The Mayor’s Budget for 2025-26

Thank you to everyone who had their say on the consultation budget in December 2024.

Your feedback was reviewed by the Mayor and his team in producing the Budget documents. 

London Assembly members also used your feedback to help inform their scrutiny sessions on the Budget. 

The final 2025-26 GLA Consolidated Group Budget was approved without amendment by the London Assembly on 25 February 2025.  

This included confirmation that council tax will increase for the GLA Group. Next year there will be an increase in Band D council tax by £18.98 - the equivalent of 37p per week. 

Overwhelmingly, you said the most important area for the Mayor to put money towards delivering is crime and safety. The Mayor agrees, and all the increase in the council tax is being spent in this area. 

The Mayor has been working closely with the new government to make sure Londoners receive a fair deal in police funding. Next year sees a record-breaking £321 million increase in Mayoral and government funding for policing in London.

This investment enables the Metropolitan Police Service to strengthen front line policing including neighbourhood policing. The continued support from the Mayor will help deliver A New Met For London - a programme of systematic and cultural reform in the Metropolitan Police Service. 

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) has been aided by record investment from City Hall over recent years. The LFB is responding to emergencies faster and is now rated as outstanding in how it responds to major incidents. 

The Mayor’s final budget provides even more funding to support the London Fire Commissioner and his team to: 

• Drive forward the changes that were urgently needed 
• Fund better training of firefighters  
• Make sure the number of fire stations, appliances and firefighters are not reduced. 

The final budget has committed £1.5 billion for capital spend on housing in 2025-26. This will support the continued delivery of housing for Londoners, including 40,000 new council homes by the end of the decade. 

Alongside the building of new homes, funding has been provided to: 

• Improve London’s housing stock 
• Make homes more energy efficient  
• Address systemic building safety issues and improve standards and conditions in rented homes. 

The Mayor’s budget also includes £67 million support for homeless Londoners and temporary accommodation for victims of domestic violence – an extra £19 million in this area since the consultation budget.  

The Mayor has frozen bus and tram fares for the sixth time since 2016. This has kept bus fares one of the lowest in the UK. The freeze on bus and tram fares supports lower-income and disabled Londoners, who are more likely to use bus and tram services. 

Following major government capital funding secured by the Mayor and Transport for London (TfL), the final budget will support: 

• New trains and signalling upgrades on the Underground network 
• Superloop 2 and Bakerloop express bus services 
• More zero-emission buses on London’s roads 
• An expansion of our school streets and cycle network 
• Making more stations step-free. 

The Mayor recognises that families are in urgent need of support. This Budget means that primary school children in state-funded schools in London will continue to get free school meals for the next four years.  

In addition, this budget kick-starts the Mayor’s proposals to transform Oxford Street. £8 million has been provided to deliver an improved experience for shoppers, residents, workers and tourists. You can join TfL's public consultation on the start of the scheme (closes on 2 May 2025).  

The Mayor is also doubling the support provided to local councils through the Income Maximisation scheme to help Londoners facing financial challenges access income to which they are entitled.

The Mayor’s budget confirms investment of millions of pounds each year in green projects to deliver the Mayor’s commitment to making London net zero by 2030. 

Housing and transport investment programmes continue to prioritise greener measures. The Air Quality Programme is successfully cutting pollution from all sources to improve health outcomes and reduce health inequality for Londoners. 

The individual bodies which make up the GLA Group will publish their final budget plans in March for the financial year beginning in April 2025. 

We will keep you posted on any new opportunities to have your say and help shape plans and policies at City Hall.  

Thank you for taking time to engage with us.