The Mayor of London has proposed to cut his share of the council tax in a draft Budget that fulfils his manifesto commitment to reduce the Mayoral share of Londoners’ council tax bills by ten per cent during his second term in office. If the Mayor’s Budget is approved in February he will have saved a typical Band D council taxpayer around £500 over his eight years as Mayor.
In his final budget as Mayor, Boris Johnson is proposing to reduce his share of the council tax bill by 6.4 per cent next year, a reduction of £19 to £276 for Band D taxpayers. The budget also includes plans to protect police officer numbers and key transport improvements while supporting the construction of a record number of new homes and creating thousands of new jobs.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “This Budget drives down council tax while protecting key services for Londoners. It is a plan that continues to look after the poorest and neediest and which creates new jobs and builds new homes. Not a penny will be squandered as we deliver the services and the improvements needed. It is the right plan for London and the right plan for everyone with a stake in our great city.”
The Mayor’s draft 2016/2017 budget covers the entire Greater London Authority Group – including Transport for London, the London Legacy Development Corporation, the Metropolitan Police service and the London Fire Brigade. Its plans include:
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The continued delivery of around £418m of funding that is being used to support economic regeneration in the capital.
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The protection of police officer numbers at around 32,000 including a reinvigoration of neighbourhood policing by getting 2,600 extra officers into local neighbourhoods. Plus investment in the latest digital technologies such as body worn cameras.
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Investment in upgrading the Tube network including £250m on making more stations step free, the delivery of a northern Line extension to Nine Elms and Battersea and continued support for the delivery of Crossrail, which will increase London’s rail capacity by ten per cent.
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A £4bn investment on London’s roads. £913m is due to be spent on cycling improvements, £200m has been earmarked for bus priority schemes and 800 New Routemaster buses will be delivered by 2016.
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Continuing the increase in the supply of affordable homes and identifying better ways of doing so with a target of delivering 100,000 affordable homes over the Mayor’s eight years in office.
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Ensuring the London Fire Brigade can continue to meet their response time targets.
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The permanent re-opening of the former Olympic Stadium in the summer of 2016 and support for the hosting of major sports events across all of the 2102 legacy venues including the, European Aquatics Championships. Plus the continued development of Olympicopolis, a world class new cultural, scientific and educational centre for London at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
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Support for the new Mayoral Development Corporation for Old Oak and Park Royal, a once in a lifetime regeneration opportunity for that part of west London which will deliver thousands of new jobs and homes.
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A continued focus on the creation of apprenticeships for young Londoners, particularly in the construction sector where demand is increasing.
A consultation document that sets out the Mayor’s proposals has now been made available on the Greater London Authority website at: /about-us/greater-london-authority-gla/spending-money-wisely/mayors-budget
Members of the public have until 12 January 2016 to comment on the draft Budget, which is due to be considered by the London Assembly on 27 January and 22 February.
Notes to editors
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The Mayor of London’s 2016-17 draft Council Tax requirement is £756.5m – this being the total sum forecast to be collected from Londoners to fund GLA services. Under the proposal the total GLA precept will be reduced from £295 to £276 a year (Band D household) for residents of the 32 boroughs – a reduction of £19 or 6.4%. The Band D precept for taxpayers within the Corporation of London area – which has its own police force – is provisionally set at £69.21.
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The Mayor’s proposed council tax precept comprises £566.5m to support the Metropolitan Police service, £138m for the London Fire Brigade and £62m for other services such as transport, the Olympic precept and the GLA itself.
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The Mayor’s draft budget consists of allocations for - the Mayor’s Office for Policing And Crime (Metropolitan Police), Transport for London, the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (London Fire Brigade), the London Legacy Development Company (Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park), the new Old Oak Common and Park Royal Development Corporation, the core Greater London Authority and the London Assembly.
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The proposed total budget for the GLA Group for 2016-17 is £16.2 billion. This comprises a revenue budget of £11.4 billion and a draft capital spending plan of £4.8 billion.
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The consultation document, which outlines the Mayor’s proposals, will be circulated to all 32 London Borough Councils, the Corporation of London, key business representative bodies and other key stakeholders representing London’s wide range of interests.