Greater London Authority

Introduction

The GLA Group Budget sets out how the Mayor will fund his plans to continue building a fairer, safer, greener and more prosperous London for everyone. The Mayor’s Budget ensures investment to: reduce crime; tackle violence against women and girls; build more affordable homes; support renters; reduce street homelessness; grow our economy; improve our transport network; ensure Londoners have the skills they need to succeed; and keep London as a world-leader in reducing air pollution, cleaning up our rivers and tackling the climate crisis. In addition, the Mayor’s Universal Free School Meals programme will be funded from within the GLA: Mayor budget, which will be on an on-going basis.

Keeping Londoners safe is the Mayor’s top priority, which is why his Budget provides record funding for the police, with more than double the investment in policing from City Hall compared to when he first became Mayor. In particular, the Mayor is providing additional funding to tackle phone theft, which will support targeted action to dismantle phone theft gangs.

Council Tax for GLA Services

The GLA’s share of the council tax for a typical Band D property has been increased by £20.13 (or 38p per week) to £510.51. The additional income from this increase in council tax will help fund the MPS and the LFB. Council taxpayers in the City of London, which has its own police force, will pay £176.38.

Band D Council Tax (£)	2026 to 2027	Change	2026 to 2027
MOPAC (Metropolitan Police)	£319.13	£15.00	£334.13
LFC (London Fire Brigade)	£71.72	£5.13	£76.85
GLA	£22.44	£0	£22.44
Transport Services	£77.09	£0	£77.09
Total	£490.38	£20.13	£510.51

Controlling costs at City Hall and delivering the Mayor’s key priorities

The Mayor’s 2026/27 budget includes over £279 million of savings and efficiencies, including from the more efficient use of office accommodation and technology and sharing back office and support functions across the GLA Group family. These savings have allowed the release of resources to help meet the Mayor’s key priorities.

The Mayor’s key objective in his Budget is to focus on creating a fairer, safer, greener and more prosperous London for everyone.

To realise the Mayor’s vision for London, his Budget focuses expenditure on the following major areas:-

making London safer by being both tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime
building more council homes and genuinely affordable homes to buy and rent
reducing street homelessness
making transport better, greener, more accessible and as affordable as possible
tackling the climate crisis and cleaning up London’s air and rivers
boosting economic growth – supporting business, helping to create jobs, increasing skills provision and attracting trade and investment from around the world
supporting Londoners with the cost of living, including providing free school meals to all state primary school children.

This Budget includes London’s Climate Budget which sets out how the GLA Group’s spending is linked to the Mayor’s commitment to make London net zero by 2030. While the GLA Group’s contribution to this is detailed in section 13 of this Draft Budget, the Mayor is unable to realise this commitment alone as it requires investment and co-ordinated action from a range of actors, including government, businesses and London boroughs.

The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC)

The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) works on behalf of Londoners to hold the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS or “the Met”) to account, reduce crime and improve the provision of criminal justice services across the capital.

The Mayor’s top priority is keeping Londoners safe. In March 2025, following consultation with more than 4,000 Londoners, partner organisations and community groups, the Mayor published his Police and Crime Plan for London 2025-2029. The Plan sets out the Mayor's high-level priorities for policing, crime and community safety in London. This budget ensures the Police and Crime Plan for London is resourced sufficiently.

A new 10-year Estate Strategy, published by the Met and MOPAC on 18 December 2025, will support the force’s mission to deliver More Trust, Less Crime and High Standards and ensure the majority of neighbourhood officers are within a 20-minute walk of the communities they serve. The MOPAC capital spending plans include the costs of the new Estate Strategy.

Key deliverables:-

reducing violence and criminal exploitation: this includes tackling violence against women and girls, serious organised crime, and drug-related harm
building safer, more confident communities: this involves increasing public trust in the police and improving responses to neighbourhood crimes like burglary, robbery, and anti-social behaviour
supporting and overseeing reform of the MPS: MOPAC will oversee the MPS's performance and ensure it is accountable
improving the criminal justice system and supporting victims: this aims to improve the support victims receive and ensure better outcomes from the criminal justice process.

Transport for London (TfL)

Transport for London (TfL) is the integrated transport authority responsible for delivering the Mayor’s aims for transport. TfL runs most of London’s public transport services, including the London Underground, London Buses, the DLR, London Overground, Elizabeth line, London Trams, London River Services, London Dial-a-Ride, Victoria Coach Station, Santander Cycles and the IFS Cloud Cable Car. It is also responsible for managing road and tunnel user charging schemes, maintaining London’s main roads and traffic lights, regulating taxis and private hire vehicles, making London’s transport more accessible and promoting active travel (walking and cycling initiatives).

TfL has constructed many of London’s most significant infrastructure projects in recent years, using transport to unlock economic growth and improve connectivity. This includes major projects like the Elizabeth Line, the extension of the Northern line to Battersea Power Station and Nine Elms in south London, the completion of the London Overground extension to Barking Riverside, and the Bank station upgrade.

