The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has published his Final Draft Budget, setting out how City Hall plans to invest billions over the coming year to make the capital safer, fairer, greener and more
prosperous.
At the heart of the Budget is a clear message: targeted public investment can improve safety, expand opportunity and give Londoners the support they need to thrive. Central to that ambition is a record-breaking £1.26 billion investment in policing and crime prevention, the largest ever contribution from City Hall.
The proposed funding for 2026–27 represents almost £100 million more than last year and more than double the amount allocated under the previous Mayor. In 2016–17, City Hall provided £566.7m in council tax funding for policing. By contrast, the new Budget commits £1.2576bn through a combination of council tax, business rates and government grant—a 122 per cent increase.
The Mayor’s proposals come as crime figures show encouraging progress across the capital. Knife crime and personal robbery are both down 15 per cent in the year to November 2025, while homicide rates have fallen to their lowest level per capita since records began. Neighbourhood crime has dropped by 14.6 per cent this financial year—equating to 16,000 fewer offences—with notable reductions in robbery, theft from the person and vehicle crime. The Metropolitan Police has also confirmed that mobile phone thefts fell by 10,000 last year.
To build on this momentum, the Budget includes £4.5 million for the Metropolitan Police and the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime to intensify action against organised phone theft gangs. This will include the creation of a new mobile phone Command Cell, focused on intelligence gathering and rapid response in high-risk areas such as the West End.
Protecting vulnerable Londoners remains a key priority. The Budget confirms a £2.4 million support package for victims and survivors of Child Sexual Exploitation, strengthening safeguarding measures and specialist services for children at risk.
Young people are also a major focus, with the Mayor proposing an additional £50 million to fund positive opportunities aimed at keeping young Londoners away from gangs and crime. This builds on the work of City Hall and the Violence Reduction Unit, which has already delivered hundreds of thousands of targeted interventions, alongside mentoring programmes, mental health support and efforts to reduce school exclusions.
The Budget further commits £29 million in new funding to tackle Violence Against Women and Girls, adding to the £233 million already invested since the Mayor took office. This funding will support prevention, victim support services and measures to improve safety across the city.
An extra £8 million has been earmarked to combat rough sleeping. Since 2016, City Hall’s budget in this area has increased more than fivefold, helping over 20,000 people off the streets. The Mayor has described rough sleeping as one of London’s most urgent social challenges and pledged continued action.
Looking ahead, the Budget also allocates a new £20 million fund to help Londoners adapt to the rise of artificial intelligence. Based on recommendations from the AI and Future of Work Taskforce, the funding will focus on embedding AI skills across the workforce and ensuring Londoners are equipped for a rapidly changing jobs market.
Further details on how the new funding for youth services, tackling Violence Against Women and Girls, rough sleeping and AI skills will be delivered are expected to be announced in the coming months.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “This Budget sets out how we can continue building a safer, fairer and greener London for everyone. The common thread that runs through everything in this Budget is my desire to ensure that all Londoners can get the same shot at reaching their potential that London gave me and my family.
“Safety is the bedrock upon which all else can flourish. That’s why bearing down on crime and keeping Londoners safe is my top priority as Mayor and why I’m proposing record levels of investment from City Hall on policing and crime prevention. It's clear that our relentless focus on being both tough on crime and tough on the complex causes of crime is making a real difference – with the capital recording the lowest murder rate per capita since records began last year, together with a reduction in personal robbery, theft person and vehicle crime.
“But we can't be complacent as there's still much more to do. I'll continue to use all the levers at my disposal to fund the police, tackle violence against women and girls and provide positive opportunities for young Londoners so that we can build on the significant progress we're making.
“I am also pleased to propose extra investment to support those sleeping rough get off the streets and help Londoners through the AI revolution, as we continue to build a fairer, safer London for everyone.” Photo by Arriva436, Wikimedia commons.