The Mayor of London's Annual Report 2025-26

Welcome to the Mayor of London's Annual Report, which provides a clear and comprehensive account of the Greater London Authority's work over the 2025–26 financial year. This year marked the GLA's 25th anniversary as London's strategic regional authority – a milestone that highlights the organisation’s enduring role in providing city-wide leadership, championing Londoners' interests and working with partners across the capital to tackle key issues across the city.

Over the past year, the Mayor has continued to drive forward a portfolio of 14 strategic programmes designed to deliver his ambition for a London that is fairer, safer, greener and more prosperous for everyone. This report summarises the collaboration taking place across the GLA Group, central government, London’s boroughs, public services, businesses and the voluntary and community sector – partnerships that remain essential to achieving meaningful, city-wide impact.

Find out more about the Mayor's activity online:

• Website: www.london.gov.uk
• Facebook: @MayorofLondon
• X: @MayorofLondon

The Reducing Inequalities programme supports the Mayor's ambition that all Londoners are given the opportunity to thrive and share in the city’s success, with no one left behind and all communities valued and celebrated. Over 2025–26, the GLA worked with partners to deliver this vision – creating new employment opportunities, putting money in families' pockets and supporting new spaces for communities to come together. 

Since the programme launched across 12 boroughs in January 2026, over 1,400 Londoners have received benefits advice in Family Hubs and children's centres, identifying £695,000 for struggling families. Wider income-maximisation work reached 57,151 Londoners, generating £37.8 million in financial gains. With global insecurity continuing to place pressure on household budgets, demand for this support is expected to grow 

Over the year, the Supporting and Inspiring Young London (SIYL) programme has continued to demonstrate effective reach and positive impact. Through effective partnership working we have already created almost 200,000 positive opportunities for young Londoners, with many more in the pipeline. The range of work delivered under the programme balances universal provision with targeted intervention, ensuring support reaches those who need it most while embedding long-term system change. 

The Mayor's commitment to providing a nutritious meal to all children in London's state primary schools continues to support families facing renewed cost of living pressures in the face of global instability. To date over 130 million meals have been offered, as we work with schools and caterers to ensure that every plate contains what children need to grow and thrive. Our support and investment to ensure all boroughs introduce auto-enrolment for government funded meals has identified over 20,000 additional children eligible for support, unlocking nearly an additional £50million for London schools and London's most disadvantaged young people. 

The safety of London's young people and investing in preventative approaches to reducing violence remains a priority across our delivery. The Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) continues to invest in positive opportunities through sport, physical activity and employment pathways. Complementing this, the VRU Families work has established a London-wide network of 26,500 parents and carers, improving confidence in navigating education and justice systems and increasing awareness of local support. 

Underpinned by an understanding that the safest place of children is in school, the VRU continues to invest in programmes that support inclusion and belonging. Over 690 schools are embedding children's rights through the Rights Respecting Schools Award, supported by borough-wide Child Rights Steering Groups. Further interventions increase support for excluded and neurodiverse pupils, improving wellbeing and attendance. The Mayor's investment in mental health in targeted secondary schools is also making strong progress in embedding whole school approaches to improving wellbeing, and teams are working with schools, boroughs and the NHS to ensure these interventions are sustainable with learning is captured for the future. 

The delivery of holiday provision has exceeded expectations, with over 44,000 positive opportunities delivered through the Holiday Hope programme and more than 2.5 million meal equivalents provided by partners. Delivery has broadened to include volunteering and youth social-action, and we are working with a range of providers and organisations like universities to improve access to facilities. 

Trailblazers, Go! London and the London Music Fund have supported sport and physical activity, progression, enterprise and wellbeing. Over 1,300 young people have already been supported into education, employment or training, with delivery forecast to exceed annual targets. 

The Supporting Community, Cultural and Sporting Events in London programme guided a year of inclusive events, civic participation and long‑term cultural resilience. Events for London delivered a diverse programme that strengthened community cohesion and reinforced London's global cultural identity. 

Highlights included the Mayor's St Patrick's Day Festival, Lunar and Chinese New Year celebrations in Trafalgar Square, and the Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration, delivered in partnership with national organisations and focused on the theme of Bridging Generations.

Additional activity included:

• Support for London's creative industries through funding, partnerships and international promotion.

• Continued development of cultural infrastructure and community arts programmes.

• Expansion of hardship support through borough partnerships and civil society organisations.

• Delivery of major community events – including Chanukah on the Square, Diwali, Eid and Pride – reinforcing social cohesion.

• Launch of the Loved and Wanted Fund, investing nearly £1 million in grassroots organisations supporting vulnerable Londoners.

