London Mayor Sadiq Khan has announced plans to increase council tax to help fund neighbourhood policing, crack down on mobile phone theft and build on recent progress in cutting serious
crime across the capital.
Under the Mayor’s Draft Budget, City Hall would invest a record £1.22 billion in policing in 2026–27 — more than double the amount allocated under the previous Mayor. The proposal includes a £15 rise in the policing precept for an average Band D household, equivalent to £1.25 a month, which is expected to raise an additional £60 million for the Metropolitan Police.
The Mayor said the funding boost is necessary to protect recent gains in public safety. Knife crime and personal robbery have both fallen by 15 per cent in the year to November 2025 compared with the previous year, while homicides are at their lowest rate per capita since records began. However, phone theft has continued to rise, driven largely by organised international criminal networks trading stolen handsets.
The additional funding would allow the Met to intensify its response to phone theft, including targeted enforcement operations, proactive action against known offenders and the dismantling of organised gangs. Police will also expand the use of drones and specialist officers trained to pursue suspects on e-bikes, particularly in the West End, where around 40 per cent of London’s phone thefts take place. The Mayor has also asked the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) and the Met to work closely with London’s Violence Reduction Unit to reduce the risks facing young people.
City Hall says the investment is already delivering results. Neighbourhood crime has fallen by 14.6 per cent so far this financial year — around 16,000 fewer offences — driven by reductions in personal robbery, theft from the person and vehicle crime. Hundreds of additional officers are now patrolling busy areas after dark, working alongside retailers, hospitality venues and local councils.
The Draft Budget also includes £2.4 million of new support for victims and survivors of child sexual exploitation, strengthening safeguarding and early intervention services across London.
In addition to the policing increase, the Mayor is proposing a £5.13 rise in the non-policing council tax precept, with all of the additional funding going to the London Fire Brigade. This equates to 43p a month for a Band D household and is slightly below the current rate of inflation. The Mayor said the extra funding is needed to ensure the brigade — the UK’s largest fire and rescue service — can continue its prevention and protection work in an increasingly complex urban environment.
Taken together, the proposals would mean council tax rising by £20.13 a year for an average Band D household, or around £1.68 a month.
Beyond policing and public safety, the Draft Budget confirms a £400,000 contribution from the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation towards developing the business case for the West London Orbital rail scheme. The proposed service would use existing, underused rail lines to connect areas from Hounslow to Hendon as part of the London Overground network. City Hall says the project could support thousands of new homes and jobs and generate around £300 million in economic growth within its first decade.
The Budget also reaffirms the Mayor’s commitment to funding free school meals for all state primary school children in London. A further £100 million has been allocated to deliver the scheme in the 2026–27 academic year, marking its fourth year. The Mayor has pledged to continue the programme for as long as he remains in office.
The Draft Budget will now be subject to consultation and scrutiny before final decisions are made later this year. Photo by U.S. Embassy London, Wikimedia commons,