Londoners face council tax hike to fund police force

- The proposed increase for an average Band D household is £20.13 per year for the overall Greater London Authority (GLA) precept, of which £15 is specifically for policing. This is expected to raise an additional £60 million for the Metropolitan Police. - Mayor Sadiq Khan's final draft budget for 2026-27 proposes a record £1.26 billion investment in policing and crime prevention from City Hall. This represents a 122% increase in funding from the Mayor's office compared to the 2016-17 budget under the previous mayor, Boris Johnson. - A primary focus of the additional funding is to combat a surge in mobile phone theft, which saw 116,656 devices stolen in 2024, a 50% increase since 2017. While there was a 12.3% decrease in phone theft in 2025 with 71,391 reported incidents, the issue remains a key priority. An additional £4.5 million is specifically earmarked to create a new mobile phone Command Cell in the West End to coordinate intelligence and response. - The proposed budget has faced scrutiny from the London Assembly's Budget and Performance Committee. Critics argue that the central government's contribution is insufficient, with the final police settlement being £32.2 million less than anticipated, forcing the Mayor to use £31 million from reserves to plug the gap. - While the Mayor is increasing funding from City Hall, the majority of the Metropolitan Police's budget comes from the central government. The provisional Police Settlement from the Home Office for 2026-27 allocated £2.89 billion in grants to the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC). - The funding increase is also intended to build on recent reductions in other serious crimes. In the 12 months leading up to November 2025, knife crime and personal robbery both decreased by 15%, and homicides fell to their lowest rate per capita since records began. - The increase in the policing precept is part of a broader trend of London's local authorities increasing council tax by up to the maximum 4.99% allowed without a referendum to cover rising costs for services. - The final budget is scheduled to be considered by the London Assembly, which has previously passed a non-binding motion recommending that any additional unallocated funds be directed towards the Metropolitan Police and Transport for London.