The Mayor’s Budget for 2024-25

The final 2024-25 GLA Consolidated Group Budget was approved without amendment by the London Assembly on 22 February 2024.    

Thank you to everyone who took our survey and joined the conversation and had their say on the consultation budget back in December and January.   

The budget confirms the council tax proposals announced in December. Following confirmation of the level of funding the government would provide to City Hall and the rules on council tax increases, the Mayor concluded it was necessary to propose an increase in the Band D council tax next year by £37.26 (the equivalent of 72p per week), of which:  

• £20 will be used to keep Transport for London (TfL) services running. The government required the Mayor to generate additional revenue to keep in place certain travel concessions while compensating for lower levels of fares income resulting from an increase in people working from home following the pandemic.    
• £13 will be used to raise an additional £40.5 million for the Metropolitan Police Service, as expected by the government. This will help deliver A New Met For London (NMfL), a programme of systematic and cultural reform in the Metropolitan Police Service. This investment will also enable the Met to continue to strengthen front line policing including tackling violence and neighbourhood policing. 
• £4.26 will be used to help fund the training of firefighters enhancing the service they provide to Londoners. 

The final budget reflected the latest forecasts of council tax and business rates income from London’s local authorities (the 32 London Boroughs and the Common Council of the City of London), a review of reserves held by the Mayor and confirmation of final levels of government funding.  

As a result, the Mayor announced additional investments:  

Supporting Londoners through the cost-of-living crisis  

The final budget includes additional funding to support Londoners through the cost-of-living crisis. This includes: 

• £140 million to continue to provide free school meals for a further academic year to primary school children across London. 
• £4.2 million to extend the Income Maximisation scheme helping Londoners facing financial challenges access income to which they are entitled 

Many of you said that you wanted to see more spending on public transport. You highlighted both the cost and the availability of transport network in your area. You often mentioned these issues alongside the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone. 

Since the consultation budget, additional funding for transport has been allocated. This includes:  

• £147 million to freeze all TfL controlled fares in 2024 with off-peak fares being introduced on Fridays all day for an initial three-month trial period between March and May 2024 
• an additional £5.5 million investment in the Superloop which overall will see over one million further kilometres added to the bus network 

• £3 million per year to provide additional public toilets and modernise existing facilities on the TfL estate. 

   

Improving the Metropolitan Police Service  

Reducing crime further remains a top concern for many Londoners.  

Since the consultation budget, an additional £92 million of funding was provided to the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC). This includes funding to retain 500 existing police officers on an ongoing basis; supports the Metropolitan Police Commissioner to build an MPS that is trusted, representative of London and delivers the highest possible service to every community in our city through the New Met For London (NMfL) programme; and provides further investment to boost the VRU's community-led programme to tackle violence in neighbourhoods and estates; and fund a programme of street-based youth workers working after school hours to divert young people from robbery and violence. 

Addressing the climate emergency  

We received several comments on increasing spending on environmental initiatives. You suggested measures such as reducing the use private vehicles, expanding Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, investing in green industries, retrofitting houses and levelling up existing green policies. 

The Budget now includes: 

• an additional £50 million to help more Londoners scrap or retrofit their older, more polluting vehicles  
• £3 million to help ensure the quality of air our primary children breath while they’re in school is improved. 

Affordable and energy-efficient housing  

Many of you were concerned with affordability of homes, and often mentioned the impact on younger Londoners. You were primarily concerned with house prices, some also spoke about rental prices. 

A few of you also noted that quality of homes is an issue – mainly for new builds and rental properties (particularly social housing).  

The Budget includes £60 million to ensure that the GLA Group’s housebuilding and wider capital programme can continue in the face of significant economic and regulatory pressures. 

What’s next? 

The individual bodies which make up the GLA Group are publishing more detailed information on their final budget plans for the financial year beginning in April 2024.   

As always, we will keep you posted on any new opportunities so you can have your say and help shape plans and policies at City Hall.   

Thank you for taking time to engage with us.