In 2025–26, the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) focused on delivering the priorities set out in the Mayor's Police and Crime Plan, published at the end of March 2025:

• Reducing violence and criminal exploitation
• Building safer, more confident communities
• Supporting and overseeing reform of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS)
• Improving the criminal justice system and supporting victims

MPS crime data comparing the financial year 2025–26 with the preceding financial year shows that in London:

• Crime overall fell by 3%.
• Personal robbery fell by 13%. 
• Gun Crime Lethal Barrel Discharge offences fell by 31% (50 fewer offences).  
• Homicide offences fell by 7% (7 fewer offences). 
• Violence with Injury was stable (-1% reduction). 
• Vehicle offences fell by 14%. 
• Theft from the person fell by 22%. 
• Residential Burglary of a home fell by 7%.

The Mayor's work on transport, infrastructure and the natural environment in 2025–26 advanced the priorities to create a modern, reliable and climate‑resilient citywide network.

Over the year, the Mayor secured a near doubling of Transport for London's (TfL) capital funding from the new government, enabling long‑term investment in renewal and upgrades across the transport system. Delivery centred on improving reliability and capacity on the Tube and rail network, accelerating station accessibility schemes and progressing major asset renewals to keep London moving safely and efficiently.

The Mayor also supported borough‑led street and public‑realm improvements, including active travel corridors and safer junctions, consistent with the ULI programme's emphasis on healthy streets and integrated local infrastructure. TfL's new role as highway authority for Oxford Street supported the newly formed Oxford Street Development Corporation's (OSDC) work to restore Oxford Street to its former glory, including the pedestrianisation of the street between Great Orchard Street and Portland Street. This scheme was consulted on twice during the course of the year. Following extensive public consultation between February and May 2025 –attracting more than 6,000 responses – almost 70% of Londoners supported establishing a Mayoral Development Corporation, and two‑thirds backed pedestrianisation of Oxford Street.

Alongside this, the Mayor continued to expand the fleet of zero‑emission buses, deliver air quality measures and invest in climate‑resilient infrastructure such as drainage, green streets and flood‑mitigation schemes. Collectively, this work advanced the ULI programme's core goals: renewing ageing assets, improving connectivity, supporting growth areas and ensuring London's infrastructure is fit for a net‑zero, high‑growth future. 

Throughout 2025–26, the Mayor's work to make London greener and more climate‑resilient made excellent progress. To ensure equity and social justice remain at the heart of this work, the GLA published two major strategic documents: the Local Nature Recovery Strategy and the London Green Infrastructure Framework. These tools identify where greening need is highest and provision is lowest, helping to target investment where it will have the greatest impact.

The London Surface Water Strategy was published in May 2025, and significant progress was made on the plan for clean and healthy waterways, involving 50 organisations across four working groups. Ten strategic locations for waterway improvements were identified, and investment is already underway through the Green Roots Fund and strategic projects. A proposal for an additional £5m for open‑water swimming sites is in development.

Two rounds of the Green Roots Fund awarded £7 million to nearly 60 local projects, spanning species reintroduction, food growing, tree planting and improved waterway access. Strategic investments also progressed, including a £1.5 million allocation to the new West London Regional Park, serving over 585,000 people and linking major green and blue spaces through an eight‑mile trail.

The Mayor's work on housing and regeneration in 2025–26 was driven by the priorities set out in the Building More Homes and Making Best Use of Land programmes. Together, these form the core of the GLA's strategic approach to increasing affordable housing supply and optimising London's land for sustainable growth. Since 2018, more than 25,000 council homes have been built – or are being built – with the help of City Hall funding. Council homebuilding starts under the Mayor have hit the highest level than at any time since the 1970s. In 2023, it was more than double the rest of the country combined.

Delivery continues to focus on maintaining momentum in affordable housing starts and completions despite significant viability pressures, including high construction costs, borrowing constraints and partner financial resilience issues. The Mayor worked closely with housing associations, councils and developers to stabilise the pipeline, unlock stalled schemes and support partners to bring forward deliverable, high-quality homes. This work included agreeing with Government an 'emergency package' of measures to boost housing delivery.

Regeneration activity centred on maximising the potential of London's land, with progress across major sites including Old Oak and Park Royal and Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, and key growth corridors. The Affordable Homes Programme continued to deliver new homes, supported by strengthened planning guidance on design, sustainability and fire safety, and collaboration with boroughs on estate regeneration and community‑led housing.

The Improving London's Housing Stock programme supports other housing and built environment programmes and has made significant progress in 2025–26. The year saw landmark legislative change for renters, sustained cladding remediation delivery, confirmation of multi-year building safety funding, and the establishment of Warmer Homes London to lead cross-London retrofit.

