Mayor’s landmark £1.159 bn investment will protect neighbourhood policing, save 935 neighbourhood police officer posts and significantly reduce planned cuts to specialist police teams – including forensic teams
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has unveiled a record £1.16 billion investment in policing from City Hall. This substantial funding aims to safeguard 935 neighbourhood police officer roles that were previously at risk of being lost and significantly mitigate the cuts the Metropolitan Police (Met) had been planning. Despite this, the Met still has £32 million in additional funding to allocate.
The previous government had severely underfunded the Met, implementing cuts to policing in London that, in real terms, amounted to over £1.1 billion. Adjusting for inflation in 2024, core government funding has fallen by nearly a third. This has left the Met in a precarious financial position, with the majority of its funding coming from central government. However, the Mayor is leveraging every available resource to support policing in the city.
Due to the previous government’s cuts, the Met will still need to reduce its overall workforce and implement efficiency savings. Nevertheless, the Mayor’s funding and prioritisation of neighbourhood policing will ensure that the level of neighbourhood policing across London remains unchanged. This guarantees that officers will continue to be visible on the streets and actively engage with communities on the issues that matter most to them.
Mayor Sadiq Khan said, “The previous government chronically underfunded the Met, making cuts to policing in London that were in real terms equivalent to more than £1.1 billion. This has left the Met in an extremely difficult financial situation. As Mayor, I’m committed to doing everything in my power to support the police. That’s why I’m announcing a record £1.16 billion annual investment in the police from City Hall. This historic increase will protect neighbourhood policing in our communities and significantly reduce the level of cuts the Met had been planning. It will also mean the Met can continue to reform and build on the crime reductions we have achieved in the capital, with violence, knife crime involving young people, and burglary all down. However, tough decisions have been made to protect neighbourhood policing, and I’m under no illusions about the challenges ahead. As Mayor, I will continue to work with the new government and the Met—ahead of the forthcoming spending review—to ensure the Met gets the sustainable funding it needs to help us build a safer London for everyone.”
Since taking office, the Mayor has more than doubled City Hall’s funding to the Met, prioritising investment in local policing. He has made difficult decisions on council tax and business rates to counteract the impact of austerity on frontline policing. Neighbourhood policing is the cornerstone of community confidence, trust, and safety in London. The Mayor has made it clear that the new funding from City Hall will be used to fund police officers, key staff, and the necessary equipment for their roles.
In line with the Mayor’s Police and Crime Plan, the latest budget also ensures no cuts to emergency response teams, which are crucial during crises. It provides continued investment in the resources and equipment needed by frontline officers, as well as support for specialist teams working with victims of rape, serious sexual offences, and child abuse and exploitation.
The budget also includes ongoing efforts to improve Met culture through leadership training, improved vetting processes, and changes to how the Met handles misconduct and complaints.
Since January, an additional £83 million has been added to the budget—£10 million from City Hall and £73 million from central government. This brings the total mayoral investment in the Met to a historic £1.159 billion for the next year. Overall, there is an additional £320 million in funding for the Met compared to the current year’s budget, marking an unprecedented increase following close collaboration between the Mayor and the new government.
This means that cuts to specialist teams will be significantly reduced compared to what the Met had previously planned. This includes limiting reductions to the Met’s Dog Support Unit, forensic teams, and Mounted Branch. However, the Met still faces tough choices to protect frontline policing, such as moving Royal Parks demand into local neighbourhood ward policing roles.
The Mayor remains committed to being tough on crime and its causes. This approach, which supports the police while funding crime prevention programmes, has contributed to a decline in homicides, knife crime involving young people, gun crime with lethal barrel weapons, and burglary since Sadiq was first elected in 2016. The number of teenage homicides in London last year was the lowest since 2012, and the number of under-25s killed was the lowest since 2003. However, there is still much work to be done.
While Sadiq has welcomed additional government funding announcements for the police in 2024 and 2025, it is clear that further funding is needed to reverse over a decade of cuts by the previous government. The upcoming multi-year Spending Review will be a key focus for the Mayor and the Met. The Mayor will continue to advocate for London and push for the investment the Met needs.