Through its financially independent but wholly owned property company Places for London, TfL focusses on developing existing land and property assets to create sustainable, growing income streams through building greener, more connected places. The financial performance of Places for London is included in its budget.

Key deliverables:-
In the government’s Spending Review in June 2025, a long-term funding settlement was confirmed to the end of 2029-30, for a total value of £2,167 million. Having secured long-term government funding to 2030, TfL can reflect this in its investment plans.

TfL will continue to work with the government to make the case for investment that would help to unlock housing and economic growth. In addition to the recently confirmed extension of the DLR to the Thamesmead new town area, these key schemes include the West London Orbital project and the extension of the Bakerloo line.
TfL will work with the government to bring the Great Northern suburban rail route into the TfL network, improving customer facilities, boosting train frequencies and unlocking housing growth in Crews Hill. TfL has submitted a business case to take on the Great Northern suburban rail route, in line with the Mayor’s right to request.
in September 2025, TfL became the highway authority for Oxford Street. Detailed proposals are being developed to support the pedestrianisation of the road between Orchard Street and Great Portland Street. Subject to the outcome of a public consultation on proposals to transform Oxford Street, which closes on 16 January 2026, TfL will work with key stakeholders to deliver the next stages of the work required to transform Oxford Street.

The Mayor’s Transport Strategy sets a target for 80per cent of all journeys to be made by walking, cycling or using public transport by 2041. To make this a reality, TfL prioritises safety, sustainability, health and the quality of people’s experience:-

Accessibility improvements: In 2026-27, TfL is increasing investment instep-free schemes to progress its goals of halving step-free journey time across the network and making 50 per cent of London Underground stations fully accessible.
Healthy Streets Investment: in Healthy Streets will increase in line with inflation, with an increased proportion of funding allocated to boroughs, specifically to support Vision Zero and bus priority.
Clean air: TfL is committed to reducing emissions of air pollutants in London, supporting the transition to a zero-carbon city, and supporting delivery of the London Environment Strategy.
Improving the bus experience: A key commitment for TfL and the Mayor, two significant areas of focus are the continued building of the Superloop network and working to have a fully electric bus fleet as soon as possible, including the associated changes to depots and other infrastructure.
Safety remains TfL’s number one priority, and it continues to work tirelessly to improve safety across the network for colleagues and customers. TfL’s vision is that, by 2041, no one is killed or seriously injured on London’s transport systems. To support this, TfL will invest to improve customer safety at the Platform-Train Interface, continue its investment in road safety, tackle risks its colleagues face, accelerate the benefits of the Bus Safety Improvement Plan, improve care for people affected by fatal and life-changing collisions on London’s roads, target locations where the greatest number of people have been killed or injured while walking, cycling or riding motorcycles and continue to support the Mayor’s commitment to ensuring the streets are safe for everyone through continued implementation of the Vision Zero plan for road risk.

London Fire Commissioner (LFC)

The London Fire Commissioner (LFC) is responsible for fire and rescue services in London and supporting the London boroughs in their emergency planning role. It oversees the work of the London Fire Brigade (LFB).
LFC’s Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP), Your London Fire Brigade, is based on the recommendations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry and focuses on improving fire and rescue services through four pillars: engaging, protecting, learning and adding value.

Key deliverables:-
In preparing the LFC budget, consideration has been given to the LFC’s strategic and value for money objectives, including:

the number of fire stations, appliances and firefighters are not reduced
there are no reductions in regulatory capabilities
delivery of the CRMP
an adequate training offer to keep pace with the evolving risk environment in London
investment continues to be made in improvement activity, including culture change
resources are available to meet the recommendations arising from both the Grenfell Tower and Manchester Arena Inquiries, and improvement plans from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) inspections
adequate investment in core infrastructure is maintained
appropriate resources are set aside to deliver key strategies and priorities
earmarked reserves will be maintained for specific purposes which are consistent with achieving LFC’s key priorities, and will be reviewed annually
the General Fund balance will be maintained at a sustainable level
opportunities for innovative and modern ways of working will be adopted as far as possible. HMICFRS undertook its latest full inspection of LFB in Summer 2024. Their report, published in November 2024, stated they had found significant improvements in LFB’s performance since the previous inspection in 2022. The report highlighted that LFB has improved across ten of the eleven measures used in the inspection, including moving to ‘Good’ for ‘making best use of resources’ and ‘Outstanding’ for ‘responding to major and multi-agency incidents’.
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry phase 2 report recommended that LFB should establish robust systems to gather, review and implement lessons from previous incidents, inquests and investigations. LFC’s response is clear that the Brigade has fully accepted this recommendation, committing to being a listening and learning organisation to ensure lessons from incidents are learned and good practice is shared across the organisation and with key agencies.