Key achievements in 2025–26 included:

• Cladding remediation completed on 38 high-rise buildings through the Building Safety Fund, with all remaining buildings expected to complete in 2026-27.

• £7.824 million in confirmed multi-year government funding secured for a Local Remediation Acceleration Plan (LRAP) for London through to 2028-29, with a Joint Remediation Partnership Board – co-chaired by the Building Safety Minister and the Deputy Mayor for Housing – overseeing delivery.

• £976,000 paid to the London Fire Brigade to establish a dedicated Remediation Acceleration Team, strengthening enforcement against those responsible for unsafe buildings.

• The Renters' Rights Act received Royal Assent in October 2025 – landmark legislation improving security, stability and standards for private renters, actively supported by the Mayor throughout its passage.

• Warmer Homes London completed Year 1 retrofit delivery: 419 homes through Warm Homes: Local Grant (95% of target, one of the strongest rates nationally) and 220 through the Social Housing Fund. Additional social housing retrofit funding was secured through the Integrated Settlement two years ahead of schedule, and the Grant Funding Agreement between the GLA and London Councils was signed in December 2025.

Despite having no formal powers to regulate the rental market, The Mayor has done all he can to support renters. He is delivering 6,000 new rent control homes for key workers, has published private renting tools and checkers to help renters hold landlords to account, he is supporting boroughs enforce renters' rights and he has pushed hard for the vital reforms in the Renters' Rights Act, which will transform the lives of London's 2.7 million renters. This includes a new £400,000 Fund from City Hall to ensure that renters in London know their new rights, from a ban on no fault evictions to tribunals to challenge unreasonable rent hikes. It also means that crucially organisations will have more resources to make sure the new rules are upheld.

The Boosting London's Growth Sectors programme demonstrated strong performance over the year and London continued to strengthen its position as a global centre for investment, culture and major events.

The Creative Economy Growth Programme and London & Partners (L&P) both exceeded their annual targets, with Film London generating £1.16 billion in gross value added (GVA) and L&P achieving 139% of its target. The publication of the London Growth Plan one year progress report and establishment of the Growth Mission Board provided solid foundations for future delivery.

Delivery of the Helping Local Economies to Thrive programme has progressed well over 2024–25. Through London & Partners, we created 332 jobs and delivered targeted support to 6,650 small and medium sized enterprises, exceeding our annual target. We have also published the updated Business Support Strategy. Additional outputs will be delivered due to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund extension to September 2026. Following the reaccreditation of nine Creative Enterprise Zones, in January the Mayor announced £2.2 million funding for the zones, as well as funding to secure a permanent home for hundreds of artists at Acme Studios in Deptford. Support for high‑street recovery continued through the High Streets Data Service, which won Data Partnership of the Year at the British Data Awards. Despite a challenging funding context, the service secured 36 members for 2026–27, with more multi‑year commitments and broader cost‑sharing across borough teams.

Additional activity included:

• investment in skills programmes for young people and adults, including digital and green skills
• ongoing work to attract investment and support London's global competitiveness.

Note: some of our performance data is aligned to academic years, which cross two financial years. This is due to the period of delivery we receive funds for and report on to central government departments.

The GLA delivered transformative outcomes across a broad portfolio of adult education and employment programmes. This has helped thousands of Londoners gain new skills, access better opportunities, and move closer to work or further learning.

The Mayor’s adult skills programmes are empowering London’s diverse communities, meeting Londoners where they are and supporting the most disadvantaged. Amongst learners participating in the Adult Skills Fund (ASF) programme:

• 69% were female
• 62% were from a Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic background (including Mixed, Asian, Black and Other Ethnic Group learners)
• the majority were aged 24 to 49 (60%)
• 16% consider themselves to have a learning difficulty and/or disability and/or health problem
• 50% of participants in Adult Skills learning were eligible for the disadvantage uplift funding
• 7% of the total number of learners received learner support to enrol in 44,650 courses.

The Mayor's governance and delivery assurance activity in 2025–26 continued to strengthen transparency, accountability and effectiveness across the GLA now designed around a delivery portfolio of 14 strategic programmes. Decision‑making remained robust, evidence‑led and aligned to statutory duties, with clear oversight of major programmes, risks and performance. A major development this year was the implementation of the Integrated Settlement between Government and the GLA. The Integrated Settlement brings together multiple funding streams under a single, outcomes‑based framework, enabling the Mayor to plan delivery over a multi‑year period and align investment more effectively with London’s strategic priorities.

