• Budget sets out how the Mayor will fund his plans to continue building a fairer, safer, greener and more prosperous London for everyone
• Investment in policing is £1.26bn – more than double the amount under the previous Mayor
• Additional £29m proposed to tackle violence against women and girls
• Sadiq is proposing an additional £50m to provide positive opportunities to help keep young Londoners away from gangs and crime
• Further £8m earmarked to combat rough sleeping – Since 2016, City Hall’s rough sleeping budget increased more than fivefold
• A new £20m funding pot will be used to support Londoners through the AI revolution

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has published his final draft Budget, which sets out the investments he plans to make to continue building a fairer, safer and greener London for everyone.  The thread that runs throughout his Budget is his desire to provide a helping hand to Londoners to ensure everyone has the chance to reach their potential.

The Budget confirms the Mayor’s intention to invest a record-breaking £1.26bn from City Hall in policing and crime prevention measures in the next year as he vows to continue bearing down on crime and making London safer.

There has been significant progress recently in reducing key crimes across London. This includes knife crime and personal robbery, which are both down by 15 per cent in the 12 months to November 2025 compared to the same periods the previous year, and homicides, which have fallen to the lowest rate per capita since records began. Record investment from City Hall has helped neighbourhood crime reduce by 14.6 per cent this financial year – with 16,000 fewer offences – driven by a reduction in personal robbery, theft person and vehicle crime. The Metropolitan Police also confirmed this week that there were 10,000 fewer mobile phones stolen last year compared to the previous year.

Overall, the Mayor’s Final Draft Budget for the next financial year proposes investing a record £1.26 billion in funding for policing and crime prevention measures in in 2026-27 – almost £100m more than last year’s budget and more than double the previous Mayor’s final budget. In 2016-17, the then Mayor provided council tax funding of £566.7m for policing and no business rates income. In 2026-27, the Mayor is providing council tax, business rates and general grant funding of £1,257.6m, a 122 per cent increase.

Today’s Final Draft Budget includes £4.5m announced for the Metropolitan Police and the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) to continue to crack down and dismantle phone theft gangs on the streets of the capital. This includes a proposal to set up a new mobile phone Command Cell to coordinate intelligence and respond to phone theft and robbery in the West End.

The Final Draft Budget includes the new £2.4m package of support for victims and survivors of Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) announced late last year, as the Mayor continues to strengthen protection of children from exploitation and harm in all its forms.

Today’s final Draft Budget proposes an additional £50m to invest in further support for young Londoners, which will help to keep them away from gangs and crime and build on the Mayor’s strong track record of delivering opportunities for young Londoners. Hundreds of thousands of targeted interventions have already been delivered by City Hall and the Mayor’s Violence Reduction unit, which are helping to break the cycles of violence and deliver positive opportunities for young people, alongside work to tackle school exclusions, provide mentoring opportunities and support young people with their mental health.

The Budget includes an additional £29m investment to continue tackling Violence against Women and Girls in London. This is on top of the record £233m investment to tackle VAWG since Sadiq was elected.

There is also an additional £8m to invest in further action to tackle rough sleeping in the capital. Since 2016, City Hall’s rough sleeping budget increased more than fivefold. Sadiq has made addressing London’s rough sleeping crisis a top priority and has already helped more than 20,000 people off London’s streets since 2016.

A new £20m pot of funding is being allocated to take forward recommendations from the Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Future of Work Taskforce to embed AI skills in our workforce and equip Londoners with the tools they’ll need to succeed in this changing environment.

More information about how the additional investment on young Londoners, VAWG, rough sleeping and AI will be spent will be announced in due course.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said:

“This Budget sets out how we can continue building a safer, fairer and greener London for everyone. The common thread that runs through everything in this Budget is my desire to ensure that all Londoners can get the same shot at reaching their potential that London gave me and my family. 

“Safety is the bedrock upon which all else can flourish. That’s why bearing down on crime and keeping Londoners safe is my top priority as Mayor and why I’m proposing record levels of investment from City Hall on policing and crime prevention.  It’s clear that our relentless focus on being both tough on crime and tough on the complex causes of crime is making a real difference – with the capital recording the lowest murder rate per capita since records began last year, together with a reduction in personal robbery, theft person and vehicle crime.

“But we can’t be complacent as there’s still much more to do. I’ll continue to use all the levers at my disposal to fund the police, tackle violence against women and girls and provide positive opportunities for young Londoners so that we can build on the significant progress we’re making.  

“I am also pleased to propose extra investment to support those sleeping rough get off the streets and help Londoners through the AI revolution, as we continue to build a fairer, safer London for everyone.”