The Mayor of London has been given permission to add an additional £20 to council tax bills annually to bail out TfL.
The extra funding would amount to an annual rise of £172m, which would help to make up for losses over the pandemic when TfL’s fares income slumped. Overall, current passenger levels remain down on pre-pandemic levels, with almost one in four weekday Tube passengers yet to return to regular travel.
Sadiq Khan said that, to save the network from collapse, he was left with no other option but to increase the tax over the next three years.
Levelling-Up Secretary Michael Gove accepted Mr Khan’s request, made in 2021, to add an extra £20 on band D bills to the Greater London Authority (GLA) precept.
But he wrote in a statement to the Commons that the measure was “disappointing”.
He said: “The Government has expressed ongoing concern about the management of TfL by this Mayor, and it is disappointing that London taxpayers are having to foot the bill for the GLA’s poor governance and decision-making.
“Whilst the Government will not oppose this request, any decision to increase the precept is solely one for the Mayor, who should take into account the pressures that Londoners are currently facing on living costs and his decision to raise council tax by 9.5 per cent last year.”
A spokesperson for Sadiq Khan said: “The Government’s 2015 removal of its operating grant made TfL over-dependent on fares income, which created a financial emergency when the pandemic hit… The GLA has been forced to consider raising council tax by the Government to keep our Tubes and buses running.”
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