The Mayor of London is raising the GLA’s take from London’s council tax to fund an increase in policing and support the potential West London Orbital railway link.

In total, the Mayor is proposing that council tax increases by an additional £20.13 a year for an average Band D household, subject to final approvals next month. Consequently, the Band D council tax payable in the 32 London boroughs (the adjusted precept) is proposed to increase by 4.1% from £490.38 in 2025-26 to £510.51 in 2026-27.

That means for an average Band D resident, the Mayor’s precept on their council tax will break the £500 barrier for the first time.

If approved, Londoners will fund the Mayor’s spending budget to the tune of £1.66 billion, of which just over £1 billion will be spent on policing and crime prevention, in addition to Home Office funding for the police of £2.9 billion.

Around £251 million will go to TfL, and a similar amount to the London Fire Brigade.

The draft budget also confirms that the Department for Transport will compensate TfL for the loss of income arising from its 2026 fares decision, providing £90 million in direct funding to TfL for the 2026-27 to 2028-29 fares cycle.

In other transport news, a package of £400,000 is being allocated to the OPDC to continue work on getting the West London Orbital railway business case ready for submission to the government.

Although the Mayor raises £1.66 billion from Londoners in the council tax precept, the GLA’s total expenditure is much higher, at £22.7 billion, because it includes TfL revenues and other sources, such as government funding for the police, investments, and other sources.

The Mayor’s Draft Budget covers the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (including the Metropolitan Police Service and the Violence Reduction Unit), TfL, the London Fire Brigade, the London Legacy Development Corporation (Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park), the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation, the Oxford Street Development Corporation and the core Greater London Authority, including the London Assembly.

This comprises a revenue budget of £17.3 billion and a draft capital spending plan of £5.4 billion.

Some other funding decisions:

The Mayor has earmarked £2.5 million to cover increased costs at the London Stadium in the event that West Ham United are relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2025-26 season.

The Oxford Street project has seen its funding increased to £27.1 million.

To cover the cost of the May 2028 elections, a £40 million reserve has been set aside for 2028-29.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Bearing down on crime and keeping Londoners safe is my top priority as Mayor. That’s why I’m taking the difficult decision to increase council tax to provide crucial funding for the police.

“This will help to implement a major crack down on phone theft – with more resources to smash the phone theft gangs – as well as to ensure we can build on the significant progress we’re making to reduce knife crime, gun crime, homicides and burglary in the capital.

“In total, I plan to invest a record-breaking £1.22bn from City Hall on policing so that we can continue building a safer London for everyone.

“I am also delighted that we are moving forward with our plans for the West London Orbital that will improve public transport and deliver economic growth.”

The proposed budget has been published here.

The Final Draft Budget is due to be published on 18th February 2026 and considered by the Assembly on 26th February, at which point the council tax precepts will be confirmed.