London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC)

London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) is a Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC), responsible for promoting and delivering physical, social, economic and environmental regeneration in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park (‘the Park’) and the surrounding area.

LLDC’s new Framework for Inclusive Growth (“the Framework”) focusses on three priorities: the ongoing modelling of the Park ‘Habitat’; the scaling of LLDC’s ‘Inclusive Talent’ programmes; and a discovery of the role the Park could and should play in supporting the ‘Health and Wellbeing’ of east Londoners. These priorities will build on the Park’s foundation of partnership, innovation and creativity. They will deliver meaningful inclusive growth, ensuring that the benefits reach every community and drive growth across east London and beyond, while over time reducing the need for Mayoral funding.

Key deliverables:-
The key deliverables for 2026-27 include:

Habitat
publication and delivery of a 5-year Development Strategy
deliver the Climate Action Strategy
continue to lobby for Stratford Station redevelopment through a new lead organisation
successful operation of East Bank, opening of Sadler’s Wells Theatre and V&A East, and completion of the BBC
commence delivery of the Waterden Green development youth play space
delivery of connectivity projects on the Park, including Pool Street realignment, Green Spine and Carpenters Road West
successful opening and operation of Zip Line at ArcelorMittal Orbit
Inclusive talent
working with partners to develop an expanded Creative Careers Pathway
successful operation and scaling of the Build East construction training centre
working with partners in delivery of an enhanced education offer through East Ed

Health and wellbeing:-

explore strategic partnerships to develop programmes that promote health and wellbeing, and open the Park to test and learn
manage and maintain the safety and quality of the Park and venues
support safe delivery of events, community sports and filming on the Park
delivery of community and cultural events on the Park.

Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC)

Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) is a Mayoral Development Corporation, established to lead the regeneration of the 650-hectare Old Oak and Park Royal Opportunity Area, one of the largest and most strategic development sites in the UK. Acting as both a planning and delivery agency, OPDC is unlocking the area’s full potential to deliver thousands of new and affordable homes, high-quality workspaces and vital infrastructure for Londoners.

Key deliverables
OPDC’s Regeneration Strategy 2025-2050 sets out its vision for the comprehensive regeneration of Old Oak and outlines the six priorities that underpin the actions it will take to deliver this transformation.

The key priorities and deliverables for 2026-27 include:-

securing a private partner for the delivery of Old Oak, initiating design and planning work for the first phases of housing and critical early infrastructure
progressing the Old Oak Compulsory Purchase Order
delivering against the Land Assembly and Relocation Strategy
developing and publishing the Old Oak Sustainability Strategy
delivering targeted initiatives to promote inclusive growth, including tailored training and employment opportunities, and the delivery of OPDC’s skills programme
collaborating with Hemiko to deliver a sustainable Heat Network for the area

Summary of GLA Group budget

The tables below show where the GLA’s funding comes from and the reasons for the year-on-year change in the budget. It also explains how the GLA has calculated the sum to be collected from Council Tax (the council tax requirement).

How the GLA's budget is funded (£ million)	2026 to 2027 £m
Gross expenditure	18,898.3
Government grants and retained business rates	(8,358.0)
Fares, charges and other income	(8,740.0)
Change in reserves	(135.5)
Amount met by Council Tax payers (£m)	1,664.9

Detailed budget by service area

The table below compares the GLA Group’s planned expenditure on policing, fire and other services (including transport) in 2026-27 with 2025-26.

The GLA’s planned gross expenditure is higher this year. This reflects the additional resources the Mayor is investing in policing and the fire brigade. Overall, the council tax requirement has also increased for this reason. There has been a 1.3 per cent increase in London’s residential property tax-base.

Find out more about our budget at: www.london.gov.uk/budget.

Summary of Spending and Income (£ million)	Police (MOPAC)		Fire (LFC)		Other Services (incl. GLA, Tfl, LLDC, and OPDC)		GLA Group Total
(figures may not sum exactly due to rounding)	2025-26	2026-27	2025-26	2026-27	2025-26	2026-27	2025-26	2026-27
Gross expenditure	5,051.6	5,286.3	628.6	660.5	12,281.4	13,041.5	17,961.6	18,988.3
Government Grants and business rates	-3530.1	-3,795.5	-330.6	-352.6	-3,815.3	-4,209.9	-7,676.0	-8,358.0
Other income (incl. fares and charges)	-3,98.8	-343.3	-52.7	-59.3	-7,860.9	-8,337.4	-,8312.4	-8,740.0
Net expenditure	1,122.7	1,147.5	245.3	248.6	605.2	494.2	1,973.2	1,890.3
Change to level of reserves	-94.3	-59.0	-13.5	2.5	-283.5	-79	-391.3	-135.5
Council Tax requirement (income)	1,028.4	1,088.6	231.8	251.1	321.7	415.2	1,581.9	1,754.8

Last updated: 2 March 2026

Your Council Tax and business rates for 2026 to 2027 and our performance and spending plans

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