London households are set to see their annual council tax bills increase by an average of £20 to fund a major new police initiative targeting mobile phone thieves and to support the London Fire Brigade.
Breaking Down the Tax Rise
In his draft budget for the 2026-27 financial year, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has proposed raising the Greater London Authority (GLA) precept. For a typical Band D property, this means an extra £15 per year for policing and a further £5.13 for the fire service.
The overall GLA precept will rise from £490.38 to £510.51, marking a 4.1 per cent increase. This is forecast to raise a total of £1.67 billion for the authority. The final budget will be confirmed in March after scrutiny by the London Assembly.
Funding a Blitz on Phone Theft
A central pillar of the increased funding is a dedicated crackdown on organised phone theft gangs operating across the capital. The Mayor has asked the Metropolitan Police to develop a package of measures, which is expected to include the use of surveillance drones and training specialist officers to patrol hotspot areas on e-bikes.
The extra policing levy is projected to raise £60 million as part of a wider £1.22 billion funding uplift for policing in the coming year. Overall, Londoners will contribute just over £1 billion in council tax towards policing, with the Home Office providing the remaining £2.9 billion.
Investing in Fire Service and Transport
The additional £5.13 for the London Fire Brigade (LFB) will directly fund a £19.3 million improvement programme. Officials state that as the UK's largest and most complex fire service, continued investment is essential.
The funds are earmarked for maintaining operational response times and investing in the LFB estate, including building a new headquarters and refurbishing Lambeth Fire Station. The draft budget allocates an extra £16.4 million for "preparedness and response".
Separately, the budget reveals that Transport for London (TfL) requires a £251.9 million bailout from City Hall to cover a deficit caused by spiralling operating costs, despite a rise in passenger income. A further £400,000 has been allocated to progress plans for the proposed West London Orbital rail line.
Political Reaction and Other Provisions
Mayor Sadiq Khan defended the tax increase, stating: "Bearing down on crime and keeping Londoners safe is my top priority... This will help to implement a major crackdown on phone theft – with more resources to smash the phone theft gangs."
However, Neil Garratt, the Budget spokesperson for the City Hall Conservatives, criticised the move: "When a phone is stolen in London every six minutes, that it has taken the Mayor more than a year... to actually take action is appalling."
The draft budget also confirms the continuation of the Universal Free School Meals programme for all primary school children in state schools. Notably, a new government policy to provide meals for children in households on Universal Credit is expected to reduce the cost to City Hall by £50.6 million in 2026-27.