The Mayor also emphasised the importance of equality, diversity and inclusion, ensuring all major programmes considered the needs of London’s diverse communities and complied with the Public Sector Equality Duty.  

Financial stewardship remained a priority, with the Mayor working across the GLA Group to manage budget pressures, maintain value for money and ensure major programmes remained deliverable in a challenging economic environment. 

Partnership working continued to be a defining feature of the Mayor’s governance model. The Mayor worked closely with boroughs, public services, business groups and civil society to coordinate delivery, share intelligence and respond to emerging challenges – including joint work on safety, housing delivery, infrastructure planning, climate resilience and cost‑of‑living support.

The London Partnership Board continued to act as a vital forum for London to come together to consider the biggest challenges facing the capital. The Board met twice in 2025 to 2026, chaired by the Mayor and Chair of London Councils, where members agreed shared ambitions for London through developing missions, agreed ways to embed addressing inequalities in its work, developed a shared evidence base and language to promote London unique strengths and support calls for further investment, and helped shape London’s Inclusive Talent Strategy.

London’s Missions, delivered through partnership including with London Councils, began to drive real progress towards shared ambitions for London across key areas, including unblocking stalled housing sites, delivering inclusive economic growth and addressing health inequalities.

In 2025–26, the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) made major progress in shifting from planning to delivery across London's largest regeneration area. OPDC strengthened its role as landowner and steward, securing around 94 per cent of the land required at Old Oak and secured a landmark Public Land Agreement with Government, aligning its landholdings with those of the Department for Transport to create a unified 70 acres publicly owned development site at Old Oak, providing a unified platform for long‑term, place‑based planning at scale – unlocking one of the UK's most significant brownfield regeneration opportunities. 

In May 2026, the Corporation launched procurement for a private‑sector development partner, initiating a two‑stage process to bring forward a mixed‑use district expected to deliver 8,000 new homes, 200,000 square metres of commercial and community space, and 11,000 jobs around the future HS2 Old Oak Common super‑hub. 

OPDC also delivered tangible local improvements, delivering improvements to North Acton Square, Midland Terrace playground and the Grand Union Canal, and progressed major sustainability infrastructure, with its heat‑network partner advancing detailed design for the new Energy Centre and pipe network. 

The Corporation strengthened its community and innovation offer by opening the Minerva Works circular‑economy hub in Park Royal, launching its fifth Small Grants Programme, and rolling out climate‑literacy training for all staff, supporting its mission to deliver a net‑zero, inclusive new district for west London. 

In 2025–26, London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) entered a defining new phase, with a strengthened place leadership role while continuing to drive regeneration outcomes across Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and the wider east London sub-region. Following the return of planning powers to the Growth Boroughs in November 2024, LLDC focused on convening partners around a shared Framework for Inclusive Growth which was launched in November 2025. This Framework reinforces the Park as a connected campus, bringing together leading cultural and educational institutions, sports venues, community groups and the next generation of east London talent. This work has positioned the Park as a platform for collaboration and impact at scale, supported by deeper engagement with neighbouring boroughs and new strategic partners. Significant progress was made in establishing the Park as London's newest Innovation District, with recognition in the Mayor's London Growth Plan and the creation of a strengthened innovation ecosystem spanning research, start-ups and public sector partnerships.

Across the development portfolio, LLDC maintained momentum despite challenging market conditions, completing 512 homes at East Wick and Sweetwater and progressing schemes to deliver new neighbourhoods on the Park. East Bank has continued its transition from construction into a vibrant cultural and education quarter, now largely operational and attracting substantial audiences. Key achievements this year included the strong early success of Sadler's Wells East, the opening of V&A East Storehouse to significant visitor numbers, as well as continued progress towards opening V&A East Museum (which subsequently opened in April 2026) and the handover of BBC Music Studios. These developments, alongside receiving national architectural recognition, have reinforced the Park's role as a major cultural destination and driver of economic activity.

LLDC also strengthened its Inclusive Talent agenda, expanding programmes that connect local people to education, skills and employment opportunities, and supporting London-wide initiatives such as the Mayor's Inclusive Talent Strategy. Partnerships with major institutions and employers have continued to open pathways into growth sector industries, ensuring that the benefits are shared with surrounding communities.

Alongside delivery, LLDC navigated significant organisational change, embedding new leadership, values and an outcomes-focused approach to measuring impact, while enhancing its external engagement and profile through extensive stakeholder activity. Together, these achievements demonstrate LLDC's evolving role as a convener, place leader and catalyst for inclusive growth, ensuring that the Olympic and Paralympic legacy continues to deliver long-term economic, social and cultural value for east London and beyond.

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