Mayor Sadiq Khan confirms record council tax rise for Londoners

Londoners will have to pay more council tax next year after City Hall confirmed a record rise for its share of the bill.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan confirmed the increase today with his share of council tax going up by nearly £32 for an average household.

It comes amid increasing concern over a cost of living crisis gripping the capital as inflation hits a 30-year high.

Cash-strapped Londoners in an average household will be paying City Hall nearly £400 per year.

The portion of tax which goes to the Greater London Authority will go up by 8.8% from April which means bills for an average Band D properties rise by £31.93

In London, council tax goes towards paying for services provided by the GLA such as transport, policing and the London Fire Brigade. This part of the tax is seeing the record rise.

The rest of the bill Londoners pay goes to their local council to maintain roads and street lighting and to clean streets and collect rubbish.

News of the rise came as Sadiq Khan announced plans to invest an additional £10m to attract more tourists back to the capital – including launching a new international tourism campaign.

"London’s amazing hospitality, retail, and cultural sectors have faced an existential threat from the impacts of the Covid-19 - but now that restrictions for travellers coming to the UK have been eased, London is fully open once more and ready to retake its place as one of the most visited cities in the world.

"There is no doubt that the return of international tourism will be central to London’s economic recovery," Mr Khan said.