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London council tax and transport fares to increase

Undated file photo of a council tax bill, as a survey suggests that council tax and charges are set to be hiked by nearly all English local authorities, as a vast majority fear for their financial stability.

Londoners will face Sadiq Khan’s biggest council tax rise to date at the same time as a record increase in transport costs, it has been announced.

The mayor plans to raise the precept – his share of council tax – by just under 10%, while fares will increase by nearly 6% in March.

Mr Khan said he had “no viable alternative” but to raise the precept.

But the Conservatives blamed the “eye-watering and unaffordable” increases on the mayor’s “financial mismanagement”.

The precept is a separate amount that the mayor can add on to everyone’s council tax bills in order to help pay for services provided by the Greater London Authority.

The mayor requires an increase of £38.55 on yearly council tax bills from 1 April, the most he has raised in his six years in office.

It means the typical household will pay just over £434 to the Greater London Authority, mainly for transport, policing and the fire brigade, as well as the running of City Hall. This is on top of what households pay their local councils for services.

As a condition of the deal the mayor struck with the government last autumn to revive finances post-Covid, £20 of everyone’s extra council tax contribution will go on transport, bringing in £60m to Transport for London’s coffers.

City Hall says it will ensure that free travel for teenagers and the over-60s will be preserved.

Every household will pay £15 a year towards policing, raising £50m – half of which will be spent on the recruitment of 500 police community support officers (PCSOs).

That will add to the current team of 1,000 PCSOs which City Hall hopes will revive the status of the job and provide a more visible uniformed presence in communities at a cost fitting current budgetary constraints.

Fares on the Tube, trains and buses will go up by the same as those on national rail services – another condition of the controversial funding deal agreed with the government.

While a single bus fare will increase by 10p to £1.75, the daily cap on the buses will go up from £4.95 to £5.25 and the seven-day bus and tram pass rises from £23.30 to £24.70.

Explaining the rise in the precept, Mr Khan said: “The last thing I want to do is increase council tax at a time when many household budgets are stretched, but the government’s refusal to provide the funding our city needs means I’ve been left with no viable alternative but to help plug the gap by raising council tax by £3.21 a month.

“This will ensure we can protect and further improve our vital frontline public services, including the police, transport and the London Fire Brigade.”

 

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