wide range of interests.
Before the pandemic hit, the Mayor had reduced the TfL deficit he inherited by 71 per cent, increased their cash balance by 13 per cent, cut their running costs year on year and he was on track for TfL to reach a net operating surplus - all whilst freezing fares and introducing the Hopper bus fare. However, TfL has to raise 72 per cent of its operating income from fares, whereas it is only 38 per cent in New York or Paris. When the pandemic hit, passenger numbers fell by 95 per cent.
The Mayor is proposing to increase his share of council tax by 8.8 per cent overall. This includes a 3.7 per cent increase in the policing precept, a 1.99 per cent increase in the non-policing precept and an additional £20 for transport. This proposed increase will raise an additional £108 million based on current taxbase forecasts. The actual taxbase (the number of households paying council tax) will not be confirmed until London boroughs and the City of London confirm figures at the end of January.
The Mayor of London’s 2022-23 draft Council Tax requirement is £1.2 billion – this being the total sum forecast to be collected from Londoners to fund GLA services. Under the proposal, the total GLA precept will be increased from £363.66 to £395.59 a year (Band D household) for residents of the 32 boroughs – an overall increase of £31.93
This equates to a Policing Precept increase from £267.13 to £277.13 and a non-Policing Precept (as paid by residents in the City of London, who have a separate police force) from £96.53 to £118.46 a year.
This proposed council tax increase will be subject to appropriate consultation and consideration by the London Assembly, with a final decision being taken on 24 February.