The government’s latest spending review has been criticised by several capital officials, with one representative claiming that London has been ‘short-changed’ and the decisions made by the government were ‘baffling’.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has also expressed his concerns, saying he was ‘disappointed’ by the lack of investment in infrastructure that the capital ‘needs’ and by the possibility of fewer police officers.
The comments come after Chancellor Rachel Reeves set out the government’s inaugural spending review on Wednesday, June 11. Regarding London specifically, the review will see £2.2 billion being committed to a four-year settlement between TfL and the government.
Transport
Andy Lord, London’s Transport Commissioner, said the new funding agreement was ‘much-needed’, saying it would allow for the support of new homes, jobs and economic growth in the capital. He also claimed it would boost jobs, skills, growth and opportunities across the UK by allowing TfL to deliver a programme of sustainable investment.
He said: “It will mean that we can complete the introduction of new trains on the Piccadilly line and DLR and new signalling on 40 per cent of the Tube, can procure a new tram fleet, progress discussions on new Bakerloo line trains and can get to work on renewing some of London’s critical roads, tunnels and flyovers.
“Our supply chain supports growth and opportunities right across the UK, with around two thirds of our suppliers based outside London, and nearly a third of our overall spend and resulting economic benefit felt outside of our city. We are pleased that, together with our suppliers, we can move on from the short-term and stop-start nature of funding over recent years and get on with the vital work of making our city and our country work for everyone.”
Outside of the funding agreement with TfL, the review also confirmed that £25.3bn would be set aside for the delivery of the HS2 project, linking Birmingham Curzon Street to London Euston.
Despite the funding allowing for new DLR trains, the review had no mention of dedicated funding for the DLR extension to Thamesmead or the Bakerloo line extension. Elly Baker AM, London Assembly Labour spokesperson for transport, said the spending review was a ‘missed opportunity’ to allocate funding for the extensions.
The Mayor said he was ‘disappointed’ by the lack of commitment from the Treasury to invest in ‘the new infrastructure London needs’.
Sir Sadiq said: “Projects such as extending the Docklands Light Railway not only deliver economic growth across the country, but also tens of thousands of new affordable homes and jobs for Londoners. Unless the government invests in infrastructure like this in our capital, we will not be able to build the numbers of new affordable homes Londoners need.”
He added: “As Mayor, I’ll continue to make the case to the government that we must work together for the benefit of our capital and the whole country. The way to level up other regions will never be to level down London. I’ll continue to fight for the investment we need so that we can continue building a fairer, safer and greener London for everyone.”
Policing
The Mayor also said he was concerned that the review could result in insufficient funding for the Metropolitan Police and fewer police officers. The review saw the Chancellor announcing that police spending power would see an increase of 2.3 per cent per year. The increase will aid Labour in fulfilling its manifesto pledge of recruiting 13,000 additional officers across England and Wales.
The Chancellor said: “I am increasing police spending power by an average 2.3 per cent per year in real terms over the spending review period to protect our people, our homes and our streets. That is more than £2bn, supporting us to meet our plan for change commitment of putting 13,000 additional police officers, PCSOs and special constables into neighbourhood policing roles across England and Wales.”
Housing
While Sir Sadiq also put on record his concerns on housing delivery under the current plans, the Chancellor was confident that the capital would benefit from the £39bn set aside for affordable and social housing over the next 10 years.
Sem Moema AM, London Assembly Labour spokesperson for housing, said: “We welcome the Government’s announcement of additional investment in social housing. London is already delivering more than 10,000 affordable homes a year and has the capacity and the determination to build many more.”
BusinessLDN Chief Executive John Dickie said that the capital accounted for a quarter of the UK’s economy, saying that unlocking London’s full potential was essential for growing the country as a whole. He also described the government’s decision not to back the DLR and Bakerloo line extensions as ‘baffling’.
He said: “The Chancellor has delivered some welcome additional spending on infrastructure, transport and skills. But it looks like London has been left short-changed… The significant boost to investment in affordable housing and a long-term rent settlement will go some way towards tackling the housing crisis. But it remains to be seen how much of that money will flow to London where the housing crisis is most acute – poverty in London after housing costs remains the highest in the country.”
He added: “The onus is now on the upcoming 10-year infrastructure strategy and the industrial strategy to fill in the blanks as well as ensuring that London has the tools it needs to play its full part in the growth mission through further devolution.”
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