London's Budget for 2021-22: informed by your views and ambitions

The Greater London Authority (GLA) Group’s budget proposals for 2021-22 are constrained both by the demands of recovery, and by a significant projected drop in the financial resources available. The Mayor’s key objective in this budget is to support London’s recovery, including through the delivery of the missions set out by the London Recovery Board. 

In particular the Mayor’s core GLA budget has been developed to ensure that as much of our available funding as possible is allocated to supporting London’s recovery. In total, £485m revenue funding has been allocated across the nine recovery missions identified by the Recovery Board; however, some funding allocated to other bodies such as Transport for London (TfL) and the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) will also be spent in ways which contribute to the overall success of the recovery missions. The missions are:    

• A Green New Deal – Tackle the climate and ecological emergencies and improve air quality by doubling the size of London's green economy by 2030 to accelerate job creation for all; 

• A Robust Safety Net – By 2025, every Londoner is able to access the support they need to prevent financial hardship; 

• High Streets for All – Deliver enhanced public spaces and exciting new uses for underused high street buildings in every borough by 2025, working with London’s diverse communities; 

• A New Deal for Young People – By 2024 all young people in need are entitled to a personal mentor and all young Londoners have access to quality local youth activities; 

• Helping Londoners into Good Work – Support Londoners into good jobs with a focus on sectors key to London’s recovery; 

• Mental Health and Wellbeing – By 2025 London will have a quarter of a million wellbeing ambassadors, supporting Londoners where they live, work and play;  

• Digital Access for All – Every Londoner to have access to good connectivity, basic digital skills and the device or support they need to be online by 2025;  

• Healthy Food, Healthy Weight – By 2025 every Londoner lives in a healthy food neighbourhood; and 

• Building Strong Communities – By 2025, all Londoners will have access to a community hub ensuring they can volunteer, get support and build strong community networks. 

We also project a capital programme of £1,321m in 2021-22, of which £1,035m sits in the Affordable Housing Programme funded by the Government. This substantial capital investment programme is critical to supporting London’s recovery. 

In August 2020, we conducted focus groups and polling focussing specifically on what Londoners want to see from the city in a post-COVID world. Here, you can see the main findings from this research, and how these have been reflected in the draft budget.  

1. Protecting and creating jobs should be the focus of the recovery.  

Respondents in our focus groups spoke of feeling stressed and financially insecure – large-scale unemployment was the major worry for most, as was concern about how furlough and tax relief schemes will ultimately be funded. After controlling the spread of the virus, protecting jobs is seen as the most important priority for government in London. 52% of Londoners see the economic impact of coronavirus as the main threat to the capital, versus close to half this number (27%) who see the health impact as one of the biggest threats over the next year. 

• The GLA’s draft budget has allocated £191.4m revenue spend and £36.4 capital spend to Helping Londoners into Good Work. This mission focuses on supporting Londoners into good jobs with a focus on sectors key to London’s recovery.  

• A Green New Deal aims to double the size of London’s green economy by 2030, thereby increasing job availability whilst also tackling the climate and ecological emergencies and improving air quality. £20m revenue spend and £3.6 capital spend has been allocated to this.  

2. Many of the issues that the city faced prior to coronavirus remain and should be addressed. 

Focus group respondents were concerned about rising homelessness – already an issue in the capital – and the increasing use of foodbanks. It was well recognised that coronavirus has also exacerbated London’s already stark inequalities: respondents noted that lower paid jobs are both the most exposed and the most vulnerable, whilst education inequalities are likely to become more extreme due to school closures and digital exclusion.   

• The draft budget has allocated £17m revenue spend to A Robust Safety Net mission. This mission aims to ensure that, by 2025, every Londoner is able to access the support they need to prevent financial hardship and includes work on increasing food resilience in the capital.  

• Digital Access for All focuses on ensuring every Londoners has access to good connectivity, basic digital skills and the device or support they need to be online by 2025. £7.6m revenue spend has been allocated to this.  

• £1.5m revenue spend has been allocated to Healthy Food, Healthy Weight, which centres on ensuring every Londoner is able to access a healthy diet and lifestyle, thereby decreasing health inequalities in the capital.  

• £94.1m revenue spend has been allocated to Building Strong Communities, including a focus on ensuring those Londoners who have been most affected by the pandemic (for example, those affected by domestic violence) are served by organisations that are robust and sustainable.  

• £77.3m revenue spend has been allocated to A New Deal for Young People, a mission that aims, amongst other things, for all young Londoners to have access to quality local youth activities by 2024.  

3. A majority of Londoners think now is a good opportunity to make improvements to the city. These changes are mostly related to equality or the environment and green transport. 

A majority (65%) of Londoners want to see changes to society (either major or minor), and 37% want to see ‘major’ changes. Qualitative research added nuance: it is paramount that the immediate priorities of jobs and virus control are managed; however, once they are, many see London’s recovery period as an opportunity to make the city more environmentally friendly. ‘Green’ initiatives, such as those to encourage walking or cycling and promote public transport, were amongst the most frequently suggested.  

• A Green New Deal will focus on doubling London’s green economy by 2020 to deliver new jobs whilst tackling the climate emergency. In addition to this, several initiatives will be implemented, including the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone to the North and South Circular roads, accelerating the electrification of the bus fleet and addressing inequalities in access to green space.  

• High Streets for All (which has been allocated £5.0m revenue spend and £18.7 capital spend) will ensure the GLA works with TfL and boroughs to promote walking and cycling and deliver enhanced public spaces throughout London.  

Read more about the proposed spending plans for this year's London Budget.